Issuu

the

reporter

Paola High School • 401 N. Angela • Paola, KS 66071

Rolling in the dough

4 (news)

February 2012

Tips from the field

8-9 (features)

Under the exterior St u d e nt s ove rco m e adversity to carry on aly johnson reporter

Cerrica Bowlin: junior When her mom went in for her eightweek prenatal checkup, Bowlin’s heartbeat stopped and then restarted. Nine months after she was born, Bowlin got her first CT scan. When she was less than 1-year old, Bowlin was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. According to WebMD, cerebral palsy is a broad term used to describe a series of chronic disorders that impair control of movement due to damage to the developing brain. Since her diagnosis, Bowlin has had to endure more than 20 surgeries, some of which include denervation injection surgery, femural rotation surgery, plastic surgery and Botox. Even after experiencing those, she doesn’t complain about the pain. “I just bit the bullet,” Bowlin said. “When I had surgery on my left leg I was off my pain medicine after two weeks. On my right leg, two days.” Bowlin said there have been many different periods in her life where she has had to use a walker. One of the major downsides to that, she said, were the countless stares she received and the looks of ‘oh my gosh’. “At first I didn’t like going out in public because people would stare,” Bowlin said. “I’d have my insecure moments, but then I’d have my moments like ‘screw them’.” Bowlin feels that she has been able to compensate for her physical handicap. “I’ve built myself mentally to hide my physical disability,” Bowlin said. “I’d rather be smart with this disability than dumb without it.” Bowlin said that whenever she tells people that she has cerebral palsy, they always say ‘Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry’, to which she responds ‘I’m not.’ “I wouldn’t be me without CP,” Bowlin said.

Jane*

In eighth grade, Jane was diagnosed with a mood disorder associated with depression and an anxiety disorder. “The emotional aspect was unforgettable,” Jane said. “I blocked

out pretty much all of the memories of middle school.” In her eighth grade year especially, Jane said that she felt like some people looked down on her because of her disorder. “I was kind of a weird duck and I was drawn from everyone, so most people were like ‘what the heck is wrong with her?’” Jane said. Jane said this disorder causes her to feel extremely self-conscious all the time and that she has to focus more than she should to stay positive and avoid stressing about things that she said shouldn’t be stressed about in the first place. “If I have too much time to myself I can feel it start to taunt me and the anxiety starts coming back like it used to,” Jane said. “It’s just something I worry about because I’m afraid it might relapse.” Jane said that her disorder is currently only consuming about five percent of her life. She said that she is able to live normally now, but that her disorder will be a part of her forever. *Name has been changed at the discretion of the Reporter staff

Jessica Wright: freshman

Shortly after Christmas 2010, Jessica started to notice severe swelling in her stomach and legs. “I just thought it was because I’d been eating too many sweets,” Jessica said. But it turned out to be much more serious. On Dec 30, Jessica found out she had lupus, which according to WebMD is an autoimmune disease in which the body’s natural defense system attacks its own tissues instead of attacking things like bacteria and viruses, which leads to swelling, pain, and tissue damage. Jessica’s mom, Wendy Wright, said that Jessica’s diagnosis came as a shock to them. “We were shocked and extremely frightened,” Wendy said. “Her lupus presented with kidney failure, which was terrifying to a parent. In addition, her initial medications did not work, and she only got worse.” In the first few months following her diagnosis, Jessica said she was taking

Forensics season starts

11 (arts) ADHD:

• 52 million

children between the age of 3-17 have been diagnosed with ADHD.

Athletes follow in footsteps

13 (sports) Anxiety:

• 5.9% of 13-18 year olds have “severe” anxiety disorder.

•40% of kids with

ADHD also have a parent with ADHD.

Depression:

• Of all children and

teens struggling with depression,

only 30%

recieve any sort of

intervention or treatment.

• 15% of teens with depression eventually develop biopolar

disorder.

•B e t w e e n 1 0

and 15%

of teens have some symptoms of depression at any one time.

• 30% of teens with depression also develop a

substance abuse problem.

Photo Illustration by Rosalyn Lucas Information from the AAAAI, ADAA, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, National Youth Network, National Institute of Mental Health, and Department of Mental Health websites.

up to 20 pills per day to keep her lupus under control, but now that number has been reduced to five pills a day. Jessica also said she has to go to the doctor every few months to get various tests done and she has to get her blood drawn about once a month. One of the biggest struggles for Jessica was the weight gain that happened because of her kidney failures.

Bipolar Disorder:

•As many as 1 in • Up to one third

patients with bipolar disorder completes suicide.

of adolescent with depression in the U.S. may actually be experiencing the early onset of bipolar disorder.

Substance Abuse:

•I n 2 0 0 8 , a n estimated 22.2 million people

aged 12 or older were classified with substance dependence or abuse in the past year.

Asthma:

•9 million U.S.

children under 18 have been diagnosed with asthma at some period in their lifetime.

Eating •Disorders:

It’s estimated that

8 million

Americans have an eating disorder.

•

Anorexia is the 3rd most common chronic illness among adolescents.

“When your kidneys shut down, you gain a lot in water weight, so I got a lot of big stretch marks from that, and they make me feel insecure sometimes,” Jessica said. Jessica said that another hardship caused by her lupus came while running track last year. “I always felt really bad and behind everyone,”

Underneath: see page 2

2 (quick news)

picks

days until summer, including weekends, for freshmen, sophomore and juniors

days of school for seniors

school days left for freshmen, sophomores, and juniors

Compiled by Marissa Bergman

days until summer for seniors

by the numbers

96 quick 102

The Reporter • February 2012

Information from district calendar

2.17

Homecoming vs. Eudora

2.20

No School Presidents’Day

3.9-10

You Can’t Take It With You Performances begin at 7:30 p.m. in the theater Photo by Ayla Fedor

Tanner Staats, senior, wrestles his way to victory on Jan 18. The battle was between Paola and Olathe Northwest.

Exterior: contd. from page 1 Jessica said. “But I did it anyways.” It was because of her emotional strength and family support that Jessica said she was able to get through her ordeal and back to living the life she has now. Wendy said that since her lupus, Jessica has become stronger and more determined.

Chase Jorgensen: sophomore During his freshman year, Chase discovered he had 10 out of 10 symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. “I’m always shaking my leg and I can’t stop,” Chase said. “And I can’t listen or pay attention in any of my classes.” Chase’s mom, Sue Jorgensen, said she suspected Chase had ADHD when he started his freshman year. She said Chase approached her, saying it was hard for him to pay attention in class since the high school classes were much longer, so the diagnosis didn’t come as a surprise to her. “We were happy to get him the help that he needed,” Sue said. According to WebMD, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD, is marked by impaired attention and concentration. It is commonly caused by genetic

factors, which was true in Chase’s case. To help manage his ADHD, Chase has to take Adderall twice per day. Sue said she notices a change in Chase when he’s on his medication. She said he becomes more focused, but he doesn’t like to take it unless he’s going to school or studying. “It makes the world boring to me,” Chase said. “And it makes me act smart—it makes everything more vivid. It makes me use words like vivid.” Chase said that because of his ADHD, people tend to give him a hard time. “Everyone always makes fun of me for shaking my leg all the time,” Chase said. “I just can’t sit still.” Chase’s ADHD has caused him to have to undergo other daily struggles. He named Geometry, English, World History, Art and focusing on conversations with people as a few of the most prominent. Despite all of that, Chase said that he has learned to accept his ADHD, and he said that even if he wanted to, he couldn’t let it get him down. “I can’t really focus on the fact that I have ADHD,” Chase said. “I can’t even focus on this interview.”

SRO returns to schools

Adam Hale has been hired as the Student Resource Officer for the middle and high schools. He reported to duty on Jan. 4, the same day students returned from winter break. Assistant Principal Jeff T. Hines said Hale was hired by the district board of education to ensure that the students have access to an adult that can give assistance when they are dealing with personal issues. Hines also said that there will be improvements to the school and Hale will be a positive influence to the school.

“[Officer Hale will] foster a positive relationship with students, remove some of the workload from the administration team when dealing with student issues, assist in parking lot supervision, and to educate the students in health classes as requested with issues such as drug and alcohol abuse,” Hines said. Freshman Kylee Blake said having an SRO officer will be a good influence. “It’s probably a good idea, especially because of some of the problems we’ve had,” said Blake. -katey colwell

With the help of Developmental Leadership, some students hope to make the school a kinder place. Junior Heather Thornberg is one of these students. Simple solution for the problem: bracelets. Kindness bracelets, to be precise, sponsored by the Developmental Leadership class. Cristie Sims, sponsor, said the class tried the bracelets three years ago. Thornberg and senior Joyce Pursley suggested the idea, with the intention of giving students an opportunity to pass on kindness. Sims said she hope the bracelets will be a positive way to increase kindness, and decrease bullying. The last time the bracelets

were tried, there just wasn’t enough regulation on the bracelets themselves, Sims said. Students abused the privilege when blank notes were left in the library, Sims said. Students would write a note to themselves or write random, anonymous notes, she said. The bracelets will be sent to someone with a letter or note, by request of a student or faculty member who has received a kindness note. A person may receive one bracelet, but there is not a limit on the number of notes. “We discovered that it really made some people’s day,” Sims said.

Bringing kindness back

-jenna ratzlaff

(news)

The Reporter • February 2012

Welcome back, Obama’s speech in Oz inspires chrystal thompson reporter

Mr. President

Seeing the U.S. president first hand has been described as surreal, exciting, awesome, and electric by students. President Barack Obama gave an economic speech on Dec 6, in Osawatomie. The speech was a blast from the past for senior Nina Copeland. Copeland went to his inauguration speech in 2008. Her experiences varied. Copeland, her father and her brother were not able to watch the speech from the gym, but they got a glimpse before. “I thought they set it up real well,” Copeland said. “The front, where he gave the speech looked nothing like the gym.” They did watch the live feed at her boyfriend’s house. Copland said the speech was very inspiring and that it spoke to the people well. Copeland enjoyed his visit to Osawatomie the most. Because of the smaller crowd, she could get up close and personal. She got to be in the front row waving as he drove by. At his inauguration, she was separated from the action by a sea of people. Zack Trigg, junior, had tickets but he worried that he wouldn’t get in and after two hours in line, he and his family were some of the last few admitted. Though he seated close to the back of the gym Trigg got a good look at Obama. “It was surreal when he first walks out and you see him in person,” Trigg said. “It was a ‘wow’ moment even though I knew it was coming.” That ‘wow’ moment faded some during the speech for Trigg. “Obama has been saying the exact same things since he got into office but it has yet to be done,” he said. Both Copeland and Trigg could feel the excitement of the crowd. Being able to see the president helped some people ignore differences in political beliefs. Trigg realized how big of a deal it is to be president. The security is very extensive and is part of Obama’s

everyday life. He said they had the speech at the high school and not some other public place because it would be easier to monitor. Ryan Oshel, science teacher, was impressed that he saw the president so close to home. With the president in Paola’s “backyard” many became more involved and excited. This excitement was displayed in the crowd. Oshel said Obama did a great job capturing everyone’s attention. The audience loved him and were into the speech, he said. “I’m never going to forget it,” Oshel said. “It is something I’m probably never going to get the opportunity to do again. I’m grateful for it.”

The greatest president?

24 % Ronald Reagan 22% Abraham Lincon 22% John F. Kennedy 18% Franklin Roosevelt 9% George Washington Information from USA Today/Gallup Poll conducted Feb. 6-7, 2009. Original question: Which president would you consider the greatest out of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, John Kennedy, Franklin Roosevelt or Ronald Reagan? Votes are based on telephone interviews with adults, age 18 or older. 1,018 people were interviewed.

hall talk

What is the worst item in your locker? “Gym clothes from first semester.” -Megan Ingersoll , freshman

“My biology book” - T. J

Thomas, sophomore

“An old Woo -hoo bottle from the first day of school.” -Hannah Kaiser, junior

“Water bottles.” -Jessica Stevenson, senior

Compiled by Hali Wimbush

4 (news)

Working around the clock...

The Reporter • February 2012

Jobs vary greatly at the high school level

marissa bergman reporter

Freshman Dylan Sims-West discusses art and makes coffee. Junior Keegan Sutti makes pizzas. Junior CJ Cordill puts out fires and helps firefighters do their job. “When I was in Drexel, we had a car accident once, and I helped pull the girl out,” Cordill said. “That was pretty cool.” Many high school students have jobs to support their newfound habit of driving and to have money to spend on activities. Others have jobs so they can learn about their future careers. Whatever the case, high school is when many students get their first job. Sims-West started his first job this year. He works at the Tortoise Gallery of Fine Art on The Square. His mother, Nancy SimsWest, bought the gallery because the previous owner was leaving and she didn’t want the gallery to close. Sims-West’s mom asked him to help. “My mom really wanted me to and I didn’t mind,” Sims-West said. Sims-West’s job consists of making coffee for customers and learning about the artwork so he can answer the customer’s questions. While the job is fairly basic, Sims-West said he gets to meet interesting people. “The artists you get to meet are really cool so it’s nice to talk to them,” Sims-West said. West said the artists come in to look around or to drop off art that will be displayed. Other people come in to buy coffee. Sims-West said he enjoys the job. “It’s laidback and I can do homework on the job and it doesn’t matter,” Sims-West said.

Junior Keegan Sutti also got his first job recently, working as a cook at Pizza Hut. Sutti said the job wasn’t hard to get. “I just put in an application, they looked at it and liked me,” he said. He doesn’t know what he wants to do for a career, this job is just to give him some extra money. Sutti works 10 to 15 hours a week and gets along with the people he works with. He also misses being with his friends when he is on the job. “It keeps me from hanging out with my friends,” Sutti said. Junior CJ Cordill wants to be a firefighter, like her grandpas, two uncles on her mom’s side, and her dad. Cordill works as a mechanic, helping her father fix fire trucks. Unlike Sims-West and Sutti, Cordill wants to go into a career related to her present job. “I’ve been around it all my life since I was two,” Cordill said. Cordill said she learned all the skills of the trade from her father while she was growing up and now she gets paid to work. She travels all over the state to help her father fix broken fire trucks. Cordill said the job has irregular hours because she only works whenever a fire truck needs fixing. “We could be working from 6 in the morning to 5 at night,” Cordill said. Not only does Cordill work around fire trucks, she also volunteers as an Overland Park Explorer. Being an explorer means she goes to meetings and learns about being a firefighter. Sometimes she goes on shift with

firefighters and observes them work or helps them work. She said she has helped put out some fires by handling the hose.

Junior CJ Cordill did a water rescue exercise as an explorer at the Drexel Fire Department.

Freshman Dylan SimsWest helped a customer at the Tortoise Gallery of Fine Art.

Junior Keegan Sutti put pepperoni on a pizza at Pizza Hut. Photos by Marissa Bergman

Photo courtesy of CJ Cordill

Employed Persons ages 16 to 24, July 2011 Ag. and related industries 382,000 Retail Trade 3,869,000 Leisure and Hospitality Statistics courtesy of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 4,770,000

(features)

The Reporter • February 2012

Day in the life of a Tammy Stewart, main dish chef, gets up before the sun rises to make meals shelby mcdaniel reporter When most students and teachers are still in bed, Tammy Stewart, main dish chef, is at the high school, along with other food service workers, preparing the meal for all the schools in the district. Her day starts with putting on her hairnet and white apron, then washing her hands thoroughly. “We’re washing our hands constantly,” she said. Once squeaky clean and hairnetted, she checks a chart pinned up in her work station. It explains how much food is going to which school. Then, she checks her inventory book to see if the charts match up. On the days she cooks chicken strips, Stewart gets the strips out of the cooler. They were prepared the night before and set in the cooler to be kept until the next day. The carts with the chicken are pulled out and each tray is placed into the oven. The chicken is set on a timer to cook. “Today is an easy day,” Stewart said, “So we alternate between cooking the chicken and washing the trays.” She goes back and washes trays until the timer goes off, washes her hands again, then checks the chicken with a thermometer to make sure that it is thoroughly cooked.

main dish chef

When it is done, she removes the tray, and dumps it into a metal container that holds 10 pounds of the strips. The containers are labeled, covered with plastic wrap, and put in temperature controlledcarts that are sent to the other schools in the area. After a break at 10 a.m., Stewart sets up her station in the lunch line, and then goes back to her work area. She does not come out to the line when students are getting their lunches; instead, she serves as a runner, making sure they have enough food on the line with no need to make more. A food service worker from Cottonwood comes during lunch and says they need more of the main dish. Luckily, they have some of the high school’s chicken in the carts. Stewart goes back and gets about three-fourths of a pound of strips, packages them and hands them off to the Cottonwood service worker. The rest of the lunch time rush consists of checking the temperature of the food, which had to read

Stewart checks her chart taped up in her work area.

140 degrees on the thermometer, and washing more dishes. When fourth block rolls around, Stewart puts away the leftover food. They are sealed in containers and the Photo by Shelby McDaniel amounts of leftovers are re- Main dish chef Tammy Stewart checks the temperature of chicken strips during lunch. Stewarts corded on both day starts at 5:30 a.m. a chart and in her inventory book. before going back a final time to always willing to do whatever is Then, she puts them in the walk- make sure the dishes are done. asked of her,” Harris said. in -4 degree Fahrenheit freezer so “I love the people I work with,” Harris said Stewart will “go the that they can be used again when Tammy said, punching out at 2:15. extra mile and pitch in where ever that dish is served. “We have a lot of fun.” she is needed” when this kitchen “I try to get in and out,” StewElaine Harris, food-service su- staff is shorthanded. art said. pervisor, said she enjoys working “She has a good sense of humor She takes one last look at her with Stewart. and she enjoys her job and it charts to make sure they are correct “She is fun and easy going; shows,” Harris said.

Each container and cart is labeled with what school it goes to.

Stewart checks the peas at lunch to make sure they are at least at 140 degrees.

The charts are checked one last time.

Arrives at school

5:30a.m.

7:15 a.m.

7:10 a.m.

7:35 a.m. 7:30 a.m.

11:30 a.m. 10 a.m.

1:45 p.m. 1:30 p.m.

Break

Stewart checks the temperature of the chicken strips to make sure they are done.

Stewart puts chicken strips into containers for lunch.

2:15 p.m. Leave

Stewart weighs and puts away the leftovers. Photos by Shelby McDaniel

6 (opinion)

R-E-S-P-E-C-T Stop, collaborate and listen to your elders

marissa bergman reporter More times than I care to count, I have to admit that my mother is right. The scene plays out the same way every time. I tell my mom about a situation I am involved in and what I plan to do about it. She’ll predict the consequences of my actions, but I’ll go ahead and do it anyway. Then, her predictions come true, and I realize that she was right all along. Teens think we know best. Even though adults are older and more experienced, we don’t believe them when they say they know what they’re talking about. For some reason, even when someone warns us against something, we have to experience it before we will believe them. We have all acted like this at one time or another. Maybe it was ignoring parents’ warnings about driving safely. The experience our parents bring to the table is not enough to overcome the desire to do things our own way. Then we are shamefully forced to admit we are wrong and they are right. Adults are always telling us not to do drugs. Recently, the drug dog and its trainer came and students were given a lecture about drugs. But, do we listen? No. We do things our way. Teenagers not listening to adults is disrespectful. Not only do we ig-

Cartoon by Rosalyn Lucas

nore the advice they give us, but we spit back into their faces. From the outside, it appears teenagers are becoming more disrespectful, and we may be, but this assumption could just be based on appearances. In the generations before ours, there was still trouble and rebellion, but it was more private and kept behind closed doors. Whether it was a family hiding a daughter’s pregnancy or movies never having sex scenes or vulgarities, bad influences were kept quiet. Lifestyle changes have helped make teenagers more disrespectful. We feel that because of the drastic technological and cultural shift from the last generation to ours, adults don’t know anything. Technology has increased the gap between generations and we don’t understand each other. According to the U.S. Census, the Current Population survey didn’t even have questions about Internet use until 1997. Our parents weren’t always on Facebook when they were our age. Also, media glorifies youthfulness and makes fun of old age. Like in “The Simpsons,” the mother and father, Homer and Marge, are portrayed as stupid while the children, Bart and Lisa never listen to them. We should start paying attention when our parents give us advice. After all, they have lived a lot longer than we have and know more about life. While they might not always be right, they have a pretty good grasp on teenage life. They were teenagers once too, and even though technology and etiquette have changed, emotions haven’t.

The Reporter • February 2012

staff editorial

Oops I can’t believe you just said that... They range from class lectures to politics to what today’s lunch entree was. They can be hurtful, occasionally insightful or annoying. They are the reasons for disagreements. Everyone has them and unfortunately almost everyone voices them. They are opinions. While everyone is entitled to their opinion, that does not mean they should always be voiced. For example, when you don’t know anything about the topic. How can you give an intelligent opinion about something you know nothing about? You can’t. When you try, you fail. Badly. Often when you try to say what you think without knowing about a situation, it makes you sound like an idiot. Other times, you end up hurting someone who had nothing to do with what you were talking about. There is no excuse for saying hurtful, ignorant things. But still, people are forgiven for saying things they shouldn’t have, because they just felt so passionate at the time, they couldn’t hold it in.

A fancy way of saying they didn’t think before they opened their mouth and let the word vomit out. The next time you think you should say something, don’t. Instead think about what it is that you are just dying to say and cannot possibly hold in and think about what effects that will have on other people. If that is too unselfish of you, think instead of how you will be perceived if you say what you want to say. Because in reality, that is what most people think about anyway.

What people think and how they will be remembered is more important to most people than someone else’s feelings. You don’t want to be remembered as the person who said something that sounded dumb or that ruined your reputation and someone else’s. From ‘I have a dream’ to ‘fourscore and seven years ago,’ there

are many examples of the power of the spoken word. It can turn a gathering of people into a mob or inspire people to act out of character. The words you use define who you are and how you are perceived by everyone around you. So the next time you want to express yourself through the art of talking, think about it first. There is always the chance that what you have to say will have a profound and lasting effect on those around you, but more than likely not. Besides, some opinions are best left unsaid.

Photo Illustration by Riley Sawyer

Have a story idea? Talk to a member of the newspaper staff.

(opinion)

The Reporter • February 2012

Evolving people evolving minds Evolution is a widely rejected idea. According to the MSNBC website, a Gallup poll found that only 39 percent of Americans believe in the theory of evolution. A random Reporter survey found that 53 percent of students think evolution is a hoax. However, many students deny it without truly understanding evolution. If you are one of these people, listen before you judge the idea of evolution. According to the Biology Online website, evolution is the change in genetic composition of a population over successive generations, which can be caused by several factors. As humans, we see it in a multitude of ways. For example, according to the PBS website, when bacteria changes so that it can no longer be killed by antibiotics, it has evolved. Many who deny the concept of evolution think evolution means the human race descended from monkeys. This belief contradicts many Creationist beliefs that the universe and living organisms originate from a divine

Act your age: Remember when it was OK to be yourself and have fun? When the weirdest jokes made you laugh and when stress was nearly impossible? When we were younger, it seemed to jessica allison take forever to grow ads manager up. Time went by in slow motion. Each hour seemed like a day. We would do things that were enjoyable to us and spent time laughing and playing. We would color pictures, write creative writing and let our imaginations run wild. No one dared told us we were acting like

creation. Of the 53 percent of students who answered the Reporter survey that evolution is a hoax, 91 percent based their beliefs on their religion. The theory of evolution doesn’t mean we came from monkeys. According to the Nova website there was once a species called hominids. Hominids were more closely related to modern humans than apes. Scientists can trace our existence back 6 million years to these hominids—not apes. According to the History Files website, about 5.8 to 4.4 million years ago, early ancestors of modern chimpanzees and humans divided. This division brought about our major ancestor; the hominid. A major difference that divided chimpanzees and hominids was that hominid’s back teeth were larger while their front teeth were smaller, indicating different eating patterns than those of apes. About 4.4 million years ago, these hominids stopped climbing trees and walked with two feet on the ground on a permanent basis, migrating away from the tree-filled environments they had inhabited. For those clinging to your rejection of evolution based on the belief that we came from monkeys, welcome to your wake-up call. Human evolution has been helpful to our species in ways many people don’t think about.

4 ways to keep your childhood

a children, because we were. We weren’t afraid to do things that made us happy. No one had to change who they were because they were too afraid of being bullied. When we were stressed out because of school work, we asked for help from our peers, our parents and our teachers. But when we get older it seems like everything is put into fast forward and reality strips our childhood from us. Stacks of homework, jobs, peer pressure and stress take any fun we used to have. Acting like ourselves could cause our peers to laugh at us. When we try to let loose and have fun like we did when we were children, adults and peers tell us to act our age. what is our age really?

Sure we’re in high school, but aren’t we technically still kids? We don’t have to act like grown-ups yet because we aren’t. Have fun. High school is supposed to include some of the greatest memories we have. Don’t be the person who grows up and looks back and thinks, “Wow I wish I would have let loose more.” That doesn’t mean you should do illegal things or even be irresponsible. Here are some steps to keep your inner child alive: 1.) Express yourself, wear a crazy outfit one day or skip to your car after school. Let loose some of the stress that has been packed into us since returning from winter break. Do

the

reporter the staff

Volume 87 Issue 4

According to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History website, humans were able to adapt to their environment, such as living in the African savanna. Humans adapted through bipedalism, or the ability to walk on two feet, because it helped to move across an open landscape hope waisner and freed the hands to carry things design editor across the savanna. At one time, early ancestors of humans and hominids did not walk on two feet. There’s no better explanation for this phenomenon than evolution. Evolution has had a profound impact on human development. The human brain has evolved from the hominids who were simply able to walk upright and make simple tools, to modern humans who are able to continuously use and update multiple forms of technology. Without evolution, your iPod, phone and computer wouldn’t exist. Our brains couldn’t figure out how to make them, let alone use them. Next time you want to deny the existence of evolution, think about how it’s been beneficial and the proof of it seen in the world today.

Co-Editors-in-Chief: Rosalyn Lucas, Riley Sawyer Design Editor: Hope Waisner Sports Editor: Caleb Hecker Reporters: Marissa Bergman, Katey Colwell, Lane Harris, Aly Johnson, Shelby McDaniel, Jenna Ratzlaff, Libby Rayne, Chrystal Thompson, Hali Wimbush Ad Manager: Jessica Allison Political Cartoonist: Rosalyn Lucas Adviser: BriAnne Chayer

mission statement

The mission of the Paola High School Reporter is to inform and entertain its audience in a broad, fair, and accurate manner of all subjects that affect readers. The publication seeks also to provide a forum for the opinion of students, the staff of the paper, and the faculty, thus encouraging an exchange of ideas and opinions on issues of importance to the readers.

things that you would have done when you were 10, not things that will land you in jail. 2.) When things upset you, cry. When you’re happy, smile. When you’re stressed out, get help. You don’t have to bottle up your feelings because your afraid someone with call you a crybaby or weird. 3.) Don’t worry about caking on makeup. Your young, your skin is healthy and perfect, minus the occasional pimple. 4.) Laugh at the stupid jokes your teachers tell. According the WebMD website laughing is one way to reduce stress. We all have stress, so laugh! You only get to be a teen once in your life, don’t fast forward through it.

editorial policy

It is the policy of the Paola Reporter, to provide a forum for student expression, voices in the uninhibited, robust, free and open discussion of issues. The Reporter encourages students to write letters to the editor or submit articles for the editorial page. We reserve the right to edit content. Material that contains libelous or obscene information will not be published. Material that will cause a disruption of school activities is also prohibited. Authors must provide their full name. No articles will be published with an alias.

(features)

Ready or not...

The Reporter • February 2012

Alums offer tips, advice for life after high school hope waisner design editor

The college experience

Photo courtesy of Ronni Hart

Ronni Hart, ‘11 graduate, celebrates Homecoming on Oct. 26 at the Homecoming Parade. Hart is a freshman as Missouri State University.

You’re doing WHAT!? [Sam Rourke]

Currently writing girls basketball stories for The Maneater at the University of Missouri

Photo courtesy of Alyssa Paul

[Erin Fuchs]

Currently working towards her bachelor’s degree at Emporia State University in either Accounting or Finance

Alyssa Paul, ’11 graduate, said it will be the toughest, most stressful and most exciting time of a student’s life. “The best thing you can do is work hard, have fun and soak up every moment of it,” Paul, sophomore at Baker University, said. It’s college life. According to counselor Debbie Baldwin, about 75 percent of Paola students go straight from high school to college. While students such as Paul choose small, private colleges, other students such as Sam Rourke choose large, public colleges and each have unique experiences. Sam Rourke, ’11 graduate, said the best part about college is being able to make his own day-to-day decisions and decide who he is as a person. “No one is there to tell you to go to class, eat healthy or avoid illegal substances,” Rourke, freshman at the University of Missouri, said. “It is solely you who makes those decisions every day.” ’11 graduate Erin Fuchs, freshman at Emporia State University, said she stressed out about going to college but found it to not be as bad as she imagined. ’11 graduate Nathan Laudan, freshman at Kansas State University, did the opposite of Fuchs. “I was one of those kids who didn’t have to study much in high school and still got away with good grades,” Laudan said. “So coming to college and having to develop study habits that I should have developed in high school was a bit rough.” ’11 graduate Ronni Hart, Rourke, Paul, Laudan and Fuchs agreed one particular high school class helped prepare them for college. “Mr. Long’s College Prep English class was extremely useful to me,” Fuchs said. “The course challenged me, but he was always available to help and he truly cared about the students. My writing skills greatly improved and I learned how to effectively study for tests.” Hart also said any classes that require students to think and time manage are incredibly helpful. “[In college] not only do you have notes for one class, but four to five classes,” Hart said. “They all have a faster pace and more reading, and college provides a lot of procrastination opportunities. Food, parties, friends, noise are all distractions that cause procrastination.” Hart said joining a club or organization as soon as possible when entering into college is helpful because it is easier to make friends and provides a resume builder. She said it could also help against procrastination from the distractions of college life. Hart said she recommended students should live on campus.

Where they all go...

Alyssa Paul, ‘10 graduate, worked with her sorority at Susan G. Komen for The Cure in August. Paul is a part of the sorority Zeta Tau Alpha at Baker University.

[Nathan Laudan]

Over winter break traveled to the People’s Republic of China as a state officer for the National FFA Organization

Taking a different route

Corey Fedor, senior, has not decided what he plans to do after high school, but college may not be in his future. Fedor said there’s only about a 25 percent chance of him attending college. “I have a job waiting for me in Minnesota after high school installing vinyl and sealing concrete,” Fedor said. “But I’d also like to be able to say I went to college. I’m only going to college if I get a scholarship.” Baldwin said upper-level jobs require associate or bachelor’s degrees in today’s society. “Every rung of education usually affords students a career or helps them move up in their job,” Baldwin said. Laudan said students should understand that college is not for everyone. “I know that there are a ton of people out there that think that the only way you can continue your education is through going to college and getting a degree,” Laudan said. “The plain and simple fact is, there are so many more options. There is trade school for welding and auto body work, there are apprenticeships and so much more. Don’t think that you are limited to college.”

Want more? Visit www.phsjournalism.com

College

Military

Work or Other

21%

[Ronni Hart]

On Oct. 26 volunteered to help build for the Joplin edition of Extreme Homemakover the same night as Missouri State University’s Homecoming concert and Halloween Fest

“Living on campus may seem awful, but it really helps when it comes to classes,” Hart said. “It’s easier to find study groups and helps attendance. Don’t expect high school and college to be the same. They aren’t even in the same realm.” Rourke said college has made him realize that he is just moments away from the real world. “The pressure is on for you to figure out what you want to do with the rest of your life,” Rourke said. Rourke advised that students be thorough when selecting colleges. “It is one of the most important decisions of your life,” Rourke said. “Also, don’t be scared of large schools. They certainly aren’t for everyone but there are multitudes of ways to make the school feel smaller. Get involved with clubs, intramural sports, church groups and you’ll get over the shock of having 300 to 400 kids in some of your classes.” Laudan advised that students choose to go to college in a location they will enjoy. “Don’t go to K-State if you are going to major in ag even though you hate Manhattan,” Laudan said. “Don’t go to KU because you want to be a doctor even though you hate Lawrence. The misery that you will endure is not worth it.”

Photo courtesy of Ronni Hart

Hart participated in the Joplin Edition of Extreme Home Makeover on Oct. 26. She said it was the day she got the least amount of sleep in college.

75% *Information from counselor Debbie Baldwin

10 (student life)

Dressing thePack

The Reporter • February 2012

Sprechen sie?

Silvers taught himself German

Rat pack theme nights led by seniors jenna ratzlaff reporter The Rat Pack has had theme nights since it was started about nine years ago. According to senior Jobie Debrick this tradition continues. “The tradition keeps building, along with the school spirit,” said Debrick Rather than filling the stands with black and gold, theme night allows fans to dress up in costumes to show their school spirit. Debrick said, he believes more students are participating. “I think it’s because of the senior leaders,” said junior Nick Gochenour. They are making everyone get more into it,” Debrick said the themes give everyone the opportunity to be goofy and show your school spirit. “It just gets everyone into it and it gives them a reason to support the teams.” Gochenour said. Activities Director Jeff T. Hines agrees.

Photo by Marissa Bergman

Seniors Richard Rykert, Seth Roberts, James Young and junior Joe Pamotto cheer at a basket ball game. The theme that night was Cowboys and Indians.

“The theme nights are a good opportunity to involve non-athletes in the school activities at PHS,” said Hines. Cowboys and Indians, nerds, and toga now populate the stands on theme nights. Gochenour said he enjoyed the toga night, done at an away game at Spring Hill on Dec. 16. “It just gets everyone into it and it gives them a reason to support the teams,” Gochenour said. Hines also said they need to inform

non-Rat Pcak members of the themes to increase participation. “Many of the students would participate given the chance, but the Rat Pack does not give them a chance and only caters to a select group of students in our building,” Hines said. “Just think of how much more fun the games would be with twice as many students participating.” Debrick said that spirit is at a high level and that Paola has the best school spirit in America.

chrystal thompson reporter For Jamie Silvers, sophomore, hanging with some of his friends requires an Internet connection. Silvers spends his weekends playing racing games with friends in Germany. “They are pretty zany,” he said. “They enjoy making random noises and saying random things for fun.” Silvers enjoys German culture. To him they are much more relaxed than Americans. They find joy easier. Their sense of humor and attitudes on life helped Silvers pursue one of his goals: to learn German. “Learning a language takes time and sacrifice,” said Silvers. So much time that he finds himself cutting into his homework time just to study. Silvers sees the German language as a second chance. He had tried to learn another language before, but it did not

Jamie Silvers, sophomore work. Sydney Dulgarian, Spanish teacher, said learning a language is a “long process.” She said it was important to find native speakers to talk with because language production is the hardest part. Playing video games is a great opportunity for Silvers to test his progress, he said. Wi t h h i s G e r m a n friends he can perfect his pronunciation. After three months of practice Silvers said he is confident he can now hold a conversation. The biggest challenge he has faced is with syntax. Action words in German are flipped compared to English, he said. In English it would be “give me this” instead of the German “give you me this.”

Students honored by booster club in monthly program

libby rayne reporter In the new ‘Student of the Month’ system, students can be nominated for academics, arts, or athletics. The awards are presented at student assemblies every month in each category. The idea of having a ‘student of the month’ was conceived by the high school’s booster club. Phil

Bressler, principal, said it was a beneficial program. Bressler said students may win once a year and there is about a 4 percent chance of a student being selected. “I think it’s great to recognize students for success,” said Bressler. “It brings public atten-

tion to the great things our students do on a regular basis.” Cooper Sims-West, junior, won in the art category for his work on two productions produced by the drama department and his continual dedication to the art department while maintaining good grades. He was nominated by

Lisa Collier, math teacher. SimsWest said he appreciates being selected. “It’s nice to be recognized for the work I put in,” said Sims-West. Bressler said many students have the chance of being nominated in any of the three categories. “I think we’ve had a fairly

diverse group of students win awards to date and I expect that to continue,” Bressler said. Bressler said the program tries to ensure that students normally not identified for their work will receive the recognition they deserve, as well as the students who are normally given credit.

(arts)

The Reporter • February 2012

A frenzy of forensicating Season starts for speakers libby rayne reporter The pressure is on. You have 30 minutes to write a speech on a subject you may never have heard of before. Bam! Your 30 minutes are up. Now you have to give a presentation in front of three judges. Hopefully, your classy way with words and delivery will win over the judges. This is a competition in forensics called ‘Extemporaneous Speaking’. It is only one aspect to the many competitions in forensics. Caylin Smith, junior said the

Photo by Libby Rayne

general idea of forensics is performing and acting at competitive levels. Although forensics seems to some as something for those born under the spotlight, it actually can help to improve stage and public speaking skills. “I’m in debate,” said Caylin. “So Mr. Lintz [debate coach] and Ms. Coats [forensics coach] suggested I do forensics to improve my public speaking skills.” Junior Husain Agha said joining forensics has improved his speaking and performing skills. Sophomore Austin Smith joined to help prepare for a future career. “I want to be an actor, so I got involved in drama club,” Austin said. “[Forensics] was mentioned and I figured I needed all the

experience,” Even though Austin joined to pave a career path, he still advises anyone to join who is looking to improve communicating skills. Forensics, like any other school based activity, is seasonal. Competition begins Feb. 4 and the final state competition is on May 5. Making friends from other schools is another benefit of forensics that Austin, Caylin and Agha all agree upon. “I’ve met new people, which is always fun,” said Caylin. “I’m also seeing just what I am capable of.” The team won its first league title in 1982, Coats said and continued to dominate. Last year league contest was not held. If the league expands, the contest could come back, Coats said.

Left: Husain Agha, junior, practices his speech for the‘oral interpretation of prose’ segment of forensics on Jan. 31 in the theater. Right: Sophomores Nina Lopez and Matthew Sommer practice ‘duet acting’on Jan. 31 in the theater.

The scoop on forensics Extemporaneous Speaking:

Improvised Duet Acting:

The extemporaneous speech is a spontaneous, original, oral expression of ideas on a given subject about which the speaker has had previous knowledge, preparation, and planning.

An improvised acting exercise composed of two students who portray an original scene created after drawing on the subject. The students select two characters, a situation and a location. The scene should establish two characters, a situation or problem and a solution to the conflict.

Informative Speaking: An informative speech is one which provides a learning experience for the listener by instructing or giving information in an interesting manner.

Original Oration: An original oration shall be designed as a memorized, original, persuasive speech with a unique approach to a universal theme.

Duet Acting:

Solo Acting (Humorous or Serious): Solo acting selections shall be memorized and given without notes.

Oral Interpretation of Poetry and Prose: One or more selections of poetry or prose shall be read from the printed manuscript. ‘Printed’ shall be interpreted to mean either the printed manuscript or a typewritten copy.

An acting exercise composed of two students who portray a memorized ten-minute cutting from a published work of literature. Infromation from forensics event information packet

Photo by Libby Rayne

12 (entertainment)

The Reporter • February 2012

catastrophe Family and friends are more important than material items jessica allison ads manager Photo illustration by Jenna Ratzlaff

English teacher Eric Long poses as a metorite hits the earth. Photo illustration by Jessica Allison

It’s 6 p.m. and breaking news hits the television channels. The Mayan calendar is correct and you have less than a year to live. What would you do? Senior Aaren Connell says the first thing she would do is drop out of school. Then she would “pirate” as much money as possible. Connell would spend her money on making her friends and family happy. “I would throw a lot of parties, mostly in Europe, and bring all my friends to them,” said Connell. Connell wants to do this now but doesn’t have the resources to achieve it. She doesn’t believe she’ll actually do it unless she finds out the world is going to end. To Connell, spending money on things that would bring people extreme joy for a few seconds is better than spending money on material things that would only bring partial happiness for years. “You only have a year, so the small things are better than the things that are going to last forever,” said Connell.

Freshman Brittany McBroom would also drop out of school, but she has different plans. “I would spend all my time with my family,” said McBroom. English teacher Eric Long agrees with McBroom. Long said that family is really the only thing that matters in life. “All the other things you do are because you wanted to talk about what you did later,” said Long. Long said his best memories are those that he’s spent with his family. Connell’s whole life is compiled together to make her favorite memory. “There are too many good memoires just to pick one,” said Connell. While some party, and some spend time with family members, sophomore Johnathan Gould would spend the last year bulking up on supplies and trying to stay alive. Gould would spend time doing activites that he enjoys. “I’d go skydiving at least 10 or 15 times,” said Gould. Gould would also spend money on things he’s always wanted and just have fun.

2012 Quick Facts There are four different Mayan calendars The one most commonly talked about is called the Mayan long calendar It starts August 11th or 13th, 3114 BC and ends December 21st or 23rd, 2012 December 21 is the start of the winter solstice the sun also lines up with the planes of the milky way Information from the Historic Mysteries website

Its the end of the world...

playlist

1.) “The End”- The Doors 2.) “My Apocalypse”- Metallica 3.) “When the World Ends”- Dave Matthews Band 4.) “I Melt With You”-Modern English 5.) “It’s the End of the World As We Know It”-R.E.M. Information by Jessica’s MP3 player

A search for meaning after 9/11

review rosalyn lucas co-editor-in-chief A year after his father was killed in the Sept. 11 bombing, Oskar Schell embarks on a journey

to solve the final scavenger hunt challenge his father left him before he died. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close lives up to its title. Between the white noise of New York street scenes, the main character rattling a tambourine to “calm his nerves” and the moments of emotional meltdown, there’s plenty of noise. Who said you need explosions to keep people awake? The director also constantly makes use of the close-up shot, leaving the audience no room for individual interpretation. This can be viewed in two ways; one, you don’t have to work that hard or two, they didn’t want to run the risk of the audience making assumptions about the character’s emotion and possibly getting it wrong.

Although the casting somehow managed to snag Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock and John Goodman, they weren’t given a lot of screen time. Whether from cost or plot constraints (fine, main character constraints) the main focus is on Thomas Horn. For a young actor, I thought he did pretty well, even if his character isn’t exactly likeable. Since it’s his first movie appearance I can’t say whether his rigid speech is from being in character or simply just bad acting and good casting on the director’s part. There are no real startling, mind-blowing plot twists. The plot jumps between Oskar’s visits throughout New York and the events of 9/11. It breaks up the action (if only chronologically) and helps the plot build upon itself until

the end. The movie meets the expectations of the script, but doesn’t stray far from the viewer’s expectations. There’s grieving, drama, redemption, a little humor and the usual “action of one person unintentionally making other people happy” theme. Those looking for a darker account of grief should look elsewhere. The main character is a child, making the plot a little more whimsical and outlandish than some might like for such a tragedy. In all it’s a sweet, emotional movie. I think everyone can connect to Oskar and his desperation to find a meaning for his father’s death. I give it a two gummy bear rating.

gummy bear rating:

matinée flick, time waster runtime: 2 hr 9min release date: Jan. 20 rating: PG-13 emotional thematic material, some disturbing images and language

casting:

Oskar Schell Thomas Schell Linda Schell The Renter Stan the Doorman

Thomas Horn Tom Hanks Sandra Bullock Max von Sydow John Goodman

friendly warning: Bring tissues. Information from the IMDB website

(sports)

The Reporter • February 2012

Following footsteps

Athletes with older siblings try to live up to the expectations laid before them

Photo by Hope Waisner

Freshman Lyndsee Johnson drives the lane in a game against Ottawa on Jan 6. Lyndsee is playing varsity as a freshman like her sister Ashlee did in 2008.

ally just kind of motivates me more in practice to become better,” Morris said. Junior Bailey Hart said her older sister Ronni Hart, ’11 graduate, had nothing to do with her lack of participation in sports. “I don’t like swimming,” Hart said. “It’s kind of boring, especially long distance because you’re swimming back and forth.” Hart said she wouldn’t be involved in sports even if Ronni hadn’t played sports.

Photo by Hope Waisner

Sophomore Emilee Johnson warms up for a game against Turner on Dec 5. Emilee follows in the footsteps of her sister Ashlee with her sister Lyndsee.

caleb hecker sports editor Sophomore Emilee Johnson and freshman Lyndsee Johnson play basketball within the shadow of their older sister Ashlee, ’11 graduate. Emilee said she doesn’t play basketball just because her older sister played basketball. “I play sports to stay out of trouble,” Emilee said. Lyndsee said having two older sisters who play sports helped her get better. “They are very good athletes and they push me to do my best,” Lyndsee said. “No matter what sport it is.” Emilee said Ashlee tried to help her with sports. “She thinks she teaches me things and helps me out, but I

don’t listen to her and I do my own thing when I am playing,” Emilee said. However, Lyndsee said she learned from her older sister. “She taught me how to be tough,” Lyndsee said. “She would play me one-on-one and I usually walked away with some cuts and bruises.” Senior Trenny Morris said his brother, TJ, ’03 graduate, taught him a valuable lesson about basketball. “He showed me how to keep your head up and stay confident, because it’s not how you start it’s how you finish,” Morris said. He said works harder to try to be on the same level as his older brother. “My whole life I’ve grown up trying to be at least half of what he was and to not feel like I am, it re-

Wrestling Coach David Kane said older siblings have an influence on their younger siblings to a certain extent. “I think they grow up watching their sibling play a certain sport and they want to follow in their footsteps to a certain degree,” Kane said. “A majority of younger siblings look up to their older brother or sisters and are influenced by them.” Kane said some siblings might not play sports due to expectations left by an older sibling. “Some younger siblings might not play a particular sport if they are following in the footsteps of a very successful brother/sister,” Kane said. “I think sometimes younger siblings don’t want to be compared to their older sibling and choose not to play because of that.” Emilee and Lyndsee said they aren’t affected by comparisons between them or their older sister. “People might think it would bother me, but it actually doesn’t because we are all unique in our

own individual ways,” Emilee said. “I have my talents and they have theirs.”

“She taught me how to be tough.“ -Lyndsee Johnson, freshman

Photo courtesy of Karla Johnson

‘11 graduate Ashlee Johnson shoots a contested layup in at State in 2009. Ashlee helped the girls basketball team win Sub-State in 2009.

14 (sports)

Winter blues

The Reporter • February 2012

Girls have limited sports options from November to March

lane harris reporter Three months have passed since Katie-Jo Kirk, sophomore, broke the school’s cross country record. Now Kirk runs and swims in her own time to stay in shape for spring swimming. Since no girls are wrestling, basketball is the only school-sponsored athletic sport available. According to the KSHSAA website, dance and cheer are considered non-athletic sports. Kirk said the number of sports available for girls and boys evens out, but there is a problem in winter. “If swim were changed to winter, for me, that would let me do a school sport year-round,” she said. Annie Kessler, senior, said limiting girls’ winter sports is unfair. “It stinks that there’s no Miola league sports for the girls,” she said. Kessler said if girls want to play sports outside of high school, they have to play in the city. Club teams in Olathe have girls playing year-round and traveling in the summer. Troy Collier, softball coach, said girls have options for school-related activities. “Girls can try out for cheerleading or dance team if not out for basketball,” he said. According to the Department of Labor website, “Title IX,” an amendment passed in 1972, allows girls and boys to participate in every public school-related activity. In other words, girls can play football and wrestle while boys can dance and be cheerleaders. Kirk said a girl can join a club team if she wants to, but she can stay fit in other ways. “Working out with friends is always an option,” Kirk said. Collier said many girls can play in club teams yearround. “Many of these athletes have full plates already,” Photo by Lane Harris he said. “In the summer they play volleyball, basketball, softball, and some swim and have cross country training.” Sophomore Katie-Jo Kirk races an Eagles cross country runner during the cross country meet on Sept. 24. The team was running at Kessler said girls play tennis or basketball at the Ottawa. courts located in Wallace Park. “If somebody really wanted to play, they could gather “I’m working hard in strength class and trying to build up guess it just comes down to which one you’re better at and their friends and go down to a gym,” Kessler said. my core muscles,” she said. which one you think you can be more successful with.” Collier said the off-season is for tuning up and training. Dickson said she has to choose between track and swim Dickson said she wants to swim in the winter, but she does Sarah Dickson, junior, trains for swim season by running in the spring. not think anyone will do anything to fix it. on a treadmill and eating healthy. “It’s a hard decision because I enjoy both,” she said. “I Kessler and Kirk said they felt the same way.

(sports)

The Reporter • February 2011

A new swimming law in Kansas allows members to swim for both their high school team and a club team at the same time. hali wimbush reporter Waking up to go to swim practice, leaving for school, rushing to work and then heading back to swim practice has become a possiblity for Kansas students. In previous years, swimmers in Kansas were not allowed to swim for both the school and club swim team. However, with the new Kansas law, swimmers will be able to swim in the high school league and individual club leagues during the same season. “They do not have to stop their elite training for the high school season, as before,” Sarah Dorsett, swim team coach said. “So, more of them will participate in high school because they don’t have to interrupt their very meticulously planned program that is grooming them for college or the Olympics.” The law was passed on Dec. 1. The law does not apply to other sports though, nor does the idea of balancing a club and school swim team with school and work sound appealing to many students or coaches. No students at the school will be taking on the challenge. Sophomore Ben Abel swims for a club and the high school throughout the year, but Abel swims for the high school during its season and for his club team during the summer with the Paola Piranhas. Dorsett dislikes the new law. “Most high school swim coaches, like me, and the Kansas State High School Activities Association opposed the passage of this law,” Dorsett said. “It has the effect of helping the larger city and suburban schools to acquire the elite swimmers in their area, and those who reside in that area to help their team win. Now they can just win bigger. It is rare to see a year round elite swimmer reside

in the smaller towns and rural areas. I have some very good swimmers, but they do not train in the elite level in an elite program, because we don’t have one.” USA swimming is the swimming league which contains more competition, the swimmers swim year round and more swimmers are pulled from this league into the Olympic league, said Journey Capettini, junior. Gerri Hart, Miami County Vipers swim coach, said she doesn’t think the new law change will affect the Miami County Vipers too much. “The girls’ short course season and USA season is already over by the time girls’ swim season starts.” Hart said. “I think that ruling is an advantage for larger privileged schools and I think that the states that don’t allow the law are who we should stick with.” Dorsett said she believes that the swim law was passed mostly with the elite swimmers in mind. “We have some very good programs to develop swimmers, but not the grueling twoa-day, six days a week swim programs that groom them for the Olympics and college scholarships,” Dorsett said. “So the big get bigger and the gap between the haves and the have-nots widens.” Dorsett said that many elite swimmers do eventually join up with their high school team, but this way they can continue to train with their elite coaches in elite programs, and swim in their high school programs simultaneously. Caitlan Schasteen, junior, doesn’t like the idea of having to balance high school life with the extra hours of swimming for both a high school team and a club team at the same time.

Junior Patrick Kennedy comes up for a breath of air as he swims the breast stroke at the OZPA swim meet on at the OZPA swim meet on January 18, 2012

The OZPA boys swim team gathers around for some group encouragment before their swim

“Not with the amount of about four to five hours of practice,” said Caitlan. “I really enjoy my club swim team. We have a lot of friends on there and of course the kids are hilarious, but I don’t think I would be able to handle a job, four extra hours of work and school.” Jessica Schasteen, sophomore, said she doesn’t like the new Kansas swimming law. “I don’t think it should have been brought up in the first place, especially for swimming,” said Jessica. “That’s unfair to those kids that can’t afford to be on an outside team, because for those that can’t, it’s like paying more money to get more practice to be better than everyone else and I don’t think that’s fair.” Both teams provide assorted learning techniques and divergent opportunities for the members. “I actually think that both teams are very well organized,” said Caitlan. “Club swim is very good because we swim all year, so our skills are constantly being developed. When we’re ready to go into high school,

we’re ready because our bodies have been pre-prepared.” In Miami County the two major leagues are The YMCA league and the USA league. Caitlan and Jessica both compete for the USA team. The Vipers practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6 until 8 and on Sundays for meets from 2 to 4 p.m. “The USA league contains harder competition than the YMCA league because of the age differences,” said Jessica. Abel has a different perspective on the distinguishable teams. “I like both. It depends on who the coaches are,” Abel said. “During the summer there are different learning techniques, but I think I like the high school one a bit better because it’s more competitive.” The swimming law will not seem to have an impact on the OZPA swim team, the combination Paola and Osawatomie swim team or the high school swim team according to the mentioned sources.

Swimmers’slang Natatorium- area made for swimming pool Dryland- exercises performed outside the water Heat- one round in the event

Sophomore Ben Abel swims the breast stroke at swim practice.

Photo By: Journey Capettini

Photos by Hali Wimbush

Fly over- a start where the person in the last heat is still in the water Heat Sheet- the layout of everyone and which heat, lane and time they’ll be competiting in

Riding your rear- the act of leaving the way the way less than five seconds

after the previous swimmer, usually accomplined by annoying feet tapping, hatred by all and loss of friends Cory Weaver , senior, peeks above the water as he swims the butterfly stroke at a swim practice.

Streamline- swimming technique off each wall to create the least amount of resistance

Crash Area- where swimmers hang out between events Taper- resting phase before a large meet to get a swimmers best time

16 (features)

The Reporter • February 2012

rosalyn lucas co-editor-in-chief “Scary” is the word junior Samantha Wagner uses to describe her locker. It’s where she stores her coat, textbooks, water bottles and a collection of “random” papers, assignments and “stuff” she said she plans to throw away at the end of the year. Her use of locker space is simple: “I just throw it in and if it slides out I push it back in,” Wagner said. “If I have to lean against the door it’s OK. I have to do that quite a bit.” She doesn’t bother to decorate her locker. “It gets in the way,” she said. “The paper gets caught in the lock and gets ripped away by second semester.” Despite all this, Wagner said lockers are helpful. “I would die without mine,” Wagner said. “I have a lot of heavy books, I wouldn’t want to carry them around.” Sophomore Zach Chapman said he’d describe his locker as “organized.” He uses his locker as storage for his books and “anything he can get in it.” He said he doesn’t decorate his locker, but he keeps a picture on the inside of the door of his dog that passed away from cancer. “Every time I open my locker I love seeing that picture,” Chapman said. Senior Kaylah Prouty works as a library assistant and said she handles a lot of books that other people touch. Because of that, she keeps a big bottle of hand sanitizer in the top portion of her locker. In the middle she keeps her books, backpack, coat and a plastic hanger- which she admits she doesn’t know why it’s there. She calls her locker “chaotic”. “My locker is my second closet,” Prouty said.

locke

n i d h e

Kaylah Prouty, senior

o dd o 25

Each locker combination has three numbers from zero to 50. That equals 20,825 possible combinations. Wagner and Chapman said they didn’t have a method for memorizing their combination. Prouty said she was able to remember because the first two numbers coincided with the number of animals she’d had. But since then the number has changed. “Now I just force myself to remember it,” Prouty said. Each locker has a set of five combinations that rotate every school year. In the summer the janitors completely clean out the lockers, recycling any leftover binders, papers or other supplies students leave behind. Then after vacuuming and scrubbing them inside and out, head custodian Michele Minden uses a key and an inch-thick book of combinations to reset every single locker in the school. In the freshman, sophomore, junior and senior hallways alone there are 747 lockers, not including the number of athletic lockers in the dressing rooms. Minden said locker cleaning is one of the custodial team’s least favorite things to do. “It’s hard because they’re so little,” Minden said. “And certain tapes, especially double sided tape, take all kinds of different things to get out.” Even though they can be a bother, Wagner, Prouty and Chapman all agreed that their lockers are useful. “Without a locker I don’t know how I’d get along,” said Chapman.

Chapman keeps a picture of his dog, Hank, on his locker door. The dog had to be put down two years ago because of cancer.

time I open my “Every locker I love seeing that

“

Samantha Wagner, junior

picture. - Zach Chapman, sophomore

Zach Chapman, sophomore