Issue 15

Harbinger the

APRIL 27, 2009

ISSUE 15 / SHAWNEE MISSION EAST / PRAIRIE VILLAGE, KS

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// MEGSHACKELFORD

NEWS: Health care reforms >PAGE 4 OPINION: A staffer vs. PDA >PAGE 11 SPORTS: Chippendales’ sponsors GABL team >PAGE 29

s cience

PAGE 2 NEWS / APRIL 27, 2009

Down to a

Sophomore Prarthana Dalal wins city-wide science fair

// HALEYMARTIN

Ever since sixth grade, sophomore Prarthana Dalal has been involved in science fairs around the Kansas City area. She first started doing science projects when her teacher required all of the students to enter a project into the school science fair. Many of her classmates decided to research how long it takes for paint to dry and how far they can throw a football. Prarthana chose a project where she tested which color of cellophane attracts the most heat. From the start of her first project it was clear that she was passionate about science.

Almost five years later, Prarthana is researching for a sickle cell disease project.

Her hypothesis is that if someone were to take out part of the cell necessary for sickle cell disease, then the cell will still be able to function without the specific part. She entered the project into four different Kansas City area science fairs, and won first place at the 58th Annual Greater Kansas City Science and Engineering Fair.

“It was really exciting because it was so unexpected,” Prarthana said.

Since she was awarded first place, Prarthana gets to attend the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Las Vegas, May 10 -15. About 1,500 high school students from around the world will be attending the fair. All of them are initially competing for $4,000,000 dollars in prizes and scholarships.

For the competition each of the students will set up a tri-fold board containing their hypothesis, what they did and the evidence

of their science projects.

“I have never been there before, but right now I am picturing it to be like that.

But I have no definitive idea [of what it is going to be like],” Prarthana said.

In order to work on the project Prarthana and her mentor, Dr. Kenneth Peterson, used a lab at the University of Kansas Medical Center that enabled them to take out parts of cells and culture them.

“The goal is to increase hemoglobin expression,” Prarthana said.“ But to do that you have to find out what parts or what ingredients are necessary for hemoglobins.

If you want to bake something you have to find out what ingredients you need. So our goal is to make or ‘bake’ hemoglobin in the body so that people with sickle cell disease with adult hemoglobins can have another [one] working for them. But before that we need to find out what ingredients are necessary. So what we did, is we tried making something without some ingredients to see if that ingredient is necessary.”

Once she was finished with her sickle cell project, she found out that two hemoglobins correlate. That means if she were to do research on sickle cell disease in the future, Prarthana could potentially find a cure for the disease.

Prarthana came across the idea of researching sickle cell disease when she went on a summer trip to India visiting her grandmother who was recently diagnosed with leukemia and volunteering for a Red Cross. While she was volunteering Prarthana had seen hundreds of patients enter into the sterile hallways ready for their regular blood transfusions.

While she was around the patients, she noticed a pattern between several of the patients. Almost all of them had been diagnosed with sickle cell disease, which is a hereditary disease where red blood cells become inactive and sickle-shaped.

“ It was very sad when I saw the children come in to get their blood transfusions” Prarthana said, “and that is when I knew that I wanted to help.”

After volunteering and visiting her grandmother, Prarthana and her family came back to the United States. Once back, Prarthana met with her science mentor Peterson, who works in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at KU Medical Center. Prarthana had met Peterson several times in the science community before she asked him to be her mentor three years ago.

While they were discussing her trip and deciding on a new project, she mentioned the people in India suffering from sickle cell disease and how she wanted to help them.

“The treatment that they were getting [for sickle cells] was really nice, but it was still a very painful process,” Prarthana said.

“Based on that, I got interested in the disease. And once we got back my mentor was really nice and willing to help me work on a project in that area.”

Prarthana’s parents, Sangeeta and Jignesh Dalal are doctors. Both of them have worked as doctors in India and the United States. They are supportive of her work and would like to help her in whatever way that she can. “[In the future] I think that she can do whatever she wants,” Sangeeta said. “I definitely think that she can be a doctor.”

Although Prarthana does not have any future projects planned, but she wants to continue moving forward with her knowledge of science. For now, Prarthana is content with doing more researching on sickle cell disease.

“I really like science and it’s something I have done for the past three years,” Prarthana said. “I think it’s challenging and then it’s just something that I like to do.”

Prarthana’s Project- the sickle cell disease normal red blood cells sickle cells normal red blood cell

within the blood vessel, the cells flow freely // WWW.DHSS.MO.GOV

the cells are abnormally shaped, or sickled

sickle cells block blood flow

the cell abnormalities can result in infections, anemia and damage to body organs

briefs The Kansas social studies assessment tests are this week for junior U.S. History classes on Tuesday through Friday. The library will be closed this week during the school day.

The repertory theater class will be presenting student-produced plays today through Wednesday after school. Each play lasts roughly 15 minutes for an hour and a half total. They begin at 3 p.m. in the Little Theatre.

The 9:20 a.m. late start for May 6 has been rescheduled for Wednesday due to the academic honors and awards ceremony. Those receiving awards need to be in the cafeteria at 7:15 p.m. The schedule for that day will be 2, 6, 4 and half of a seminar period where students can visit teachers.

Seminar Update: There will be no seminar on Wednesday because of a 9:20 a.m. late start.

There will be an athletic signing day ceremony on May 6 during the second half of seminar. Students who wish to attend can get their seminar cards signed in the office.

There will be no seminar on April 29 because of a 9:20 a.m. late start.

The Five Minute Film Festival is Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Ward Parkway AMC Theaters. Admission is $3 and all profits go towards prize money for the winners. Ten films will be shown followed by an awards ceremony.

The East Art Fair, which showcases student art, will be next week from May 4-7. There will be a awards ceremony and reception on May 7 from 6:30 to 9 p.m.

Senior final exams are in two weeks.

The schedule for finals are as follows: Tuesday: Blocks 5 and 7 Wednesday: Blocks 2, 4 and 6 Thursday: blocks 1 and 3 Friday: Last day for seniors, graduation, yearbook signing and pizza party There will be a 9:20 a.m. late start on May 15 for freshmen, sophomores and juniors. Seniors will need to be in the cafeteria at 7:40 a.m. for the senior breakfast.

For additional coverage of news affecting East, including coverage of the programming team’s extended success, visit The Harbinger’s Web site at www. smeharbinger.net.

The Egyptian Escapade Prom dance will be May 9 at Union Station from 8 to 11 p.m. Tickets cost $60 per couple, $30 for an individual and can be purchased in room 307.

5

FIVE MINUTE FILM FESTIVAL

Joel Ferguson: “Sinister”

// MICHAELSTOLLE

History of the Festival

In its seven years of existence, the film festival has seen changes. Originally, the festival was exclusively a Shawnee Mission School district contest that was held annually in the East auditorium.

At first, entries were predominantly from East, with interest growing steadily over the years, in applications and attendance.

Since then, the competition has expanded to include Blue Valley School District students in the second year of competition and has moved its location to a new venue.

Beginning in 2007, the film festival changed ven-

// MAXSTITT

ues to the Ward Parkway AMC Theaters. This change was made in order to accommodate the audience and give the movies a bigger venue for students to have their work displayed.

Ten to twelve films are selected from the entries by a panel of judges, comprised of film teachers at the Indian Creek Technology. The judges make their selections to be played at the show and the winners in advance.

The winners receive a variety of awards, including movie passes to AMC Theaters and money prizes derived directly from revenues of the $3 admission fee.

Trent Coffin: “Dark Candy” and “The Box”

Senior Trent Coffin has experience with the Five “Just a creepy horror film,” senior Joel Ferguson said when describMinute Film Festival, but still feels anxious when it is ing the film he submitted for the film festival. He said that his interest time for his film to be shown. in film was sparked scanning You Tube, and that is where the idea for “My heart pulses and I grow more and more nerhis film “Sinister” came from. Ferguson was inspired to create it after vous,” Coffin said. “I look around the audience to see watching the You Tube short film “Terminus” and bouncing ideas off their reaction and hope they like it, but I really don’t his friend and fellow film maker Trent Coffin. look too much into their reactions, because if they like This is Ferguson’s second time entering the five minute it they like it, if they don’t; they don’t.” film festival, and has had his work showcased on the Coffin, who submitted films his freshman, sophomovie theater screen of the AMC Ward Parkway Themore and junior years, has submitted two films for this aters. year’s festival: one a live action horror film titled “The “It was kind of cool seeing it up there,” Ferguson Box,” which he thought up with friend and competing said about his film from last year. “It was a great director Joel Ferguson over Halloween, and the other a idea to have [the film festival] in a theater because cartoon called “Dark Candy,” which follows a girl who not only does it let people present their work, it won’t eat her vegetables and the trouble that ensues. promotes creativity and competition.”

“I’ve loved movies and cartoons ever since I was a Ferguson thinks that “Sinister” will imkid,” Coffin said. “Instead of sports I would just draw… prove on his previous work because of his I loved the 90s cartoons of my day and wondered ‘Hey, increased experience in filming and editwhy can’t I make a cartoon.’” ing. He has seen much improvement Coffin said he decided to enter because he feels that by messing around with editing effects the film festival is a great way of exposing his work. on his Final Cut Pro software, which “I thought it was a cool way to see what other he didn’t have last year for his zombie film.

“I’ve gotten better as I messed around,” Ferguson said. “I would like to win and get some mone y ,This is junior Anders Newman’s second year entering into but it’s nice just to get my film out.” the film festival. His film, similar to his submitted last year, is a montage of skating footage he has accrued over the past year.

Newman decided to dedicate this year’s to Bryan Barrow, a long time friend and skater in the film, who died in a car accident in After seeing his senior friends Joel Ferguson and Trent March.

Coffin with their film festival entries, senior Jarrett Kirk de“I think it’s just a nice way to honor him, and to have peocided to give it a try. Kirk hopes that his first Five Minute ple remember him.” Newman said.

Film Festival film “Samurai Wars” has the success that his Newman, whose previous film was shown at Ward Parkfilm-making friends have had with their films. way, said that the film festival is perfect for him, because he Drawing from his passion for the Kill Bill movies by Quenfunctions best with deadlines. tin Tarentino and the Kurosaki film Samurai 7, Kirk created “Without the deadline it would take me awhile to get this samurai battle film with the help of Ferguson and sestuff together,” Newman said. “I really don’t stress out nior Max Chao. Kirk explained the plot is not too deep, but about it; I just like having it there so the files don’t just follows one lone samurai who is constantly bombarded by sit around.” attacking samurai warriors.

Newman, who considers filming more of a hobby Though Kirk is not currently considering film as a cathan a career path, said he main- ly enjoys the opreer path, he hopes to continue creating samurai based portunity to go out and travel short-films in a six or seven part series. to obscure, photogenic “I especially like making action films like these because spots and the full experiof the involved direction,” Kirk ence of interactions of besaid. “You get to play around ing out in the streets. with the camera and change He feels a sense of acit up in editing in order to complishment in seeing give the movie a cool effect.” his film on the movie screen Kirk enjoyed the filming at AMC Theaters, but said process, but said it could be that he does not take much frustrating at times to importance in the crowd’s accommodate everyresponse to the film. one’s schedules.

“I just like getting it out “It was tough to get there,” Newman said. “I a time when everyone hope people don’t just groan could work on it,” Kirk and think ‘Oh great, another said. “But we got it to skating film,’ but I don’t really work out and I think it care what they think.” turned out well.”

MACKENZIEWYLIE

Anders Newman: “Picture This”

Jarrett Kirk: “Samurai Wars”

//

PAGE 3 NEWS / ISSUE 15

// MAXSTITT

people my age are doing and maybe collaborate with them,” Coffin said. “Of course I’m interested in the cash prizes as well.”

Coffin’s cartoon, “Dark Chocolate,” took him over a year to make, through drawing and editing. He said the toughest part was trying to make it fit the five minutes.

“I had to cut out about a minute and a half of film,” Coffin said.

“That equated to about a month of work cut out, which was kind of upsetting because the time I had put while balancing school and work.”

// MACKENZIEWYLIE

Questions about: the film festival

Who: Blue Valley and Shawnee Mission school districts students and families.

When: Wednesday at 7 p.m.

What: collection of original studentsubmitted five minute long films Where: Ward Parkway AMC Theaters (8600 Ward Parkway), theater number will be available at box office.

How Much: Admission for the film show is $3. All revenues go directly towards the monetary prizes for the winners. Tshirts for the film festival will be on sale outside the theater.

Curing PAGE 4 NEWS / APRIL 27, 2009

the health care system New plan promises affordable health care to all

// LOGANHELEY

In 2007 and 2008 alone, more than 86 million Americans were uninsured at some point in time according to a government study called “The Costs of Inaction.” America’s health care problems add $1500 to the average GM made car and account for a $65 to $135 billion loss in the U.S. economy annually.

Current health care reform proposals could make millions of current high school students lives cheaper and healthier in future years, according to Director of Specialty Media for the White House Shin Inouye. But Inouye also said the current reforms could lead to big problems.

“Young Americans, including high school students, have a vested interest in this issue,” Inouye said. “They are the ones that will benefit when we succeed, and they are the ones who will be burdened with the costs if we are unable to assure affordable, quality health care for all Americans.”

Health care is one of the major causes of the economic collapse the world is currently suffering from. The U.S. Senate began working on the wording of the health care legislation last week. “Affordable and quality health care is key to strong American economic growth,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Web site said.

Two extremes deviate from this statement. One is universal and government run health care and the other is a completely deregulated and free-market health care system. The first would mean that the government would provide free health care to all citizens. The latter would include a completely free-market // GRANTHEINLEIN system with no government rules.

President Barack Obama is instead calling for a plan that emphasizes lowering costs for already insured families and giving more options to uninsured families. Under his plan, insurance companies will be required to cover pre-existing conditions such as chronic heart disease and cancer, employers will be assisted in providing coverage for employees and families in need will receive a tax credit.

The White House has put a price tag on the reforms at around $50 to $65 billion. Obama believes that eliminating the Bush tax cuts for certain individuals and retaining the estate tax at its 2009 level will balance out the cost of the health care proposals.

A TOUGH PILL TO SWALLOW— the current health care situation

$2.4 trillion 46 million 1.5 million $250,000 $12,700 $4,700

2008 national healthcare spending

number of uninsured Americans number of families that lost their homes due medical costs savings required of retiring couples to receive basic medical coverage average annual premium for a health plan covering a family of four average annual premium for singular health care coverage

FINDING IT HARD

Senior Ali Ellerbeck has been afflicted by a congenital heart defect since birth. About every 10 to 15 years she must go in for a costly surgery to make sure her heart stays functional. The treatment for the defect is a great financial burden because of how highly specialized the practice is.

From the way the health care system stands now, Ellerbeck is worried about what she will do once she leaves her parent’s health care plan.

“When I’m 22, once I graduate from college, I won’t be under [my parent’s health care] plan anymore,” Ellerbeck

FROM A BUSINESS STANDPOINT

The possible reforms could have a major impact on employers, especially small businesses and large corporations. Part of reform legislation may include a Small Business Health Tax Credit to assist small businesses trying to give their employees health insurance. Another possibility is to force large corporations to buy in more to their employees’ health benefits programs.

Rob Johnson, the President and CEO of the Northeast Johnson County Chamber of Commerce has some concerns with Obama’s proposals.

“At some point those large employers [who are forced to pay more into their employee’s health benefits] are going to meet those costs somewhere either in the price of a product or they’re going to take away another benefit,” Johnson said.

An employer like Sprint who is forced to buy in more to their employees’ health benefits might decide to raise the price of their cell phone plans to balance the money spent on health care. Another company might decide to cut down on their employees’ retirement funds to pay for health care increase.

The reform process might very well be a long one, Johnson attributes that to how difficult the task at hand will be.

“I think we’re going to be a very unique model and there’s not going to be one particular model out there in the world that we’re going to be able to pattern ourselves after,” Johnson said. “I think we’re going to a lot of outside the box thinking. We’re going to have to try some things that may fail and we’re going to have to try again.”

“

When we’re the... greatest nation in the whole world, I think we should be doing better than that for our people.

- Congressman Dennis Moore

INSURANCE COMPANIES

”

Even current health care providers feel that the U.S. health system needs some changing. WellPoint, the nation’s largest health benefits company covering one in nine Americans, has produced its own health care reform platform entitled “Building a Sustainable Health Care System”. The study goes in depth into the type of health system WellPoint thinks would be most beneficial to the U.S. “Medical costs are growing at a rate that threatens to consume other areas of the economy, while our medical delivery system produces inconsistent quality and suboptimal health outcomes,” WellPoint’s study said. “We believe that an essential ingredient for practical and sustainable health care reform is improving health care quality, which can help manage costs.”

said. “And because I have a pre-existing condition I probably could not get health insurance on the private market.

I could get it through work, like if I worked for the government or if I worked at a university I could get it through that, but I probably couldn’t go out and get my own plan because they would probably deny me coverage since the people they want to cover are the people that are healthy.”

This places another burden on Ellerbeck. Not only is she not sure about the future of her health care plan, but also must decide if she wants to choose a job solely for the health benefits it offers.

FOR FUTURE PHYSICIANS

Obama’s proposed health care reforms could affect students looking towards the medical profession. The current proposal calls for an enhanced use of technology and a nation-wide health care database.

According to Scott Serota of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, at least 47 percent of Americans receive treatment that is not based on scientific evidence.

Technological advances that Obama is promoting in his reforms would lower that number because of advancements in medical science.

Sophomore Robert Enders wants to one day enter the medical field as a doctor. He feels that Obama’s proposals would make his job much easier and also improve the coverage doctors can provide in the future.

“I am excited,” Enders said. “It’ll always help bringing new technology and different techniques into play. It would help speed up the health care process and increase availability.”

Doctor Georges Benjamin, the Executive Director of the American Public Health Association, is a proponent of the type of reforms Obama is proposing. He believes the goal of U.S. health care reforms should be “to give everyone access to quality, affordable health care.” Like Enders, Benjamin feels that the proposed technological advances could be very beneficial. “[The President’s] funding of health information technology is a major piece of this reform effort since it should reduce costs and improve quality if used correctly,” Benjamin said.

LOW INCOME, HIGH HOPES

People working with lower income families like at Operation Breakthrough, a local day care center for impoverished children, feel good about Obama’s proposals. Lindsey Weaver, the Health and Disabilities Coordinator with Operation Breakthrough said that the Kansas City urban working community struggles to find employment within the companies that provide higher health benefits.

“Most of our parents at Operation Breakthrough are able to find insurance for their children, but are often forced to neglect their own health care needs due to the high cost of insurance and of care itself,” Weaver said.

Operation Breakthrough provides free clinics that include dental, vision and adult care programs at their St. Vincent’s Family Services Center on Troost. These clinics are made possible through personal and corporate donors, along with federal and state grants.

Sophomore Molly Caldwell has volunteered at Operation Breakthrough several times in the past. She has personally seen the immediate benefits of the clinic and believes the services it provides are imperative to the St. Vincent families. She believes that the free clinics are irreplaceable in the community and it would be devastating if they were forced to close their doors.

“I think it would be detrimental to the families that go to the clinic because they don’t necessarily have the money themselves to pay for those health services,” Caldwell said.

New

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// GRIFFIN BUR

The advent of the internet and text messaging has changed the way people see things. And for a number of American teens, it’s changing the things they see.

Sexting - sending nude pictures of oneself in a text message - has recently become prevalent among American teenagers. According to a 2008 survey published by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy (NCPTUP), as many as 20 percent of all American teens have posted nude pictures of themselves on the internet or sexted.

While some publications, including the Wall Street Journal, have challenged the figures, multiple cases have occurred across the country.

SRO Brady Sullivan has seen a few cases involving students, though the incidents occurred outside of school - the complaints came from parents. While Sullivan has seen only a small number of cases, he believes a large number of incidents go unreported. The incidents, Sullivan said, can be harmful but he isn’t surprised that they’re occurring.

“We knew as soon as they came out with camera phones that there would be some kind of issue [with teenagers],” Sullivan said. “I can’t say I was horribly shocked when I heard about sexting.”

Sullivan believes in taking a case by case approach. While he believes sexting is inappropriate, he believes it to be a minor issue. Unless, of course, the pictures are shared.

The intended recipient of most sext messages is a boyfriend or girlfriend, according to the NCPTUP study. Yet, nearly 40 percent of people who sexted said they had seen text messages containing nudity that were not sent to them - in other words, the pictures are being shared. Pictures are sometimes forwarded to friends, or even uploaded to web sites.

For many sexters, that’s where the trouble begins. When the pictures are distributed on the internet or found by authorities, the people involved can be charged with possession or distribution of child pornography. A number of cases nationwide have resulted in such action. In Pennsylvania, six teens could face jail time for sexting, according to a Jan. 15 MSNBC.com article Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe has received several complaints about sexting in the county. However, complaints about sexting are filed under the same

STACKING UP THE SEXTING STATISTICS “The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy” and “CosmoGirl” released a survey, “Sex and Tech.”

This survey studied attitudes and behaviors surrounding sex and electronics. The survey detailed 653 teens (ages 13-19), and was the first public study on sexting. // NATIONAL CAMPAIGN TO PREVENT TEEN AND UNPLANNED PREGNANCY

PAGE 5 NEWS / ISSUE 15

After sending sexual pictures of themselves, teens are being prosecuted for child pornography and possible jail time

category as other complaints about electronic sexual harassment. Therefore it’s impossible to tell whether the majority of complaints refer to sexting or something like child pornography. Though the DA’s office has yet to prosecute the cases, Howe already knows how he feels about the issue.

“We have to use good judgement and not be too heavyhanded. Two teens texting each other is a whole different arena than a 30-year-old man soliciting a 14 year old girl,” Howe said.

According to Howe, if a minor older than 14 appears in an erotic context, the producer of the material can be charged with a level three felony. This means a mandatory jail sentence. If the minor is younger than 14, the producer can be charged with a level one felony. This means an even longer sentence. In sexting, the producer is usually the teen who takes the pictures.

However, prosecutors can choose to lessen the punishments. They can also choose not to prosecute them at all. But while he isn’t in favor of heavy punishment for teens who sext, Howe is taking a case-by-case approach.

“There are no black-and-white rules,” Howe said. “The important factor here is the intent. Posting pictures as vengeance is different than pictures unintentionally being spread.”

Overall, Howe stresses rationality, both for authorities and teens. He believes that most of the time, teens simply don’t think of the final consequences of their actions.

“Be prepared for anything you put on a cell phone to be on the internet for your entire life,” Howe said.

Professor Harris Mirkin, a political scientist and teacher at UMKC, sees sexting as a case of media over-hype.

“Any time you talk about anything involving sex and teenagers, the media’s going to jump all over it,” Mirkin said. “[Stories about sexting] are titillating to the public and they allow them to feel self-righteous at the same time.”

Mirkin, who has done research on child pornography and its effects, sees the issue of sexting as entirely different from exploitation.

“Kids going to jail - that’s stupid. This is people themselves, taking pictures of themselves,” Mirkin said. “It doesn’t involve money or adults and doesn’t involve psychological harm, unless the pictures get on the internet.”

Historically, technology has drastically changed the way people interact, Mirkin believes. He noted that while a teenager would not go to high school naked, many feel comfortable sharing naked pictures in a less personal medium.

“Things like the internet allow people to be impersonal, as well as creating instantaneous, graphic interaction,” Mirkin said. “They clearly change the way you interact.”

Yet overall, Mirkin’s view of the issue is that it’s relatively harmless. He feels adults are often overly suspicious or critical of what he sees as natural human behavior.

Though associate principal Steve Loe has not seen any issues with sexting, he thinks it may be happening anyway.

Loe also favors a case-by-case but feels that child pornogra-

phy charges are too harsh.

“The whole thing is just creepy and sad,” Loe said. “I think we all make some impulsive decisions but this lasts for a very long time.”

Junior Jake Davidson has never sexted, but he thinks that punishments are too severe.

“It’s not something I would do,” Davidson said, “but it’s just not a big deal. Stuff like [sexting] is really more of a private thing.”

Yet, Davidson feels like teenagers should be more careful when they text explicit images. Part of the issue, he thinks, the ease of posting pictures on the internet. Davidson often uploads his own, non-explicit cell phone pictures to the internet.

“It’s so simple,” Davidson said. “People don’t realize how quickly you can have yourself stored in cyberspace.”

For junior Nathan Goldman, sexting is a simple evolution of age-old behavior. He sees the issue as a private choice, until the pictures are uploaded to the internet or otherwise shared.

“The big issue is just that there are kids doing it who are way too young to understand the social or technological implications,” Goldman said.

Goldman feels being charged with child pornography is much too harsh. The crime of creating child pornography exploits other people, he said, while sexting only harms the person sending the images. It’s also a heavy penalty for an act that’s relatively mild.

“The age of consent in Kansas is 16, so you could get into a situation where a couple can legally have sex but can’t send each other sexual pictures, which doesn’t make sense,” Goldman said.

David Peterson, a managing partner at the Kansas City law firm Peterson and Associates, sees the problem as both senders and receivers. Legal arguments against the people who post the pictures are stronger than those against the senders, he said. But he feels the legal risk applies to everyone involved.

“It’s illegal just to have those [explicit] pictures in the first place, so anyone involved can get in trouble,” Peterson said.

Anyone who posts explicit pictures on the internet is technically creating child pornography, according to Peterson.

While he feels consequences like jail time may be too severe for minors, Peterson believes the cases are legally valid.

“I think it’s absolutely fair to prosecute them,” Peterson said. “While the scope of the punishment may be too broad, the [prosecutor’s] motivation is to send a message to potential offenders,” Peterson said.

For Professor Mirkin, the issue is clear cut. While there are negative consequences to sexting, he feels the issue is relatively benign.

“Putting sexted pictures on the internet is a bad idea,” Mirkin said. “But not every bad decision constitutes child pornography.”

STATISTICS ON MESSAGES

STATISTICS ON IMAGES

DEFINING THE TERMS

39 percent of all teens overall send sexual messages 37 percent of teen girls send sexual messages 40 percent of teen boys send sexual messages 48 percent of teens have received sexual messages 71 percent of teen girls and 67 percent of teen boys who have sent or posted sexually suggestive messages say they have sent or posted this content to a boyfriend or girlfriend.

20 percent of teens overall send sexual images 22 percent of teen girls send sexual images 18 percent of teen boys send sexual images 11 percent of young teen girls send sexual images 15 percent of teens who have sent or posted nude or seminude images of themselves say they sent them to someone they knew only from online.

Sexually suggestive pictures/video are any semi-nude or nude personal pictures/video taken of oneself and not found on the Internet or received from a stranger.

Sexually suggestive messages are written personal texts, emails, instant messages or other electronic messages that are not those received from a stranger.

38 percent of teen girls and 39 percent of teen boys say they have had sexual messages— originally meant for someone else—shared with them.

36 percent of teen girls and 39 percent of teen boys say often nude or semi-nude pictures get shared with people other than the intended recipient.

Messages refers to those written electronically, such as e-mails, IMs or texts, and pictures/video refers to videos captured electronically .

Shawnee Mission East

PAGE 7 EDITORIAL / ISSUE 15

THE SEXTING SEVERITY With 13 year-olds being prosecuted and charged with child pornography the Harbinger argues against

Teens in trouble for child pornography.

It’s a scene that’s occurred across the nation and two months ago in Wichita, Kansas.

In Pennsylvania six teenagers are charged with child pornography and if convicted they will have to register as sex offenders for a minimum of 10 years.

A 14 year-old girl in New Jersey may also get sex offender status if she’s found guilty.

And in Wichita a 13-year old sent a nude picture of herself to her 13-year old boyfriend, causing an uproar when his phone was confiscated by school officials. They were both facing a minimum of two years in jail and having to register as sex offenders if convicted.

The reasons for the all of these charges were the teens either sending and receiving pictures of themselves scantily clad or naked, called sexting.

The Vermont Legislative House is considering a bill, already passed by the Senate, that would legalize consensual sexting by allowing the exchange of graphic images between two people who are 13 to 18 years old.

CHECKING THE RECORD

VERMONT

The proposed bill in Vermont would exclude 13-18 year-olds on both the sides of sexting messages from prosecution if the person sending the message does it voluntarily. The measure has passed the Vermont Senate and is still waiting to be seen by the House.

In response to the recent increase in sexting, states are passing different kinds of legislation. Some are pushing for harsher punishments, while others are trying to do away with punishments for voluntary sexting altogether.

// GAILSTONEBARGER

The bill would legalize nude teen picture-taking, but make it illegal for such images to be shared or sent. This bill sets a beneficial precedent, one that allows consensual activities to occur while still outlawing actions that the sender may not have consented to.

Kansas should follow suit with a similar legalization but should default to a lesser punishment. Those charged with sexting should not be imprisoned, but instead be educated on the negative consequences of publishing nude photos.

This sort of alternative punishment would be more effective in preventing future sexting behavior.

Child pornography laws were created to protect children from pedophiles. There is a drastic difference between a 40-year-old man taking a picture of a naked elementary school student and putting the picture on the internet to be sold, and a 16-year-old girl sending a picture of herself to her 16-year-old boyfriend.

While this bill defends those who are charged because of sexting, it doesn’t offer a remedial solution. Sexting is a dangerous act with potentially harmful consequences. Teens

// ASSOCIATED PRESS

CLARIFYING THE CASES

Here are some of the different directions they are taking and the opinions of people involved in the process:

STATE OF CHANGE

“I think what these teens need is education about how this type of behavior could affect their lives. This leg// Dayton Daillyactual News islation does not affect the state’s ability to try sex offenders.”

OHIO

-Ohio State Representative Ron Maag

Legislators in Ohio are currently trying to pass a law that would make sexting a first-degree misdemeanor for minors.

This action comes after police reports that an 18 year-old girl in Cincinnati committed suicide // WHIO-TV because her boyfriend sent out a nude picture of her.

“Kids should be taught that sharing digitized images of themselves in embarrassing or compromised positions can have bad consequences, but prosecutors should not be using heavy artillery like child-pornography charges to teach them // ACLUthat lesson.”

Harbinger the

a publication of shawnee mission east high school 7500 Mission Road, Prairie Village, KS 66208

april 27, 2009 issue 15, vol. 50

The Harbinger is a student-run publication. The contents and views are produced solely by the staff and do not represent Shawnee Mission East or the SMSD faculty or administration.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/ STEPHENNICHOLS

ASSISTANT EDITORS/ BERNADETTEMYERS PAIGECORNWELL

ART AND DESIGN EDITOR/ MEGSHACKELFORD

HEAD COPY EDITOR/ TIMSHEDOR

NEWS SECTION EDITOR/ MICHAELSTOLLE

NEWS PAGE EDITORS/ ANNABERNARD CAMILLEKARRO

FEATURES PAGE EDITORS/

FREELANCE PAGE EDITOR/

SPREAD SECTION EDITOR/

ONLINE EDITOR/

DUNCANMCHENRY KATHLEENIRELAND

PHOEBEUNTERMAN

A&E EDITOR/

ONLINE STAFF WRITERS/

RACHELBIRKENMEIER

A&E PAGE EDITOR/ AUBREYLEITER

ANNIESGROI

FEATURES SECTION EDITOR/ MELISSAMCKITTRICK

TAYLORHAVILAND

ASSISTANT ONLINE EDITOR/

LOGANHELEY

OPINION PAGE EDITOR/ EDITORIAL EDITOR/

BOBMARTIN EVANNICHOLS COLLEENIRELAND

ASSISTANT SPREAD EDITOR/

JEFFRUTHERFORD MADDYBAILEY

JOESERNETT CONORTWIBELL

ote

10 1 0 FOR AGAINST ABSENT

The majority opinion of the Harbinger Editorial Board

-Witold Walczak, Legal Director for the ACLU of Pennsylvania

MACTAMBLYN

OPINION SECTION EDITOR/

should think twice about whether to send these pictures.

Once someone hits “send” on their phone, the picture is out of their hands and into the open field of cyberspace, where it can be seen by anyone from the kid next door to the 30-yearold man across the country. Those who are caught sexting should be educated on the harmful effects, not prosecuted.

If charged and convicted, a sophomore-aged student in high school would have to spend time in a juvenile facility because of a picture his girlfriend sent him. A freshman in college would have to alert everyone in her dorm room that she is a sex offender because of something she did when she was 14.

What they are doing is immature, but not criminal.

Recently, a Pennsylvania district attorney threatened to charge a group of students who appeared in nude photos but didn’t send them, whose phones were confiscated at a school, with felony charges. One was 11-years-old.

Although morally discouraged, the current punishments for these crimes are too severe. According to the Wichita Eagle, when a 13-year-old Wichita girl sent an undressed picture of herself to her 13-year-old boyfriend, who then forwarded the photo to friends. The two could have been charged with possession and distribution of child pornography, and ordered to resister as sex offenders. However, no charges were filed because it was decided that there was no malicious intent.

A Kansas citizen must be 16-years-old to plead consensual sex, while child pornography laws state that sending a nude picture of anyone younger than 18-years-old is sexual exploitation of a child. The minimum sentence for juveniles convicted is two years in a detention facility.

The Kansas Legislature should consider a bill like Vermont’s, that, like the child pornography laws, further protect children. By setting clearer precedents and instituting classes about the consequences of sexting, students will learn to take more responsibility for their actions.

MIXED PAGE EDITOR/ SPORTS SECTION EDITOR/ SAMLOGAN

SPORTS PAGE EDITORS/ CAMSMITH KEVINSIMPSON

ELIZABETHMCGRANAHAN

BILLYKIRKPATRICK HALEYMARTIN JEFFCOLE

PHOTO EDITOR/ TYLERROSTE

ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR/ MACKENZIEWYLIE

PHOTOGRAPHERS/ GRANTHEINLEIN MAXSTITT KATIEEAST PATRICKMAYFIELD

GAILSTONEBARGER CCCREIDENBERG ANDYALLEN DANIELSTEWART

COPY EDITORS/

SAMKOVZAN KEVINSIMPSON ANNIESGROI ANDREWGOBLE PHOEBEUNTERMAN MICHAELSTOLLE

EDITORIAL BOARD/

STEPHENNICHOLS BERNADETTEMYERS PAIGECORNWELL MACTAMBLYN ANNIESGROI SAMLOGAN GRIFFINBUR MICHAELSTOLLE PHOEBEUNTERMAN TIMSHEDOR MELISSAMCKITTRICK

STAFF WRITERS/

MOLLYTROUTMAN SARAHMCKITTRICK LANDONMCDONALD GRIFFINBUR ALEXLAMB RAINAWEINBERG JACKHOWLAND

STAFF ARTISTS/ KENNEDYBURGESS TAYLORHAVILAND

ADS/BUSINESS MANAGER/ RAINAWEINBERG

EXCHANGE/SUBSCRIPTION MANAGER/ MOLLYTROUTMAN

CIRCULATION MANAGER/ KENNEDYBURGESS

ADVISER/ DOWTATE

PAGE 8 OPINION / APRIL 27, 2009

UNPLUGGED

TW IS TE D

logic

Staffer disappointed by Associate Principal McKinney’s decision to quit reading morning announcements

Staff members discuss their candidates to read morning announcements

Billy Mays

Infomercialist

masterful work on OxiClean, I have envied Billy Mays and his lumberjackquality beard. His trademark high-pitched, almost pubescent yell would surely perk up those Lancers who had a hard time waking up. Plus, marketing classes would kill for a salesman of this caliber at East.

an opinion of

/ STEPHENNICHOLS

LeVar Burton

of Reading Rainbow notoriety

TWIST - While his hideous sports casting skills did in fact bring me to tears of laughter, it also inspired a feeling of admiration. He made a last minute step in for Ball State news as a sportscaster. His tone of voice and lack of timing would make any listener uncomfortable, but it would also motivate our students to hear “Boom go the Lancers!” to start each day. Instead of the now cliche, “It’s great to be a Lancer.”

KEVIN SIMPSON’S TWIST - The man entered

our hearts and homes. He gave us uplifting children’s stories and we always looked forward to his go-to line to clinch an episode“See you next time.” This Reading Rainbow icon would put intrigue back in the announcements.

Will Ferrell as Harry Caray SAM KOVZAN’S TWIST - What better way

to get our attention than with a rambunctious, discombobulated “Hey!” Harry would make sure that students reap the benefits of listening to the announcements: the Lancer of the Day would receive a plateful of spare ribs an ice cold Budweiser and everyone would be awarded a free trip to their favorite planet the day after a Cubs win!

// WOOT.COM

hend and retain. That’s the schedule. But that can be a dry way to learn, considering we aren’t an army of C3POs. We need games or songs or discussion to help reinforce the points.

That’s why I can’t understand why humor wouldn’t work for the announcements. We aren’t tested on them. We don’t take pop quizzes about when boys’ soccer tryouts are. The announcements aren’t Kansas Assessment material and even though they are important, there should be no problem with McKinney adding his own extra flair.

Let the man have his five minutes of fame every so often. He enjoys it. According to him, students have come up to him telling him that they enjoy it. And except for one, teachers haven’t seemed to mind it.

McKinney hasn’t been ordered to stop.

He has stopped reading the announcements because he wants to be courteous to the complaints of others.

So he won’t be on the fourth hour airwaves anymore and that’s a waste. McKinney said that he wants to help out where he can. The announcements seemed like the perfect place for him to inject his own brand of humor and interact with the entire East population.

Maybe he’ll be back he says, but he’s waiting. He says he’d come back if the StuCo members need his help again, so I’m making a call for a fundamental democratic right: students, if you liked McKinney’s announcements, talk to your elected StuCo representative. It’s simple, easy and could get McKinney back where he belongs.

Back behind the microphone.

made famous on Youtube

// EX-ASTRIS-SCIENTIA.ORG

“Heyyyyy Lancers, it’s Friday and you know what that means. That’s right. Friday, Friday, Friday school.”

It’s something I’ve come to expect on Fridays: Associate Principal John McKinney’s unmistakable voice filling the halls.

When he was asked this year, he gladly helped do the regular announcements too.

And now it’s gone. No extra pep when talking about the Robotics club. No throwing in a little Spanish into the mix when talking about SNOOSH. No McKinney doing the announcements.

It’s a decision he made himself after he heard second hand that a teacher had complained that he was not taking the job seriously enough.

Seriously?

It’s a sad day at Shawnee Mission Wonderful when harmless fun (initiated by an administrator) is complained about and ultimately ruined. Here is an Associate Principal who wanted to go beyond the walls of his office and connect with students.

Before he was an administrator, McKinney was a teacher. For eight years, he was in a classroom with students, teaching and interacting with them. Now he has his own office on the fourth floor. No students or classes to teach – just Friday schools to

take care of and administrative duties to oversee.

He wants students to see another side of him – the regular, fun-loving guy. The adult who can take a joke. And, as I found out this year he could make one too.

Maybe his announcements ran a little long at times. That’s true. Maybe he did try and spice up the announcements with a little of his own commentary. That’s true.

Sure, maybe he didn’t take them as seriously as a eulogy. That’s true.

But you know what? I listened.

I listened to every single word. Announcements about girls’ soccer, early releases and Friday schools, I took them all in. Before McKinney took his shot at the announcements, I paid little attention.

And neither did my seminar class. But it’s true: when it was his voice telling us the news of the day, we listened. We listened and we laughed and we actually took something away from that daily list.

This is no half-hearted call out of the StuCo members who typically read the announcements. They do a fine job and will continue to do so until the end of the year.

However, it was something about McKinney that made his approach to this small job so radically different He wasn’t a student. He wasn’t the principal. He was one of the last people that I’d expect to read the announcements. The energy he brought to them was outstanding. Any award or date change or rule reminder was presented with serious enthusiasm and that’s what made me sit up and pay attention.

It’s funny that a teacher complained about his style because teachers want students to listen. It’s imperative to their job.

Students are expected to listen, compre-

Brian Collins JEFF RUTHERFORD’S

// THEUNDERGROUNDCHARGE.COM

// SXC.HU

// FLICKR.COM

MAC TAMBLYN’S TWIST - Ever since his

Sept. the depantsing

‘98

TURNING BACK THE CLOCK

// ALY S

SAJO L

ITZ

My elementary school days are full of unforgettable memories, and nearly all of them are good, but there are a few exceptions. One in particular.

My friend Mac and I walked into the bathroom laughing at first grade maturity level jokes. I was about to redefine immaturity.

After doing my business, I stood next to Mac as we washed our hands and watched one of our fellow classmates walked in. He was completely innocent and rarely spoke. He wouldn’t hurt a fly. But none of that mattered to me.

“Mac, go pull Jonathan’s pants down,” I whispered.

“No, come on.”

Staff member looks back at times he wishes he could relive, what he learned and how he would do things differently Oct. an opinion of

‘00

/ JEFFRUTHERFORD

What if time travel existed? What if you could have a “do over” for all the times you had messed up in your life?

Well, this is something I really started to think about a few weeks back. Of course, time travel doesn’t exist and the mistakes in our lives make us the people that we are. However, there are a few instances I would legitimately like to relive.

I thought of three big ones, occurances that have stayed in the back of my mind since the day they happened.

Though these stories may seem mild and insignificant, they have all made an impact in my life, for better or for worse.

Have I made more than three big mistakes in my life? Absolutely. Other than these three instances, have I been a perfect person? Absolutely not.

That said, these occurances symbolize best the wide variety of blunders I’ve pulled off.

They’re also the ones that make me the most disappointed in myself.

The ones that make me cringe in embarassment or disappointment whenever they creep into my memory.

Perhaps most of all, these errors have me wishing that the next Einstein would finally crack the code of time travel. Because if only I could relive these moments, I wouldn’t make the same choices.

“Don’t be a wuss...do it!”

He reluctantly obliged and began tip-toeing toward our target. Just as Johnathan was about to zip up his jeans, Mac executed a perfect depantsing to reveal his pearly white backside, jeans resting at his ankles.

We immediately began laughing, pointing, and making a fool a him. But before he could say anything we were sprinting out of the bathroom to recess.

This is the point where I made a big mistake. There was nothing wrong with taking a leak and laughing with a friend. The screw up was victimizing a person that was totally innocent. Of course, I didn’t realize it then.

My time at recess was cut short when my first grade teacher, Ms. Oliver, called me inside. It took no time to realize what was going on when I walked into the classroom to see Mac and the two other kids who had been in the bathroom with us.

“Now guys, I know what happened in the boy’s bathroom. Jonathan told me,” my teacher pronounced to the four of us.

I looked over at Mac. He had this look in his

quitting “the beautiful game”

If you asked me to list three things that are important to me, it would probably go something like this: my family, wrestling and Manchester United Football Club. European football that is.

But if you asked ask me that question five years ago, it would have had nothing to do with European football, but more likely American football.

But times have changed.

Back in those glory days of Leawood Parks and Rec soccer, I considered myself to be somewhat of an all star. And rightly so. I can remember my best season when I was seven years old, capping a nine goal season off with a hat trick. I was a brilliant forward.

As I got older though, I became less dominant and I turned my attention to the pig skin.

In third grade I attempted to hold on to an inevitably dying dream

Fall-Winter

‘04-‘05

eye, one that he still gets to this day when he is really upset. I realized we were in big trouble.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and waited for the first one of us to crack. After a few minutes to silence was broken.

“It wasn’t me,” the other three exclaimed, practically in unison.

“And what about you Jeff?” she asked me.

Words failed me. The word guilty might as well have been tatooed on my forehead. She saw right through me and asked me to stay, while the rest were allowed to go.

I soon realized Jonathan had never done a thing to me. He sat quietly in the back of the room and minded his own business. I put myself above him that day and did something that was completely unwarranted.

If I could go back to that day, my change would be quite simple: finish washing my hands and walk out. That would have been easy. I certainly learned something that day: if someone hasn’t done something bad to me, I shouldn’t do something bad to them.

I haven’t mastered this yet, but it’s been a 10 year process so far.

by playing both soccer and football in the fall.

After that season I decided the round ball was no longer for me. And I was happy with my decision.

I played football for seven years, and it brought me some of the best friends and best times of my life. But those times ended after my freshmen year.

It was tough the day I told Coach Stonner my decision. A lot of people around East expected me to follow in my brother’s footsteps and be a stud on the grid iron, but it wasn’t meant to be.

It hasn’t been until recently that I realized how much I really regret my decision to quit soccer. At the ripe old age of eight, it seemed like quitting was the only option I had. But in this case, almost more than being able to travel back in time, I wish I could have just seen into the future.

I wish I’d seen myself quitting football, finding a love for soccer and buying multiple Wayne

Rooney jersies. Thing is, no one could’ve seen that coming back then.

I now find myself waking up early on Saturday mornings to watch live English Premier League games, spending countless hours watching highlights on the internet and texting Mr. Kelly in a panic when I think our team might have blown it.

But the one thing missing from my love is a little bit more skill. If only really loving something translated into talent. I keep hoping the more YouTube videos I watch, the better I’ll get at shooting. But no such success thus far.

I’ll keep trying, though.

At the time I couldn’t wait to put on some shoulder pads and a helmet and go out hit some people. If I could go back and do it again, I’d be pulling up my socks, lacing up cleats and working to put the ball in the back of the net.

lot of time outside the classroom on a cold tile floor.

One foul decision stands out vividly. It showed me that being the class clown wasn’t worth the trouble.

It was just another morning in algebra. I had a great hate for it, so this was always a breeding ground for trouble. On top of that, we had a long term sub who had no control of the class and knew less about math than I did.

During work time, I saw my friends circled around with markers at the overhead projector, anxiously scribbling on the screen. I grabbed a blue Vis-A-Vis of my own and went to work.

“P...E...N...I...”

I wrote it as large as I could and flashed on the projector. I wanted everyone to see the 14 year old comedic genius that stood before them.

To my surprise, the laughs were few and far between.

The satisfaction I got from doing this faded away the next morning and turned into shame shame that really taught me a lesson.

“Jeff Rutherford to the office please,” the in-

tercom said.

Weak at the knees, I struggled into Principal Ostemeyer’s office. She, like always, looked very disappointed.

“Jeff, can you tell me what happened in math yesterday?”

Never being much of a tough guy in these situations, I wasted no time in breaking down into confession.

If I could go back, I wouldn’t have written on that projector at all. I wouldn’t have taken pride in setting a record time for being sent out in the hall. I still feel ridiculous for the way I behaved.

After months, literally months, I realized what was wrong with me. I thought that making a mockery of my elders was funny. False. I thought making myself look like a total bonehead was true comedy. Definitely false.

After a year and a half of living the glory life as a class clown, it occurred to me that I wasn’t as funny as I thought and should probably grow up a little bit. And that might mean refraining from tossing sacked lunches out of the third floor window.

7th grade nincompoop

For the first 12 months of my time as a Mission Valley Mustang, I spent more time in the hallway than in a classroom. Why? I was an absolute pest.

As middle school began, people started to establish their repuatation and try to “discover” themselves. I did the same, figuring out where exactly I fit in. I took a fairly obnoxious path to find my answer and learned a big lesson along the way.

My first day in the halls of MV was a little overwhelming. I had never seen so many popped collars and Birkenstocks all at once.

Unwilling to jump on that bandwagon, I wanted to do something to stand out. Never being someone who liked fitting in, I went against the grain and did something I had always loved doing - making people laugh.

I made fart noises while the teacher was talking and hosted break dance competitions during passing period. I had a wide variety of tricks up my sleeve, often resulting in me spending a

PAGE 9 OPINION / ISSUE 15

PAGE 10 OPINION / APRIL 27, 2009

/ ANDREWGOBLE

curriculum

When teachers hear me talk, they just sigh.

Maybe they think I’m talking just to hear my own voice likely - or spewing more backhanded logic on how to fix the world - even more likely.

But my point is clear this time: English has too many books in it’s lesson plans. In my experience, the heavy amount of books we’re required to read leaves too little time for discussion, especially as the end of the semester nears. Sure, we can “read” a lot of books, but without in-depth analysis and connections to everyday events, their lessons and meanings fall short to me.

I have obviously only been through freshman and sophomore years, but so far, the piles of books we have to read leave little room for discussion or appreciation of well-developed conflicts. This makes students not want to ever read a book again—not that most kids are reading them anyways.

But you knew that. In a world with SparkNotes and CliffNotes and your-neighbor’s-study-guide notes, people can actually read through the books as fast as they’re expected to; we just don’t get much out of it. Giving more time to each books would allow for teachers to go beyond the actual meaning even more than they already do.

That’s the important part. There are more powerful things at hand then just what happened to a character. It’s the empathy behind the characters’ actions, the flow of a beautifully crafted sentence, or just the written transcription of someone’s life that somehow changes how everyone else views the world - that’s something that I’ve yet to find on SparkNotes.

I say it only because I remember a time when I legitimately liked to read. Dorky, sure, but every time I read, whether it was “In Cold Blood” or “Holes” or even “Harry Potter”, it didn’t feel like I was reading; I felt more involved and more

lancer voice On the english curriculum at East

sophomore NATHAN SIMPSON

senior THOMAS PUCKETT sophomore DUNCAN GIBBS

interested than in the scenes of any 3D flick.

But now, it’s different. I go home, mindlessly trudge through the minimum amount of chapters, sloppily highlight the things I know we’re going to be tested on, and SparkNote it if I still don’t get what’s going on.

I don’t get tested on jaw-dropping word choice, and it seems like no one gives a crap what I would have done in the protagonist’s position. Just names, quotes, author’s hometown. It’s stuff I learn 30 minutes before the test, and usually forget during it. What a shame.

And I know most English teachers secretly want to agree with me. The curriculum is the problem, not them. Many of my teachers have tried to sneak in more discussions and free choice reading, and some days we do, but there’s simply too much to get through.

Part of the problem also comes from the book choice.

Sure, sometimes hifalutin vocabularies make books “tough,” but often too much time can be spent on comprehending obsolete writing style or hidden symbols that have no reflection on anyone’s life. Holden’s hat may be askew, but maybe he just liked it that way.

Old-school style and dictionary-necessary word choice are something the population will never use in their average life, so books including them should be down-played as well. If I were the President of the U.S., I would torture prisoners with “Great Expectations.” Sorry, Pip, but I just can’t relate with trying to work my grandma for some extra ‘scrill in the will.

And it took me five re-reads to figure out that happened.

It also can be puzzling that we’re reading some books because people found them interesting during the time period they were written in. Good for them, but I shouldn’t need to go out of school to find the best books of my time. Students

Do you see any current problems with the english curriculum?

“Not really, I haven’t thought of anything, except maybe “Great Expectations” which nobody likes.”

CCCREIDENBERG

an opinion of

//

Crashing the

Staffer discusses problems with english curriculum and what could be changed

need more - but not all - modern books, and especially in 9th and 10th grades, to make people actually build a love for reading, instead of a love for SparkNotes.

So here are my ideas: Take a deep look at the curriculum, and an even deeper look at the 90 percent of students faking that they read books in front of you. The lesson plan (and not just the upperclassmen one) needs to have room for teachers to delve deep into books. It also needs to let them deviate and teach to their specialties—be it writing speeches, writing with different sentence styles, or reading modern news articles.

If one book needs to be dropped from the lesson plans, so be it. My English teachers, so far, have been great at trying to discuss literature, but they also have to keep their jobs. Giving each book more time would allow for them to teach their specialties, and would leave ample time to really delve into every book.

The rigor of the curriculum should be placed on analyzing the human problems inherent in every book, and if there aren’t any, we shouldn’t be reading it. If the impact of books and complex conflicts were taught like quote memory and line-by-line book memorization are now, I guarantee literature, and more of it, will be appreciated.

Make students relearn how to love to read, and the next adult generation will make society more intelligent. America will be known for its many fine writers, not its few remaining honest readers.

And then maybe, just maybe, it will be the generation that talks about how they just couldn’t put a book down—not how the one that brags about being able to take the test without ever picking one up.

If you think there are any problems, what could be a change that could be made for the better?

If you could choose one book to add to the curriculum, which would it be and why?

“‘East of Eden” by John Steinbeck, “I don’t really know. I don’t have that because it’s a lot harder than the other much of a problem with the English books and there’s more substance to it curriculum.” than most of the other books we read.”

“ Yes, it’s not all uniform. Not all the teachers in each grade teach the same thing. It would be better if it was all the same”

“If the head of the English department made it uniform then that would be good.”

“I’m not sure.”

“No.”

“I don’t really have a problem with the curriculum.”

“Fountain in the Fury.”

is fed PDA: Public Displays upStaffer with PDA at school of Awkwardness an opinion of What ever happened to an “I love you” if you’ve got a significant other? There’s no more effective way of getting the point across.

These days a simple “you look great” doesn’t cut it for some kids. Or a polite “you’re the best”.

Instead, “I love you’s” have been transformed into heinous grope-fests that are more appropriately termed “public displays of affection (PDA).”

That’s when you really love her.

I’m not a Puritan. I have no problem with the boyfriendgirlfriend scene. Have fun, you’re in high school. I do have a problem though, when it’s 70 degrees outside and you have to use your girlfriends back pockets as mittens while you stand six nanometers from her face.

Outside of a few good chuckles and upset stomachs I’ve never paid much attention to the Lancers who grace us with their grasps, but a recent event pushed me over the edge.

I had been sent out in the hall for doing my best Kobe Bryant and tossing an empty water bottle in the recycle bin from my desk (at least I was being green). Once outside the door I flopped on the cold tile only to see one of these grope-fests going on across the hall. Feeling awkward I turned my head and acted as if there were something really interesting on the floor to look at. In reality though, it was incredible that I should be the one feeling out of place. They were locked in on each other, lip to lip. At school. Heck, it almost looked like they were Siamese twins they were so close.

And still, I was the one in trouble.

No where in the 2008-2009 Academic Planner is PDA outlined. Other rampant problems such as student fraternities, pant chains and gangs are discussed and stated

/ SAMLOGAN

as items of potential disciplinary action, though.

There needs to be a course of punishment for this for multiple reasons.

I know that if I don’t want to see you posting your “significant other” up against a locker for a passing period “I’ve missed you so much” peck, chances are your sixth hour teacher doesn’t either.

And no, after lunch when everyone is on the ramp, no one needs to see your girlfriend rested against you while you rub her shoulders and whisper in her ear about the meal she had. No need to comfort so intensely, that barbecued ribette she just ate isn’t sending her through labor.

When we wait for the 7:40 a.m. bell to ring also, give the student body a break and overcome the urge to cling to your friend’s love handles like they were a life vest. It’s still early in the morning, work loads can’t be keeping you from staying afloat yet.

I don’t propose we make like Indonesia and outlaw kissing in public places, but I do feel these acts should not be tolerated. Add it to the planner.

Here’s my proposal: PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION: PDA is any form of sexually charged conduct that involves contact or verbal exchanges of said nature between two individuals. Public Displays of Affection will not be tolerated at Shawnee Mission East for they do not stand by the school’s mission that is to provide diverse learning opportunities through academic, cultural, practical, and social approaches.

Sorry, those “diverse” learning opportunities don’t mean feeling every nook and cranny of someone you love on school property either.

One of the expectations for students

PAGE 11 OPINION / ISSUE 15 as directed by the Planner is “2. Bring something to work on: books, homework, or a pass to another class.”

Note that of the items listed, not one of them said, “Your boyfriend or girlfriend.”

We know you love them. Whether Facebook tells us so or the bathroom wall does, it doesn’t matter. Still, seeing you stroke her lower back while she finishes up an SQ4R for Chemistry doesn’t need to be my source.

The only thing PDA does for our great school is clog our hallways and provide a tainted glimpse at adolescent beauty.

If you had just gotten back from a year long tour in Iraq, I’d cut you some slack. But you didn’t. You just got done with a vocab quiz and need someone to console you because you didn’t know what the word “inconsiderate” meant.

You should really learn it.

// BERNADETTEMYERS

Octomom deserves sympathy and respect an opinion of

/JEFFCOLE When someone thinks about the sterotypical American family, 14 children and a single 33-year-old mother aren’t exactly what comes to mind. But in the case of “Octo-Mom”, nothing about her situation is typical at all.

Nadya Suleman, the California mother that was once the single mom to six kids is now the mother of 14 after delivering eight from in vitro fertilization.

Suleman is known for having octuplets while raising six other kids under six-yearsold at home all on welfare. Writers across the nation are in a stir about the situation at hand. Tim Rutten of The Los Angeles Times

writes in his column, “The manifest irresponsibility of this eccentric woman toward her children is terrible.”

But that’s not where it stops. The public has had its own opinion too as the Los Angeles Times claims that there are more than 50 facebook groups that are either pro or con.

Facing harsh criticism from her own parents and others nation wide for supporting her family of 14 on state welfare as well as food stamps, life for this woman must be close to unbearable. Then at the end of the day, she goes home to 14 kids all under the age of six.

While it is hard enough to say one could take care of 14 kids, think about how hard it must actually be to do so. And on top of that, right outside her front door is the media who portrays nothing but bad images of her, furthering troubles for this already struggling mom.

Though she seems to want media attention, we need to have sympathy for this young mother even though we may think she made the wrong decision.

Before the second batch of toddlers,

Suleman was already on welfare. Now trying to support 14 on welfare and little donation, one has to question how the babies are doing since taking care of one child is a big expense in itself. But what really strikes me as preposterous is the fact that she can find time for interviews and claim everything at her home is OK. In such newspapers as the Los Angeles Times, respect for this woman has vanished and all we care about the well being of the children. While this is understandable, we still need to have tolerance for the woman whether she is receiving media attention or not. After all, she has probably gone through more pain than most people will ever go through with child birth.

What I have found is that there really was never any sympathy for this woman who went through the physical pain of having eight kids at once. People today seem to only to be tolerant of something that they approve of, and this apparently is not one of those instances.

Many people might also claim she’s hurting the tax payers with her decision to have

so many kids. Though Suleman’s decision is heavily publicized, it has been easy for everyday people to lose sight that their taxes go towards everyone on welfare, not just her.

Don’t get me wrong, I strongly disagree with Suleman’s decision to have and take care of 14 children which were all conceived through in-vitro fertilization. According to USAmagazine.com, Suleman’s decision to have the last babies implanted was based solely on the fact that she couldn’t stand to see the frozen embryos destroyed. Obviously her choice was not one of logic, but of her own ethics.

But seeing that the nation as a whole has no sympathy for this woman, I think that as Americans, we need to be more open-minded. In this case we need to respect her for her, not for what she believes in. The reality is that controversial things happen in the world on a daily basis that we may or may not agree with but we need to give this woman a chance.

//ALLPHOTOSBY TYLERROSTE

PAGE 12 PHOTO ESSAY / APRIL 27, 2009

A WHOLE BUNCH OF BANDS On Thursday April 16 the “Bunch of Bands” took place in the Shawnee Mission East gym

RIGHT: Seniors Vimla Dayal and David Spero watch as Noah Quillec sings and plays guitar while performing with the rest of his band, Tax Brokers.

Quillec’s band also consists of seniors Jack Brugger on guitar and vocals, Will Snyder on keyboards and Pat Sixta on the drums.

BELOW: Junior Kaevan Tavakolina belts out intense rock vocals. This trio known as Funk Royale consists of senior Colin Coit on the drums, Tavakolina on bass and vocals, and sophomore Kashav Ramaswami on lead guitar. Tavakolina and Coit also played with Past Perfect for their set at the beginning of Bunch of Bands.

RIGHT: Juniors Adam Levin and John Luther rock out during their set. Levin’s guitar skills echoed through the East gym with face melting solos and intricate guitar riffs.Their band Cold Sweat won the Bunch of Band competition with some unique songs and a few covers including “Robot Rock” by Daft Punk and “Bad Fish” by Sublime.

ABOVE: Junior Brooks Williams plays the drums during Cold Sweat’s set. “It was the most intense natural high I have ever experienced,” Williams said. “ It was the best experience I’ve ever had.”

hythm efreshing the

East students play unusual instruments: the mandolin, the organ and the ocarina

PAGE 13 FEATURES / ISSUE 15

// Letters images from: MorgueFile (S,P); www.nlm.nih.gov (O) // Other pictures by: GRANTHEINLEIN, KATIEEAST and MACKENZIEWYLIE

// TIMSHEDOR

beying the Orient (ocarina)

laying the pipes (organ) trumming the strings (mandolin) When freshman Luke Holsinger opened the wrapping paper for his 14th birthday, he stared down a polished, golden brown smooshed guitar. It had eight tuning machines at the top, a polished neck, and a gleaming, curved body.

It was the latest Oscar-Schmitt Electric Mandolin, a musical instrument to call his own, not a display model that he just played for kicks. He had played the violin since fourth grade, and the guitar since second, so whenever he went to the Toon Shop it was just natural to unhook the bowed girdle and pick out a few folk licks.

“I just saw it at a music shop one day and started playing it,” Holsinger said. “They thought I knew what I was doing, so I just kept playing it.”

He started playing the mandolin because he found that the strings, tuned GDAE, were in accord with the violin, and he began transposing between the two. Before long, his seventh grade impromptu sessions developed into a folk bonanza.

Melodies by the “Flight of the Conchords,” a New Zealand folk comedy duo that claims to be the country’s fourth best in the genre started playing out from his sunburst instrument. “The Most Beautiful Girl in the Room” is his favorite.

“The violin is more of a technical instrument,” Holsinger said. “You have to know how to hold it. Posture is more of a practice with violin. The mandolin is more of a freestyle instrument, less technical.”

The orchestra Spring Fling concert is just around the corner, but Holsinger plans to pursue music performance as a future career or college option. It’s a matter of which instrument, or even all three, that now challenges Holsinger.

The pedal board sends a whistle through pipe eight as sophomore Russ Helder gingerly presses down on the Moller 1982’s keys. He watches his fingers, careful to not wail too hard on the ivory but passionate enough to produce a soulful quarter note.

He started taking lessons this year, with Village Presbyterian’s Associate music director and primary organist Stephan Casurella. The hour-a-week music sessions have become an outlet for Helder’s long-time curiosity on an instrument that isn’t as easily accessible as his home piano.

“I just wanted to play organ for a long time,” Helder said. “I don’t know what draws me to it. It’s just different [than the piano]. Organ can be more challenging.”

Helder first laid eyes on the clefs in fifth grade, a time when his classmates were also taking up an instrument.

His mother had played the piano, and he settled on it as his primary.

Last year, Helder took a break when he became “flaky,” lost interest in music and began pursuing other hobbies like Latin and skateboarding. But he rekindled his passion and became more involved with the church and choir. With a newfound interest in classical music, he began taking organ lessons this year.

“He’s a very quick learner,” Casurella said. “I explain something to him and he assimilates it immediately and is able to apply it to other things. He’s progressing very rapidly.”

Now, the future holds potential for Helder. He doesn’t plan on pursuing music as a career or in college, but he played the prelude “Trumpet Voluntary in D” by John Stanley at yesterday’s service at Village Church.

“Russ is very intelligent about the way he plays,” Casurella said. “He’s very careful and he can be very expressive. He’s been doing very well and I hope that he continues.”

Oriental China produced some of the world’s greatest achievements: the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, Confucious philosophy. But nothing was more notable than the ocarina.

The modern ocarina, a potato-like flute made of porcelain or glass designed for a dual-handed player, has since jumped the Pacific into the States and has inspired freshman Eli Mitchell to play every genre of music on its twelve holes with remarkable punctuation and spoton accuracy-from Irish/American folk to Japanese video game electronica.

“Nowadays there’s not much potential for the ocarina, it’s pretty much a forgotten instrument,” Mitchell said. “It’s pretty much as useful as practicing pig Latin…but I play it because it’s a lot of fun.”

He picked up the oriental pipe in early eighth grade after playing “The Legend of Zelda” and eBaying until he discovered it was an actual instrument. For a quick $75, he ordered a dark blue replica of the one featured in the game along with sheet music from a St. Louis manufacturer.

Since then, he’s been through two more ocarinas, one from an Indian craftsman at City Market, and another from STL Ocarina; the same model with a different texture and color.

“A lot of friends who understand the reference to the Legend of Zelda think its funny,” Mitchell said. “But playing at the lunch table, there’s a lot of weird looks I get. It’s not a widely accepted instrument.”

He usually sits down at his desk four or five times a week to play traditional folk tunes like “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” and “Farewell Nancy” and occasionally cracks open the Irish/American sheet music book. But he stays true to his roots with “Legend of Zelda” tunes that he’s learned mostly by ear.

“It’s a lot of fun to play, and if you can’t play any instrument but you really want to, start with the ocarina,” Mitchell said. “It’s really open to anyone who wants to [play].”

Mandolin:

The Instruments

(Holsinger) a musical instrument with a pear-shaped wooden body and a fretted neck

// www.dictionary.com

Ocarina: (Mitchell) Organ: (Helder) a simple musical wind instrument shaped somewhat like an elongated egg with a mouthpiece and finger holes

a musical instrument consisting of one or more sets of pipes sounded by means of compressed air

PAGE 14 FEATURES / APRIL 27, 2009

Helping an autistic brother has caused freshman to appreciate music...

ON A DIFFERENT NOTE // KENNEDYBURGESS

She tries her best to not just hit the right notes, but reach the audience through the music she plays. When freshman Grace Martin is on stage before a performance, she looks down into the seats filled with onlookers, trying to find the familiar faces of her family. When she can’t spot them with her eye she listens for her 13-year-old brother, Walter’s voice.

“Walter has trouble handling loud noises,” Grace’s mother, Laura Martin said. “I think he enjoys Grace’s performances though.”

Walter has severe autism. He didn’t learn to speak until a very late age in his childhood and still has trouble speaking.

“Whenever he comes to one of my performances, he just makes these random noises in the audience,” Grace said. “I know no one else really notices it, but I always know where those random noises are coming from.”

Grace remembers when Walter was three, her parents and she thought he was deaf. No matter what they said, how loud they were, or what sounds they would make, Walter wouldn’t respond.

“We would take pots and pans and bang them together,” Grace said. “Anything to get a response.”

Grace’s parents always set her as an example for Walter.

“She has always been a good sister to him especially considering his disability,” Jeff Martin, Grace’s father said. “[Grace is] always very patient, and kind to him.”

Grace has been playing the violin since she was nine. She is a violinist in the East freshmen orchestra this year and has high hopes of making the symphony orchestra as a sopho-

The Equipment

Bow Glides along strings to make sound. Wooden bows are better quality because they weigh less.

Rasin and Cloth Rasin makes hairs on the bow stand up so they stick to the strings. The cloth removes excess rasin on the strings which makes them sound bad.

Mute The mute is placed over the violin’s bridge and changes the tone and volume of the instrument.

Violin and Shoulder Rest The shoulder rest attaches to the violin and provides a more comfortable surface for the shoulder and chin to support. // GAILSTONEBARGER

Metronome Clicks while the player is practicing to let them know they’re going at the right pace. Also helps tuning

more.

“It’s one of those things where I know I have a really good chance at making,” Grace said. “It’s something I really want.”

Grace knows she has the potential, work ethic and talent to make symphony.

Although her background in piano helped her read music more sufficiently than other kids when she first started violin, she was still just average.

“People sometimes think that I’ve been playing since I was two, but I started when I was in fourth grade,” Grace said.

Coming into middle school, Grace had never taken private lessons before. She had always been a part of her school orchestra. She recalls walking in on her Indian Hills Middle School Conductor, Carrie Lee, practicing in the band room, alone before first hour one day.

“She didn’t know I was in the room at the time, so I just stood there and listened,” Grace said. “The whole time she was playing I thought to myself ‘I want to be that good.”

She remembers a lot of kids dropping out of orchestra by fifth or sixth grade. It was never something her parents had forced her to do. She was interested in the violin from the very start and she had the motivation to get better. It wasn’t until seventh grade when Lee inspired her to start taking private lessons.

Without private lessons, expanding her musical talent was a challenge. Laura and Jeff looked into lessons and asked East orchestra instructor, Jonathan Lane for references. He recommended Marthe Cox, a professional musician.

“She is strict at times,” Grace said. “She teaches me to be more demanding of myself as a violin player.”

Private lessons helped Grace develop into the violinist she is today. Aside from the East orchestra program, Grace is also a part of the Kansas City Youth Symphony and attends chamber music summer camps.

The music camps include music theory and classical music discussion, allowing Grace to work together with other violinists from different schools in a quartet. The quartets practice their choice of music during the 10 day, camp period with each other. On the last day of camp, the quartet performs for parents and friends.

“The camps are different because you don’t have a teacher telling you what to play,” Grace said. “It allows you to be more creative as well as work with other musicians.”

The East orchestra recently went on a three day field trip to Chicago from April 16-19, where they watched the Northwestern Orchestra rehearse and had the opportunity to interact with the conductor. The experience of traveling to Chicago with the East orchestra opened Grace’s eyes and inspired her to plan what she could do five years from now.

Grace found the trip beneficial because she finally got to see

ER

G BAR

E TON AILS

// G

what music in college would be

like.

Grace has one student, Juliana Golgol, a fifth grader. She started teaching Juliana in eighth grade and would like to teach more students around the same age.

“Right now, I’m trying to teach her to use her ears more when she plays,” Grace said. “I enjoy teaching her because It kind of helps me get better too.”

Grace would like to receive a scholarship for music and have it as her major. She plans to be a violin instructor, professional musician or music teacher.

Grace has managed to maintain a level head when thinking about college. She isn’t interested in the “party scene” once she reaches college. Grace wants to have fun, but not have partying get in the way of her ambitions. She has also kept that type of mentality in high school.

“I see all these kids who do drugs and all of that because they just get bored,” Grace said. “It isn’t something I’ll ever be into because I’m never that bored because I have music.”

Grace practices every day, seven days a week. She has lessons at least once every week at Cox’s house and teaches Juliana once a week. Youth Symphony rehearsals are every Sunday afternoon for two hours. On top of all that, she has orchestra every other day during third hour. For Grace, all of the practice pays off when she is on stage, in front of an audience .

“She always wants to practice,” Laura said “I’ve only had to remind her to practice at most 10 times since the very first time she picked up a violin.”

Martin has performed in school auditoriums in the Shawnee Mission School District as well as other districts such as Olathe and Blue Valley.

Her parents have always gone to her every single one of her performances. Watching their daughter from the audience brings them a certain kind of emotion.

“When I see Grace up there on stage, I feel a strong since of pride,” Laura Martin said. “Pride in her as a musician and pride in her as my daughter.”

PSA

Are you looking for a summer job?

Woodside Health & Tennis Club

is hiring lifeguards with great starting pay!

Get tan and work by the pool all summer long. Pool manager is a 2005 SME graduate.

Call 913-424-8465 with any questions or apply at Woodside CC, 2000 W. 47th place in Westwood KS 66205.

Thank you-

To all the students who contributed to the pennies for peace drive. We raised enough money to pay for two teachers in palcistan’s annual salanes.

French Tutoring!

IB preperation Call (913) 244-5731 Madame Werner

ACharitable In tough economic times, Washington decides to make

Contribution

New law will more than triple the number of U.S. volunteers // ANNIESGROI Students in the small gym at the School for Educational Evolution and Development (SEED) in Washington, D.C. cheered as their guests took the stage. But this was no ordinary assembly to gear up for an upcoming game and the speakers were far from the norm. It was Senator Edward M. Kennedy who walked up to the podium to introduce President Barack Obama.

Then after a brief speech, President Obama sat down at the desk on the stage to sign the “Senator Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act� into law. He took out 12 pens and started to sign his name letter by letter. After writing each letter Obama gave the pen to someone around him who had

// ALYSSAJOLITZ

PAGE 16 SPREAD / APRIL 27, 2009

National Impact

Ninety-two days. That’s all it took for the Obama Administration to pass a service bill at the national level. Battey was surprised by how quickly Obama took action and is excited about the possibilities the bill will bring for YVCA to increase it’s impact across the country.

Battey graduated from East in 1981 and founded the Youth Volunteer Corps in 1987 as a summer program for high school students in the Kansas City area. Battey initially ran the Kansas City program; he now works at the national level expanding the program to other cities.

YVCA currently has 54 chapters across the U.S. and Canada each organizing service-learning projects for 11 through 18-year-olds throughout the year. Despite all the expansion, Battey said YVCA still has the same goal as when it was founded.

“It’s a team-based approach to service,” Battey said. “We try to get kids, not just from the same school or the same age, but a real mix of kids from throughout the Kansas City area.”

An important part of that team-centered approach is having Team Leaders, who are AmeriCorps members who are with the volunteers during the projects. In addition to leading the projects, the Team Leaders organize projects by developing partnerships with agencies, find ways to get the word out about YVC in the community and maintain the YVC database of volunteer hours. Battey said Team Leaders are a big part of YVCA’s efforts because they’re there to guide the youth volunteers through the projects.

“It’s not only a team of teenagers together but now they have someone there who’s a supervisor,“ Battey said. “As well as a mentor. As well as a friend.”

According to Battey having more AmeriCorps members to serve as Team Leaders will allow more teams of volunteers to serve in the community.

“It will allow us to do a lot more projects, not only in Kansas City but all over the country,” Battey said. “I hope that we will be able at YVC to do three times as many projects.”

While the number of AmeriCorps positions will almost triple, it won’t happen right away. It will grow gradually, increasing over the next five years, giving organizations like YVCA time to find out how to best utilize the new volunteers.

“It’s going to be a lot to swallow to begin with,” Battey said.

“We want to make sure we have good opportunities for those AmeriCorps members to do their service.”

The second provision of the bill that will directly affect YVCA is the new “Summer of Service” program it will fund.

The program, which will probably start in the summer of 2010, will give a $500 education award to be used for college or job training to middle school and high school students who complete 100 volunteer hours during the summer. Students can receive the award for two summers and earn $1,000 towards their education. Battey predicts that the “Summer of Service” program will encourage many more young people to get involved in their communities.

PAGE 17 SPREAD / ISSUE 15

Closer to Home

For local YVC chapters across the country, like the one in Kansas City, the bill means they’ll be able to extend their reach in the community. Battey said he hopes to do this by starting partnerships with more local agencies.

YVCKC Program Director Jenn Beard said YVCA will mostly use the new AmeriCorps members in areas that have seen big increases in the number of youth who are volunteering after school. Beard says YVC is seeing these increases in places where parents can’t provide after school care or they’re working multiple jobs so no one is home. The Team Leaders in these areas will focus more on YVCA’s after school volunteer opportunities.

“We have several new sites across the country that are very economically challenged [with] very high unemployment like 15 percent and over, that we hope to use them in,” Beard said.

Junior Alex Szczygiel and sophomore Maddie Bavley are on the Youth Advisory Board for YVCKC. The board members meet monthly to give their input on upcoming projects and sometimes do service like sewing pillows for cancer patients.

According to Battey, the YAB has two main purposes: to help recruit other youth volunteers and to set up projects and events that youth will be interested in, like reading to kids at Operation Breakthrough or working at the recent Battle of the Bands.

He says that the number one way kids get involved in YVCA is hearing about it from a friend.

“

“

helped to pass the bill. The “B” pen went to Senator Kennedy, the bill’s namesake.

David Battey, of Kansas City, the President of Youth Volunteer Corps of America who attended the ceremony on April 21, was pleased by the choice of the school gym as the location for the signing.

“They [the lawmakers] wanted to do the ceremony at a high school because they want to emphasize the fact that a lot of service is done by high school [age] young people,” Battey said.

The bill was named after Senator Kennedy to honor his dedication to service. Its goal is to expand national community service programs.

The bill lays out many ways this can be done; the two that will most affect youth service are increasing the number of AmeriCorps positions from 75,000 to 250,000 and creating the “Summer of Service” program which encourages students to volunteer by offering awards of up to $1,000 for service to the community. AmeriCorps, often called “the domestic Peace Corps” partners with nonprofits at the national and local level to help people get involved with service.

Every single person is different. If you went to their school they’d be hanging out around different people, but everyone is friends at YVC.

“If I ask, and I’m 46-years-old now, I don’t have as much impact as if your friend asks you to do it,” Battey said.

Szczygiel, one of the board’s Co-Chairs, first got involved with YVCKC in the seventh grade when she needed community service hours as a school requirement. Since then Szczygiel has made lots of new friends at YVC and noticed what a close community the volunteers are.

“Every single person is different,” Szczygiel said. “If you went to their school they’d be hanging out around different people, but everyone is friends at YVC.” Bavley, the board’s Secretary, has been volunteering with YVCKC since she was 12, when her older sister introduced her to the organization. According to Bavley, YVC is different from other community service organizations because of all the times projects are set up: after school, on the weekends, in the summer and over spring break. Bavley thinks that the bill will help more people locally and across the nation connect with YVCA. “Having more Team Leaders would always be beneficial,” Bavley said. “It would give them more opportunities for projects, so they could get more youth involved.”

Moving Forward

Although the bill has been authorized by Congress and the President, according to Battey that doesn’t guarantee that the proposed amounts of money will actually be appropriated. Now Congress will go back and look through the bill to see whether they can afford to set aside all of the funds or just a portion.

Battey said the first immediate action on the bill over the next few months will be legislators trying to make sure close to the proposed amount of funding is appropriated.

The effects of the changes and new programs proposed by the bill won’t be seen until 2010, when the funding as been finalized for the new fiscal year.

Battey is happy that there will be a waiting period so things will run smoothly once the changes are made to programs like AmeriCorps and new programs are started, like the “Summer of Service”.

“I think it’s good they take a little bit of time because we need to make sure we plan this out properly,” Battey said.

HOW will more volunteers help our community?

SENIOR Maeve O’Connor

SENIOR Ally McCarthy

“I think a lot of people have been giving a lot, especially at Shawnee Mission East. It’s good for not only the people who they give back to, but also for themselves because it broadens their view of the world.”

“I’m all about giving back to the community. It really defines your character and who you are. It makes you think about things around the world.”

“There are always organizations that need more help. It becomes a habit, volunteering more often.

Our community would just be better.”(Betsy) “More volunteers will mean morepeople will be helped.” (Jack)

SOPHOMORES Jack and Betsy Dee

“I don’t think people realize how much volunteers do for their communties. They improve the area around them while developing themselves”

SOPHOMORE Hanna Jane Stradinger

// GAILSTONEBARGER

VOLUNTEER Opportunities for teens Look at the websites listed for more information

Harvesters is Kansas City’s only food bank with nearly 60,000 clients.

Summer is an extremely important time to volunteer there because needy children will not be provided any meals from school. Volunteers will collect and organize food donations to make the distribution network more efficient.

//www.harvesters.org

Youth Volunteer Corps of America

YVC offers projects after school, on the weekends, over Spring Break and during the summer. Projects during the 2009 Summer Sensation range from building houses to working on an organic farm.

//www.yvckc.org

Volunteers at the Humane Society walk the dogs and pet and groom the cats. People that are comfortable and experienced with dogs and cats are needed to wash and groom them before adoption events and to take them to the location.

//www.hsgkc.org

OPERATION BREAKTHROUGH Reading to preschoolers, mentoring children by sharing a hobby, and tutoring school-age children are the ways volunteers get involved with the Operation Breakthrough classes. The kids also love to play with energetic volunteers at their new facility.

//www.operationbreakthrough.org

Operated by Catholic Charities, TurnStyles is a retail store that sells surplus donations to the community.

The money made at TurnStyles goes to needy persons in the local community. Volunteers help sell items by creating a fun and exciting atmosphere.

//www.shopturnstyles.com

PAGE 18 FEATURES / APRIL 27, 2009

MURAL MADNESS Junior Max McFarland selected to design the new jungle mural at Planet Sub // RACHELBIRKENMEIER

JUNIOR Max McFarland paints around the lion in his mural. “I’m obsessed with lions, and even though they don’t live in the jungle I drew one anyway because I love them,” McFarland said. // MACKENZIEWYLIE

The once vibrant jungle mural at Planet Sub, located at 95th and Mission, had seen better days. There was sharpie and random etchings vandalizing the foilage filled to the brim with jungle animals. Seeing all of this, Planet Sub manager Tristan Marr knew a new mural had to be created.

“The original mural was getting tagged and it just started to look worn,” Marr said. “We were going to ask the original artist to create a new one, but I wanted to keep it within the community.”

Planet Sub turned the task over to East’s art department.

At a National Art Honors Society meeting, the staff memebers proposed the project. Even though junior Max McFarland isn’t a part of NAHS, he volunteered to create the new mural. According to him, nobody else seemed interested.

He was selected out of a handful of people from the area who also submitted ideas for the upcoming mural.

“We were told it was a jungle theme, so I basically sketched my best jungle,” McFarland said. “I’ve never done a mural before, so I was pretty excited to see what I could do.”

To get started, Marr met up with McFarland to discuss what the mural would look like.

“There weren’t any specific guidelines I had to follow,” McFarland said. “I went in and just told him what I was thinking, and then went from there.”

McFarland was then supplied with the money to go and

get the necessary paints and various other materials to complete the new mural.

McFarland then began gridding his sketch, which involved dividing the image into pieces making it easier to transfer onto a larger scale, from an inch to foot scale. To make gridding and transportation easier, the 8 by 16 foot mural was divided into four separate pieces, which will be transported by car once completed.

After completing this first step of gridding, McFarland will begin sketching and painting, which he hopes to start in the next few days. To help speed up the job of painting, junior Hannah Copeland volunteered to help.

“I like painting big things like this, and I usually do it for theater,” Copeland said. “It’s cool to be able to paint something besides theater backgrounds.”

But the whole project has been pretty easy going, especially with all the help. McFarland says since there aren’t any deadlines to meet.

“I’m not being paid to do this, so they really can’t enforce any deadlines I don’t think,” McFarland said. “I work on it before and after school for a few hours each day.”

McFarland is not quite sure how long the painting will take, but hopes to have the whole thing done and mounted by the end of this school year.

“I’ve never done this before, “ McFarland said, “so I’m excited to see how I’ll do.”

the

sketches

“

the rough sketch

The purpose of the rougher sketch is to be a method of transferring the sketch to the actual mural, because you can’t just make it appear on canvas. I had an 8x16 foot space to fill for the actual mural, so I made the grid 8x16 inches scaled down.

This sketch is pretty much just a simpler version of the final, because I’m obviously not going to sketch the mural in great detail before I paint over it, I just wanted to block it in the main objects to scale.

Max weighs in on his creative process in creating the final mural design and the challenge of fitting the drawing to scale on the large canvas.

“

the final sketch

I pretty much just sat down in my room and came up with this final design. I just used a normal pencil and paper from my sketchbook, and a bit of colored pencil to see what it would look like if I made it an evening picture. I had some orange on the water and some purple in the sky, but I decided to just have it take place at about 1 p.m. because of how complicated it would be.

” ” BANANA REPUBLIC •Oak Park Mall •11591 West 95th Street, Overland Park, KS 66214 •(913) 599-5575

Would like to invite the Shawnee Mission East senior class of 2009 to

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mixed

PAGE 19 MIXED / ISSUE 15

THE PAGE ABOUT PROM

// AUBREYLEITER

Emma Sullivan: the girl who is really excited >>

Nineteen days.

Eighteen days.

Seventeen days.

The countdown on freshman Emma Sullivan’s phone counts down to the night that she will be spending with mainly juniors and seniors at East.

Sullivan will be one of the few freshmen at prom, and though she is excited, she is scared as well.

“It is a little scary,” Sullivan said. “I’m more scared of the after parties though, I don’t really know his friends and the parties will probably be a little more mature than what I’m used to.”

This experience for Sullivan is really exciting, and her friends are helping her with getting ready for the big night as well. Sullivan doesn’t feel like the experience is real though, she feels as if she is playing dress up in a way.

“My friends wanted to go dress shopping with me, and they said it’s really exciting that I get to go,” Sullivan said. “They are really into finding out how everyone was asked and want to know all

the drama. They are kind of living the experience through me.”

Sullivan was expecting to be asked to Prom because her date, junior Steven Shen, is her boyfriend of five months. He asked her by putting a scavenger hunt throughout her house to find him.

The hunt ended with him on the roof holding a sign that asked her.

Unfortunately for Sullivan, not every aspect of the process is going smoothly. She purchased a $150 non-refundable dress on EBAY, only to discover it didn’t fit right. Initially, she freaked out.

“I automatically thought of different ways to fix it,” Sullivan said. “I could either lose 20 pounds in three weeks or try to sell it back on EBAY.” Sullivan found another dress quickly, and is handling the situation positively.

Sullivan may be the youngest one there, and it may be a nerve racking and frightening night but she says that she is going to make the most of it and have a great time at her first Prom.

//DANSTEWART

>>

Monica Talavera and Tyler Woltemath: the couple who made other plans

Junior Monica Talavera will be wearing sweatpants on the night of Prom. That’s right, sweatpants.

Talvera and her boyfriend, junior Tyler Woltemath plan on staying in the night of Prom, instead of having to deal with the stress and money of the typical Prom night.

“We were just talking about it a long time ago and we decided that it doesn’t really matter because its just junior Prom,” Talavera said. “We can always just go next year.”

They made this decision because she said it doesn’t make much of a difference either way if they went. They plan on relaxing, watching a movie and eating pizza— a night much less hectic than Prom.

Most juniors will be going to Prom, and Talavera and Woltemath’s decision to not participate confused their

group of friends.

“The majority of our friends are going,” Talavera said.

“They don’t get it. They think we should go, and they keep trying to convince us to go. But we don’t care enough about junior Prom to go.”

Opposite of their friends, Talavera’s mom sees the positive side of her daughter not going to Prom.

“My mom is happy!” Talavera said. “She doesn’t want to buy me a dress, so she doesn’t care at all.”

While Talavera and Woltemath spend their Saturday night on a coach, their friends will be eating a nice dinner and dancing at Union Station. But they don’t care.

Sweatpants, movie and pizza: the perfect Prom night.

//PHOTOILLUSTRATION BY MACKENZIEWYLIE

dinner alternatives ON THE CHEAP GIRLS ONLY important items for your purse...just in case... PROM > (you get a zit?)

(your date is a creep?)

(your dinner is horrible?)

(your extremely bored?)

WINDEX

RAPE WHISTLE

TRAIL MIX If your dinner is absolutely dis-

GAME BOY If the perfect night isn’t going

If you’ve seen “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” you know that it works in a time of crisis. //DANSTEWART

It’s always good to have, just in case your date is a total creep. You can carry it on your keys on your time of need.

gusting, bring this as a back up.

But make sure to eat as much of your meal as possible- after all your date is spending his money on that meal.

exactly as planned, bring back up entertainment. You might recieve some glares though if your playing your game boy at the dance.

STAY AT HOME

Have someone in your group host dinner. Pick a menu and have the parents all chip in and make dinner for your group. Put table cloth on the table and use nice silverware. You’ll get the restaurant feel, but in the comfort of a home. Its cheaper, easier and will put an interesting twist onto your prom night.

CHEAP >JustDINE because its Prom, it doesn’t mean you have to go to the nicest restaurant in town. You are already spending tons of money on tickets, balance it out with a cheap meal. Restaurants like Bucca di Beppo and Filigos are a ton cheaper than The Melting Pot and The Capital Grill. You’ll still be out at a nice restaurant, just one for half the price.

FAST FOOD >Believe it or not, eating your Prom dinner at a fast food restaurant has been done before. It may not be the best enviornment for suits and gowns, but its probably your cheapest option. Two people will for sure get out of the restraunt in under $15.

WORD OF THE ISSUE from The Daily Candy Lexicon: Words That Don’t Exist but Should {rainxiety} n. Stress associated with driving in even the lightest drizzle. (Dude, get over your rainxiety already. It’s not like it’s snowing.)

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Come to Avant Garb!

What? a fashion show featuring student desingers from all over smsd.

When? May 1st from 6-7

Where? Leedy Voulkos Art Center, 2012 Baltimore, KCMO, 64108

!"#$%&'($)$*#+$,*-$)%./01 ()*+,-./0),1,23)4,56.4,*)/) 62.56,)7084/0)386-9)748:) ;.00/<,)=08>,4)?8:+/2@A

Hey, SENIORS!

Bring your camera, bring your parents!

the SENIOR BREAKFAST Friday, May 15, 7:00am-7:45am SME Cafeteria, all meals FREE of charge

Bring an appetite for good food and socializing with your peers as your high school days dwindle to the end

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PAGE 21 A&E / ISSUE 15

‘CRANK’ IT UP A NOTCH

‘Crank 2: High Voltage’ delivers heart-stopping action with a manic twist // LANDONMCDONALD Adrenaline junkies rejoice, you’re about to get the ultimate fix. Jason Statham’s “Crank 2: High Voltage” is the guiltiest of guilty pleasure entertainment, the American action movie on a healthy dose of acid.

The result is an act of obscene brilliance, a film that takes a perverse delight in shattering every vestige of moral decency and political correctness within the course of its hour and a half run-time. All the limits are joyfully pushed, every taboo happily broken. There is literally no line this thing won’t cross. I haven’t seen a Hollywood action movie this fearlessly entertaining since Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill Vol. 1.”

The first “Crank” from 2006 was an above-average action film that greatly benefited from the quality of its campy dialogue, kinetic editing and the whip-smart casting of Statham as indestructible hit-man Chev Chelios and Amy Smart as his clueless girlfriend Eve. “High Voltage” improves on nearly every aspect of its distinguished predecessor, taking full advantage of its larger effects budget while preserving the low-rent feel of the original. This is the rare sequel that feels completely in sync with what’s come before.

Unfolding with all the sound and fury of a particularly demented fever dream, “High Voltage” picks up approximately three months after the events of “Crank.”

Chev Chelios, still inexplicably alive after being fatally poisoned and tossed out a helicopter in the first film, wakes up to discover that his heart has been stolen by Chinese organ harvesters and replaced with a shoddy artificial model that requires constant electric shocks to keep ticking.

Now Chev has one hour to retrieve the wayward organ from a bloodthirsty band of Chinese Triad and South American gang-bangers. That’s the scatter-shot story line in a nutshell. The rest of the film finds Chev racing across the fetid wilds of Los Angeles, eluding old enemies and treacherous allies while trying to regain contact with the sultry Eve, who has turned to exotic dancing as a means to cope with her boyfriend’s apparent demise.

Along the way, bit players from the first movie pop up for expanded and well-deserved encores. Chev still

STAR SCALE | |Stay home |

relies on the cartoonishly sleazy whoremonger Doc Miles (Dwight Yoakam) for medical advice. And even though his character Kaylo died in the original, Efren Ramirez (best known for his role as Pedro in “Napoleon Dynamite) returns as Kaylo’s identical twin Venus, a vengeful drag queen with full-body Tourettes who has a score to settle with his brother’s killers.

Believe it or not, acting is actually one of the film’s strong suits. Statham again plays Chev to hard-boiled, wisecracking perfection. Smart is purposely out of her element as the very nice girl doing very naughty things.

But the best extended performance of a minor character comes from Keone Young (HBO’s “Deadwood”) as Triad crime boss Don Kim, a character that takes racial stereotyping to uncomfortably hilarious levels before instigating one of the goriest sequences in the film.

Other performances of note come from fallen teen star Corey Haim as Eve’s agitated strip club manager and Ling Bai as a crazed Eastern prostitute who will stop at nothing to win the love of Chev, whom she puzzlingly refers to as her “shiny lunchbox.” Also, look for a surprise cameo by B-movie icon David Carradine (of TV’s “Kung-Fu” and the “Kill Bill” saga).

“Crank 2: High Voltage” has been rated R for frenetic strong bloody violence throughout, crude and graphic sexual content and nudity and pervasive language. That’s about all this movie has to offer, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But it should be noted that while the film’s brutality is extremely stylized and purposely over-thetop, this is still one of the most shocking, gut-wrenching experiences you’ll ever have in a mainstream theater. In other words, don’t even think about taking the little ones.

It’s difficult to think of a scene that doesn’t feature some sort of explicit content. Besides being insanely violent, the film also features a prolonged episode of public fornication on a racetrack that makes the infamous sex scene from the original look like harmless snuggling by comparison.

I really can’t imagine how this film escaped an NC-17 from the notoriously fickle MPAA ratings board.

Maybe it’s because “Crank 2: High Voltage” doesn’t really seem like a movie. It’s more like a star-studded video

| Rental at best |

game, complete with time limits, health power-ups and bonus objectives. Any “Grand Theft Auto” gamer who’s ever abandoned the pre-set mission and gone on pointless rampages will be able to instantly identify with this film.

In fact, those are the very people this movie was tailormade for. It’s no accident that the film’s co-directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor started off as visual effects designers for both films and video games.

So why am I giving three and a half stars to this lurid garbage? Simply put, I had a lot of fun at “Crank 2: High Voltage.” This is a film that revels in its own cheerful vulgarity, a work that plumbs the soggy depths of low-brow entertainment and somehow manages to strike gold.

Also, Jason Statham is quickly becoming the only bankable action star of the new millennium. All the Stallones and Schwarzeneggers have dried up or moved onto other professions. All we have now is this crass, chrome-domed brawler with the Cockney drawl. And that’s fine with me, as long as films like “Crank 2: High Voltage” continue to make the most of his unique talents.

|

|

A SHOCK TO THE HEART

|Worth seeing |

Throughout the film, Chev Chelios (Jason Statham) must continuously electrocute himself to keep his artificial heart, a glorified car battery, from fizzling out. Chev must use everything from jumper cables to powerlines to keep himself alive.

In the film’s most gonzo action moment, Chev juices himself off the city’s power grid before entering a surreal Godzilla-style brawl with his Triad nemesis, the vile Johnny Vang.

// PHOTOS COURTESY OF CELEBRITYWONDER.COM

|Instant Classic

PAGE 22 A&E / APRIL 27, 2009

Security hazard “Observe and Report” breaks social taboos to create an edgy, over-the-top comedy // ALEXLAMB

“Observe and Report” is just as mean as it is funny. Often crossing the line of what’s considered “acceptable” humor and asking the audience to laugh at the main character’s continual pain and failure, the movie’s bold approach produces some gut-busting gags, but it won’t appeal to the faint-of-heart.

The offensive comicality of the film becomes apparent within the first few minutes, when a perverted flasher pops up at the local mall to terrorize helpless female shoppers. Head of mall security Ronnie Barnhardt (Seth Rogen) sees the indecent incident as an opportunity to prove his importance in the world, and with his rag-tag group of rent-a-cops (consisting of a lisping Mexican, chubby Asian twins and a newbie ginger), Ronnie sets out to rid the mall of the filthy degenerate.

Along the way, he also aims to woo the girl of his dreams, the slutty white-trash Brandi (Anna Faris), apprehend a troublesome mall thief and become a justice-serving, world-saving cop. Of course, because Ronnie is a bipolar, psychologically unstable buffoon, things obviously don’t quite go according to plan.

While “Observe and Report” may look like an R-rated version of “Paul Blart: Mall Cop,” Ronnie actually has more in common with Travis Bickle, the mentally-ill protagonist of the dramatic masterpiece “Taxi Driver,” than he does with Blart. This isn’t a coincidence, as writer/director Jody Hill’s original inspiration for the movie was to create a comedic version of Scorsese’s classic.

But with such a stark piece for inspiration, it’s no wonder the humor is so harsh.

At first, “Observe and Report” seems kind of light and silly, but by the second act, the darker tone definitely becomes more pronounced. After Detective Harrison (Ray Liotta, playing it straight) commandeers the flasher and mall thief cases from Ronnie, who wasn’t getting anywhere on solving them, Ronnie frustrates the experienced

STAR SCALE | |Stay home |

copper by screwing up his investigations, even though he was only attempting to help.

Hating Ronnie for his incompetence, Harrison dupes him into foot-patrolling the most dangerous street corner in town and then leaves him there, knowing very well Ronnie could seriously get injured, possibly even killed. What follows is a surprisingly violent beatdown of several crackheads, the first of Ronnie’s two uproarious one-manarmy fight sequences.

Over the course of the film, Ronnie is expertly developed and fleshed out, yet while I did sympathize with him, at times he’s quite pathetic. On his date with the drunken Brandi (one of the funniest scenes in the movie), he takes advantage of her when she’s absolutely wasted, an action most people would look down upon. Here and throughout the entirety of “Observe and Report,” Ronnie sees nothing wrong with his irresponsible choices. His ignorance and obliviousness to social norms entertains raucously.

But with Ronnie trying to catch the flasher and the mall thief, win over Brandi and become a police officer, the narrative gets a bit too jumbled with all the subplots, and loses some of its focus.

Without one story tying everything together, Ronnie is at the center of the film rather than one of the conflicts. While this turns “Observe and Report” into somewhat of a comedic character study, it actually works to the movie’s advantage because the life of Ronnie, who’s a social reject still living with his alcoholic mother, is more interesting than the events at the mall.

Rogen, who usually plays lazy potheads, is finally stepping out of his comfort zone.

The character of Ronnie takes his job way too seriously because it’s the only real meaning his life has. At the top of his game, Rogen captures both the hilarity and depression of this perfectly. With all of Ronnie’s reprehensible character flaws and reckless behavior, he’d surely be unlikable, but because Rogen

| Rental at best |

is behind him, I actually cared for the endearing fool while I laughed at him.

Faris, though, just plays the same bimbo as in most of her other movies. Despite this, she still manages to be hysterical in her supporting role, especially after she’s had some drinks or when she’s scared, as she spits out several of the film’s funniest lines.

Behind the camera, budding filmmaker Jody Hill directs with a certain panache that keeps the constant flow of jokes sleek and streamlined. He knows exactly how to make the cinematography slick, a gag totally overthe-top and an odd music choice fit perfectly. Besides a short lull at the beginning of the third act, the humor doesn’t stop, yet it feels like overall the movie could’ve been a tad funnier. Even so, he’s definitely one to watch out for in the future.

The final sequence of “Observe and Report” makes up for any of the film’s missteps, and sums up both Hill’s directorial style and the movie as a whole. I don’t want to give too much away, but it involves a slowmo chase as The Pixies’ “Where Is My Mind” plays in the background (an ingenious use of the song), and more exposed male genitalia than I thought could be allowed in an R film.

While the use of male nudity for comedic effect has steadily been increasing in the past several years, it’s never been this funny.

I didn’t think the naked wrestling scene in “Borat” could be topped, but lo and behold, Hill accomplishes just that.

Like the darkly humorous “Bad Santa” and “Burn After Reading” before it, “Observe and Report” is wildly different from the common comedy, although it’s not going to please everyone. Offensive, irreverent and laugh out loud entertaining, it’s a terrific surprise for anybody who can handle the comedic cruelty and gross nudity.

Just don’t expect it to be another lighthearted “Mall Cop.”

|

|Worth seeing |

|

?

how well do you know

SETHROGEN

Q:

What TV show did Seth Rogen write for?

Q:

Which of these movies did he NOT write?

Q:

Which friend helped him write “Superbad”?

Q:

What is the newest superhero film Rogen is helping write?

A.) “Da Ali G Show” C.) “Eastbound and Down” B.) “The Office” D.) “Entourage”

A.) “Superbad” C.) “Drillbit Taylor” B.) “Knocked Up” D.) “Pineapple Express”

A.) Paul Rudd B.) Jason Segel

C.) Evan Goldberg D.) Clint Eastwood

A.) “Iron Man 2” C.) “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” B.) “The Green Hornet” D.) “Spider-Man 4”

Q:

Which animated movie did Rogen NOT supply his voice for?

A.) “Kung Fu Panda” C.) “Monsters Vs. Aliens” B.) “Horton Hears a Who” D.)”Ice Age2: The Meltdown” // INFO COURTSEY IMDB.COM

Answers: A, B, C, B, D

// PHOTO COURTSEY ALLMOVIEPHOTO.COM

|Instant Classic

PAGE 23 A&E / ISSUE 15

‘State’ of Affairs

‘State of Play’ combines political intrigue with scathing social commentary

// LANDONMCDONALD Kevin Macdonald’s “State of Play” functions as both shrewd political allegory and misty-eyed nostalgia piece, one that deliberately harkens back to the heyday of newsroom potboilers like “All the President’s Men” and “Network.”

Aside from being an unusually clever and involving springtime thriller, “State of Play” is also the first major film to intelligently comment on the regrettable decline of newspaper journalism in favor of online coverage. This alone makes the film worthy of praise and attention, but having Russell Crowe play an aging hippie ink-slinger doesn’t exactly hurt either.

George Clooney’s Edward R. Murrow biopic “Good Night and Good Luck” also attempted to recapture the notion of journalistic heroism, but it was a stuffy black and white period piece in desperate search of an audience. “State of Play” is set against the turmoil of the modern political landscape and its characters aren’t saintly champions of the First Amendment. Most of them are cloaked in the greyest shades of moral ambiguity, and the film’s ambivalent plot mirrors their uncertainty.

Russell Crowe plays Cal McAffrey, an old-school Washington Globe reporter who dresses like a slob and thinks like a cop. Cal is covering a mysterious double homicide when a third body is discovered beneath the Capitol Hill subway tracks. The corpse belongs to Sonia Baker (Maria Thayer), the beautiful aide to Sen. Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck). The next day, Collins’ emotional reaction to the death prompts media speculation that he was having an affair with Sonia and may have even driven her to suicide by scorning her affections.

Since Collins was his longtime friend and college roommate, Cal volunteers to help clear his buddy’s good name.

He soon becomes entangled in a convoluted conspiracy plot involving heroin junkies, dead pizza delivery boys and the shady dealings of Point Corp, a Blackwater-ish military contractor under investigation by Collins.

Things get even more complicated for Cal when his overbearing boss Cameron (Helen Mirren) forces him to work with a feisty online correspondent named Della Frye (Rachel McAdams). Cal is unwilling to accept the partnership at first convinced that Della is the kind of reckless blogger responsible for the dumbing down of contemporary journalism.

Crowe The Old Pro Russell Crowe plays Cal McAffrey, a veteran Washington Globe reporter torn between journalistic integrity and loyalty to his old friend Sen. Collins.

Cal is also concerned about the future of print journalism in the age of the Internet.

STAR SCALE | |Stay home |

// ALL PHOTOS FROM WWW.ALLMOVIEPHOTOS.COM But the two soon reconcile their differences and steadily unravel a startling truth about the U.S. government’s freelance weapons program.

The film’s undeniable effectiveness stems from a variety of sources. The screenplay, a deft balancing of action and intrigue, was co-written by the great Tony Gilroy, the same man responsible for “Michael Clayton,” “The Devil’s Advocate” and the entire “Bourne” trilogy. The basic story was adapted from a hugely popular British mini-series of the same name that debuted in 2003.

Director Kevin Macdonald, whose previous efforts include 2007’s dark treasure “The Last King of Scotland,” must also receive credit for the overall achievement of “State of Play.” Macdonald has a fantastic command of pacing for most of the film, seamlessly switching from comedy to drama to action at the drop of a hat.

The film’s somewhat rushed first act, where sharp-witted characters take way too long to figure out the obvious connection between Sonia and Point Corp, is the only serious flaw to be found here. Everything afterwards feels authentic and impeccably well-plotted.

But this is an actor’s movie first and foremost, and the casting here is mostly ideal. Crowe exudes tired machismo as Cal, a worn-out defender of journalistic integrity who finds his own ethics slowly slipping away as he fights tooth and nail for his life and livelihood. By restraining himself from his usual scenery-chewing, Crowe gives the audience unusual insight into the mind of a man slowly realizing that he’s become obsolete.

Helen Mirren, given a one-note role that’s significantly beneath her abilities, still manages to surprise as Cameron, the blustery old chief editor of the Washington Globe. Al-

McAdams The Cub Reporter Rachel McAdams struggles to find substance in the character of Della Frye, a lowly blogger who sees the Collins investigation as a chance to make a name for herself at the Globe.

| Rental at best |

though the character is mostly intended for quick laughs, Mirren also allows Cameron subtle pangs of doubt concerning her place in the rapidly changing world of news coverage.

Rachel McAdams fails to make much of an impression as Della. This is a role that called for someone with a little more experience as a dramatic actress, someone like Rachel Weisz (“The Constant Gardner”) or Natalie Portman (“The Other Boleyn Girl”). Although I love McAdams in comedies like “Wedding Crashers” or undemanding thrillers like “Red-Eye,” I can’t quite buy her in a role this serious yet.

But that disappointment is edged out nicely by the welcome inclusion of Jason Bateman (TV’s “Arrested Development), playing a seedy informant named Dominic Foy with comedic aplomb to spare.

In one of his better performances, Ben Affleck abandons all his flashy star power to play a wounded wreck of a man undone by too many secrets. Robin Wright Penn also delivers in the underwritten role of Collins’ jilted wife Anne.

“State of Play” could almost be essential viewing for anyone considering a career in journalism. It exposes the recent shift away from traditional reporting to Internet filler that has many major newspaper chains in their death throes.

But the film also extols the role of the traditional printed word and the guarantee of concrete legitimacy it promises, something that most online sources can never fully claim.

As one character puts it, “A piece this big, people should probably have newsprint on their hands when they read it.”

My thoughts exactly.

Affleck The Suspicious Senator Affleck sheds all his hammy charm in his surprisingly intense portrayal of the tormented Sen. Collins, an ambitious young politician embroiled in a scandal involving his murdered mistress.

|Worth seeing |

|

|

Mirren The Boss Oscar winner Helen Mirren turns in another sterling performance as Cal and Della’s domineering editor Cameron.

Her snarky, uber-British retorts are often the film’s only source of comedic relief.

|Instant Classic

PAGE 24 A&E / APRIL 27, 2009

// PETERBJORNANDJOHN.COM

LOST AT SEA

On “Living Things,” Peter Bjorn and John shift from upbeat to experimental // DUNCANMCHENRY

Dead animal heads mounted on a wall don’t usually end up on pop album covers. Surprisingly, the formerly upbeat Swedish pop trio Peter Bjorn and John feature the morbid image of three animal heads on the art for their new album, “Living Thing.” It’s a drastic change from the bright city buildings on the cover of their successful 2006 album, “Writer’s Block,” and the band’s music reflects this in its shift away from skyscraping fun to more downbeat, experimental music.

The album’s sound is controlled, with a predictable theme of plodding drum and synthesizer arrangements, but always prone to break off on an unexpected tangent of madness. The problem is that these tangents never really lead anywhere, and the album tends to drone along like a boring chemistry lecture.

After listening, I was torn between respect for Peter Bjorn and John’s willingness to try something new with their sound, and the fact that there just wasn’t a single song on the album that grabbed me like previous efforts from the band such as “Amsterdam” or “Young Folks.” Overall, “Living Thing” is a repetitive jumble of obscure rhythms with barely more melody than a Stomp performance.

The main thing missing from “Living Thing” is the youthful spirit of “Writer’s Block.” The syncopated percussion, simple bass lines, rickety guitar and heavy Swedish accents are still present, but much of “Living Thing” oozes with moody monotony.

The album has an overly rhythmic feel as the band does away with guitar completely on some songs in favor of spo-

BEST PB&J MUSIC VIDEOS

STAR SCALE | |Broken record|

radic snares, bongo drums and synthesized blips. While older hits by the band wouldn’t be out of place on a dance floor, there are almost no such songs on “Living Thing.” Instead, listening to a few tracks like “I’m Losing My Mind” and “4 Out Of 5” made me feel like I was staring at the clock on the last day of school, as the final 20 minutes of eternity ticked away before summer.

Lyrically, “Living Thing” picks up on the mood set by the slow tempo and minor tones. This mood seeps out in the absentmindedness of the second song, “It Don’t Move Me,” as lead singer Peter Moren almost whines in his Lennonesque voice, “Forget photos and letters, all the people that mattered, they don’t move me no more.”

The air of dejectedness boils over into defiance on the eighth track, “Lay it Down,” as the group repeats the lyric, “Hey, shut the f*** up boy, you’re starting to piss me off.”

This brooding rant is unlike anything in previous songs by the band, and while “Writer’s Block” was fit for relaxing on the beach, this song and even “Living Thing” as a whole could be the grumbling and cursing when vacation is over.

The line definitely stands out amidst the moodiness, and seems contrived as a way to add some shock value.

The album’s two standout songs, lyrics aside, are unquestionably the seventh song, “I Want You!” and the aforementioned “It Don’t Move Me.” On “It Don’t Move Me,” a glimmer of the old PB&J sound shines through as they utilize everything from ringing staccato synthesizer, to the lowest piano keys possible, to hand claps and bass guitar. The song is downbeat and eccentric sounding like most of the album,

YOUNG FOLKS About as poppy and bubbly as

the song itself, this cartoonish video tapped into the feel good vibes of PB&J’s first album.

|Borrow at best|

but in a more creative, Radiohead sort of way.

However, the truest rock guitar playing is in “I Want You!” and is complemented by bassist Bjorn Yttling’s deep buzzing sound. The melody of the song is slightly sunnier than the rest of “Living Thing,” but a closer look at lyrics like “You act like a clown, I don’t get this movie, it only brings me down,” reveals that it’s really a lover’s lament in disguise.

Despite the band’s undeniable creativity and musicianship, I have the same big question after listening to “Living Thing” that I had after hearing Kanye West’s latest offering: How is this going to work in concert? The band clearly planned on performing this album live since they have over 30 shows planned in the next few months. But what audience is willing to stand for two hours and listen to introspective lyrics sung over the crawling, melancholy melodies of “Living Thing?” I just don’t see it happening for Peter Bjorn and John, as they have neither the ego nor the selection of bling and designer scarves that Kanye has to pump up a crowd.

The key ingredient to the band’s earlier work was their ability to be bubbly and exciting with an understated gloomy feel.

That element of excitement is missing from “Living Thing.”

While there are a couple of creative wild cards on “Living Thing,” I would probably still skip over them if they came up during a shuffle on my iPod. The upbeat techno/pop melodies of “Writer’s Block” are almost completely gone, which I hope will just be a phase for PB&J. Don’t be fooled by the title. This “Living Thing” could use an extra shot of life.

NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT Middle-aged Asian men performing synchornized dance moves in leather jackets. ‘Nuff said.

|Worth buying |

|

|

AMSTERDAM

Performed at Webster Hall in New York, this stripped, live version of Amsterdam packs a lot of soul into an acoustic jam. // YOUTUBE.COM

|Instant Classic

PAGE 25 A&E / ISSUE 15

Nothing to ‘Swoon’ over Indie rockers’ sophomore attempt falls short

// PHOTO COURTESY OF WWW.DANGERBIRDRECORDS.COM

// MACTAMBLYN

DISCOGRAPHY

Brian Aubert, lead singer of LA band Silversun Pickups, has a paradoxical voice.

It’s masculine-yet-feminine, scratchy-yet-clear and experienced-yet-callow. There’s not much more you could ask for out of an aspiring indie rock singer.

But on “Swoon,” the Pickups newest effort, the dominant attribute of both Aubert’s voice and the album’s general sound is a sense of emotionless monotony. Most up-tempo groups do not have a hard time resonating energy, but the Pickups sure do.

The biggest problem was not even that “Swoon” sounded too much like “Carnavas,” the Pickups ’06 debut; it was that “Swoon” sounded like it was repeating itself way too often.

The formula for each song is as follows: Aubert’s voice, fuzzy guitar with loads of gain and post-grunge style. These components are loosely packed anywhere from four minutes and 40 seconds to six minutes of music. The end result is controlled and detached, something that you would listen to two notches above mute while making flashcards for a vocabulary quiz.

For a great example of inter-album similarity on “Swoon,” listen to the intros of “Panic Switch” and “Sort of.” The opening bass riffs of these two songs are like identical twins: they obviously came from the same place, but there are a few barely distinguishable differences.

Another complaint: the songs are too long. And consistently too long. With their dream-like rock style, it’s easy to

“The Pikul EP” 2005 Top iTunes downloads

1.) Kissing Families 2.) Comeback Kid 3.) Booksmart Devil

STAR SCALE | |Broken record|

get lulled into a state of boredom. After hearing the same uninspired hooks over and over, I found my mind wandering.

The Pickups threw in an orchestra segment on a few songs like “The Royal We,” “Catch and Release” and “It’s Nice to Know You Work Alone.” Sure, it’s melodic, but it only adds to my daydreaming. Hearing strings prompts me to think of classical music, a genre that intentionally sends the listener on mental travels. Focusing on the music became increasingly hard.

What jolted me back to reality was “Substitution,” the best song on “Swoon.” Here’s why: Aubert briefly breaks out of his vocal tedium and exposes his raw voice. He screams into the microphone with potent enthusiasm, then dips to hit lower notes, keeping the listener guessing as to where his voice may lead next. It took until the eighth song for Aubert to break out of his dull hum and sound like he had not just rolled out of bed.

It is possibly the only risk taken on the album, but it was taken beautifully.

“Substitution” was given a climax, something that almost every song on “Swoon” is missing. Overall, it’s too mild-mannered.

The Pickups needed to inject this conviction into a few more songs.

Enter “Lazy Eye,” the track that put the Pickups on the map a few years back. This mostly mellow song was intensified by one head-banging moment. Aubert took his voice off

“Carnavas” 2006 Top iTunes downloads

Despite their first single, 2006’s “Lazy Eye,” receiving radio play and even being featured in Rock Band 2, the band still keeps themselves relatively low key and doesn’t even have their own Web site. Just a MySpace.

//PHOTO COURTESY of WWW.LAST.FM the leash and let it run to fields of higher decibels. Passion turned a decent song into a great one, which gave “Lazy Eye” international notoriety and Silversun Pickups the success that comes with such emotion.

They should have taken a tip from themselves on “Swoon.” They recycled enough of their own material anyway from “Carnavas.”

| |

Mac’s thoughts on...

2006’s ‘CARNAVAS’

1.) Lazy Eye 2.) Well Thought Out Twinkles 3.) Little Lover’s So Polite

|Borrow at best|

Never heard of them?

It was stronger than “Swoon” simply because of its originality at the time. Although it was not a diverse album, it was a classic debut from an alternative rock band looking to establish a foundation to work from. The Pickups stepped onto the scene with the release of “Carnavas.”

|Worth buying |

|Instant Classic

PAGE 26 SPORTS / APRIL27, 2009 Finishing his final year of jump coaching, teacher Chuck Sulzen has reached...

SUCH GREAT HEIGHTS

COACH Chuck Sulzen overlooks the track as a high jumper completes a practice run behind him. This is Sulzen’s fortieth and final year as a coach and teacher. // PATRICKMAYFIELD

// SAMKOVZAN

When the 2009 school year ends this May, East teacher and track coach Chuck Sulzen will say goodbye to a community he’s been part of for 40 years.

Since his arrival in 1969, Sulzen has coached a variety sports, in addition to teaching woodshop. For the first half of his career, he was heavily involved in the football program, coaching freshmen and varsity players alike. In the 1980s he was an assistant to Wiley Wright’s boys swim team and coached boys soccer. But his forte has been track and field, which he’s coached every spring since his arrival at East.

“Track is more of an individual sport, so I like how I’m able to focus on each athlete and try to help them get better,” Sulzen said. “I’ve also been around the sport for so long, having competed myself in high school.”

In the 1960s, Sulzen was a high school high jumper himself. Although it wasn’t a prominent track event at the time, it was always his personal favorite. Sulzen has witnessed the sport change gradually in numerous ways, but is particularly fond of the growing popularity of the high jump event.

“Back when I did high jump in high school, it wasn’t considered a very big event,” Sulzen said. “Now it’s bigger, so I’m glad to have seen that change.”

The high jump has arguably been Sulzen’s most successfully coached event. Sheldon Carpenter, who holds school records in the high jump (7’2’’) and long jump (23’7.5’’), was coached by him through his senior year in 1992. Sulzen has also coached senior Curran Darling, the defending high jump state champion who will be attending Villanova University next fall on a track scholarship.

In addition to working with many successful East ath-

letes, Sulzen has taught hundreds of students through the years. During his career, he has taught metals, plastics, and auto tech. He does, however, have a favorite class to teach.

Woodshop has seemingly corresponded with track and field during Sulzen’s time at East. It is the class he’s taught every day, ever week, every year.

“Someone who’s been teaching and coaching at the same place for 40 years is almost unimaginable,” East track coach and teacher T. Michael Chaffee said. “The cliche of ‘coming to play every day’ really applies to him, and what he’s done is pretty impressive.”

According to Chaffee, many have taken Sulzen and the great things he’s done for granted. Chaffee said Sulzen is always willing to do the dirty work - hauling tents and tarps around in his truck - and has even helped Chaffee out during the cross country season in the fall despite not being on the coaching staff.

“As a person, he’s so likeable and giving,” Chaffee said.

“He’s always put others before himself.”

Sulzen is spending his last track season coaching long jump, triple jump and high jump. Junior long jumper Grant Stauffer has been coached by Sulzen for the last three years, and admits that not having him as a coach next year will be feel unusual.

“Coach Sulzen has really focused on helping me the last couple years, and I think I’ll miss him a lot my senior year,” Stauffer said. “I’ve matured into understanding him this year, so it will be hard to see him go.”

In his first two years on the track team, Stauffer never fully utilized what Sulzen had to offer as a coach. He claimed to slack at practices and not always give full effort.

Stauffer’s third season has been completely different. He has taken the sport much more seriously, and as a result, Sulzen has taken him more seriously. According to Stauffer, Sulzen waits for athletes to show dedication before he fully opens up to them. When the junior’s effort increased, he began to realize just how much Sulzen knew about jumping.

“This year I made it known to him that I actually cared about this and really wanted to do well,” Stauffer said. “Since then, he’s helped my form a ton – in the air after I take off with the hitch kick and hanging in the air longer.”

Until this year, Stauffer wasn’t aware of how many seasons Sulzen has been at East. For this reason, he believes the coach deserves more credit than he gets among the track athletes. Having experienced great improvement this season, Stauffer wishes he had made the most of his first two seasons under Sulzen’s guidance.

“He has coached so many athletes over the years, and I’m sure he’s had his low points, but he’s never quit,” Stauffer said. “He’s stuck with East and has showed unbelievable dedication.”

The decision to retire was not that difficult for Sulzen. He knows that his replacement next year - Matthew Voelker, who competed in high jump Olympic qualifying - will help the jumpers immensely. Furthermore, his plans for the future were actually settled 11 years ago.

Former track coach Karl Englund retired from East in 1998. Beginning his coaching career when the school opened in 1958, Englund was a staple of East track and field for 40 years. He coached handfuls of college athletes, shaped the foundation of a highly successful track and field program, and the school’s track was promptly named in his honor.

Among those who had coached with Englund was Sulzen.

At the time of Englund’s retirement, he had a respectable 29 years of coaching and teaching under his own belt. It was at that point, in the spring of 1998, that Sulzen set a goal for himself.

“When coach Englund retired, I thought about my own future a little bit,” Sulzen said. “I figured then that I’d be 62 by the end of my 40th year here, which would be a nice, even number to end on.”

Eleven years later, he has accomplished his goal. 2009 marks the 40-year milestone, and it will also mark the end of his coaching and teaching career.

Looking forward to the tranquility of retirement, Sulzen

vv JUMPINGTHROUGHTIME

A look at some of Coach Sulzen’s past high jumpers: 1 2 3 4 5 Steve Rainbolt (1975)- 6’ 10’’ Nancy Caroline (1982)- 5’ 5’’ Curran Darling (2008)- 6’ 6’’ Andrea Branson (1997)- 5’ 4’’ Sheldon Carpenter (1992)- 7’ 2’’

6

7

will always be working on a project in his workshop at home.

Time off will also give him and his wife the opportunity to travel around the United States and to Europe, something they have wanted to do for a long time.

Nonetheless, he will miss the school very much and is thankful for what the East community has given him. Most importantly, Sulzen is glad he’s learned a little himself during the 40-year journey.

“I’ve realized the importance of listening to kids, because not all of them are out there to be pros or Olympians.” Sulzen said. “So I’ve really enjoyed working with kids who had talent and maybe didn’t see it, and helping them become the best they can be. That’s really what high school sports are all about.”

Stick IT to

// SARAHMCKITTRICK

As the Kansas City Outlaws hockey team steps onto the ice, the group of high school boys starts to whisper and point at freshman Miranda Treas. She feels the referees look at her and automatically see her not as a hockey player, but as a girl. They take it easy on her the entire game and the opposite team will mess with her as soon as the referee drops the puck. On a team full of boys, Miranda is used to this unwanted attention. All of the whispering, staring and pointing has become as routine for Miranda as putting on her hockey gear. Its just part of the game for her.

“I try to show them that girls are as good as guys and can match up to their level,” Miranda said.

Since watching her older cousin Meagan Treas play hockey as a little girl, Miranda was hooked on the sport. She began playing hockey in fifth grade with her other cousin Bridget Treas and has continued playing on several Kansas City teams since then.

Although most hockey players start the sport as toddlers, Miranda and her cousin started at a much older age. However, as they began playing more and more, the skating became more natural and the sport became less scary for both them and their worried parents.

In the beginning, Miranda’s mom, Dana Posten, was apprehensive over her daughter playing such a physical sport.

Now, after several years of watching her daughter play hockey, Posten is proud of Miranda for playing against boys and sees the sport as a challenge because of the physical difficulties the sport involves.

“Size wise she’s a lot smaller,” Posten said. “You wouldn’t see her and think she would be an awesome hockey player.”

Despite these worries, playing with boys was never an issue for Miranda. She and Bridget first began playing hockey on an all boys’ team called the KC Outlaws. Now, Miranda

PAGE 27 SPORTS / ISSUE 15 Freshman Miranda Treas proves that the challenging sport of hockey isn’t limited to boys

plays with both the KC Outlaws, a boys’ team, and the KC Storm, a girls’ team.

Miranda said that despite playing the same sport, the two teams couldn’t be any more different.

According to Miranda, the boys’ games are at a higher level of competition and are rougher. She likes these more competitive boys’ games better, but she said the girls’ games are still intense.

“The girls we play against are tough, big girls,” Miranda said. “They are just as competitive as the boys and want to win.”

The KC Storm, Miranda’s girls’ team, travels across the Midwest to play hockey and placed second out of 12 teams in the Midwest Girl’s Hockey League in 2007. They also beat all of the boys teams in their league in 2006.

However, she feels that the refs in their league are sometimes sexist and do not allow the girls to check other players.

“The rough play I use during boys’ games transfers to girls’ games,” Miranda said. “I’m known as the ‘rough player’ and sometimes get penalized more.”

Despite the often sexist views towards Miranda taken by other teams, Miranda said the boys from the Outlaws are very accepting and like brothers to her.

Ethan Tucker, Miranda’ teammate on the KC Outlaws, said that he and the team don’t view Miranda differently because she is a girl. Although he said he felt like he had to go easy on her at first, he and his teammates have now become accustomed to having a girl on their team.

“I felt like I had to pass the puck to her and would help her more sometimes,” Tucker said. “But now everyone just treats her as a member of the team.”

Miranda has also gained the respect from the boys for playing a contact sport.

“It’s fun having a girl who likes to play a physical sport and not be dancing and cheerleading,” Tucker said.

Miranda said the team dynamics are also

-protects her head against posvery different. The boys’ team messes around sibility of other sticks, pucks or an injury from more and are not pushed by their coaches, but falling. the girls’ practices are much easier. While the boys’ team is close knit, Miranda says the girls bond more because they have more in common.

However, when Miranda has to choose be -enables her to represent tween the guys’ and girls’ teams, she usually each of her teams. She owns multiple for chooses the KC Storm, her girls’ team. each of her teams.

“I usually stick with the girls team just because they are girls,” Miranda said.

-gives her a better grip on Even though she will pick the guys over the girls, Miranda likes playing with the Outlaws a the stick and protects her hands from lot more because of the faster pace and higher getting hit by other objects or getting intensity of the boys’ game compared to the scrapped on the ice. girls. Miranda said playing with an all boys’ team has given her a new perspective on the game and pushed her more.

“Its hard with guys because they have advantages with their build

-protects body and and speed,” Miranda said. creates cushion if she falls or gets “But I want to be seen as knocked down on the ice. equal with them.”

Playing on

two teams and practicing every Friday night from September to March has taken up a great deal of Miranda’s free time. Depending on the weekend, Miranda plays between 5-8 games a week on tournaments with the Storm and 1-2 games over the weekend with the Outlaws.

Although she misses out on spending time with friend many weekends during hockey season, Miranda said that overall all of the hard work is worth it.

“There are so many weekends that I can hang out with people, but hockey is more important to me,” Miranda said.

“There will be so many other Friday nights.”

Despite the distractions often surrounding Miranda as the only girl on the ice, she views hockey as her escape from her every day life of school and friends.

“When your in the game your in a different world,” Miranda said. “You can let out everything.”

The GEAR Helmet

Jersey

Gloves

Pads

// PHOTOSBY GAILSTONEBARGER

PAGE 28 SPORTS / APRIL 27, 2009

Turning it Around Softball team looks to be more successful than in past seasons // BILLYKIRKPATRICK

Eight wins. That’s how many head softball coach Deon Slemp wants this year. It was six wins, but after the promising start that the Lady Lancers got off to, he changed it to eight. Next year, he wants at least 10 wins. The year after, 14 is the magic number.

Three years from now Slemp’s goal is to compete at the state tournament. It may be a learning process, but it’s all part of Slemp’s master plan for turning around a softball program that won only one game in the past two seasons.

Slemp, a former East assistant coach, admits that he accepted a challenge by taking the position asa head coach for the Lancer softball team. The team did not win a game last year and won only one game the year before that. However, due in large part to a spark from many underclassmen on the team, the softball team has already surpassed its win totals for the past two years. As of April 21, the team had defeated Lawrence Free State and Leavenworth for a 2-8 record.

“The biggest challenge is trying to get the attitude turned around on the team to where they are going out, believing in themselves that they have a chance to go out and win a ballgame,” Slemp said.

The changes are noticable in the Lancers. They sprint on and off the field and go to the plate looking to hit. They are consistent in the field and always throw to the right spot.

They back up throws and make hustle plays. Fist-bumps and high-fives are a constant among the girls and the coachs.

And despite a recent skid in which they have not won a

QA with

&

// MACKENZIEWYLIE

Carly Haflich

game since their victory over Leavenworth, they are still enjoying themselves. Even after an inning in which they give up a few runs, they sprint in ready to hit. They support each other even when things aren’t going the way they planned.

One of the factors that Slemp has brought to the program is a renewed intensity for the game. A typical Slemp-run practice consists of stretching, warmups (such as throwing and wrist snaps) and offensive and defensive exercises (including hitting stations, base running and swing speed).

“He is definitely an intense coach, which is what I think we needed,” senior third baseman Hannah Eggleston said.

“Not to say Coach Horn wasn’t an intense coach, it’s just that she had an entirely different way of approaching the game.”

One of the key reasons contributing to the turnaround is the addition of five freshmen to the varsity squad. Slemp sees the large group of freshmen on the team as a chance to build for the future with a young foundation. Slemp also credits the freshmen with bringing new energy and passion to a team that had become accustomed to constantly losing.

“The positives to [having so many freshmen] is that they are not coming in with two to three years of losing experience,” Slemp said. “The complacency of just going out and going through the motions, getting beat and going home isn’t there.”

For the four seniors in the the program, this season has been a relief from the losing they had suffered through in the past.

“For us to go out and have won literally our second game,

On coach Deon Slemp being picked as spring sports stud...

I didn’t really know about it really, but that’s pretty funny.

On the success of the team this year...

Our record is still pretty bad, butwhen we lose, it’s a closer game. We don’t have as much to pick from though, like other schools in the league, because there aren’t as many girls who play softball. So we are already underdogs before any talent comes in.

On this year compared to previous years...

Overall, it is way different because the coach has a lot to do with the attitude. The practices are a lot more fun, and the sport is enjoyable and more fun to play.

On having a new coach her senior year...

It’s bittersweet because the program is going to

SENIOR Carly Haflich bats against Leavenworth. The Lancers won 2-1 at their most recent win on April 7. // DANSTEWART

it was a huge deal,” Eggleston said. “It’s really encouraging that we are actually winning.”

But with so many underclassmen, several seniors have stepped up into leading roles. Eggleston believes this has helped underclassmen progress.

“I think that [senior leadership] is really important,” Eggleston said. “If I was a freshman I would feel more comfortable to have senior leadership just because I would know that there is someone I could go to that would understand because they had been there for much longer than I had.”

One of the highlights of the beginning of the season was the first-game heroics of sophomore Haley Fosnough-Biersmith. Fosnough-Biersmith, who played on the varsity team last year, launched a two-run home run and a solo home run in her first two at-bats. To top off the performance, she was named The Johnson County Sun Athlete of the Week. Fosnough-Biersmith had not played summer softball the year before, which Slemp believes was a result of the negative experiences of playing on varsity last season.

“To see her face as she was rounding third base on her home run trot both times, you could see the spark and the love of the game flew right back in her,” Slemp said.

As for the goal of eight wins, Slemp thinks the team is well on its way to achieving a goal that once seemed almost impossible for the program.

“We just need to keep going the way we are,” Slemp said. “We are going to keep working hard to try to get to that goal.”

turn around in the next couple years, but I won’t get to be a part of the success to come.

doing. It feels like we are actually competing.

On the inexperience of the team...

Our new coach has an easier going attitude and we are now more willing to listen and learn. You aren’t afraid to mess up either. We used to get yelled for mistakes, which makes you do even worse. So getting yelled at and you are losing, it’s just bad all together.

Everyone is a freshman or sophomore. In our starting line up there are only three seniors and no juniors. We make plays that show inexperience, and that is the difference between 15 and 18 year olds.

Most varsity starting line ups consist of all seniors.

On the bond between the four seniors...

Hannah, Lynza and I started out on the same rec teams, and we have played together for a long time, and with Cari playing with us at East we have become a lot closer.

On the team goals and how to accomplish them...

Our goal is to do better than before. Our record is better, but we also feel better about what we are

On the difference in coaching...

On the new expectations for the team...

It’s nice and I’m not embarrased anymore to say I’m a softball player. I don’t care whatpeople think becuase now we are doing better. There aren’t as many seniors that play , so we really don’t have all that much senior support. But the new school awareness is nice.

PAGE 29 SPORTS / ISSUE 15

WORKING FOR THE WEEKEND

Sophomore GABL team is sponsored by Chippendales, a male strip club

// JACKHOWLAND

// MACKENZIEWYLIE

Chris Farley rips his shirt off, throws it on the ground and struts his stuff for those infamous Chippendales judges. Blaring in the background is the 80s anthem, “Working for the Weekend.” In a wild frenzy of dance moves and hand motions, the audience begins to laugh uproariously.

The popular Saturday Night Live sketch that drew some attention to the male dancer business has always gone along with shirtless men and up-beat tunes.

But for six East students, the SNL sketch will no longer be associated with dancing men in skin-tight clothing. Instead, it will be associated with high tops and basketballs.

Last year, amongst jokes and laughter, the idea to have a basketball team sponsored by Chippendales, a touring male strip club, was born. The team plays in the Great American Basketball League, a local rec league that consists of many East teams.

“It started out as a joke,” sophomore team member Will Severns said. “The longer it went on, the more serious it got.”

Severns and his teammates came up with this idea after coming across Farley’s popular SNL shirtless dance. They’ve always been familiar with the sketch and decided that they would try and get Chippendales to sponsor their team. The team members credit Severns with the idea, but everyone was equally excited about it.

“It was just kind of a funny thing,” sophomore player Brett Miller said. “Will came up with it, we were just looking for a name [for our team].”

After the idea got the thumbs-up from each team member, they made their first of many calls to Chippendales headquarters in New York. Even though the calls were essentially a joke, they wanted Chippendales as a sponsor and would continue to call until they got it.

“We called Chippendales like three or four different times,” sophomore Robby Moriarty said. “The first time we called they were like ‘no way.’ Another guy said maybe, then finally one guy said he’d talk to his boss. It was a process.”

Chippendales’ initial reaction was hesitant because of concerns about the legality of sponsoring a high school basketball team. The team, still very much aware that this was a joke, tried to reassure them.

For the Chippendales’ first season, they really were just looking for some free T-shirts with “Chippendales” on the front. Their expectations were low.

When they talked to Chippendales manager Kevin Dunberg, they were surprised to hear no concerns. Dunberg feels that Chippendales prides itself on being on the right side of the line and staying classy. He said his business is no worse than a PG-13 movie, so he had no problem sponsoring a high school basketball team.

This is when the team realized it could happen. The joke that was thrown out one day was about to come true. They continued to call Chippendales relentlessly. It was not a joke anymore, Chippendales was interested.

And after an ongoing relationship with the company over two seasons, Chippendales is giving them their full sponsorship for this year. Dunberg didn’t think twice about it once he got to know the group of boys.

“We gave them the sponsorship because of their persistence,” Dunberg said. “They gave us a call and sent us a tape, and we were impresssed with their commitment, and we honor that kind of attitude.”

This was Dunberg’s first time sponsoring a high school team, but in the past has had experience sponsoring his own Chippendales basketball team, made up of employees. They competed against other Broadway show and musical teams in Las Vegas.

But this was different. The GABL Chippendales team is

hundreds of miles away from the corporate office in New York, but to Dunberg, it’s worth the lengthy trip.

“I do intend to go to a game,” Dunberg said. “Just to honor this extraordinary group +of gentleman.”

The Chippendales GABL team was shocked.

“They actually responded and liked it, liked us,” Miller said. “Then they actually [gave us the sponsorship].”

The GABL has always had a laid-back and fun atmosphere. But this joke tops them all.

Stepping onto the hardwood floor, teams began to laugh at the Chippendales jerseys. The games were mainly just students goofing around and having a good time.

“Last year we definitely did not [take it seriously],” sophomore John Schrock said. “We did not play defense and we put up a lot of threes.”

Although they were just having fun, the team was experiencing a lot of early success last year. Their first season was only seven games long, but the Chippendales went 7-0, winning nearly every game by an average of 15 points.

This season, their GABL league is getting competitive.

The field of teams is no broader than it was last year, but the skill level of the teams is improving. The competitive league mainly consists of East teams, many led by JV and varsity basketball players.

“None of the teams last year were really that good,” Moriarty said. “This year every single game will be tough, so it’s going to be a lot harder [to win games], but I feel confident we can win every game.”

This year they plan to take the team a little bit more seriously than they did last season. Their goal is to improve the team in every aspect of the game. They even ordered brand new, sleek Chippendales jerseys, an upgrade from last year’s

cotton T-shirts.

“We are providing them with jerseys,” Dunberg said of the corporate designed jerseys and logo, paid in full by the company. “It’s more a testament to how impressed we were with their commitment to do this.”

Sporting new jerseys and a whole new mindset, Chippendales is a feared team in the league. Other teams have made it a priority to beat them. It’s become a common phrase to say, “beat the Chippendales!” And one team already has.

The Chippendales lost their second game of the season in a close 68-64 finish to the Tigers, a team made primarily of East JV and Varsity players. Although they lost their second game, they won their first by 18, reminiscent of last season’s victories.

Of course, they’re just looking to have fun.

“We don’t care if we win or lose,” Schrock said. “We don’t have a coach, there’s no set anything, we just kind of go out there and have fun.”

Having a good time is what it’s all about with the Chippendales. Not the strip club. Not the SNL sketch. The basketball team.

To watch the team’s video that catapulted them into a sponsorship with Chippendales, visit YouTube and search:

CHIPPENDALES SEASON ONE

For more team videos and highlights, including Chippendales star and Rockhurst sophomore Dan Tapko’s in game dunk, search for the user:

HAWKLET21

KCABTOBACK

PAGE 30 SPORTS / APRIL 27, 2009

Boys’ golf goes for repeat at state title // CAMSMITH

// KRISTINBARKER Then junior Joe Lynch was competing at the Kansas state golf tournament, hoping he wouldn’t be the one to let the senior class down. He wanted to make sure they went out on a high note. He ended up shooting three bogies, one double bogie, three birdies and 11 pars, his best round all season, to help the team win a state title.

Coming off a Sunflower League title and a Kansas State championship, the East golf team has high expectations. Losing key players like Scott Wilman and Tommy Kennedy left a couple gaps in this year’s team, but with the depth in the senior class and the talented underclassmen they are looking to repeat their state title run.

The emphasis this year is on the depth of the team as a whole and the experience of the senior class.

“I think the experience will show later down the road,” coach Ermanno Ritschl said. “There are a lot of good underclassmen pushing, and I think the upper-classmen will have to produce to keep a spot. I think it will push them in the right direction.”

This year’s team is returning seniors Joe Lynch, Scott Humphrey, Chase Lucas and Will Snyder who competed in the state tournament in addition to junior Ian Boat, who played varsity last season, and senior Nic Hasselwander. But with the addition of junior Grant Burnside from Wichita Southeast High School and key freshmen like Conner Schrock and Henry Simpson, the golf team is looking to win back-to-back state titles.

“The underclassmen will have big shoes to fill once we leave,” Lynch said. “But since they have the talent and they already have the expectations I think they know what to strive for and how they can accomplish it.”

According to Simpson, Ritschl is stressing team coherence between the five guys that will shoot anywhere in the 70’s.

Another key to the team is how many go-to players the team has. Lynch said that there and potentially ten guys that could be playing on varsity and that keeps people on their toes.

“People have to play consistent to hold their spot,” Lynch said. “There are so many different options [a] coach can choose from that if you get an opportunity you really have to take it and make the most of it.”

The seniors also have a large role on the team helping the underclassmen and other n e w

players find their way.

“It is great to have the senior leadership we have,” Lynch said. “Knowing these guys for four years has helped us a lot. We can count on each other to play a good round if one of us doesn’t.”

For Burnside, it is a completely different atmosphere. Last year he was competing against East, but this year he has an opportunity to be a part of it. He was the top golfer on varsity team last year at Wichita Southeast.

But the competition doesn’t phase Burnside. Having a team that gels so well and can joke around at any given moment makes for a relaxing day when a spot on varsity is the difference between sinking a 25 foot putt or playing it safe and laying up before a water hazard instead of going for the green in one shot.

“There is more competition [at East],” Burnside said. “It really keeps me focused and I have to make sure I’m playing my best at all times because of how many god players there are.”

The team plays in league tournaments with multiple teams rather than one-on-one matches. Playing a different country club

SALARY SLAM-DUNK I an opinion of

f a university has enough money to buy the best coach they can, then why not let them. If a tradition-rich school wants to pay a man to completely turn their program around, then why not let them.

So there should be no criticism whatsoever of John Calipari’s new $31.65 million dollar contract over eight years from the University of Kentucky. History has proven that he can turn a program around, from taking an unknown UMass team to the Final Four with Player of the Year Marcus Camby to inking the University of Memphis into the college basketball record books for years to come.

On April 1, John Calipari was introduced as the new head basketball coach at the University of Kentucky. He is currently one of the best coaches in college basketball. He has a career winning rate of 76 percent.

Calipari started off his college coaching career at the University of Massachusetts. There, he created an Atlantic 10 Conference dynasty, winning numbers of conference championships as well as appearing in countless NCAA Tournament appearances, most notably his trip to the 1996 Final Four. At Memphis, he set a number of records for college basketball,

/ CONORTWIBELL

course every a week allows the team to see different courses and always have a new shot to practice and gain experience on.

East used to have an advantage when it came to playing many different courses instead of playing the same course every day.

“With the amount of public courses, the edge we used to have has faded a little bit,” Ritschl said. “All the best golfers also aren’t coming out of Country Clubs anymore.

There are plenty of talented golfers that are only playing on public courses.”

Another key player is Lucas. Even though he only played nine holes during tryouts, shooting a 37 at Meadow brook Country Club, his goal for the team is to win the Sunflower League as well as another state title against strong contenders Blue Valley North and Blue Valley.

“We tied for second in our first tournament this year,” Lucas said. “We didn’t even play that good, so you can only imagine what will happen when we start playing good. I don’t feel the pressure. I want another state rock.”

high college coaching paychecks are necessary

including the most consecutive 30 plus win seasons (4). That information alone convinced me that Calipari is worth as much money as Kentucky wants to give him. He has taken an unknown UMass team to the Final Four, and has made the Memphis Tigers a household name in college basketball.

Calipari’s new contract makes him the richest coach in college basketball history, just passing Billy Donovan of the Florida Gators. Yes, Donovan has struggled since receiving his big bonus from Florida, but that could be due to such a large loss of talent from his back-to-back National Championship teams in ’06 and ’07. But without this huge deal from Kentucky, I am not sure Calipari would have been so easily swayed from Memphis. Even receiving so much money will motivate Calipari to turn this Kentucky team around.

Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart and Kentucky are obviously doing what is necessary to turn this historic program around. He has already turned around two college basketball teams and I feel that the third time’s a charm. But some of the media who are criticizing Barnhart and the University of Kentucky for offering this deal to Calipari need to stop. Why shouldn’t Kentucky spend the money they have on a guy that can take the program back to the way things were with current Louisville coach Rick Pitino in the early to mid 90’s. Pitino took the Wildcats to three Final Fours, and two national title games, one in which they won it all.

Two years ago, Calipari was on the market for a new coaching slot, and Kentucky was looking for someone to fill

Tubby Smith’s vacancy. Calipari was hoping for the job, but instead it was handed to the former coach at Texas A&M, Billy Gillispie. Gillispie was also given a fat contract, but after a terrible two year turmoil at one of the helms of basketball royalty, Gillispie was sent the pink slip. Believe me, Billy Gillispie is no Calipari.

Even five star high school recruits, according to Rivals. com, are thinking highly of Calipari. DeMarcus Cousins, a six-foot-nine-inch forward, originally committed to the University of Alabama-Birmingham. After long talks with Calipari, Cousins signed with Memphis, and now has followed Calipari to Kentucky. But Calipari is such a highly regarded coach, that if he went to coach at any other school regardless of history or talent, he would turn that team into a top 25 program, just like he did with Memphis.

Some college basketball fans think that his records at Memphis might not be as impressive as other coaches in bigger conferences, since Memphis plays in a struggling Conference USA, but the records are impressive. Louisville and Marquette used to play in the C-USA before they left after the 2005 season to head to the Big East Conference. Those teams were ranked in the Top 25 the whole season. So maybe they have had all of their 30+ win seasons after those teams left, but they still went 47 and 17 under Calipari while those teams were still a part of the conference. The facts are undeniable, John Calipari is a great basketball coach, and deserves the money he is getting to coach for Kentucky.

: E N O Z N O I T C U R T S CON

pring weather

tion with s le p m o c g n ri a e n re a s vation Sports facilitiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; reno Batting Cages

What was once a maze of nets and turf mats in the stage gym has been moved to a piece of land on the Delmar side of the baseball field. These have been completed in time for this season. The long stretch of cages have enough space for most of the team to hit at one time without having just one up to bat on the diamond.

Auxiliary Gym

In the spot of the former spirit circle, the district is constructing an additional gym to make room for more events and practice rooms. The stage gym and main court will remain untouched but the wrestling rooms, locker rooms and weight room will be housed in the new addition by the senior lot. Along with those amenities, the bottom floor of the gym will house a dance studio for the drill team.

Turf Football Field

Field Event Pits

So, what will your face be wearing for prom?

the Sideline

our who, what, when and where of East sports LADIES IN THE FAST LANE

The girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; track team were the winners of the Kansas Cup at the KU Relays two weekends ago. They received this honor for being the most outstanding team in the relay events, three of which they medaled in. The Distance Medley team of sophomore Hannah Jane Stradinger, juniors Hannah Satterlee and Mallory Kirby and senior Allie Marquis placed third, missing the school record by two seconds. The defending state champion 4x8 relay squad placed second to Leeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Summit West while the 4x4 relay set the pace for the rest of the state with the fastest time of the year so far.

IF THE BOYS CAN DO IT...

A new field of turf was installed over the winter to avoid construction while the football team was in-season. Every high school in the district will have one at the end of the tax-paid bond project. This will create fair preparation for Friday night games at the SM North and SM South district stadiums that had turf already. Also, the fields will no longer have Irrigation problems and maintenance will be limited.

Once neglected events in terms of space, field events will now have suitable facilities for meets, activities and practice. The old long jump run was a weededover stretch of track material just inside the field and the former shot put pit was a rocky, and weedy mess of cement. The bleachers have also been moved to the east side of the field to optimize practice space of the athletes.

PAGE 31 SPORTS / ISSUE 15

Two weeks from now the girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; swim team will attempt to follow the boysâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lead in winning the Sunflower League championship. They have won the past four seasons but will face stiff competition in Olathe Northwest and Lawrence Free State. Juniors Allison Kirby and Stacy Coffyn will lead the team in the breaststroke and freestyle events, respectively.

ROCKHURST REMATCH

In a game that was cancelled last season, the baseball team will face Rockhurst tomorrow night, 5:00 p.m. at Rockhurst. The Hawklets will be some of the toughest competition of the year.

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PAGE 32 PHOTOESSAY / APRIL 27, 2009

PICTURE

PERFECT

East and Lincoln Prep students went to Flint Hills on April 17 to enjoy a day of prairie burns and hiking for an art show at the Leopold Gallery

BELOW: Eleven photographers and a handful of painters were invited by art teacher Adam Finkelston to capture the country scenery on the Flying W. Ranch, like this tree in a vacant field.

// ALL PHOTOS BY ANDYALLEN

ABOVE: Senior Meghan Benson snaps a picture of antique farm equipment for her photo project that will be on display at the Leopold Gallery on May 15.

RIGHT: Lincoln Prep sophomore takes a picture of a horse to use on a drawing or clay pot that will also be on display at the Leopold Gallery .

BELOW: Students for both Lincoln Prep and East got the chance to participate in a prairie fire and see what every day life is like on a working ranch.

ABOVE: Senior Laedan Galicia inspects two antique covered wagons to search for inspiration for his next piece of artwork.