The Harbinger: Issue 3

the harbinger.

SHAWNEE MISSION EAST 7500 MISSION ROAD PRAIRIE VILLAGE, KS 66208 OCT 2, 2017 VOLUME LIX ISSUE 3

to use

The pressures of athletics push students to take dietary supplements whose health effects remain uncertain PAGES 16-17

COVER DESIGN LIZZIE K AHLE COVER PHOTO DIANA PERCY & ELLIE THOM A

THE HARBINGER

2 CONTENTS

table of contents.

peek inside.

editorial

A more detailed look at a few of the stories in the issue

NFL players kneeling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

NEWS

BETWEEN THE LINES | PAGE 13 | OPINION

News briefs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 John Deamer segregation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.

Coming to KC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 “Save the Bees” event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Staffer Elias Lowland believes East students should be educated about why the school lacks racial diversity

RIGHT | Senior Elias Lowland’s official staff mugshot.

| Di a n a p e r cy

CAUSING A CONUNDRUM | PAGE 19 | FEATURES Senior Siddarth Choudry used music to ease his transition after moving to America from India, and has found his identity through percussion

LEFT | Choudry leads the opening “East” chant during a football game. | G r ace G o l d m an

Junior Megan Packel’s dedication to competitive cheer-leading has prepared her to complete her goal of cheer-leading in college

RIGHT | Packel strikes a center split jump during practice.

the harbinger staff.

ASST. PRINT EDITORS Emily Fey Lizzie Kahle HEAD COPY EDITOR Daisy Bolin ART & DESIGN EDITOR Anna McClelland ASST. ART & DESIGN EDITOR Katie Hise ONLINE EDITORS-INCHIEF Reser Hall Kaleigh Koc ASST. ONLINE EDITORS Annabelle Cook Will Tulp VIDEO EDITOR Avery Walker MOBILE MEDIA EDITORS Anna Kanaley Lucy Hoffman

PRINT SECTION EDITORS Editorial- Caroline Chisholm News- Lucy Patterson Opinion- Gracie Kost & Scout Rice Features- Lila Tulp & Abby Walker Spread- Annabelle Cook A&E- Grace Padon & Liddy Stallard Sports- Elias Lowland PAGE DESIGNERS Carolyn Popper Jackie Cameron Natasha Thomas Gabby Leinbach Brynn Winkler Kaylin McCann Sarah Wilcox Sarah Bledsoe Meg Thoma Elizabeth Ballew Ava Johnson

Harrison Gooley Reser Hall Kaleigh Koc Annabelle Cook Will Tulp Caroline Chisholm Scout Rice Lucy Patterson Alex Freeman Pauline Shaver Daisy Bolin STAFF WRITERS Lucia Barraza Miranda Hack Jackie Cameron Maya Stratman PHOTO EDITORS Diana Percy Ellie Thoma Carson Holtgraves ASST. PHOTO EDITORS Grace Goldman Print- Audrey Kesler Online- Maddie Smiley SME PHOTOS EDITOR Carson Holtgraves

STAFF ARTISTS Skyler Boschen Donna Kay

HEAD PHOTO MENTOR Izzy Zanone

COPY EDITORS Mac Newman Madeline Hlobik Abby Walker

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Tyler Browning Ellen Swanson

Reilly Moreland Luke Hoffman Lucy Morantz Elizabeth Anderson Ava Simonsen Morgan Plunkett Katherine Odell Katherine McGinness Hadley Hyatt Ally Griffith Kate Nixon Aislinn Menke Kathleen Deedee ONLINE SECTION EDITORS News- Alex Freeman Sports- Jet Semrick Features- Brooklyn Terrill A&E- Kaylin McCann Homegrown- Pauline Shaver Opinion- Miranda Hack Eastipedia- Lucy Kendall Humans of East- Kate Nixon ASST. VIDEO EDITOR Drake Woods VIDEO TRAINING EDITOR Nic Bruyere LIVE BROADCAST EDITOR Peyton Watts

14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T

| mo r ga n p lun k e t t

ASST. MOBILE MEDIA EDITOR Brooklyn Terrill

F E AT U R E S

BEHOLD: avocado . . . . . . . . . . . .

Avid hunter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

DRUMMER’S JOURNEY. . . . . . .

Active community member. . . . . .

JUMPING TO NEW HEIGHTS | PAGE 29 | SPORTS

PRINT EDITORS-INCHIEF Grace Chisholm Robbie Veglahn

OPINION

Overcoming depression. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Volunteering’s benefits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Reliable donations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 KC RACIAL DIVIDE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

WEBMASTER Marti Fromm PODCAST EDITOR Lucy Patterson ANCHORS Ian Schutt Drake Woods INTERACTIVE EDITORS Will Tulp Annabelle Cook MULTIMEDIA STAFF Ian Schutt Dylan King Maggie Schutt Reilly Moreland EDITORIAL BOARD Grace Chisholm Robbie Veglahn Reser Hall Kaleigh Koc Emily Fey Lizzie Kahle Annabelle Cook Will Tulp Daisy Bolin Anna McClelland Anna Kanaley Lucy Hoffman Brooklyn Terrill Harrison Gooley Caroline Chisholm

Bubble waffles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 “To the Bone”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 “S. Town” podcast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 .

Netflix’s worst. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

SPORTS

Soccer player brothers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Athletes of the week . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Girls gymnastics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 COMPETITIVE CHEERLEADER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

MORE

Spirit photo story spread. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30-31 Homecoming alt-copy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

editorial policy.

The Harbinger is a student-run publication. Published editorials express the views of the Harbinger staff. Signed columns published in the Harbinger express the writer’s personal opinion. The contents and views of the Harbinger do not represent the student body, faculty, administration or Shawnee Mission School District. The Harbinger will not share any unpublished content, but quoted material may be confirmed with sources. The Harbinger encourages letters to the editors, but reserves the right to reject them for reasons including but not limited to lack of space, multiple letters of the same topic and personal attacks contained in the letter. The Harbinger will not edit content though letters may be edited for clarity, length, libel or mechanics. Letters should be sent to room 521 or emailed to smeharbinger@gmail.com

DESIGN CAROLINE CHIS OLM PHOTOS COURTESY OF MCT CA MPUS

OCTOBER 2, 2017

NEWS

3

FOR THOSE

WHO fell Although kneeling for the national anthem is a form of free speech, it is disrespectful

FOR: 12

AGAINST: 3

F

ollowing President Trump’s suggestion that NFL players should be fired if they kneel for the national anthem, The Harbinger believes that while the players have the right to protest, kneeling during the national anthem is the wrong way to approach the issue.

Kneeling during the national anthem disrespects the men and women of our armed forces and first response teams. The caskets of fallen soldiers are draped in the American flag.

The national anthem is an extension of the respect that we show those who serve for us – and pay the ultimate price of the freedom. Men who play a game professionally should stay standing during the anthem to show respect for those who put their lives on the line so they can achieve their dreams.

There are better ways to use their first amendment right than kneeling for the national anthem. While we respect free speech and support the first amendment, these players have the platform to make change because of their celebrity status. They have nearly unlimited access to the media every day. They can get attention for their cause without kneeling during the national anthem and causing unnecessary uproar that comes along with that action.

The players should be more clear with what they are

protesting instead of just kneeling or raising their fists without an explanation. The players need to be more cognizant of their message, because, in its current form, the angle that they are sending is one of disrespect instead of admiration. While the players probably don’t mean to be perceived this way, many citizens look at their kneeling in a disapproving light.

According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, 58% of Americans believe that players should be required by the NFL to stand for the anthem while 33% oppose that view.

Colin Kaepernick, who started the protests back in 2016, said he would not stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. Ever since he landed in free agency, no players have explained explicitly why they are protesting and what the endgame is.

Using their platforms, the NFL Player’s Association should organize a united message and use their platform to raise awareness for the issues the athletes are protesting. At this point, the players could still be protesting the flag like Kaepernick was, they might be protesting President Trump or they could be protesting something completely different.

A unified message would eliminate the public’s confusion of what their protest is all about. It would set the record

straight to confused fans and lead them towards a goal as a union. The new protest seems to be about President Trump’s attacks on the NFL’s owners for not disciplining players who kneel. However, with no clear central message the point of the protest isn’t known, which loses its meaningful effect.

Ever since the “Star Spangled Banner” was adopted as the national anthem in 1931, its purpose has been to bring people together by honoring the country we live in. In a divisive time like today, the national anthem is one of few symbols our nation has that can always cross deep divisions or party lines.

And it is a shame that it is not the case anymore.

These players play the game they love while making millions of dollars. It was the men storming the beaches of Normandy, the men and women rushing into the Twin Towers on 9/11 who made it possible for these players to play the game they love.

Instead of using the flag and anthem as a tool of protest, they should stand for the national anthem out of respect for those who came before them and to thank them for the opportunity to play.

KAEPERNICK WAS NOT THE FIRST...

1996, Denver Nuggets player Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf was suspended without pay from the NBA due to not standing during the national anthem because of his Islamic beliefs

1968, Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised a “black power” salute during the Star Spangled Banner at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games

2015, only five Minnesota Twins players came out onto the field before a game to listen and stand during the national anthem

DESIGN LUCY PAT TERS ON

4 NEWS

THE HARBINGER

NEWS IN BRIEF

east

BY PAU LI N E SH AVER Copy Editor

SME Chamber Choir to sing at SMEF breakfast

Chamber Choir will be performing “Pure Imagination” from “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” as the closing number at the Shawnee Mission Education Foundation’s 25th annual Fall Breakfast fundraiser on Oct. 10.

SMEF is an organization that raises money for SMSD, funding everything from the arts to STEM Education, according to their website. At the breakfast, located at the Overland Park Convention Center, over 1,200 leaders of civic organizations and businesses are invited to evaluate programs and decide whether to donate, according to choir director Ken Foley.

local

of the

“We will feature performances by some of our districts most talented students and will highlight the wonderful achievements of our students, educators and schools,” Kimberly Hinkle, Executive Director of SMEF, said.

Interim Superintendent Kenny Southwick will speak about SMSD academics. Programs such as the music department will perform in order to show the progress of art programs.

This is the fourth time Foley has participated in the SMEF breakfast, and he is eager to perform with chamber choirs from different schools to raise money for the district.

Multiple MIP’s were issued over the past weekend

Saturday Sept. 23 marked Homecoming for three KC schools, including Bishop Miege, St. Teresa’s Academy and Shawnee Mission East. That night, a number of students were charged with a MIP, or a Minor in Possession of alcohol or drugs charge. According to SME administration, no East students were involved in these incidents, despite there being around three last year on Homecoming night.

East has a zero tolerance policy for being in possession or under the influence of illegal substances on campus or at school events. If a student is caught, the consequences are a three-five day out of school suspension (OSS) and a ban from all events that semester. According to Principal John Mckinney, East administration is highly committed to delving out punishment where there has been an infraction.

If a student is charged with an MIP outside of East’s jurisdiction, the school will be notified by the District Attorney’s office, according to associate principal Dr. Susan Leonard. The fact that no East students were charged did

national

not go unnoticed by staff.

After asking the SROs at East if any students were involved, Athletic Director Debbie Katzfey was ecstatic.

“I asked [if] anybody got in trouble over the weekend,” Katzfey said. [They] got back to me and said, ‘Nope, we’re all good’. I said, ‘Yay!’ I’m happy that you guys are wonderful.”

Principal John McKinney said that the lack of East students involved in homecoming “antics” is not only due to school policy, but also the determination of the student body.

“Every single class, from the freshman, sophomore, juniors and the class of 2018, are really exhibiting a lot of maturity and discipline and leadership,” Mckinney said. “[They are] choosing to put forth this positive message to the school, to the community and to the greater Shawnee Mission district.”

Twitter experiments with doubling word count on tweets

After 11 years of a 140 character limitation, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey announced via tweet on Sept. 26 that the company will test doubling the character count to 280 in the coming months.

From his twitter account, @jackdorsey tweeted, “Proud of how thoughtful the team has been in solving a real problem people have when trying to tweet. And at the same time maintaining our brevity, speed, and essence!”

Junior Amanda Anderson, who has 2,361 retweets on her twitter @amandanderson9, thinks that this change will yield frightening results for the platform.

“I think Donald Trump is going to say even stupider stuff,” Anderson said about the update.

According to Twitter’s blog, this expansion was brought on by the fact that different languages are able to detail more information in one tweet. Unlike Japanese, Chinese or Korean, other languages like English and German need

a higher character count in order to express the same thought or idea.

To test this new format, Twitter plans to release the update to a “small group” of users whose language, like English, would cause limitation when trying to tweet with 140 characters, according to CNBC. Principal John Mckinney, avid Twitter user and admirer is “pro 280 characters” and believes that this update will be a positive one. Mckinney is sure that he will reduce his use of (1/4) tweets, allowing him to make more informative announcements to the student body.

“Anytime that you can use more characters to express yourself more accurately and provide more depth of information, that’s always a good thing”, Mckinney said. “I know there’s been times where I’ve wanted to expand what I’ve said.”

TOP | Senior Zach Yeo shoots a ball during the Fall Pep Assembly. |

ALLY GRIF F ITH

MIDDLE | Senior Frank Opelka rides a bike during the Lancer Day Parade. |

GRACE GO LDM AN

BOTTOM | Sophomore Joe Wanderlann look at a light during a Chemsirty Class. | K ATH LE E N DE E DY

DESIGN SARAH BLEDS OE

OCTOBER 2, 2017

NEWS 5

SEGREGATING

KINDERGARTENERS

John Diemer Elementary segregates classrooms, provoking outrage among parents

BY MIRANDA HACK Staff Writer

A

n email with a concern about the kindergarten classes at John Diemer Elementary School was sent to the Shawnee Mission School Board on August 11, four days before the first day of school. District parent Jemma Radick, who wrote the email, was concerned about the distribution of minority students throughout the kindergarten classes.

On Sept. 7, Shawnee Mission Director of Communications Erin Little told the Shawnee Mission Post that the district is unable to publish the rosters of the original kindergarten classes at John Diemer Elementary School.

According to Radick, one of the original classes was made up of 17 students: nine Latino, three African American, and five white children. The other classes were all white.

Radick was unclear about the reason the classes were segregated, speculating in her email that it could have been for English as a Second Language (ESL) purposes. There is one ESL certified kindergarten teacher at John Diemer, and it was into this teacher’s class that all of the minority students were placed, said Radick.

“Some of the children were placed with the ESL teacher because they needed ESL help,” Radick said. “But I think that other children were placed with the ESL teacher because it was assumed, based on the color of their skin, that they would not have sufficient English skills.”

In an email correspondence made public by the Kansas Open Records Act, Gruman stated that the JumpStart program, and the demographics within the program, might have a correlation to the segregation. JumpStart is a program that allows a small group of children to come to school and start learning for three weeks in July, in order to help build confidence and leadership among them.

“The issue here might be related to JumpStart, and the fact that we try to

keep JS children with their kindergarten teachers,” Gruman wrote, “…and that JS has a higher concentration of minority students.”

However, the rosters for the original classes, with lists of JumpStart students and ESL lists, cannot be released, according to Little.

Radick, not a John Diemer parent, sent the email after a friend who has students in the kindergarten class contacted her. Her friend had gone to the school with her concerns, but the school administrators did not know how to address them, Radick said.

But I think that a lot of the other children were placed with the ESL teacher because it was assumed, based on the color of their skin, that they would not have sufficient English skills.

J E MM A R ADI C K DI ST R I C T PAREN T Radick believes that this issue is not only prevalent at John Diemer, but is a representation of a larger problem within the Shawnee Mission School District.

“I took action against this because it was wrong.” Radick said. “And I think it needs to be addressed on a larger scale.”

District Director of Research and Assessment Dan Gruman and Shawnee Mission Director of Communications Erin Little declined to comment on the matter.

Two days after Radick’s email was sent, she got in touch with SMSD school board candidate Heather Ousley.

Ousley helped her contact Hubbard and Gruman, who then brought the incident to the district’s attention.

The district, concerned with a

possible violation of the Title VI Nondiscrimination Act, changed the class rosters, ensuring that the classes would be equal in regards to the distribution of minority students.

Although there was concern within the district– both from administrators and parents– the controversy was not as highly circulating at John Diemer, according to a parent at the school, Lori Ruf. According to Ruf, John Diemer is very diverse. Ruf’s daughter has more Hispanic children in her 5th grade class than white ones, whereas 30% of Shawnee Mission South’s population (the high school that John Diemer feeds into) consists of minority races, according to US News. “[The PTA president] acted like it was very random and kind of blown out of proportion,” Ruf said. “I think what she came across as saying is that, kind of the general consensus was that since John Diemer is very diverse, this could have happened in any classroom.”

Both Radick and Ruf agree that the situation was handled effectively.

Radick’s email was sent on Friday, and the district had changed the class rosters by the following Monday. It was resolved quickly, and had no impact on Ruf’s daughter’s education. Since the rosters were changed before the first day of school, most students did not even know it happened.

“I think it was a well-intentioned error, and the district handled it well. ” Radick said.

Moving forward, school board member Brad Stratton sees this situation as a prime example of the administration resolving difficult issues at a local and school level in a timely and effective manner.

“Although clearly there was not intent for the makeup of these four kindergarten classes to be so skewed, it was resolved quickly,” Stratton said.

“And it was ensured that there would be a better distribution of students across the classrooms.”

student placement

THE NEW CLASS 1 teacher - Courtney Gust 1 - Asian student 0 - Black students 4 - Hispanic student 2 - MultiEthnic student 12 - White students TOTAL: 18

THE NEW CLASS 2 teacher - Laura Holland 0 - Asian students 1 - Black student 6 - Hispanic student 2 - MultiEthnic student 9 - White students TOTAL: 19

THE NEW CLASS 3 teacher - Beth Scottman 0 - Asian students 0 - Black students 1 - Hispanic student 1 - MultiEthnic student 16 - White students TOTAL: 18

DESIGN GRACE PADON PHOTOS K ATHERINE ODEL L

THE HARBINGER

6 NEWS

BY WILL TULP Online Assistant Editor

T

he recent completion of the KC Streetcar and current expansion of the Kansas City International Airport mark two major developments in moving the city toward becoming a more prominent Midwest city. Last month, KC worked to expand even more by submitting two major bids: one to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and one to become the home of Amazon’s second headquarters.

The first bid to host the World Cup was made in early September, and the bidding is open to 37 stadiums across 34 U.S. cities, and 12 more between Mexico and Canada. Of the 44 cities being considered, 12 cities of the group will ultimately be chosen to host parts of the tournament cities come 2026.

Sporting KC Owner and East parent Greg Maday believes hosting the World Cup would put Kansas City “on a world stage” and would put KC’s new facilities, like the near-complete U.S. Soccer National Training Facility to good use.

To showcase Kansas City to the world, it would be an opportunity second-to-none,” Maday said. “Kansas City is the soccer capital of America. We want to bring [the World Cup] for soccer fans, we want to bring it for Americans centrally located, [and] we

think this is the perfect spot.”

If selected, Kansas City’s games will be held at Arrowhead Stadium, the eighth largest stadium in the bid with a capacity of roughly 75,400. This capacity is just shy of the required 80,000 seats for the opening and final match of the tournament. However, it does meet the requirement for group stage matches and could host any of those games.

According to Sporting KC president Jake Reid in an interview with The Kansas City Star, the economic benefits could be “on stage with having a Super Bowl.”

While the World Cup could bring economic benefits nine years from now, Kansas City’s bid to be the location of the second Amazon Headquarters could increase business in the near future.

The company’s first headquarters is located in Seattle, and the second facility will bring thousands of job opportunities and investment to the chosen city, according to Amazon’s headquarters project page. The company has stated that they will invest over $5 million in construction of the campus, and they hope to create at least 50,000 “high-paying” jobs with at least an $100,000 salary at this new location. Additionally, Amazon expects to indirectly create thousands more in the area through the project.

The proposal has excited Kansas City mayor Sly James,

prompting him to take action in bringing the headquarters to KC. “We will put forth the most competitive bid we can,” James tweeted earlier last month. “Kansas City is a tech hub!”

Amazon’s requests could prove difficult for Kansas City to meet, however, in terms of space and jobs. The first phase of construction will require around 500,000 square feet, but Amazon wants to eventually grow the headquarters to match the size of their current location in Seattle, which is eight million square feet. KU Medical Center is merely 2.4 million square feet in comparison. In addition, the hiring of 50,000 workers would make Amazon the largest employer in Kansas City by four fold, as reported by the Kansas City Business Journal.

Both proposals offer major economic benefits for the city. Hosting a few of the 2026 World Cup games would bring thousands of travelers into the city and create business, while developing the next Amazon headquarters will bring in roughly $38 billion according to the company.

But, the bids do not secure Kansas City as a 2026 FIFA World Cup host or home of the next Amazon HQ just yet.

The final World Cup bid will not be sent to FIFA until March 2018, and the deadline for the headquarters are not due until mid-October, so the city will have to wait until at least 2018 for results of their two proposals.

COMING TO KC Kansas City secures bids for the chance to host 2026 World Cup games and Amazon’s second headquarters

OTHER CITIES WITH BIDS TO HOST 2026 WORLD CUP GAMES

AMAZON’S SECOND HEADQUARTER LOCATION QUALIFICATIONS GOOD INTERNET MASS TRANSIT A BUSINESS-FRIENDLY TAX STRUCTURE CLOSE TO AN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT NEAR MAJOR HIGHWAYS “EXCELLENT” HIGHER EDUCATION

CITIES THAT HOSTED GAMES DURING THE 1994 WORLD CUP AND ARE BEING CONSIDERED TO HOST GAMES IN THE 2026 WORLD CUP

CITIES THAT ARE BEING CONSIDERED TO HOST GAMES IN THE 2026 WORLD CUP

A METRO AREA WITH MORE THAN 1 MILLION PEOPLE

DESIGN ANNA MCCLELL AND

OCTOBER 2, 2017

NEWS 7

C OA L I T I O N

SAVES THE BEES Coalition makes plans to contribite to the Save the Bees effort

W H AT CAN

you do?

Ways to conttribute to Coalition’s cause

DONATE www.thehoneybee conservatory.org www.honeylove.org www.beeraw.com

Plant bee-friendly flowers and herbs Purchase organic honey from local sustainable beekeepers

Stop using toxic chemicals in your home and yard

Source: www.thehoneybee conservatory.org

C

BY LIDDY STALL ARD Section Editor

oalition’s “Save The Bees” movie night will be held October 20th to raise money for the Greenpeace organization. “The Bee Movie,” described as a “quality” movie by senior board member Amara Ivancic, will be playing at 7 p.m. in the main gym.

“Oh, save the bees,” Coalition teacher sponsor David Muhammad said. “It just sounds fun.”

This event will be donationbased; students will choose how much they pay to get in.

Coalition will also be raising money by selling snacks such as cookies and cupcakes that look like bees, along with organic honey that benefits bees.

They also plan on taking time to inform people of the impact bees have on the environment and some of the things that can be done to save them. A few examples are preserving wild habitats to protect pollinator health and supporting the protest to ban the seven most dangerous pesticides.

The newly-assembled first semester board knew they wanted to support an organization that helped to protect the environment. After many discussions they decided to help save the bees.

“We do a lot to help with people which is great, but we wanted to do at least one thing this year to support the environmental side of things,” Ivancic said.

The 13 members on the new first semester board are often huddled around Muhammad’s desk in room 309 after school researching different organizations and planning out all the logistical details for this event such as reserving the gym.

After researching several different bee conservation organizations, Muhammad and the board decided Greenpeace was

the best fit. Coalition was attracted to Greenpeace’s global view of the issue – just how widely the quickly dropping survival rates is affecting not just our area, but the world.

“We do a lot of heavy topics that are hard to engage in like sex trafficking so I thought this would be something that everyone could get along with, and it sounds fun,” Mu said. “As harmless as ‘save the bees sounds,’ it’s actually a really big issue.”

Greenpeace works to expose environmental crimes and the people and companies held responsible. Their goal is to stop the destruction of the environment through peaceful direct actions.

After the first semester board decided Greenpeace was the best fit organization for them, senior board member Venus Gutierrez presented the idea to the other coalition members during one of their Thursday meetings. Gutierrez wanted all the Coalition members to feel included in organizing this event.

“I remember my sophomore year it was just Mu talking, the seniors were on the board but they wouldn’t always come.”

Gutierrez said. “[With the new board system] you really build that student to student relationship based on leading but making everyone feel involved.”

Coalition members were aware of the depleting population of bees, but after reading the information from Greenpeace, they realized how extreme the issue is. 70 of the top 100 human food crops, which supply around 90 percent of the world’s nutrition are populated by bees.

Since Coalition has never put on a movie night, they don’t have an exact gauge of how much they will raise. Board members are hoping to raise between one and two thousand dollars for the Greenpeace organization. Coalition’s goal is not only to reach the goal but to get students and teachers involved in taking action to help protect bees.

“I really hope that they have fun and eat some good snacks, but mostly I hope they realize the importance of bees and start to be more conscience about them and keeping them safe and alive,” Ivancic said.

“Everyone should want to be involved in the effort to save them.”

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DESIGN S COUT RICE PHOTOS ELLEN SWANS ON

OCTOBER 2, 2017

OPINION

ABOVE | A butterfly commonly covers marks of self-harm.

BY M AYA ST RATM AN Staff Writer

B

rown stickerless wall, a clear box of shots on the wall, the familiar pungent smell of hand sanitizer – I’ve come to Dr. Woody’s office ever since I

can remember.

She won’t notice the red lines, the scars I know sit beneath the thick layer of Origins concealer on my thigh. They blend right in, I tell myself. Do I sound too nervous? Is my voice shaking? She finally leaves the room.

Whew. It’s over.

Woody returns with my mom, the woman I was convinced could never understand that I was locked in a dark room and was fumbling for a way out.

“So Maya, at your age kids can start getting depressed. How many times a week do you cry?”

“Once or twice a week.”

I didn’t tell her about screaming fits I had in my head, pulling at the roots of my hair in frustration for stumbling in an English presentation. She didn’t know that I could no longer order my own food because I was far too self-conscious. I didn’t mention the fact I popped a blood vessel on my knuckle because I punched the wall in an emotional outburst. She didn’t ask. Nobody did.

When you’re hungry, all you know how to do is eat. When I was sad, all I knew how to do was hurt. No one blames you for eating when you’re hungry, but oh do people beat you down for how you hurt.

What a b–––, this life was.

I didn’t deal with my “sad” in the way I should have. But to be blamed, looked down on, punished by those seeing you hurt . . . that never filled the starving person I was.

That’s something I wish they’d understand.

Somehow, I was still surprised when I was diagnosed with depression.

Shortly after, I started going to therapy.

Anything was better than panicking every time I had to stand in front of a ballet class.

9

FINDING A CHANGE Moving past depression and realizing self-value allows growth

Than saving my breakdown for my nightly could help. He genuinely wanted to know why. shower where I know the running water would He was willing to work with me on getting my drown out the crying sounds. phone back. He just sat and listened quietly.

Maybe it would stop the urge I felt to pick But I still never knew what to say. at the skin around my nails. To calm me down Over time this all built up. The therapy so my leg wouldn’t bounce uncontrollably. To appointments with no progress and the hurt take away my need to sit on my hands in order of knowing how I had caused my generally to keep my body from fumbling around. strong hearted mother to come to tears. This But therapy didn’t fix those things for me – fueled my desire to change. at least not in the way I thought it would.

I threw myself into the things I used to At my therapy session every two weeks, look forward to. I started dusting off books it was always the same conversation – my that lined my shelves. I think I lost my love therapist would suggest I make new friends of reading when I lost my love for living. I but couldn’t understand that it was physically stopped writing down all of the loneliness I impossible for me to muster up the courage to was feeling in that butterfly journal – which talk to someone new. ironically is the symbol for self harm survivors Therapy was supposed to take the weight – and instead faced them, the problems. off of me. Instead I left with my head down I started ordering my own food, when I felt knowing it was I could. I went out another wasted trip. on family excursions When was it going to and found joy in start working? those. I talked to Maybe she really did notice the I’m not sure what the people who only raised lines on my thigh. Whatever I expected when I cared about me could never even getting better – they the reason she starts suggesting answer the first gave me a reason therapists, just in case. question: to come out of my “Have you ever room. tried to hurt yourself I found love for M AYA ST R ATM AN or others?” making my mom JUNIOR “No.” I always laugh with one of said no. our many inside I wasn’t ready to admit that to a stranger, jokes, “your lap dances were so good, dad just let alone myself. My mom teared up at the haaaddd to wife you up.”

A year earlier my room was a cage keeping question but never corrected. My parents – these moral people – were letting me lie. I’m me from my parents who I hated. The mom I not sure if they were embarrassed or didn’t knew then was some strict, dull, judgmental, unforgiving soul that scared the crap out of want to call me out on it.

It was easier to blame my mom because me.

I can’t believe I wasted two years of my she’s the one who took away my phone and yelled at me when she saw my wrist. It was life not talking to the free spirited, bubbly, fair to say I hated her at the time, but in the understanding and compassionate woman real scope of things it didn’t matter because laughing beside me in the car. I think about I hated everything. But I couldn’t blame my that a lot. *** dad.

I still see the blue walls with toy story One night after getting my phone taken away for the second time, I was sitting outside, stickers I can’t relate to, the same clear box of discarded needles on the wall, the familiar loathing the world.

He came out and sat in the chair next to smell of hand sanitizer — I come to this same me lifting my legs to lay across his. And he doctor’s office every year.

I shift my weight back and forth on that didn’t yell. He never yelled. He asked what was wrong, why I did what I did, and how he diaper-like square of paper. I’m much too old

to be wiggling around like I am.

I look down at the form and read aloud, “Do you vape?”

I look over at my mom, sitting three armslengths away on a chair much lower than I am. ‘Well, Mom, this is awkward . . . I’m gonna have to ask you to leave . . .” Laughter fills the small baby-blue room.

This is how it should be. Joking around with my mom while I fill out some silly health form.

I will always have the permanent reminders of not being able to get out of bed and those pointless therapy sessions along my skin — white tiny scars high enough on my thigh for shorts to cover. And not to mention the almost invisible lines going across my wrist.

At first glance, they blend right into the wrinkles of my skin, but after studying further one can see how precise and sharp the lines are that don’t follow the same path.

My new cheerleader-esque doctor comes in and traces her plump hands over my chart. “It says here you were diagnosed with depression last year.”

“I’m good now! I’m happy!” I say it without hesitation.

No more picking at the skin around my nails. No more uncontrollable bouncing of my leg. No more sitting on my hands to keep my body from fumbling around. No more.

She reminds me these things don’t just go away. “It will most likely come back throughout your life, okay sweetie?”

I know, my therapist has told me it’s a chemical imbalance in my brain. But I’m okay for now. I know what to do.

I didn’t see God, I didn’t talk to some wise old woman, I didn’t read an insightful quote.

I got tired. Of being sad. Of feeling worthless.

Of tearing up my own body.

I talk to my mom about my favorite books.

I send pictures to my dad every time I start a fire on my own, he’s the one who taught me.

I go to every art show with them that I can make. I focus on loving sunrises on the way to school, any rainy day I can get, and the sweet gooey lyrics of country songs. Little things.

It made it easier.

It made me better.

Boy, this is a good life.

DESIGN LUCY HOFFM AN PHOTOS T Y BROWNING & AVA JOHNS ON

THE HARBINGER

10 O P I N I O N

10

V L U N-T O U R I S M

In order to stick with volunteering, you have to find a cause you are passionate about

BY E MI LY F EY Assistant Editor

E

very time I hear “In the Arms of an Angel” blast from my TV, I turn away, avoiding the eyes of all the pitiful animals: I feel so bad for those abandoned dogs. I’m definitely going to volunteer at Wayside Waifs soon.

When I hear a friend’s story about visiting her grandparents in an assisted living home, I’m quick to remark, “Old people are the cutest. I really want to sign up to visit with them on the weekends.”

On Sundays, when my family walks past the pastel nursery at Village Presbyterian Church of squealing babies and flustered parents, I always wonder, How do I sign up to volunteer there? I’m going to figure that out this week.

Sadly, I’m more like your average high school jock; I may talk a big game, but when it comes to the state playoff game, I choke and don’t follow through.

I don’t volunteer as much as I should, so I’m making it my goal to volunteer as much as possible – think of it as my “fall equinox resolution.” So this past week, I signed up to volunteer at three locations: the March of Dimes office, Wayside Waifs Animal Shelter and New Chelsea Elementary School, hoping it would inspire me to stick to my new goal.

When my mom first told me about the March of Dimes organization, I went straight to Google. I had serious doubts the organization made coins walk, but there was still a possibility. The website pulled at my heart with a pictures of babies under “March of Dimes: A Fighting Chance for Every Baby.” The organization raises money to help prematurely born babies have a better chance at making it out of the hospital.

Even after researching what the organization does, it still didn’t cross my mind that maybe I wasn’t going to get to hold and play with little babies. Instead, I was met with dull cubicles and the sounds of copy machines as I walked into the March of Dimes suite. The volunteer coordinator handed me a box full of manila folders and directions on how to scan donations into their data entry center.

As I was typing in “dec@marchofdimes. org” for the 20th time, it dawned on me

that while this was not the same as rocking a baby back and forth in my arms, what I was doing was important. I had never given thought to the behind-the-scenes work of a volunteer organization – the filing, the data entry, the accounting. We’d all love to play with toddlers, but what many organizations need are volunteers willing to perform little tasks, like passing out flyers and manually entering donations into a computer a tedious 100 plus times. Volunteering at their office gave me perspective on how hard it is to run a non-profit because I knew I was helping them out with things most volunteers would not be willing to do.

Day two of volunteering took me to Wayside Waifs. Two out of three dogs running around my house lived in kill shelters before moving into our household, so I know firsthand the comfort animal shelters can provide for families.

Through volunteering at different non-profits, I was able to dig deep and find my volunteer passion: children. I can’t wait to go visit the kids again and make real connections with each of them.

E M I LY FEY JUNIOR After weaving my way through rows of wagging tails and purring, we got down to our main task for the day: making frozen dog treats. I set my absolute hatred of the smell of peanut butter and dog biscuits aside and focused on the chorus of barks we’d hear after we finished smashing peanut butter in between two treats. There was no better feeling than knowing I was making these dogs’ days. My god, these dogs have spent most of their past months being locked up in a 5-by-5 foot crate; the least I can do is toss two (or maybe more) treats to them to add a little excitement in between their five daily naps.

The most awe-inspiring volunteer experience I had during my week was helping in a kindergarten classroom at New Chelsea Elementary School in Kansas City, Kan. When I opened the door into the

classroom, all 32 students waved eagerly at me. A new pair of bright eyes and a wide smile greeted me with every new student who I quizzed on shapes and letters.

While hearing the kids recite “make a candy cane, add a shoe, that’s the way we make a two,” over and over again was endearing, I couldn’t help but think about what I would have been doing in my kindergarten classroom. While these kids were just now learning to write their numbers and say shapes, I was learning to write in cursive and multiplying at their age.

In a more impoverished part of town, I could tell some of the kindergarteners were farther behind than most six-year-olds I had met. I watched a little girl write down numbers on her spelling test because she couldn’t remember how to spell words such as “is” and “look.” When I pointed at a red triangle and asked a boy what color it was, he responded, “rojo.” The classroom had more cultural variation than any classroom you would sit in at Belinder or Corinth Elementary. Part of their learning barrier came from having to switch between two languages, mainly Spanish and English.

These kids visibly wanted to do well in school; they listened to their teacher without a single whisper to their friends, followed directions without error and clapped every time a classmate correctly pointed out the letter ‘H’ on the board. When I waved goodbye to the class, I immediately started thinking of ways I could bring more students to help give these bright kindergarteners more chances to learn.

I’m already planning on gathering students to trek out to New Chelsea Elementary School to help these kindergarteners with their homework after school – as their teacher pointed out, some of these kids don’t have parents who are willing to go over their spelling words with them.

Through volunteering at different nonprofits, I was able to dig deep and find my volunteer passion: children. I can’t wait to go visit the kids again and make real connections with each of them. I want to return, not only to help kids learn to count past 20 or learn to write a ‘Z’, but to also manifest the feeling of satisfaction and happiness in knowing I am making a difference. It seems to me that now, I’ll always bring my A-game to the state playoffs and beyond.

BELOW | Emily puts peanut butter in between two baked treats that she will freeze then give to the dogs waiting to be adopted. | T y browning BELOW | Emily cuts picture flashcards to be used for memorization by kindergarteners at the New Chelsea Elementary School. | Ava Jo hns o n

BELOW | After tossing it a treat she prepared, Emily looks at a puppy that recently came to the shelter. | T y Browning

Scan to see more about the different organizations that Emily volunteered for.

DESIGN GRACIE KOST PHOTOS COURTESEY OF MCT CA MPUS

OCTOBER 2, 2017

BE$T BANG Donating to false organizations is an unfortunate, but avoidable phenomenon

BY DONNA K AY Staff Writer

W

h e n I was

younger, my uncle was sick with stage three lung cancer, and being the average headstrong nine year old I was, I thought I could do something to help.

But I wondered how this could be done.

Armed with a laptop and the desperate need to assist, I found a seemingly wellintentioned charity, that would help fund others who were struck with many different types of cancer.

All I had to do was send in a donation to their organization. With the help of my mom, I went door-to-door in my neighborhood and asked if anyone would like to donate to the “Cancer Fund of America.” I raised a bit of money, sealed it in an envelope and mailed it off to their headquarters. I was convinced I was about to make a difference in a cancer patient’s life.

It wasn’t until I was a freshman in high school that I found out I had been tangled up in the messy world of fraudulent charities. I came home from school, and my mom showed me an article from “The Atlantic.” The news article stated that a few days prior, the founder of the “Cancer Fund of America,” James Reynolds, and a few members of his immediate family, had been charged with setting up four false charity organizations – The Cancer Fund of America being one of these scams. He stole $187 million between 2008 and 2012 from concerned families, according to the Atlantic, contributing only three percent of the funds to benefit cancer research.

My heart dropped as I realized almost all of the door-to-door money I received

FOR YOUR from donations went towards a rich man and his lavish vacations.

I began to realize what this meant for cancer research. $187 million was more than enough for hundreds of people to receive life altering treatment. But instead, Reynolds was likely off spending the money on luxury cars and expensive dinners.

After getting over the initial disappointment, I realized a deeper truth; the amount of money this charity

There aren’t many people who are in charity just for personal greed, but the outliers give the whole system a bad wrap. One or two people can ruin the pleasure of donating to a good cause, eliciting a queasy feeling within the people who just want to help out.

DON N A K AY SEN I O R received, means people still care. My uncle eventually got better, currently living almost cancer free, but I never stopped thinking about how this organization took advantage of me and other people. This single occurrence motivated me to be more cautious and proactive when it comes to donating to charities.

There aren’t many people who are in charity just for personal greed, but the outliers give the whole system a bad wrap.

One or two people can ruin the pleasure of donating to a good cause, eliciting a queasy feeling within the people who just want to help out.

Currently, the recent hurricanes are on a lot of people’s minds, including myself.

Harvey is calling for lots of people to help

O P I N I O N 11

BUCK

out – but be cautious about who you’re donating to because scams like these can happen to anyone, even if it seems unlikely.

Though it is unlikely the money he stole will ever be recovered, hopefully the other benefactors who contributed to these campaigns, will not shy away from a legitimate one, even in the presence of greedy people who value their own bank account, over the fate of sick hospital patients.

As my mind told me to stop donating anywhere after I heard of the scam, my heart told me there still had to be good people in the world who truly want to help others. After 9/11 over 300 new charitable organizations were founded, knowing this helped me remain centered. Even though it is hard to realize, there are more people who care, than people who are in it for selfish reasons.

Instead of refraining to donate I decided to deepen my online research before making the decision to click “donate.” I now use the website www. charitynavigator.org to find out how much money an organization has received compared to how much money they have donated to their specified cause. This lets you know what your money is honestly going to, and how much the affected people will receive.

Every Christmas, my family gives me money as one of my gifts so I can donate to an organization. I always do my research to check out the most worthwhile cause for my money to go to. This has been a very valuable experience for me as it has taught me to be more generous around the holidays, and value other’s needs. The thought of “The Cancer Fund of America” has crossed my mind every year since, but I know that if I research properly, it is unlikely that anything like this can happen again.

DONNA’S TIPS for

DONATING LOCAL CHARITY

Make sure to donate directly to a local agency.

Otherwise make sure the national agency is a name you recognize

DO YOUR RESEARCH Find out what resources the charity is looking for before donating frilly items.

Send in food or clothing before toys less vital items

THINK BEFORE YOU DO Don’t donate to a sob story until you’re certain it isn’t a scam.

Many people out there create fake tragedies to get donations through click-to-send sites, like GoFundMe

DESIGN DAISY BOLIN

OCTOBER 2, 2017

O P I N I O N 13

BETWEEN THE LINES

FAIRWAY

the Paseo

39th St

Students are not educated as to why East is primarily white

SWOPE

RAYTOWN

75th St

Troost Ave

Wornall Rd

SME

LEAWOOD Mission RD

Roe Ave

Lamar ave

Metcalf Ave

and racial covenants? *Pin drops* Before joining the Diversity Club at the beginning of last year, I had a vague sense of what “white flight” and racial restrictions in Kansas City were. But after spending a year completely submersing myself in the history of integration in this city, I came to understand the racial divisions that have continued to plague Kansas City communities, as well as ours at East.

I didn’t find this in a textbook or in-class discussions–and this is precisely the issue. I’ve lived in Kansas City my entire life, yet I had to do extensive outside research to learn about the racial division in my city. Students should be educated by our teachers on this history, not forced to learn entirely outside the classroom.

Educating myself on this history has changed how I see my city as a whole. Now, everywhere I go throughout Kansas City, I find myself thinking about what came before what is here now.

Students would gain knowledge that isn’t just relevant to this city. It would help explain parts of the history of race in this country that haven’t been previously talked about.

Race has been a strong talking point for the East administration in the last few years especially–Diversity and Inclusion Committee was founded, and the infamous Jane Elliott who came to talk about race in the eyes of others..

Yet, we as students don’t know why this has become an issue. The lack of diversity and race hasn’t recently become a problem. This lack of diverse student body has been an issue since the establishment of East in 1958.

Before Brown v. Board, Colby says, “Kansas City ran a strictly segregated school system OVERLAND PARK based on racial attendance zones.” Following the forced compliance with Brown, however, the city was required to integrate their schools based on neighborhoods as a whole. It just so happened that these neighborhoods were conveniently all black or white in the first place. By using restrictions in deeds for houses, real estate agents were able to control where black families lived.

Schools around the city were affected by the forced integration by the government, but some like East remained sheltered by the state, in a bubble of white students. While schools like Central and Paseo were completely racially reversed between Brown v. Board in 1955 and 1965, places such as East and Southwest High School, remained almost 100 percent white. According to Tanner Colby in his book “Some of My Best Friends are Black,” real estate agents used racial restrictions in deeds, and by doing so were then able to control the movement of minorities, especially black people, “protecting” white homes and schools.

While it may seem like these issues are 60 years in the past, they continue to affect us as members of the Prairie Village and East community. Restriction of housing based on race were outlawed by the Fair Housing Act of 1968, but according to the Kansas City Star they are still in thousands of deeds across the city–possibly including yours. This history hits home for many of us in the East and surrounding suburban communities. That is why it is so abhorrent that we don’t even speak of this history.

I understand that teachers are responsible for following a set of curriculum. While AP and standard American history classes include Brown v. Board, it excludes the effect that case had on both black and white students almost entirely.

The ripple of that historic court case is never mentioned. They have to cover certain aspects Antioch Rd

S

PRAIRIE VILLAGE

63rd St

Ward Parkway

State Line Rd

MISSION HILLS

BY ELIAS LOWL AND Section Editor

lavery. The Civil Rights Movement.

Segregation. I’m sure you could list off half a dozen facts on those topics without blinking an eye. Now, what about redlining, blockbusting

Swope pkwy

LOOSE

95th St

of history with the limited time they are given, but why can’t the history of integration in the city in which they are teaching be a part of that?

Providing students with an expanded history of race, not just in reconstruction or court cases, allows students to learn about something that has and will continue to be a pressing issue in the country as a whole.

Even if students wanted to read about this history, resources other than the textbook would have to be used. Segregation in real estate and in schools just simply isn’t mentioned in the history textbooks that are used here at East. One paragraph regarding Brown v. Board, buried in a single chapter on the Civil Rights Movement doesn’t nearly cover the complex and ongoing history of integration in America.

Students, especially in this city, deserve the right to learn about Kansas City’s history–not just about its role in slavery or reconstruction, but about how it did and still does negatively affect an entire group of people. School shouldn’t be a place of selective learning. Instead, students should have the ability to learn and discuss all topics, not just ones that make our school or city shine in a positive light.

BUT

HOW? Redlining: Real estate agents blocked people from looking at certain areas Racial restrictions in deeds prevented black people from moving in Schools were segregated by neighborhood disallowing an entire race of students from attending

DESIGN LIL A TULP PHOTOS REILLY MOREL AND

THE HARBINGER

14 F E AT U R E S

Five friends start band due to a shared love of music

BEHOLD: A new band

BY AN N A K A N A L EY Mobile Media Editor

I

t all started with a joke from senior Matthew Trecek’s dad, Bruce.

“You two should start a band!”

When he opened the door to senior Jacob Roberts carrying his guitar inside the Trecek’s house, Bruce didn’t realize his comment would lead to a 90’s alt-rock cover band. He didn’t know then that an iconic avocado sticker would soon plaster computers and phones across the school. He didn’t know that he would bring together five friends with a love of music. Now their impromptu rehearsals are what they look forward to most each week.

Jacob and Matthew already played acoustic guitar together whenever they were at parties or with friends, and they both agreed that jamming together was more fun than alone. The more Jacob thought about Bruce’s comment, the more he liked it. ”Why not form a band?” Jacob thought.

The next day in Forensics class, Jacob couldn’t wait to solidify the idea with Matthew, who was immediately on board. The next step in the process was the most important – deciding on a name. Spit-firing back and forth different names and using random word generators, they found BEHOLD: Avocado to be the most fun and unique and stuck with it.

“I wanted to get back into guitar, but I didn’t really have a reason to,” Matthew said.

“I wasn’t really working towards something, but being a part of this band, I can have certain goals. I can memorize a song by when we’re next meeting, because when you’re a

GUITAR

CAROLINE BLUBAUGH

band, you want to sound as best as you can, so new music, practice was key for succeeding. it gives you an incentive to keep practicing.”

With a drum kit and 90’s alt-rock-loving But they couldn’t do it alone: they didn’t parents, Kate’s basement was the perfect have anyone to keep the beat. Knowing that setup for practice. Also, Mrs. Danciger bought junior Sam Sokoloff played percussion for them Minsky’s.

East band, Jacob explained that BEHOLD: To help appeal to students, Matthew Avocado needed a drummer, and wanted designed their avocado stickers and ordered another friend to fill the role.

1000, which soon flooded the school. The “I already had a basic understanding of band members offered the stickers for free to simple drum fills, anyone who wanted but I just used them to promote Youtube tutorials the band’s first and I kind of selfconcert. taught myself,” “We were sitting For me, [BEHOLD: Avocado is] a great Sam said. in my basement on creative outlet and a good way to relax Sitting in a Monday night, sixth hour and connect, hanging out with friends and and Jacob said forensics last playing music” Sam said. “It’s something I ‘Let’s do a show,’” spring, Jacob can look back on and tell my kids, like ‘Oh Kate said. “We told senior wanted to have our yeah, I was in a band in high school.’

Kate Danciger first concert with about BEHOLD: a group of people SA M S OKOLOFF Avocado with we know who will SEN I O R Matthew and support us and Sam. give us honest “Oh dude, that’s awesome! Can I be in this feedback. He looks at our calendar, and it band?” Kate asked. was September first. We were like, ‘that’s two “Well, Matthew and I already play the weeks away,’ but we were cool with it, so we guitar, and Sam’s on the drums,” Jacob said. were like ‘okay, we’re down.’”

“I have a bass...”

The band amped up their practices to four “Do you know how to play?” times a week from once a week in preparation “No, but I can teach myself. I will teach for the upcoming show. Expecting only 10 myself. I want to be in a band, and if it takes kids and their parents’ friends to show up, teaching myself how to play the bass, then I’m they were happily surprised when 40 people gonna do it.” flooded Kate’s backyard to hear their 90’s altYoutube tutorials, Ultimate Guitar apps rock covers. and Minsky’s cheese pizzas fueled the band’s “Our first concert changed a lot of stuff,” rehearsals. Since each member was learning Sam said. “It was cool to see that people

BASS

KATE DANCIGER

GUITAR

MATTHEW TRECEK

actually cared.”

Senior Caroline Blubaugh, a close friend to the band members, came to the concert, and after the show, played acoustic with them.

It was that point when the band members started getting interested in Caroline as a guitarist and singer, and a few weeks later the band approved her as the newest member of BEHOLD: Avocado. The band doesn’t specify who does what – they’re just content to be rehearsing and hanging out with each other.

“We don’t really have arrangements on that, and I don’t really care,” Caroline said.

“I’m just happy to be in the band. It’s just a fun thing.”

Since they’ve only played five songs at their show, their current goal is to come up with a set list of at least 10 songs by their next show. Each member gets to choose music for the group to cover – focusing on 90’s alternative rock such as “Undone” by Weezer and “Blister in the Sun” by Violent Femmes.

But even though they’ve only performed covers, the band is working on originals as well.

“For me, [BEHOLD: Avocado is] a great creative outlet and a good way to relax and connect, hanging out with friends and playing music” Sam said. “It’s something I can look back on and tell my kids, like, ‘Oh yeah, I was in a band in high school.’”

For now, they’ve got their routine: Matthew takes care of the artwork, Sam provides the comedic relief, Kate’s got the basement, Jacob has the pretty voice, and Caroline’s tagging along for the ride. Mrs. Danciger provides the Minsky’s.

DRUMS SAM SOKOLOFF

PIANO

JACOB ROBERTS

DESIGN GRACE CHISHOLM PHOTOS COURTESY OF JUSTIN RANDA

OCTOBER 2, 2017

GONE

practice with Blue Valley North junior Grant Wilson

MIDDLE | Randa shot six ducks in an hour-and-a-half trip.

“This was a really successful day, probably one of my best,” Randa said. “We ended with 30 kills between the five of us.”

BOTTOM | Randa shows off his kills with Shawnee Mission South junior Jack Roberts (left) and Blue Valley n Gage Whitley (right). “We set up at 5:45 a.m. and waited for shooting light which is when the sun rises,” Randa said.

15

Passionate hunter participates in hunting competitions

room is decorated with posters of flocks of geese and fish jumping out of water. Picture frames filled with pictures of him aiming a gun or triumphantly grinning next to his rouched and freezing, sheltered by a thin layer of kills line his desk and bedside tables. straw and leaves in a duck blind, then-freshman “The build up to the long day is more frantic than the Justin Randa waited in his first pair of many camo actual hunting itself,” Randa said. Compared to his 7:20 waders he would come to own. Every fifteen minutes, a a.m. alarm on a school day or his 11 a.m. (at the earliest) flock of ducks would pass and his three friends quickly wake-up call on the weekends, being up before the sun is pointed their Browning A-5’s into the sky, following nearly an exception Randa is willing to make for the blinds of invisible pairs of wings with their black barrels. Randa Lacene. never expected that this first trip – and his two kills – “First thing we do is wake up at 2:45 in the morning, would develop into a routine of two-hour drives up to the double check for all of our gear, get out there by 4 at the farm every other weekend for hunting competitions. latest and start setting up decoys,” Randa said. “We’re “The first time, my friends of course all knew what ready to go about 30 minutes before sunrise.” they were doing, but me? I had no clue what I was doing,” After making sure the guns, waders, boots and coats Randa said. “I just bought waders are loaded and ready to go, the and a jacket. Then I killed a bird boys head for the dirt roads of and fell in love with [hunting].” southern Kansas. In order to get Now a junior, Randa’s grown a successful day of hunting in, The first time, my friends of course all they aim to get there an hour or familiar with the right and left knew what they were doing, but me? two before sun up, which is when turns on the stretch of road headed southbound between the legal hunting hours start. As I had no clue what I was doing. I just Mission Hills and Lacene, soon as the decoys are set up and bought waders and a jacket. Then Kansas. At least once a week, their territory for the day laid out, I killed a bird and fellin in love with Randa and his hunting buddies the boys settle in to hunt until [hunting]. pile the guns, camo, face-paint sundown. and duck decoys into an Ford Hunting has taken over JU STIN RANDA F150 and start the trek to public Randa’s weekends, and his social JUNIOR hunting land in the “middle-ofmedia, too. nowhere Kansas,” as Randa puts One of Randa’s friends it. suggested they start a hunting-specific Instagram Randa started hunting with his friends freshman year account and thus @WaterFowl.Down was born. After a and since then it’s evolved into a consuming passion. The few shoutouts from main hunting accounts on Instagram, former beginner now goes up to different plots of public it reached almost 2,500 followers in less than 2 months, hunting land in the state weekly during duck hunting before Randa sold it to one of his friends for a little over season which lasts from October to December. $200. Hunters all around the nation sent pictures in via Cooper Peterson, a senior at Blue Valley North, took direct message on Instagram to be featured on his account.

Justin out on his first hunting trip in Lacene. Randa was These pictures of different hunters and fishers from just “joining them for a good experience” as Peterson put around the world were then posted along with Randa’s it. Little did they know what an expert he was to become. pictures of his kills lined up, waiting out a flock in the “[The] First time we took him out was just about the blind or holding up trophies from various competitions. funniest thing I’ve ever seen. That kid didn’t know what “I never really saw what he liked so much about he was doing,” Peterson said. “But nowadays he comes going out there and shooting birds but obviously there’s out here and shows all of us up, it would almost be something because he’s amazing at it,” Jake Randa, his embarrassing if we weren’t the ones that taught him.” brother, said. “As long as he keeps bringing trophies Randa now attends two or three hunting competitions home, it’s cool with me.” a month. Hunters from all over the Midwest come in to And at the end of any trip, anywhere between five and participate. The winner is determined by how many birds 15 mallard heads line the truck bed for their photo-op at can be taken down in a given period of time. Different the end of a long day of hunting –a trophy-reminder to the awards are given at different competitions but the trophies boys and to document a day on the farm. range from bronze to gold and vary in size.

There’s a safe shelf above Randa’s dresser set aside for a couple-dozen shiny gold figures in forms of hunters or fishers acting as a makeshift trophy case. The rest of his

C

TOP | Randa sits with his kills after a two-man hunting

F E AT U R E S

BY GRACIE KOST Section Editor

DESIGN ANNABELLE COOK PHOTOS ELLIE THOM A

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16 F E AT U R E S

BY ROBBIE VEGL AHN Print Editor-in-Chief ADDITIONAL RESEARCH BY GRACE CHISHOLM

S

Some East athletes are turning to dietary supplements to give them an edge, despite concerns over lack of federal regulations

enior Milton Braasch has always been big. He threw kids to the ground during fourth-grade tackle football, almost broke a kid’s nose in third grade with an overthrown dodgeball and at recess, the teams would be “Milton vs. everyone else” – he was bigger, faster, stronger.

Now, facing the Division 1 recruiting process, he’s noticed he’s not the biggest anymore.

He sees other athletes posting Twitter announcements about their D1 commitments. They weigh in at well over 215 pounds. After his junior season, he weighed in at 190.

To compete at the next level, Braasch felt he needed to bulk up.

In his junior year off-season, he completed nine or more circuit workouts every week and devoured upwards of 8,000 calories a day, rather than his normal 4,000. And after researching health pros and cons with his trainer, Braasch added a “mass gainer” shake to his regiment of whey protein and creatine shakes after workouts. The two mass gainer shakes he drank per day – containing 3,200 calories and 150 grams of protein – were intended to stimulate muscle growth, to put on weight and to make sure he was getting the best results out of his workouts. In less than four months, Braasch gained 40 pounds.

Amid the pressures of high school athletics, 39 percent of 187 student-athletes who answered a Harbinger poll* reported having used legal dietary supplements to gain an “edge” – supplements such as protein powders and mass gainers sold at stores like GNC. And while experts continue the debate about supplements’ content, lack of federal regulation and actual benefits, athletes like Braasch feel the potential results are worth it.

According to sports psychologist Dr. Andrew Jacobs, the pressure to perform is causing students to look towards dietary supplements for a competitive edge.

“There’s a fear of not being able to live up to the pressure of competing and feeling like everyone else is [using supplements], so they need to too,” Jacobs said.

“There’s an insecurity issue that goes on, a need to find something to get themselves an edge over everybody else.”

For Braasch, supplements have become one more routine that can give him an advantage over his competition – just like his workout schedule or his rigorous recovery regiment of ice baths and muscle stimulator massages.

But Randy Evans, a nutritionist who specializes in youth athletic nutrition at the KU Department of Integrative Medicine, believes that the potential reward is not worth the risk of taking dietary supplements.

“In reality there is little advantage to be gained, especially with a young person,” Evans said. “And a real concern with the supplement industry is that they’re so highly unregulated.”

According to Lyndsay Meyer, the press officer overseeing dietary supplements at the Food and Drug Administration, supplements are not regulated by the FDA before appearing on the market to the level that a pharmaceutical drug would be.

Senior Ben Dollar has been using mass gainer for

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OCTOBER 2, 2017

the past year to put on weight for basketball. Hoping it will help make him stronger and more dominant on defense, Dollar drinks a shake that “basically taste like glue” every day after he works out. Dollar knows the products aren’t always regulated by the FDA, but he feels like he’s done his research and isn’t worried about health concerns.

Dollar’s gained almost 20 pounds in the past year. He said he’ll continue to use the mass gainer which he believes is a key part of his recent weight gain.

But Evans believes bodybuilding supplements like mass gainers are not responsible for these kinds of results, and may be counterproductive to building muscle. According to Evans, many youth athletes have a misconception that higher protein intake will result in increased muscle formation.

Evans said that most commercial proteins contain

There’s a fear of not being able to live up to the pressure of competing . . .

There’s an insecurity issue that goes on, a need to find something to get themselves and edge over everybody else.

D R . A N D R E W JACO B S SP ORTS PSYC H OLOG I ST processed “crap,” that can cause inflammation and fluid retention, giving a false impression of muscle growth.

“A lot of the protein supplements that are on the market are so over-processed that the protein becomes unusable and the body spends all of its time trying to wash them out,” Evans said.

Meyer said that despite the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, which requires manufacturers to file a claim with the FDA for all new supplements on the market, whether some companies are actually following the act is in question.

“The problem is that we believe most companies do not do this when they are supposed to be doing this,” Meyer said. “We believe that there are thousands of new dietary ingredients and supplements that are on the market that have not gone through the only pre-market review opportunity that the agency has.”

According to Meyer, the FDA finds products on a weekly basis that claim to be dietary supplements, but actually contain unapproved and hidden drugs. Meyer said that the FDA is constantly investigating claims from consumers about potentially harmful or mislabeled supplements, but due to lack of resources, there are still challenges in regulating the market according to Meyer.

“The truth of the matter is we’re talking about a $40 billion a year industry, and the team at the FDA that’s responsible for overseeing dietary supplements is about 2 dozen people with a $5 million budget.”

Gabe Wilson, a Ph.D. in nutritional science and head of research and development at a bodybuilding supplement manufacturer called Maximum Human Performance, urges consumers to purchase supplements through reputable wellness stores like GNC. “We work with the top companies in the business including GNC, Vitamin Shoppe and bodybuilding.com,” Wilson said. “These companies require us to submit full documentation of all our products and ingredients in regards to their regulatory status.”

Wilson said these kinds of stores have internal policies that require more in-depth verification and safety guarantees than those required by the FDA, which according to Wilson can protect those taking the supplements from potentially harmful ingredients.

On top of health concerns, dietary supplements may pose a risk for NCAA athletes’ eligibility, athletic director Debbie Katzfey said.

The NCAA does not ban the use of supplements, but on their website under the list of banned substances they issue a warning about possible contamination from the use of dietary supplements.

Katzfey encourages athletes to talk to their coaches before using supplements, and believes it is an athlete’s responsibility to research health risks and NCAA eligibility rules – a similar stance to the one taken by the US AntiDoping Agency.

“We continue to urge athletes to be cautious of what they put in their body to ensure they don’t consume any prohibited substances that may have been placed – intentionally or inadvertently – in a supplement,” said Brad Horn, communications & media relations director for the US Anti-Doping Agency. “The reality is that using any dietary supplement is not only a risk to an athlete’s eligibility but health as well.”

Braasch has never been worried about taking supplements. He’s always checked with his trainers and his mom, a certified personal trainer, before taking a supplement. After meeting with a set of trainers from 20/20 Fitness this past offseason, Braasch is now moving towards only “clean” plant based protein that limits ingredients to the bare essentials.

Evans thinks that these kind of clean alternatives that limit preservatives and unregulated chemicals can be a good tool for young athletes.

“Not all supplements are bad, but the goal is to find clean ones,” Evans said. “We don’t want any of that muscle builder crap.”

Evans still believes supplements like “clean” protein bars and shakes can be a good way to help balance a high school athlete’s diet during a busy day – he keeps a tub of ProMix protein and bars in his house for him and his son.

But he still believes that eating a healthy, protein-heavy diet is a better way to ensure safe growth.

“The body usually does a pretty good job on it’s own,” Evans said. “If you’re getting essential fats and essential amino acids in your meals and you’re eating pretty good, you shouldn’t need [supplements].”

F E AT U R E S 17

BREAK D WN *B AS E D O N A P O L L O F 287 ST U D E NT S C O ND U CT E D BY T H E H A R B ING E R

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C LE A N PR OT E I N S

Fo u r br a n d s of “cl ea n” p r ote i n su p pl e m e n ts r ec o m e n d ed by sp o r ts n u tr i ti o n i st Ra n dy Ev a n s

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T HE S U P P LE MEN TS P R OTEI N S HA K ES A LLOWS TO REPA I R A N D G ROW A F TER STREN GTH TRA I N I N G C R E ATI NE S HA K ES DOESN ’ T I N C REA SE SI ZE DI RECTLY, BUT HA S A POSI TI V E EFFECT ON MUSC LE STREN GTH A N D SI ZE M A S S GA I NERS A DDS ON EXTRA CA LORI ES TO SUPPLEMEN T WEI G HT A N D MUSC LE GA I N **INFO R MAT IO N C O U RT E SY O F L IV E ST RO NG .C O M

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F E AT U R E S

19

causing a conunDRUM Senior Siddharth Choudhury feels that music and the drumline is part of his identity

BY CAROLYN P OPPER Staff Writer

I

t was second lunch at Indian Hills Middle School and then-8th grader Siddharth Choudhury — more commonly known as Sid — was new to the district. Sitting alone at the rectangular lunch table, he reached for the pencils in his bag and began to tap nervously. He gripped the two pencils in each hand like drumsticks and naturally the pencils danced to the rhythm they created.. As the upbeat rhythm increased, Sid forgot that he was alone. All he could focus on was not losing the rhythm. A crowd of middle schoolers gathered to watch.

“Oh my god, this kid’s gotta beat!”

“Bump it!”

One voice stood out in the crowd: “You should join band.”

It wasn’t the first time Sid had thought about it. A love of music rain in his family – his dad played the tabla, a set of indian drums. But most students started in 5th grade. Besides, he couldn’t even read music.

Despite all the reasons why it seemed too late, Sid joined band the following semester.

Reading music was like trying to read a foreign language – one he hadn’t learned yet unlike Bengali and Hindi.

The other students read sheets of music like they were pages of “Harry Potter,” but Sid saw shapes on a page of lines.

“I couldn’t read music at all 8th grade year,” Sid said. “It probably wasn’t until 10th grade that notes meant anything to me.”

His classmates had been playing since 11 years old, and while they had been learning key signatures and new tempos, Sid was learning the English language in a brand new country.

In 2010, Sid left Rajasthani, India, for a new life in Kansas City. He moved into a one bedroom apartment on the Plaza and began to adjust to the way Americans made jokes, and their

phrases like “sup.” Just like learning Bengali and Hindi, he would have to pick up English – fast.

With only three months until the start of fifth grade, he used Cartoon Network as his English teacher. Three years later, he was still perfecting his English when he decided to take on another language: music. And he mastered it as soon as it came into his life.

The transition from being three years behind everyone else, to being the face of high school drumline would be no walk in the park. Many of his classmates had private teachers, which cost more money than Sid’s parents thought necessary. Sid quickly came to realize he would have to be his own teacher.

His best shot at catching up meant practicing every chance he got — between homework assignments and dinner. This wouldn’t have been a problem if his parents hadn’t rid of his rental xylophone and snare drum — percussion was too loud to their liking.

So his pens became his mallets and his knees were the drums.

Sid transformed from the quiet percussion kid in the back of band class to the leader of chants like “Icelandic East.” Performing in front of 2000 fans every Friday eventually dissipated his stage fright. In his three short years on drumline when he wasn’t performing he was practicing fifteen to 16 clamorous jam-packed hours per week. He attended drumline camp in the summer which consisted of 5-8 hours per day of marching in 90 degree weather. Each ear ringing rehearsal left his limbs aching. “[He’s] a really good role model for the new members,” band member and senior Becker Truster said. “Basically exactly what you look for in a band leader — practices at every chance he has, knows what he’s doing and can get

things done.”

L a s t y e a r ’ s rendition of “Black Skinhead”

by Kanye West went down in drumline history, according to yell leader senior Brian Christian. After seeing the project Sid and his team worked for four weeks, fans sit on the edge of their seats in anticipation for the next performance. Seminars where he could have been studying for AP English tests, he sacrificed for power rehearsals — and couldn’t have been happier doing so.

“People would come up to me at school, telling me how awesome [Black Skinhead] was,” Sid said.

Weeks of intense sectionals went into the five minute performance, and, according to Sid, and seeing a chillingly amped student section was rewarding. Feeling this energy is something Sid says he will miss most after graduation.

When summer comes Sid will pack away his tenor drums, leaving them for the next percussionist. He’ll return his band locker padlock, and say goodbye to early morning practices on the football field.

However, next year at college he’ll still have his pens and desktops to crush out a surprise performance, even if it isn’t for the Lancer student section or a crowd at all.

BEST KNOWN FOR: WHAT: DRUMMING THE MAIN BEAT IN BLACK SKINHEAD

BY KANYE WEST WHEN: FOOTBALL GAMES

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TO LEND A

HELPING HAND A ‘hard work pays off’ mentality serves as motivation to help the community

BY NATASHA THOM AS Staff Writer

W

illa Ivancic reached into a nightstand drawer and pulled out a black Moleskine journal. Her eyes stumbled over the messy cursive handwriting, her third grade brain only picking up words here and there.

Willa stared for a second – then set the journal back into the drawer. If Willa could have made out the scrawling letters, she would have read about her father pressing a nine millimeter pistol against a 16-year-old’s head or waking up at one in the morning to rescue survivors of a hurricane.

The author and star of these stories is Mike Ivancic. Now a sophomore at East, Willa Ivancic and her sister, senior Amara Ivancic still see their father leaning over the black leather book. His unique entries represent who he is: a man with a love of people and connection to his community.

“When we saw him writing in it, I always asked what he was writing about, and all he would ever say is ‘Stuff that happened in the day,’” Willa said.

“And of course that made me want to read it even more.”

Although most of Mike’s time is spent on bettering his neighborhood, technically Mike is a real estate manager.

“To pay the bills, I own and manage several properties in the city.” Mike said. “But I don’t see what I do for a living as who I am. What I actually do is so much more than that.”

What Mike actually does is what he calls his “unspoken job,” in the inner city area where he lives and owns 12 houses. He “keeps a watch on things”, aiding neighborhood friends in something as small as mowing their lawn, or as substantial as catching an intruder in their homes.

“He’s a little like a cop in some ways,” Amara explained. “He’s a presence in our neighborhood where he knows everyone, and everyone knows him.”

Mike’s always been focused on connecting with others. He likes to say that every friend was a stranger at one point. He’s said yes to having a beer with Europeans he had just met 20 minutes before in Finland, or agree to help a stranger find her family in Puerto Rico.

“I just say yes to everything,” Mike said “And who knows what will open up.”

The “say yes” philosophy has helped him meet and get to know everyone is his community.

Just driving down the street, Mike can recall something about every other house he passes.

“The kid in this house slings dope. This house here is his mama’s, she’s always ‘hey sexy’ ing me.”

Mike pointed to a house with a black charred roof.

“This guy accidentally burned up his house.”

When Mike knows there’s a new neighbor on the block, he helps them unload their boxes.

If someone needs a new car part, or house maintenance, or even Sheetrock, Mike’s “got a guy for that.” He’s even alerted the police about a gang fight – and showed up to help with his own conceal and carry strapped across his chest.

Mike wants his neighborhood to be a better place, so he makes it his business to know what goes on and to help where he can.

And over the years, he’s proven his dedication.

One night Mike got a call that men with guns were behind one of the buildings where a friend lived, a building Mike managed. He informed the police of the situation as he sped his brown 1979 Ford Econoline to the property. He jumped out of his car towards the men before the police even got there, and when one suspect started to run, Mike chased him down. Next thing Mike knew, his foot was on the 16-year-old’s neck, and his pistol was pressed against the kid’s head.

Even though apprehending the boy could’ve cost Mike his life, he wasn’t concerned with his own safety – he was focused on keeping the area safe. ”There’s always an element of fear,” Mike said.

“But you can’t just hide your head in the sand and say nothing bad goes on in your neighborhood” He’s wondering why the boy was in the situation in the first place – he should’ve been in at his house studying for a test, or playing in a sport.

This kid is the same reason Mike’s always tried to help his neighborhood. Boys like this 16-year-old could be going to college, not serving a 12-year sentence, Mike said.

Mike’s instinct to help doesn’t end with the limits of his own neighborhood. Mike traveled to Houston, to be part of a search and rescue team after Hurricane Harvey. He was there for three days, waking up at 1 a.m. to start rescuing and not coming back until after dark that night.

When he left Houston, Mike felt the same way he always did when there was a problem that he couldn’t completely solve.

“I feel satisfied to a point,” Mike said “But when I have to leave I’m always thinking about how much more I could have done.”

Mike doesn’t help his neighborhood or friends or complete strangers for anything in return.

“All I’m saying: If you put good out, if you are constantly trying to be the best that you can be and give everything you can, then it comes back around,” Mike said.

ABOVE | Mike Ivancic talks about souvenirs he’s collected from homes

MIKE’S

STORIES

Mike befriended a meth addict in KCMO. He ended up helping him get over his addiction, get a job and let him stay in the Ivancic’s basement.

Mike gave two pastors from Cameroon a job and rented them a home in the US. Now Mike frequently donates to Cameroon.

After Mike aided in the arrest of a 16-yearold, a tactical officer told him that if he had made the arrest the boy would have gotten “two in the chest.”

During a gang fight in one of Mike’s apartments, a KC gang fight broke out and Mike had to hide in the back of a van until it was over.

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OCTOBER 2, 2017

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TRENDING

treat

New restaurant on the Plaza brings trendy California and New York dessert to KC

BY LUCY KENDALL Section Editor

A

s I maneuvered my way through the madhouse of the Plaza Art Fair last Sunday morning, attempting to shove my five foot self through a crowd of giants, four bold words struck my eye: The Diet Ends Here. As I entered the restaurant on the corner of Central Street, I knew that my hangry feelings would disappear.

I had stumbled on the window of the pop-up shop, The Waffle Bar. The scent of the buttery waffle batter being heated was all it took to make my mouth water. In an instant, I desired to try every waffle on the chalkboard menu.

The Waffle Bar opened on Sept. 8 and is planning on staying open anywhere between two weeks and one year, depending on how much business they attract.

The focal point of this restaurant revolves around the bubble waffle. A bubble waffle is your typical waffle, except it looks like an enlarged piece of bubble wrap.

Originating in Hong Kong, bubble waffles are popular in big cities, where social media posts showing off the photogenic dessert can be found on New York bloggers’ Instagrams or any California college girl’s Facebook.

After reading the fun notes on chalkboard walls with sayings such as “Keep Calm and Wait for Your Waffle” and

harbie how to:

“Everyday I’m Wafflin,” I turned my focus to the menu.

The menu consisted of three main items: a bubble waffle, a waffle pop and a waffle donut. The atmosphere made me feel like a California girl walking along the Santa Monica pier, as I instantly pulled out my phone to snap pictures of the aesthetically pleasing restaurant with white walls and accents of yellow.

The bubble waffle comes with your choice of ice cream, three toppings and to top it all off, a drizzle of your favorite sauce. You can customize the dessert to your taste with the endless ice cream flavors options, such as cotton candy and cookie monster and a topping bar complete with gummy bears and chopped up Oreos. I went with butter pecan ice cream, strawberries and caramel sauce, trying to stay as healthy as I could – if that even was possible!

It felt like I was in a dream. The waffle was crispy around the edges, yet had a soft center. The ice cream began to melt, seeping into the waffle, bringing out the flavor even more. I devoured the entire waffle in five minutes. The way I munched it down probably made the workers wonder if I had ever eaten anything with flavor before.

After downing a bottle of water that cost 99 cents – overpriced, I know – I was ready to move onto the next treat: the waffle pop. Instead of being able to customize your own pop, they have six different menu items such as Strawberry Crunch and Sweet n’ Salty.

dessert_bloggr

While all the flavors sounded delightful, my heart – more likely my stomach – told me to go with the S’mores waffle pop. When I got my order, my first thought was “Where is the waffle in this thing?” but I eventually found it under all the layers of chocolate sauce, a dusting of graham cracker crumbs and marshmallows. It blew my mind.

Above the mouth-watering food, the workers made the experience even more memorable than it already was.

Their fun and uplifting spirit and knowledge about the pop-up shop made each customer leave with a huge smile and an even bigger stomach.

Even though the menu only consists of three items, each unique waffle makes up for the lack of choices, whether it be a bubble waffle, waffle pop or a waffle donut. Although I do enjoy my mom’s Sunday morning waffles, I would take these waffles over hers any day. Sorry, mom. This pop-up shop was just what Kansas City needed to spice up the area.

4745 Central St Kansas City, MO 64112 (816) 832-8348 H A R B I N G E R R AT I N G 4.5/5

H A R B I N G E R R e c o m m e n dat i o n

Fruity PopWaffle Pop

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take the perfect

DESSERT GRAM 175 Likes dessert_bloggr

Choose toppings that will make your dessert colorful and picturesque

287 Likes dessert_bloggr

Place your desert on a clean background and capture the picture at an interesting angle

307 Likes dessert_bloggr

Or hold your bubble waffle in front of one of the aesthetic chalk board walls at the Waffle Bar

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TO THE

Movie “To The Bone” addresses the important topic of eating disorders

BY LUCIA BARRA ZA Staff Writer

L

ately the Internet has been blowing up with mixed reviews of Netflix’s most recent controversial movie, “To the Bone,” directed by Marti Noxon. Dozens of websites are claiming that because of the plot’s focus on eating disorders, such a sensitive issue, is potentially triggering for the audience. The movie follows 20-yearold Ellen, an angsty artist with the eating disorder anorexia, and her struggle to fight her disease.

We’ve already seen Netflix cover difficult topics in the past. Cough, cough “13 Reasons Why”, which received a huge backlash for its triggering plot focused on teen depression and suicide.

Still, when I took a closer look, “To the Bone” proved to be different from its popular counterpart. It wasn’t taking a real, dark issue and turning it into an angsty teen drama. It actually showed the true side of eating disorders, and what it really means to battle those issues every day.

Since “To the Bone” is based off of Noxon’s personal experience with eating disorders, the film has a more realistic story compared to the glamorized plot of “13 Reasons Why,” which is based purely on a fiction book.

It’s not a romantic story about an anorexic girl’s recovery journey and how she heals – it’s about a woman’s struggle to choose to live or die.

Ellen’s experiences in the movie mirror the struggles Noxon endured in her life

with anorexia and bulimia. Since the plot was pulled from an actual person’s life , the depressing and hopeless feel of Ellen’s life with an eating disorder was clearly evident throughout the film.

Noxon made the film to tell her own story and teach people who may not fully understand what living with an eating disorder is like. Through Ellen she was able to finally express her feelings about eating disorders and how they are addressed in America.

About a fourth of the way into the movie, Ellen joins a group recovery home after several hospital in-patient programs aren’t helping her. There is one scene in particular that shocked me. When she meets one of her new roommates, she notices that she has a feeding tube coming out her nose, force-feeding nutrients into her body.

Instead of being taken aback by the graphic scene she simply replies, “In my last in-patient there was a girl with a permanent tube in her stomach. She refused to chew.”

It’s such a raw and real scene, showing that “To the Bone” isn’t trying to hide any of the patient’s struggles or pain.

In fact, for the majority of the movie Ellen isn’t improving, she’s actually getting worse. She stops eating her meals and loses a significant amount of weight as a result. Severely emaciated and depressed, she returns back to the state she was in before she joined the group home.

It isn’t until the very end of the film that

TRUTH

Ellen makes the choice to live and start getting help.

That proves that “To the Bone” really gets straight to the point without any added drama or fluff. I mean it takes Ellen an entire movie to finally realize that she wants to live and fight to recover and heal.

It harsh, but it’s real, which I think really separates “To the Bone” from “13 Reasons Why”.

However, some have argued that “To the Bone” is potentially provoking and may cause recovering anorexics and bulimics to relapse. Yes, that could be true, since the film is based off of a person who has personally dealt with eating disorders the content could be very triggering for a lot of people. Since it’s such a triggering topic “To the Bone” needs to have clear warnings to prevent triggering the audience.

But as triggering as it is for some, I think America needs something real like “To the Bone” to teach the truth about darker issues like eating disorders, mental illness and depression. These darker problems need to be addressed and not avoided and brushed under the carpet simply because they make people uncomfortable.

“To the Bone” may not be the happy and uplifting movie you were looking for , but it is a film that brings something new to the table. It’s sparked more conversations about eating disorders and it’s been brave enough to tackle the tough topics we need to address and answer, but are too simply scared to do so.

5 other Movies/TV Shows that Deal with Eating Disorders Movie/TV Show IMDb Rating Skins

4.1/5

Precious

3.7/5

Real Women Have Curves

3.5/5

Starving in Suburbia

3.1/5

Little Miss Perfect

2.5/5

DESIGN BROOKLYN TERRILL

OCTOBER 2, 2017

WELCOME TO

WOODSTOCK NPR podcast “S. Town” is an immersive entertainment experience

A & E 23

FAST Facts about S-Town POPULATION: 900 COUNTY: Bibb County FUN FACT: Bibb County has 95 churches

BY M AC NEWM AN Copy Editor

“F

rom Serial and This American Life, I’m Brian Reed. This is S--Town.”

Reed interjects this line right after teasing me with one of the many cliffhangers that end each chapter of “S. Town,” or “S---Town,” the newest podcast

by Serial Productions. I always have to skip the next 10 seconds of the calming piano because I can’t wait for the next segment.

“S. Town” is a 7-part series released in 2017, about a man named John B. McLemore who despises his hometown of Woodstock, Al. John contacts Brian Reed, reporter and podcast genius, to investigate an alleged murder and police corruption in his town. According to John, the murder was committed by a son of a wealthy family, the Burts, who had been bragging about the killing all over town and was covered up by police corruption.

Reed’s breakout project, “Serial,” which featured a “whodunit?” murder mystery, “S. Town” offers a twisting and turning plot line that follows John and his unconventional personality and hometown. The seven-hour series is easy enough to follow that you can listen while doing chores or math homework.

Brian shifts the focus of the podcast from the murder to John himself, the real story, after John and Brian spend countless hours on the phone. John is a clock repairer, semi-homosexual, owner of 126 acres, depression victim, foster dog parent, care-taker for his mother and overall genius.

Each chapter digs deeper into John’s forever changing character, with no real structure other than stories about John, like John’s sexuality or his buried

treasure of gold bars. This structure made the podcast addicting. I never knew when Brian would bring in a new friend that would reveal a new character trait I wouldn’t have imagined John would possess.

After someone else ends up dead, a family feud develops over a hidden treasure and Brian covers it all with expertise in reporting and a narration that keeps you listening and thinking throughout the podcast.

Brian conveys John’s layered and complex personality through perfectlytimed quotes and observations. As I listened I felt like I, too, was close friends

“S. Town” offers a twisting and turning plot line that follows John and his unconventional personality and hometown. The seven-hour series is easy enough to follow that you can listen while doing chores or math homework.

M AC N EWM AN JUNIOR with John, and was able to form my own imaginative version of him without seeing his face. Brian would include every dad joke and every rambling rant on climate change from John. My favorite example was when Brian was talking with John as John discussed how he was peeing into his sink from an impressive distance because he didn’t want to walk to the bathroom.

The storyline of John and his neighbor Tyler Goodson, kept me most interested: their fishing trips, making of gold dimes and many tatoo sessions. John treated

Tyler like a son and had him work on his land in an attempt to save him from his surroundings. They always said ‘I love you” but made sure to follow it up with “but that doesn’t mean I am trying to get in your pants.”

Although the plot twists and fresh storylines dwindled as I reached the final two chapters, Brian delved further into John’s past and the people who were a part of it. Talking to all of John’s friends and went into countless storylines of different points in John’s life that showed a new side of John. These parts were my least favorite but it still felt necessary to complete the story that Brian started, tying up loose ends and covering things that would have felt unfinished if Brian did not include them.

But, Brian was able to create seven hours of content that never once had me wanting to skip ahead because of boredom. He was able to sprinkle in details late that still made me surprised and smiling, like John’s initial involvement in his hometown, when he attended every town hall meeting instead of his later days as a cryptic hermit.

I didn’t think a recording of voices, the occasional peeing sound, and soft piano music could make me connect and care for people I didn’t know – or know what color eyes these people had or what their smiles looked like. But I was glad this wasn’t a video series. I focused more on the story itself rather than passing judgment on people based on their appearance. And it was something unique I usually don’t use as entertainment, I found myself listening while mindlessly doing math homework or just laying in bed staring at my ceiling immersing myself in S––town.

Sneak Peak of S-Town QUOTES FROM JOHN B. MCLEMORE

“Before I could commence this discourse, I spent a few hours out under the night sky reacquainting myself with the constellations, like old friends.”

“Hiding in the woods of Bibb County is like having your afternoon tea in London.”

“I have lived on this blue orb now for about 17,600 days. And when I look around me and see the leaden dispiritedness that envelops so many persons both young and old, I know that if I die tonight, my life has been inestimably better than that of most of my compatriots.”

Check out more NPR Podcasts from the Creators of S-Town here

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DESIGN GRACE PADON PHOTOS COURTESY OF NETFLIX

OCTOBER 2, 2017

Browse

DVD

Every time I decide to be adventurous and pick a random show off Netflix’s Trending Now list, I regret it. Continually rewatching my all-time faves is a much safer bet than choosing something new. More often than not I end up wanting to gouge my eyes out with the spoon I’m eating my Halo Top chocolate ice cream with when trying out a new show.

I try — I really do — to find new

Search things to watch on Netflix, but for as many tolerable TV shows and movies on Netflix like “The Office” and “Spotlight,” there’s just as much pure garbage (I’m looking at you “How I Met Your Mother”). So the next time it’s 11 p.m. and you want to put off doing Conjuguemos assignment three for just a bit longer , don’t waste your precious free time with these atrocities.

Elizabeth

A&E

25

WHAT TO NOT WATCH ON

BY ELIZABETH BALLEW Page Designer

(Don’t) Continue Watching for Elizabeth

Six TV shows and movies to skip next time you’re browsing Netflix

HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER

“HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER” is not funny.

I have never once laughed out loud at Barney saying “this is going to be legend — wait for it — dary.” I can’t stand it when characters have catch phrases. You’re supposed to be 30 something years old, man. Grow up.

Sure, Neil Patrick Harris as womanizer Barney Stinson is entertaining, but he loses his appeal after one season — and there are nine seasons of this show. Ted, the main character, is someone I would willingly fork over a twenty to for him to shut up. Erase Ted

from the show and “How I Met Your Mother” might be tolerable. The show is a cheap knock off of “Friends,” but with beer instead of coffee. My eyes glazed over in season four, so I skipped ahead to watch the finale to figure out the whole point of the show. It was easily the worst finale of all time. Based on the general shock from people when I tell them I don’t like “How I Met Your Mother,” I might be alone with my views on this one, but I’m sticking to my opinion that studying would actually be more entertaining.

THE RANCH

I WAS THRILLED to see the duo from “That 70s Show,” Ashton Kutcher and Danny Masterson, were teaming up again for “The Ranch.” In the show, Kutcher moves back home to his dad’s ranch in a small town after a failed professional football career.

I wanted to like “The Ranch” for Kutcher and the semi-original premise of the show, but c’mon, it has a laugh track. After every weak and obvious joke comes the familiar

ONCE UPON A TIME

I GET A LITTLE SICK to my stomach when I think about “Once Upon a Time.” It’s an ABC show about fairytales and some “normal” people who get stuck there, I think? If there was a gun to my head and string cheese was on the line, I could not tell you what the plot was or the main characters names.

The whimsical set and the characters’ voices honestly gave me a migrane. I’m trying to think back to what the endgame of the

show was and I think it was to get out of the fairytale world? Overall, the plot retelling fairytales in a mundane way — I would rather just watch the Disney version. The production quality was fine and all, but gosh the acting was like a bunch of B-list actors in a soap opera. Watching “The Bachelor” would be a more productive use of time than trying to interpret a season of this show.

NETFLIX ORIGINALS

roar of taped laughter that I’m pretty sure I heard on Disney. “The Ranch” is a bunch of 30-year-olds acting like they are still in high school. It’s not charming. The show is Kutcher in his early ‘30s pining over his high school girlfriend and arguing with his dad like an angsty teen. All I wanted was for Kutcher’s character to move out of his Dad’s house and bring back the “That 70s Show” vibe.

WHO GETS THE DOG? IMAGINE A COUPLE gets a divorce. They go to court not for custody of their children, but for a battle of a shared yellow lab. That’s the plot of the rom-com “Who Gets the Dog?,” and wow, did I feel bad for this poor pupper.

The entire hour-and-35-minute movie is based on a plot that could have been solved

TV SHOWS

FRIENDS FROM COLLEGE

“FRIENDS FROM COLLEGE” was the worst thing to ever cross my laptop screen.

Keegan-Michael Key from “Key & Peele” is in it, so I thought it would be funny. It wasn’t.

The show is about six 40-year-old friends who all went to Harvard together and are reunited The show fell flat in its attempt to appeal to younger audiences. Uncomfortable jokes about hookup culture and watching

MOVIES

in 10 minutes— sharing custody of the dog.

Clearly, Elmo’s life lessons of sharing were lost on them. There was no climax to the movie, just lots of little bumps on a boring road. “Who Gets the Dog?” is a wanna be Hallmark movie that’s even too cliché for the Hallmark channel.

the characters repeatedly fail in hopes for a cheap laugh don’t connect, and leave the viewers irritated. It’s unrelatable, too: how many people end up uber rich, living in NYC, and still super close with their group from college? The unrealistic plots and crude jokes make “Friends from College” a flop. And with a 23% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the general public agrees.

THE BREAKUP

I LOVE JENNIFER ANISTON, so naturally I had to watch her rom-com “The Break Up”.

In the movie she dates Vince Vaughn who is a prospering tour guide in Chicago. I just wanted to scream “Jen you’re too good for him!” the entire movie. They break-up because she wanted 12 lemons for a center piece and he only got three – trivial, I know.

Sure, Aniston’s character is a tad uptight, but Vaughn’s character is just such a loser that I have trouble coming up with reason

why they were together in the first place.

Spoiler alert (so stop reading now if you’re still planning on watching) they stay broken up. If I am watching a rom-com there is an unwritten rule that I will get my cheesey, lovable ending. Even if the characters are completely wrong for each other, I still want them to end up together. I watched solely for the happy ending. “The Break Up” tries to reinvent the rom-com, but there was nothing wrong with it in the first place.

DESIGN WILL TULP PHOTOS M ADDIE SMILEY

THE HARBINGER

26 S P O R T S

BROTHERS’ BOND Brothers and goalkeepers motivate and better each other through friendly competition

BY M ADELINE HLOBIK Copy Editor

F COLLYN LOWRY

VARSITY KEEPER HEIGHT: 6’2” WEIGHT: 180lbs.

AGE: 17 RECORD: 7-0-2

reshman Will Lowry actively stands against one side of his backyard, shuffling his feet left and right, ready to jump at any soccer ball that comes flying his way. He is not about to let his senior brother Collyn win this round of “goalie wars,” but at the other end of the yard behind their house, Collyn is thinking the exact same thing. As Collyn winds up to take a shot on Will, Will swiftly throws his body left to save the ball.

“Hey wait, [that ball] rolled past the line,” Collyn exclaimed.

“No it didn’t,” Will replied. “I definitely saved that one.”

Unlike most players on the JV and Varsity soccer teams, Will and Collyn each have a built-in source of motivation — each other. Both Lowry brothers play goalie, and through this similarity have learned new soccer skills from each other, while also enhancing their friendly competition.

“I’ve learned how to communicate more from watching Collyn play,” Will explained. “[Collyn’s] always been big into telling the defense exactly where to be [during games].”

According to their mom, Amanda Lowry, the boys have always tried to be the better

wakeboarder, skier and ball player.

Once the boys started goalie training together, their competition grew to be more supportive.

“They each can understand how the other one feels when faced with something stressful like penalty kicks,” Amanda said. “[My husband and I] love hearing them cheer each other on the sidelines.”

Throughout their summer training, Collyn and Will were always paired against each other in practice; their

Our expectation is that the competition is supportive of each other. We want them to push each other to be better on and off the field.

A M AN DA LOW RY MOTHER

coach Andy Gruenebaum liked the idea of using their sense of competition to his advantage. The boys would leave practice drenched in sweat from all of the racing back and forth trying to get to the ball before the other to punt it.

“One time we both started sprinting at the ball and I was planning on trying to kick the ball, but Collyn got there a little before, and he just totally slide tackled me,” Will said laughing.

Despite the competitive edges during practice, the brothers still enjoy getting to share Gatorades and rides home after a 3-hour long workout.

Their teammates and coaches also help ensure that their rivalry never goes farther than just

friendly competition by not constantly comparing them to one another— they each have different playing styles.

Collyn is more conservative and doesn’t like to go too far out of the goalie box, whereas Will likes to play up and clear more balls.

“No, it’s not scary to just go out and punt a ball,” Will said.

“Ha, well it’s not scary until he messes up,” Collyn replied.

For the first time, the Lowry brothers played against each other in a real match, not just their backyard championships: the annual Black and Blue scrimmage on Aug. 25. Their parents were snapping pictures of Will and Collyn standing by each other during the National Anthem, and all of their teammates were hollering phrases such as “Ohhh Collyn, is your little brother going to beat you?” For the brothers though, the main difference in the game was they were able to look down the field and see one another tucked in the opposite goals.

“Our expectation is that the competition is supportive of each other,” Amanda Lowry said. “We want them to push each other to be better on and off the field.”

Although the brothers are always eager for some sort of competition, they both agree that playing on the same team and the same position has brought them closer together.

Collyn is able to learn more about JV and they both have someone to bond with after rough practices on car rides home.

“Having Will around now is like having a built-in friend,” Collyn said.

“Except he just doesn’t go away.”

HEAD-TO-HEAD Quick comparison stats on Collyn and Will

WILL LOWRY

JV KEEPER HEIGHT: 5’11” WEIGHT: 163lbs.

AGE: 15 RECORD: 8-1-0

DESIGN LUCY PAT TERS ON PHOTOS AUDREY KESLER

OCTOBER 2, 2017

time flies when you’re

S P O R T S 27 Varsity athletes learn to balance sports and academics

BY JACKIE CA MERON Staff Writer

Julia Stopperan

Cooper McCullough

Zach Yeo

Senior Julia Stopperan’s calendar looks like a rainbow threw up on it. Green for tests, dark blue for family events, black for school, appointments are pink, light blue represents volunteering, and coral is work. The color coding of her planner and calendar helps keep her hectic schedule organized.

Three AP classes. Golf practice.

Dinner. Battle through homework.

Shower – her signal that she’s done for the night. Sleep.

Wake up. Repeat.

One thing that aids Stopperan in balancing golf, schoolwork, DECA and StuCo is seminar and class time.

Because golf tournaments take up a large portion of the day, Stopperan often misses her last three classes.

Free seminars are a thing of the past.

Make-up tests plague Stopperan.

However, she utilizes class time and seminar to their full extent.

“I’m that kid where everybody is standing up at the front of the classroom with three minutes left and I’m still working,” Stopperan said. “I still got three minutes, that’s two more problems.”

Mimi Stopperan, Stopperan’s mother, describes her daughter as proactive. Stopperan is not new to the art of getting everything done.

Three and a half years of varsity golf has helped her figure out what works and what doesn’t work when trying to harmonize school and sports.

Taking advantage of teacher’s calendars to work ahead, as well as communicating with teachers before she misses their class have proven to work for her. Stopperan also realizes the bustling schedule she adopts during golf season is temporary.

“You got to work through it. [Golf season is] two months long and then it’s over,” Stopperan said.

Senior Cooper McCullough feels focused dressed in a suit and tie. Even though it’s game day, McCullough recognizes that there’s school work to complete and once that’s finished he can direct his thoughts to his soccer game against Olathe East that night.

McCullough juggles soccer, academics, his thrifting company, cbm thrift, FCA and LARP club.

He says stress is avoidable if he accomplishes an assignment as soon as it’s assigned. Disciplining himself during class when everyone else is using their computers for anything but homework is key.

“Being a senior looking back on your freshman year, it’s not like, ‘Oh I

had fun for that two hours watching Netflix.’ You’re going to remember the bad grade you had,” McCullough said.

McCullough doesn’t start his homework until 10:00 p.m. on game nights and refuses to use a planner so his mom, Robin McCullough reminds him frequently.

“I think sometimes there needs to be gentle reminders. Hey, I see that you went thrift shopping but have you gotten that project done?” Robin said. “A lot of times the answer will be, ‘Mom trust me,’ and I like that answer because I, as a mother, do need to trust him.”

Although varsity soccer games usually take place at 7:00 p.m.,

practices are right after school. So are make-up tests. McCullough knows it’s schoolwork first and then soccer. According to McCullough, Kelly is understanding when it comes to academics and soccer.

Another aspect McCullough considers when trying to keep himself disciplined is his future.

Homework and grades to him are a primary influence on the future. It’s taken time to find the right balance.

“It takes some time to figure out your schedule and how you’re going to cope with it. But once you get that figured out and you’re actually disciplined then it’s not that bad,” McCullough said.

Along with his AP Stats and AP Psych homework, senior Zach Yeo’s homework is to study film of the opposing football team he’ll be facing come Thursday or Friday night.

However, finding a balance between school and football hasn’t taken it’s toll on Yeo. He’s not up until 3 a.m. finishing school work.

He claims one of his strengths in stabilizing academics is his ability to remain calm and not let a forgotten assignment bother him.

“If I miss one thing, I’ll make up for it next time,” Yeo said.

Accomplishing a load of homework during class time is Yeo’s main concern. He wants to be able to relax after a tiring day of school.

Three-hour-long football practices dominate his evenings. So he plugs in his headphones and gets to work during class. He credits his mother as a big help in solving his time conundrum: she washes his football gear for him with aiding his time conundrum because she washes all of his football gear.

Yeo thinks that between football in the fall, lacrosse in the spring, and his involvement in the National

Honor Society, he stays busy enough.

“I think for the most part I balance it pretty well. I have pretty good grades. I’m enjoying football and I’m happy. I think that’s good balance,” Yeo said.

Learn sleep tips for high schoolers

1

learn to say “no” Do a few things you love instead of many different activities

2

Relax & Refresh Everyone deserves a little down time. Schedule some “me time” and watch Netflix or read a good book

3

start early Procrastination is the first step of failure, so start early to prepare for success

4

Create a “to-do” list Write down every activity you have for the day and cross them off as you finish

5

Sleep 7 to 8 hours It is important to get a good night’s rest in order to be mentally ready for the next busy day

DESIGN SARAH WILCOX PHOTO AISLINN MENKE

28 S P O R T S

STARTING

STRONG Gymnastics team starts season with strong results and high hopes after the program was almost cut last year

T

BY ALEX FREE M AN Copy Editor

he girls gymnastics team, currently ranked fourth in the state, remains focused on their state competition Oct.21. The familiar threat of cutting the program approaches with the end of the season.

Last year during an open forum for gymnasts, it was announced that the SMSD would most likely cut the gymnastics program for the 2017-18 school year, mostly due to a lack students on the teams.

However, following a couple meetings with the district’s coaches, it was decided in late October that the gymnastics program would be given the opportunity to increase its number of participants.

The goal for each school in the district is to have 10 girls total in the gymnastics program, half on varsity and half on junior varsity. East currently has six total gymnasts.

The district will look at the growth and reevaluate the program at the end of this year. “[East gymnasts] know that it’s a year-toyear thing, and [the district] reviews it every year,” gymnastics coach Jennifer Terflinger said. “As a whole, I think that [the girls] were so excited that they allowed it to come back that it’s made a positive effort for us.”

According to Terflinger, the sport has been at risk of being cut every year since she started working in the district 10 years ago. Since only 14 schools in Kansas have a gymnastics program, it can be difficult to find enough teams to compete against in meets.

Gymnastics is a sport that requires extensive technique, so it can also be hard to find qualified coaches who are trained to prevent injuries, Richard Kramer, the SMSD Director of Student Activities and Athletics, said. Still, Kramer said one of the primary reasons for continuing the program was the

passion and participation of the gymnasts.

“We were devastated at first,” junior gymnast Emily Eadens said. “But then, we thought maybe there was some tiny chance. We had to do something.”

The team rallied together to keep the sport at East. They had meetings with Kramer about the gymnastics program and made T-shirts to increase awareness. Now that the program is secure for this season, Eadens feels like she has one less thing to worry about.

“At meets we’re not sitting around talking about ‘What if this is it? What if this is the last meet?’” Eadens said. “We’re spending more time talking about our goals for the meet. We’re not distracted by the ‘Oh no, this is it’ attitude.”

Sophomore Brooklyn Beck, who started gymnastics when she was in second grade, quit club gymnastics due to the time commitment, so she has relied on East’s program in order to compete.

“I was only a freshman last year, and I would have been very disappointed if I hadn’t gotten to continue it for the rest of [high school],” Beck said. “I didn’t want to go back to club, because I wanted to be able to participate in the high school atmosphere.”

Terflinger considers this one of the primary reasons the district has kept the gymnastics program despite the size and possible injuries. The girls in the program care about the sport and need gymnastics to remain at school in order to participate.

“Nobody wants to see an opportunity for kids taken away, no matter how small [it is],” Terflinger said. “Even if you’re [in] one club in your school, if you have a club of a few kids, they’re there because they’re

passionate about that club or that activity.”

East gymnasts were in the middle of their season last year when they learned that their sport would likely not return, which added particular strain to the competition, according to Terflinger.

“It wasn’t so much while you were on the event, because then you’re pretty focused,” Eadens said. “It was more so in between events when we were just sitting as a team, reminiscing about all the different things we did. It was just really sad to think we wouldn’t have another year to make more memories.”

Even though the program is secure for now, the girls all know that there’s always a chance of it getting cut in the future. In order to increase their numbers, they hosted three clinics at Shawnee Mission West during the off-season. Students from middle and elementary schools with an interest in gymnastics came to learn a few skills and develop an idea of what the program is like at East. They’re hopeful that raising awareness about gymnastics through these clinics as well as fundraising will help keep the sport alive. “[The risk of gymnastics being cut] makes me work harder in a way,” Beck said.

“Every season might be the last one that I do.”

Game dates and locations

LEAGUE WHEN: Oct. 7 WHERE: Olathe North

INVITATIONAL WHEN: Oct. 10 WHERE: SM South

STATE WHEN: Oct. 21 WHERE: Olathe East

DESIGN BRYNN WINKLER PHOTOS MORGAN PLUNKET T

OCTOBER 2, 2017

S P O R T S 29

JUMPING to new HEIGHTS

Junior’s commitment and love for cheer sets her up for her future goals

BY LIL A TULP Section Editor

J

unior Megan Packel’s 7-year-old students strive to be just like her. They want to tie up their hair in a white bow on the top of their head and perfect their triple round-off back handsprings. They want to compete in the cheerleading world championships at Disney World and dream to cheer at the collegiate level, just like her.

But for now, all her Kansas City Athletic Cheer (KCAC) students can do is keep learning and practicing six days a week, just like she did.

During her first year, starting at level two, Packel would watch in awe as her coach sprinted into two continuous back handsprings, hoping that someday she could achieve the same –– now, at the highest level, five, she can complete more than three and finish with a back tuck.

Having accomplished her fifth grade goal, Packel is now focusing on keeping her height on her straddle jumps and maintaining her honor roll GPA in school to prepare for the extensive college cheerleading tryouts at Ole Miss, the University of Florida and the University of Kansas at the end of her senior year.

“Competition cheer, high school cheer and college cheer are so different. It’s like three completely different sports,” Packel said. ”Each one calls for different skills, and as I work my way up the levels, everything gets more intense, exclusive and time consuming.”

According to Packel, between her KCAC practices, the classes that she teaches and

East Varsity cheer, the time she spends cheering throughout the week is equivalent to working a 40 hour full time job. The cheer gym is her second home, though it should be her first considering she’s there more than her real one. Whether it’s 1:50 p.m. and time for her seventh hour class, cheering under the stadium lights at Thursday night East football games or cancelling her weekend plans to spend her Saturday night at the KCAC open gym, Packel is always in one of her blue and white uniforms.

Competition cheer, high school cheer and college cheer are so different. It’s like three completely different sports.

M EGAN PAC K EL JUNIOR Being the only East cheerleader who is also on a premier team outside of school has given Packel a sense of leadership among her teammates. She stands as the team’s goto for cheer tips, and is trusted in critiquing tumbling passes and making sure everyone’s form is sharp during sideline cheers. “[Megan’s] in my cheer fam and everyone always goes to her to get the best help,” sophomore Elise Griffith said, “She’s so experienced and nice and funny so we all trust her opinion and don’t take offence to her notes.”

As she prepares to be scouted by colleges

during the world championships at the end of April, her coaches and teammates have been supporting her all the way through the process –– even when she has to leave ten minutes early from their Thursday practice in order to arrive at the KCAC gym in time for another one.

“The girls are incredibly supportive, not only because they all love Megan and how hard she works, but because she isn’t just missing a practice for no reason,” East competition coach Mallory Gaunce said, “She’s missing to enhance her skills in competitive cheer, which will in turn enhance the skills on our competitive team [at East].”

Not only does Gaunce support Packel on the East team, but she has been helping her every spare moment at practices to work on her flying, a skill that’s essential for college teams. Together, the two of them have been researching collegiate cheer programs and deciding between becoming a flyer at Florida, a base at Ole Miss or an all-around position at Gaunce’s alma mater, KU. Though the commitment to her teams can be overwhelming, Packel would never quit. Every moment she spends being tackled with hugs by her second grade admirers or being glued to her computer reading about college cheer requirements instead of finishing the newest Netflix series, shows her that her passion for cheer is worth it all –– because it’s what she loves.

“I would never stop [cheering],” Packel said. “I’ve probably said ‘Oh, I’ll never make it on a college team’ or ‘this is too much time for me’ so many times, but I can’t ever imagine myself not cheering.”

THE BREAKDOWN

SME VS KCAC

Chants

No chants

Basic tumbling on dead mats

Advanced tumbling on spring floors

Pom poms

No pom poms

DESIGN DIANA PERCY

THE HARBINGER

30 P H O T O S T O R Y

LANCER

DAY

BELOW | The boys soccer team, on their “Jersey Shore” themed float, cheers while getting ready for the parade. “We had a lot of ideas that were shot down,” senior Nick Gasperi said. “It was between ‘Jersey Shore’ and ‘The Bachelorette.’ We were going to make [sophomore] TJ Libeer dress up as the girl.” | Lu k e H o f fm a n

RIGHT | Principal Dr. McKinney gives a speech at the pep rally, claiming it’s the best Lancer Day East has ever had. “I don’t think it’s any surprise that I was happy the Eastonian didn’t come out,” McKinney said. “I think that [the class of 2018] has said we want to be seen for all the wonderful, amazing accomplishments and not for negative things. | luk e ho f fm a n

RIGHT | Senior varsity cheerleaders Carly Dreyer, Ava Meng and Isabel Epstein pump their fists as they ride in the “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” themed float. | luke

ABOVE | Sophomore Brooklyn Beck performs a back handspring in the parade.

hoffm a n

| lucy m o ra ntz

ABOVE LEFT | Junior Jack Gilman flashes his “BEAT ROCK” shirt to the crowd.

“The whole Lancer Day just built it up,” Gilman said. “It made the Rock game a bigger deal than it already was.” | lucy m o ra ntz

LEFT | Senior Sophia LEFT | Senior Caleb Krakow cheers in the front of the

pep rally. “All my past years of high school I never got to be near the front row at that rally,” Krakow said. “Now that I’m a senior, it’s my right.” | luke ho ffm a n

Flanagan hugs the Lancer mascot while riding in the parade. “I love riding with the Lancer, she is my best friend,” Flanagan said. “Not to mention I had the best view.”

| lucy m o ra ntz

DESIGN DIANA PERCY

OCTOBER 2, 2017

P H O T O S T O R Y 31 Over the past two weeks, Lancers participated in Lancer Day, the East vs.

Rockhurst game and the Homecoming football game

ROCK

NIGHT RIGHT | Varsity

cheerleaders perform a stunt.

“It was really cool that there were two sections full of students there,” senior Scheele Prust said. “It’s awesome to have a bond with the football players.” | AISLINN MENKE

LEFT | The students of East link arms to walk onto the field, chanting while they march. | LUCY

M O RA NTZ

LEFT | Senior yell leaders Matt McGannon and John John Roney lead the football team onto the field. “The

atmosphere was a lot of fun to be in,” Roney said. “It was Coach Hair’s idea to walk in a huge clump to show off to Rockhurst.” | lucy m o ra ntz

HOMECOMING

GAME ABOVE | Senior Mya

Hutcherson hypes up the cheerleaders before the game.

“Usually when you go to a Rockhurst game it’s aways fun,” Hutcherson said. “But when you’re a senior, it’s more special.”

| G RaCE GOLDM A N

ABOVE | Senior Toni Englund is crowned homecoming queen. “It’s

already weird enough hearing your name over the huge intercom,” Englund said. “I was just like, ‘Is this really happening?’” | dia na pe rcy

LEFT | The varsity Lancer Dancers cheer on their teammates who

were nominated for homecoming court: seniors Toni Englund, Savanna Worthington and Isabelle Cunningham. “I’ve been watching people get crowned since freshman year and seeing people actually my age was really exciting,” senior Tinka McCray said. | dia na pe rcy

DESIGN K ATIE HISE PHOTOS K ATIE NIXON & IZZ Y ZANONE

THE HARBINGER

32 A LT- C O P Y

CROWNED MEET THE ROYALTY via their classmates

[Toni]’s not only very smart and active in so many different activities, but she is also extremely nice. [The candidates] are all very accomplished and good candidates, but I think she is the epitome of all things. She is what everyone is trying to strive to be at East.

Julius von Rautenfeld

on SAM:

on Toni:

BY CAROLINE CHISHOLM Section Editor

senior

First Attendant Kirby Motsinger THE VOICE OF announcer Steve Klein went over the loudspeaker at SM North stadium. And first attendant goes to . . . miss Kirby Motsinger. As senior Kirby Motsinger stepped onto the track to receive her crown, she was overcome with goosebumps. It was even more of a surprise than when StuCo members came at 6 a.m. to wake her up and revealing her nomination – only to find her diligently working on her Spanish homework.

“When I was nominated, I was super surprised. I had no idea, but I was really flattered,” Motsinger said.

As a StuCo executive, Spanish National Honor Society member, cross country runner and a bike club member, Motsinger has involved herself in many activities at school.

She has also built strong relationships with her peers and underclassmen which contributed to her being chosen as first attendant.

Second Attendant Savanna Worthington SENIOR SAVANNA Worthington focused on staying upright in her heels while walking arm-in-arm with her father. Her nerves had set in after talking to the other girl nominees. As her name was announced, the group of varsity Lancer Dancers sitting on the track screamed her name and waved “Go Savanna” posters. Along with her drill team sisters, choir members, friends and family cheered to show their support.

“I was in disbelief at first, but then my heart was just

so warm that people would nominate me for something like that,” Worthington said. “I felt so honored to be with all the other candidates because I admire all of them so much.”

Never expecting to win, Worthington felt blessed to hear the crowd cheering her name after being crowned second attendant. Although she has a somewhat shy demeanor, she felt confident in front of the entire student section and all the parents there supporting the game.

I don’t think anyone else would be that marveled by [winning] as [Sam] was. It’s all his genuine personality. He is always true to himself, and to everyone he meets. He doesn’t judge anyone. Basically anyone he meets he doesn’t think of them as anything less than him.”

Isabelle Cunningham

senior

2017 Homecoming Court First Attendant Tommy Nelson SENIOR TOMMY NELSON felt nothing but excitement while waiting in the band room prior to the king candidates being crowned. Others felt a nervous anticipation, but Tommy was ready. He felt comfortable with his fellow candidates – it’s hard to not know each of the guys after the three hour Mongolian barbeque dinner they attended the night before. After lining up in alphabetical order in the dinosaur-decorated cafeteria, the candidates got on stage for

the ceremony.

“When we were walking out, I was in awe of everyone up there and in the crowd, and it’s something I won’t forget,” Nelson said. “Just to be named as first attendant was awesome.

I was extremely excited.”

Nelson, a star varsity soccer player and National Honor Society member, was ecstatic to stand alongside Homecoming King Sam Fay and Veglahn as a member of the 2017 homecoming court.

Second Attendant Robbie Veghlan SENIOR ROBBIE VEGLAHN laughed and reconnected with his fellow homecoming king candidates, some of which he hadn’t talked to since elementary school, as they all stuffed themselves with bowls of chicken, noodles and rice. The male candidates opted for a more casual dinner at Genghis Kahn instead of the parent-daughter dinner the queen candidates attended. This dinner was the highlight of Veglahn’s candidacy.

“It was way more fun than I had ever expected to be,”

Veglahn said. “It was a lot of fun hanging out with guys who I had been friends with, but for whatever reason just hadn’t been as close to the past couple years, so it was cool reconnecting with a group of really good guys.”

Veglahn didn’t feel any nerves before the king announcement; he was just happy to be up on stage with such a great group of people. However, when his name was announced as second attendant, he couldn’t stop his feelings of pride at his win.