The Harbinger: Issue 11

the harbinger.

SHAWNEE MISSION EAST 7500 MISSION ROAD PRAIRIE VILLAGE, KS 66208

FEB 21, 2018 VOLUME LIX ISSUE 11

YOU ARE HERE

With an increase of student absences due to the AH3 influenza virus, the severity of the sickness, custodial services and transfer absence rules come into question PAGES 16-17

COVER DESIGN LIZZIE K AHLE COVER PHOTO DIANA PERCY

2 CONTENTS

peek inside.

table of contents.

A more detailed look at a few stories in the issue

editorial

Positivity steming from Olympics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

NEWS

News briefs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 SMSD announces new superintendent. . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 ANGST FILM SHOWING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 New businesses on the Plaza. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Flu outbreak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16/17

OPINION

Meme culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

SPRING IS OVERRATED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Robotic surgery is unnecessary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Helping high schoolers with their future. . . . . . . . .

9 10 12 13

F E AT U R E S

Drone Company owners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Remembering through research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Bridges KC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

18 Club presidents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

A&E

Cupcake shop reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Orange Theory & Core Power review. . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Chinese food review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Bloom Bakery and Scratch Bakery reviews . . . . . . . . 23 Rotten Tomatoes 100 percent movies review . . . . . . . 25

SPORTS

Winter sports round-up. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Lancer Dancers go back to nationals. . . . . . . . . . . .

SWIM COACH HAS DREAM JOB AT EAST. . . . . . .

March Madness friendship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

26 27 28 29

MORE

“Curtains” photostory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Valentine’s Day photostory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31.

Black History Month alt-copy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

editorial policy.

THE HARBINGER

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

ANXIETY SCREENING

CHASING HIS DREAM

SHIELDING FROM SPRING

PAGE 6 | NEWS

PAGE 28 | SPORTS

PAGE 10 | OPINION

East will show a screening of the documentary “Angst” on Tuesday with the goal of raising a conversation and awareness about anxiety

Hank Krusen is living out his dream as a performance consultant for the boys varsity swim team

The usual hype of spring is overshadowed by the looming thunderstorms, approaching allergy season and impending week of finals

| PHOTO Ty Browning

the harbinger staff.

PRINT EDITORS-INCHIEF Grace Chisholm Robbie Veglahn

ASST. PRINT EDITORS Emily Fey Lizzie Kahle HEAD COPY EDITOR Daisy Bolin ART & DESIGN EDITOR Katie Hise ONLINE EDITORS-INCHIEF Reser Hall Kaleigh Koc ASST. ONLINE EDITORS Annabelle Cook Will Tulp ASST. DESIGN EDITOR Grace Padon PRINT SECTION EDITORS Editorial- Gracie Kost News- Lucy Patterson Opinion- Ava Johnson & Sarah Wilcox Features- Abby Walker & Gabby Leinbach Spread- Caroline Chisholm & Lila Tulp A&E- Carolyn Popper & Grace Padon Sports- Elias Lowland & Meg Thoma

PAGE DESIGNERS Jackie Cameron Natasha Thomas Brynn Winkler Scout Rice Kaylin McCan Annabelle Cook Lucy Kendall Lucy Hoffman Allison Wilcox Julie Fromm Lydia Underwood Lauren West Sarah Bledsoe STAFF ARTIST Lilah Powlas

COPY EDITORS Mac Newman Madeline Hlobik Reser Hall Kaleigh Koc Annabelle Cook Will Tulp Alex Freeman Daisy Bolin Harrison Gooley Robbie Veglahn Grace Chisholm Emily Fey Meg Thoma Gracie Kost Katie Hise Maya Stratman Elizabeth Ballew Abby Walker Caroline Chisholm Lucy Patterson Lizzie Kahle Lila Tulp Anna Kanaley

STAFF WRITERS Lucia Barraza Miranda Hack Megan Funkey Liddy Stallard Kourtney Koc Clara Von Drehle PHOTO EDITORS Diana Percy Ellie Thoma Carson Holtgraves ASST. PHOTO EDITORS Grace Goldman Print- Lucy Morantz Online- Maddie Smiley SME PHOTOS EDITOR Izzy Zanone HEAD PHOTO MENTOR Izzy Zanone STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Tyler Browning Ellen Swanson Reilly Moreland Luke Hoffman Lucy Morantz Ava Simonsen Morgan Plunkett Katherine Odell Julia Percy Katherine McGinness Hadley Hyatt Ally Griffith Kate Nixon Camille Talkington

Aislinn Menke Avery Walker Kathleen Deedy Lena Heukelbach ONLINE SECTION EDITORS News- Alex Freeman Sports- Ben Henschel & Brett Wainwright A&E- Carolyn Popper & Grace Padon Homegrown- :Kourtney Koc & Clara Von Drehle Opinion- Elizabeth Ballew Eastipedia- Miranda Hack Humans of East- Kate Nixon MOBILE MEDIA EDITORS Anna Kanaley Lucy Hoffman ASST. MOBILE MEDIA EDITOR Brooklyn Terrill VIDEO EDITOR Avery Walker ASST. VIDEO EDITOR Ian Schutt VIDEO TRAINING EDITOR Peyton Watts

LIVE BROADCAST EDITOR Peyton Watts PODCAST EDITOR Lucy Patterson INTERACTIVE EDITORS Will Tulp Annabelle Cook MULTIMEDIA STAFF Maggie Schutt Ryan Gossick Megan Funkey Georgia Cook Dalton Reck Brett Wainwright Sydney Williams Riley Atkinson Lawder DeSantis Cate Nearmyer EDITORIAL BOARD Grace Chisholm Robbie Veglahn Kaleigh Koc Reser Hall Katie Hise Daisy Bolin Lizzie Kahle Emily Fey Anna Kanaley Lucy Hoffman Madeline Hlobik Gracie Kost Alex Freeman Annabelle Cook Will Tulp

Tthe rching TOXIC

DESIGN GRACIE KOST

FEBRUARY 21, 2018

EDITORIAL

FOR: 15 AGAINST:

0

As a nation, we should strive to channel comradery and positivity from the media after the Olympics

OLYMPICS

PYEONGCHANG

Statistics and facts about the 2018 Winter Olympics being held in PyeongChang, South Korea INFO SOURCE: WWW.PYEONGCHANG2018.COM

84

countries with one or more qualified athletes

15

SPORTS

244/2925 ATHLETES ARE AMERICANS,

3 countries making their Winter Olympic debut:

ERITREA, KOSOVO & MALAYSIA

FUNDING

WINTER

political news has been at the forefront of the media since President Trump’s inauguration last year. A 2017 Harvard study found that of seven news networks, every organization had a negative news bias towards Trump. Based on their findings, networks were over 80 percent negative on average compared to just 41 percent negative under Obama and 57 percent negative under Bush.

Unfortunately, this can partly be attributed to our inherent negative bias, theorized by Nobel Prize-winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman and widely accepted among the field of psychology. We as humans essentially crave “bad news,” and therefore media tends to deliver.

However, the Pyeongchang games have created a surge of much-needed positive media coverage already in the first weeks of competition. Among headlines for sites like NBC News and LA Times were smiling faces of athletes like American luger Chris Mazdzer and snowboarder

This philosophy has been seen on a global scale at this year’s Olympics through the combining of North and South Korea under one unified Korea during the opening ceremony and on their hockey team. Even here at home, people have been brought together to cheer our nation’s athletes on towards gold medals.

The games have brought in 110 million TV viewers, or half of all U.S. households with television so far according to a press release by NBC Universal. Additionally, fanfavorite athletes like American snowboarder and Halfpipe gold medalist Shaun White have been making headlines and receiving full-feature stories on Twitter and Snapchat.

On top of bringing people together, the Pyeongchang games have helped suppress the pessimism of present-day media and partially replace it with a period of positivity in the media.

The current political climate has felt more polar than Pyeongchang, and negative

EVENTS

2018

Democrats and Republicans on fundamental issues like race, immigration and national security have continued to rise through 2017 from previous record levels during the Obama administration according to Pew Research Center.

Furthermore, core values of both political parties such as beliefs on government involvement and government spending have reached their largest gap since the beginning of Pew Research Center’s data collection starting in 1994.

This division has been perpetuated by President Trump’s demeanor of mudslinging, name-calling and “war on Fake News.” However, the Olympics are assisting in tempering this tension outside of politics. One of the integral ideas behind the Olympic games is peace among people and nations. As the official Olympics website states, “Sport has the power to bring people together… [build] friendships and [draw] lines of respect across borders.”

COUNTRIES

T

he 2018 Winter Olympic Games kicked off in Pyeongchang, South Korea on Feb. 7, and already the first two weeks of competition have sparked positive headlines and united celebration throughout the nation. 17-year-olds like American snowboarders Chloe Kim and Red Gerrard have become national superstars, athletes like figure skaters Maia and Alex Shibutani have been cheered on by millions for their usually obscure events and the nation has revelled over each new gold medal.

We should cherish the coverage and comradery that comes with cheering for our nation alongside our fellow Americans of all beliefs in a time of great political division.

But more importantly, when the games finally come to a close on Feb. 25, we should strive to keep this positivity in our media and work to translate this established national solidarity into all aspects of citizenship, especially politics.

Right now, political discord and the partisan gap between

which is a new record for American athletes participating in the Olympics

3

Jamie Anderson for winning silver in Singles Luge and gold in Women’s Slopestyle respectively.

Major news sites like The New York Times and CNN have even added special sections to their home pages for updates on the Olympics. In an age where negativity and tragedy inundate our news networks, it’s refreshing to have some good news among the usual flood of somber stories such as the daily updates of sexual misconduct and the developing Russian probe scandal.

So let’s take the next couple weeks to come together as a nation and celebrate our athletes.

Then after the closing ceremony, let’s not cease the celebration and national positivity. We need to take the universal companionship of the Olympics and incorporate it into our everyday lives. While we may have political differences, we’re all Americans and should be rooting for each other and for our nation, just like we do our athletes.

$10 BIL

estimated cost of PyeongChangOlympics

259 sets of olympic

medals made

and go for

$577.42 a piece

DESIGN LUCY PAT TERS ON

THE HARBINGER

4 NEWS

NEWS in BRIEF

BY LUCY HOFFM AN Mobile Media Editor

EAST Coalition has been planning the annual Love Concert, the club’s main fundraiser. The concert will be held on Saturday from 7-11 p.m. The profits made from the concert will be going towards Not For Sale instead of the usual recipient, Love146, which helps eliminate sex trafficking.

Not For Sale focuses on creating new jobs and sustainability by starting businesses in third world countries.

“We wanted to start working with organizations that weren’t as big, and we felt like we could make a more personal impact on,” Coalition sponsor and social studies teacher David Muhammad said.

“Year by year we are going to switch organizations to kind of spread the wealth around.”

There will also be less performers than at the previous concerts, but each band will have longer sets because Muhammad wants to give the attendees a chance to get to know the bands. This year there will be seven performers, compared to 13 last year.

Bands will be playing four songs and individual artists will be playing three.

Junior Iris Hyde performed at the Love concert last year and will be returning again this year. She is looking forward to including more songs in her set.

“The longer sets will benefit the concert because each artist has more of an opportunity to connect with the audience and tell whatever story they are trying to tell, whether it’s through cover songs or originals,” Hyde said.

LOCAL The annual Village Presbyterian Chili Cook Off will be taking place on Sunday.

Tickets will be on sale Sunday morning for $10. Teams planning on entering their chili will receive two free tickets to the event. All winners will get a $25 gift card of their choice and a trophy. Proceeds from this event will be going towards future mission trips to Haiti.

Junior Laini Reynolds, and her friends juniors Annabelle Cook, Olivia Caponecchi and Grace Padon, will be entering the contest this year for the fourth time. Her team, Heavenly Hog, is last year’s defending champions. The team has won two out of the three times they have competed.

“I love my church and I think the chili cook off is a really fun way to raise money for the youth programs.”

Reynolds said.

While Heavenly Hog enters the contest for fun, they don’t shy away from the competition.

“In the past we’ve amped up our presentation with signs, extra toppings, a tray to put the chili on and aprons,” Reynolds said. “Sometimes two of us will go around and try to get people to try our chili to get more votes.”

NATIONAL The New York Attorney General, Eric Schneiderman, has sued the Weinstein Company, claiming they violated human rights by sexually exploiting and abusing employees. The suit was filed Feb. 11 on the grounds that the company failed to protect employees from then CEO Harvey Weinstein.

The lawsuit is a result of an ongoing four-month investigation into Weinstein’s “unrelenting sexual harassment, intimidation, and discrimination” according to the press release.

In a press release issued by Schneiderman, victims will be helped through counseling and compensation in order to help them recover. “[The attorney general] files lawsuit to ensure victims will be compensated, employees will be protected moving forward, and parties responsible for egregious misconduct will not be newly empowered as part of any future sale,” the press release said.

The Head of East’s Men Against Sexual Assault Club, senior Thomas Murguia, thinks that the court case will be a powerful example of the consequences of sexual assault, but the best way to prevent it is to keep talking about it.

“The court does what it can in order to prevent assaults by punishing predators,” Murguia said. “It’s ignorant to say any one group or system can stop them completely, but so far the court is doing the best it can.”

COALITION’S LOVE CONCERT 7

PERFORMERS

4

SONGS PER BAND

PHOTOS OF THE W E E K

3

SONGS PER INDIVIDUAL

PROCEEDS BENEFIT NOT FOR SALE

TOP | Junior Ashlin Ardito uses an egg wash to finish preparing her pie during Advanced Foods class. | julia pe rcy

MIDDLE | Senior Chloe Krause hugs another

senior cheerleader during varsity cheer senior night. | K AT HE RINE O DE ll

BOTTOM | Junior Aaron Berleau shoves a

piece of homemade sushi into his mouth during IB English class. | luke ho ffm a n

FEBRUARY 21, 2018

DESIGN ROBBIE VEGL AHN

SUPER VISION

NEWS

5

While some are concerned about his adjustment from a small district, many remain optimistic about new superintendent Dr. Michael Fulton

T

BY ROBBIE VEGL AHN Print Editor-in-Chief

he SMSD Board of Education unanimously voted to hire Dr. Michael Fulton as the new SMSD superintendent Feb. 12.

Many community members are optimistic about Fulton’s leadership and communication skills, but some have expressed concern over his transition from a small district to the much larger SMSD. Fulton rose topped the list of candidates because of his 23 years leading in the Pattonville School District as well as his emphasis on transparency, according to board president Brad Stratton. Following the three hours of in-person interviews, community feedback and discussion with parent groups in Pattonville, Stratton said that the BOE was struck by Fulton’s communication skills.

“When we put together our community profile last fall, we had some specific things we were looking for — someone who could build consensus and inspire trust,” Stratton said.

“Those are easy to say, not so easy to discern, but we tried our best and feel confident about our choice.”

Dr. Tim Pecoraro, the assistant superintendent in Pattonville and Fulton’s successor as superintendent, has worked with Fulton for the past 17 years, and said that he has seen Fulton execute this collaborative style firsthand.

According to Pecoraro, Fulton implemented a strategic planning committee of 200-300 parents, teachers and community members who gave input that helped Fulton and his administration draft their strategic plan each year. He also created a parent advisory committee that met with Fulton throughout the year to provide feedback.

Liz Mietl is a doctoral student in education

policy and member of the SMSD Watchdogs, in community outreach and leadership will a coalition of involved parents in the district. help him with the change.

Mietl spoke with parents, students and “Obviously there are more people you administrators in the Pattonville area, and have to engage with and talk with but said they all stressed Fulton’s leadership and communication is one of his strengths,” emphasis on community involvement.

Pecoraro said. “He’s going to continue to get “I am very, very hopeful. I think that by his message out, and whether it’s in Pattonville all accounts, he’s a wonderful human, and with a district of 5,500 students or in Shawnee he’s done great things in Pattonville,” Mietl Mission with 27,000 plus, I don’t think there’s said. “He seems like somebody, from my going to be an issue between replicating the experience and from people in Pattonville, success he’s had in Pattonville.” who is really open to having conversations Fulton served as the superintendent of with all people and staying open-minded.” the Pattonville School District in St. Louis, While Mietl and the Watchdogs are Missouri for 11 years, retiring last December. hopeful about Fulton, On Feb. 9, Fulton Mietl expressed was named one of concerns over the three finalists for the When we put together our fact that Fulton’s SMSD job with other previous district is superintendents – community profile last fall, we had much smaller than some specific things we were looking Blane McCann from SMSD. Pattonville Omaha, Nebraska for — someone who could build has just over 5,000 and Michael Muñoz students in nine consensus and inspire trust. Those are from Rochester, schools, while SMSD easy to say, not so easy to discern, but Minnesota. Fulton has over 27,000 in 45 was contacted for we tried our best and feel confident schools, including comment but could about our choice. the Broadmoor not interview before Technical Center. the story’s deadline BRAD STRAT TON “If I’ve done the S MS D BOARD PRES IDENT last Wednesday. math right, we’ve got In order to get more employees in our district than he had input from the community about Fulton students in his,” Mietl said. “I am concerned, and the other candidates, the BOE held but I’m totally willing to stay on the hopeful community meet-and-greets with each of the side. Amazing people can do amazing things finalists. regardless of the size or the challenges.”

While Mietl was pleased the district offered Stratton and the BOE believe that while these sessions, she said that throughout the size difference will be an adjustment for the process of the superintendent search, Fulton, his experience will translate. the district missed some opportunities for Fulton served as a leader in the Kansas community input. She felt there should have and Missouri Coalition of Superintendents been a community liaison group to give input where he managed and led superintendents throughout the process. of districts bigger than his own, Stratton said.

During each of these meet-and-greets, Pecoraro agreed, and said that his strengths Ray and Associates, the search firm hired by

L AUR EN W I NSTO N J U NI OR

community voice Community reactions to Fulton’s appointment

[Michael Munoz, the other superintendent candidate] came from a bigger school district with more diversity, so I feel like he would know how to handle problems we have.

LI Z MI E T L S MS D WATCHD OGS

SMSD, provided feedback forms for attendees to evaluate each candidate. According to Stratton, the board received over 150 of these feedback forms. In their one-hour break between interviews with the finalists, the BOE read through each of the forms, according to Stratton.

“When we got back together after having read those, we went through the complete process of discussing the three candidates,” Stratton said. “So throughout that two to three hour conversation, that feedback was referenced many times.”

Linda Sieck, East teacher and National Education Association Shawnee Mission president, is hopeful about the new superintendent. After speaking with Wendy Mathis, president of the Pattonville NEA, and other teachers in the area, she was encouraged to hear Fulton consistently consulted with teacher committees when implementing changes. Mathis was contacted for comment, but was unable to interview before the story’s deadline last Wednesday.

“I had a lengthy conversation with [Mathis] who was just effusive in how awesome of a person and superintendent Dr. Fulton is,” Sieck said. “He has a really strong working relationship with the teacher’s association, but also with the community.”

Sieck noted that Fulton is faced with a major challenge of changing the culture in a district where many community members have voiced concerns over not having a say in district policy. But Sieck urged the community to give Fulton a chance to make change.

“We’ve had a contentious year, but I want the community to take a breath,” Sieck said.

“Don’t come into this with predetermined ideas or bias, but give him some time to try and make a difference.”

L I N DA SI ECK E A ST T E AC HE R

There’s a lot

The reality is

of emotional work

he comes July 1 and

that needs to be done to

teachers report first week

bring people together and

of August, so we have to

to rebuild our foundation,

be patient. We have to

and that’s a heavy lift no

give him the opportunity

matter who you are.

to get started.

anxietyscreening

DESIGN K ALEIGH KOC

6 NEWS

THE HARBINGER

Scan via Snapchat to view the trailer

Documentary about anxiety comes to East on Tuesday, Feb. 27

BY G R AC E PA D ON Assitant Design Editor

E

ast’s PTSA will be hosting a free screening of a short documentary called "Angst” in the auditorium on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

"Angst” is an IndieFlix Original film created to raise awareness about anxiety. The documentary is 56 minutes long and features candid interviews with kids and young adults who suffer from, or have previously suffered from, anxiety and what they’ve learned about it.

A PTSA member saw a segment about "Angst" on the TODAY Show and thought it could make an impact on the East community. A grant was provided by an East family to show the film to our school.

“I hope that ‘Angst’ will help everyone understand that there are students — people for that matter — they come in contact with everyday who are suffering from this,” PTSA President Sarah Stapp said. “It could be themselves, it might be friends, or it could just be classmates that they aren’t necessarily friends with.”

According to a poll with 130 responses, 47.3 percent of students have been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, while anxiety affects 71.5 percent of all students at East. Someone who doesn’t know the signs wouldn’t be able to immediately to recognize someone with anxiety, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. “Angst” was produced to help people learn more about anxiety and how it affects people.

“Fear and anxiety are a natural part of the human experience,”

95.3%

52.7%

KNOW SOMEONE WHO HAS ANXIETY

HAVE BEEN DIAGNOSED

psychologist Dr. Amy Jacobsen said. “Anxiety motivates us to study for exams and to look both ways before crossing the street. It becomes a disorder when the alarm is overworking and alerting us in excessive ways.”

Mary Sinclair, a SMSD school board member wrote in a Facebook post that "Angst" addresses “what is normal and what is not.” “‘Angst’ discusses symptoms and how to deal with anxiety as an individual, as a friend, as a classmate,

I hope that ‘Angst’ will help everyone understand that there are students — people for that matter — they come in contact with everyday who are suffering from this.

SAR AH STAP P PTSA P RESI DEN T parent, sibling and teacher,” Sinclair said. “Its message is powerful and uplifting and most of all, hopeful.”

Senior Isa Fimbres was diagnosed during her sophomore year with anxiety. Her anxiety made doing everyday things like presenting in class and talking to people a challenge.

“It’s really important to talk about anxiety to make people feel like they’re not alone and to make it known that you’re not alone, and there are people struggling just like you are,” Fimbres said. “Holding it inside and

hiding it will only make it worse.”

The “Angst” website’s slogan is “Anxiety isn’t cool, but talking about it is,” which is why a panel is held to discuss the film after each screening nationwide.

Jacobsen and Dr. Ashley Smith, both specialists in child anxiety disorders, will be leading a question and answer session after the film. East’s social workers, Elizabeth Kennedy and Emily MacNaughton, will also be present and answering questions during the panel.

“This is a hugely important topic because anxiety disorders are the most common and pervasive psychiatric disorders in the United States,” Jacobsen said. “Only about one-third of those suffering from an anxiety disorder receive treatment, despite the disorders being highly treatable.”

Stapp and McKinney both hope parents and students can get a better understanding of anxiety and what it is by watching the film.

“It really helps everyone to understand what it’s like and how to treat it,” Stapp said. "And that it is hopeful and there is treatment. People can get better."

Two to three screenings of "Angst" are shown around the country on a daily basis. Currently the film is only available offline for community screenings in schools, clubs and corporations around the world.

“I honestly didn’t have as good of an understanding of what anxiety is as I thought I did,” McKinney said. “If someone asked me before I saw the film if I understood what anxiety was I would’ve said absolutely, but now after watching the film I think I have a better understanding of not just what it is, but what it does.”

32.3% TAKE MEDICATION

East's Angst based on a poll of 130 students

3 OUT OF 4 EAST STUDENTS THINK THEIR ANXIETY EXCEEDS THE NORM

DESIGN SARAH BLEDS OE PHOTOS CARS ON HOLTGRAVES

FEBRUARY 21, 2018

W H AT ’ S COMING O Shake Shack and Nordstrom are coming to the Country Club Plaza

BY L AUREN WEST Staff Writer

wners of the Plaza, Taubman and Macerich Partnerships, announced the addition of Shake Shack and Nordstrom to the Country Club Plaza on Feb. 2. Shake Shack is expected to open in 2018, and Nordstrom in 2021.

Shake Shack is a fast food burger chain that started as a small hot dog cart in Madison Square Park in Manhattan, New York. There are currently 90 locations across the United States and more than 50 internationally. The closest Shake Shack is currently in Overland Park off Santa Fe Dr., according to the Shake Shack website. However, that won’t be the case anymore with its move to the Plaza.

Complete with an outdoor dining patio, the new location will take over Talbot’s current location at 239 W. 47th St. in 2018, according to Shake Shack.

Winstead’s, a local burger joint, has closed several locations in the past year, but its restaurant on the Plaza remains

open. Some students at East, like senior Toni Englund, are ready to welcome the new burger competitor.

“Shake Shack has the best peanut butter milkshake I’ve had in my life,” Englund said. “The patties are thicker than Freddy’s, and they have cheesy fries which other fast food places don’t have.”

An 116,000-square-foot Nordstrom will be coming in 2021. The retailer plans to renovate and expand Capital Grille, according to the KC Business Journal.

Nordstrom will make its transition from Oak Park Mall where it has resided for two decades. Oak Park Mall, and Nordstrom, generated 6.8 percent of Overland Park’s sales and use tax revenues in 2016 - about $3.6 million, according to an article from the Kansas City Star. Revenues from Nordstrom specifically were not publicly reported.

“I like to buy a lot of shirts from Brandy Melville and Topshop through Nordstrom, for a great price,” sophomore Anna Parker said. “It will be very convenient to have the store on the plaza.”

NEWS

7

“Kansas City continues to be a terrific market for us,” Jamie Nordstrom said in an announcement about moving locations to the public. “We want to grow our business here, which means we need to invest in bringing our customers the best we have to offer when it comes to both our digital capabilities and our physical locations.”

Students like freshman Megan Biles are excited for the short ride to the new Nordstrom.

“It will be nice to not have to drive all the way out to Overland Park to go to Nordstrom,” Biles said.

William S. Taubman, chief operating officer, Taubman Centers, Inc. can’t wait to see what the new Nordstrom will bring to the Plaza.

“The addition of a new Nordstrom store advances Taubman and Macerich’s promise to create a modern, point-ofdifference experience on the Plaza,” Taubman said in an announcement regarding the addition of Nordstrom.

REMEMBERING ALEX The East community came together on Feb. 14 to celebrate the life of sophomore Alex Carney during a vigil held at Loose Park

ABOVE | Members of the East community sit with candles in remembrance while Alex’s family and friends share stories and memories of him. | DIANA PERCY

RIGHT | A tribute to Alex displays pictures of him surrounded by lit candles. | DIANA PERCY

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DESIGN GABBY LEINBACH PHOTO AVERY WALKER

FEBRUARY 21, 2018

the

OPINION

9

of

MEMES Meme culture has normalized sensitive issues, such as suicide, fat shaming and depression

BY MEG THOM A Copy Editor

A

s a generic h i g h school student, I’m always looking for signs that I am not the only unmotivated

teen out there.

And the comfort that I’m not comes from a relatable meme detailing the clear choice between ramming your head into a brick wall versus completing a math assignment.

And even though I “vowed” with my No. 2 pencil to never share PSAT questions and answers to anyone following the test, I couldn’t physically restrict myself from retweeting the meme about the teacher who accidentally printed 3,500 brochures all at once.

But with the rise of “meme culture” in our society comes the ridicule of topics that were once very sensitive to the public eye. Though crass humor has been around since the times of Lenny Bruce in the mid-19th century, memes circa-2011 were under more of a lighthearted category. But now, they have been replaced with quips involving topics relating to suicide, fat shaming and depression — just to name a few.

The term meme is best defined by Wikipedia: a humorous image, video, piece or text that is copied (often with slight variations) and spread rapidly by Internet users. And the ever-so reliable source of Urban Dictionary refers it as “not a word, but a lifestyle.” Memes are the current day platform of how one portrays cultural events, while simultaneously applying their own humor or twist to the information that might not be seen as near politically correct.

While Google may have its definition, I still have mine. Memes are, or at least used to be, an outlet of creativity. They are a place where nothing except how mindless the content is can be judged, and at one point, I had fallen in love.

After my fine four to five years in the meme-perusing industry on Twitter, Instagram and now even Snapchat, I’ve found that I have gradually lost this love connection. The infamous hooded kermit who talks to himself no longer speaks to me — all due to the fact that they’re becoming next-level-insensitive.

Though many might get a laugh out of these kinds of tweets while they’re looking for a reason to procrastinate on that long-term English assignment — yes I fall victim to this sometimes — the reason behind this laugh is a bi-product of joking about suicide, death and other serious topics — all which have been completely normalized by today’s society.

One would think it impossible to make a joke about unsettling events like the Orlando shooting in 2016 or put a spin on #PrayforParis following the 2015 attacks, but don’t worry, Twitter somehow has you covered!

Considering some meme accounts on the Internet, why was I even surprised people could make light of terrorism?

For God’s sake there’s a private meme site straight up called “I want to die” that originated in 2016 and is viewed and posted on by top “memers” including @wearellmemes and @GothShakira.

I can’t even remember the last time I scrolled through Twitter and didn’t see a meme about death. Just yesterday, I saw a meme comparing a study about how high volumes of music can lead to death and a picture of someone blasting music as loud as possible.

Yes, I laugh. Yes, I “relate.” But do I really relate?

According to my Twitter likes, I do. But my real mental state doesn’t quite match up with my personal Twitter profile.

Society has started to lose their appeal to the sensitive side of things. Empathy has practically disappeared on social media, leading to less empathy off the screen. It’s now solely about who can take a statistic about school shootings and try to make middle schoolers laugh at it.

The way meme culture affects the way one views a social problem, in my experience, is like how a third grader chooses his political views. They solely

base it off of the conversation they grow up hearing at home between their parents — that’s all they know.

Even from the origin of quality memes, around 2011, articles popped up all over the internet warning that using memes as a platform for glorifying social problems would have detrimental effects on people’s’ psychological makeup.

Psychologist Paul Thagard explains in a web article in 2013 that memes are not a good way to express extreme thoughts on a cultural situation. This is because they “lump cultural entities together as memes and neglect the variety and complexity of mental representations.”

Memes make up your mind for you.

Instead of reading a news article about the details of a 130 mph hurricane whipping through and wreaking havoc on the Southern U.S., I usually first hear about these things through a twisted graphic of the incident with a caption trying so hard to relate to teen problems. The headline “Hurricane Harvey Death toll Rises” is replaced with “That moment when your mom yells at you for not cleaning your room.”

And it only gets more personal.

Someone battling with depression and suicidal thoughts might come across a joke about wanting to vertically slit your wrists after watching disturbing couples PDA in the hallway. Chances are the memer behind the keyboard isn’t aware of the implications behind statements like that.

Not only does this make the person feel like society as a whole has no respect for their problems, but it normalizes the fact that suicide and depression is just a “thing,” instead of a disease that should receive support.

These virtual, desensitized forms of media have made suicide a norm and mass shootings are they eye of public ridicule.

Though your mom always might say to “look at the bright side of every situation,” in our world today, that side of the story isn’t always there — and one shouldn’t be artificially made up for it either.

NOT A

laughing matter

5 TRAGIC EVENTS THAT WERE MADE INTO COMEDIC MEMES

the attack on the twin towers september 11, 2001 The Terrorist Attack on Paris november 13, 2015 The Orlando Shooting June 12, 2016 Hurricane Harvey August 17 - September 3, 2017 The Las Vegas Shooting october 1, 2017

DESIGN E MILY FEY

THE HARBINGER

10 O P I N I O N

With rising temperatures comes the disaster of rainy weather, allergy season and the impending doom of finals

BY NATASHA THOM AS Staff Writer

W

Shielding FROM

Spring RAINY DAY NEEDS If you plan on surviving the spring, check out Natasha’s essentials for the upcoming season

1 benadryl

You can’t cure the allergies, but you can at least try to control them. Carry around some Benadryl to sneeze, sniffle and mouth-breathe a little less

2

antifrizz oil

Look less like a rat and more like a human with Verb Ghost Oil Hair Antifrizz. Carry it with you so you can smooth some into your hair when the storm clouds roll in

3

sanitizer

If you are lucky enough to not have allergies this season, have some hand sanitizer handy. If anyone else’s germs are in the air, your hands will be 99.9 percent safe

hether or not the groundhog sees its shadow, we can count on this fastapproaching season: spring. The flowers are popping out of the ground like they’ve been watered with a magical grow potion, rain is drizzling down on the pavement and love is “in the air” — if that sounds cliché to you, it’s because it is.

Drop the corny sayings and the magical plants, and you’re left with nothing but three damp months where the only things in the air are pollen and the threat of finals.

Before you bite my head off for trash-talking spring, let me explain.

My childhood winters were spent traipsing through Prairie Village’s lush forests (the golf course) in the snow with my friends. Each summer afternoon was lazed away eating Choco Tacos at the pool. Falls were full of brightly colored leaves to rake into piles and push my brother in.

But those three perfect seasons always had to be interrupted with the swampy spring abomination. Spring means rain, spring means allergies, spring means approaching finals.

Since I was old enough to realize this, I have been openly anti-springtime.

When I was younger, I remember watching my friends jump in puddles and wondering why anyone (other than farmers and gardeners) got so excited about water falling from the sky. As I’ve aged, all rain has been to me is an accident waiting to happen.

Allow me to paint you a picture: You walk outside on a rainy spring day, and your flat-ironed hair immediately frizzes, reducing your appearance to that of a cavewoman that tried – and failed – to comb through her hair with an old bone. While you’re heading to your car you step in a wet patch of grass, slipping face first into the mud. As you push yourself off the ground, a car drives by and kicks up half of the water on the road, drenching you.

When you see those storm clouds forming, all you can do is sit back and wait for the soaking hazard to begin.

But it’s not just the rain. It’s the sneeze-

1

2

inducing, throat scratching seasonal allergies, which peak in the spring due to pollen from plants, according to WebMD. There are basically two types of people during allergy season, and I’ll leave it up to you to decide which is worse.

Half of us spend our days sniffing our dry, red noses, rubbing our watering eyes until they’re raw and popping Benadryl like it’s candy.

The half without allergies are left to dodge the airborne sneezes in the hallway, buy tissue boxes for others in bulk and try to concentrate on anything but the various “allergy noises” echoing through the room.

The beauty of spring seems to fade after you hear someone blowing their nose for the 17th time in an hour.

If the allergies and muddy shoes don’t already reduce everyone’s love for spring, maybe the second semester finals hovering over our heads like a storm cloud will do it. Those finals are the most stressful aspect of student’s lives, according to a survey done by mentalhelp.net.

High schoolers who didn’t care enough to pay attention at the beginning of the year are banging down their teachers’ doors, eager to relearn the material on their final exams. Parents are forking over cash to tutors in a desperate attempt to raise their kid’s 78 percent to a B. Paranoid ivy league-bound students have a GPA calculator tab constantly open, entering in every grade change that pops up in Skyward.

To top off my springtime Scrooge-ness, everyone gives me the horrified you-killed-mycat look when I tell them I don’t like spring.

To put it in my dad’s embarrassingly outdated words, “That’s wacko, Tash.” No one understands my contempt for the season.

There should at the very least be some sort of support group for the misunderstood saps like me that can’t enjoy the “magic of spring.”

Meetings could be held once a week, and we could discuss the bad weather, illnesses and high schoolers, much like the people at the old folks’ home. I don’t think I’m asking for too much.

Until that group is formed, I shall continue to be openly anti-springtime no matter how many dirty looks are shot at me. Anyone else that can see the trouble with spring should start looking forward to the seasons actually worthy of your recognition, and stop dancing in the proverbial rain when you hear that spring is coming.

3

FEBRUARY 21, 2018

DESIGN GRACE GOLDM AN AND LUCY MORANTZ

P H OTO STO RY

11

curtainS call The SME Theater Department performed the who-dunnit musical “Curtains” Feb. 8-10

ABOVE | Junior Davis Vaughn ties Jackson Engel’s tie before warmups. “The cast is really what made the show,” Vaughn said. | LUCY M O RA NTZ

LEFT | Along with the rest of the cast, sophomore Colette Worthington warms up in the choir room.

“The cast is somewhat like a family and the warmup sessions bring us closer together and improve our chemistry before going on stage.” said Worthington. | LUCY M O RA NTZ

ABOVE | Junior clarinet player Paul Roberts assembles his intrument before the musical begins. | G RACE GOLDM A N

FAR ABOVE | Senior Billy

Fox and junior Sophia Egan kiss in one of the final scenes.

“When you’re in a show like Curtains and you’re spending two, sometimes three, hours a night with the same people five days a week,” said Egan. “It’s just bound to happen that you’ll get close to people.”

| K ATHERINE MCGINNESS

ABOVE | In the girls dressing room, costumes are organized by cast member’s names. “Costume changes can be super quick and very stressful, ABOVE | To close a scene, senior Harper Mundy poses in the middle of the group. “Each but the girls who are in charge of costumes are number was a show stopping number,” Mundy said. “The sets were complex, we had so super good at their job,” says senior Savannah many props and everyone had at least two, if not three or four costumes.” | K AT H E R I N E M cG I N N E S S Worthington. | G R aCE G O L DM A N

DESIGN S COUT RICE PHOTO COURTESY OF MCT CA MPUS ART LIL AH P OWL AS

12 O P I N I O N

THE HARBINGER

ROBOT

The risk of machine malfunction and high price tag makes robotic surgery not worth it

REVOLUTION

BY JACKIE CA MERON Convergence Editor

W

hen I think of da Vinci, I think of the Mona Lisa, Italy, and the blue Ninja Turtle. But what doesn’t cross my mind? A giant fourlegged robot spider hovering over an open body cavity in the operating room.

Thanks to having a surgeon for a dad, I’ve heard plenty about the da Vinci over Saturday night fish tacos. Approved by the FDA in 2000, the da Vinci Surgical System is a robot surgeon, to put it simply. Since its introduction, there have only been 2,501 installed in America. The $2 million price tag may be Kylie Jenner’s weekly allowance, but for smaller hospitals it’s not affordable.

The da Vinci is made up of a mobile tower which is a bulky structure with four arms that resembles the claw machine that constantly screws you over when all you want is a new beanie baby. Of the four arms, three hold varying surgical instruments while the fourth holds a 3D camera. The surgeon sits at a separate console a few feet away, which offers a 360 degree view of the surgical site, courtesy of the 3D camera. Hand and foot pedals allow the surgeon full control of the machine but place an unreliable robot as a barrier between doctor and patient.

An assistant remains close to the patient, acting as a babysitter for the sometimes temperamental machine.

Hospitals are accustomed to da Vinci salesmen pestering them about the latest da Vinci model. But in a circumstance where 4,000 people are injured from surgical errors every year, I want a human, not a “Robocop” extra, there to stop me from bleeding out on the table. People shouldn’t base their decision off of the newness, but rather the advantages gained and the safety aspect. I have no desire to leave my life in the cold, metal arms of a robot.

The da Vinci system was used in about 1.7 million procedures from 2004 to 2013 according to Forbes.

However, not all surgeries are a success. The FDA reported a case where the robotic arms collided which led to an instrument striking the patient’s bowel. Not just that, but forceps got stuck to one of the robot’s arms. I would hightail my ass out of there, hospital gown and all, if the

hunk of metal couldn’t tell my arm from my stomach.

I’m all for technological advancements as demonstrated by the three Amazon Alexa’s and iPhone Xs in my house — but robots in surgery aren’t necessary.

I don’t see the appeal in letting something without an actual brain poke holes in me. Besides, robotic surgery is just a fancier and pricier version of a technique already being used — laparoscopic surgery.

Laparoscopic surgery, or minimally invasive surgery, uses small incisions and the aid of a camera to operate in the abdomen and pelvic area. There’s no machine to maneuver: it’s just a camera, instruments, and the surgeon.

I’d feel more comfortable without the third-wheeling robot to worry about.

The da Vinci boasts shorter recovery time, minimal invasiveness and smaller incisions than typical surgery.

However, laparoscopic surgery provides the same recovery window and I don’t have to worry about being attacked by a droid.

The advantages between the two kinds of operations parallel each other. And having a cyborg poke with it’s sharp claws at your gallbladder is pricey. A 13-year period study by Stanford found that robotic surgeries cost $2,700 more per patient.

According to davincisurgery.com, the robot is used for multiple different operations including urologic, gynecologic and colorectal surgeries. It can also be used to remove cancer but Health Research Funding claims there’s a higher chance that some of the cancer will be left behind if the operation is performed by the surgical system. The whole point of having cancer-removing surgery is to actually REMOVE the cancer, not leave behind scraps for a (human) doctor to fix.

Look, I’m not some pioneer girl who wants to rid the world of tech and go back to the days where leeches were applied to heal all illnesses. But, we have a long way to go considering our current advancement can’t keep its hands to itself — no pun intended.

Hopefully I won’t ever need surgery but if I do, you can bet it will be a human whose voice I listen to as I drift into my amnesia. Especially when there’s a safe, similar procedure already offered that doesn’t put my life in the hands of a character from “WALL-E.”

WHERE IN KC The following hospitals have a da Vinci Surgical System ABOVE I Surgeons operating on a patient’s stomach using a da Vinci Surgical System

Menorah Medical Center

St. Luke’s Hospital

Research Medical Center

Shawnee Mission Medical Center

Overland Park Regional Medical Center

St. Joseph Medical Center

DESIGN ABBY WALKER

FEBRUARY 21, 2018

OPINION

13

NO PLAN, NO DIPLOMA Chicago law could require a clear post-high school plan in order to graduate from high school Students would have more personalized meetings with their counselors to help them narrow down their interests, create career and life goals and find options to achieve ollege letters pile on my these goals. No more once a year chats lasting less than desk, all unopened. Each 15 minutes.

Don’t misunderstand the rise in counselors as a step one is screaming at me towards school dictatorship and total control, though. Your to rip them open and to consider them a part of my future. But I counselor won’t suddenly start following you around the know nothing about what I want my future to entail, nor do school, micromanaging your every move.

It’s not like you are being forced to figure out your I even know how to get there in the first place. entire life right then and there with a gun pointed to your College seems like a logical option, since both of my head.

The school system would simply be making sure you parents got degrees, but is that the only path for me? Or is are in the best position to achieve your goals for the couple there more out there that I haven’t heard about yet? of years after graduation.

Last May, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel worked to The school system also understands that college isn’t get a law passed that would help students like me figure out their future plans and the right path to achieve their for everyone, and that is why it isn’t the only option for your future plan. There is a path for everyone to reach their goals.

The law required high school students to submit a clear goals in life, whatever that may be. You could lay out a gap year plan, or find a temporary job so plan for post-graduation you can figure out what you want to by the end of their senior do with your life when you are ready. year. Whether it’s a college Despite all of it’s benefits many acceptance letter, military parents in Chicago are arguing enlistment, technical school More kids would motivated to against the new rules, saying that it enrollment, a job or a gap graduate if they have a clear goal and should not be a set requirement for year plan, they would need plan for their future career or life. to graduation. They say that it is “cruel” to have a planned strategy to take away a student’s diploma after future careers. for their future in order to they have put in years of work. receive their diploma.

To that I ask how many students LUC I A BAR R A ZA As much as I love this new really won’t make the cut? The school SOP HO MO RE law now and fully support it, system isn’t asking us to design a I nearly jumped out of my rocket to Mars, just to create a simple chair in Psychology class when I first read about it- the school system wants more plan. If students put in years of work in class, then they control over my future? No way! But since it’s difficult for should already be well prepared for their future, right?

Yes, having to make a plan for post-graduation to me to decide whether I should wear my UGG boots or get your diploma can be intimidating. Just thinking Vans each morning, let alone know what I’m doing with about walking across that stage to grab my diploma and my life after high school, I admitted to myself that I could someday leaving East behind makes me short of breath. really benefit from this law.

But why not put in a little extra work in high school, when Every student at East has a counselor that is supposed to chat with us often and be our adult support throughout you have people getting paid to support and teach you, high school. But as much as counselors mean well and and be better off in the future because of it?

The way that high school education is approached in want to do that for us, it usually isn’t the case. Between the future could change not only in Chicago but potentially finding classes for the hundreds of students assigned to around the nation because of this law. Even now, Chicago them and organizing the entire school’s schedules, there is has inspired places like New Mexico to take on this new simply not enough time for many one-on-one chats. law and focus on preparing students better for life after This law could change all of that. This new graduation high school.

Youth education may no longer be K-12, but requirement is expected to lead schools to hire more school counselors as well as train them specifically to K-college, and as a member of the class of 2020, I say go help students plan their futures. With more counselors to ahead.

BY LUC I A BA R RA ZA Staff Writer

C

spread out the workload, more time could be spent with students.

SMSD GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS To graduate from East, current seniors must have these seven things completed

4 units English 3 units Social Studies 3 units Math 3 units Science 2 units Foreign Language 1 unit PE 1 unit Fine Arts 1/2 unit Health Senior paper

Scan here to read about the new plan from Chicago Public Schools

DESIGN GRACE PADON PHOTOS LUCY MORANTZ

14 F E AT U R E S

THE HARBINGER

THE

drro on nee D DUUD DEESS d Different skills among friends result in the creation of a start-up business

BY M AC NEWM AN Copy Editor

W

ith his iPhone 8 in his left hand, displaying a lagging shot of the PV skate park from 60 feet above, sophomore Miles Patterson controls his DJi Spark drone with the remote in the other hand, switching to sport mode as the drone darts off at 30 mph.

His two best friends and fellow sophomores, Sawyer Waterman and Palmer Bowles look on towards Miles with smiles and heads tilted as the Spark reaches a height of 100 feet.

Miles received the DJi Spark beginner drone last year for Christmas, and so did Palmer, who he had known since middle school. These two compact quadcopters led Palmer, Miles and Sawyer to a new business: KC Drone Dudes.

Started for pure fun, the self-proclaimed “drone dudes” have created a startup business to film houses for realtors to help sell houses. As teenagers, they plan to undercut the drone filming market for realtors, according to Miles, and bring something young and new to Kansas City real estate.

The trio has a clear division of labor – Sawyer handles the business and marketing, Palmer uses his artistic eye for shots and

editing, and Miles, with his connections in realty and experience with videography, leads the company.

Miles has always been interested in the flying of drones, first learning from a cheap quadcopter. He has learned from Google how to improve his videography and editing skills and simply enjoys the technicality of getting a shot.

Sawyer is the entrepreneur – interning at Cambrian, a company for homeowners to visualize paint and DIY Projects, over the summer, and taking entrepreneurship and marketing classes. As their website (kcdronedudes.wixsite.com) boasts, he has an overall passion for technology and business.

“I just figure out what I can help with since I can’t afford a drone,” Sawyer said.

Palmer is the artist – and who Miles and Sawyer both describe as the one with the visual eye for shots and ability to artfully edit the videos.

These three have already started marketing with a YouTube channel, KC Drone Dudes, and website, but the startup is still in its early stages. They have to wait until spring time to start filming for the handful of clients they already have connected with, because houses do not go up on the market during the

winter. “[We can film] when things are looking pretty outside...when things turn from brown to green,” Miles said.

The three sophomores noticed a large gap in drone footage of houses for realtors and wanted to take advantage of the huge KC home buying market. According to Miles, they want to provide something unique for consumers to view houses.

Sawyer and Miles frequently email and meet with local realtor Andy Bash to discuss their start-up and get critiques on their house tours.

“He knows the business, has a ton of connections and he knows what people want,” Sawyer said.

What the trio also learned from Bash was that their pay rate for an hour of work is at least 50 percent less than what the normal pay is; they plan to charge $75-150 per house. As teenagers, they are more easily able to undercut what paid professionals charge, according to Miles.

They’ll tell you themselves that they are inexperienced, but as Sawyer says, as long as they are passionate about what they are doing, they’ll be fine. They learn off of each other while filming, and can look up any question they have about flying drones.

“Our whole goal in the end

is to be three teenagers who undercut the market,” Miles said.

According to Steven Patterson, Miles’ dad, Miles and Palmer had finished the Drone Dudes logo, started the YouTube channel and launched their website in just two days. As featured on both sites, the trio have close-ups of the red Western Auto sign, orbital shots of the Loose Park cannon and the top of the World War I Museum tower, all to show off their filming abilities to potential clients.

“I was really proud of them because in really an evening or two [they] had designed a logo and they were branding themselves,” Steven said.

Going forward the “drone dudes” are going to continue tending to their drone addiction, uploading new content on their YouTube channel and traveling downtown to scare pedestrians with their flying robots.

They are planning to attend “1 million cups,” an entrepreneur expo downtown in the summer as well, furthering their name in KC. “So it’s really just, hey we have some money and this is a really really fun thing, we’re all passionate, let’s try to do something cool with it,” Sawyer said.

ABOVE | Scan the QR code to view a video about the Drone Boys

by Peyton Watts.

ABOVE | Sophomores Palmer Bowles, Miles Patterson and

Sawyer Waterman fly their DJi Spark drone at Harmon Park.

DESIGN K AYLIN MCCAN PHOTOS COURTESY OF L AUREN MCCASKEY

FEBRUARY 21, 2018

F E AT U R E S

15

Remembering through

Research After father’s death, senior honors his memory through love for the medical field

BY LIL A TULP Copy Editor

S

enior Lauren McCaskey squints into a fluorescent light, watching the doctors around her slice thin strips of colon cancer cells in the Un-iversity of Kansas Medical Center Cancer (KUMC) Research Lab. She’s in her second hour of watching the inspection of the cells, and still has two and a half more to go – giving her mind plenty of time to drift into memories of her father. But her eyes don’t well up at the thought of him.

Instead, she smiles.

She smiles as she remembers the good things with him, not the bad – his love for Minnesota Viking football, his eternal smile, his courage.

Four years ago, cancer took her father’s life. It would soon take hers as well, but in a very different way.

Now involved in SMSD’s Bio-Technical Program and cancer research labs at KUMC, McCaskey has one goal: to help find cures for cancer so other won’t feel the same pain that

her father and family felt. “[After my freshman year] I started realizing that I wanted to do something with my life that every single day had meaning, and I wanted something that every day I would have that kind of connection to my dad and to other people and was able to make a difference in someone’s life,” McCaskey said.

“I feel like if I ever get emotional about [my dad], it means that I’m kind of letting the fear win so if there’s something I can do to help, I feel this need to do it.”

Though her father’s experience led to her interest in the field, McCaskey says that she’s grown to genuinely love the practice, and the work that she does everyday and the people she’s trying to help are what keeps her going.

Before becoming interested in cancer research, McCaskey was offered the opportunity to participate in the Bio-Tech program after two years in the SMSD PreMed program and earning her certified nursing assistant degree. Through her teacher, Brenda Bott, and through her PreMed experience, McCaskey was put in

ABOVE | McCaskey presents at Night at the Lab and is the 2017 state winner with her sister, junior Kara McCaskey, and friend, junior Laura Hassett.

contact with cancer research specialists at KUMC and applied for the program – something only about 25 students in the state get to do every year.

McCaskey started her research in KUMC’s cancer lab Feb. 5. Assigned to colon cancer, she began testing medications by inserting cancer cells into mice, seeing if they thrive with the medication or fail, and taking their colons out to test them against different antibiotics to see which medication has a positive result.

According to cancer specialists at KUMC, the trial studies combination chemotherapy and atezolizumab, a cancer medication, to see how well it works when compared with combination chemotherapy alone in treating patients with stage three colon cancer and deficient DNA mismatch repairs. The purpose is to find which drug will stop the growth of tumor cells by either stopping the cells from dividing, stopping them from spreading or killing them completely.

When she’s not spending two long hours slicing thin layers of the colon under the

microscope, McCaskey is trying to keep up with the experienced Ph.D’s around her, sketching out detailed drawings of cells in her red notebook and watching the clock to make sure she can get to her evening shift at Sheridan’s.

According to her mother, working in the lab acts as McCaskey’s second job.

Weeknights often include calls home apologizing for missing dinner, as she makes her way straight from the lab to her 5:30 p.m. varsity basketball games back at East – but these small sacrifices don’t bother her, as long as she remembers the reason why she’s making them.

Her dad would have been proud of her work, McCaskey said.

“I promised myself something one day,” McCaskey said. “I promised myself that every single day while I’m in the lab or working in the medical field for however many hours, I’m going to walk away learning at least one thing and would keep my dad’s memory alive through this work.”

ABOVE | A lab table at the KU lab McCaskey works at. ABOVE | McCaskey poses with her CNA class, or Certified Nursing Assistant class.

DESIGN CAROLINE CHISHOLMPHOTOS DIANA PERCY

THE HARBINGER

DESIGN CAROLINE CHISHOLM P HOTOS DIANA PERCY

FEBRUARY 21, 2018

NEWS

16 N E W S

FLU IS HERE Experts in their respective fields dispel rumors about the widespread flu

BY DAISY BOLIN Head Copy Editor

F

loods of screenshots from Snapchat stories circulated group messages on Feb. 9.

“SME PSA: Currently 9.3 percent of people are sick. If it hits 10 percent, the school has to report to the Health Department. Then, school would be shut down. About 11 more kids need to go home sick. Make sure if you leave, office knows your leaving due to illness.”

While some students were pushing for another day off from school, 164 students were focused on relieving their flu like symptoms.

The increased number of absentees with flu-like symptoms this past month has prompted questions from the community about the severity of sickness, the impact of custodial services and the strictness of transfer absence rules. However, experts in each of their respective fields bring truth to these ambiguities.

According to Kansas Influenza Surveillance Coordinator Amie Worthington who collects, tracks and communicates the influenza levels for the state of Kansas, the strain of influenza affecting East most significantly is AH3. The symptoms include fever, coughing, fatigue, vomiting, congestion and/or sore throat. “[AH3] is known to cause more severe illness,” Worthington said. “It’s not surprising that we are seeing higher numbers [ill] with this strain.”

The severity of AH3 is stronger than past years’ flu virus according to Worthington. St. Luke’s Hospital Internal Medicine Doctor Christine Sankcill also said the number of flu cases last year were significantly less than this year.

Last year, SMSD didn’t have any schools reach 10 percent absenteeism, according to SMSD Health Services Coordinator Shelbey Rebeck. This year, six of 47 total Shawnee Mission schools reached 10 percent.

Upon East reaching 10 percent total absences, school nurse Susan Varner informed Rebeck who reports it to the Johnson County Health Department and Kansas Health Department. All public schools in the state of Kansas are required to inform their county health department and

N E W E S T AT-HOME REMEDIES There’s widespread sickness and a flu shot that’s only 30 percent effective – here are a few at-home remedies

further inform the state.

This procedure is for tracking and safety purposes according to Rebeck.

After reporting to the health department, the Shawnee Mission Custodial Coordinator Judd Remmers, sends one to two extra custodians to each of the impacted schools for help with cleaning major touchpoints.

Touchpoint cleaning is a state regulation requiring the custodial staff to deep clean door knobs, desks, bathrooms, light switches, water fountains and keyboards – central spots collecting germs, according to East head janitor Dale Clark.

These touchpoints are mostly cleaned at the end of each day according to Clark. Remmers said they should also be cleaned throughout the school day. AP government teacher Ronald Stallard said he sees less custodians around this year and Spanish teacher Pamela James said that although the custodians are doing what they can with who they have, it seems as though the cleaning touchpoints throughout the day is minimal.

Clark said that the staff of 13 gets all of the jobs done with the staff East has, but that no matter what job whether it be teachers, administrators or custodians, they could always use more. Each school in the SMSD has an equal number of custodians according to Remmers, he does not feel that there is a lack of staffing.

“We know that when the doors open the next day it doesn’t take long to undo all that work with people coming in and immediately flipping light switches and touching door handles or drinking out of water fountains,” Remmers said. “It’s right back pretty quickly.”

For the SMSD, having six schools out of 47 total reach 10 percent absence is doing well considering the number of bodies in the buildings Rebeck said.

James has seen a significant level of sick students in her classes. More specifically, in her first hour Spanish 3 class on Feb. 13, six students were absent from a class of 27. This level of absence has made teaching harder because of the steep makeup work required, James said.

Worthington says that reaching the 10 percent absence rate is not “overwhelming,” but rather shows that there is a particular population, such as a school or company, affected by the flu.

ELDERBERRY JUICE ESSENTIAL OILS: EUCALYPTUS AND FRANKINCENSE

“It is an arbitrary number,” Worthington said. “We just feel that that is a level of absenteeism that should be investigated as an outbreak and suggestion for control should be given.”

Although a number of students view “outbreak” as an distressing sign, an outbreak is not considered alarming to the state and does not reflect the cleanliness or environment of the school according to Worthington.

Outbreaks are a general sign that the school should be investigated by the state. The investigation breaks down exactly how many students and teachers are absent with the flu or symptoms of the flu and ensures the district is taking proper precautions and informing their community of ways to prevent illness. The entire state and other districts are experiencing similar absentee levels to Shawnee Mission and taking necessary precautions.

Bonner Springs High School Nurse Kim Bolewski said they were seeing an increase in student absenteeism due to illness. The Olathe district Director of Health Services Sharon Morris said that in the past two weeks there have been six schools with over 10 percent of the student body absent.

According to the Blue Valley District Health Services Coordinator Kari Szukalski, when any of their 37 total schools reaches five percent absence, they notify custodial services. This is a caution taken so that their district doesn’t reach the 10 percent level of absences according to Szukalski. Still, Blue Valley has had three schools reach 10 percent absenteeism in the past two weeks.

“Right now we are reporting widespread activity,” Worthington said.

“We are seeing outbreaks of influenza in every region of Kansas, there isn’t necessarily an area of Kansas not being affected by the flu right now.”

This widespread activity of AH3 holds a heavy hand over the entire country, not just Kansas, as seen on CDC.gov’s weekly flu map. Kansas has been deemed one of the sickest states in the nation, alongside Missouri, according to the Center of Disease Control. Nationally, seven and a half percent of the population is affected, compared to Kansas’ 11 percent according to Worthington.

Kansas reported “no activity” of the flu from 2009 until 2015 according to CDC.gov, meaning very insignificant levels – a vacancy compared to last

VITAMIN C C SUPPLEMENTS STAY HOME AND DRINK FLUIDS

year’s report of sporadic infection and this year’s widespread condition.

There is no definite reason for the flu taking flight this year, however.

Sankcill said that the flu comes in waves such as the H1N1 influx in 2009.

She has seen more patients sick with the flu this year than last year, but the flu is a consistent issue. Rebeck said she believes that a contributing factor to Kansas’ leading position in illness is good statewide reporting.

The information the state reports to the nation is collected based on the number of flu tests and visits to doctors, physicians and school or company reports of absences.

According to Sankcill, testing has become more sensitive, both in the science of testing and rate of swabbing ER patients with remote symptoms.

Increased accessibility to tests at places such as urgent care clinics may be a contributing factor, Sankcill said.

In order to prevent further infection, SMSD pushes out information about ways to keep from getting sick and reminders for teachers to wipe down the desks in their classrooms according to Rebeck.

Sankcill said in addition to precautions like washing your hands regularly, keeping your hands away from your face and getting the flu shot, staying home or away from people is “very important.”

According to a Harbinger poll of 158 respondents, 74 percent said they had recently been sick. However, 25 percent of those who were sick didn’t stay home. Rebeck said that spreading illness isn’t something a district does, it spreads naturally.

“You can clean and clean and clean, but if folks come to school with a virus, they’re gonna spread it just by sneezing in the air,” Clark said.

Junior Anika Radidya believes that many students don’t stay home just because they aren’t vomiting or don’t have a fever, a misconception about illness.

Radidya is not excluded from the people who only stay home for a fever, however, she was on antibiotics. She developed a small cough on Feb. 7, still went to school, and by Feb. 9 was fainting and vomiting. She stayed home for one day – just one of the 164 students absent and sick with flu like symptoms, although she was never diagnosed with the flu officially.

Radidya said she doesn’t like to miss school because she has IB classes

ABSENCES

FROM CLASS LAST WEEK

Out of the 1,700 students at East, 774 were out at least one day last week – here’s a look at absences each individual day

150 MONDAY

2/5

148

and debate work but was also under the impression she couldn’t miss another day of school because she is a transfer student.

Transfer students have a cap of 10 days to be absent for each school year in order to continue attending the school they are transferred into. After staying home sick Feb. 9, Radidya used all 10 of her permitted absences – six days due to an in-school debate activity, two due to traveling and two because of sickness according to her Skyward.

However Assistant Principal Britton Haney said in-school activities are not counted against transfer students. Each transfer is looked at case-bycase and if the student has communicated beforehand that they are sick, the number of days they are absent with an illness is often times counted as just one absence.

Sophomore Will Mohr, a non-transfer student, stayed home for four days due to his sore throat, headache and chills. Mohr doesn’t like to miss school much like Radidya because it’s easy to fall behind and become overwhelmed with makeup work. However, he said teachers have been accommodating and his pressure to do well comes from himself.

Students in Mercedes Rasmussen’s marketing class questioned their ability to go home while being sick due to the listed absence rules, however, Haney clarified that the rules are for county reporting and that with communication with the administration, absence issues can be worked out.

Despite hesitations to miss school whether due to self-induced pressure or due to thinking that there is a maximum number of days a student (transfer or not transfer) is allowed to be absent, it is best to stay home when you are sick according to Worthington. Because this strain of the flu has no direct root, it’s important to take the health precautions seriously Sankcill said. Staying away from people and wearing a mask when around people are important ways to avoid spreading your illness.

“This is just an extension of the house and just like any other parent, my kids go here and I want it to be clean and safe,” Principal John McKinney said. “As important as being in school is, it means nothing if kids aren’t safe or healthy.”

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17

DESIGN LIL AH P OWL AS PHOTOS K ATHERINE MCGINNESS

THE HARBINGER

18 F E AT U R E S Junior Lauren Winston leads Bridges KC, a nonprofit dedicated to connect people of different backgrounds in the community

BY

BU R N I N G

D OW N

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members about the role of women in the Muslim faith with specific regard to feminism and the hijab, according to Winston.

According to the Bridges board, the event was a success, ccording to sophomore Olive Henry, there is a divide at especially for their first event and Bridges received positive East. A divide between race, sexuality and socioeconomic feedback from the audience. The student and community backgrounds, all within one community. But between the members were very supportive and interested in what Dr. Kahn gap, junior Lauren Winston can be found wearing a white T-shirt had to say. that explains the hope for the future — “we work for change.”

“We are looking to educate on more than just diversity,” After the 2016 presidential election, Winston, as a black female, Apodaca said. “My dad works as a psychologist so we’re thinking began to become more aware of negative connotations surrounding about bringing him in to talk about mental health.” minority groups, specifically surrounding minority groups affected However, with educating the community on these sensitive

by Trump’s travel ban. topics comes risks, including negative comments from people who So Winston, following her T-shirt’s mantra, decided to make a oppose these issues. But the team remains optimistic and is not change. A change that became a reality in August 2017. going to stop their work based on a few negative people.

“One of the worst things to do is try “I think that one of the big differences and argue about a topic that you don’t is that Bridges, our meetings and speakers really know about and that you’re not are not mandatory in any way,” Henry knowledgeable in,” Winston said. “I just said. “If you are going to disrespect the feel like people need to be informed and I think that one of the big differences speakers that we bring that we think are know the information about the topic they is that Bridges, our meetings and important pillars in the community, then are trying to support or go against before speakers are not mandatory in any you can leave. We are not here for the they actually argue it.” way,” Henry said. “If you are going to negative connotation that you are In order to combat this issue, Winston disrespect the speakers that we bring bringing to our mission.” founded her own nonprofit organization Winston is proud of the called Bridges KC or “Bridges” for short. that we think are important pillars in work her organization has Bridges works to “bridge” the gap between the community, then you can leave. done and of Henry’s people of different cultures within the We are not here for the negative dedication and drive community and brings students of all connotation that you are bringing to to the program. background together to learn about However, with our mission. common interests. Bridges also works graduation next year, to educate the East community about Winston knows that O LI VE H EN RY diversity and cultures by bringing in she will eventually be SO P HO MO RE speakers, often held at night. leaving for college, While Winston primarily runs the and with that leaving organization by organizing meetings over GroupMe and emailing behind her program. She hopes to leave the speakers, she works closely with East’s Diversity and Inclusion organization under Henry’s care. Henry plans Committee, run by her mom, Bernie Winston and several East to continue Winston’s mission. teachers including social studies teacher David Muhammea.

“When we talk about growth, we always talk “Basically, we are promoting social issues in the community about the size of the audience but that is not the and allowing speakers to come in and talk to us about their story most important part to me,,” Henry said. “While and inform us about the different issues that might happen in our [size] is still important, I feel that instead, it is school and our community. Especially since East doesn’t have a lot the connection we form with our audience.” of diversity,” Winston said.

In addition to more speakers, Bridges is Since December, Winston and the Bridges student board have working to create a broadcast of their speakers been working to expand their audience and bring in more guest and become more present on social media. speakers. Bridges has established a solid relationship with St. In the meantime, Winston and Bridges Teresa’s Academy, according to Winston, and together they are are continuing to work to educate their peers working on bringing a transgender woman, Samantha, to speak to about diversity and social issues — everything students about her transitional journey. from mental health to different religious For her first effort, Winston selected several board members groups — and help to educate their peers. including sophomores Emory Apodaca and Olive Henry. Together, And the team will continue to work. To along with East’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee, Bridges was work for change. able to bring in Dr. Sofia Khan, a Muslim woman and public speaker, to East on Dec. 11. Kahn was able to help educate community

BY LUCY PAT TERS ON Copy Editor

A

DESIGN ANNABELLE COOK PHOTOS JULIA PERCY AND GRACE GOLDM AN

FEBRUARY 21, 2018

F O U N D I N G FAT H E R S

19

BY RESER HALL Online Editor

Senior boys channel passions into establishing clubs

S

Tereré CLUB

eniors and Tereré (pronounced Teh-deday) Club co-presidents Will Knutson and Matthew Hyatt both spent the summer in Paraguay with Amigos last year, where they learned the cultural importance of Tereré, a Paraguayan tea, through two very different experiences.

“My supervisor who was in charge of me the entire time was like ‘Hey the family you were going to live decided they didn’t want Amigos anymore,’” Hyatt said. “So they scrambled to find me a host family without giving them a background check or anything.”

After spending a mere two days with the new background check-less host family, Hyatt was reassigned to be closer to his community into yet another home without a background check.

“This house that I’m living in is with the town alcoholic apparently, this dude [Antonio] is drunk all the time,” Hyatt explained. “He wakes up and starts downing beers.”

After five weeks, Antonio kicked Hyatt out.

Hyatt finally settled into his new location drinking tereré bonding with his originally assigned host family that decided they wanted him after all. This was his first time eating real food like chicken all trip. While Hyatt was with Antonio, he ate mostly bread and cow tongue.

Knutson on the other hand got to experience a much smoother way of life with a traditional Paraguayan family, unlike Hyatt’s experience.

“You hang out with them most of the day and do whatever they do,” Knutson said. “I had a bunch of chores, like milking the cow and cleaning the kitchen.”

In addition to daily activities and chores, Knutson also helped out at a local school teaching kids about the environment, the importance of properly disposing trash and how to brush their teeth.

The two hoped to bring back the Paraguayan

investment CLUB INVESTMENT

S

eniors and co-presidents of lifestyle through Tereré Club, a new club at East Investment Club Owen Hill this year. and Sam Fay bring real market “We felt like it would be a great sense analysis and research to their weekly of community to have everybody brought Thursday afternoon club meetings together,” Hyatt said. “We wouldn’t normally in Mr. Bickers’ room 314, which is drink tereré outside of Paraguay, but we wanted filled with fourteen regular members to remember the bonds and introduce a little looking to learn about the stock culture to those who wanted to be introduced market and the economy. to it.”

They can be seen scrolling through They were inspired to bring back the rows of tabs filled with Marketwatch traditional Paraguayan tea back to East after charts on the biggest movers of the seeing how the communities truly bonded over day and the Dow in their third hour drinking the tea. marketing class “It’s a cultural thing that where the pair plans they drink everyday,” Hyatt for their upcoming said. “You just drink with meetings. random people sometimes, We wouldn’t normally drink tereré Their respective like I would be walking down outside of Paraguay, but we wanted interests for the the street and next thing I to remember the bonds and introstock market came know I’m with ten men that duce a little culture to those who from different I’ve never met just passing wantedto be introduced to it. sources, but their around some tea.” passion for the Tereré Club hopes to industry is the spread that same sense of M AT THEW HYAT T same. For Fay, it was community, with ten regular TERERÉ CO-PRESIDEN T his mother’s career members that meet most as the Director of Strategic Projects weeks in room 504, Mrs. Andersen’s room, to at Sprint that made him interested drink tea and talk. initially.

Aside from drinking the tea, the topics “From a very young age I told my of discussion at the club meetings include mom I wanted to start a portfolio and... conspiracy theories, urban legends and [she] was always talking about that economics. According to Hyatt, the latest around me,” Fay said. “It made me topics to be discussed are the Jersey Devil, the interested and I started to do my own Bermuda Triangle and socioeconomic issues research and really get interested in it facing lower class Americans today. and start my own portfolios here and As for next year, there is no current plan there and mess around with it..” to continue the club next year, which both For Hill, it was his grandfather’s Knutson and Hyatt have no problem with. passion for the stock market that “We want to be remembered as the club originally piqued his interest in the where people drank tea and had a good time for one year then just vanished the next,” Hyatt said.

field and his continued involvement with his grandfather that keeps him interested.

“From an early age I remember asking questions like ‘who gets to decide how much a stock is worth?’’

Hill said. “From that point I was very interested in why they moved and the changes behind it.”

The connection between Hill and his grandfather and Hill’s interest in the stock market only grew as Hill aspired to gain experience in investing on the stock market.

“As I got older he let me make some decisions, because I was obviously working with their [Hill’s grandparents] finances for retirement, but he would text me often and say ‘What do you think of this move?

What’s behind it? What’s spurring it?”

One of the core activities of the club is their currently-running clubwide stock market game. The game, which started in early January, has seen the recent ups and downs of the market affecting the leaderboard. Fay has gone first place when he was up 68,000 dollars to 13,000 dollars in the hole and in dead last in the span of a month.

Despite being founded this year, both Hill and Fay look for the club to continue even after the graduate. The club, according to both Fay and Hill, should be in good hands with younger leaders, such as junior Tom Joyce, that are already in the club.

DESIGN Allis on Wilcox

20 A & E

Sweet Eats

Kansas City Cupcake Co.

Kansas City Cupcake Co. is a small, family-owned business located on 80th and Lamar Avenue. Although the array of pink flowers, chandeliers and glitter beads hanging from the ceiling reminded me a bit of my third grade bedroom, which I will admit was cheesy, the cupcakes made up for the decorations circa-2006.

Each cupcake was enclosed within its own plastic case, so it was perfect for picking up and taking on the go. When choosing my cupcake, I was pleased by the small size and the perfected tiers of swirled frosting. I will admit to a Cookies-N-Cream addiction, so when I saw the crushed Oreos covering the creamy frosting, my obsession won out again. The best part of this cupcake was that the vanilla frosting with bits of Oreo had been injected inside the cake. It was an unexpected surprise.

Just to balance my obsession with anything cookies and cream flavored, I also tried a lemon cupcake. The lemon cake had the perfect mix of vanilla and lemon in the cake and frosting, but if lemon flavoring isn’t your thing then this cupcake is not special enough in flavor to go out on a limb for.

Overall, Kansas City Cupcake Co. is great for cupcakes on the go, but due to the atmosphere, this probably wouldn’t make top five list.

Small Cakes

Small Cakes, located in Crown Center, offers 18 exotic cupcake flavors that are all neatly displayed on tiered cupcake platters.

The pink and turquoise checkered floor paired with the turquoise columns that line the front of the store put me in the mood to eat desserts covered in colorful sprinkles.

I was forced to decide between the “Instagrammable” Hot Fudge Sundae cupcake, complete with snow white frosting and a chocolate drizzle and the Cookies-N-Cream cupcake. My Oreo obsession won; Cookies-NCream it was.

The vanilla frosting was almost a perfect imitation of the actual cream filling of an Oreo and I was pleasantly surprised by the hints of the Oreo cookie mixed within the frosting.

The chocolate cake was rich. I value a perfect frosting to cake ratio, and Small Cakes was a perfect ten out of ten on my scale.

The Vanilla cupcake was topped with pink and orange sprinkles that covered up the frosting, which personally I could have done without, since they didn’t add any flavor. The vanilla frosting, however was over the top in the sugar department. My first thought was that they might have dumped 20 Splenda sugar packets into the mixing bowl.

Overall, I was a fan of the cupcake size and the moist consistency of the cake, but the frosting left me feeling like I could enter a sugar coma at any minute.

KANSAS CITY CUPCAKE CO

SMALL CAKES

2450 GRAND BLVD

5038 LAMAR AVE

review Price $

$$ $$$

3/5 Stars

Hof fm an

review

$ $$ $$$

4/5 Stars

BABY CAKES

108 E MISSOURI AVE

Price

$ $$ $$$

review 4/5 Stars

BY LIDDY STALL ARD Section Editor

Reviews of four different cupcakes places in the area

Cupcake A La Mode

If you’re looking for a cupcake that could have come straight out of “Cupcake Wars”, Cupcake Al La Mode is the place to go.

When walking down Wornall Road on the Plaza, my eyes shot straight to the case full of cupcakes the size of a basketball player’s palm. Each shelf filled with cupcakes topped with perfectly swirled frosting and detailed with add-ons like graham crackers, cherries and pink gumballs. Cupcake Al La Mode always offers seasonal flavors.

After being captivated by the variety of cupcakes, I weighed my options, but finally decided to order due to the line of impatient customers growing behind me. I went with the Peanut Butter and Jelly cupcake and The S’mores cupcake.

I licked off the frosting first, just as any experienced cupcake eater would do. The heap of peanut butter frosting drizzled in cherry jelly, was by far my favorite part of the cupcake. The frosting tasted just like the inside of a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, but was as fluffy as whipped cream and practically melted in my mouth. The cake itself was vanilla and was dense, but not too spongy. Large pieces of cake came crumbling off with every bite, but that only further proves my point that the cake portion was very soft.

The S’mores Cupcake had vanilla frosting with a smooth consistency mimicking a classic, buttery consistency, and was not too sweet. The frosting was covered with ground graham crackers and topped with a piece of chocolate and melted marshmallow.

The only thing missing from this experience was the bonfire itself. Overall if you’re looking for a sweet buttercream frosting and an extra large cupcake, Cupcake A La Mode is worth the visit.

CUPCAKE A LA MODE 4639 WORNALL RD

Price

$ $$ $$$

review 5/5 Stars

ABOVE | Kansas City Cupcake Co’s lemon velvet cupcake. |

Price

Baby Cakes

Baby Cakes is located in the River Market and was one of the first cupcake shops to open up in Kansas City.

The bright yellow front door and turquoise awning are very inviting and not to mention, hard to miss when walking through the River Market.

The inside of the shop has a very clean, simple layout along with silver circles painted on the floor that added to the shops aesthetic.

I went with a strawberry cupcake because I couldn’t pass up the look of the light pink cake topped with small pink frosting flowers. Although strawberry is an unusual flavor choice for me, it didn’t disappoint. The pink spongy cake tasted identical to my favorite fruit and was topped with a sweet buttercream frosting.

I also tried a red velvet cupcake.

The bright red cake wasn’t too sweet and had a dense texture. The cream frosting swirled on top had a very thick consistency and wasn’t too sugary.

Overall Baby Cakes had a very vintage vibe followed up with cupcakes that looked like art thanks to the frosting decorations.

THE HARBINGER

Lu k e

ABOVE | Baby Cake’s red velvet ABOVE | Small Cake’s cookies-n-cream cupcake. |

AVA S I M ON S E N

cupcake.

| E L L I E T HO M A

ABOVE | Cupcake A La Mode’s peanut butter and jelly cupcake. |

ho ltgrave s

Ca rs o n

DESIGN GRACE CHISHOLM PHOTOS GRACE GOLDM AN

FEBRUARY 21, 2018

A&E

21

VERSUS

BY GRACIE KOST Copy Editor

Orange Theory lacks intensity while CorePower relieves stress

ORANGE THEORY I D O T T E D T H E I’s and crossed the T’s on a waiver promising not to steal the heart monitor that would track my process on the OrangeTheory-deemed “journey” of a workout I was about to experience.

OrangeTheory is a gym in Park Place that offers fast-paced classes to get a quick and beneficial workout in. The concept they stick to is “a group workout with one-on-one training,” according to their website.

DeAndre, the trainer, hustled me through a quick explanation of how to work the equipment before introducing me to the group of regulars who were mingling outside. I was the youngest there by 10 years, give or take.

Next thing I knew I was strapping a heart monitor around my chest and turning up the MPH on my treadmill to the “base pace.”

The narrow room was lined with 15 treadmills, with what seemed like one million buttons, on one side and identical rowing machines facing the other mirrored wall. Energy beamed from the few dim orange light bulbs that made up all of the light in the room. Lil Wayne’s “Right Above It” bumped through the speakers and the inevitable reek of sweat lingered.

Two monitors on opposing walls displayed the heart rate and calorie-burn count of 17 other people involved in the

session, which was provided by the heart monitor we put on at the beginning of the workout. If I were to invest in an OrangeTheory membership for $159 each month, I would have to also purchase a heart monitor for a wallet-wiping $109.

Being a first-timer, I spent a majority of my time feeling flustered and lost in instructions. DeAndre shouted words of encouragement to the ‘regulars’ over the blasting rap music, while he impatiently guided me through the workout. Being unfamiliar with the must-know terminology used in OrangeTheory’s workout, I spent 30 of the 60 minute class trying to switch between various “percentage increases,” “push paces” and “all out inclinations,” – whatever that means.

SmartFit Magazine deemed OrangeTheory the “best one hour workout in the country.” However, I left unsatisfied, feeling like there was more room to be pushed and opportunity for harder sets.

With fifteen minutes on the clock I became unmotivated and unchallenged; feeling like I had stripped the last remaining benefits out of the workout.

The website promised a burn of 5001000 calories and more energy. I burned a satisfactory 708 calories, but between the workout and stress I had undergone, I was ready to take a nap fit for Guinness World Records.

PROMISE REALITY M O R E E N E R GY

FA L S E !

V I S I B L E TO N E

TRUE!

WA N T E D TO TA K E A NAP RIGHT AFTER LEGS WERE SORE FOR T H E N E X T T H R E E DAY S

36-HOUR BURN

QUESTIONABLE F E LT WO R K E D O U T B U T D I D N ’ T T R AC K B U R N

C O R E P OW E R B E F O R E M Y F R E E week trial at CorePower Yoga, I had never owned a yoga mat, “namaste” had never been in my vocabulary and I sure as hell couldn’t tell you what a Chaturanga Dandasana was.

CorePower Yoga is a yoga studio located on the Plaza that offers yoga classes for a wide variety of ages, skill levels and fitness goals. With 10 different classes ranging in difficulty and content — CorePower One and Two, YogaSculpt, CoreCardio, Hot Yoga — I found myself acclimating quickly to the eye-opening practice of deep breathing and holding unfamiliar poses.

I was surprised that inside of an almost pitch black studio were probably two dozen people spread into child’s pose and open palm Savasana. Calm ocean waves lulled through the speakers as background noise to the deep breaths being taken in preparation for the day’s practice. The room itself was set at 98 degrees, which was an unexpected but welcoming shock considering the weather outside.

CorePower Two was the first class I took during my free trial, which is also the most popular class. CorePower Two parallels the content in CorePower One, with greater difficulty. Both classes offer a perfect combination between relaxation and active yoga, but Two focuses more on reaching towards a long-term goal of

THE REAL DEAL See if each workout lived up to their promises

reaching new, more difficult poses.

At the start of each class the instructor sets a theme for the class. My personal favorite was in a Hot Yoga Relaxation class when Emley told us, “If you want something, you can’t wait for it to come to you. If you want happiness, you have to ooze happiness out and it will attract everything else for you.” After hearing this, it set the tone for my practice.

Between the heat and the physical strength it took to endure these power classes, I left smelling like I had just jumped into salt water. But after class, I manifested happiness, power and strength; my problems seemed minimal and previously over-exaggerated.

Now, I wouldn’t consider yoga to be a replacement to going to the gym everyday when I’m looking for results, but it sure does help ease my mind and put everything into a clear and positive perspective. Not only did I detoxify my body through sweating, but my mind was physically exercised to a T. CorePower offers a membership granting unlimited visits, one-on-one’s and special events for $109 a month, which my wallet finds a little more reasonable.

The wide variety in classes is promising for any fitness intentions.

PROMISE REALITY M I N D - B O DY CONNECTION

TRUE!

RELIEVE STRESS

TRUE!

FLEXIBILITY

FORMED A NEW O U T LO O K O N P O S I T I V I T Y MINIMIZED OV E R -T H I N K I N G – BY E H W !

Q U E ST I O N A B L E M U S T G O C O N S I S T E N T LY FOR THIS ONE

DESIGN SARAH WILCOX PHOTOS DIANA PERCY

THE HARBINGER

22 A & E

CHICKEN

CRAZE

Chinese restaurants prove to have affordable and quality orange chicken

RAINBOW CHINA

BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE, everyone I talked to recommended Rainbow China on State Line, so I knew this had to go on the list of orange chicken restaurants. I gathered up a group of girlfriends and we decided to try it together.

Due to the dimly lit, drab atmosphere of the restaurant, we opted for the take-out option. There was a crowd in the restaurant, but they were all waiting for take-out too.

With the apparent popularity, I knew we had made the right choice. Those who were eating in had their food served on paper plates, emphasizing the casual layout even more.

BY ANNA K ANALEY Mobile Media Editor

I like to consider myself an orange chicken connoisseur.

With a babysitter’s budget, I can’t always treat myself to Bo Lings, but sometimes I want a step-up from Panda Express. So, I’ve taken it upon myself to find three tasty, authentic and inexpensive Chinese restaurants with orange chicken to fill the hole in my lessthan-satisfied wallet – and belly.

I ordered orange chicken with a side of fried rice. My $8.95 order of orange chicken was a little on the chewy side, and could’ve been more crispy to enhance the quality of the chicken. The portion was huge, though, which helped make up for the price. I split it with a friend and still had leftovers. Overall, this was my least favorite of the three restaurants I tried, so I won’t be going back as long as the other two are still around.

RAINBOW CHINA

8017 STATE LINE RD.

Price

$ $$ $$$

3/5 Stars

WOK N ROLL

LOCATED IN A strip off of Metcalf and 83rd St., this hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant is a hidden gem. At first, I was reluctant to walk inside due to the small, almost rundown appearance from the outside. Once I opened up the glass door, however, the Chinese food smell assured me I made the right choice coming here. Still, it wasn’t the type of restaurant to eat in at, so I took this to-go too.

The $6.75 order of orange chicken, which came with a side of white or fried rice (I opted for white), did not disappoint. The

chicken was sweeter than the others, and was a step up from Rainbow China, but not quite as good as Princess Garden. The portion size would’ve been enough to feed three, so I brought the leftovers for lunch the next day. I’d recommend Wok N Roll to anyone who wants a fast, easy and delicious take-out option.

WOK N ROLL

7000 W 83RD ST.

Price

$ $$ $$$

4/5 Stars

PRINCESS GARDEN MY FAMILY HAS been going to Princess Garden for a couple years now, just off of 85th and Wornall. The service couldn’t be any better – the same man remembers and greets us with a smile every time. Unlike the other restaurants I tried, this is the only one I’d actually eat in at, as it’s much more spacious and would be perfect for anything ranging from a first date with the cutie in your math class to a family dinner to a birthday dinner.

This orange chicken is different from the others, as it’s a non breaded chicken

TOP | Rainbow China’s

orange chicken with fried rice and crab rangoon is a portion enough for two meals.

so it tastes authentic and less processed.

This helps bring out the taste of the actual chicken without the breading, so it’s more savory than sweet. The $9.75 order is reasonably priced given that it makes for two servings. This along with a couple orders of general tso’s chicken and fried rice make for a full meal to feed a family of five.

ABOVE | Orange chicken

8906 WORNALL RD.

LEFT | Princess Garden’s

PRINCESS GARDEN Price

$ $$ $$$

4/5 Stars

served with white rice is a Chef’s Special at Wok N Roll.

orange chicken had green peppers and was spicier than the rest.

DESIGN CAROLYN P OPPER PHOTO COURTESY OF REVOLVE

FEBRUARY 21, 2018

A & E 23

BIKINI EDITION Trends in swim wear for the upcoming season

BY CL ARA VON DREHLE Staff Writer

1.

W

hether it’s my WPA dress or tropical clothes for a spring break trip to Mexico, I never put off shopping until the last minute. I like to get on top of my shopping early, to make sure all my outfits look perfect together. But when it comes to swimsuit shopping, everything is ten

T H E “ M I N I -T E E ”

Off-theshoulder bikini tops, or “mini-tees,” are a hot choice for spring break and summer this year. These won’t roll off of your chest like strapless ones will. Although bandeau bikini tops are cute and minimalistic, there’s nothing more humiliating than having it come off after jumping off the high-dive at the pool or being hit by a wave at the beach. With the extra piece of fabric on your shoulders, you’re given flexibility in your suit and an extra boost of support, so that you can look cute while doing all of your favorite water activities.

3.

times harder. I never get to think over all my options.

This time, after thinking about both the practicality and the cuteness of all my favorite swimsuit styles, I’ve made a list of my top three go-to suits that are easy to style, fashionable, and flattering.

ONE-PIECES W I T H C U T- O U T S The one-piece swimsuit came back, after many tried and failed attempts at getting them to resurface, in the late fall of 2016 and has been becoming more and more popular ever since. One-pieces take away the stress of having to mix-and-match bikinis, but having side cut-outs can give the option of leaving a little less to the imagination. With every brand trying to bring their own creativity, you can imagine how many different styles there are. From backless to side cut-outs, the possibilities are endless.

H I G H - WA I S T E D B OT TO M S

If you were looking at a swimsuit ad in the 50s, you would be seeing Marilyn Monroe in a pair of high-waisted bottoms.

In the spring of 2017, they rose back up the trend ladder. High-waisted bottoms are a flattering swimsuit for all body types. No matter how many green juices you may drink or how many crunches you do before bed, almost every girl doesn’t feel “bikini body ready” when summer rolls around. But for those of us who both want to be stylish and feel good in our suits, the high-waisted look is the answer to our prayers. The bottoms are also great to pair with the mini-tee for wanting to cover a little bit more skin but wanting to skip out on a one-piece.

Sure, they’re great for beach photoshoots, but not so much for taking your suit on and off for bathroom trips.

2.

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DESIGN MEGAN FUNKEY PHOTOS COURTESY OF IMDB.COM

FEBRUARY 21, 2018

A&E

25

tomatoes VS reality Rotten Tomatoes offers “reliable” movie ratings, some of which aren’t accurate

BY ALEX FREE M AN Copy Editor

A s a ge n e r al rule, I’m not a “movie person.”

Sure, I can appreciate a good film (“Good Will Hunting” made had me stifling sobs) but you’re more likely to find me binge-watching “Friends” than sitting with my eyes glued to a screen for two hours straight.

Especially for old movies where I actually have to pay

attention instead of scrolling through my Instagram periodically.

If I’m going to sit through a movie, I need to make sure it’s worth my time. I check “Rotten Tomatoes,” a website dedicated to ranking movies based on critics’ reviews and popular opinion.

Most movies that score 100 percent on Rotten Tomatoes are “beloved classics.” I decided to test the validity of their rating for myself: how do two of these films measure up to the standards of a movie amateur like me?

ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT I’l l ad m it I’m a bit of a history buff, especially when it comes to World War I, so I was tentatively optimistic going into All Quiet on the Western Front (1930). As the movie began to play, my hopes were quickly dashed as the screen filled with text: boring!

Luckily for me, my initial skepticism was proven wrong. Even though I, a girl who charges my iPhone 8 four times a day, can’t possibly know what it’s like to crouch in the trenches under heavy fire in Germany, the actors’ emotions rang true.

I whimpered as Behn ran straight into machine gun fire after being blinded by shrapnel. I burrowed into my couch as soldiers screamed in fear as debris fell in their bunker. I cried alongside Paul as he prayed for his dying comrade’s life. I felt the pain they felt, albeit on a much smaller, far less intense scale.

And somehow the film brought these feelings upon me without the use of gratuitous violence or unnecessary jump scares.

The image of two hands clinging to barbed wire, not attached to a body, made me feel a little queasy. However, it was nothing compared to the head-crushing and stomach-impaling that modern audiences have seen in “Game of Thrones” and “The Hunger Games.”

My one major criticism of the movie was that it dragged on for over two hours. The scenes involving the bunker and trench warfare didn’t need to be as old as my grandmother to show the futility of the war – the tears and screams did that on their own.

Twenty to 30 minutes could EASILY have been cut out, and the movie would have been essentially the same.

Even so, I would recommend All Quiet on the Western Front to anyone, not just the people who watch John Green’s crash course videos for fun. I’m not sure it’s worth 100 percent, but I didn’t even think of scrolling through Instagram.

TO WATCH OR NOT TO WATCH?

Comparing Tomatoes’ and Alex’s ratings

100%

94%

THE MALTESE FALCON Cigarettes and sexism – ah, the ’40s. The Maltese Falcon (1941) is a film about private investigator Sam Spade and his search to find the long lost Maltese Falcon figurine. A movie about a centuries-old artifact sounds interesting, right? Wrong.

Despite the potential The Maltese Falcon had for greatness with it’s star-studded cast – Humphrey Bogart HIMSELF played Sam Spade – and fascinating plotline, the movie fell flat because of it’s unlikeable and outdated characters. Since I didn’t care about the fate of the protagonist, I didn’t care about the story as a whole.

Spade is portrayed as a charismatic private investigator who is constantly praised for his detective work (unworthily) by the people around him – somehow it’s even duller than it sounds.

Spade is dismissive of his intelligent, hard-working secretary’s insights. Then he’s involved in a relationship with his partner’s wife. On top of that, he takes all of his client’s money

as a bribe to not turn her into the police. Yet we’re supposed to love him because he’s good at his job and turns the criminals in at the end of the movie – I did not.

I found myself looking down at my phone to check my texts every five minutes. This only exacerbated my problem, because I would wind up rewinding to figure out what I had missed, and it was always worse the second time.

While the film picked up a bit when I was trying to figure out what would happen to Spade and who would end up in possession of the infamous Maltese Falcon, the first hour felt like it was purely exposition, not an actual story.

Perhaps if I had been around in the ’40s, I would have been swooning over Sam Spade and sitting on the edge of my seat to find out his next move. But as a child of the 21st century with my phone handy at all times, I found Twitter way more interesting than the arrogant Sam Spade.

100%

62%

Rotten tomatoes rating

alex’s rating

Rotten tomatoes rating

alex’s rating

DESIGN K ATIE HISE PHOTOS ELLEN SWANS ON

THE HARBINGER

26 S P O R T S

Winter Sports Round-up An update on each winter sport and a look into some of their star players

BY ELIAS LOWL AND Sports Section Editor

Boys swimming Record: 8-1

15

Sunflower League Titles

20

15

20

BOYS SWIM CLASS 6A

16

20

BOYS SWIM CLASS 6A

KSHSAA STATE CHAMPIONS

1

17

BOYS SWIM CLASS 6A

KSHSAA STATE CHAMPIONS

st

Sunflower League Rank

KSHSAA STATE CHAMPIONS

THREE CONSECUTIVE STATE TITLES

personal stats

Evan Root 1:45.47

47.73

200 yd free

100 yd free

53.05

best 100 yd Back times

First team all-state First team all-league All American 400 Free Relay 2017 2017 2017

8.1 43% 31% 31%

Ft Percentage FG Percentage 3pt Percentage

Record: 1-16 team averaging

personal stats

avg. points

39

points per game

starting five

Kathleen Stanley STANLEY BOLTON

ALTHOUSE

FRYE

Wrestling

FG Percentage 3pt Percentage

5

th

Sunflower League Rank

Record: 9-7

58

points per game

starting five

11.3 78% 52% 38%

Ft Percentage

Place at League

220 lb weight class

2

nd

Place at League

14 20-5

pins

Kelyn Bolton averaging

personal stats

avg. points

7

th

personal stats

3

rd place at SM district meet

BINGHAM

3 5 13 20 45 girls Basketball

Justin Schuman dual Record: 7-11 atmeets

YOWELL

BOLTON BOLTON

CURRAN

“SCHOE”

MEEKS

KURLBAUM

5 10 11 15 23 Boys basketball

record

DESIGN LYDIA UNDERWOOD PHOTOS LUKE HOFFM AN

FEBRUARY 21, 2018

S P O R T S 27

BETTER, NOT BITTER After a disappointing end at last year’s nationals, the Lancer Dancers are going to Orlando this year with a new plan

BY LUCY KENDALL Page Designer

T

he Lancer Dancers have decided they will be traveling to Orlando, Fl. for the annual National Dance Alliance Competition on Feb. 28 after debating whether to return due to last year’s drumline dance incident.

Last year the Lancer Dancers scored 94 out of 100 point possible for their hip-hop routine going into finals, three points ahead of the second place team.

According to coach Alexis “Bubba” Close, several judges changed their minds on the day of finals as they observed the dance, counting points off for the members of the drumline not dancing. The judges also counted points off for errors in the dance they hadn’t seen the first time, bringing their total score down from first to third place.

“It was just really disappointing to go into finals and not win when we were all so excited,” junior and varsity Lancer Dancer Sophie Lawrence said. “But it was still such a memorable experience.”

Although the drumline dance was an experience that the dancers will never forget, the outcome of nationals created an outlasting impression on the girls and especially Bubba, creating a big decision to make for this year.

“There was part of me that wanted to forget it and never come back,” Bubba said. “But there was this other part of me that said, ‘No way, I’m not going to turn and run with my tail between my legs. We are going to come back bigger and

9

2016

HIP-HOP

7

2014 JAZZ

5

2016 JAZZ

better with three dances.’”

Not only are the Lancer Dancers returning to nationals, but they are bringing three dances instead of two. They will be performing their first ever kick dance at nationals, along with the normal hip-hop and jazz routines.

Like our coach said, it’s going to be very challenging to make finals in all three dances, but I think we just need to not let last year’s bitterness with drumline affect this year’s performance and have a refresh year.

T I N K A M CC R AY SEN I O R Kick dances are fast-paced and known for their precision and uniformity. The intricate formation changes accompanied with long kick lines and unique kick sequences make this dance stand out from the other two dances.

To change up this fast-paced dance, the team has been working with a choreographer to an instrumental version of “Let it Go” so that the dance is slower and more lyrical, giving more chances for the team to attract attention to their new

3

2017

HIP-HOP

Nationals

Results

The places the Lancer Dancers have earned at nationals over the past four years

2

2015 JAZZ

dance.

“It’s a lot more interesting in our opinion because it’s a slow dance,” Lawrence said. “But it has all the kick components that are required so we have a lot of tricks going on that really pull all our strengths together with our acrobats and turners.”

Leading up to their departure, the Lancer Dancers will continue their every day 7 a.m. practices along with adding several three hour evening and Saturday practices to make up for several girls who have been gone for illnesses, especially the flu.

According to Bubba, close to 13 out of 23 girls on the team have been gone over the last two weeks due to sickness.

“We do 10 minutes of conditioning at the beginning of practice, some days we do burpees and jumping jacks for a minute and push-ups and planks for a minute then rotate,” Lawrence said. “Even though people are sick, we just have to keep working hard to keep our endurance up since we leave so soon.”

As the Lancer Dancers leave for nationals on Wednesday, their main goal going into the competition is to focus on the present and not look back at the results and incident of last year.

“Like our coach said, it’s going to be very challenging to make finals in all three dances,” senior and varsity captain Tinka McCray said. “But I think we just need to not let last year’s bitterness with drumline affect this year’s performance and have a refresh year.”

4

2017 JAZZ

6

2015

HIP-HOP

8

2014

HIP-HOP

DESIGN AVA JOHNS ON PHOTOS T YLER BROWNING

THE HARBINGER

28 S P O R T S

CHASING HIS DREAM Hank Krusen is living out his dream job by being the performance consultant for the swim team

BY M ADELINE HLOBIK Copy Editor

W

ith his oxygen tank strapped onto the front of his walker, performance consultant Hank Krusen slowly rolled his way across the East pool deck.

Under his skinny, black, circular glasses were two exhausted, yet welcoming eyes, heading straight for the spot next to the wooden table behind the starting blocks. The day before, he was lying in a hospital bed, strapped to an oxygen tank after just undergoing a procedure due to heart failure.

Throughout last winter, Krusen visited the hospital 11 times, each lasting between four and five days. But as soon as he was discharged from each hospital trip, Krusen could always be found the next day at 3:30 pm on the East pool deck with the boys swim team.

This was the one time of day when Krusen could forget about his health complications and fulfill his “dream job” since the mid-1970s of being a part of the coaching staff for the East boys swim team.

“These kids are what make me motivated to come here every day,” Krusen said. “They’re the best high school team I’ve coached in terms of attitude and everything else.”

Due to his health complications, Krusen had to miss about half the practices last year and only made it to two meets.

Although Krusen no longer needs an oxygen tank and has only missed one day of practice this year, he admits that his health is still not perfect. “[Being here] gets my mind off of other things,” Krusen explained. “And that’s better for me than sitting at home worrying about my health complications.”

From 2003-2016, Krusen had been content with cultivating his own swim program at Olathe Northwest, as he had formed the first swim program there and was proud of the team he had created. However, Krusen has lived two blocks away from East since 1976 and his daughter graduated from East in 2000.

After looking at the number of National Merit Scholars and state qualifying teams back in the mid-1970s, Krusen knew that East students were special.

“I mean, just like today for example, two kids were coming up from practicing for track, and they looked at me and said ‘Do you want to get inside?’” Krusen explained. “I told them ‘don’t worry I’ll knock on the window,’ and they said ‘No, no, no’ and took the time to run around the door and let me in.

And they didn’t even know me.”

Unlike other schools Krusen has coached at, he feels that he doesn’t have to “drag the East swimmers up the hill.” Since many East swimmers practice year round with different clubs, they have a stronger swim background when they begin the high school season.

As the performance consultant, Krusen remains seated

behind the starting block where he can observe the start, stroke and turn technique of the swimmers. If Krusen notices any issues like a swimmer not getting out of the water enough on a backstroke start, he is able to recommend drills to help them correct their technique.

According to senior varsity swimmer Brian Christian, Krusen is a very powerful presence on the pool deck, as all the swimmers respect that he has coached for over 40 years and has trained four Olympians when he was an assistant coach with the Blazers swim team. “[Krusen’s] been around the sport a very long time, so he knows just about everything there is to know about swimming,” Christian said. “He’s really fixed my backstroke start and that’s helped me drop time.”

Head swim coach Wiley Wright and Krusen have been friends in the coaching world since Krusen’s team beat Wiley’s by one place at state. The two kept in contact throughout the years, and knowing that Krusen only lives two blocks from East, Wiley told Krusen to just let him know “when he’s ready” and he would be welcome to help out the East boys swim team.

“I finally said ‘Wiley I’m ready,’” Krusen explained. “Being the performance consultant [at East] has been great because I get to come to practices, come to meets and help the swimmers, without having to do all of the planning like the head swim coach. It’s been my dream job since forever.”

A TIMELINE OF KRUSEN’S COACHING CAREER

HOMESTEAD 1976 - 1993

OLATHE NORTH

BLAZERS SWIM CLUB

OLATHE NORTHWEST

1982 - 1988

1990

2003

SHAWNEE MISSION EAST

2017

DESIGN ELIZABETH BALLEW PHOTOS LUCY MORANTZ

FEBRUARY 21, 2018

S P O R T S 29

BRACKET

BUDDIES

A group of senior friends is brought together through March Madness

Fast facts about the tournament

68 TEAMS

FACE SEVEN ROUNDS OF SINGLE ELIMINATION

EAST SOUTHEAST REGIONS TEAMS DIVIDED IN WEST SOUTHWEST 1 in 10 AMERICANS FILL OUT A

BRACKET

4.5

AVERAGE # OF BRACKETS FILLED OUT PER PERSON

8.4 mil

EMPLOYEES WHO FOLLOW NCAA WILL SPEND WORK TIME WATCHING GAMES AND CHECKING SCORES

POSSIBLE COMBINATIONS

I

IT’s MADNESS

9,223,372,036,854,775,808

don’t just compete with their brackets, in between or during half time, they pull themselves away from the TV to play a game of pickup or knockout in the front yard. They find it hard to sit and watch people play all day and not want to play a little basketball themselves.

Wiggins remembers injuries ranging in severity from an ankle sprain to stitches in the head – all the result of competitive basketball playing. The pushing, shoving and yelling matches were all sustained

But senior John Roney seems to get the most grief from his choices.

Because he doesn’t tune into every t’s been four days and all seniors college basketball halftime talk or Brian Christian, Matt McGannon, follow the Twitter accounts of the top Will Wiggins, Frank Opelka and college players, Roney picks his teams Joseph Brouillette have done is eat at random. Wiggins and Opelka love to wings and watch basketball on Max see how his random picks play out.

Maday’s basement couch.

“I think [March Madness] is 100 “If we didn’t have sports to talk percent chance,” Christian said. “Once about, we probably wouldn’t be you get to the bracket, anything can friends,” Christian said. happen. You could watch every game As March approaches, some people all year and you still couldn’t get [a are focused on the rising temperatures perfect bracket]. It’s cool that I can and spring break, these boys are enter a bracket pool watch so many only thinking about their March games and then my mom who Madness brackets. March Madness watches five or six KU games a year is this friend group’s favorite time will beat me in the bracket pool. It of the year – it’s like Christmas, It’s like Santa is coming the next brings a lot of people together who Christian said. aren’t necessarily super into the They all come together on morning the day before March sport.”

Selection Sunday, when the bracket Madness starts. You watch basketball Even though watching as many of 72 teams is released and the games throughout the year as all day eating appetizers. It turns you betting and planning begin. possible won’t guarantee a perfect into a kid again.

“It’s like Santa is coming the bracket, the boys try to see as many next morning the day before March as they can anyways, just out of B R I A N C H R I ST I AN Madness starts,” Christian said. pure love for the sport.

SEN I O R “You watch basketball all day eating “All the upsets and the fact that appetizers. It turns you into a kid there are so many games in four again.” outside on Maday’s basketball court days makes [March Madness] really And this is a common feeling during halftimes of March Madness entertaining,” McGannon said. throughout the group. Wiggins games.

Even when the “madness” of March believes the two-week span in March is During these games, Brouillette is months away, the boys get together the best time of the year – when they likes to specifically pick on Christian, to watch any and all basketball games, get to lock themselves in someone’s by either not guarding or fouling him. even if their bracket standings aren’t basement for eight games straight and His reasoning? Christian’s a “hot shot” on their minds. “pig out” according to Brouillette. on the court.

This spring break, even after getting With very few similarities between “The boys are so competitive with home from their week long spring the five boys, Wiggins is surprised each other. They are always texting break trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, by their friendship. But even though back and forth giving each other grief you will find these seniors still talking they all play different sports, from based on people’s brackets,” Christian’s basketball. They will be texting about soccer to golf, the boys were able to mom, Kristen Christian, said. the March Madness bracket challenge find common ground in their love for Each friend has different strategies in “The Boys” group chat, hanging out college basketball. on how to fill out their bracket. in someone’s basement eating wings, “It’s the common interest in sports McGannon likes to pick the upsets, or blowing off steam on Max Maday’s that brought us all together in the or teams who are not expected to win, court in the middle of a game. beginning,” Wiggins said. while Maday is always seen choosing But when they are together, they every favorite in the field.

BY M AYA ST R ATM A N Copy Editor

75 minutes

average time spent on filling out brackets

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DESIGN DIANA PERCY

FEBRUARY 21, 2018

feelin’ the love

P H O T O S T O R Y 31

Students and teachers at SME participated in various activities to spread love on Valentine’s Day

RIGHT |

Madame Losey’s French III classes decorate tissue boxes with sentences about Valentine’s Day, written in French.

e l l i e t hom a |

ABOVE | Seniors Sofia Stechshulte, Ellie Green

and Grace Apodaca laugh during their IB Theory of Knowledge Valentine’s Day party. “I was laughing because everyone was laughing at me for taking a bite out of a Styrofoam heart,” Stechshulte said. “It was really tasty, for the record.”

| e l l i e t hom a

ABOVE RIGHT | Sophomore Ian Clark holds up a valentine he made in AP European History. “Mrs. Meshke wanted us to make a valentine for someone in the unit we were going over,” Clark said. “Mine was about Karl Marx.”

ABOVE | Sophomore Eden Sokoloff makes cards

RIGHT | Senior co-founders of Feminist Club, Ellie

| e llie t ho m a

| luke hoffm a n

Van Gorden and Iman Jaroudi, hug while reading out the quotes they chose for their valentines.

The quotes come from a book called “Rad Women Worldwide.”

| e l l i e t hom a

to celebrate love in Feminist Club to hang in Mr. Klein’s classroom. “Love is acceptance,” Sokoloff said. “It’s something that I feel like a lot of people need to put first before anything else.”

FAR ABOVE | Freshmen STUCO members Maisie Sheets and Rose Kanaley pick out carnations, sold by the East Love Fund, on Valentine’s Day. | luke ho ffm a n

DESIGN JULIE FROMM PHOTOS CA MILLE TALKINGTON ART LIL AH P OWL AS

THE HARBINGER

PAST A N D

32 A LT- C O P Y

PRESENT A look into Black History Month

BY BRYNN WINKLER Staff Writer

The month of February is Black History month and is dedicated to celebrating the achievements and influences black Americans have had on U.S. history.

ELLA BAKER

THURGOOD MARSHALL

While other activists were organizing sit-ins and marching for equality, lawyer — and later the first black Supreme Court Justice — Thurgood Marshall, was fighting racial discrimination from where it was actually legalized.

As a lead lawyer for the The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Marshall traveled from courthouse

to courthouse in the South, representing poor black defendants and fighting the effects of the “separate but equal” doctrine that plagued the country.

He continued his legal battles for social justice despite frequent death threats from Klansmen.

One of his most notable achievements was his victory in the Brown v.

Board of Education case in 1954, which desegregated public schools. “Mr. Civil Rights,” as they would call him, argued a total of 32 cases before the Supreme Court — and only lost three.

WHAT DOES BLACK HISTORY MONTH MEAN TO YOU?

Lancer VOICE Q&A with students on Black History Month

N YS H A N AV E FRESHMAN

“For me, it’s kind of like a time I just get to acknowledge that I am a black woman in America.

This is who I am, this is who I’m going to be forever.”

We've all watched the Brain Pop video featuring Rosa Parks and read Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s "I Have A Dream" speech, but it's important to remember there are several important figures who don't receive the same attention, too.

Here are a few:

Too often teens are declared too inexperienced to evoke real change. But that’s not how Ella Baker saw things.

Her popular Swahili nickname “Fundi,” meaning a person who teaches a craft to the next generation, was inspired by her belief in young people’s ability to fight racial discrimination.

LY R I K B R OW N FRESHMAN

A lesser-known, but vital activist of the Civil Rights Movement, Baker was motivated by her grandmother’s stories of being whipped by her slave owner. As an advocate for the role of the next generation in the fight for equality, Baker laid the foundation of The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.

This movement would eventually become one of the most important organizations in American civil rights history, according to Britannica.com.

AUDRE LORDE

A self-proclaimed “black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet,” Audre Lorde was a significant figure in the fight for equality for all races, sexes and people of all sexual orientations according to the Poetry Foundation.

Lorde reduced marginalization of all minorities through

her words, despite those who were against her.

Lorde began writing poetry in her teens, with her first poem being published when she was still in high school in Seventeen magazine.

While her earlier works focused more on love and passion, her experiences of racial injustice in the 1960s, along with her sexuality, caused a shift to more political messages.

Lorde was also an avid activist for feminist issues, and criticized black men for carrying out sex discrimination.

HOW DO YOU CELEBRATE BLACK HISTORY MONTH?

DO YOU THINK IT’S IMPORTANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE BLACK HISTORY MONTH IN THE CLASSROOM?

“Basically I think of a different person in history that was really important to the black community everyday, so whenever we run out it’s like, ‘Time to find more’, because there’s always more that we just don’t know about.”

“Absolutely.

It hasn’t happened yet, but I think that it’s super, super important.

Because relating to a movie I saw like a year ago, “Hidden Figures”; I never knew that those three women were apart of NASA until I saw that movie. And the thing is, those people are so important, because those three women helped our first dude get to the moon, you now? That’s

AG G I E WILLIAMS SOPHOMORE

so important. And I think that schools should acknowledge that stuff because number one, we should be learning about that stuff in school, especially in history, not just learning about the wars and all the bad stuff that happened. What about the good things and the good people? I think we should be learning more about black people in general at school.”