The Harbinger: Issue 9

the harbinger.

SHAWNEE MISSION EAST 7500 MISSION ROAD PRAIRIE VILLAGE, KS 66208

JAN 22, 2018 VOLUME LIX ISSUE 9

REMAINING FLUID

The Shawnee Mission School District is adapting with plans for corrective actions after a Kansas Department of Education investigation found issues with their special education program PAGES 16-17

COVER DESIGN GRACE CHISHOLM COVER PHOTO DIANA PERCY

2 CONTENTS

table of contents. editorial

Response to hate groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

NEWS

News briefs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 SMSD Open Forum Changes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 BITCOINS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 School funding changes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 SPED investigation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16/17

THE HARBINGER

peek inside.

A more detailed look at a few stories in the issue

SETH’S CLIMB

BREAKING DOWN BITCOIN

REDEFINING TEAMWORK

PAGE 18 | FEATURES

PAGE 6 | NEWS

PAGE 29 | SPORTS

Junior Seth Arvesen finds new purpose in life after discovering a new passion – rock climbing

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are rising in value, but experts are unsure of the future and impact

Despite seven returning seniors on the varsity roster, no senior starts for the girls basketball team, but the seniors are accepting new leadership roles

OPINION

Paleo diet as healing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Video game addiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 AP vs. IB. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Mislabeled friendships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 .

F E AT U R E S

Friends with heart condition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Nelson Curator. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 CLIMBING BRINGS PURPOSE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 French exchange student. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Traveling opera singer . . . . . . . .

20

A&E

WPA Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 “Turtles All the Way Down” review. . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Thrift shop reviews. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Bloom Bakery and Scratch Bakery reviews . . . . . . . . 25

SPORTS

Gymnastics Crossfit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Wrestling weight loss. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Rockhurst game preview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 GIRLS BASKETBALL SENIOR LEADERS. . . . . . . . . 29

MORE

Whips band photo-story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 South game photo-story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 New Years Resolution alt-copy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

editorial policy.

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

| Lucy morantz

| Kate nixon

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 ARTISTS 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 Marti Fromm

STAFF WRITERS Lucia Barraza Miranda Hack Megan Funkey Liddy Stallard Kourtney Koc

Aislinn Menke Avery Walker Kathleen Deedy Lena Heukelbach

Clara Von Drehle

ONLINE SECTION EDITORS News- Alex Freeman

PHOTO EDITORS Diana Percy Ellie Thoma Carson Holtgraves

Sports- Ben Henschel & Brett Wainwright A&E- Carolyn Popper & Grace Padon

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

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 WEBMASTER Marti Fromm 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 Alex Anderson 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

DESIGN GRACIE KOST

JANUARY 2 2, 2018

STAND DOWN TOSTAND UP EDITORIAL

3

In the face of ignorance and utter hatred, sometimes a direct reaction isn’t deserved - instead, it’s better to respond with compassion within the community

AGAINST: 0

FOR: 15

Y

ou’d think that calling 16-year-olds you don’t know “dykes,” and “filth,” would be a new low for anyone. But the Westboro Baptist Church has screamed slurs to grieving families at military funerals, thanking God for “dead soldiers.” They’ve been at churches, schools and street corners claiming religious messages yet condemning anyone and everyone with phrases like “God doesn’t love everyone,” and “It’s not ok to be gay.” Somehow, those are actually two of their tamest defamations. They take a sick pride in boasting that they’ve protested in all 50 states. And now, they’ve come here.

For the third time in ten years, the Phelps family and the Westboro Baptist Church made the trip to Prairie Village to picket Shawnee Mission East. First in 2009, after the election of a homosexual Homecoming King, then last year at graduation, and now on Friday where they lined up as we walked

into school.

In the face of this ignorant hate, a hate that has no logic, sometimes the only option is to ignore, and instead embrace the love in your community. To respond to this kind of hate with anger or violence back is to justify it, to dignify it.

According to a press release from the church issued on Christmas Day, this year’s picket is because Shawnee Mission East is a “cesspool of sodomites” and “homosexuality” in which students have been brought up on a “steady diet of lies.”

Conversation started the second the statement hit the website the church uses to organize its protests. Students and club leaders talked about forming an anti-protest and thinking of ways to get back at the church.

But principal John McKinney urged the East community to respond in a different way, to not grant Westboro the satisfaction

of a response directed at them. Instead, he and the students from groups at East, like the diversity and inclusion committee, called for the student body to respond with positivity and ignore the vile shouts.

Of course, in the face of injustice there are times to take a stand. Protests against bigotry have long paved the way for change in America and the world, and everyone has the right to do so. Even in 2009, when Westboro was right on our doorstep, our community banded together and organized a peaceful anti-protest to show support.

But stands can happen in different ways. It doesn’t have to be an impassioned organized march or calculated chants – it can be pure kindness.

McKinney, you’re right. The Westboro Baptist Church doesn’t deserve a direct response. We should not give them the right to disrupt what we do here at East, to distract

1997

1955

Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) is established by Fred Phelps and family

2013

1993

2018

WBC plans anti-gay protest at SME for January 19th, which SME will meet with a counterprotest

WBC plans protest at funerals for victims of the Boston Marathon bombing

WBC puts up the first anti-homosexual website, “the infamous www. godhatesfags.com”

WBC protests at an AID’s victims funeral, KCMO enforces no picketing law at funerals

us from the compassion and joy we see everyday.

So to the Westboro Baptist Church, we see you. We hear you. We know you are there. But all that your hate and rhetoric is accomplishing is making us more grateful of the community of love and support we have here at East.

We choose to not focus on you, but on the response. On the hashtag #hatehasnohomehere making its rounds on twitter and instagram, on the line of students from all groups at East greeting kids with smiles and compliments on their way into the building and on the complete lack of disruption in a day for the Lancers.

This was the third time in ten years that you’ve tried to “preach” to us, and hopefully you’ve got the message that hate – that you – have no home here.

WBC protests after an openly gay SME homecoming king was nominated

2009

WBC makes an appearance at SME graduation to protest

2017

INFORMATION COURTESY OF S OUTHERN P OVERT Y L AW CENTER

WESTBORO BAPTIST CHURCH HATE CRIME TIMELINE

DESIGN LUCY PAT TERS ON

4 NEWS

THE HARBINGER

EAST in BRIEF

East boys swim and dive holds annual Makin’ Waves swim clinic

BY NATASHA THOM AS Staff Writer

A record number of 68 kids participated in the 13th annual “Makin’ Waves” event on Jan. 13, a swim clinic hosted by the boys’ swim and dive team. The clinic, which ran from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., was divided into two hour-and-a-half sessions where participants learned to improve warm-ups, starts, turns and strokes. Kids participated at $25 per session, with proceeds benefiting the boys’ swim and dive booster club.

The clinic was open to anyone aged seven to 14. The swimmers learned and practiced each stroke, with specific instructions on the stroke’s motions. Once they were finished they got to

jump off of the diving boards, ending the clinic with some smiles.

The sessions were managed by head coach Wiley Wright and taught by members of swim and dive team, including sophomore Jackson Bibb, a varsity swimmer who taught the first session of the event. Bibb said the clinics are great opportunities for the team to earn community service hours while getting to interact with younger kids.

“When I was younger, I always looked up to high schoolers,” Bibb said. “It’s a good opportunity to help these young kids [get ready] for the future.”

Wright hopes the clinic gives the team a

greater appreciation of the skills and knowledge they can provide to the community. Wright has been hosting “Makin’ Waves” since the very first clinic, and he says he sees more and more kids come each year.

“It gives the East kids an opportunity to pass off their experience,” Wright said. “Each year it gets bigger and better.”

Wright wants people to keep coming back to the clinic, because this is one of the main sources of boosters for the team. Proceeds of this year’s clinic will be put towards supplies such as new kickboards and medals for the team and will be funding the upcoming diving invitational on Jan. 27.

MEET SCHEDULE Jan. 23 Jan. 27

@ Hummer Sports Park @ SM East

Feb. 2 & 3 @ Prairie Trail Middle Feb. 7 @ Lawrence Free State Feb. 16 &17 @ Hummer Sports Park

SME Debate pair finds end of season success

BY L AUREN WEST Staff Writer

At the Blue Valley Southwest state novice debate tournament Jan 8., sophomore Graham Revare and freshman Lily Utt placed first. The win solidified their season with a record of 9-0. East hasn’t won the novice state title since Spencer Thompson and Nate Paris’ win during the 2010-2011 school year.

Revare and Utt found each other’s intelligence attractive when they searched for a partner to debate the season with, according to Revare.

“Going into debate, I didn’t know Graham at all, except through our seating chart in class,” Utt

said. “We both had success with tournaments so we decided to partner up.”

At tournaments, judges score the debaters on three things: maintaining eye contact, projecting and enunciating clearly and talking at a moderate pace. According to the duo, Utt and Revare receive high praise due to their “knowledge on education,” this year’s topic, according to the judges.

“If you walk in and feel like you have capacity to win the round, you have a much better chance of actually winning the round,” Revare said.

Upholding SME’s winning tradition comes with pressure, they said. In 2014, East received a “Debate School of Excellence Award” for being

one of the top 20 schools in the nation, based on team results. But Utt and Revare were comforted knowing they had the support of the advanced debaters, teachers and peers.

“They have a great work ethic,” debate coach Jennifer Hunter said. “Debaters who are that dedicated and can put the outside time to come in find success.”

As the debate season came to a close, Utt and Revare have kept busy with their separate activities and have both joined forensics. The novice champions will return to the debate room next fall as advanced students to try and maintain their record.

Debate tips from lilly 1 maintain eye-contact 2 project your voice 3 talk at a moderate pace 4 fully research topic 5 communicate with your partner

PHOTOS OF THE WEEK Check out more photos here!

LEFT | Sophomore Lancer Dancer Amelia

Commerford performs a lyrical dance during the winter pep assembly. |

K ATHERINE MCGINN ESS

ABOVE | Junior Elle Angelo uses a slinky

while learning about different wave lengths in IB Chemisrty 2. | T Y BROWNING

ABOVE | Senior swimmer Carter Kirkland helps a young swimmer with his goggles during the annual Makin’ Wavin clinic. | LUKE HOFFM AN

DESIGN K ATIE HISE PHOTOS DIANA PERCY

JANUARY 2 2, 2018

NEWS

5

REF r(U)m The SMSD school board will vote on new draft of open forum policy tonight after complaints

BY LIL A T UL P Copy Editor

T

he SMSD Board of Education will vote tonight at 7 p.m. on a new draft of their open forum policy. After receiving several complaints from the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas about their open forum guidelines that violated the First Amendment, the board members met with an attorney Jan. 8 to discuss a revised policy.

The draft of the new policy now states: “Be civil, use respectful language and refrain from personal attacks. Do not discuss matters that reflect negatively on a specific student or employee in public. Such comments should be submitted in writing to the superintendent.”

According to SMSD At-Large board member, Heather Ousley, the previous policy contained language that limited those who were speaking from referring to board members by name – the new draft does not specify what you can and cannot say, protecting the patron’s freedom of speech.

The original open forum guidelines first sparked conversation when district parent, Jeff Passan, was asked to sit down after calling

out board member Deb Zila by name at a May hand, need to be struck immediately,” Passan 22 board meeting. Passan confronted Zila said. ”They report to the public, so for the after Zila failed to recuse herself from voting public not to have any right to speak its truth on the unanimous approval of a contract with makes SMSD look like some petty, backwater CBIZ HM insurance truck-stop town and company last not the best school January. According system in the state.” to Passan, because Following the Zila’s daughter If the board wants to protect students incident, the ACLU works for the agency, sent their first letter from being named in open forum, I voting on the issue understand that instinct. Protections to the SMSD school was a conflict of for the board and superintendent, on board on May 30 interest and violated complaining about the other hand, need to be struck im- guidelines board policy. that mediately, They report to the public, The board prohibited those commented back so for the public not to have any right from making public saying that instead comments at board to speak its truth makes SMSD look of referring to Zila as meetings referring like some petty, backwater truck-stop to specific people “board member,” and town and not the best school system within the district, by using her name in the state.” to single her out, including all faculty Passan was the one and students. In JEFF PASSAN in the wrong. the original letter, DI STRI C T PAREN T “If the board the ACLU labeled wants to protect the policy as students from being named in open forum, “unconstitutional” – the board issued nothing I understand that instinct. Protections for in response. the board and superintendent, on the other “Subsequent to [the May] meeting, [then

TIMELINE OF EVENTS IN THE NEW OPEN FORUM POLICY MAY 22 Jeff Passans was asked to sit down after calling out board member, Liz Meitl by name.

MAY 30 The ACLU sent their first complaint to the board stating the policy violates the First Amendment

SMSD school board vice-president, Brad] Stratton sent a request to board members to help draft the new policy,” Ousley said. “As the most active social media user [on the board], I had already volunteered to assist in drafting a new social media policy. And it is my understanding that [board member, Patty] Mach, who is also an attorney, is leading the revision to the [draft of the] open forum policy.”

On Dec. 6, nine days after the policy was officially approved, the board received a second complaint from the ACLU asking them to reconsider their current guidelines.

Succeeding the complaints from not only the ACLU, but also from the parents and students of the district, the board received counsel from legal experts at their Jan. 8 meeting and, according to Ousley, discussed what needed to be in the draft to abolish the backlash from the community.

Board members Laura Guy, Mach and Sinclair have taken the consideration from the ACLU, the patrons and their attorneys while writing the new policy for a “more” open forum policy. The finalized draft is anticipated to be voted on at the 7 p.m. meeting this evening.

Timeline of events leading up to the new draft of the open forum policy

DEC. 6 The ACLU issued their second complaint to the board

JAN. 8 The board met with an attorney to start a draft of a new policy

TODAY The board will meet again and vote on the finalized draft

DESIGN JULIE FROMM

THE HARBINGER

6 NEWS

REAKING DOWN

cell phones, internet, and because of that, cryptocurrencies have been an international currency.”

According to former financial advisor and head lacrosse coach William Garrett, Bitcoin has already started to become a true benefit to people around the world.

“In Zimbabwe or Venezuela, their government currencies are so inflated that they really can’t trust their governments,” Garrett said. “They’re too corrupt, so it’s actually less volatile and less risky for them to put their money in Bitcoin and get it out of the government system than it is to actually hold their own currency.”

However, the technologies behind cryptocurrency are still relatively new, and as of now, Garrett and Fay compare investing in cryptocurrency to investing in an idea.

“It’s not software, it’s not grain, it’s not an actual thing, it is the support of an idea,” Fay said. “So the support and the money behind these cryptocurrencies have been just really unprecedented and a very strange kind of anomaly that happened in the world of investing.”

Though these “ideas” have shown their benefits in some ways like in Zimbabwe and Venezuela, may new complications regarding issues of regulation and uncertainty in the cryptocurrency market have arisen in January alone.

Various reports from earlier this month have detailed that China is planning to expand their current ban on cryptocurrency exchange trading, and South Korea’s Justice Minister Park Sang-ki announced that the country is discussing a ban over cryptocurrency exchange trading as well.

Furthermore, four researchers published a piece in the Journal of Monetary Economics at the beginning of January that correlated a 2013 spike in value of Bitcoin from $150 to over $1,000 to the suspicious trading of one actor, concluding that “unregulated cryptocurrency markets remain vulnerable to manipulation today.”

These recent developments have correlated with a significant drop in the total market value of cryptocurrencies from $830 billion to $535 billion in just over a week, according to CoinMarketCap. From Jan. 16 to Jan. 17, the value of Bitcoin alone has dropped from $13,000 to under $11,000.

Regardless of the current instability, Fay and Garrett see a future in cryptocurrencies, and Fay predicts that in 25-30 years, cryptocurrencies could become a global, mainstream medium of exchange. However, he believes that it will take an entirely new cryptocurrency to ultimately reach the mainstream, and in order for cryptocurrency to become widespread, it must first prove its security, be accepted by governments and connect with physical goods to prove its own value.

“People need food to eat,” Fay said. “When cryptocurrency can connect with that food to eat, that is when it has concrete value and that is when people are gonna be confident in its value.”

On the other hand, AP Economics teacher Robert Bickers does not believe that said future can be realized in his lifetime due to lack of government support and consumer

ITCOINS

BY WILL TULP Online Assistant Editor

A

few weeks ago it was worth $15,000. As of Wednesday, it was worth $11,000. By the time this article is published, who knows?

But at the start of last year, it was worth only $1,000, according to Coindesk.

Bitcoin — the world’s most popular cryptocurrency — skyrocketed over $18,000 in its value over the past year and thus propelled itself into the forefront of pop culture. The digital currency has made headlines all over television and the internet and even had its own Snapchat story about the craze.

In a Harbinger poll of 270 students, 98 percent said they had heard of Bitcoin, yet only 62 percent had heard of the term cryptocurrency, and over half of the students had little to no knowledge of what that term even meant.

Cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, are completely digital currencies — they don’t physically exist. They use a sophisticated technology to secure and control the transactions and amount of currency called cryptography, hence the name.

Additionally, cryptocurrency is unlike any medium of exchange that has existed. They use “blockchain” technology, a sort of digital ledger that keeps track of every transaction made using the currency. The network where these transactions take place and are recorded is peer-topeer, meaning they are decentralized, not controlled by a country, central government, or middle-man to verify each transaction. This makes the transactions essentially selfverifying and direct without the need of an intermediary like a bank or third-party service.

Because of this, cryptocurrency and the technology around it is renowned for being highly secure, able to keep transactions anonymous and be very difficult to be tampered with or altered. Additionally, the currency is not tied to any centralized currency like the U.S. dollar or the Euro, theoretically allowing for people to globally exchange currency quickly without the need to convert currencies.

These technologies have excited the public, and among the excitement is Investors Club founder and senior Sam Fay. “A lot of people are thinking that currency can evolve because traditionally currency has been backed by a state or a government and that’s what makes currency matter,” Fay said. “But in this day and age, we’re kind of globalizing and the borders between different groups of people are smaller.

People can access information a lot easier due to having

The sudden rise of cryptocurrencies, a digital form of money, gains popularity and notoriety but remains an uncertain form of payment skepticism.

“I know where my cash is, my bank is backed by the Federal government,” Bickers said. “[With] my digital wallet, if my hardware gets corrupted, where is my money? Even if they’re not completely rational, these concerns will prevent greater acceptance.”

Ultimately, crypto is complex and all speculation rn.....

So tomorrow, who knows? Maybe Bitcoin will recover and rise above its current peak of $19,000. Maybe it will crash and people will move on to invest in more stable cryptocurrencies. But one unanswerable question will still remain: what will the future hold for cryptocurrencies?

BITCOIN BY THE NUMBERS Each year one Bitcoin is equivalent to a different amount of dollars – here is a look at the past few years

JAN. 23 2017

JAN. 23 2016

908 DOLLARS

387 DOLLARS

JAN. 23 2015

231 DOLLARS

JAN. 23 2014

861 DOLLARS

17 DOLLARS

JAN. 23 2013

5 DOLLARS JAN. 23 2012

DESIGN GRACE PADON PHOTOS COURTESY OF MCT CA MPUS

JANUARY 2 2, 2018

MISSING

FUNDS Community members and legislators react to Brownback’s proposal to raise school funding $600 million

BY NATASHA THOM AS Staff Writer

G

overnor Sam Brownback gave a state of the state address Jan. 9, proposing a $600 million funding increase over five years to the Kansas school finance formula.

Such an increase, based on Brownback’s 2015 cuts to education, is an out-of-character recommendation. Brownback suggested such money may be spent on increasing

teacher wages and hiring more school counselors and psychologists, though he gave no specific plan for obtaining the funding money.

East area SMSD Board of Education member Mary Sinclair believes that his call for more counselors and higher wages for educators is a worthwhile proposal.

Sinclair says that if the $600 million was funded, the first change at East would be hiring more counselors, adding to the three currently hired.

Changes to individual schools are hard

NEWS to gauge this early, says Sinclair, but she believes East could also expect a decrease in class sizes if Brownback’s proposed budget is funded.

The challenge for the legislature, according to Sinclair, is finding the money within Kansas’ tight budget and aligning it with Governor Brownback’s proposals.

Though Sinclair acknowledges such roadblocks posed by Brownback’s plan, his address left her anticipating the $600 million.

“I have high expectations for our legislature based on the state of the state address,” Sinclair said.

Senior member of the Young Republicans Club, Christopher Patrick, says the governor has made many mistakes when handling school funding, and this proposal is his comeback. Like Sinclair, Patrick is expecting Brownback’s proposal to follow through.

“I believe this [proposition] will be passed because the people of Kansas have waited too long for something to be done about [the Kansas education budget],” Patrick said.

In response to expectations like Sinclair’s and Patrick’s, senator Barbara Bollier says Governor Brownback shouldn’t have proposed a specific budget without knowing

7

how it will be spent or where the funding would come from.

“The governor acted against the wishes of the legislature by putting an amount out way too early,” Senator Bollier said. “I do not anticipate [$600 million] happening.”

According to Bollier, current projections show that Kansas’ government would run out of money by 2020 if Brownback’s proposal is approved and no tax increase is implemented.

A new committee, called the Senate Select Committee on Education Finance, was put together by the Senate leadership last year to focus on school funding. As a member of this committee, Bollier says the legislature has a new plan being set into motion to accomplish the governor’s education goals.

This involves a study following Kansas students to determine how much money is needed and where it should and can be spent.

Though Bollier is unhappy with Brownback’s proposal, she is anticipating March 15, when the study will be completed.

Bollier hopes the results will present answers to the looming question of Kansas school finances take Kansas a step in the right direction.

BROWNBACK’S ROAD TO GROWTH

With the state of the state address, here are Brownback’s five steps for improving Kansas

1

Increasing net personal income

2

Increasing private sector employment

INFORMATION COURTESY OF BROWNBACK.COM

3

Increasing the percentage of 4th graders reading at grade level

4

Increasing the percentage of high school graduates who are career- or college-read

5

Decreasing the percentage of Kansas children who live in poverty

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JANUARY 2 2, 2018

OPINION 9 how much I can eat, just what I’m eating. I call it a lifestyle because “diet” seems harsh.

My friends ask “Oh God, why would you ever go paleo” followed by an eye roll. y old best friend and I used to be I typically respond by laughing it off and inseparable – hanging out in the saying “New year, new me!” or “I’m just trying bathroom after every meal. to be healthy.” Yet, my reasoning expands At least I thought she was my friend.

She held my hand and patted my back past the resolution trend. Here is my real as my knees pressed against the cold tile answer. So don’t ask again why I would “ever and my head hovered over the toilet. She do that” to myself.

Eating paleo is not torture for me. It puts encouraged me to keep going. She whispered me in a stable and healthy mindset. When I the number of calories I had just eaten into eat good, I feel good about myself – a concept my ear. She aided me between the gags that were bringing up my previous meal. When that’s been vacant from my mind for several we were done, we silently sobbed and shook years. When I look in the mirror I no longer on the floor of the bathroom together. She despise who I see, as a matter of fact, I’ve picked me up and wiped the bile away from grown to love her. When I once could only the corners of my mouth. We looked at our see my imperfections, my face that once looked chubby and disgusting now appears reflection in the mirror, hating ourselves.

During a heart-wrenching confrontation glowing and happy in the mirror.

I look at myself through bright green eyes from my real friends, they told me they knew about my secret friend, and how much of a that I once thought were easily compared to a swampy lake. backstabber she The shape of my was. I was finally body is unique and convinced we didn’t mine, and together have a healthy we have grown to relationship. be healthy. I might Eating paleo is not torture for me.

Her name was Bulimia.

It puts me in a stable and healthy not have the same as A year ago, I mindset. When I eat good, I feel good measurements a the girl on the would eat anything about myself – a concept that’s been cover of “Vogue” and everything I wanted. When the vacant from my mind for several years. magazine. But when I see the real me thought of Bulimia in the mirror, I’m entered my mind, GRACIE KOST nothing but proud. she whispered in my JUNIOR For me, ear, “It’s okay, all of s u b s t i t u t i ng these calories won’t homemade salads for the weekly trips to even count after you purge.”

The “days since accident” tally now Raising Cane’s deems a self-earned high-five. exceeds the number of fingers I once kept I don’t sit out when my friends plan a dinner track on daily. The fingers that were once to Spin or a quick stop by Chipotle because relentlessly shoved to the back of my throat almost any restaurant offers paleo options or with a few tweaks, meals easily made paleo. are now used to keep track of my progress.

Bulimia had become my life. She made me I now live a paleo lifestyle – not diet, form lies around her. She was the friend I had lifestyle.

Paleo allows me to take control over what to sneak around with and when conversations I’m putting into my body, reassuring I won’t about eating disorders came up, I opted not to talk, with the fear of knowing far too much later purge to get rid of it.

The paleo diet is synonymous with the and letting it slip.

Part of me thought it was something I was diet of a caveman – everything natural, never going to be able to overcome. But now I nothing processed. I’ve completely cut out all have a new best friend: paleo. I see how a real processed foods, sugar, carbs and dairy. You friend should treat me. She helps me grow as don’t have to count calories; you can eat as much as you want, as long as what you eat a person and opens me to new opportunities falls into the guidelines. The first few days that I was previously too insecure to take on. were tricky but after a week, I rapidly fell into Thanks to paleo, I have evolved into loving myself. line with the expectations.

Bulimia? Doesn’t ring a bell . . .

My decision to go paleo as a recovery

BY GRACIE KOST Copy Editor

M

ROAD TO

RECOVERY The paleo diet proves to be beneficial as a recovery method for an eating disorder

ABOVE | Junior Gracie Kost wears a periwinkle ribbon painted on her face, the symbol for eating disorder awareness | ELLEN SWANSON

comes from the fact that there’s no limit to

DESIGN MEGAN FUNKEY PHOTOS AVERY WALKER

THE HARBINGER

10 O P I N I O N

CONSOLE CONTROL Extensive video gaming shouldn’t be classified as a mental illness

BY RESER HALL Online Editor-in-Chief

“R

eser, why are you still up?”

I barely hear my mother over the screams of my friends blaring through my Turtle Beach headset.

I frantically glance over to the white analog clock hanging on my basement wall while situating myself in a Zombie-free corner. It’s 2:00 a.m.

“Sorry, I lost track of time I’m in the middle of a Zombies game. I can’t get off, Mom.” This used to be my weekend nightlife in elementary school, and recently it has taken up more of my time. Ever since I discovered the game Fortnite, it has become a mainstay on my weekend afternoons. One night after getting pestered for retiring for the night in our Fortnite snap group, I read on CNN that my nightly routine could classify me as having a mental disorder or addiction, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). I think this is outrageous.

As I was reading, the possible symptoms of a video game addiction seemed off to me based on the simple explanation behind

every single one of them. The WHO cites It’s the same idea for eating. If I’m in the following symptoms: video games being charge of making my own lunch on a Saturday more important than your social life, avoiding and my friends and I happen to be running a eating to keep playing and not sleeping lobby of Team Tactical, I can wait the extra and staying up playing. All of these seem hour or two to eat. It’s not like we skip meals reasonable to non-gamers, but are much to strictly play COD. It’s hard for non-gamers simpler than what it looks like. to understand why we might push our meals How on Earth am I supposed to leave my back to strange hours, but starving ourselves squad when we are was never on the 30 rounds deep on menu.

Kino Der Toten and It’s also important go to bed? Sorry, but to note that when I How on Earth am I supposed I can wait another started playing Xbox hour to go to sleep.

Live in fourth grade, to leave my squad when we We have to beat that was my social are 30 rounds deep on Kino our record on the life. My first true Der Toten and go to bed? leaderboard or else group of friends and nobody will believe I would get online, that we actually play hours of Call R ESER H ALL made it to round 40. of Duty: Modern SEN I O R It’s not all black Warfare 2 all while and white like the talking about what WHO thinks it is. It’s not that I need video is going on at school and in life. It’s not like games and refuse to sleep, it’s the comradery video games aren’t a social activity. Instead of and competition involved with playing that sitting around watching movies, my friends brings me back. I could care less about losing and I would play Xbox together. That was my an hour of sleep in exchange for sitting atop life. the Zombies leaderboard for weeks or months.

But it never got in the way of any of my Sure, I might be a bit drowsy the day after but obligations, not then and not now. Despite that isn’t the sign of an addiction, its a side logging 25 days playing Call of Duty: Modern effect of staying up too late. Simple as that.

Warfare 2 multiplayer over the course of

reser’s gaming Routine

BELOW | Reser wearing his Xbox headset.

BELOW | Reser holding his Xbox

controller.

Below is the amount of time Reser spends playing some of his video games

XBOX 1 TOTAL: 35 DAYS

6:30 a.m.: Noon: 1:00 p.m.: 2:30 p.m.: 4:30 p.m.: 6:30 p.m.: 8:00 p.m.: 11:00 p.m.

Total:

Get up and start playing Take a break, eat lunch Continue playing Get ready and go to a basketball game Continue playing Xbox Eat dinner Continue playing Get off 12 hours playing Xbox

two years, I still got all of my assignments done for school and made it to every sports practice. That still remains true today. Video games don’t keep me from seeing friends and family or doing homework assignments.

There are exceptions, of course. When I read stories of people dying after a threeday binge session of video games, I tremble.

Those, however, are isolated situations. Those people have addictions and needed help.

The vast majority of gamers might lack selfcontrol, but that doesn’t mean that you are addicted to video games.

The same principle could be applied to people who binge watch Netflix. Obviously it’s not the most productive thing to do, but it’s not like you are addicted to whatever hot TV show you are watching. What about people who can’t miss a game of HQ? Are they addicted to trivia? The term addicted is becoming too loose — and in this context — takes away from more serious, life-threatening addictions, such as drug addictions.

The WHO’s possible symptoms for addiction to video games are easily explained from a gamer, but probably seem foreign to non-gamers. But when I inevitably get trapped in the Juggernog corner on Kino and die, that is what will cause me to get off, not a certain time on my white analog clock.

XBOX 360 TOTAL: 38 DAYS Modern Warfare 2:

Grand Theft Auto 5:

25 days

Modern Warfare 3:

2 days

12 days

Fifa 18: 3 days Fifa 16: 1 day Fifa 15: 9 days Black Ops: 7 days Black Ops 2: 4 days

DESIGN DIANA PERCY

JANUARY 2 2, 2018

P H OTO STO RY

11

BELOW | Sophomore Aidan Connely holds up a band T-shirt. The Whips have sold 20 shirts so far. “Our logo has gone through a lot of iterations, a lot, a lot, a lot,” Connely said. “But we all agreed on that one because it’s simplistic and we liked the look. Circles have been our go-to.”

RIGHT | Sophomore

Quin Cosgrove, eighth-grader Christian Aldridge and sophomore Aidan Connely sing together. “Our bond is pretty strong,” Cosgrove said. “Being on stage and jumping around with a bunch of your frends is much easier than just jumping around with some dudes you make music with.”

| a lly griffit h

FAR BELOW | Sophomore Aidan Connely always

performs with energy. “It comes from each song and it also comes from the guys around me,” Connely said.

“Could I get up there all alone with just a backing track?

Probably not.” | t y browning

luke hoffm a n |

HIP IT

Sophomores Aidan Connely, Vincent Lee, Miles Patterson, Quinn Cosgrove and eighth-grader Christian Aldridge’s band, The Whips, performed at Revolution Records

ABOVE | Sophomore Miles

Patterson plays the drums at Revolution Records. “My favorite part about music is the groove,” Patterson said. “To have the ability to create and control a groove and drive the beat of a song and see people enjoy it is an amazing feeling.”

t y brow ni ng |

ABOVE | Eighth-grader Christian Aldridge and sophomore

Aidan Connely lean into the audience while performing. “I really enjoy concerts,” Aldridge said. “I like to think that when I’m performing I’m giving that feeling to someone else.”

| t y br ow ni ng

ABOVE | Sophomore Aidan Connely finds ways to differientiate himself

from other musicians with clothing and accesories. “It’s a way to stand out, because how many other high school guys do you see doing the stuff I do, like duct taping W’s on their stomach,” Connely said. “It’s to make a name for myself so people recognize me.” | re illy m o re l a nd

vs.

DESIGN SARAH WILCOX

12 O P I N I O N

THE HARBINGER

IB provides a level of comfort with small classes while AP allows meaningful connections with many classmates

BY M ADELINE HLOBIK Copy Editor

“TAKE IT OFF”

by Ke$ha blares through room 525 from Mrs. Sternberg’s laptop.

Ten of the International Baccalaureate senior girls, plus Julius, are dancing in the middle of the classroom and are practicing weird yoga poses on the floor, while sporting adult-sized diapers (thanks, Andrew).

Somewhere amidst the chaos, each student in the 33-person class approaches the podium at the front of the room to discuss their “spirit food,” while everyone else is drowning their finals stress in Chick-fil-A sauce and nuggets.

Ah, yes. Exactly what you’d expect

from a rigorous academic program, right?

Well, I’ve found over the past year and a half that moments like these are a normal occurrence in the IB program.

As this year’s sophomore class balances the decision of AP vs. IB, I’ll admit, I too was concerned about having every single class with the same 33 people. I loved being able to see different people each hour and compare my schedules with all my friends at the beginning of semesters.

But the small community of IB has grown to be my favorite aspect of the program, as I’ve loved the overly comfortable environment it cultivates — I would never bust out a horrendous dance move from my childhood or yell “HEY SISTA YA STILL GOT THE NASTY JAM?” to Mr. Kramer in front of just any group of people. And that same “wouldn’t do it anywhere else” standard goes for most things I do and say in my IB classes.

Before my junior year, I was relatively

ADVANCED PLACEMENT a quick look at AP

3 in 10

STUDENTS TAKE AT LEAST ONE AP COURSE

AP SCORING BREAKDOWN

1: NO RECOMMENDATION 2: POSSIBLY QUALIFIED 3: QUALIFIED RECEIVE COLLEGE 4: WELL QUALIFIED CREDIT * 5: VERY QUALIFIED

}

*DEPENDENT UPON SCHOOL

reserved in all my classes — I raised my hand occasionally and restrained myself from saying random comments that popped into my head out loud. But now as Mrs. Goodeyon eloquently put it, “my mind bee bops all over the place,” and being surrounded by the same 33 people has provided me with a more extroverted sense of self, as I know that in IB classes there’s no possible way anyone can say or do anything “embarrassing.” I mean, I could start making goat noises or roll on the floor crying and it would be considered perfectly normal.

Even though I haven’t had the opportunity to see and really get to know 80 different people each day, I’ve found oddly close, meaningful relationships with 33 of them. It’s these 33 people with whom I can be my weirdest and truest self — which has made learning and school that much more enjoyable for me (thank you guys for dealing with me).

BY M ARTI FROMM Copy Editor

TWO YEARS ago I was contemplating whether to take AP classes or go through the IB curriculum.

I found myself more indecisive than ever—I enrolled and unenrolled in IB twice. But I decided on AP because of my love for meeting and connecting with different people. In AP, I get to see different people throughout the day, not be with the same 20 or 30 people for all seven hours. Had I not decided to take AP classes instead of IB, I’d have “school friends” that I’d become close with, but I wouldn’t have nearly as many as I do now.

First hour is math with Kaleigh. While our ears bleed from the pointless Jeopardy questions and “connection” time, which

INFORMATION COURTESY OF COLLEGE BOARD & HOMES CHOOLING TODAY

INTERNATIONAL Baccalaureate

take up a majority of the hour, we crack up over something one of our friends said over the weekend or something stupid that was written on the quote board in Harbinger the day before.

Second hour is AP Government with Stallard. The highlight is hearing the political joke of the day. Third hour is AP Psychology with Kramer. Even though he can’t stay on topic for more than two minutes without telling some story about his nephews or Topeka, I don’t mind them because each has some quirky spin that only would happen to Kramer.

Fourth hour is Harbinger. This semester, my highlight has actually been spending more time with my sister — even though I see her more than anyone, I love being able to spend that extra 50 minutes with her before I leave next year.

Fifth hour is Social Skills. I take a seat in any one of the 34 blue chairs; half of them are for leadership students and the other for special education students. Jack M greets me with a high-five while Robbie

a quick look at IB

140 2,627

SCHOOLS COUNTRIES

CORE ELEMENTS THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE

CREATIVITY, ACTION AND SERVICE EXTENDED ESSAY

gives me a wink that lasts about seven seconds. Recently the class has been talking about the effects and uses of social media, and I found out Mary has her own Youtube channel — you can subscribe to her at “Disney Queen Mary Descendants.”

Sixth hour is English and seventh is Spanish 6. I’ve been with same 10 people since freshman year, but none I would consider my closest friends. However, after four years together we’ve bonded over Dr. Finnie’s “Soy todo” joke and hearing about whatever foreign country he was in last week.

It goes without saying that each hour brings me fresh faces and had I done IB, I wouldn’t get to high-five Jack, laugh with Kaleigh or hear Mary’s upcoming video.

The friends I’ve made in my AP classes are those I can have conversations with that I wouldn’t be able to have with my friends inside my social circle. I’m thankful to the program that I will graduate with friends I wouldn’t have had otherwise.

JANUARY 2 2, 2018

BEST

DESIGN K ATIE HISE PHOTOS MORGAN PLUNKET T

OPINION

EMOTIONAL ATTACHMENT

with a crowd

After taking away the “best friend” label and the pressures that came along with it, healthier friendships with more people are able to emerge

BY M AYA STRATM AN Copy Editor

G

rowing up, I always wanted a best friend – that one person who just gets you. They know what song you want to listen to in the car –“Gold Digger” – before you ask.

You can say one word and they know exactly which one of your favorite Vines you are referring to. This is the person you share snow days with, shop with and have three sleepovers in a row with. They are the person who knows more about you than you do.

Through branching out and letting go of some things, I’ve come to discover that having a “best friend” hasn’t always made me happy – the label “best friend” has confined me into a box, where the pressure to be a person’s “number one” makes for an unhealthy mindset of over analyzing the friendship.

I found my best friend in sixth grade. I can still remember our first inside joke from our school’s Skate City parties - “falling in style.” She was my “person” as Meredith on “Grey’s Anatomy” would put it. And I was hers.

She didn’t mind the awkward shyness I had developed through the years, and I didn’t care that she was indecisive. My Snapchat stories and camera roll filled up with pictures from our “photo shoots,” that were overfiltered, dramatic pics of us looking off into the distance. Double chins in pictures would leave us laughing until we hiccuped. We always met at the stop sign halfway between our houses only three streets apart.

But towards the end of eighth grade, our friendship wasn’t as black and white as “Hannah Montana” or “Wizards of Waverly Place” led me to believe.

I started getting nervous. Why aren’t we texting as much? I always knew when she texted me, not just because of her personalized “popcorn” ringtone, but because she was the only person who’d text me four times in a row at one o’clock in the morning. The texts seemed to be getting less and less frequent. Why don’t we hang out every week anymore? I started comparing the five times I’d suggest we “do something” this weekend like go see “Hot Pursuit” to the two times she invited me to get bubble tea in Westport. I couldn’t help but feel that I was putting in more effort to be friends with her.

I was unaware of how putting one person above everyone could stop me from making happier and stronger friendships over all. While I was sitting at home Friday night wondering if texting her to hangout would be bothersome my other friends we’re going out to see “Pitch Perfect 2.” It never even crossed my mind to go hangout with them instead. Not only was I stunting the growth of friendships outside of my bestfriend, I also fought put us back to where we were even though we were no longer the same people.

And I held on. I tried to think of friend drama to text her so maybe she’d be interested enough to carry on a conversation. I continued to send her old videos from our hangouts to remind her of all the fun we had. Even though it felt miserable to try to force a friendship that way, I wanted more than anything to get those years of my life back – the easy-talking, carefree, knowing-where-I-stood years with her.

I’ve learned that a few years or even months can transform someone you once shared all recess with on the

13

“green equipment” swings. People grow apart as they grow up. I was holding onto a relationship that no longer existed. Accepting that change while watching it happen was weird and terrifying.

My camera roll is now filling with different faces, faces with whom I can be whatever, not faces who I’m trying to be the best for.

If you ask me who my best friends are I will name three people I trust most and am closest to. They aren’t the only people I can laugh with until I get the hiccups. They aren’t the only three that I can drive around with at 10 p.m blasting music.

It’s not the one single person you see all the time and do everything with.

The people I’d consider “best” are the ones who always have my best interests in mind. There isn’t only one person who fits that description for me. Once I realized I didn’t need one best friend I opened myself up to different circles.

I can now spend more of my energy in lots of different friendships rather than with one person.

I still love to gossip about new friend drama, laugh until hiccups and open up about stuff I wouldn’t dare tell anyone else except the girl who had been my best friend for years.

Now that I’m not concerned with being someone’s “number one” friend, I can relax and enjoy my friendships without intense pressures and expectations, and that makes me a better friend to everyone.

Labeling one person as a “best friend” didn’t work for me. The black and white strictness of the label held me back from connecting with other people who would help me see more color in life.

UNHEALTHY FRIENDSHIP PATTERNS The cons of having one best friend to cling to

BECOMING TOO CLOSE TOO SOON

Red flags are often raised when someone is too emotional or connected too fast

BEING CLINGY, NOT LOVING Instead of a healthy, slow attraction, there is a delusional element to their emotions, appearing disproportionate to reality

OVERIDENTIFYING WITH STRANGERS

When someone finds themselves attached to people who show them the slightest amount of attention

GETTING SUCKED INTO THE STATUS QUO

Individuals who tend to lack an identity, level of self-confidence, or a belief in their own abilities often seek for people they can mimic INFORMATION COURTESY OF PSYCH CENTRAL

DESIGN LYDIA UNDERWOOD PHOTOS GRACE GOLDM AN

14 F E AT U R E S

TWO HEARTS BEAT AS ONE

THE HARBINGER

Juniors Madison Mustoe and Kailey Rawson have built a friendship off of one unlikely similarity

BY E MILY FEY Assistant Editor

J

uniors Kailey Rawson and Madison Mustoe share a mad love of chocolate.

In fact, every day last year in Algebra 2, Mustoe never forgot to bring Rawson her “daily Dove.” The miniature Dove chocolate was flung across the room, right in front of Mr. Oettmeier, and landed softly in Rawson’s hands. The inspirational quotes on the wrappers were a constant reminder that Rawson could stay focused while learning about factoring and graphing.

The list of things the two best friends share goes on. They swap dresses before dances, share their last few bites of food when they are too full and have a shared photo album on their phones complete with embarrassing photos and videos of each other ­­— the normal things best friends are required to share. But the pair has a very uncommon similarity: they were both born with Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome.

Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) Syndrome is a rare congenital heart disorder involving irregularities in the electrical system of the heart, according to the National Organization for Rare Diseases.

WPW is present at birth, resulting in an extra electrical pathway between the heart’s upper and lower chamber. The condition causes a rapid heartbeat during episodes, often leading to shortness of breath, chest pain and sometimes lost consciousness.

While Rawson and Mustoe seem like they have been best friends since birth to their other friends like junior Caroline Moore, their life-long conditions wouldn’t become

common ground for the two girls until eighth grade.

“We had Spanish together in eighth grade with Mrs. Thrutchley,” Rawson said.

“We would have super awkward conversations about how tired we were during the day,” Mustoe said.

“Yeah, or about the weather,” Rawson interjects.

But the uncomfortable small talk turned into meaningful and deep conversations as soon as Mustoe’s heart monitor went off in the middle of class. The continuous beep beep beep was not the only giveaway of Mustoe’s monitor to Rawson; the wires attached to every pressure point on her body and the rectangular device near her stomach were enough to give it away. Mrs. Thrutchley asked Rawson to assist Mustoe up to the nurse’s office when she heard the noise.

During their walk, Rawson asked the obvious question: “What’s the heart monitor for?” Mustoe was about to go through the drill, telling her all about the heart syndrome she was born with, how it affects her heart and explaining that in fact it will not kill her. But as soon as she said she had WPW, Rawson stopped her short with a quick “Wait, I have that too.”

“When we started talking about it, I remember being caught so off guard [that Rawson had WPW Syndrome too],” Mustoe said. “To finally be able to relate to someone about it was a really cool thing.”

With just 20,000 people affected by WPW a year, the two girls never would’ve guessed they’d meet another person with WPW, let alone a classmate.

A CLOSER LOOK INTO WOLFF-PARKINSONSWHITE SYNDROME

When Mustoe was younger, she was confused when she discovered no one else related to the dizziness and lightheadedness she felt after an episode; she thought the rapid pounding she felt in her chest so often was a normal thing. But now, when even doctors can’t explain in terms what people with WPW experience, Mustoe knows Rawson knows how she feels.

“It’s like the heaviest rain hitting the pavement outside, but in your chest,” Rawson said.

“There isn’t one second it stops, it’s constant. You can’t even move your hand that fast and mine one time went up to 300 beats per minute. Even doctors don’t have words to describe it,” Mustoe said.

Mustoe was weeks away from her second heart surgery to fix the extra electrical pathway in her heart when they discovered their unlikely similarity. Her heart was damaged during her first surgery in kindergarten and the thought of another mishap was constantly running through Mustoe’s mind. Rawson was there to calm her anxiety about the upcoming procedure.

“I vividly remember [Kailey] emphasizing the feeling of relief when the [surgery] was over and the episodes would never happen again,” Mustoe said. “It actually relieved me a lot to know someone had experienced the exact thing I was about to endure and that I could do it too.”

Just a few months after the two met, Mustoe and Rawson stopped asking what cardiologist each of them went to or their tricks for calming their hearts when they beat 200 times per minute — headstands and

ATRIOVENTRICULAR NODES CAUSES VERY RAPID HEARTBEAT DUE TO AN EXTRA ELECTRICAL PATHWAY, CAUSING AN INABILITY TO SLOW DOWN HEART RATE HOW TO TREAT IT AN ABLATION CATHETER IS ABLE TO DESTROY THE AREAS CAUSING AN IRREGULAR HEARTBEAT

lots of water — and instead they asked what movie they should see this weekend or if they should go try the new dessert place down the street together.

Mustoe and Rawson’s list of similarities quickly grew beyond the extra pathway in their heart, too. They discovered that they both love to travel and have a joint bucket list of locations around the world they want to visit together. They are especially excited to room together in Italy this spring break during the Choir Trip.

When they aren’t traveling to Colorado, Dallas or Kailey’s lake house in the Ozarks, they research and find hole-in-the-wall coffee shops in downtown KC or try out the newest restaurants on the Plaza. They don’t need an agenda to keep them from boredom and their best memories often start with a “Hey I’m bored and coming to pick you up” text.

Both girls hardly, if ever, feel the effects of their condition thanks to the surgeries they both had. Mustoe has to visit her cardiologist less and less, while Kailey hasn’t felt the rapid pounding in her chest since she was nine. Less of their minds are filled with anxiousness and discomfort related to the thought of throwing up and passing out after episodes. But that leaves more space for remembering every inside joke, keeping track of every vacation they have been on together and of course, the daily dove. “[Kailey and Madison] have so much in common outside of their heart disease and they are able to understand each other really well,” Moore said. “When you are around them you can tell they are best friends, especially since they are always together.”

SINUS NODES CAUSES IRREGULAR HEARTBEAT BY ABNORMAL SIGNALS BEING SENT ACCESSORY PATHWAY CAUSES A FLUTTERING HEARTBEAT OR HEART PALPITATIONS INFORMATION COURTESY OF MEDINDIA .NET

DESIGN GABBY LEINBACH PHOTOS DIANA PERCY

JANUARY 2 2, 2018

F E AT U R E S

15

LEFT | Freshman Elinor Zugazagotia and senior Alex Zugazagotia stand on the front steof the museum. know who they are serving or the impact they make on their cu s t o me r s , unlike the Nelson. “ I n K a n s a s City, we are working with a mindset of satisfying o u r community a n d measu r i ng The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art Owner Gets Inspiration From His Teenage Children if they come back two or “If I were to follow [Alex’s] idea’s it’s three times,

BY LIDDY STALL ARD always a car show,” Julian Said if they enjoy the different things that we offer, Section Editor Given the chance to see Alex, now a or if they just focus on one of the elements,” senior, and Elinor, now a freshman, grow with n 2010, three months into East parent the Nelson has helped Julián plan new family Julián said. “We can learn a lot because of Julián Zugazagotia’s tenure as Director festivals and activities for kids and teens our data and looking at what works and what of the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, his along with enhancing programs that already doesn't.”

Julián and the staff at the Nelson daughter Elinor and her fellow classmates existed. have created a program for the museum came to tour the museum. Julián greeted “I definitely feel like having kids wants specifically for teens that gives them a chance the third graders with a welcoming smile and him to make other kids interested in what he to be the leaders of the museum and show it special tour. does,” Elinor said. off on their own terms. The Teen Advisory After the tour, the guards approached When Julián first moved to Kansas City Group is a group of teenagers who meet and Julián and told him he was the first out of five from New York where he had the head job at of the past directors to have kids. Since 2010, El Museo del Barrio, he held the Nelson to plan events at the gallery for other teenagers. those “kids” are now both students at East. some of the highest art museum standards in These events are open to all high schoolers Having two teenagers at home has given him the United States and thought of the Nelson and are free.

Another new program for students who a different perspective on how to make the as one of the greatest collections of art and just want to focus on creating their own art gallery more inviting for this age group and one of the best museums in the country. and learning more about what is in the Nelson getting them involved within the art culture His goal is to make the museum more of is the Teen Arts Collective. This is a group of Kansas City. a part of people's everyday life along with “The fact that I have kids not only gives creating a larger collection of art that covered of teens that meet every Thursday me an awareness but I have at-home clients a wide variety of historical periods and from 4-6 p.m. in the Bloch Building. The goal of this who consume the museum in a very specific touched more on different diversities. group is for high schoolers to way,” Julián said. “With Alex and Elinor I see Julián likes the small community linked be inspired by the different how their interests change.” to Kansas City, but with that comes a lack Julián is aware that the likes and dislikes of tourism. Museums in bigger cities are galleries and exhibits. They of teenagers are always changing and keeps consumed with tourists throughout the year. are provided with supplies and are given free range that in mind while at work.

These museums will never get the chance to to create whatever art

for all

AUDIENCES

I

Jan.

25 26 Jan.

TEEN ART COLLECTIVE Cost: Free Age Group: Teens Time: 4 p.m. - 6 p.m.

ADULT/YOUTH WORKSHOP | DRAWING FROM MASKS Cost: $40 Per Pair Age Group: 6-13 Year Olds and a Parent Time: 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Jan.

28 1 Feb.

What’s Next

CHINESE NEW YEAR 2018 | YEAR OF THE DOG Cost: Free Age Group: All Ages Time: 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

ADULT CLASS | DRAWING: PICASSO, ABSTRACTION & CUBISM Cost: $85 Per Person Age Group: Adults Time: 1 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

they want with the help of guest artists and educators.

There are also family festivals at the Nelson with different activities such as crafts for young kids and art catering to that topic. Currently, the staff is preparing for the Chinese New Year festival that will take place on Jan. 28. The festival will have activities such as dance performances and Yo-yo demonstrations. Attendees will also have the opportunity to learn how to properly say "happy new year's" in chinese, courtesy of students from the Institute of Chinese Language and Culture along with the Chinese School of Greater Kansas City.

“Different generations can mix and have fun together and [these festivals] are showcasing the museum in a way that is inviting and not intimidating,” Julián said.

Although it helps that Elinor's father is the Director of the Nelson she still likes to take part in these activities, especially if accompanied by a friend. Her favorite events at the Nelson are the New Years and Day of the Dead celebrations.

When thinking of ways to better the gallery Julián not only keeps in mind the ever changing minds of teenagers, but also when he first discovered museums and found pleasure within them.

At the age of 14, while on a family trip in New York, Julián went to a museum with his parents and found enjoyment within them.

During this time he learned the norms of a museum such as how to pay or where to enter.

“After I discovered the codes of museums I could go to any city and never be lost if I found a museum,” Julián said.

These memories along with having two high schoolers at home, keeps Julián refreshed when it comes to the mind of teenagers and planning new things for the Nelson.

“The truth of the matter is that teenagers are always changing their interests,” Julina said.

“That allows us to have something for them at one point or another.”

At The Nelson

5 UPCOMING EVENTS AT THE NELSON Feb.

2

PERFORMANCE | RIGOLETTO TO RIGATONI Cost: Free Age Group: All Ages Time: 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

DESIGN CAROLINE CHISHOLM PHOTOS CARS ON HOLTGRAVES

DESIGN CAROLINE CHISHOLM P HOTOS CARS ON HOLTGRAVES

JANUARY 2 2, 2018

THE HARBINGER

SPREAD

16 S P R E A D

BY LUCY PAT TERS ON News Section Editor

T

IMPROVING the IEP Following the Kansas Department of Education’s investigation of the SMSD special education department, the district is working to correct the issues found

SPED BREAKDOWN A breakdown on what the SPED program is at SMSD and who is involved in it

he Shawnee Mission School District is currently working to draft corrective statements following the results of a Kansas Department of Education investigation of the SMSD special education department led by state investigator Diana Durkin.

As outlined in the investigation report, the district is set to release statements of corrective actions to amend the issues found in an investigative report released on Dec. 22. The next corrective action statements, or plans to improve current issues, will be released on Feb. 1. Two statements have already been released, the first saying that the district will abide by the corrective actions created to amend special education issues and the second outlining that the district will ensure that all corrective actions will be in compliance with the state laws, according to Jackie Chatman, SMSD director of special education.

The corrective statements will specifically address the issue of gifted education services not being met; it was found that students were not spending enough time with their IEP coordinator and elementary students, therapeutic day program students and gifted students weren’t receiving sufficient support.

“We are always looking to improve services for these programs,” Chatman said. “It’s not a stagnant program.”

Last November, Liz Meitl, an SMSD parent, member of SMSD watchdogs, and education doctoral student with University of Kansas’ Special Education department, filed a complaint against SMSD special education, specifically about meeting student needs.

Meitl talked to hundreds of teachers and drafted a formal complaint against the department, including allegations of misallocated resources, insufficient teacher-student communication and lack of certified special education teachers.

Although Meitl has found issues in SMSD special education at large, East special education parents, such as the Beth and Tom Schultz, have not had a

what is SPED? Sped is short for special education. shawnee mission school district has a special education program for students who need an individualized education program to create the most effective academic experience

problem with special education and have had positive experiences with their children.

“We have always had a positive experience with East special ed,” Beth Schultz said.

In her investigation, Durkin interviewed teachers, principals, National Education Association representatives and Chatman. Durkin concluded that there was no unfair misallocation of resources within the special education department. However, in the report, she states the district special education students were not receiving services outlined in their IEPs — independent education plans. According to state law, schools are required to provide benefits to students found in the IEPs. The report said at the time of the investigation there were seven vacant positions for district employees that required specific certification, and several of these positions remained open during the first semester.

In the report, Chatman says that these positions change almost daily based on changing needs and demographics within the district. The investigation also found that the issues only affected 30 cases out of 3,700 students with IEPs. “As part of the corrective statements, the special education department is looking to address all 30 of those problems,” Chatman said.

Special education staffing reports show the district’s inability to keep consistent staff, according to Meitl.

For example, an art therapist quit in the middle of the first semester. According to Meitl, he couldn’t deal with district leadership. Therefore, due to lack of consistent staff, many students have not been receiving support as promised in their IEPs. “People who aren’t getting the services they need, often don’t know it,” Meitl said. “They can’t advocate for themselves if they don’t know what they’re not getting.”

Chatman and the district say changing demographics are to blame.

“The field of special education is considered a “hard to fill” field, Chatman said.

According to the investigation, gifted enrollment

dropped from 1366 to 1066 between the 2012-13 and 2016-17 school years. In contrast, Metil believes that the root of the problem is understaffing — and a “culture of the wrong priorities” created by district leadership.

In addition to serving students with disabilities, special education also encompassses student who have been identified as gifted. SMSD employs 19 gifted teachers and 280 certified special education teachers for a combined student to staff ratio of 1:50, according to the report, under the special education umbrella.

According to MJ Gore, director of the National Special Education Advocacy Institute, there is not a national student to staff ratio. However, state laws are expected to be met, meaning students are expected to receive benefits found in their IEPs. Although there is no national average as a comparison, Meitl believes teachers are overworked.

“They give the teachers way too much to do,” Metil said. “Their caseloads are too big. They don’t have the right curricular materials. They don’t have the space or time” A typical day for gifted teachers at East includes leading class in addition to preparing IEPs and meeting with students and parents individually outside of the traditional school day, according to East gifted teacher Alex Migliazzo.

“I do spend more time on IEPs than I would like,” Migliazzo said.

However with two gifted teachers, East hasn’t seen a huge impact of overwork.

“Having small class sizes and a small amount of assigned work for the students to complete over the semester, I believe that the teachers have no problem handling the class,” junior Connor Sawalich said. “And [East] has two great gifted teachers with gifted offered all hours of the day.”

According to the investigation, teachers spend an average of three hours per IEP and an additional 15 to 60 minutes meeting with students, outside of class time. Teacher caseloads can range from 81-112 students, causing meeting times to drop to a reported 5- to

HOW MANY DOES THE PROGRAM EFFECT? The SPED program is currently serving 3700 special education students. a little over a thousand of those students are inolved in the gifted program

twentyminute meetings, which is not in compliance with state laws.

As shown in the investigation document, Meitl spoke with SMSD staff members who admitted that [the staff] did not respond truthfully to a survey sent out regarding the investigation.

“Frankly, I think they’re afraid for their jobs,” Meitl said. “And it’s very hard to uncover any systematic issue in 30 days. Especially when there are people who are not telling the whole truth.”

Meitl hopes that by filing the complaint, parents will pay more attention. Specifically with the new board members who were sworn into office in early January, and a new district superintendent who will be hired in March.

Yet, Meitl feels that this act alone will not amend the issues found in the SMSD special education department.

“I think the district needs new leadership at the district office in the SPED department,” Meitl said.

“Somebody who understands how to support teachers and create effective systems which provide equitably and reasonably for all students with IEPs.” As for the district, Chatman and district staff remain optimistic; “We continue to meet the needs of students with disabilities in Shawnee Mission providing them the best education possible to ensure each has the opportunity to achieve to their full potential,” Chatman said.

who works in THE sped PROGRAM? SMSD employs 280 certified special education teachers and 19 gifted teachers for a combined student to staff ratio of 2:1

17

DESIGN K ATIE HISE PHOTOS LUCY MORANTZ & SETH ARVESEN

18 F E AT U R E S

SETH’S CLIMB THE HARBINGER

Junior Seth Arvesen finds his life purpose through rock climbing

BY DAISY BOLIN Head Copy Editor

J

unior Seth Arvesen jumps down three wide steps into his kitchen that smells like Asian spices. “Electric Love” by Børns booms and his poodle, Aurora, curls up under him at the wooden kitchen table. Seth offers me freshly-made Singapore noodles wearing his favorite harem pants and a tie-dye T-shirt, despite the eight-degree weather outside.

His hair falls to his shoulders and he twists his singular dreadlock while reminiscing over his recent climb. On Jan. 11, Seth rock climbed outdoors at Cliff Drive in North Kansas City near Kessler Park on the “warm” 40-degree day. The weather wasn’t perfect, his hands were stressed and numb from the cold rock, but as Seth says, “life isn’t perfect.”

“Rock climbing gave me a passion and passion is purpose, so in a way rock climbing gave me purpose,” Seth said.

Before climbing, circa 2015, Seth’s days were filled with practicing for Frequent Friday’s at East. He began growing his hair out, but he wore his usual khakis and a T-shirt to school everyday. The beginning of his sophomore year, his interest in theater dwindled until he did nothing. His hair continued to grow, slowly reaching his chin. Seth says he was just going through the motions, hammocking in Loose Park and going to school.

“I called his mom and she was like ‘I’m just trying to get Seth interested in something, you know give him a passion,” Seth’s lifelong family friend Collin Carter said. “And I said, ‘rock climbing.’”

Then, in March of 2017, the important invitation to Moab, Utah.

“I was like ‘Dude do you wanna learn this art? You wanna learn how to climb?’

And he was all about it,” Carter said.

RoKC, an indoor rock climbing gym in North KC became Seth’s new theater –

his three-day-a-week spot. After being invited to backpack and climb, Seth practiced climbing to prepare himself for ascending the real rocks. He wasn’t convinced from his first few attempts at the wall, it was just an unfamiliar feeling and activity, until about his 10th visit.

“A guy working there said to me ‘yeah it’s like someone’s throwing a puzzle in front of you and you gotta figure it out with body positioning and balance.’ I was just like ‘wow,’” Seth said.

“That moment made me think entirely differently about climbing in general.

Then, I started doing it everyday.”

Inside RoKC he leans back, arms outstretched. His knuckles turn pale as his fingertips grip the small green nub on the wall. Seth pulls his body closer to the wall as he hooks his fingers onto the next rock and shifts his left foot up with it. He reaches the top and when he jumps down to the bouncy mat, his forearms are strained tight – his favorite feeling. The gym warehouse is chilly, other climbers wear hats and flannels. But Seth is sporting his usual harem pants, tie-dye T-shirt and charcoal climbing shoes – and loudly proclaims the cold is good. “[Seth’s] a goofball. He’s always super upbeat and cheerful about it all whether he’s really not climbing or he is,” RoKC employee Cody Sally said. “Everybody knows Seth.”

Sally loves climbing for similar reasons as Seth: the unexpectedness of it each time, the puzzle. No climb is the same and at RoKC, the routes change daily, so whether you have climbed everyday or not, you won’t experience the same climbs.

Seth now relates this to life, his own puzzle.

His long hair and his newfound love for rock climbing would be the corner pieces, a foundation for his puzzle of life – what he didn’t know yet, was how much of his picture would be of Moab.

He didn’t know what the trip to Moab

ABOVE | Seth lead climbs in Moab, Utah. for climbing would be like nor had he ever been backpacking. He ended up huddled in a cave with his buddies during a violent storm in the desert. He kicked back and the dark sky swallowed him and his six traveling partners, solely lit by the stars. He spent days in the heat climbing massive red slates of rock and learning to conquer the false sense: fear. He spent hours throwing himself into uncomfortable crouches and positions for climbs.

“The conversations you have with yourself climbing are phenomenal,” Seth said. “My foot was in this bad place and I was like ‘ooh my foot should not be there’ and then I was just like ‘well move it.’ That sounds like a dumb thing to say, but it kind of changed the way I thought about facing things rather than running away from them.”

When the piece doesn’t fit, turn it, fix it.

The trip to Moab not only changed his mindset, but it peaked his love for immersing himself in nature and inspired him to climb more. A few months later Seth spontaneously hopped in a friend named Eric’s car along with Carter and drove to Kentucky for a weekend of climbing in the Red River Gorge in Kentucky.

Upon returning home, he spent the next few weeks applying for various National

Park jobs over the summer, eating clean and still climbing everyday. He eventually climbed to the point of developing tendonitis. Despite the long three weeks without climbing in order to heal, Seth made his way to Gypsum, Colorado on June 1. For the entire month, Seth cleared trails and built water bars with eight other juniors and seniors. This was smack in the middle of his “climb-every-day binge” and he found himself rolling over in his sleep, antsy to climb.

“Seth as young as he is, is a very enlightened being. He’s living purely and joyfully from his soul which many people never discover,” Carter said. “But, Seth being the little teenager dude with the big smile on his face and some funky little pants around his waist, is always spreading the light.”

Seth laughs, chin stretched out and his eyes squint just thinking about the relief of climbing, solving the puzzle. His next adventure awaits him in Denali, Alaska when he will travel with junior Mario Tamburini where he hopes to solve the next part of his puzzle. But until then, Seth will blast Moon Taxi and make his weekly trips to the walls dotted with blue and green rocks in North KC.

DESIGN ABBY WALKER PHOTOS COURTESY K ARA AUVRAY

JANUARY 2 2, 2018

F E AT U R E S

BY BRYNN WINKLER Staff Writer

19

I

f you talk to sophomore Kara Auvray, she may say she misses the Caribbean lifestyle on the French island of Guadeloupe more than anything. She misses her morning strolls to the bakery down the street to get her pain au chocolat with her Trinidadian mother, Antonnya, and Guadeloupean father, Stéphane.

She misses the festive Trinidadian Carnival parades and authentic curry. She misses speaking her first language, French, to any passerby on the sandy beaches of Guadeloupe.

Despite all this, Kara wouldn’t trade her grey house with white shutters in Prairie Village for anything. Instead of focusing on the negative, she’s learned focus on the positive: how her unique upbringing has given her invaluable experiences that have sparked a passion in international relations.

Kara holds citizenship in three countries: Trinidad and Tobago, France and the United States. Due to her father’s professional soccer career, Kara’s childhood was filled with multiple moves across France, such as from Vannes to Nîmes in 2009. His career eventually landed the Auvray family in Kansas in 2010 after Stéphane was invited to play for Sporting Kansas City.

Though Kara has lived in Kansas since 2010, she still makes frequent visits to Trinidad to celebrate Carnival, as well as to her father’s home of Guadeloupe.

“Sometimes when you spend many years in the same system and the same culture you seem to have one opinion about things, whereas when you get to travel around the world, you realize that it’s not about being right or wrong,” Stéphane said. “It’s about the way people see things and you realize it’s just a matter of perspective.”

Kara’s experiences in different cultures has inspired an interest in international relations, which is a broad field that generally deals with the way countries interact with each other.

Though she is not sure what position she wishes to hold, Kara has considered working towards becoming a foreign service officer or diplomat for France.

Her passion began to develop as she matured from a young science fiction book worm to a more knowledgeable, global citizen who stays up-to-date through the BBC World News App. As Kara grew older, she began to realize and understand the evident differences in French and American society.

Since she isn’t visiting different countries for the resorts and tourist attractions, but experiencing them as whole, she’s been able to get a taste of what it’s like for the people of the nation. Her time in the U.S. has exposed her to the everyday problems and fears Americans face.

On the Monday morning following the Las Vegas shooting, Kara didn’t want to get out of bed. After seeing the notification of the attack on her phone, she was in shock to hear that yet another mass shooting took 58 innocent lives. Gun violence is just one of the societal issues she has been exposed to in the U.S. Kara has also analyzed the differences in the U.S. election processes compared to France, and has taken note of the fact that free health care is not available in the U.S. like it is in

Kara’s

Homes

World Citizenship

Coming from Trinidad, Guadeloupe and France gives important perspectives regarding diplomacy ABOVE | Kara participates in the Kiddies Carnival in Trinidad & Tobago.

France. In addition to these controversies in the U.S., she also came to realize the tension and discrimination that surrounds immigration.

As an immigrant and minority herself, these problems have not gone unnoticed. The controversies around immigration, especially those brought to light through the most recent presidential election, have helped inspire a focus on human rights and immigration.

Kara remembers her father studying for the citizenship test, she remembers his meetings with their lawyer. Though their immigration experience was relatively simple because of the fact that Sporting KC was recruiting Stéphane, Kara is aware that this is not the case for many hopeful immigrants and refugees.

“As I get older and more involved and well-read, and I see all of the current problems that immigrants are facing, it has made me realize how really passionate and interested I am about it [human rights], because it’s a process that I went through,” Kara said.

Since her move from Blue Valley Southwest to East this year for the International Baccalaureate Program, Kara has found her niche through debate and clubs like Coalition and Diversity and Inclusion Club. Through these clubs and her international relations class she took last semester, she has been able to even further her knowledge in global and social issues.

According to international relations teacher David Muhammad, Kara’s international background allowed her to

bring an authentic perspective to class discussions concerning current issues like the Syrian and North Korean conflicts.

“When she spoke, kids listened,” Muhammad said. “She is socially aware and has facts to back up her knowledge, so her intellect is very high, and she's aware of her background, so that makes even more of an impact.”

According to Muhammed, it’s this willingness to understand the history and background of countries she’s visited and her strong will to be socially aware that sets her apart from other students. Though her unique upbringing and ethnic background planted the seed for her interest in international relations, he believes these traits, along with her open-mindedness, has put her even further on the path to success in the field.

As for her aspirations in international relations, Kara only has one goal: to help improve the problems all people are facing in the world today, especially minorities and immigrants.

“I just feel like there’s a lot of discrimination that is happening at this moment, and I definitely don’t think I can solve it, but if I can help ameliorate the lifestyles or the lives of these people, then that’s good enough for me,” Kara said.

Until she can make an impact globally, Kara is happy in her life she has built at East, one that is open to her perspective and continues to foster her ideas and aspirations – even if it’s thousands of miles away from her Caribbean and French roots.

Kara has previously Kara’s father is from an mother is from France lived in France for Trinidad & Kara’s island that's a part of Guadeloupe Trinidad & Tobago and about nine years in France called Guadeloupe. they regularly travel there several towns.

They visit often.

Tobago for holidays and carnivals.

An overview of the three places Kara has spent time in

Flight: 8hr 45 min (from US)

Flight: 7 hr 25 min (from US)

Flight: 11 hr (from US)

DESIGN E MILY FEY

THE HARBINGER

20 F E AT U R E S

MUSICAL OPERATION Coming from a musically inclined family, sophomore Gillian Royster has naturally found a love of music, particularly in opera

BY CL ARA VON DREHLE Staff Writer

M

ozart arias ring through sophomore Gillian Royster’s household as she finishes her chemistry worksheet. Because she grew up listening to Beethoven classics rather than hit country songs, she and her family would take “Everest” at the Kauffman center over a KU game at the Sprint Center any day.

Gillian comes from a musical family.

Carol Royster, her mom, sings with the choir at Village Presbyterian and holds a Master’s degree in music, and Carol’s brother teaches his own orchestra.

From singing in her bedroom at the age of three to being a soprano one section leader in the women’s choir, Gillian has felt passionate about opera her whole life. Gillian is constantly singing opera and learning about the art and lessons she can use outside of the theater. She spent her life watching her family get involved with music and has since been doing the same.

Gillian’s been involved with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City for almost six years, and part of her inspiration to become active there came from her grandmother teaching there and her mother performing there during her youth.

Since they’re both opera singers, Carol has taken on the position of coaching her daughter vocally at home for the past six years.

“Naturally, Gillian doesn’t always take all of my advice during our lessons,” Carol said, “It rarely causes friction between us.”

The two usually enjoy discussing

ROYSTER’S REPERTOIRE A look into Royster’s favorite operas she has performed in

operas together – they especially love Mozart and Beethoven – and harmonizing. Gillian considers herself lucky to have a mother who is talented at what she loves to do.

To kick off her involvement with the Lyric Opera, Gillian has been doing summer camps there since the third grade. The organization gives kids the opportunity to audition for “Turandot” in 2011, the first show the Kauffman Center ever put on. Out of the 30 kids who auditioned, half were cut. The cast ultimately came down to who could fit into the tiny, pre-made costumes.

Gillian’s fate was sealed as she easily slipped on a silver kimono with an azure blue collar, and thus began her career in performance.

Seven years later, Gillian’s friend from elementary school and fellow singer, sophomore Janie Carr, shows her admiration for Gillian’s extreme dedication, almost daily practice, and talent when it comes to singing opera.

“I’ve never found it strange that she chooses to do opera,” Carr said, “She has a beautiful voice that’s perfect for opera.”

However, not everyone has been so accepting of the idea of opera as Carr has. Gillian admits that during her elementary years, almost all of her peers defaulted to turning up their noses at the idea of a ten-year-old choosing to sing opera of all genres.

“No one was rude, but I felt like they didn’t understand [opera] or they were surprised,” Gillian said.

She felt as if most of her peers only knew of the loud, voices and flamboyant costumes that come with opera – not many of them had a connection with the music as she did – and still does.

“You can hear the emotions that the composer felt when he was writing it,” Gillian said, “It’s hard for me to find good pop or rap music that speaks such truth about emotion nowadays.”

In comparison to the life skills that most high schoolers are getting from their extracurriculars and jobs, Gillian considers herself lucky. She thinks the strict opera culture has taught her better discipline and regard

ANDOT : TUR A R E P O HILDREN’S C : E L O R CHORUS SONG: FAVORITE N DORMA NESSU

ERA: HANSEL GRET AND EL C : H E I L L D RE RO CHOR N’S US ORITE FAV BEN SONG: DSEG A EN

OP

for responsibility. Gillian risk of being cut from an opera entirely if she misses too many rehearsals. Gillian knows that it can be intense; she struggles through six-hour rehearsals, is sometimes crammed next to 200 other people on stage, and also can’t be late to rehearsal.

In addition to becoming more responsible, her confidence in everyday conversation has skyrocketed as a result of performing in front of thousands of people. Gillian never shies away from sharing her opinion, and she participates in classes that require good speaking skills – she loves competitive speech and forensics.

According to Gillian, her self-disciplinary knowledge and practices are giving her a huge push for her future. Being a musical theatre or pop singer requires strong vocal health, but it barely compares to that of an opera singer’s. If Gillian wants to keep her voice intact at all times, she gets at least eight hours of sleep every night, drinks about a gallon of water everyday, and strays away from shouting or straining her vocal chords. Both Gillian and her mother agree that practicing such diligent discipline skills is setting her up for success down the road, in any career she chooses.

Gillian doesn’t have to think twice about why she has such a deep love for music.

Her answer is simple – music is universal.

While a majority of her peers are listening to Drake and Taylor Swift, Gillian will continue to blast her favorite Mozart arias in the background while she does her homework.

OHEME : LA B A R E P O HILDREN’S ROLE: C & SOLOIST S CHORU NG: ITE SO FAVOR , SOMMATE O PREST ELLO QU

ERA: CARMEN OP LE: CHILDRE RO CHOR N’S US R I T E O S V O NG: FA ES DES REMP R P DE S A EVILL RTS E

DESIGN GRACE PADON

JANUARY 2 2, 2018

A & E 21

BY LUCY KENDALL Staff Writer

TA C O REPUBLIC

A G U I D E F O R A L L T H I N G S W PA

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E AT

Dinner’s at 5:30 p.m. and you’re still curling your hair. If this sounds like you, Taco Republic should be your restaurant of choice. Taco Republic, located in Westwood, KS has quick service – and a variety of tacos from beef and chicken to fish and veggie, all for four dollars or less. Whether you choose their hand-made tortilla chips dipped in fresh guacamole or an order of sweet churros as dessert, you’ll love this simply aesthetically pleasing restaurant with walls and stools of red, blue and yellow – perfect for vamping up your Instagram feed. This upbeat, yet informal restaurant is excellent for a laid-back meal and speedy service that will probably get you to pictures on time.

DINNER

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LIDIA'S

II Lazzarone, located in the River Market offers gourmet Italian dishes at a less-than-gourmet price. This romantic, yet quaint brick-walled restaurant, lit only by the light of lanterns and candles, is filled with charm in every small detail. This Neapolitan pizzeria has a wide range of unique pizzas, topped with red or white sauce, and any topping imaginable – even smoked lardo. Two of my favorites are the Pizze Caprese, covered in tomatoes, slices of fresh mozzarella, basil and aged balsamic vinaigrette and the Margherita Mascarpone which is covered in tomato sauce, creamy mascarpone cheese, prosciutto and basil. Although this restaurant serves exceptional pizzas, their classic cheese and pepperoni pizzas will not disappoint the picky eaters. For your group of dates, order a few 11-inch pizzas to share for the table and dig right in.

Lidia’s Kansas City, located in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, evokes the warmth of an old Italian farmhouse through their remarkable Italian dishes. This utterly picturesque restaurant is covered with decorative chandeliers adorned by the simplicity of wooden tables and chairs. This vast menu appeals to all taste buds, from salad and pasta, to main courses of salmon and chicken ranging from $17 to $55.

Although on the expensive side, if you’re sharing WPA with your “sweetheart,” Lidia’s is the perfect match.

BUY A DRESS

BOOHOO

S

Boohoo is one of my favorite websites when I’m looking for a cute outfit that isn’t going to have me breaking out my birthday savings. I know, it’s hard to justify buying a $200 dress that I will wear once in my life, so choosing the cheaper route like Boohoo always makes me feel a bit better about myself. Boohoo online has an endless amount of dresses, 60 pages in fact, for all different styles. From mini party dresses to maxi dresses, for an average of $30 per dress, you can order several to try on without breaking your bank on just one night.

PRINCESS P O L LY

HELLO M O L LY

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Hello Molly, based out of Australia, is known for their cheaper-priced, yet fashionable dresses. I happened upon Hello Molly this year, and I have already ordered four dresses from their website for WPA. At about $80 a dress, Hello Molly ships fast – usually in just two days. I’m looking at you, lastminute shopper. Hello Molly is the perfect medium between cheap and expensive, reassuring you that your dress won’t fall apart as soon as you get it, but still appealing to all styles ranging from a simple red dress with lace trim to a flowy white dress covered in woven stars.

Princess Polly, an online clothing boutique, known for their inexpensive clothing but also their reasonably priced accessories – especially jewelry and shoes. By running your mouse over the accessories tab, you can click on jewelry to limit your options to strictly necklaces, earrings and rings.

Whether your dress is simple or complex, an effortless piece of jewelry or a statement piece always completes the look.

Princess Polly has several cheaper options for gold or silver jewelry, such as some basic gold hoops or a decorative choker necklace for $30 or less.

BAUBLEBAR

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Baublebar is hands-down a go-to if you are in need of accessories to complete a look. The website is designed specifically for accessories, divided into four main tabs; necklaces, earrings, bracelets and rings. If you scroll over necklaces for example, there are two options for statement necklaces or layering necklaces and their wide variety of earrings include hoop earrings, statement earrings, tassel earrings, studs and more. Baublebar is the perfect website to top off your look of the night, all within reasonable prices of $100 and below for higher-end jewelry and $40 and under for lower-quality jewelry. It’s a convenient way to shop all things jewelry located in just one place, without the hassle of going on a hunt for the perfect accessory at five different stores the day before the dance.

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SHOP PLANET BLUE

Sorry Ms. Anderson, when I’m on my laptop while we’re supposed to be reading, I’m shopping on Planet Blue. Shop Planet Blue is a bohemian boutique, recognized for their higher-quality dresses. Planet Blue boasts selling expensive designers, such as For Love and Lemons, Lovers+Friends and Show Me Your Mumu. Although bohemian dresses may not be for everyone, all of their dresses are absolutely stunning, yet unique. Depending on your mood, you can find a range of casual and fun dresses mixed with more sleek and elegant options. These higher-end dresses range from $330 and below and are perfect if you’re trying to get all the moms to fangirl over your dress at pictures.

B U Y AC C E S S O R I E S

S

SSS

II LAZZARONE

R E V O LV E

SSS

Revolve is a well-known website, recognized for their higherend products from over 500 brands. Although several girls like to buy dresses off Revolve, I like to buy jewelry or shoes instead for a more formal event. As for jewelry, Revolve contains pieces of fine and more expensive jewelry, from brands such as Kendra Scott, House of Harlow and Marc Jacobs. Although there are pricier brands for up to $800, the entire website contains a range of prices to alleviate some of your money-spending guilt if wanting to look at cheaper jewelry or limit your options to a certain color to accent your dress perfectly. So spend that extra babysitting money – you won’t regret it while looking back at how bomb you looked at pictures.

DESIGN S COUT RICE PHOTOS ELLIE THOM A

THE HARBINGER

22 A & E

CHICKEN ‘N PICKLE

Chicken N Pickle provides a fun atmosphere and menu featuring a wide variety

L

BY ANNA K ANALEY Mobile Media Co-Editor

et’s face it, anything that involves me postponing my rewatching of “How I Met Your Mother” makes me groan.

But this seemed like something different, something that I could do with my friends and get me off of the couch.

After my friend raved about Chicken N Pickle, a chickenrestaurant-meet-pickleball-court, I knew I had to try it out. I have some experience with tennis, but I’m no Serena Williams. My dad says pre-teen-me hitting tennis balls against the backboard at Homestead could hardly qualify me as a tennis player, but luckily, pickleball, basically a game of mini tennis, doesn’t require a wicked backhand.

I booked a court online for myself and three friends, totalling $46, including the convenience fee and tax. At first this price didn’t seem worth it, but when we split it between the four of us, it became more reasonable. One of my friends brought a ball and paddles for all of us to use, so that also saved us a $15 rental.

As soon as I stepped foot into the rustic, wooden room, I realized the 25-minute drive to the North Kansas City location was worth it. It reminded me of a sports bar on one end, with fans cheering at the TVs, and the other end held what I was most excited

about: the chicken.

I checked in at the bar for our pickleball court reservations, and the service couldn’t have been better. Somehow our reservations booked us on an outdoor court, which worried me at first because in negative three degree weather there was no chance I’d play outside. The outdoor courts were luckily closed, so I’m still confused how our reservation could’ve even been scheduled for outside, but the employees accommodated us and fit us in to play inside – and gave us a refund for the hassle, too.

Finally situated in our court, my friend briefly went over the rules and then the four of us began playing against each other, picking it up pretty quickly.

Maybe it was just beginner’s luck, or the fact that my partner was a varsity tennis player and pickleball connoisseur, but we killed it! Playing had me exercising more than I have since cross country ended in October, but it was a good kind of exercising – the exercise where you don’t even realize you’re getting a work out until you’re sore the next day because you’re so focused on winning, not how many calories you’re burning.

Pickleball is one of those games you don’t have to be good to enjoy playing it, as long as you’re with a fun group of people.

But honestly I’d go back to play pickleball alone.

Exhausted from our game of pickleball, we walked back into the restaurant ready to eat. The process was a standard “order food at the counter and have it served to you.” I ordered the fivepiece wings with the “jerk” sauce and a side of brussel sprouts, totaling about $10. I would easily order both again – the wings weren’t too spicy, and the jerk sauce added a smokey flavor.

I split the brussel sprouts with my friend and shared her beets.

In the future, I don’t care if I’m stuffed full, I can make room for both of these. The brussel sprouts had a bit of mustard seed, bacon and grana padano cooked with them, turning a sometimes dreaded vegetable into something mouthwatering.

Topped with pistachios, arugula and goat cheese, the beets offered a cool-down from the spicier wings. Everyone else went with the chicken sandwich, which was a classic that they raved about.

Overall, this positive experience left me wanting to go back the next weekend. It’s the perfect place for a party or small hangout, and I can’t wait to go back. My dad even mentioned a few days later that he was going there for work, so it really fits any age group and event.

If you’re hesitant about leaving your Netflix binging on the couch, get up, play some pickleball and eat some chicken.

ABOVE | Anna Kanaley swings at the pickleball in an indoor court playing with senior Kirsten Erickson.

LEFT | Chicken N Pickle is a casual dining restaurant that offers a variety of chicken like wings and sandwiches.

A Breakdown MENU

$11.00 Wood-Fired Rotisserie Chicken 1/4 White

Country Fried $11.00 Chicken Sandwich Lettuce + tomato + onion

PICKLEBALL

the components

+ + ball

paddle

Bill’s Chicken Salad

$11.50

the rules

Wings

$11.00

11

fried chicken + spring mix + more 10 piece

court

Game played to 11 (must win by 2)

9

Team serves until they lose the point Must serve underhand from back of the court

pricing Open Play $5/person Scan to read a complete menu

Outside Courts $2/person

when temperature is under 40

Court Rental $40/hour

The Verdict

Food Atmosphere Courts

5/5 Stars 5/5 Stars 5/5 Stars

DESIGN ANNABELLE COOK

JANUARY 2 2, 2018

reLAX & RESTORE

A & E 23

BY LUCY HOFFM AN Mobile Media Editor

I

t always amazes me how I can hustle through a six mile run, but hardly make it up the stairs the next day. In order to fix this, I tested out three different stress and workout relief treatments that promise healing: cupping therapy, restoring yoga and an ice bath routine. To accurately judge each technique, I did the same workout the night before each recovery session: three miles on the treadmill and 15 minutes of planks, crunches and push ups.

Different methods of workout recovery prove to be successful

CUPPING AFTER SEEING MICHAEL Phelps, Usain Bolt and other olympians compete in Rio de Janeiro with huge circular cupping bruises up and down their backs, I figured “why not try cupping, it certainly couldn’t hurt.” I was wrong, and it definitely hurt.

The process looks like this: therapeutic herbs are lit on fire, put in a cup and placed on your back. As terrifying as this sounds, I wanted to find out if the process could reduce my shoulder soreness faster than my usual icing routine.

Because of the staff of certified doctors, I decided to have the cupping done at KC Acupuncture Center. The all-white office was very clean and sterile, and I felt an immediate calming vibe from the quiet music after sitting down. The $40 treatment started off like a typical massage.

Dr. Ren asked me some questions about my usual soreness, and as I lied down, I was feeling relaxed.

But quickly, I was pulled out of this trance with the striking of a match and the rattling of glass. When the first cup was placed, I felt my back pucker as if it were getting sucked into a black hole.

After I got over the initial pain, Dr. Ren put more cups on my back and left the room. In a couple of minutes he reappeared and began moving the cups around on my back, which was now numb. After scraping my back with a fossilized yak horn, which induces bruising and brings toxins to the surface, Dr. Ren concluded the cupping with some healing oil.

I was hoping the soreness from the treatment would go away when the cups did, but even putting a shirt on caused pain. Walking out, I had big, circular red and purple bruises painted my upper back, and I was afraid they would still be there when I put on my backless WPA dress.

Three days after the procedure, I finally started feeling the relief that cupping promised. Even so, the net pain was way more than the net gain, so you won’t be seeing me walk through the halls with softball- sized bruises again.

2.5/5

YOGA

When sore muscles strike, I usually just take a few extra minutes at home to stretch out. But when I saw that Power Life offered a Restore class, I jumped at the opportunity. At $20 for an hour class it’s more pricey than I would spend on a regular non-workout basis, but after one class, I already learned a few of the stretches and poses I can use at home. Not only did I leave with my muscles feeling brand new but it gave me the mental break I needed to escape homework stress.

The studio’s usual bright lights, clean bleach smell and blaring pop music was swapped with tea candles, the smell of patchouli and relaxing chime music. Because the room was so dark, it helped me focus on staying in the zone instead of looking around the room to see if I was doing the pose incorrectly.

Once I set up my mat and grabbed a few stability blocks, the teacher had us settle into child’s pose for a few minutes — I could already feel the weight on my shoulders melt away. After child’s pose, each following stretch was aimed at a different muscle group, so my

AT HOME

When I don’t have time to go out anywhere, but I’m still sore, I do my at-home recovery routine.

Directly after my gym workout, I rid my body of lactic acid by doing “legs up” where I layed down on the floor and leaned my legs vertically against the wall. I held my legs for about seven minutes, or a couple minutes after they went numb.

While that may be the most uncomfortable thing I can force myself to do, ice baths really help with pain and inflammation in the legs. Maybe it’s because I dropped a full minute off of my 5k time after my first ice bath, but I do really notice a difference. After grabbing two 20oz. bags of ice, I dumped them in my tub and began filling it up about halfway with water. While it filled up, I grabbed two gallon zip bags, filled them up with warm water, and rubber banded them on my feet which keeps me from getting frostbite. You can buy booties for this, but the DIY bag trick from Pinterest does the trick. After I was all set up, I put on my “Ice Bath” playlist and started

whole body left feeling “restored,” and there wasn’t a trace left of my previous workout. By the time I heard the closing word “namaste,” I was so relaxed that I didn’t know if I could roll my mat up without yawning.

The one downside of the class was the instructor, who spent the entire time muttering her first world problems turned mantras like “the right choice is inside you all along” (in reference to grocery shopping) to the the class. I prefer my yoga to either be done in silence or with quiet music, talking snaps me out of my meditative state.

Despite it being more guided stretching than yoga, it was still my favorite and most effective way to recover, and I was able to hustle up the stairs the next day. While cupping was only done on my back and shoulders, the restore class helped my whole body. I will definitely be back for more classes, even if I just need a break from my biology lab.

5/5

blasting Kanye to get me through the 8 frozen minutes.

After they were complete, I manually lifted my numb, firetruck red legs out of the bath, and let them heat back up as I was curled up in bed.

My favorite time to stretch and roll out my legs is right before bed, so after my dinner and Netflix session, I headed back to my yoga mat to give my muscles a break. I mostly focused on my arms, legs, and shoulders.

I do pretty basic stretches like touch my toes, hurdle stretching, bridges, and finish with criss-crossing my arms. Afterwards, I use a foam roller to target my quads, since they often need the most care.

Taking the at home route may be a little more effort, but the tried and true tricks do really work. If you’re too lazy to leave the house, grab some ice or a place to stretch for some free recovery.

4/5

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JANUARY 2 2, 2018

DESIGN CAROLYN P OPPER

the

A & E 25

BY ELIAS LOWL AND Section Editor

dimension

A 4-D movie experience falls flat of high expectations

A

fter my first screening of “The Last Jedi,” I wanted nothing more than to turn around, walk back into the theater and watch the countless battle scenes again and again. The special effects of the latest movie in the Star Wars series were outstanding and I wished there was a more intense way of experiencing them. When I heard that B&B Theaters in Shawnee offers popular movies in 4-D, I saw this as my opportunity to delve deeper into the already incredibly exciting film.

A 4-D movie theater sounded like a surreal way to experience a film but unfortunately it fell far short of my expectations. Rather than creating an immersive experience for the viewer, the constant movement and visual and audio effects proved to be annoying and distracting.

“The Last Jedi,” was the perfect choice for such an experience specifically because of the battles and numerous flying scenes which I expected to be portrayed in the effects of the 4-D experience. Going into it, I was picturing rolling movements and dips like a rollercoaster, but instead I was violently shaken and tossed around for two and a half hours.

I expected it to be in 3D, but when I returned to the desk to ask for glasses all I recieved was a blank stare. If the movie was in the 3D, the wind and movement effects especially would feel much more immersive as the viewer, with the action coming right towards you.

The seats were not any different from those at a normal movie theater, except the footstand on the bottom. The first

What is a

scene depicts a ship moving downward, and as that happened my seat tilted forward too. This added a completely new way to interact with the movie, and hooked me for what I expected to be a very good rest of the movie.

I was really starting to enjoy the 4-D experience until I was repeatedly shot with short, but very intense, blasts of air.

Rather than creating an immersive experience for the viewer, the constant movement and visual and audio effects proved to be annoying and distracting.

ELI AS LOW L AN D SEN I O R I assume it was supposed to replicate the feeling of flying, but instead it felt like someone blowing in my face from a short distance. If the effect felt more like a whoosh of a breeze or as if I was driving with the windows open, the effect would have been much more satisfying. The wind jets only became more powerful and abrupt as the movie progressed.

4D movie?

The interactive components of the 4-D movie prove to be overwhelming “I was repeatedly shot with short, but very intense, blasts of air. ”

When ships were being destroyed, which occured in much of the movie, the air was often accompanied by strobe lights that were set next to the top corners of the movie screen. The flashes were so bright that it was impossible to see the screen when the strobes were going on, and the lights didn’t seem to correlate with the action on the screen at all. I didn’t see the point in extremely bright flashes to represent guns being fired. The flashes were blinding, causing me to close my eyes rather than watch the dogfights in space between ships.

The disclaimer in order to buy the $18 ticket included scents and strobe lights, and I would add to that list those who have a weak stomach should avoid the 4-D experience.

The scents, usually released especially when fire was present, smelled more like cheap Febreeze than smoke. It eventually got to be so intense I resorted to putting my shirt over my nose to avoid the putrid scent.

While there were thrilling parts to the experience, I found many more negatives with the 4-D movie than positives.

The seat movement at times was jarring, but overall was a innovative way to immerse the viewer. The 4-D movie experience is an interesting one to try if you are looking for an escape from the standard and boring old AMC. If you are the type of person, like myself, who would rather simply enjoy their movie with no chance of popcorn being strewn across your lap, then this is not the experience for you.

“Sprays of water were unexpectadly shot in my face at various times.”

“The flashes were so bright that it was impossible to see the screen when the strobes were going on.”

DESIGN LIZZIE K AHLE PHOTOS AVA SIMONSEN

THE HARBINGER

26 S P O R T S

CROSSING PATHS Crossfit helps four gymnastic teammates stay in shape and in touch during their off season

BY JACKIE CA MERON Page Designer

I

nside the 2020 Fitness gym, sophomore Brooklyn Beck squats, cradling a 12-pound kettlebell weight. To her right, sophomore Abby Gorman finishes another push up, mid-burpee. And on the other side of the gym, past the pull-up bars and kettlebell station, junior Emily Eadens directs nine children pushing sleds twice their size.

Beck, Gorman and sophomore Aislinn Menke spent all of gymnastics season hearing about Eaden’s CrossFit workouts and the shiny new equipment that filled the 2020 Fitness gym she started going to a little over a year ago.

By the end of the season, Beck, Gorman and Menke were signed up for the same class.

“I was really happy to see them there and get to share that with them and share that part of my life and what I love so much with them,” Eadens said.

Now, four months post-gymnastics, CrossFit acts as a continuation of their season — keeping them in shape and in touch.

According to the girls, once gymnastics is through, the closeness they adopt during the season typically slowly dissolves. No more blasting music on their carpool to meets, no more team dinners and no more sparkly bow-making prior to state. Waves in the hallways or 50 silent minutes of note taking in biology together were poor substitutes for the usual daily two-hour practices.

Now they have CrossFit. Now they have forty-five minute workouts four times a week where they see each other at their worst – ponytails drooping and

sweat turning their pink shirts red. Now they have newfound nicknames to yell at each other during bear crawl relay races.

“I like it because they’re really good friends [of mine] that I don’t get to see that much during the school day because maybe we’re in different grades or we take different classes, so it’s a good way for us to get stronger for [gymnastics] season but also stay in touch,” Beck said.

Beck, Gorman, Menke and sophomore Evelyn Roesner, who was convinced by the gymnasts to join as preparation for track season, began the sports performance class which places an emphasis on cardio, weights and gymnastics conditioning.

Because Eadens is enrolled in an adultlevel class separate from her teammates, water breaks serve as time to check in on Eadens as she coaches a kids class.

Although there’s no more bow making, they maintain the teammate comradery in medicine ball relay races and sprints.

The girls don’t let grueling five-minute sets of burpees or bike races keep them from enjoying their time together.

“I think it’s so much easier to get to know someone by not just hanging out with him but working out or playing a sport together,” Beck said. “It shows how determined they are and how they have the same interests as you and the same goals as you.”

They argue over who’s going to become the most ripped in their group chat entitled “CrossFit Squad” complete with a powerlifting emoji. Their messages are filled with gifs of Menke’s favorite celebrity or pleas from Gorman for someone to go with her to

class today. And when somebody decides to skip, it becomes an “open roast season.”

When they aren’t teasing each other, the motivation they use during gymnastics season carries over to their time in the gym. It’s not the usual screaming at the top of their lungs as one of them salutes at the start of their floor routine. Instead, it’s eye contact, a reassuring smile, and a “You can do this!” according to Gorman.

“It helps hearing a little ‘Go Abby!’” Gorman said. “It really helps because then you’re like ‘Oh my gosh, I can do this. I’m almost done.’”

But they’re working hard, too, not just keeping up friendships. Menke, Beck, Gorman and Eadens don’t participate in club gymnastics so 2020 Fitness is where they get the majority of their workouts in.

According to Beck, strength is vital for executing certain gymnastics skills and helps with injury prevention. The gymnastics portion of their class helps build up that necessary muscle needed to swing over the bars at a meet with exercises like handstands and pull-ups.

“What’s most impressive is they’re so flexible, and because of that, they can really push themselves whereas other students might have trouble with mobility,” their sports performance class coach, Heidi Delaney said. “That’s not an issue for them, so they can go a little harder during the workouts.”

By the time next season rolls around, they won’t have to fill each other in on their summer vacation to Colorado or what their schedule is — they’ll already have talked about it at last night’s CrossFit session.

CROSSFIT vs.

GYMNASTICS Take a peak at what each athlete likes the most about each activity

brooklyn gymnastics kip crossfit sled drag

abby

gymnastics side sumi

crossfit ring rows

emily gymnastics back tuck crossfit rowing

aislinn gymnastics wolf jump crossfit squat clean

DESIGN K AYLIN MCCAN PHOTOS T Y BROWNING

JANUARY 2 2, 2018

WRESTLING WITH WEIGHT LOSS

SPORTS

27

Wrestlers partake in weight loss techniques in order to meet weight class requirements

BY M AC NEWM AN Copy Editor

I

t’s Tuesday, and for junior, varsity wrestler Dane Erickson that means another duel tomorrow. This means he and the rest of the varsity wrestling team are going to have to cut weight in order to compete in their respective 14 weight classes. Each player has their own diet regiment – fruits and nuts, protein shakes, chicken and vegetables and some don’t even drink water for a full day, according to Erickson. After cutting weight all day, practice after school means endless running, push-ups and sweating.

Despite the intensity of the weight loss varsity wrestlers battle with throughout their season to fit into their specific weight class each week, they are still able to consistently complete single leg takedowns and know the drill every winter.

Midweek duels affect the wrestlers routines heavily. Instead of losing their normal amount of weight in five days, they have only one or two days. According to senior, varsity wrestler Clarence Miller, this makes the weight loss much more difficult.

“You just feel terrible all day, you’re hungry all day, and you have no energy when you’re wrestling [at practice], so it’s just a pretty bad day,” Miller said.

But, according to Miller ,the extreme weight loss does not affect most of the wrestlers’ performances in actual tournaments and duels because their energy is restored by the time they wrestle, as they usually have time to eat beforehand.

Erickson said the entire reason why the stigma around wrestling is dropping weight and building muscle is because the top wrestlers, and majority of wrestlers do it.

“All the top-tier wrestlers to be successful

are cutting at least 5-10 pounds, so because the majority of wrestlers at the top level are cutting that much and you’re not, you are basically a whole weight class behind,” Erickson said. “So if you could get everyone to not cut which would be almost impossible it would take it away entirely, but because the majority of wrestlers cut, everyone has to.”

Although they all have different diets, the whole team comes together after school to lose weight the same way. Those who are underweight do normal wrestling practice drills. While those who need to cut will put on sweatpants and trashbags. Next comes sprints, running drills, push-ups and live wrestling.

The practices after school are the biggest influences the coaches have on the wrestlers’ weight loss. According to Lucas Vincent, the varsity head coach, he trusts the varsity wrestlers to make sure they are keeping up on their weight loss and diets.

“We suggest fish, poultry, berries, greens, anything with a lot of nutrient content that is also not that heavy, so they get the maximum amount out of what they are eating,” Vincent said.

Most wrestlers hydrate all week by drinking gallons of water, and then do not drink any water for a full day leading up to the tournament or duel, according to Erickson. They are then able to rehydrate after being weighed-in.

During practices, the coaches make sure the players are sweating as much as possible.

One way they do this is by running drills crowded under a tarp, which traps in the heat.

“The guys who need to lose a bit more will go with coach Goodson and he’ll put them through body weight workouts, running, live wrestling, things that’ll cut the weight off you,” Vincent said.

For younger first-year wrestlers, the coaches and captains of the team recommend they go up a class instead of down one.

According to Vincent, it is harder for him to make sure the new wrestlers are keeping up with their weight loss, where as the veterans know what they are doing when the season comes.

This constant weight loss and restricted diet allows bonding for some of the varsity wrestlers, according to Erickson. Although Vincent says you do not want to go near the wrestlers when they are on a strict diet due to their moodiness and irritability, Erickson says it’s nice to be able to relate with them on how hungry they are and talk about what food they can’t wait to eat on Sunday – posttournaments.

“When you are sitting there dying, you have someone to relate to because they know how you feel...instead of people who are like ‘oh, I’m really hungry,’ but they don’t understand because they ate breakfast,” Erickson said.

Erickson says he hears about other wrestlers taking laxatives to lose weight,

however, no wrestler at East use these types of drugs – only utilizing natural weight loss methods. According to Vincent, it is in the official leagues rules to not take laxatives or similar substances. Practices like wearing plastic sauna suits, a suit made to make the user sweat profusely, and taking water pills or similar substances are also banned, Vincent said.

“There used to be not a lot of rules and regulations, and now there are, because some things unfortunately have happened in the past, just throughout the country with wrestling, but I am not too worried about [health risks],” Vincent said.

Throughout the season, they still need to keep up their weights. They gain around four to five pounds over the weekend depending on the person, and then have to drop it all during the week, according to Erickson.

“Throughout the whole season everyone weighs themselves like three times a day,” Miller said. “We [had] a tournament [last week], so everyone is probably going to enjoy themselves and then we are just going to suffer next week again.”

TOP | Wrestlers warm up with stretches before practice.

LEFT| Sophomore Xavier Newman gets pinned during practice.

DESIGN ALLIS ON WILCOX PHOTOS DIANA PERCY

THE HARBINGER

28 S P O R T S

A RIVALRY to REMEMBER The Lancers prepare to face their largest rivals, the Rockhurst Hawklets, on Friday

BY MEG THOMA Copy Editor

A

s point guard and senior Kelyn Bolton makes a fast break down the court, he finds senior Jack Schoemann with a perfect outlet pass and sets up an emphatic slam dunk to ice the 61-49 victory over the SM South Raiders on Jan. 9.

These kinds of plays will be the key if East’s transition-heavy offense hopes to beat Rockhurst in their much-anticipated rivalry game this Friday, this time in the East gymnasium. This matchup is one of the biggest games of the year due to teams’ historic rivalry.

In years past, both teams have had their share of the “winning” title, but looking at just the last seven games, the Lancers have come out victorious five out of seven times.

Last year, the Lancers famously won 54-49, a game whose widely-cherished score will be mentioned in a new chant for East’s student section.

After scouting Rockhurst numerous times

this year, head varsity coach Shawn Hair believes that his team will once again come out on top.

“It will be great to play at home, [we] love playing in our gym” Hair said. “It’s always nice to have such a big group to support us.”

The Rockhurst vs. East game last year had 200 pre-sale tickets purchased alone and in total, almost 800 tickets sold. The game is highly attended because the rivalry has been thriving for years. Many East kids also grew up with Rockhurst kids according to senior and yell leader Brian Christian.

“Everyone wants to see a bounce back after Rockhurst beat us in the last two matchups in the lacrosse championship and football game,” Christian said. “So I think it will be a very loud and rowdy game.”

However, there are many ways that East must prepare for Rockhurst in order to ensure their hopeful victory. For instance, one of Rockhurst’s greatest strengths is their ability to rebound, so East must ensure that they keep them off of the “offensive glass” for this game according to Hair.

LOOKING BACK...

With frequent scouting, they have decided that they need to focus on rebound percentage in order to stay on top of the game against a rebound-oriented team. The leading rebounders from East are junior Zane Meeks and Schoemann with 53 and 49 respectively so far this season.

Hair also feels that the competition will be closer than it has been in years past due to the recent Rockhurst win over Lee Summit West with a final score of 72-70. LSW is the second best team in Missouri, as of Wednesday, with a record of 9-1.

So far, Rockhurst has had a better-than -usual record of 10-3 this season. Rockhurst senior and varsity basketball player Ben Tranbarger explains that because they have such a deep bench, including top player and senior Xavier Rhodes, one of their big issues is not playing as a team when an issue occurs.

“If one thing goes wrong, we have a tendency to break chemistry and play as individuals rather than as a team,” Tranbarger said.

According to Tranbarger, his team has

been practicing specifically for this match up, and the Rockhurst coaches have been scouting for certain plays. They then run those plays against each other and their JV in practice and find defensive strategies to match them in preparation for the actual game.

East has been preparing in a similar way, focusing mostly on offensive strategies to tackle their full court press, as well as maintaining solid communication between both the players and coaches when the gym is that packed.

Power forward Meeks feels that his team will be able to come out on top, but in order to do so, he believes they will have to secure their offensive strategies.

“Their full press is unlike anything we have faced this year, so that is definitely something that we will have to be working on,” Meeks said.

The Rockhurst vs. East game — which is not only a showcase of rivalry driven talent, but tradition as well — is the most widely attended game all season according to Hair.

Winners of the rivalry game the past four years

2014

2015

2016

2017

35-34

70-44

60-49

54-49

EAST WINS ROCK WINS EAST WINS EAST WINS

JANUARY 2 2, 2018

Redefining

DESIGN SARAH BLEDS OE PHOTOS K ATE NIXON

S P O R T S 29

TEAMWORK

Senior leadership is key to relatively young team

BY LUCIA BARRA ZA Staff Writer

A

s the girls varsity basketball coach Lauren Lawrence finishes her pep talk with an “East on three,” the team breaks from their huddle and the starters walk out onto the court. The five players on the floor consist of two juniors, one sophomore, and two freshmen.

The referee blows the whistle and freshman Sarah Bingham tips the ball off to sophomore Kathleen Stanley.

Lawrence looks down the bench filled with seven seniors, all on their feet cheering, happy to be their underclassmen teammates’ loudest fans.

This year, despite not having starting positions, these seven seniors have wholeheartedly stepped into their leadership roles. With three new freshmen coming straight out of high level club basketball, the seniors expected a challenge for playing time, according to senior co-captain Libby Frye. But what came as a surprise to Frye was the fact that this year their senior status wouldn’t secure them a starting position.

According to Lawrence, every year the starting five are consistently the most beneficial for the team no matter grade they are in. Seniors may have started last year, but this season brings in new players with new openings for starting positions.

“It’s not an offense to [the seniors], it’s more like whoever is going to be best for the team and whoever is going to help us win, that’s who we want [starting],” senior Caroline Blubaugh said.

Based off of their experience on the team and their maturity, Lawrence expected the seniors this season to take leadership roles and guide the younger players. After three to four years of practicing the sames plays and playing the same teams, the seniors feel they possess the most expertise on the team.

In the locker room during halftime, the seniors give the team pep talks. At timeouts and dead balls they point out players to mark and shout to “watch the back-door” plays.

Before games, they inform their teammates of their opponents

strongest players and how to defend against their offense.

Even though they aren’t always out there with them, they make sure to pass on their knowledge and coach the new players.

These new players include freshmen Annabelle Merchant, Reese Althouse and Sarah Bingham. Wanting to make these new faces feel welcome, the seniors made sure to give them rides to games and team dinners or offer to be their partner in practice drills. For them, part of being a leader meant making sure everyone felt included and like a team. “[The seniors] are very accepting and their attitude is like ‘they’re part of the team just as much as we are,’” Bingham said. “Even though they’re older than us there’s not much of a difference [in attitude].”

Every game a couple of the seniors pick one or two players on the court to cheer for. Throughout the game they will scream things like “you’re doing great” or “keep your head up” while also jumping and clapping at every basket they make or good play they carry out. No great pass or layup goes unpraised, and no players are left unsupported, despite their age or “fresh meat” status.

Once a week during practice the team gathers to share their “highs and lows.” All the players share one good thing in their life at the time, and one thing they’re struggling with.

All of the seniors know what is going on in their teammates lives, allowing them to offer support whenever someone is having a rough day. For example, if someone is feeling stressed about school, their “secret sister” can write a letter of encouragement or buy them a comforting chocolate bar.

None of it relates to the upcoming game or what play they need to work on, but Lawrence believes it brings the team closer and helps bridge the age gaps.

“When everyone is getting along off of the court it translates to how the girls are playing on the court,” Lawrence said. “You can tell they’re comfortable with each other and are playing like a team.”

new awards T h e N a i l a n d Th e G l u e I think having [the awards] in the back of their minds gives them that motivation to go the extra mile for their team. Each week it motivates the girls to not only work hard but be a good teammate.

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DESIGN ELLIE THOM A

JANUARY 2 2, 2018

P H OTOSTO RY

THIS IS

OUR HOUSE

31

East beat Shawnee Mission South 61-49 at the long awaited showdown

ABOVE | Juniors Gracie Kost, Chloe Wright, senior Astrid Cifuentes, junior Emma Kerwin and sophomore Ellie Phillips amp up the crowd during the game. “We added to the atmosphere of the crowd by yelling our hearts out to cheer on our boys,” Cifuentes said. | LUCY MORA NTZ

RIGHT | Senior Jack

Schoemann dunks the ball. “It was really early in the game and both teams were pretty slow offensively,” Schoemann said. “I saw Kelyn was pushing it, so I just went up and put it down.”

ABOVE | At the start of the game, senior Keyln Bolton goes in for a layup bringing the Lancers to the lead. | LUCY M O RA NTZ

LEFT | Senior yell leader Thomas

Luger fires up the crowd. “The student section was more engaged and ready to go,” Luger said.

“Everyone wanted to win the game and help out the guys, so they were loud every chance they got.” | LUCY M O RA NTZ

LEFT | During halftime, the two mascots challenged eachother to a game of one-onone basketball to entertain the crowd.

| JULIA PERCY

| GRAC E GO LDM A N

LEFT | The student section goes wild as a South player’s mom yells at the

crowd at the end of the game. “I was holding back the yell leaders from actually fighting the mom,” senior Cooper McCullough said. “I couldn’t have been more proud of East after that game.” | LU CY M O RA NTZ

DESIGN lizzie k ahle

THE HARBINGER

32 A LT- C O P Y

turn resolutions into real solutions

To ensure a successful New Year’s resolution, follow these three tips

BY ALEX FREE M AN Copy Editor

WHEN THE NEW York ball dropped to signal the end of 2017, I had more to celebrate than a fresh page in my calendar. I had achieved what I thought was impossible: I kept my New Year’s resolution for the entire year.

I wanted to make myself a better musician, and I did.

Four to five days every week, I sat down at my TAMAHA

make your resolution specific!

keep track of everything!

don’t give up! no matter what!

keyboard, opened the “Soprano Musical Theatre Anthology” or the “First Book of Soprano Solos” and I practiced. A lot. I taught myself 23 vocal songs and 12 piano pieces throughout the course of the year, and expanded my range past the A below middle C – an impressive feat, for a soprano one like me.

But dedicating four hours per week to keep my resolution wasn’t easy. Three weeks into my resolution journey of 2017, I had my doubts. From Honors Algebra 2 homework every night to three-hour rehearsals for the

Lyric Opera of Kansas City’s production of “Dead Man Walking,” it sometimes felt like I didn’t have time to eat a meal with my family, let alone spend an hour in my basement trying to teach myself the words to “Si mes vers avaient des ailes.”

There were days when I wanted to throw my voice books into the wall and watch my fourth “Friends” episode in a row. Yet one year later, I accomplished my goal. Thanks to a few tricks, you can still find me in my basement at my keyboard.

IF MY RESOLUTION had just been “practice more,” I never would have stuck with it all year. When your resolution is loosely-defined, it’s far too easy to skip out on it. “More” means something different to everyone, so if it were one of those days when a bag of Tostitos and Netflix sounds like heaven, I’d probably wind up singing for 10 minutes in the shower instead of spending an hour teaching myself song translations in my basement.

In order to prevent myself from falling into this trap, I gave myself a clear outline: Sit down at my keyboard for

at least 30 minutes, four to five times per week, and warm up, sight read, and sing my songs. This transfers over to the more common resolutions too – if your resolution is “save money” or “exercise more,” you’re destined to fail.

Instead of “save money” or “exercise more” make it “put 50 percent of every paycheck into my savings account” or “spend 30 minutes working out at the YMCA twice a week,” or whatever might be achievable for you. You can do this with practically any resolution.

I’M CONVINCED THAT the only reason Snapchat is still on almost every teenager’s phone is because of “streaks.”

As I watch that little number grow each day, I become more determined to ensure that I don’t break any of my streaks. Even if you’re resolution isn’t an everyday task, it is motivational to still keep track of the progress you make.

I keep a “Singing Calendar” where I write down every day I practice, how long I sung that day and the songs I worked on. Each week, I need to reach at least four days or

I mark my failure with bold letters – I lose my streak. You can apply this to most resolutions too: if you’re trying to eat healthier, keep track of the fruits and veggies you eat in a day. If you’re trying to manage stress, jot down each time you take a twenty minute homework break.

It might seem like a waste of time, but as I scroll through my notes and see hundreds of lines filled with text detailing all the work I’ve already put in, I become even more determined to keep up working at my music.

WHEN YOU’RE A little kid learning how to ride a bike, if you fall off once, you don’t shrug it off and say “well, I guess I can’t ride a bike.” You keep working at it. But for some reason, as we’ve grown up, we’ve embraced an “all or nothing” attitude. When we’re succeeding, we can ride that high for weeks, but as soon as we hit a speed bump, we give up completely.

New Year’s resolutions are for breaking bad habits; if

only we could break our habit of giving up. Missing one week of workouts – or whatever your resolution may be – doesn’t mean you failed and should skip going to the gym for three months in a row. It also doesn’t even mean you have to do twice as much next week. You just have to get back on the treadmill the next day.

Making mistakes is part of being human. Don’t let one or two mess-ups ruin your resolution.