The Northmen's Log, Issue 1, Fall 2016

TNL

The Northmen’s Log

Issue 1. Vol. 52

Top Stories Reality Check Good Luck America Carve Some Fun

KC, MO

October 2016

L

etters from the Editors

Hello Oak Park! I’m Dakota, co editor-in chief of “The Northmen’s Log.” This year, our first issue is coming out later than previous years, because The Log is going through some major changes this year that we hope will increase the quality of the magazine.

For our first issue you may be able to see some noticeable differences from previous years. For one, we have gone to a glossier paper.

Another change is that we have gone from being a news-

magazine to being a feature magazine. This means that instead of having very timely news about the things going on in Oak Park and the things coming up, we are covering more time flexible information in more depth.

We hoped that by doing so, we could cover more things that interest students at Oak Park deeper than we have before.

News stories and current information can now be found almost exclusively on North-

menNews.com or on our social media accounts @NorthmenNews.

One of the topics we covered in this issue is the opinions of students on one of the biggest, most controversial things going on in the United States - the presidential elections. If you want to see what people here think about the presidential candidates and their reasoning, this is the story for you.

It features blended coverage between material here in the magazine and online content.

Hey Oak Park! I’m Bailee Treat, the other co editor-in-chief of “The Northmen’s Log.” We are both so excited to share with you all the new things about our magazine. We have been through all kinds of training in order to prepare you with better content to read, neater designs and an overall better coverage magazine.

We have put together an informative story where you can find college applications and scholarships, and when you should hear back from the colleges you apply to. This is intended to give seniors who still haven’t filled out applications a push to do so and provide a few resources to help them. To accompany this there are some graphics that will show you

scholarship options at various schools based on your GPA and ACT score.

Oak Park is such a kind, loving place full of such diversity and I hope over the course of this year we can properly display this.

If you have any story ideas, feedback, or questions feel free to stop by room E134.

Dakota Ake Editor-in-Chief, Recreation Editor Bailee Treat Editor-in-Chief, Feature Editor, Contents Editor Sarah White Photography Editor, People Editor Remy Tran Entertainment Editor, Cover Editor Mina Buchholz Opinion Editor Aurora Riley Entertainment Editor, Photographer Skylar Perry Photographer Kelly Galindo Photographer Chris Winegarner Photographer Courtney Calhoon Writer Schooner Winegarner Staff Christina Geabhart Adviser

Publication Information “The Northmen’s Log” will publish four times during the school year.

“Log” staff strongly supports the First Amendment and opposes censorship. Freedom of expression and press are fundamental values in a democratic society.

Therefore, “Log” encourages readers to participate in the discussion by submitting Letters to the Editor in room E134, by email to christina. geabhart@nkcschools.org.

Letters cannot exceed 350 words and must be signed.

“Log” will not run letters that are libelous, obscene or that may cause a verifiable disruption to the education process of Oak Park.

Advertisers may contact the teacher at christina. geabhart@nkcschools.org.

Subscriptions are available, $20 for a mailed copy, $10 for an emailed PDF version, or $25 for both.

Opinions expressed in “Log” do not reflect student, staff or school district endorsements of that opinion, product, or service.

“Log” is a member of NSPA, MIPA and Quill and Scroll. “Log” is affiliated with JEA, MJEA and JEMKC.

Featuring this October

4-7: Entertainment Spooky Snacks Make Yourself Up Fall Foward Trick-or-Treat Yo’self 8-9: Feature Carve Some Fun 10-11: People Teacher’s Pet 12-13: Opinion Good Luck, America 14-15: Recreation Reality Check No Return 21 or None

On the Cover: Bunches of pumpkins were scattered across Red Barn Farm and other area pumpkin patches and farms this season. photo by Sarah White photo by Katie Bartsch

4

Entertainment

Make Yourself Up Aurora Riley Photographer

What You Need: -white face paint -black face paint -eyeliner (optional) -two applying sponges -paint brush

What You Need: -gold face paint -black face paint -eyeliner -mascara (optional) -purple/red lipstick -applying sponge -paint brush

What You Need: -green face paint -mascara -red lipstick

1. Draw the contouring of the skulk with the black face paint using the paint brush.

2. Cover the whole face, except around the eyes and tip of the nose, in white face paint with the applicator sponge.

3. Put on black face paint around the eyes, on cheeks, and on the nose using a sponge applicator. Close to the eyes you can use black eyeliner instead of face paint.

4. Use the paint brush, or eyeliner, to make the lines of the teeth with black face paint.

1. Use a sponge applicator to cover your whole face in gold face paint.

2. Use eyeliner to outline your eyes, make it wing out a little.

3. Use a paint brush to apply black face paint in a rosette pattern.

4. Color in your nose and make a line connecting it to the center of your mouth.

5. Draw the whisker pores by your mouth.

6. Put on some red or purple lipstick.

1. Use a sponge applicator to cover the entire face, excluding your eyelids and below your eyebrow, with green face paint.

2. Put purple eyeshadow on.

You can add eyeliner and mascara if you want.

3. Put on some red lipstick.

Spooky Snacks Candy Corn Bark You will need: 16 Oreos 1 ½ cups broken small pretzels 1/3 cup raisins 1 ½ pounds white chocolate, broken into squares 2 cups candy corn orange & brown sprinkles

Christopher Winegarner Photographer

Entertainment 5

Halloween Ghosties You will need: -1 (12 ounce) package white chocolate chips, or as needed -24 Nutter Butter cookies -48 mini chocolate chips

1. Spread the cookies, pretzels, and raisins evenly onto a lightly greased baking sheet

1. Place chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl and heat on low in microwave for 1 minute and stir; Continue heating on low several more times at 30 seconds, stirring each time until the chocolate is warm and

2. Melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring until melted.

3. Remove from heat while there’s still some chunks, and stir until smooth.

4. Drizzle chocolate over ingredients already in the

smooth. Alternatively, you can melt the chocolate the same way as step 2 on the previous recipe.

2. Use 2 forks to dip cookies into the chocolate, and then

place on wax paper.

3. Place 2 mini chocolate chips onto one end of each cookie; set aside until coating hardens, about 20 minutes.

pan and spread the top flat to coat evenly.

5. Top with candy corn and sprinkles. Let cool until firm.

6. Break into pieces and store in an air-tight container.

6

Entertainment

Fall Forward Remy Tran Section Editor

Fall

BeanieJCPenney

Junior Emilio Shumate

Winter

FlannelArizona Jean Co.

Junior Emilio Shumate said, “[My favorite season is winter because] it feels a lot more comfortable to me since I don’t wear as many tight clothes as I do in the fall.”

SweaterHot Topic ShirtHot Topic PantsArizona Jean Co. ShoesConverse

Fall

Winter

Senior Sarah Collingsworth Senior Sarah Collingsworth said, “[My favorite season is winter because] I love wearing layers. It makes me feel all cuddly like being wrapped up in a blanket all the time. I especially love wearing scarves, sweatshirts and boots.”

ShirtMossimo

PantsAmerican Eagle ShoesZigi

JacketRue 21 ShirtFruit of the Loom PantsAmerican Eagle ShoesZigi

Entertainment

Trick-or-Treat Yo’self

Courtney Calhoon Writer

Pumpkin spice is the raving flavor that comes out every fall towards the beginning of September. Of course, everyone has heard about the Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks, but now it has gone to crazy extents. Pumpkin spice has consumed everything, ranging from a custom Puma shoe, to crackers and even salsas.

But this year, pumpkin spice things have gone through a rough patch with the premature pumpkin spicing, a protest lead by Sean Bauer of Philadelphia, Penn., a social media protester. Premature pumpkin spicing is using the pumpkin before the pumpkin is fully grown, as you could infer from the name.

“When some people think about fall, they think of horrible artificial taste. We don’t see it that way [...] When I think about fall, I’m picturing myself wearing a flannel shirt, drinking something like apple cider, not a sugary, fake nutmeg taste,” Bauer told PhillyVoice.

But even after all the millions of pictures of Bauer in front of Starbucks and Wawa Coffee stores, life still went on and the pumpkin spice lovers from around the world quickly threw that to the side and went on sipping their Pumpkin Spice Latte. Not a single store took away pumpkin spice products after this event.

Pumpkin spice latte? Yes, No, or Maybe so?

Favorite Pumpkin Spice food?

Freshman Ryan Woodson said, “[My favorite is] lattes.”

Sophomore Katie Calhoon said, “Pumpkin Spice lattes and donuts.”

Junior Kennedy Cook said, “Pumpkin spice latte.”

Senior Luis Arellano said, “Pumpkin spice latte.”

7

8 Feature

Carve Some Fun Bailee Treat and Sarah White Editor-in-Chief and Photography Editor

There is an assortment of activities you can do almost exclusively during the autumn season. Picking apples, hayrides and going to corn mazes. Arguably one of the most iconic activities that is done during the fall is going to the pumpkin patch.

One local pumpkin patch that has been around since 1990 is the Red Barn Farm. According to owner Steven Fray, about 100,000 people visit from May through November every year. “[We sell] somewhere between 5 and a million [pumpkins a season],” Fray said.

Owner of Red Barn, Steven Fray, shows us around.

“I would tell everyone to go because it’s beautiful and all the animals are cute,” senior Sydney Bock said.

During the off-season, the animals go to a livestock farm in Liberty, Mo. The birds stay at the pumpkin patch.

There weren’t a large number of things to do at the pumpkin patch, but Bock enjoyed her day.

“My favorite part was probably the animals. There were so many and they were all so nice and loved being petted,” Bock said.

The Red Barn farm isn’t just a place for families and children to play and collect pumpkins. “[This is the] most popular wedding venue in Kansas City,” Fray said.

Two pigs stand in a pin at Red Barn Farm.

Patches Near You

Kerby Farm Pumpkin Patch http://www.kerbypumpkinpatch.com

Johnson Farms Plants and Pumpkins

http://www.johnsonfarms.net

KC Pumpkin Patch and Corn Maze

http://kcpumpkinpatch.com

Carolyn’s Country Cousins Pumpkin Patch

http://carolynscountrycousins.com

Fun Farm Pumpkin Patch

http://funfarmpumpkinpatch.com

KC Pumpkin Patch

http://kcpumpkinpatch.com

Pumpkins Etc.

https://pumpkins-etc.com

Schaake Pumpkin Patch http://www.schaakespumpkinpatch.com

Feature 9

A variety of pumpkins to choose from lay on the ground at Red Barn Farm. There are chairs gathered around a table which is close to the picnic table in the background.

Favorite Fall Activities

A poll was done on what students’ favorite fall activity was to do. The most favorite thing to do, go to haunted houses, took the lead by a longshot of more than two to one.

Teacher’s Pet

10 People

Dakota Ake and Sarah White Editor-in-Chief and Photography Editor

When you get home from school every day, you may be greeted by the familiar face of your pet. A creature who is practically family, despite sharing no blood or species relation. Now imagine if you could bring your pet to school. That’s what science teacher Nequelle Deford does.

Deford is greeted by two dogs at home, but every day at work is greeted by 10 different creatures. “[I have had animals in my classroom since] my first year of teaching in 2008,” Deford said. She has never asked permission to have them in the building.

Currently Deford has a male bearded dragon named Escobar, two jumbo hermit crabs named Thing 1 and Thing 2, a male Chinese boxing turtle named Franklin, a male Hermann’s tortoise named Fudgebag, two male Roborovski dwarf hamsters named Happy and Sleepy, two dwarf frogs named Itsy and Bitsy, and a male “European polecat” or “sable mask ferret” named Rico. Deford’s personal favorite is Rico because he loves to play.

“In the classroom over the course of my teaching career, I have had two rats, two guinea pigs, one rabbit, five hamsters, six

lizards, six frogs, umpteen fish, one turtle, one tortoise, three ferrets, three hissing cockroaches, four praying mantis, two walking sticks, two giant millipedes, eight hermit crabs, one bird, and I think that is it. I brought my pet raccoon in a couple of times when I taught in Plattsburg, too, as well as my dog,” Deford said.

Feeding all the animals comes out of Deford’s pocket, with no help from the school.

“I do have to pay for all the supplies, [such as] bedding and food, myself. It is very sad that, although PetCo has grants for teachers who have animals in their classrooms, they are only for teachers of elementary and middle school. I’d say I pay an average of $450 a year.”

Cleaning the animal cages and animals is all on Deford as well.

“I spot clean cages daily. I do a more detailed clean once a month. I do all the cleaning myself. It takes me an average of 25 minutes a cage or tank to do the detail cleaning, plus the bathing of them all, approximately three to four hours total.”

Students are allowed to handle certain animals but there are some that they aren’t allowed to. “[Students] can handle all of them except Escobar and the dwarf frogs.”

There has only been one student who

had an allergy to an animal that Deford is aware of.

“I do have a student that told me he is allergic to ferrets, but, he also told me I could still let Rico ru around the classroom and he would be sure not to touch him.”

Some of the animals like the ferret do get to run around the classroom, which has led to some funny situations.

“Ferrets are thieves and love to get into student’s bags and steal anything that takes their fancy. It’s really funny watching them try to run away from the bag with something that is too big for it, while watching the students’ face as they realize, ‘Hey, that’s mine’.”

With these funny times, there do come sad times as well. “I would say that the saddest is when Punk, the guinea pig, died last year. He had developed an abscessed tooth and even though he was put on antibiotics and seemed to do better, he didn’t make it.

He unexpectedly laid down in his cage one day during one of my classes and we could see him shaking and shivering while staring at us with glassy eyes. Thankfully he passed fairly quickly at that point but I bet if you talked to one of those students they will remember how devastating it was to see him so miserable and in pain.”

Happy & Sleepy – Two male Roborovski dwarf hamsters (Phodopus roborovskii) –Purchased from PetCo in August 2016. They are nocturnal so they tend to sleep during the day unless a student wakes them up.

“I feed them commercial hamster food and occasionally give them Timothy hay and fresh greens.”

Meet Me

People

Fudgebag – male Hermann’s tortoise (Testudo hermanni) – Donated by McKenna Hutchinson in 2014, not sure how old he is but definitely an adult as they rarely exceed 6 to 8 inches. They are very hardy and like to eat grasses and leafy vegetables.

Franklin – male Chinese box turtle (Cuora flavomarginata) – Found in Sedalia, Mo. in my mother’s yard in 2003; no clue how old but no less than 14 years. “I feed him leafy greens and meal worms.”

Rico – male “European polecat” or “sable mask ferret” (Mustela putorius furo) – Donated by OPHS community; Rico loves to play - he will bounce back and forth and sideways with teeth bared (looking quite ferocious). “I feed Rico commercial Ferret food, which is quite costly.”

Itsy & Bitsy – two African dwarf frogs (Hymenochirus curtipes) – Purchased from PetCo in August 2016. “They live in an aquatic environment and eat commercial frog bites, although I occasionally feed them frozen bloodworms.”

Escobar – male Bearded Dragon (Pogona vitticeps) – Rescued in 2010; he is at least nine years old, at best guess. Escobar likes to eat meal worms, crickets and fuzzies (baby mice) but this has to be supplemented with greens and some fruits.

Thing 1 & Thing 2 – two jumbo hermit crabs (Coenobita clypeatus) – Purchased from PetCo in August 2016; no clue how old they are or their gender.

“I feed them commercial crab food and they get dried fruit as an occasional snack.”

11

12 Opinion

Good Luck, America Mina Buchholz and Kelly Galindo Writer and Photographer

As we draw nearer and nearer to Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 8, students try to figure out whether Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton is the better candidate to be President.

“This presidential election is crap. Neither candidate, in my opinion, are well suited for this job, so it’s really a lesser of two evils situation,” said senior Olivia Wright. “Out of the two, I think Hillary will do less damage to the U.S. for the simple fact that she has more experience in politics and knows how to handle herself in public.”

The candidates have been running for more than a year, although only one of them has any political experience.

“Trump is not qualified. He’s had like six bankruptcies, and even if he was a successful businessman … running a country is very different from running a business,” said sophomore Lindsey Wood.

Wright also thinks that Trump is not fit to be president.

“He does have experience running business… but running an entire country is far different and requires a bit more intelligence,” Wright said.

Both candidates have consistently been supported by certain news sources, such as Fox News or MSNBC, so sometimes it’s difficult to find real information about the candidates. But according to Wood, doing so can really pay off.

“Trump supporters need to look at credible sources ... he is a bigot,” said Wood.

Wright thinks the actions of the two candidates have made the choice obvious.

“Other countries are looking at Americans like we’re all idiots.

They see Hillary … and then they see Trump … and they can’t figure out why the heck we’re having such a problem deciding who should be elected,” Wright said. *Reporters attempted to talk to students supporting Trump, but all interviews were cancelled by the interviewees.

“Neither candidate, in my opinion, are well suited for this job, so it’s really a lesser of two evils situation.”

-Olivia Wright

Party: Republican

Opinion 13

Political Experience: None Vice President: Mike Pence Campaign Slogan: “Make America Great Again” Main Ideas: Build a wall on the Mexican border, cut taxes, stop other countries from taking American jobs, end political corruption, repeal gay marriage and the Affordable Care Act, renegotiate trade deals Biggest Scandals: Repeatedly makes sexist and racist comments, has been accused of sexual assault and has not released tax returns Sources: politifact.com, ontheissues.org Party: Democrat Political Experience: 8 years as a senator, 4 years as Secretary of State Vice President: Tim Kaine Campaign Slogan: “I’m With Her” Main Ideas: Raise taxes for wealthy and lower them for middle classes, strengthen the Affordable Care Act, raise minimum wage, increase gun control, police body cameras, end mass incarceration, make college affordable Biggest Scandal: Used a private email server for government emails and deleted 33,000 of them when investigated Sources: politifact.com, ontheissues.org

To see how to vote, and to participate in a poll to see what your fellow students think, visit www.NorthmenNews.com.

14 Recreation

Reality Check

Dakota Ake and Sarah White Editor-in-Chief and Photography Editor

Senior year can be an exciting experience, the end of one era and the beginning of another. For many seniors this brings the stress of applying for colleges and scholarships.

For schools in Kansas, applications are due Nov. 1, and for schools in Missouri, they are due Dec. 1.

You can fill out a common application, which will be sent to 700 different schools. If you want to apply at specific schools, applications can be found on the website of the school you want to apply at. Some schools have a fee to apply, for

From doing homework to stressing about college applications, sometimes we forget our options

example, Mizzou charges $65 to apply. “[The counselors] can help with fees,” Lori Dameron, gifted education teacher, said. “We don’t want anyone to not go to college because they can’t afford it.”

In order to fill out a college application or even a scholarship, it is recommended you make a resume. More information on this can be found on the counseling site, http://ophscounseling.weebly.com.

The length of when you hear back from a school varies. Some schools, like Maple Woods, call you back almost immediately, but usually if the application was due in January you will hear back by March.

“More select schools take longer,” Dameron said.

Scholarships can also be found on the school’s website, if you aren’t already automatically applied with your application.

There are a few different types of scholarships, which are state level scholarships, national scholarships, which can be found on fastweb.com, and even local scholarships, including those created by alumni that few people apply for. Various scholarships can be found on the counseling website and on the Education Foundation website at http://www.nkcschools.org/page.cfm?p=2432.

“I hope people will apply to multiple schools. Like shopping, don’t let the price tag scare you away,” Dameron said.

Colleges have pamplets for students considering applying to their school. These can be found in the counseling office.

Dakota Ake Editor-in-Chief

21 or None

Below are some of the ACT scores and GPAs you need for various scholarhips at

and admittance to a few colleges popular with graduating seniors in the past few years.

For a more extensive lisiting you can

Recreation 15

visit the Oak Park counseling site, ophscounseling.weebly.com.

Scholarship options for the University of Kansas

Scholarship options for Missouri State

Scholarship options for Missouri Western

Scholarship options for Northwest Missouri State

Early decision may mean a point of Dakota Ake Editor-in- Chief

Imagine that once you recieve an acceptance from one of the colleges you have applied to you can no longer choose a different school and have no choice, but to go to that one.

That is essentially what Max Gruschka might have to do.

Senior Max Gruschka is doing a type of college application known as early decision for his top school, Washington University in St. Louis. With this type of application you can’t change your mind after acceptance.

“There is a slightly higher chance of getting into the college [if you do early decision] because they see that you are

No Return

dedicated to them, and it also gives you more time to fill out some merit-based scholarships since they are usually due at the same time as normal decision,” Gruschka said.

There is a negative side to doing early decision, however.

“Most early decision applications are binding, which means if you get accepted you HAVE to go to that school, no matter what. So if you apply early decision you have to know that’s your top choice,” Gruschka said.

Gruschka doesn’t think it’ll be a regrettable choice. Washinton University will likely be different than what he is expecting, but Gruschka thinks if he gets accepted it’ll be for the best.

Senior Joseph Anello models for his mom, Jacie Anello, at Oak Park for pictures.

Capture the

Moment Sarah White Photography Editor

There are many exciting things happening during senior year.

One of them is getting your senior pictures done. It is a very exciting, but stressful time. When do you get them done? Where do you go?

Price is a very important part of senior pictures. Some people are willing to pay more whereas others can’t afford over a certain price range.

“I wouldn’t pay more than $100 for my senior pics,” senior Mikayla Gomez said.

Another factor that is vital to senior pictures is the location. “[I want my pictures done] in California or in downtown Kansas City,” senior Lauren Birdsong said.

You want to make sure that the outfits you choose are what you want to remember. Some people want outfits that mean something to them. “[I’m probably wearing] boots with stockings and a long sleeve shirt,” Birdsong said.

“I’ll do a simple outfit, like a

“[I want my pictures done] in California or in downtown Kansas City,” senior Lauren Birdsong said.

cute shirt and some jeans. I want to do an outfit that’s more edgy and something that shows off my personal style so there will most likely be a lot of denim and leather,” Gomez said.

For some, they want pictures that mean something to them.

They want their pictures to represent them.

“They will be pretty important to me, they are my senior pictures and will most likely be used in graduation announcements so I want them to look nice,” Gomez said.

“I’m going to have some in my basketball uniform and some in downtown kind of urban because that’s how I am,” Birdsong said.

Some people have already had their senior pictures done.

Senior Joey Anello decided to take his pictures somewhere that meant something to him. “[I went] to the tree area at Oak Park by the baseball fields. Then went to West Bottoms to take more,” Anello said.

Most seniors take them in the fall, but it just depends on what season you’re going for.

“I went about three weeks ago,” Anello said. “My mom wants to do them for each season. Cross country is now, robotics in the winter and tennis in the spring.”

Senior Joseph Anello poses at West Bottoms for his senior pictures.

Senior Joseph Anello models in downtown for his senior pictures.