THE HARBINGERShawnee Mission East l 7500 Mission Road, PV KS, 66208 l November 5, 2012 l Issue 5 l www.smeharbinger.net

Dreamtopia and Nightmareland. Where the forests are fraught with over-sized crocodiles and crawl-

ing rats. Where the people are championed by a young boy with telepathic powers and a beautiful princess who dress-es like a woman yet fights like a man. Where the villain, the Nightmare King, holds power over armies of goblins and ogres.

This is the world that lives inside junior Nicole Bretell’s head. After all, she created it.

Nicole spends most of her free time in this dream world. This world overflows into every aspect of her life.

This world is in her art workshop at home where she transfers its story from her head to the sheets of paper be-fore her. She details the leaves of her world’s trees in differ-ent shades of green, forms ripples in its lakes with light blue pencil, adds creases to the corners of its hero’s wide eyes.

This world follows Nicole to her kitchen every night.If she has enough time tonight, Nicole will spend an

hour, maybe two, before the computer screen in her kitch-en. She’s writing, working on a fantasy novel, a dream and a goal that is two years and 700 pages in the making.

Those 700 pages are a huge step for the aspiring novelist who didn’t speak in full sentences until second grade.

* * *Chaos. That’s what Nicole remembers the most from

her childhood.“My brain was just everywhere at once,” Nicole said. “I

couldn’t focus. I was just like, ‘Oh, look at this, and this, and this,’ and there was no stop to it.”

As a kindergartener, Nicole’s education wasn’t focused on the alphabet or the color wheel. Her mom, Claire, and a team of specialists were concerned with one thing — get-ting Nicole to talk.

At 3, Nicole was diagnosed with autism. Doctors told Claire that Nicole’s development would plateau at 6. Claire sold her dental practice to become a constant companion

for her daughter who, she was told, would never speak in full sentences.

Her daughter is a junior at Shawnee Mission East now. She has almost straight A’s in a typical junior curriculum, with a B in jewelry. She and Claire go out for Claire’s birth-day dinner at Johnny Cascone’s and Nicole can order for herself — spaghetti with meat sauce, cheesecake for des-sert. She reminds Claire that their dog, Stella, needs to go on a walk when the 5-year-old labrador chews on a pair of tennis shoes.

It was a miracle. That is the only way that Claire can ex-plain Nicole’s improvement.

She remembers the days when Nicole was different. When Nicole said her first word to her, Claire was cutting tomatoes in the kitchen. At the sound of her daughter’s voice, she startled, slicing her finger.

Nicole was four.

written by Julia Poe

continued on pg 12

Read about the Cunninghams’ Farmer’s MarketPG 4

photo by Jake Crandall

NEVERENDING DREAMAJunior uses creativity and imagination to write and illustrate novel

THE NEWSIN BRIEFNOV. 5, 2012

written by Andrew McKittrick

photo by Maddie Schoemann

Junior Peter Andresen plays the drums during half time at a football game.

The Kansas City Chiefs have not taken a snap while leading a game so far this season. This record dates back to the 1940s.

Adding to the Chiefs’ woes is their lack of a consistent quarterback. The Chiefs benched starting quarterback Matt Cassel in favor of Brady Quinn. This lasted until Brady Quinn re-ceived a concussion and was forced to leave the game against the Oakland Raiders on Oct. 27. The Chiefs were forced to replace Cassel as the start-ing quarterback.

After replacing Quinn, Cassel was hit hard and came up limping, the Chiefs declined to comment on who

their third-string quarterback was before the game and afterwards in interviews with CBS. The Chiefs have a Ricki Stanzi as the third string quar-terback on their roster but he doesn’t suit up for games and is inactive.

“We don’t have a quarterback or a leader,” junior Ben Tshudy said. “The fans aren’t even supporting the team. The organization is in disarray from the top to the bottom. We obviously need a new quarterback and probably a new coach and possibly even a new general manager. We basically need to restructure the way we do things. The team is an embarrassment to Kansas City.”

Shawnee Mission School District (SMSD) is running a district-wide shoe drive between Oct. 22 and Nov. 2. The drive is a partnership between the Na-tional Education Association (NEA)-Shawnee Mission and SMSD. It is a metro-wide drive to donate new and gently used shoes to needy kids and adults.

The drive collects anything from kids to adult size shoes. The goal of the shoe drive is to collect 15,000 pairs of shoes from across the entire metro area.

A large part to receiving shoes as donations is motivating and encour-aging students.

For Spanish teacher Linda Siecks Spanish classes, there is more than just a feeling of giving that comes with donating shoes to the shoe drive. If her classes collect at least one pair of shoes per student, they receive Chipotle or a restaurant of their choosing for lunch. For most of her classes, this means about 30 shoes.

“I think it’s a good cause,” junior Al-lie Mellor said. “People will be thank-ful for the shoes, especially with win-ter coming, it will really help them out. It’s a really easy thing for students to do. The Chipotle lunches are defi-nitely a big motivation!”

SHOE DRIVE

The presidential election will be taking place on Nov. 6 across the na-tion. According to multiple surveys conducted by various institutions across the country, the support for Senator Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama are becoming increas-ingly similar.

According to a Gallup poll con-ducted on Oct. 27, Romney led the race with 51 percent to 47 percent for Obama.

“The election is getting a lot clos-er,” junior James Jacobs said. “And now every comment they make is crucial, it is very exciting to see who will pull through and win in the end.”

One issue with the upcoming elec-

tion is the ability for constituents in the Northeastern section of the United States to vote with Hurricane Sandy. Hurricane Sandy is expected to knock out power in the Northeast starting Oct. 29.

The hurricane is expected to com-bine with a cold front coming in from Canada. The warm air from the hurri-cane Sandy and from the cold front are expected to converge and add power to the hurricane to form a “Franken-storm”.

“I think that it could change the amount of people voting,” senior Mary Grace Diehl said. “However, I don’t think that it will affect the final out-come enough to really matter.”

Visual arts career night was held on Thursday Oct. 25.

East’s Chambers and Choraliers Choirs sang alongside future Lancers in The East Area Choral Festival on Oct. 23

The football team beat North 49-14 on Friday Oct. 26.

THE CHIEFS

UPCOMING ELECTION

photo by AnnaMarie Oakley

Senior Drew Rusten is hit on the head during Whack-A-Mole on Mole Day.

photo by Annie Savage

Sophomores Derek Steiret and Grace Stanziola do an experiment during a chemistry class. photo by Maddie Connelly

Junior Adam Jenkins holds a lizard during a science night.

NEWS2|

THE WEEK IN PHOTOS

QUICK UPDATE

to read more visit SmeHarbinger.net for photos and archieved broad-cast visit SmeHarbinger.net

Recently, there’s been a growing trend of lower SAT scores in the United States. East’s 2012 class had an average SAT score of 1789 ranking third compared to the other SMSD schools. In 2010, the higher score of 1839 ranked East at fourth.

Even though there was an increase in the amount of students taking the SAT, in 2010 only 11 percent of SMSD seniors chose to take the SAT in comparison to the 68 percent who took the ACT. Because of this increase in test takers, 2010 - 2011 reading scores went down 16 points, math scores decreased by 10 points and writing scores decreased by 14 points.

“Generally speaking when more kids take the test, you tend to see a drop in scores,” Principal Karl Krawtiz said. “But I would tell you from being a stat person, the 15 student difference from 2010 to 2011 would not be considered

significant.”This trend has been seen nationally as

well. According to a report on the nation’s class of 2011, reading and math scores com-bined reached the lowest point since 1995. SAT reading scores were at their lowest point ever and it’s been the second time in 20 years that reading scores have dropped so much in a single year. The College Board, the non-profit organization that administers the SAT, accounts the lower scores as a result of a larger, more diverse testing pool.

The national class of 2012 had both the largest amount of students taking it, 1.66 million students, and the highest amount of minority students, 45 percent.

“It’s not unusual for something to give,” Associate Principal Jeremy Higgins said. “I would still put our scores up against any other school. So a drop for us is probably not as reflective in ability.”

Administrators within SMSD and na-tionally don’t consider this drop

in scores to be a

failure. More students are being given the opportunity of taking the test and a chance of a higher education, which makes some consider this a success.

“East students, despite the drop in any kind of score, I would never worry about,” said Dr. Krawtiz. “The public doesn’t under-stand testing so to them the numbers reflect what it is schools are doing, kids are doing or how well teachers are teaching when in essence, the scores don’t tell you any of that stuff. You’ve been sucked into that belief that these tests actually have credibility to

them.”

HOW LOW CAN YOU GO?NEWS 3|

written by Grace Heitmann

The Harbinger investigates the trend of lower SAT scores

photo by Caroline Creidenberg

John David helps sort out the peaches.

A sign greets customers at the entrance of the farm.

Sophomore Paige Braden takes a break while greeting people at the Farmer’s House. photo by Gracie Guignon

The Farmer’s House is famous for its apple fritters. Here’s three

easy steps to make your own!

FARMER’S FRITTERS

Sophomore John David Cunning-ham scooches over to the passenger seat of the John Deer tractor to let his dad, David drive. The green-yellow machine, his sixteenth birthday present, roars to life.

The drive from the family’s cottage across the street to the market lasts only a few minutes. His orange shirt reads, “A place where special farmers live, work, play and grow.” He smiles as he squints into the wind.

When tractor arrives at the Farmer’s Market and his smile grows larger. This market is his home.

The Cunninghams started the Farmer’s Market, a nonprofit market in Weston, Mo., in April for their autistic son, John David. Since it opened, the market has allowed more than 80 farm-ers between the ages of high school and retirement to acquire work experience by pricing in the stockroom, kitchen and cash register.

John David was diagnosed with au-tism at the age of two. According to USA Today, one in three autistic adults are unable to find jobs by the age of 25, so the Cunninghams immediately began planning for John David’s future.

“We’re hoping that their experience here is going to be good work experi-ence for them to be able to go into town and get a real job,” John David’s mom, Peaches, said. “We’re also hoping that we could be a part of getting other business-es like ours and just other businesses in the area, and in Kansas City, everywhere, to start hiring special farmers.”

The Farmer’s Market is also a special place for East sophomore Mackenzie Sweat, a family friend of the Cunning-hams.

“The farmer’s house is a really spe-cial place for those kids who don’t really feel like they have a place at school or maybe at their house and they’re treated differently,” Sweat said.

Farmers have a choice of what they would like to do for their day of work.

Sophomore Paige Braden, a special edu-cation student who volunteers at the Market, likes to greet customers at the front door of the market with a flyer ex-plaining the Farmer’s House program. John David likes to show customers around the market. He can be found drifting between the kitchen making apple fritters to the cash register telling customers what his favorite products are.

Originally an apple orchard, the apple plants died leading to the farm being put on sale. David and Peaches bought the farm in December of last

year and began redecorating it in Janu-ary. The family bought a cottage across the street to be closer to the Market. The apple processors were taken out and the upstairs was redecorated to be a dining hall. Peaches began decoration of the store. She filled it with favorite brands and local delicacies.

The Cunninghams realize the large financial load a dependent autistic child can put on a family and hope that John David will be able to find work after high school.

“We wonder if John David will ever be able to be independent,” Peaches said, “Or is he always going to need someone to live with him? How are we going to do that?”

Once the program is running strong, the Cunninghams hope to build a home for autistic adults, giving them a safe place to live. The Cunningham’s ulti-mate goal is that the house will catch on all over the country and more houses will pop up.

“My hope is that there will be a farmer’s house in every pocket of the city, and in every state because there are so many kids that need it and there are not enough and especially residential.” Peaches said.

The Cunninghams think of offering these life skills as a way of giving the farmers and their families hope.

“The Farmer’s House is hope, for kids like John David to have a safe, happy place, for them to work, play, feel like they’re a part of it, a part of something good,” Peaches said.

NEWS4|

written by Maddie Hise

Mix the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and cinnamon in a bowl. Add the milk and the egg. Stir in the chopped apples.

Fill a large pot with 1 1/2 cups of oil and turn on heat. Carefully drop small blobs of dough into the pot using spoons.

Cook for two minutes, then turn the dough blobs over to get the other side. After four minutes, or until the dough turns dark brown, transfer the fritters to a paper towel or a rack. Let them drain

the oil and cool down. Enjoy!

Sophomore John David Cunningham sits in his tractor, wearing a T-shirt with the market’s logo.

photos courtesy of the Cunningham family

1 c flour1/4 c sugar3/4 tsp salt1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon1/3 c milk1 egg1 c chopped apple

Here’s what you’ll need:

”“Peaches Cunningham

My hope is that there will be a farmer’s house in every pocket of the city, and in every state.

12

3

1

HOMEa special kind ofDisabled students at East participate at the Farmer’s House, an organization run by sophomore John David’s parents for autistic individuals to be a part of the community

Soaps and lotions are sold at the Market.

Editors-in ChiefAnne WillmanChloe Stradinger

Assistant EditorsAndrew McKittrickKatie Knight

Art & Design EditorPaige Hess

Head Copy EditorMatt Hanson

Copy EditorsAnne WillmanChloe StradingerAndrew McKittrickKatie KnightErin ReillyMorgan TwibellLeah PackSarah Berger

Ads ManagerSophie Tulp

Circulation ManagerGreta Nepstad

Editorial BoardChloe StradingerAndrew McKittrickErin ReillyAnne WillmanJennifer Rorie

Katie KnightGrace HeitmannMatt HansonJulia PoeKim HoedelDuncan MacLachlanSami WalterZoe Brian

Staff WritersJulia SeidenSophie TulpTaylor BellNellie WhittakerPauline WernerCaroline Kohring

News Section EditorSarah Berger

News Page EditorsEmily Perkins RockGreta Nepstad

Editorial Section EditorJennifer Rorie

Opinion Section EditorKim Hoedel

Opinion Page EditorsMaggie McGannonMorgan Krakow

Feature Section EditorErin Reilly

Feature Page EditorsJeri FreirichMaddie Hise

Spread EditorMorgan Twibell

Mixed Page EditorLeah Pack

A&E Section EditorTiernan Shank

A&E Page Editors Phoebe AguiarHannah Ratliff

Sports Section EditorGrace Heitmann

Sports Page EditorsAlex GoldmanMitch KaskieG.J. Melia

Freelance Page EditorsVanessa DavesJulia PoeAudrey Danciger

Staff ArtistsMatti CrabtreeAkshay Dinakar

Photo EditorJake Crandall

Assistant Photo EditorsCaroline Creidenberg

Emma RobsonStaff Photographers

Katie SgroiAnnie SavageConnor WoodsonTaylor AndersonMiranda GibbsMeghan ShirlingMaddie SchoemannMolly GasalStefano ByerMaddie ConnellyPaloma Garcia

Online Editors-in-ChiefSami WalterDuncan MacLachlan

Assistant Online EditorsJulia PoeZoe Brian

Head Copy EditorsJennifer Rorie Vanessa Daves

Multimedia EditorDalton Boehm

Convergence EditorErin Reilly

News EditorPauline Werner

Online Photo Editors Marisa WaltonMcKenzie Swanson

Assistant Online Photo Editor

AnnaMarie OakleyVideo Editor

Nathan WalkerLive Broadcast Editors

Connor WoodsonAndrew McKittrick

Homegrown EditorMorgan Krakow

A&E EditorMaggie McGannon

Sports DeskAlex GoldmanMitch Kaskie

Blogs EditorSusannah Mitchell

Podcast EditorThomas Allen

Eastipedia EditorTaylor Bell

Interactive Design EditorsJames SimmonsMitch Kaskie

Social Media DirectorMaddie Hise

WebmasterChris Denniston

Live Broadcast ProducersGrace HeitmannChris DennistonPaige HessConnor WoodsonAndrew McKittrickThomas AllenKatie KnightJulia Poe

Multimedia StaffMaxx LambThomas AllenChris Denniston Dalton BoehmTessa PolaschekNathan WalkerEmily Perkins RockWill BrownleeMiranda GibbsMeghan Shirling

AdviserDow Tate

Letters to the editor may be sent to room 521 or smeharbinger@gmail.com. Letters may be edited for clarity, length, libel and mechanics and accepted or rejected at the editors’ discretion.

THE HARBINGERSTAFF 2012-2013

The Harbinger is a student run publication. The contents and views are produced solely by the staff and do not represent the Shawnee Mission School DIstrict, East faculty or school administration. a publication of Shawnee Mission East high school

7500 Mission Road, Prairie Village, KS 66208

There are many things to consider when picking a col-lege: class quality, location, size, local atmosphere. Your pro-spective major, on the other hand, shouldn’t be one of them.

The biggest and most common mistake students make is choosing their university based off of the major they think they want. Even though seniors may think they know ex-actly what path they want to take, career.berkeley.edu claims that “the average student who enters college with a declared major changes it three to five times. On the other hand, the average student who enters college with an undeclared major changes only one to two times.” All it takes is one moment to completely change their minds while in college.

Emily Lehning, an advisor in new student service at Kansas State Uni-versity, thinks that, while there are many students who may have an idea of what they want to do, only one in five students actually sticks with it throughout their college career.

“Choosing your major and that pathway for your future career when you’re 18 is a really big responsibility and major decision,” Lehning said. “So I think it’s natural that people have some misgivings and that, in the future, they’re going to encounter something, some new information, exposure to a class, sitting down with someone in a field that they had never heard of or considered, and that’s a way for them to find out that they have another option.”

If those students who change their majors have made it past their first few years studying their previous major, chances are they’ll have to stay at school for a longer time

than expected. With tuition for in-state public colleges av-eraging $21,447 (collegedata.com), staying longer than their parents expect could begin to seriously drain their bank ac-count.

To avoid students changing their majors and therefore staying at school for a few extra years, some colleges like the University of Wisconsin have began instituting an “‘excess credit’ surcharge to encourage students to move on with their lives. The surcharge, which kicks in at 30 credits above the 135 normally needed to graduate, doubles a student’s tu-ition.” (msnbc.com)

Instead of running the risk of bankrupting their parents by extending their stay at school due to a major change, se-niors should change their ways of college selection. Sure, having a general idea of your major is important when mak-ing that decision, but knowing that you won’t get stuck if you choose to change your major is even more important.

So, whenever you take a college visit, Lehning suggests considering multiple things before you make the big decision.

“Atmosphere, location, affordabil-ity—so the combination of available scholarships, expenses, and those kinds of things,” Lehning said. “[They should also think about] that sense of fit, that sense of place, if it feels like a place that you would go, that you would feel comfortable. And that’s re-ally hard to describe to students as a

measuring stick, whether the school is going to be a good fit for them other than saying you’ve just gotta make that visit, you’ve gotta talk to people and be in that environment and really get a sense of ‘is this a good place for me?’”

So the next time you visit a school, take a look at the stu-dents and think about whether you see yourself spending the next four years there. Make sure that the school offers programs in all areas of study that you’re interested in, not just one. Most importantly don’t obsess over the major you think you want.

FOR 1030

EDITORIAL BOARD VOTES

AGAINSTABSENT

Students should be placing less of an emphasis on their majorwhile applying to college

aMajorChoice art by Matti Crabtree

EDITORIAL 5|

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, must vote. We are lucky enough to live in a coun-try where it is not only allowed, but en-couraged for everyone to go out and vote. It’s not just a privilege, it’s a responsibility.

I’m aware I don’t technically have a say in how our government works. I’m only 15. So why should I care? I care because I don’t have the same power that some choose not to use.

Only 60 percent of eligible people vot-ed in the last presidential election (www.census.gov). For a country that loves free-dom like it loves reality TV, it’s a little weird for it to not fully utilize the biggest freedom it has. Frankly, it’s embarrassing.

People fought and died for our right to have a say. They still do. Your say isn’t something that should be treated lightly. It allows our government to function. It’s what we, the people, can do. Our country was built off the idea that the power re-sides in the average citizen. You have a say.

You have a say in how your government serves you. Because that’s what it does. The government serves us. The people. You have a say in how they spend your money, use our resources and create our laws. You have a say in who speaks for you, stands up for you.

All you have to do is use it. Voting allows you to pick the people

that will represent you. Candidates present themselves and their views to the people, and the people vote. The winner gets the power and trust of the people to do right by them and their wishes. Seems pretty simple, right? The thing is, a lot of people don’t even realize the vital position they them-selves hold in the way our country runs.

Our duty as citizens to vote comes from the generations of people in the past who fought and died for the free-doms that some take for granted today.

A vote is something that shouldn’t

for one second be taken for granted. That is an insult to the people all over the world who die and agonize over their si-lenced voice. It’s an insult to the people who fought unjust laws and misrepre-sentation in our own history. In America, our voices are heard. So use your voice.

I’m not usually the person that uses the phrase ‘do it for your country,’ but come on. Voting is something that you do, at least in part, for your country. Our democ-racy only works if people use it. Without 100 percent participation, what is it? A pseudo democracy? A kinda democracy? Without the people’s input, how is it sup-posed to do its job? Which is, of course, to serve us and protect we, the people.

Some people like to talk about their poli-tics over Facebook, Twitter, whatever. I’m fine with that. But if you’re 18 or older, you’d better be voting. If you choose to spew po-litical opinions all over everyone and don’t feel the need to vote, you’ve lost the right to expect me to care about what you think.

Don’t think that your vote doesn’t mat-ter. It absolutely does. That theory was disproved in 2000 when the presidential election was decided by a difference of 600 votes in Florida (uselectionatlas.org).

Don’t think that a state’s ‘color’ will take importance away from your vote. Ev-eryone knows that Kansas will go red, but your vote will still count towards your candidate. Though the electoral college does share importance with the popu-lar vote, one doesn’t dominate the other when it comes to who gets the Oval Office.

Don’t think that the presidential election is the only one that matters. It’s for sure the most publicized; I’m liable to react violently if I see more political ads while I’m trying to enjoy my “Gossip Girl.” Underneath the con-stant, sickening presidential election propa-ganda, there are House of Representatives and

Senate elections happening on Nov. 6, too. Every two years we choose new represen-

tatives, and every six years we choose new senators. These people don’t have the fancy house or camera-ready smile that presidents have, but they are the ones that create and pass the bills that the president signs into law.

They shouldn’t be overlooked because there aren’t as publicized. Your repre-sentative is supposed to be there to hear you directly and bring your say to Capi-tol Hill. I could send a letter to President Obama, but I doubt he’ll respond. It’s the representative’s job to be in touch with you, to hear what you have to tell them.

The same is true for your governor, state representatives, sheriffs and a slew of other elected officials. Your responsibility to vote doesn’t stop at Presidential elections.

Who you vote for isn’t a decision that

should be taken lightly. Educate yourself. Research all the candidates and think about which one’s views line up with what you be-lieve in. Democrat? There’s a candidate for that. Republican? There’s a candidate for that. American-Vegetarian? There’s a candidate for that, too. Don’t believe me? Look it up.

As for America’s future, I can only hope that my generation recognizes the importance of voting, that which al-lows my older brother, grandma and everyone in between to have a say.

I won’t be seeing you on election day. But that’s just because I can’t vote.

Voting is a responsibility bestowed on us by generations of people before us, millions of people who still fight for the right to a ballot and our very own duty to our nation. In order for us to truly be a country of the people, by the people, and for the people, we must vote.

OPINION6|

written by Pauline Werner photo illustration by Matti Crabtree and Katie Sgroi

Staffer discussesimportance of voting

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OPINION8|

UNDERAGE DRINKING STATISTICS14%

73%of youth say their parents are the greatest influence on whether or not they drink

of 10th Graders say they have been drunk before

ABOV

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all stats by www.centurycoun-cil.org/underage-drinking/statistics

65%of youth say they get their alcohol from their friends and family

71%of youth say they drink at a party with no parents

an opinion of Jennifer RorieIf you know anything

about me, you know that I’m obsessed with country music. And if you know any-thing about country music, you know that more than half of the songs have to do with beer and drinking and not remembering last Satur-day night. If you know a sec-ond thing about me, these two don’t add up. You see, I love country music and ev-erything about it, but at this point in life, I am not a fan of the drinking that the genre celebrates.

I’ll sing about a red solo cup and where the whiskey flows, but the only thing that is in my cup is Diet Coke. I only sing Garth Brooks’ “I’ve got friends in low places” at the Royals’ games. Bottom line, I have successfully made it through almost three and a half years of high school without tak-ing a sip of beer. And believe me, I haven’t missed out on a single thing.

I don’t know when it be-came “cool” to spend every weekend getting hammered or toasted or whatever you want to call it, but it has become the social norm at East. It seems like unless you are at the big party on Friday after the game, you don’t have a social life. But based on my experiences, that sim-ply isn’t the case.

My friends and I love to watch scary movies (well, I hide behind a pillow). Some-times we roast marshmal-lows and have water gun fights in the summer. We even go play sand volleyball at night when we can’t see anything and it’s 40 degrees. Sometimes we just drive

around and get lost in conversation and in Mission Hills. Whatever we do, we have fun. We can remember last Fri-day night. And we can talk about it in a normal voice, rather than in hushed tones in class on

Monday.I’m not saying that all

drinking is bad. If you’re 21, then why not? I don’t have a problem with it while you are legal and responsible, but when 14-year-olds are get-ting their stomachs pumped, I get concerned. There is no reason that a parent should have to be worried about whether or not their child has a designated driver.

High school is a time to enjoy being a kid. This is one of the few times in life where we have the luxury of being able to make mistakes and our parents are there to catch us when we fall. But we shouldn’t be putting that burden on our parents, or on ourselves. They shouldn’t have to worry about our well-being when it comes to our choices.

I know I sound like a mother, and I don’t want to sound like I’m scolding any-one for their choices. They are personal decisions and I’m not judging, but I am saying that they may have not been the smartest ones. Everyone is aware that East has had more MIPs in the past year than all of the oth-er Shawnee Mission schools combined. Unlike some of my peers, I don’t think that is anything to be proud of. Frankly, it’s sad. Do we really want to be known as that school?

I love Shawnee Mission Wonderful, and I want to be proud of everything we are about. But I just don’t think I can take any ownership of this problem.

Now you’ve read my rant on underage drinking and how I think it’s wrong, so let

me tell you how I’ve avoid-ed it and how you can too.

First, surround yourself with people who you know you can trust. If you think they will have a negative influence on you, be their friend, but don’t necessarily participate in everything they do. It’s like my great-grandmother used to say, “Don’t ever do anything you wouldn’t want printed on the front page of The Kan-sas City Star.” Good advice from a wise generation.

Second, know who you are. Don’t let others influ-ence your vision of right and wrong. The only per-son who knows your moral compass the best is you. If you think that partying all the time is OK, then that’s your choice. But if you would rather not be a part of that, then don’t let any-one tell you different. Know yourself, and know what you believe is right.

Third, know the facts. It takes five minutes to look them up. According to the Center for Disease control there are 4,700 deaths in un-derage youth annually due to alcohol. I know I don’t want to lose a friend. That enough should discourage anyone from picking up a drink.

I may be a prude or a goody-two-shoes, but I don’t mind those labels. If any-thing, I’m proud of them. I am OK with staying above the influence. So, to all of those people out there who have yet to succumb to the social stigma, you don’t have to. Surround yourself with people who have the same ideas as you, and high school will be a fun and le-gal experience. It’s OK to listen to country music, but you don’t have to drink from that red solo cup.

JENNIFER’S HOW-TO GUIDE:

ways to have fun without drinking

DANCE PARTY

art by James Simmons

The lights down and the black lights on puts me in enough of a trance, and trust me, your dance moves look so much better when you’re sober.

ROASTING MARSHMALLOWS

Let’s face it, any kind of fire and alcohol together is just a bad combo.

CRUISIN’ MISSION HILLSDriving around Mis-sion Hills with the windows down and the music blaring is distracting enough to my directionally challenged friends.

WATER GUN FIGHTSWhen you have two varsity football play-ers chasing after you with water guns you fall enough. No beer needed.

Senior believes that not drinking during her years in high school has been a good decision

written by Leah Pack

Circling the arena, junior Allie Mellor tugs at her horse’s reins as she guides her over a jump. Nose up, toes up.

She repeats the saying her trainer first told her when she was little. Landing gracefully, she quickly turns to take another lap. Her trainer, Courtney Mellor, adds a few corrections and praises her for a jump well done. Allie listens to Courtney’s corrections. After all, Courtney’s not just her trainer: she’s her stepmom.

Courtney has been riding for 30 years, much longer than her stepdaughter. Allie’s interest in horseback riding was sparked by the stories of Courtney’s accomplishments.

“She saw a picture of me riding and put her little hand on her hip and declared ‘Well, I love horses too,’” Courtney said.

Allie’s connection with horseback riding was almost immediate. At nine years old, Allie’s stepmom took her to a family friend’s farm in Cleveland to ride side by side on a trail in the country. Scared at first, Allie had to be coaxed by her stepmom to saddle up. As Allie and Courtney made their way home following a gravel road, she looked out into the huge green field and knew riding was a fit for her.

“At first I was scared because I was so little and the horses were huge, but once I was on, I loved it,” Allie said.

Shortly after, Allie bought her first horse. She was only able to ride about once every month due to the commute she had to make between her mom’s house in Wisconsin and her dad’s house in Kansas. However, the sporadic rides didn’t stifle her love for riding.

When Allie finally moved to Kansas in seventh grade, she was surprised with a second horse for Christmas and started riding five days a week in preparation for competitions. Rid-ing horses was a love both Allie and Courtney shared, and it has strengthened their relationship.

“Courtney and I always got along really well, but it was something that made us closer because it was a common in-terest we both had,” Allie said.

Having her stepmom as her trainer allows for the lessons to be brought home. Courtney is also familiar with the way Allie responds to different teachings and examples and uses those in a way that Allie will relate to.

“It’s nice to have a coach that you can go home and talk to about what happened later,” Allie said. “My riding experi-ence doesn’t stop when I leave the barn.”

With all the opportunities Allie has been presented by having a trainer in the family, she has chosen to stick with horseback riding instead of pursuing school sports or other extracurricular opportunities.

“[Riding] horses takes a lot of dedication and time to get better,” Courtney said. “The struggle is balancing school, work and social life.”

At least three times a week Allie makes her way out to Kurin farms, where she trains. By the time she prepares her horse for the lesson, rides for an hour, and takes care of her horse after, combined with the round trip drive, she has ded-icated at least three hours of her day to the sport. The time spent for Allie is worth it, though.

“Sometimes when I’m stressed I just go out and ride on my own or I go hang out with my horse for a half hour,” Al-lie said. “You can get so frustrated, but your worst ride is still better than not riding at all.”

Allie has always set high goals for herself, the biggest be-ing qualifying for the National Championship in Kentucky.

Allie worked all summer to qualify for the National Championships. She woke up early each morning to drive to the farm, staying there all day. Oftentimes she would ride her horse more than two times a day. With the help of her stepmom and two other trainers, Kris Cheyne and Sarah Pence-Bloss, she was able to qualify.

“Allie is an incredibly talented rider and [a] joy to work with,” Pence-Bloss said. “Whether she is working hard to qualify for national championships or teaching a young child how to brush a pony, she puts her heart into it and is dedicated to every aspect of the sport.”

Allie has been influenced throughout her whole riding

career by the passion and dedica-tion Courtney shows when work-ing with horses. Courtney has no-ticed that she can use their “daily life and closeness” to teach Allie lessons, and they have found that knowing each other as well as they do allows for them to accomplish as much in a ride as possible.

“It is nice being with Courtney just because we know each other so well but it can be stressful because there is that added pressure since it’s your parent you don’t want to disappoint,” Allie said. “She knows she can push me really hard and she knows how to push my buttons.”

Just as Allie has drawn inspi-ration and guidance from Court-ney, Allie has given Courtney the satisfaction of watching her grow through her riding.

“Allie has grown from a timid little girl to a strong and determined young woman,” Courtney said.

In addition to training with Courtney, Allie is coached Kris Cheyne and Sarah Pence-Bloss. Having a variety of teachers has proven to be a huge benefit to Allie. Courtney has noticed that she can “use their daily life and closeness” to teach Allie lessons. At the same time, Allie is sometimes able to learn more from different coaches because they aren’t family.

Allie and Courtney have found it obvious that knowing each other as well as they do allows for them to accomplish as much in a ride as possible, but at times Courtney has to work to set aside her “mommy moments.”

“Sometimes it makes more sense to step back and let a less emotionally involved person help,” Courtney said. “Horse shows can be difficult in that respect because the tensions and expectations can run higher than normal.”

Seeing the passion and dedication that Courtney has had with riding since she was eight has influenced Allie throughout her whole riding career. Although she has had to cut back from riding five days a week to three, not in-cluding competitions, the motivation she receives from the amount of time she has put into the sport and owning two horses has kept her from wanting to slow down or stop com-

pletely to pursue school sports or other social opportunities. Allie’s independent and determined attitude showed

through at a young age when she proclaimed “she would ride the biggest horse on the farm all by herself,” and those are just the types of goals she set for herself.

“Getting up early and focusing only on riding all day ev-ery day and getting home late was exhausting, but the sacri-fices were ones worth making,” Allie said. “It got me in great shape and made me really appreciate air conditioning.”

Seeing her do this was equally as rewarding for Courtney. “Allie has grown from a timid little girl to a strong and

determined young woman,” Courtney said.

Attractionthe Mane FEATURE 9|

Junior Allie Mellors life has been strongly influenced by horseback riding

BEFORE AND AFTER: What Jockeys Do During Jumps

Above: Allie Mellor hugs the nose of her horse, Layla.

Gearing up to jump, the rider keeps their weight balanced while placing their body correctly to allow the horse to have a full range ofmovement.

While landing, the rider is looking forward and judging the distance of the next jump and telling the horse where it is.

photo by AnnaMarie Oakley

art by James Simmons

Seniors Gardner Grantham and Mason Pashia have had more opportunities and

exposure to the professional music business in four weeks than they ever would have thought was possible in Kansas City.

The two were members of a group of 24 art-ists selected out of hundreds of applicants for the Grammy Museum’s Music Revolution pro-gram last summer, a camp for aspiring, gifted artists dedicated to exploring the music field.

The Grammy Museum, based in L.A., held its pilot program in Kansas City and was open for auditions for everyone between the ages of 15 and 24. To audition for a spot in the com-petitive program, applicants sent in videos of themselves performing their instrument or vo-cal talent along with an essay describing why they were interested in the program.

“Then they asked a bunch of creativity questions, like ‘If you could combine to genres, what would they be and why?’ and stuff like that,” Grantham said. “Then they came to Kauffman and interviewed us in groups of peo-ple they were interested in accepting.”

Once accepted, the two attended the camp from late June to early July. The program’s ma-terial was split into four weeks. The themes of the weeks covered a range of genres. The first week focused on blues, the second on hip hop, the third on country and the fourth on miscel-laneous.

“My favorite week was country, just because it was the most fun and closest to the type of lyrics that I write,” Grantham said.

Pashia thought the hip-hop week was the most interesting. He had originally disliked the genre due to its current lack of imagina-tion, but liked hearing the original artists and their messages. It made him appreciate it more, thanks to the genre’s history lecture given by program’s director, Bob Santelli.

“In the morning, [Santelli] lectured us on the history of the genre, and he would just tell us about famous artists and how it became what it is today and play us examples,” Pashia said. “It was like a music appreciation course. Then he’d go tell us to write a song in groups for that genre and present them to the rest of the group.”

The pair had the opportunity to become better acquainted with Santelli, a major name in the business as the director of the Grammy Museum and good friend of Bruce Springs-teen’s. They met with CEOs, entertainment lawyers, writers, producers and musicians prominent in the music community. Examples include Jimmy Jam, Janet Jackson’s producer, Claude Kelly, who wrote “Grenade” for Bruno Mars, “Circus” for Britney Spears and “For Your Entertainment” for Adam Lambert, Andy Gib-son, an up and coming country star, and the manager for Karmin.

But the final week was when their daily routine of lectures and writing took a twist. The groups were asked to pick names of bands or artists out of a hat, then write a song, lyrics and music reflecting the style of that artist. They would present their song to the rest of the group, and everyone would vote on which they believed was the song that most closely reflected the artist.

While Pashia drew Green Day, Grantham

drew Justin Bieber.“I wasn’t too excited

at first because I didn’t really like his music,” Grantham said. “The guy I partnered with laid down these beats and a piano part [off of his com-puter] after like ten or fif-teen minutes. I just had to come up with the mel-ody and the words, and by the time he laid that stuff down it sounded like a happy Bieber song, so I wrote a song about ‘Oh, I’m Bieber, talking about the girls I love, and how I’m gonna win that girl over, blah blah blah blah blah.’ Although he wouldn’t need to, since all girls love him.”

It worked out for the best, because Grantham and his part-ner won the contest.

Their prize? A chance to meet Justin Bieber and pitch their song to him.

“We thought we were going to get, like, candy or something,” Grantham said. “But the prize turned out to be that whoever won would get to meet the group they wrote for, so we were supposed to get to meet Justin Bieber the day before his concert.”

However, due to a last-minute booking at a charity event in New York City, Justin was unable to come. But Grantham’s disappoint-ment didn’t last long; the morning of Oct. 25, the students reunited for a meeting and press conference for their camp and the opening of a small version of the Grammy Museum at the Sprint Center.

“This guy we’d never seen before came in and told us we were going to the Grammys,” Grantham said. “It turns out it was Tim Lei-weke, the President of AEG Entertainment [the company that owns the Staples Center, Sprint Center and other entertainment venues]. I’m so excited.”

The group will get an all-expense-paid trip to Los Angeles to perform at Leiweke’s pre-Grammy party, then watch the Grammys from a private suite.

Leiweke’s party will give them the chance for exposure in a music hotspot, as well as the opportunity to add to their list of contacts in the music world.

* * *Although Pashia is mostly a solo act while

Grantham is guitarist and lead vocals for his band Local Talk, the pair have done perfor-mances together all through high school on weekends at different cafes, fifth quarters (post-football game socials) and sometimes give impromptu performances on the Plaza. But the end of high school won’t be the end of the line for them.

They both plan to attend Belmont Univer-sity in Nashville together, and are hopeful to get into the school’s competitive music school. They hope their recommendation letters from

the camp, written on Grammy stationery, will give them leverage, since Santelli is best friends with the owner of Belmont.

Pashia thinks he will study engineering if he doesn’t get in to the music school, but will still write and perform on the side.

Grantham wants to start a small record la-bel, then try to make it become a major one. He is intrigued by the process that arts and reper-toire (AR) people go through, and may like to become one himself. An AR person’s job is to go out and find aspiring artists, and, if they like them, ask them for a CD or demo to bring back to the label. If the label likes it, then they’ll sign the artist.

“But something that’s really not cool that labels will do is when the artist signs the con-tract with the label, and the label doesn’t like them, the label won’t let them record any al-bums,” Grantham said. “But the contract keeps the band from going to other labels, so basical-ly they are just keeping them for themselves. I wouldn’t do that, I don’t think that’s the point.”

But like the Grammy Museum, the boys will leave their mark here at the jumping off point.

“To see the future of music right here and to know that the music will go on here long after we’re all gone really is inspirational,” Brenda Tinnen, General Manager and Senior Vice Pres-ident of Sprint Center, said. “I want to hear one of you [up on stage winning a Grammy] say thank you, I got my start in Kansas City at the Music Revolution program. That would be the icing on the cake.”

GETTING TOTHE

GRAMMYS

YOU’RE CORDIALLY INVITED

to see the Grammy Museum Experience

Learn about the history behind songs. From the Dixie Chicks to Nas, you’ll be sur-prised to discover the deep meanings that surround the music you thought you were familiar with.

The “Scream Room” is worth the headache. In this dark space a British artist gives advice on how to “sing” like a scream band and then gives you the chance to scream along with him.

Hit the light-up James Brown and Michael Jackson inspired dance floor and learn classic moves like the Funky Chicken. Don’t be embarrassed, every-one is watching.

Throwback with old school hip hop music videos on this old fashioned boom-box. Read the plaque next to it to learn a bit of history, too!

FEATURES10|

photos by Caroline Creidenberg

written by Erin Reilly

see pg 24 for more photos!

Seniors start music career in Kansas City

Snatching a whisk from the table, junior Kayla van Thullenar scrubs the Yuzu Vinaigrette off of it with

raw hands. Stuffing it in the dishwasher, she moves on to the chicken grease left on a sautee pan. As the dishwasher finishes its cycle, she carefully removes the tools the chefs need right away. She tries not to burn her hands in the scald-ing water inside the steaming dishwasher, but does anyway.

Van Thullenar has to move quickly and efficiently. She’s working the cleaning station at the Broadmoor Bistro in Overland Park, and the student-chefs need their utensils im-mediately to get their customers’ meals underway.

The Broadmoor Bistro is a 3,000 square feet, student-run restaurant added to the Broadmoor Technical Center. The extravagantly decorated restaurant is dimly lit and the ta-bles are set with wine glasses and shining sets of silverware.

“It’s really fancy and elegant,” senior and Broadmoor Cu-linary Arts member Emily Kaplan said. “It has great food and a great atmosphere.”

The restaurant is open to the public and reservations are made on their website. Anyone can enjoy a four course meal for $30. The menu, which changes with the seasons, is served every Wednesday evening, giving students a chance to step into the real world of culinary arts while juggling regular school classes.

“The Bistro is an extracurricular activity that is run by the students,” senior and Bistro employee Chris Tucker said. “The students make the food, they wait the tables, they serve the tables, everything.”

Junior and senior students sign up for electives at Broad-moor, like culinary arts or baking, and are bused to the Tech-nical Center during the last periods of their day.

“I go hours one through four at East,” van Thullenar said. “Then I’m in the third session of classes at Broadmoor, which are from 12:15 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.”

While working in the Bistro, students learn to cook, clean and wait tables with only the supervision of their two instructors: Chef Bob Brassard and Chef Justin Hoffman. Brassard has worked for about 30 years in restaurants in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Vermont. In 2008 he was rec-ognized as culinary educator of the year. Hoffman graduated from the Broadmoor culinary programs, worked in many restaurants and was a member of the United States Culinary Olympic Team at Westchester Country Club.

“[Brassard and Hoffman] are very good,” Tucker said. “They definitely know what they are doing.”

With a menu ranging from truffled-cauliflower soup to braised veal breast, the students have undergone exquisite training to execute dishes for their usual 70 to 80 customers

a night.The students’ day at Broadmoor ends at 2:15 p.m. Stu-

dents participating in the Bistro rush to put on their uni-form red tops and black pants and report to the restaurant by 3:30 every Wednesday.

They are then given their assignments for the night which range from serving bread and water to cooking the actual meals. An instructional pep talk is usually given by one of the instructors in the kitchen before the night begins at 5 p.m. and closes at 9 p.m. Working at the pace of a four or five star restaurant, the students experience the high stress of a real kitchen job.

“For the students who cook for the night, there is signifi-cant pressure to get the food out quickly,” Tucker said.

As patrons leave the restaurant, the students of the Bistro begin the task of cleaning the kitchen and dishes. They are sometimes there as late as 11 p.m. following all of the clos-ing procedures: packing up food, putting away dishes and cleaning off work spaces.

“You can learn as much as you want out of a book,” Tuck-er said. “But it doesn’t compare to actually doing it.”

BAKING FOR BROADMOOR

SERVING UPANDSALADS

SOUPSHam-Hock ConsommeButternut Royal,

Smoked Swiss Chard, Crispy Duck Bacon

Farro & Roasted Squash Salad

Pomegranate Seeds, Yuzu Vinaigrette,

Gastrique, Radish Textures

Truffled Cauliflower SoupCroquette,

Shaved Truffles, Micro Cress

Autumn Green SaladSeasonal Greens, Spiced Walnuts, Huckleberries,

Cabernet

EAST STUDENTS HELP COOK FOR BROADMOOR TECHNICAL CENTER’S RESTAURANT written byTaylor Bell

photos by Emma Robson

Some of the food that can be found at the Broadmoor

Bistro.

Above: Junior Jenna Miller cooks in the Broadmoor kitchen during her class.

Above: One of the many dishes that the Broadmoor students learn to prepare

FEATURES 11|

There were times when her daughter’s progress seemed painfully slow. When Nicole was

6 and Claire would guide the fat red crayon clenched in her daughter’s fist in wide circles, repeating the shape’s name over and over. When Nicole was 7 Claire would practice four-square with her daughter in the backyard, so that the girl would know how to play at recess. When Nicole was 10 and the two watched hours of “Everybody Loves Raymond” to teach Nicole humor.

The progress was slow compared to other children who at-tended Westwood View Elementary School with Nicole. But her development didn’t stop at 6, as the doctors had predicted.

“It was the grace of God, that’s the only way to describe it,” Claire said. “I don’t know why it happened. I was doing every-thing that all the other moms were doing, but I was praying like a crazy woman. I’m beyond thankful.”

The chaos has died down. But that doesn’t make the world any less confusing for her.

School, for instance. There’s a lot that confuses Nicole at school.

She doesn’t understand why people jostle her in the halls and don’t apologize. She doesn’t understand why students ignore couples making out in the halls, since it’s against the rules. She doesn’t understand why kids her age swear when her mom tells her that it’s wrong.

But her novel, The Neverending Dream, isn’t confusing.She knows the good guys — Collin Sparrow, the telepath-

ic hero, and his love interest, the fiery Princess Camille. She knows the villain — the Nightmare King, the only character she hasn’t drawn, but describes as “tall and gaunt” and backed by goblins and ogres. She knows which characters can be trust-ed, like the Crocodile King, and which genie is the funniest.

At school, loyalties aren’t always solid. At school, the rules are explained, but Nicole doesn’t always see them being fol-lowed. At school, she tries to be the enforcer, but no one seems to listen.

Claire doesn’t know how to tell her daughter that she must follow the rules, even if she is the only one doing so. Claire doesn’t know how to tell her daughter not to tattle. She’s not even sure if being a tattle is such a bad thing, anyway.

In The Neverending Dream, Nicole is in charge. The rules are enforced. Right triumphs over evil. Wrong is defeated.

The book has been an anchor in Nicole’s life for over two years. She began her book on her 15th birthday, and since then, it has encompassed her.

“My mom had gotten me a drawing pad, and I started draw-ing,” Nicole said. “And all of a sudden it just hit me. It was like — BAM.”

She began to sketch a story:An ashen boy lay asleep in a monochromatic bedroom.

Above him, the world he was dreaming splattered the ceiling with the vibrant colors of towering castles, rolling hills and beaming princesses.

As she drew, she realized it was more than a drawing: it was a story. A full story, a plot to be completed, a world to be ex-plored. She had to write it. She didn’t tell her mom what she was doing. She just started writing.

When Nicole speaks, she pauses. She thinks over each word. Her speech is halted.

When she draws, her hands move fluidly. Without pause, a character is formed from colored pencil lead. When she writes, the story flows without pause. When it’s just her and her story, Nicole has confidence.

Around 20 pages into The Neverending Dream, Nicole told her mom that she wanted to get this story published. Around 100 pages in, Claire began to believe that it could really hap-pen.

This wasn’t the first time that Nicole had told her that she wanted to be published. She’d written a story called Pan and Bellina that she’d been ready to publish, until Claire gently told her that it was too close to Tinkerbell to make it. Nicole

took the critique in stride and began to look for

something more original.“My mom told me that I should try to find something that

was mine,” Nicole said. “It needed to come right out of my head. And I just kept drawing, and all of the sudden, I just got it.”

And it is her own. Collin is her own, Camille is her own, the genie, the Nightmare King, the goblins and the crocodiles —they are all her own creations. She spends hours on their plots and character quirks, giving them depth with her colored pen-cils and adventures with her words.

Those characters are a welcome escape on the days when the chaos returns. When unexpected confrontation flusters Nicole. When she comes home with tears and asks questions that Claire doesn’t know how to answer. When her stress causes her to snap at her mom and refuse to listen to her paras.

The Neverending Dream takes that away.For Nicole, focus is no longer a problem. Quite the oppo-

site. The junior has acquired extreme focus. This is a common tendency of autism and can lead to an autistic child playing with the same toy, watching the same movie or reading the same book for hours. It allows Nicole to write or draw for hours with unbroken focus, not wavering from the task at hand unless her mom interrupts her.

Nicole’s fixation is her story. Claire knows this and is care-ful to moderate her daughter’s fascination — only two hours of writing or drawing a night. If left alone, Claire isn’t sure how long Nicole would stay, typing and drawing. It’s not something that the mother wants to test.

“I watch her and make sure that she breaks it up with doing homework and having dinner,” Claire said. “I do think that if I let her be, she’d just stay there, writing and writing.”

Nicole gets an hour or two every day with her world. The rest of her time is split between schoolwork and Claire. Home-work comes first — before writing, before art, before anything else. Nicole has goals, after all.

She has goals of graduating in 2014 with straight A’s. She has goals of attending Emporia State University and after that, a liberal arts college. She has goals of becoming a screenwriter, a voice actress and a Pixar animator.

Her goals have a common requirement: independence. It’s something Nicole and Claire are striving for.

It’s why she answers the door at their house and why she picks up the phone when it rings. It’s why Claire is teaching her to cook and wash dishes. It’s why Claire stresses the im-portance of different social skills whenever the opportunity arises.

Someday, Nicole will be independent.For now, however, Nicole and Claire cherish their time to-

gether. They read together. They go to T-Rex Cafe, Nicole’s fa-vorite restaurant, and smile when they remember how scared Nicole was the first time a paper-mache dinosaur roared. They take Stella on walks and talk about school and friends and, most importantly, The Neverending Dream.

It’s one of their favorite topics. They talk about the latest plot twists. Nicole gives her pages to look over and Claire points out sections that need clarity. Listening to Nicole read the story out loud, Claire will offer suggestions and tips. She loves to watch her daughter draw a character, producing a wil-lowy princess in less than an hour with her pencils and imagi-nation.

The Neverending Dream has become their story.Although the completion date has been pushed back sev-

eral times, the pair has settled on the summer of 2014 as the deadline for completing Nicole’s book. Once the book is fin-ished, Claire and Nicole aren’t worried about the likelihood of having it published.

“Nicole is a fighter, she’s determined,” Claire said. “I’ve had so many people say, ‘Oh, she can’t do this, this is beyond her ability,’ and she’s always proved them wrong, and she’s going to keep proving them wrong, for the rest of her life.” photos by Jake Crandall and Caroline Creidenberg

SPREAD12| SPREAD 13|

DREAMINGforever

Nicole casts actors to play the roles of her characters should it become a movie

story continued from the cover

Johnny G and Serafina can be seen on the pages of Nicole’s book.

Nicole enjoys the idea of being an ac-tress and she thinks she could play the lead role well.

PRINCESS CAMILLEcharacter:

NICOLE BRETELLplayed by:

The character is a stoic man and Nicole thinks Harrsion Ford plays a nice strong male character.

PROF. ARBUCKLE

HARRISON FORD

character:

played by:

The genie is a funny character and Nicole thinks Bill Cosby is hilarious.

JOHNNY G (GENIE)

BILL COSBY

character:

played by:

Celine Dion is her favorite singer, and Nicole says Serafina would be singing a lot in the movie.

SERAFINA

CELINE DION

character:

played by:

PAGESBIG SCREEN

to the

from the

There were times when her daughter’s progress seemed painfully slow. When Nicole was

6 and Claire would guide the fat red crayon clenched in her daughter’s fist in wide circles, repeating the shape’s name over and over. When Nicole was 7 Claire would practice four-square with her daughter in the backyard, so that the girl would know how to play at recess. When Nicole was 10 and the two watched hours of “Everybody Loves Raymond” to teach Nicole humor.

The progress was slow compared to other children who at-tended Westwood View Elementary School with Nicole. But her development didn’t stop at 6, as the doctors had predicted.

“It was the grace of God, that’s the only way to describe it,” Claire said. “I don’t know why it happened. I was doing every-thing that all the other moms were doing, but I was praying like a crazy woman. I’m beyond thankful.”

The chaos has died down. But that doesn’t make the world any less confusing for her.

School, for instance. There’s a lot that confuses Nicole at school.

She doesn’t understand why people jostle her in the halls and don’t apologize. She doesn’t understand why students ignore couples making out in the halls, since it’s against the rules. She doesn’t understand why kids her age swear when her mom tells her that it’s wrong.

But her novel, The Neverending Dream, isn’t confusing.She knows the good guys — Collin Sparrow, the telepath-

ic hero, and his love interest, the fiery Princess Camille. She knows the villain — the Nightmare King, the only character she hasn’t drawn, but describes as “tall and gaunt” and backed by goblins and ogres. She knows which characters can be trust-ed, like the Crocodile King, and which genie is the funniest.

At school, loyalties aren’t always solid. At school, the rules are explained, but Nicole doesn’t always see them being fol-lowed. At school, she tries to be the enforcer, but no one seems to listen.

Claire doesn’t know how to tell her daughter that she must follow the rules, even if she is the only one doing so. Claire doesn’t know how to tell her daughter not to tattle. She’s not even sure if being a tattle is such a bad thing, anyway.

In The Neverending Dream, Nicole is in charge. The rules are enforced. Right triumphs over evil. Wrong is defeated.

The book has been an anchor in Nicole’s life for over two years. She began her book on her 15th birthday, and since then, it has encompassed her.

“My mom had gotten me a drawing pad, and I started draw-ing,” Nicole said. “And all of a sudden it just hit me. It was like — BAM.”

She began to sketch a story:An ashen boy lay asleep in a monochromatic bedroom.

Above him, the world he was dreaming splattered the ceiling with the vibrant colors of towering castles, rolling hills and beaming princesses.

As she drew, she realized it was more than a drawing: it was a story. A full story, a plot to be completed, a world to be ex-plored. She had to write it. She didn’t tell her mom what she was doing. She just started writing.

When Nicole speaks, she pauses. She thinks over each word. Her speech is halted.

When she draws, her hands move fluidly. Without pause, a character is formed from colored pencil lead. When she writes, the story flows without pause. When it’s just her and her story, Nicole has confidence.

Around 20 pages into The Neverending Dream, Nicole told her mom that she wanted to get this story published. Around 100 pages in, Claire began to believe that it could really hap-pen.

This wasn’t the first time that Nicole had told her that she wanted to be published. She’d written a story called Pan and Bellina that she’d been ready to publish, until Claire gently told her that it was too close to Tinkerbell to make it. Nicole

took the critique in stride and began to look for

something more original.“My mom told me that I should try to find something that

was mine,” Nicole said. “It needed to come right out of my head. And I just kept drawing, and all of the sudden, I just got it.”

And it is her own. Collin is her own, Camille is her own, the genie, the Nightmare King, the goblins and the crocodiles —they are all her own creations. She spends hours on their plots and character quirks, giving them depth with her colored pen-cils and adventures with her words.

Those characters are a welcome escape on the days when the chaos returns. When unexpected confrontation flusters Nicole. When she comes home with tears and asks questions that Claire doesn’t know how to answer. When her stress causes her to snap at her mom and refuse to listen to her paras.

The Neverending Dream takes that away.For Nicole, focus is no longer a problem. Quite the oppo-

site. The junior has acquired extreme focus. This is a common tendency of autism and can lead to an autistic child playing with the same toy, watching the same movie or reading the same book for hours. It allows Nicole to write or draw for hours with unbroken focus, not wavering from the task at hand unless her mom interrupts her.

Nicole’s fixation is her story. Claire knows this and is care-ful to moderate her daughter’s fascination — only two hours of writing or drawing a night. If left alone, Claire isn’t sure how long Nicole would stay, typing and drawing. It’s not something that the mother wants to test.

“I watch her and make sure that she breaks it up with doing homework and having dinner,” Claire said. “I do think that if I let her be, she’d just stay there, writing and writing.”

Nicole gets an hour or two every day with her world. The rest of her time is split between schoolwork and Claire. Home-work comes first — before writing, before art, before anything else. Nicole has goals, after all.

She has goals of graduating in 2014 with straight A’s. She has goals of attending Emporia State University and after that, a liberal arts college. She has goals of becoming a screenwriter, a voice actress and a Pixar animator.

Her goals have a common requirement: independence. It’s something Nicole and Claire are striving for.

It’s why she answers the door at their house and why she picks up the phone when it rings. It’s why Claire is teaching her to cook and wash dishes. It’s why Claire stresses the im-portance of different social skills whenever the opportunity arises.

Someday, Nicole will be independent.For now, however, Nicole and Claire cherish their time to-

gether. They read together. They go to T-Rex Cafe, Nicole’s fa-vorite restaurant, and smile when they remember how scared Nicole was the first time a paper-mache dinosaur roared. They take Stella on walks and talk about school and friends and, most importantly, The Neverending Dream.

It’s one of their favorite topics. They talk about the latest plot twists. Nicole gives her pages to look over and Claire points out sections that need clarity. Listening to Nicole read the story out loud, Claire will offer suggestions and tips. She loves to watch her daughter draw a character, producing a wil-lowy princess in less than an hour with her pencils and imagi-nation.

The Neverending Dream has become their story.Although the completion date has been pushed back sev-

eral times, the pair has settled on the summer of 2014 as the deadline for completing Nicole’s book. Once the book is fin-ished, Claire and Nicole aren’t worried about the likelihood of having it published.

“Nicole is a fighter, she’s determined,” Claire said. “I’ve had so many people say, ‘Oh, she can’t do this, this is beyond her ability,’ and she’s always proved them wrong, and she’s going to keep proving them wrong, for the rest of her life.” photos by Jake Crandall and Caroline Creidenberg

SPREAD12| SPREAD 13|

DREAMINGforever

Nicole casts actors to play the roles of her characters should it become a movie

story continued from the cover

Johnny G and Serafina can be seen on the pages of Nicole’s book.

Nicole enjoys the idea of being an ac-tress and she thinks she could play the lead role well.

PRINCESS CAMILLEcharacter:

NICOLE BRETELLplayed by:

The character is a stoic man and Nicole thinks Harrsion Ford plays a nice strong male character.

PROF. ARBUCKLE

HARRISON FORD

character:

played by:

The genie is a funny character and Nicole thinks Bill Cosby is hilarious.

JOHNNY G (GENIE)

BILL COSBY

character:

played by:

Celine Dion is her favorite singer, and Nicole says Serafina would be singing a lot in the movie.

SERAFINA

CELINE DION

character:

played by:

PAGESBIG SCREEN

to the

from the

Religious Regulars

FEATURES14|

Several East students find religious clubs a fun way to hang out and meet new people

As a freshman, junior Erin Cosgrove and her sister, Amy, got up in front of their

Young Life audience, dressed up as Scottish twins. Over the next few weeks of their Young Life meetings, they performed a series of skits for their fellow members.

These skits are a tradition for Young Life. At each meeting on Wednesday nights, hosted by different members, there are skits put on by members for entertainment. There is a raffle at the beginning, in which items from pic-tures to T-shirts to gift cards are awarded to the

winners.Everyone sings along to the most popular

Taylor Swift or Justin Bieber songs. Then, leader Dave Franco plays worship songs on his guitar, and the kids sing along, following along with the lyrics projected on the wall. At the end, a speaker, generally just a religious person, gives a speech to tell about how a story from the Bible relates to their lives. The group is led by Dave and Wendy Franco.

Through Young Life, Cosgrove has gotten to know other East students. She has

become friends with freshman Laurell Ste-gelman, who started attending when her cheer coach, Kelsey Bradley, told the team about Young Life.

“[Bradley] said that some of the older varsity girls go, and that it’s really fun and we should come,” Stegelman said. “I like it because we have a lot of fun, but we learn at the same time.”

KLIFE

written by Nellie Whittaker photo by Caroline Creidenberg

East students find youth groups as way to have fun and met new people

Junior Shaina Stasi throws herself into the air, bouncing off a trampoline. She and her friends “show off [their] fancy stunts” and joke around about how out of shape they are. She is at Sky Zone, an indoor trampoline park as part of a special side event for NCSY.

NCSY is an international orthodox youth program for Jewish kids and teens that stresses the values of the Jewish religion. It was founded by the Orthodox Union in 1954 to give teens an opportunity to connect to their Jewish roots. In the Kansas City area, it is run through the Jew-ish community of Kansas and directed by Hillel Goldstein. Goldstein is in charge of the program for Kansas City.

“I teach Jewish kids about their Jewish culture and what it means to be Jewish,” Goldstein said.

Goldstein also runs the Shabbat meals that NCSY hosts some Friday evenings. Shabbat is practiced as a celebration of God’s day of rest, which is based off of the Jewish belief that God created the world in six days, then rested on the seventh. The Kansas City branch of NCSY goes to either a synagogue or Goldstein’s house to eat and worship. This is the main event of NCSY.

“We eat tons of food like chicken, noodles, veggies, potatoes and dessert,” Stasi, said. “Then, some people light candles, say prayers, sing songs and have family and friends time.”

Senior Matt Kunin also participates in NCSY.

Through the program, he can socialize with oth-er Jewish teens.

“[NCSY] is a great way to meet other students with a common background, and you get to have fun, too,” Kunin said.

NCSY hosts these Shabbat meals and has spe-cial events, like the visit to Sky Zone. Both con-tribute to the social and spiritual benefits Stasi gets from NCSY.

“[Through NCSY], I’ve learned so much about my heritage and the rules of my religion, and I’ve made so many close friends,” Stasi said. “I enjoy going to everything I do with them.”

Sophomore Becca Zeiger first went to K-Life as an eighth grader, convinced by her

older brother that she would have fun. Walking through the door for the first time, she didn’t know what to expect. But she felt welcomed by the happy, friendly leaders and other kids there. She could tell the leaders really wanted her to be there. So she started coming regularly as a fresh-man. Now, Zeiger is involved in the program as a member and a small group leader.

K-Life was started by a group of moms from Kanakuk Kamps, Christian summer camps for kids of all ages. They wanted their kids to have a better opportunity to develop their faith. Today, there are different K-Life groups around the coun-try. Their meetings help teens and kids strengthen their Christian faith and grow closer to each other

through games, worship and prayer. Kathryn Hanson, who became a leader of Kansas City K-Life after being a leader at Kanakuk Kamp, plans the lessons for each meeting of K-Life here.

“We take directly from the word of God (the Bible) and teach how we can apply that to our lives,” Hanson said.

The club meetings, which are every Monday night, include three activities: hanging out with friends, playing games and worshiping through prayer and lessons from the Bible. Club is for kids of all ages, and everyone is divided into optional small groups for additional, more personal wor-ship. The K-Life house is filled with a foosball ta-ble, a Wii, TVs and a pinball machine, all of which kids use when they hang out before K-Life starts. Some girls dance to “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” on Just Dance for the Wii before worship. While

others talk and play foosball. After that, everyone goes downstairs for

games, then worships through prayer and a les-son from a Bible passage. This year, each passage is from the book of the Galatians. The members sit on multi-colored bean bags and hammocks hanging from the wall posts and listen. After-wards, they sing worship songs together. This is sophomore Alex Luger’s favorite part of K-Life.

“There’s a lot of people, but it’s my time to grow closer to the Lord,” Luger said.

The social connections and spiritual strength Zeiger draws from K-Life have impacted her life both spiritually and socially.

“I’ve grown closer to so many people that I probably wouldn’t have interacted with other-wise,” Zeiger said. “We’re united on the spiritual foundation, and that’s what makes our relation-ships so much stronger than mine with some of

my other friends.”

..the students ran the school..

..the Environmental Ed animals escaped..

..there was no technology at East..

..there was no summer break..

..dress code violations were reversed..

..the whole class of 2013 didn’t graduate..

MIXED 15|

A. call the police

A. be ecstatic becausethere would be learningall year long and less forgetting.

something aboutMIXED

B. would have even more wrinkles than she does alreadyC. would be sad because she would not have time to practice with the forceD. blow up the death star

C. panicD. go find the animals

B. call Prairie VillageAnimal Control

..the school caught on fire..

“The rule that applies to everyone, males and females, is the distrac-tion. If it’s considered a distraction for any reason and takes away from the learning environment then we are going to call

them on it.” -associate prinicpal John McKinney

“If that were to occur we would probably relocate to a different high school in the district and have what used to be called ‘double sessions.’ That is the building of the school we would be assigned would probably go to school from 7:00 a.m. until 12 noon and then we would occupy the same building from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Of course the times are not anything specific.” –principal Karl Krawitz

“There would be over 400 additional students at SM East next year resulting in much larger

WHAT IF..

“If students were in charge of the school, seniors would rule. There wouldn’t be any rules and no one would go to seminar.

“Seniors would be treated like royalty, and the freshmen would be slaves to the upperclassmen.” -sophomore Peter Moriarty

“People wouldn’t be able to use their phones to cheat on tests and homework.” -junior Ryan Carter

“People would be less productive because there would be less resources.”-senior Luke Faulconer

“If the school burned down I don’t think anyone would go the way they were supposed to out of the building. I hope that no one would get hurt, the animals in Environmental Ed would stay safe, and the firemen would come quickly.” -senior Anna Sheridan

What would Debey do?

What would Yoda do?

Ans

wer

: D.

Ans

wer

: A.

art by Matti Crabtree

Everyone would leave for lunch and do what they wanted.” -junior Neely Atha

class sizes, and the need for additional teachers. If the entire class did not graduate, and especiallysince East is such a high performing school, there would be a lot of questions from the school district and the Kansas State Board of Education as to why students were not successful!” -associate principal Molli Anderson

NALU-UKULELE.COM

PIZZA BY THE SLICE11am-2pm Monday- Friday

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thousands of members of the Johnson County

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“HAPPY”mealstaffer reviews “Happy Gillis”, a unique downtown caféwritten by Hannah Ratliff

Try Take Out Worth a Visit Culinary GeniusDine ‘n Dash

It’s impossible to not be charmed by the soup and sand-wich wonderland that is Happy Gillis. With it’s whimsical interior and deliciously comforting cuisine with a twist, there’s just no way to resist the lure of this downtown café.

Located in the downtown River Market on its name-sake, Gillis Street, Happy Gillis is tucked away in a unique area which many Johnson County residents, such as myself, have left somewhat untouched. Happy Gillis is one of many locally-owned cafés, bakeries and boutiques in the surround-ing area that are worthy of exploring. However, its distance from many East students’ homes may also be the reason that so many people haven’t heard of it. For me, the distance between my house and Happy Gillis makes it a place that should be visited on a special occasion, not a place I can go to as often as I’d like (as much as I would like that).

When I walked into Happy Gillis, I entered one of the most inviting and quirky spaces I’ve seen in a long time: the first thing I saw when I stepped inside was a huge col-lection of antique plates that cover nearly an entire wall. An old-fashioned, diner-style counter complete with spinning barstools faced out of one of the café’s many windows, and a couch and set of chairs created a comfortable area for conver-sation. The café’s tables are complete with sweet porcelain salt-and-pepper shakers that make me think of my grand-ma’s china cabinet. To add to the fun and laid-back atmo-sphere, each table is covered in butcher paper and a mug of crayons tempts you to doodle before your meal. An adjacent wall is covered in scraps of table paper that features the most recent “abandoned wall art,” which range from kid’s draw-ings to the work of some highly skilled crayon artists alike. Even if you’ve never been there before, it’s not hard to feel comfortable inside Happy Gillis.

The cheerful atmosphere of Happy Gillis is matched by it’s friendly and engaging service. When I visited for a late lunch on a Saturday around 2 p.m., which is an admittedly weird time to eat, the service was quick, probably since it was pretty quiet. However, if you came in while the place was busy, it could be hard to get a table, since there aren’t a ton of them. Luckily for me, there was no line when I came in to order at the front counter. Their menu is displayed on a chalkboard behind the counter (behind which you can see your sandwich being made) and after you order, your plate is brought out to your table by one of the friendly servers. When I went, my food probably came out only five or 10 minutes later.

As great as the cute interior and friendly service of this café is, that’s not even close to the best part about this soup-and-sandwich joint. Their lunch menu (Happy Gillis also serves breakfast!) includes a variety of classic sandwiches with a twist, like the mouth-watering chicken salad sand-wich with pistachios I ordered. From the perfectly-cooked chicken to the toasted bread and salty pistachios, this sand-wich couldn’t have been more satisfying. If chicken salad’s not your thing, try the Gillis version of a classic BLT (theirs includes egg salad) or one of their ooey-gooey boulevard cheese melts. If you want, you can even grab a side of the soup of the day or a bag of chips, but come hungry: one sand-wich is big enough for two meals, and you absolutely have to save room for dessert.

If you go to Happy Gillis, I honestly don’t care what you choose off the menu. I am certain you won’t be disappointed.

But I have to insist that after you finish, you grab one of the café’s brownies. They may look no different from your typi-cal chocolatey treat, but trust me — it might just be the best brownie you ever have. With it’s dense, rich texture, huge chunks of chocolate and ever-so slightly salty chocolate fla-vor, there’s no way to pass this dessert up. According to urban legend, the brownie recipe is so super-secret that Happy Gil-lis’ chef must be alone in the restaurant to make them. After asking one of the chefs just how true this myth was, he just laughed as a waitress said, “Come to think of it, I haven’t ever seen a recipe.” Maybe the recipe’s secret-ness was a bit of an exaggeration, but nevertheless, these brownies are amazing.

Happy Gillis’ outstanding success has lead owner Todd Schulte to make his first addition to the “Happy” fam-ily, called Genessee Royale Bistro, on (what else?) Genessee Street in Kansas City, MO. Genessee Royale also serves break-fast and lunch, and from what I can gather from the online

menu, they offer a variety of slightly fancier sandwiches... and a chocolate espresso brownie that I may have to try.

If you’re looking for an excursion out of your comfort zone that’s sure to satisfy your need for a homemade sand-wich unlike any of your mom’s creations or a brownie that’s out of this world, then, believe me, you’ll leave Happy Gillis with a happy tummy.

all photos by Annie Savage

Above: A collection of charming antique plates adorn one of the café walls.

Above: Happy Gillis’ display of the abandoned art of the week, left on the butcher paper that covers their tables.

Above: The unique vintage Coca-Cola sign that hangs outside the Happy Gillis café & hangout.

photos by Annie Savage

A&E 17|

Taylor Swift reinforces her status as the Queen of Breakups on her fourth album, “Red.” While

she holds true to her diary entry style, she turns away from her country roots and heads toward a new, more pop-like sound. Even though I am unashamed to ad-mit that I am a Taylor Swift fan, this new album be-gan to annoy and ceased to impress me, aside from her unexpected change in sound. Her classic country style now just accents her new pop style, instead of the other way around.

With her album “Red,” it’s the same old Taylor Swift but with a new sound. She uncharacteristically uses dubstep and auto, specifically in “I Knew You Were Trouble,” with its synthesized chorus and the occasional bassdrop. Some songs, though, still feature just enough twangy banjo and/or acoustic guitar to have that country feel. Along with the album’s new electronic feel, Swift includes a more indie feel, simi-lar to her earlier released song for the Hunger Games Movie “Safe and Sound.”

Featured artists on the album are Ed Sheeran and Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol. Neither of these art-ists sing any type of country music, which adds to the new sound of “Red” as Swift breaks away from her country roots.

After four albums about love, break-ups and gen-erally sappy songs, I would expect Swift to realize she’s just beating a dead horse. I can’t understand how she manages to date and then be dumped by various guys, which makes me wonder, why is she so undat-able? Does she purposefully date and then be dumped just for song ideas? At a certain point, after that many failed relationships the average person would stop and evaluate what’s wrong. Swift continues with the cycle of date, get dumped and then writes a hit song.

At 22-years-old, Swift has a multitude of songs about her heartbreaks, failed fairy tales and perpetu-

ally being friendzoned, which I have yet to have a bad enough breakup to understand.

In the six years since her first single, “Teardrops on My Guitar”, where a younger Swift longs for a boy who doesn’t know she exists, you can see her change in her newest hit single, “We are Never Getting Back Together,” where she very clearly affirms her separa-tion from a former love interest.

The album illustrates a more reflective side of Swift, she’s looking back on her previous relation-ships — on the ups and downs, the mistakes and the occasional good moments, whereas her previous al-bums are about what’s happening to her at that mo-ment.

Swift’s ability to turn every relationship she has had into a song and even a whole album has given way to numerous jokes about her apparent inability to express her feelings in other ways besides very pub-lic, very popular songs. Swift’s songs are coveted by teenage girls everywhere as the anthems of teenage relationship angst. Her popularity doesn’t just extend to the assumed demographic. Yes, boys, we know you love her just as much as us girls do.

The released singles from the album and Swift’s popularity causes certain songs to become quickly overplayed and worn out even before the album comes out. With continuous repetition in her songs, they are easy to memorize and then, just as easy to get annoyed with them.

“Red” undoubtedly will not be the last album that Swift will inform us all of her various attempts at find-ing that one true love to us. I mean, she just broke it off with her last boyfriend, so maybe by the end of the year there will be a whole new set of songs that I, without shame, will play at full volume. At least, until I can’t stand them anymore.

A&E18|

Soph

omor

e M

ax B

yers

“She’s the best. I’ve heard a couple songs. I thought it was a really good al-bum, it was really catchy. I like her older albums better.”

Junior Mitchell Tyler

“Well last year me and some of my friends went to the Taylor Swift concert and we actually met Mrs. Swift. She talked to us and brought us into this V.I.P seating area called the Tea party. I downloaded [the new album] yesterday, actually. I like it a lot but I miss the old Taylor Swift, the country Taylor Swift.”

Seni

or C

onno

r McG

anno

n

“I’ve been to two of her concerts. One in Kansas City and last year my older brother and I sat on the floor for the one in Nashville. I think it’s different than her other albums, but it’s good new. I enjoy it.”

written by Phoebe Aguiar

Picture of Taylor Swift is a visual representation of a photo by professional photographer Sarah Barlow

SWIFTINGTHROUGHSTYLES

Staffer reviews highly anticipated album from music icon Taylor Swift

1. State of Grace

2. Red

3. Treacherous

4. I Knew You Were Trouble

5. All Too Well 6. 22

7. I Almost Do

8. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together

9. Stay Stay Stay

10. The Last Time

11. Holy Ground

12. Sad Beautiful Tragic

13. The Lucky One

14. Everything Has Changed

15. Starlight

16. Begin Again

Analysis of Album symbols in Taylor Swift’s new album

two a.m.

stars & sky

crying

crying

boys compared to angels

waiting for a call

being an outsider

being uncool

waiting for a call

waiting for a call

boys compared to angels

crying

being uncool

eyes

stars & sky

being uncool

photos by Jake Crandall

W hen I told my sisters that we were going to the Louisburg Cider

Mill on Saturday, they all made whiny faces. My sister Mae even said, “Are we all going?” My family didn’t have a strong affinity for the cider mill after having a not-so-good trip a couple of years ago. The cider mill had been overwhelmingly crowded — the lines were way too long and not worth waiting for. The cider mill is the perfect place to enjoy a lazy fall weekend, their amazing apple cider and their delicious apple cider doughnuts; I was determined to give the mill a second chance.

This time, we decided to go on a Saturday around 3 p.m.; hopefully we would avoid the mad rush we experienced a couple of years ago. We made it to the cider mill in no time and we even got a really close parking spot — score one for the Heitmanns! I was happy to not see the vendors, jumpy tents, horse rides and mobs of people mingling near the mill as there were last year.

Walking around, it seemed like a dead town compared to my family’s last trip. The visitors were taking in the sights and smells, relaxing and just enjoying the weather. A two man band of a banjo and fiddle played idly in the background and the aroma of sweet apples was everywhere. It was so peaceful and laid back — it just made me want to curl up in the sun and take a nap.

My family wandered around and watched the workers make apple cider in a century old barn that was restored in 1977. To make the cider, the apples are first cleaned in an apple washer and then transported up to a hammer mill that

grinds the apple into pulp, or pomace. The pomace is laid onto a series of mesh cloths that are laid on top of each other. A hydraulic press puts 3,500 pounds of pressure per square inch on the pomace to extract the juice, which is collected and cooled down. Then, it’s finally ready for drinking.

The next barn holds the Country Store where they make their apple cider doughnuts. We watched through a window as a couple of ladies whipped up batch after batch of their famous doughnuts. Watching them and smelling all the apples made us hungry so we made our way over to a stand, labeled “Fresh Cider.” Five minutes later we sat down under a large, red and white tent to eat our snacks. The apple cider was very good and smelled wonderful. There was something different about the cider — it tasted almost spicy, but sweet at the same time. And the temperature was absolutely perfect.

The apple cider doughnut was small, dense, orange-ish and had cinnamon sugar on the top. At first, I didn’t know it was apple cider flavored, I just thought it was supposed to be pumpkin flavored because of its color. It didn’t have a clear, detectable flavor but I still enjoyed the doughnut with my cider. This visit was already turning out better than the first.

Next, my sisters and I wanted to go through the corn maze. From the pictures online of their witch-shaped maze, I was expecting a huge maze with long, tall stalks. But I was severely disappointed: the harvest of corn, cold weather, lack of rain and the traffic of thousands of people through the maze had done

some damage to the stalks. They were short, brown, crunchy and overall, very sad looking. It was one of the mazes where you are looking for the letters to complete a phrase. You could easily see the letters through the bare stalks and pathways were purposely made as people just wanted to just get to the letter. I went to the bathroom halfway through the search, but judging from my sisters’ lack of enthusiasm of the maze afterwards, I don’t think I missed much.

Afterwards we walked about the pumpkin patch. Being the weekend before Halloween, the patch was very bare. We weren’t going to get pumpkins, but it was still cool to see the different kinds they had. I did have the unique experience of jumping on a broken pumpkin and smashing it, though.

I think my whole family can agree that this trip was a lot better than the previous visit. We took our time and the atmosphere was a lot more relaxing. I wasn’t pleased with the corn maze and didn’t think it was worth the $8. Maybe it would be earlier in the season when the corn is ripe and healthy and the pumpkin patch is well stocked, but getting the leftovers wasn’t worth it. After seeing the quality of the corn maze and other activities they offered, I began to get bored; my seven year old sister Kate really enjoyed the trip but these activities were more suited for younger kids.

Overall, I would sparingly go back. I enjoyed the cider mill and the atmosphere but I wouldn’t return for the corn maze. I did have a good time but it’s more of a once-a-season type of activity for people over the age of 10.

WINTER

SPRING-

WINTER-

SUMMER-

MILLING THROUGHTHE SEASONS

A look at the seasonal activities available at the Louisburg Cider

Mill

Get out of the cold and enjoy the comfort of the Louisburg Cider Mill Coun-try Store. Shop around and sip on some warm apple cider made fresh right at the mill. Once you’ve had your fill, buy some to take home.

WARM APPLE CIDER

SOUP MAKING CLASS

FRESH PEACHES

For only $5 you can take a soup making class in the Louisburg Country Store, taught by Lois Hart. The classes feature demon-strations of three healthy soups, two hot soups, and one cold soup.

Come support local orchards by picking up some fresh peaches, peach butter, and peach preserves available at the Cider Mill in the begin-ning in May.

EXCITED FOR CIDERwritten by Grace Heitmann photo by Caroline Creidenberg

Staffer reviews the Louisburg Cider Mill

A&E 19|

FAMILYIn the final match in the state tournament, senior Eliza-

beth Wilcox and sophomore Stephanie Wilcox are playing fellow teammates junior Meredith Shackleford and freshman Aiden Epstein for the title. As the game is coming to a close, both sisters find each other at the net. With a swish of a rac-quet, the final point is scored and the sisters hug each other with relief.

“We worked so hard together,” Stephanie said. “It was just really emotional.”

* * *Elizabeth started playing tennis when she was nine, af-

ter her mother, Katherine, signed her up for group lessons at Overland Park Racquet Club. What started out as just an-other after school activity turned into a passion with every improvement.

“I could see myself improving,” Elizabeth said. “I also liked the tournaments and all the people I played with, so that kind of made me want to keep doing it.”

By the time Elizabeth was 13, she was competing in tour-naments all over the Midwest in Iowa, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Missouri. Around this time, her younger sister, Stepha-nie, who was 10 at the time, also started to play tennis. From then on, tennis became the family sport.

When Elizabeth entered high school, she knew she want-

ed to continue playing tennis. She made the varsity team as a freshman and has played all four years.

As she entered her last season at East, Elizabeth found out Stephanie would be her new doubles partner. For the first time, the sisters would be playing competitively together. According to Stephanie, it was nerve wracking to know she would be defending the state championship title with her sister.

“I was excited because she had been a state champion two previous years,” Stephanie said. “It was a big spot to fill.”

Both sisters attribute part of their success to their close re-lationship. Being sisters helped give them extra time to prac-tice together at home or to talk strategy. They would spend extra time at home practicing with their dad as he would feed them the ball or run drills with them.

“We know each other really well and we know our strengths and weaknesses,” Elizabeth said. “It’s really easy to talk to each other and we understand each other really well.”

Even though being doubles partners had its advantages, they also found it difficult at times to play together. They often found themselves carrying petty arguments into prac-tice or getting frustrated with each other when they made mistakes. The main issue they both said was having no filter when it came to pointing out each other’s faults. They had to focus on treating each other like friends on the court rather than sisters.

According to coach Sue Chipman, this is common for sib-lings who play together, and the Wilcox sisters were no ex-ception.

“[Playing with siblings] a lot of times can cause more problems,” Chipman said. “With siblings you get to that level where they blame each other for mistakes.”

Not having a filter caused them to get frustrated with each other every time a tennis ball was missed by a racquet. The usual “that’s ok”s or “no big deal”s were gone during their matches together. Now they were replaced with statements

like, “Oh my god, you shouldn’t have missed that!”Even though they had problems during the season they

pulled it together for state. Once they realized they were play-ing another team from East, most of the nerves vanished; Af-ter that final point the sisters embraced each other with relief. As they walked off the court, their career as doubles partners came to an end.

That game-winning point not only won the state champi-onship but also won Elizabeth’s last point of her high school career. Stephanie was greeted with excitement and uncer-tainty for next season.

“[Next year] will be a lot different,” Stephanie said. “There will definitely be changes that will have to be made. We aren’t sure what’s even going to happen next year.”

The memories they made together as sisters on the court will always remain.

“[It will mean a lot] being able to look back on it when we’re older,” Elizabeth said. “Being able to remember us play-ing doubles together and us winning state.”

Awritten by Sarah Berger TITLE

Elizabeth and Stephanie Wilcox won the doubles state title and have strengthened their relationship through tennis

photo by Jake Crandall

Sisters Elizabeth (right) and Stephanie (left)prepare for competition during a preliminary round at the state tournament.

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SPORTS22 |

LEADERTORNSenior David Sosna heard the pop.

It sounded eerily familiar, like the first time he had torn his ACL the previous summer. The pain was excruciating. He lay on the ground clutching his knee to his chest. He was already expecting the worst as his coaches carried him off to the sidelines.

Three weeks later, he hasn’t left the sidelines. His white, number 80 jersey fits snugly over a black sweatshirt and sweatpants. With each play he paces the sidelines, shouting words of encouragement to his teammates. He won’t be joining them on the field this game though. In fact, Sosna won’t be playing in any more football games for the rest of his high school career. Not since the Freestate game. Not since he tore his ACL.

With Sosna out for the season, the Lancers aren’t just losing a wide receiver and safety; they’re losing one of their key leaders. Younger players are having to step up to fill positions on the already small-rostered team, especially junior Mitchell Tyler, who replaced Sosna as a safety.

“He helps me a lot on the sidelines with coverages, he’s kind of like my one-on-one coach,” Tyler said.

Rather than leading by example, Sosna now leads with his knowledge and love of the game. He helps teammates by telling them what they can improve on when they come off the field and telling them what they did well. From old friends he’s played with since freshmen year to athletes who are brand new to the team,

he tries to help out wherever he can. He also gives advice to younger players, such as sophomore Will Oakley.

“Whenever I’m in I always hear him talking, yelling at me from the sideline, trying to help me out,” Oakley said.

He may never play another game, but Sosna still won’t give up on his team. Each practice he stands on the side of the field, discussing plays with assistant coach Chip Ufford, yelling out coverages to Tyler, or just trying to cheer on his team. He talks to the team before games, energizing them before they rip through the Lancer banner and onto the field.

“He will just say, ‘If you can’t find anyone to play for, play for me. Don’t take it for granted, you don’t know what could be your last play,’” Tyler said.

Just as he’s stayed to support his team, they’ve supported him as he’s dealt with his injury. Within the past month he has received an outpouring of support from his teammates, coaches and peers. Whether they were wishing him luck for surgery or asking about his well-being, he knew he was never alone on his road to recovery.

“It’s good, you know, whether I’m waking up from one of my many naps throughout the day, it’s nice to see that extra support it kinda gives you a little extra boost, just to know that people are caring about you and that you’re in peoples thoughts and everything,” Sosna said.

Sosna isn’t the only one affected by his injury; the team is feeling the hurt as well. Head football coach Chip Sherman

said that the loss of Sosna is very hard on the team, but they have to keep moving forward; Sosna will be there with them the whole way.

“David’s the type of guy who is a true team player and he just wants to help out and support his friends and his team,” Sherman said.

* * *Sosna is no stranger to injuries. In

addition to the full tear in his ACL, he has two separate tears in his meniscus and a partial tear in his MCL. This season alone, he has had a separated shoulder and stitches in his leg from being cleated. Before his junior track season he sprained his ankle and could only run half of the season.

After a very successful sophomore year of track, where he placed fifth in the 110 meter hurdles at state, Sosna thought a college career was within reach. At that point, Sosna considered quitting football to pursue track in college, but football just meant too much to him to walk away from the program.

“I couldn’t see myself sitting out in any way to prevent injury or anything because it meant way to much to play on Friday nights with all these guys,” Sosna said.

He couldn’t leave his teammates then, and he can’t leave them now, even if he can only stand on the sidelines.

“I just want to give them all my support and just make sure that I’m there on the sideline even if I have to hobble out there on my crutches,” Sosna said. “As long as I’m there, it means a lot to be with them.”

After tearing his ACL this year against Lawrence Freestate, senior David Sosna continues to lead and support the team from the sideline

written by Audrey Dancinger photos by Jake Crandall

THE INJURYHOW IT ALL WENT DOWN

THE PASS Sosna catches the ball, turns around and tries to cut inside.

THE HIT As he cuts, Sosna is hit. His knee turns in and twists, then makes a popping sound.

THE POP Sosna instantly drops the ball and reaches for his knee out of pain.

THE AGONY Head coach Sherman asks Sosna what happened and tries to calm him. “I pretty much knew it was my ACL when I heard the pop,” Sosna said. Soon after he is assisted off the field, then finds that his athletic career is over.

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ROUNDSPORTSUP

At sub-state, the vol-leyball team’s season

ended when they lost to SM Northwest. The girls finished with a final match record of 12-23. Next season they will be losing three seniors: Eliza-beth Arnold, Ashley Allegri and Anne Recker.

“Elizabeth and Ashley were great outside hitters for us and Anne is one of the best players we’ve had in years,” junior Savannah Bellem said.

The team lost three play-ers throughout the season for various reasons. The girls were looking to defend their Sunflower League title, but having good team chemis-try was something first-year coach Charles Cooper want-ed to focus on because the

team was young.“This year we’ve focused

on building a sisterhood and becoming closer,” Bel-lem said. “The girls quitting has been kind of a positive because with less people you can be-come closer.”

But with Bellem and five other v a r s i t y m e m b e r s r e t u r n i n g next year, the girls will have senior lead-ership.

CROSS COUNTRY

The gymnastics team competed in the State

competition on Oct. 20 and took seventh place. The team’s highest points scorer was junior Sarah Gillespie, but senior Emily Kaplan was the emotional leader.

“[Kaplan] is always really supportive and enthusias-tic,” junior Taylor Bell said. “She encouraged us and was always positive.”

Compared to other years, the team was a little behind in their state placing. One difficulty they faced is that their coach, Chuck Lund-blad, coaches both East and SM North gymnastics teams.

“We competed in two gyms, so [Lundblad] kind of had to run back and forth which was hard for him,” Bell said. “[Lundblad] said he was kind of disappointed in us because our goal was 100 points, and we only got 98.”

The team will have high expectations for next year, because they will all be re-turning except for Kaplan.

STATELYMATTERGYMNASTICS

VOLLEYBALL

FOOTBALLO n Oct. 26 the Lancer

football team defeat-ed Shawnee Mission North. This victory finished off their regular season with a record of 7-2 and tied them for second in the Sunflower League. They clinched their playoff spot with the win against North and will face the Olathe East Hawks in the first round of the playoffs on Nov. 2. In the two teams’ pre-vious meeting, the Lancers won with a score of 41-21. The game will be played at CBAC, as opposed to the first game, which was played at South Stadium. The Hawks will have a few key players back for the game that they didn’t have in the first meet-ing. One of those key play-ers is running back Hayden Frazier.

“[Olathe East] has a base philosophy and they believe in running the ball,” Sher-man said. “They believe in the run game and they are very good at it.

After losing to the Lanc-ers once this season, senior Sam Stewart believes the Hawks will have some re-venge on their mind.

“[Olathe East] has gotten a lot better and they will have a little fire in them af-ter we beat them,” Stewart said.

CROSS COUNTRYThe girls’ and boys’

cross country teams finished sixth and seventh in regionals. Neither teams qualified for State, because they failed to finish in the top three. Junior Annie Kuk-lenski finished 22nd and sophomore Hannah Arn-spiger finished 21st among other East runners. Despite coming up short this year, the girls are definitely look-ing forward to next year.

“This year taught us that we really need to step it up next year,” Kuklenski said. “[Working harder] includes summer running because it really does help towards the season.”

The top seniors the team will be losing are Alex Hill-ard, Tiernan Shank and Anna Colby. There are some strong freshman returning and junior Grace Quinlan is expected to have a big year next year. Injuries plagued Arnspiger and Quinlan

throughout the year. “It was tough for them

to get back to a 100 percent throughout the year,” Kuk-lenski said. “[The injuries] just kind of changed things for them during the season.”

On the boys side, the top two runners, seniors Joe Bahr and Gavin Jorns did not place at regionals. Ac-cording to Jorns, the season was more of a transition year. The team will lose Bahr and Jorns, but will return multiple sophomores, one junior and one freshman. Quinn Appletoft will be the lone junior returning, along with freshman Lance Ming and sophomores Peter Mo-riarty, Michael Thibodeau, George Miller, Will Moore, Cruz Gonzalez and Marshall Green.

“We are trying to build our team up,” Jorns said. “We are trying to help out the underclassmen for fu-ture years.”

SOCCERThe boys’ soccer team

won regionals for the first time since 2007 and for the second time under head coach Jamie Kelly. They de-feated Blue Valley West 2-0 with goals by seniors Bryce McClanahan and Clint Dunn. The game was score-less at half. The Lancers de-fense stood tall in the first half, facing a strong push by the Jaguars’ offense.

Eight minutes into the second half, the Lancers

split the defense, and junior Noah

Eidemiller found McClanahan on a

long pass, and McCla-nahan placed it past the

Jaguars’ goalkeeper.“When [Bryce] scored it

felt incredible,” Eidemiller said. “We had been trying to link up the entire year and it finally happened during the biggest game of the season.”

Dunn scored with less than a minute left in the game to seal it for the Lanc-ers. He stole the ball from the Jaguar defense and slid it past the goalkeeper and into

the back of the net.“When [Dunn] scored,

everybody just started jump-ing around and celebrat-ing the win.” senior Garrett Raibble said. “I was ecstatic to know that we had done something that many teams had not done before.”

The team took on the Lawrence Lions in the quar-terfinals. In their previous meeting, the Lancers defeat-ed the Lions 6-1 thanks in part to a big performance by senior defender Matt Terry. Terry had three goals and was the key to the Lancers win.

“It was awesome to score not only my first goal of the season in the game, but get a hat trick too,” Terry said. “I’m definitely looking forward to playing them again.”

The Lancers beat the Lawrence Lions by a score of 1-0 on Oct. 30 at the Shawnee Mission Soccer Complex. The Lancers only goal came from senior Bryce McClannahan 14 minutes into the first half. The Lanc-ers then played on Nov. 2 at CBAC.

A quick look at how the fall sports seasons are wrapping up. All stats as of Oct. 30.

written by G.j. Melia

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XC STATS

2,864total race miles ran

this season

179personal bests

126Village hills conquered

1,440popsicles con-

sumed on Popsicle Wednesday

info via XC Coaches photo by Anne Willman

photo by McKenzie Swanson

Far Left: Senior Mason Pashia sings into the harmonizing microphone at the Grammy Museum. “The [microphone] was really cool because it made your voice sound a lot better,” Pashia said.

Above: The museum has interactive instruments set up on a concert- like stage which allows unskilled musicians to experiment with instruments such as guitars, pianos and drums. Senior Gardner Grantham plays the guitar.

Left: A fellow camper played the piano at the museum. “I know a lot of people I didn’t think I would miss as much,” Grantham said. “But when I saw them I was really excited.”

Seniors Mason Pashia and Garnder Grantham attended the opening of the new Grammy Museum located at the Sprint Center downtown through the Grammy Museum’sRevolution program.

Revolut on

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photos by Caroline Creidenberg

PHOTO ESSAY