Print Edition

ThePride

Harrisonville HigH scHool | HHsnews.com| friday, sePtember 12, 2014 | volume Xvii, issue i

students feel tHe effects of teenage

Pregnancy Pg. 8

Harrisonville High School1504 E. Elm

Harrisonville, MO 64701Phone: (816)380-3273

The Pride is written, edited and pub-lished by the newspaper production class at HHS. The paper is an open forum, distributed to the students, faculty, parents, alumni, and other members of HHS. All decisions concerning grammar, layout, con-tent, and photography are made solely by the editors themselves. Our mission is to report news truth-fully and accurately and to act as an open forum for student expres-sion. Opinions in editorials do not reflect the views of the Cass R-IX school district, its staff or the adviser. All comments, concerns, and com-plaints should be forwarded directly to the Editor-in-Chief. If readers would like to submit letters to the Editor, they can do so in room 304.

About the PrideEditor-in-Chief:

Madi Dahn

Managing Editor: Brently Probasco

Copy Editor: Ali Schmidt

Online Editor:Kayley Brock

Feature Editor:Elizabeth Thayer

News Editor:

Emily Priesendorf

Sports Editor: Joe Cramer

Opinion Editor: Bethany Travis

Photo Editor:Jessie Poisal

Video Editor: Casey Ambrozi

Adviser:Virginia DeVenney

Staff Members: Tyler CardinalDylan Flanner

Luke BrinesDani Dalton

Delaynie GettyLevi SchoonoverAustin Limback

tHe Pride

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@HHswildcatnews

Administration works to manage web content for students

Story by Dylan [email protected] “It’snotanydifferentthanour old desktops, we couldgobackandseewhatyoudidstepbystepbyenteringcom-mands,”saidPrincipalAndy Campbell, in regard to thecapacity that the school canmonitoryouronlineactivity. TheLightspeedSystemisused to block certain web-sitesfrombeingviewed.Ev-erySundaynight,Campbellgets a print out that showshim the attempts at viewingblocked sites, and the userthathasattemptedthem. As Campbell gets his re-port, some students may bewondering if administrationcanseemorethanwhattheysearchandwhatwebsitestheyuse.Questionshavearisenastowhetherornotthetechnol-ogy department, or even theadministration, can see stepbystepwhatstudentsdo. Although it seems thatseeing students’ actions stepbystepisnotanissue,David Vignery, Director of Tech-nology,playedalargeroleinacquiring the student Mac-Books. “I had been researchingdevicesforthreeyears,”saidVignery.“IwouldsaythatIwasoneoftheinstigators.As

thedirectoroftechnologyit’sto always consider what thenext technology is for learn-ingandteaching.Idoalotofrecommendingofdevices.” AccordingtoVignery,be-fore MacBooks were in thepicture, HP minis, Google

Chromebooks and AppleiPadswerelookedinto. “We reallocated funds inthe budget in order to pur-chase the MacBooks”, saidVignery. Inregardtostudentpriva-cy and step-by-step surveil-lance, Vignery says not toworry. “There are [surveillance]programs out there,” saidVignery. “I don’t feel com-fortablewiththatforthesole

reason of privacy. We arenotandwillnotmonitorany-one liveon their computers.Wecantrackthecontentthatanyone is going to throughtheLightSpeedSystemsandifweseemisuseofthesede-viceswewilladdressthis.” As for websites beingblocked,somemaybeoutofluck.StudentshavewebsitessuchasFacebook,andgam-ing websites blocked at theschool, but according to Vi-gnery,thereisachancethatstudents may begin to see achange in the content theycanviewfromhomeontheirschoollaptops. “At this time, no; in thefuture,yes,”saidVignery.“I

havebeen toldby thesuper-intendentthatthat’swhatwewantasadistrict,given thattheseareschooldevices.Wehopetohavecontentfilteringon these devices that workoutof theschoolnetwork inaboutamonth.” According to Vignery,students may have to startkeepingthingsinperspectivewhenitcomestousingtheirdevice. They still belong tothe school, and that meansthe schoolcandowhat theyfeelisnecessarytokeepkidsontrackacademically.

“We hope to have content filterting on these devices that work out of

the school network in about a month.”

- David Vignery, Director of Technology

Despite earlier thoughts, students may face additional censoring on MacBook Airs

Photo by Jessie Poisal Students were recently given MacBook Airs with little censorship except when at the school on the Lightspeed System.

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6 L o w e r D i s p l a y B r i g h t n e s s

2 D i s a b l e B l u e t o o t h

3 D i s a b l e t h e b a c k l i t k e y b o a r d

4 U s e e n e r g y s a v e r

5 Q u i t a p p l i c a t i o n s n o t i n u s e

1 W a i t t o c h a r g e y o u r m a c b o o k

tHe Pride

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District budget more than just numbers Each year, students fussabout the school budgetwithout knowing the limi-tations a school districtfaceswhenitcomestobud-geting for their students. AccordingtoSuperinten-dentDr.Bryan McDonald,thebudgetingprocessislongand gets an early kickoff. “Webegindiscussingthenextyear’sbudget inOcto-berorNovember,” saidDr.McDonald. “We begin tohearsomeverypreliminaryinformationaroundhowthestate may fund education.In January, the Governorwill give his State of theStateAddressandinthatheoutlines his plan for fund-ing education. That pro-videsusastartingpointforplanningbasedonwhatweanticipate from the state.” Onethingdistrictofficialsare always aware of is thatthe money the district willbereceivingislimited.Thedistrict budget is dividedbetweenfundsfromthefed-eral and state government,as well as local taxpayers. Missouri falls below theaveragewhenitcomestore-ceivingmoneyfromthefed-

eral government, receivingunder ten percent of theirdistrict budget from thefederalgovernment,anum-berthathasbeenconsistentin years past, according toDr. McDonald. Missourischool districts are also on

the lower end of receiv-ing funds from the state. These funds, com-bined with those of tax-payers, are used in part toprovide the district stafftheir pay, something thatis reviewed each year. “Our district has a com-mittee made up of certi-fiedandclassifiedstaffthatalsolookatsalaryandben-

Story by Brently [email protected]

Harrisonville School District Sources of Budget by Percents

$ 1 1 , 0 6 9 p e r p u p i l M i s s o u r i a v e r a g e

$ 1 2 , 6 0 8 p e r p u p i l N a t i o n a l a v e r a g e

$ 9 , 6 0 5 p e r p u p i l H a r r i s o n v i l l e a v e r a g e

efits,” said Dr. McDonald. Dr.McDonaldalsomeetswith Assistant Superinten-dentDr. Tim Ryanaswellas the business departmentto review things such assalariesandincreasesorde-creases that couldbemade

P e r S t u d e n t E x p e n d i t u r e

within the budgets. How-ever, Dr. McDonald viewsthebudgetassomethingforthekidswithin thedistrict. “I believe that this mon-ey is for our students, andevery decision has to bemade around how we bud-get our money and howit will help our students,”said Dr. McDonald. “I dotry to be conservative with

what we anticipate in rev-enue and overestimate ourexpenses.Mygoal is tobeclose but I would ratherdo it this way as opposedto the opposite way. Whennew items are proposed Ialways try to look at what

that will mean long term.” Dr. McDonald is ableto meet with the princi-pals throughout the dis-trict and get their view ofthings. The principals playthe role of the spokes-person for their schoolin the budgeting process. “As I meet with eachprincipal or director, theygivemetheirrecommenda-tionforeacharea,”saidDr.McDonald. “Based on the

total requests we make de-cisions. Sometimes we canprovideallthatisrequestedandsometimeswecannot.” For the high schoolspecifically, Dr. McDon-ald also spends time withAthletic Director H.T. Adams going over bud-get for other activities. “OneofthepeopleImeetwith isMr.Adams,andhebrings a budget to us thatincludes all activities in-cludingband,”saidDr.Mc-Donald. “He has a generalbudgetwith a line item foreach activity. He has theflexibility to move somemoneyaround.Anexamplecouldbeifsoccerneedsnewuniforms one year and thenext, basketball does. Hecanmove thatmoney fromactivitytoactivity.Theover-allamounthasstayedsteadyin the past four years.” All these numbers mustbe approved by the Harri-sonville School Board. Dr.McDonaldkeepstheboardupdatedthroughoutthepro-cess before holding meet-ings specific to the budget. “In March or April wetry tohavea specificstudysessionforbudgeting,”saidDr. McDonald. “In June,theBoardwillapproveafi-nalbudgetforthenextyear.During each year we willmake amendments basedon additional information.”

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tHe Pride @HHswildcatnews

Homecoming takes patriotic approach This year, homecoming isall about celebrating the livesoffireman,policemanandci-vilians who lost their lives intheterroristattackswhichoc-curredonSeptember11,2001.The2014homecomingthemewill be “A Hero’s Homecom-ing” and much different fromyears past in part to honorthesebravemenandwomen. Student council execu-tive president, senior Aaron Laughlin, oversaw thesehomecomingchanges. According to Laughlin,student council voted “A He-ro’s Homecoming” theme torememberthoselost.

“We are recognizing menand women in service whohave lost their lives,” saidLaughlin. Studentcouncilhasworkedon recent changes for home-coming this summer. ThedancehasbeenmovedtoSat-urday from 8 p.m. to 11 p.mandwillbesemi-formalattire. Prices at the door will be$8.00 with a donation to thehomecoming service project,$10.00ifnodonationismade. “Thekidstalkedaboutthislast year with Mr. Campbell,and I think it will appeal tothe underclassmen becausetheycan’tgo toprom,so thisis their dance of the year,”said Allison Willson, studentcounciladvisor.

Anotherchangewithhome-cominginvolvedthewaystu-dentsvotedforthehomecom-ingcandidates. Students were able to voteonline for the homecom-ing court candidates of theirchoice.ThewinnerofthepollwillbecomeKingandQueen.Thereasonbehindthechangewas mostly to make it moreefficient for the vote countersandalsoawayofsavingpaper. Last year, the King andQueen were chosen based offwho had the most votes, aninterview process and somesortoflevelofachievementorinvolvement.Thisyear, it hasgoneback to thewinners justbeingselectedbypopularvote. Willson’s goal is to have

thestudentsbeproudof theirhomecoming, and to get thewordoutabouthomecoming. “Iwant tomakeawarenessof homecoming,” said Will-son. “I hope that everyone ispleased,butyouhave to real-izeyoucan’tpleaseeveryone.” Thechangesweremadeaf-tercarefulconsideration. “Wedecidedtomovehome-comingtoSaturdaybecauseitwasdifficulthavingthedanceafter the football game,” saidLaughlin. “It would be dif-ficult for it to be semi-formalwhenstudentsareatthegameandcan’treallydressupbeforethedance,alongwithplayers,dancers and cheerleaders todressup.” This year, advertisement

was provided by the publicrelationsclass,tohelpgetthewordoutabouthomecoming. “Sincethishomecomingistheearliestoneyet,thecoun-cilhasreallytriedtogetabigoutcome,”saidLaughlin. Astoothereventsthrough-out the day, the parade willstartat2p.m.and therewillbeanearlydismissalat1:10p.m.toallowstudentstogototheparade. Tonight, coronation willtakeplaceatMemorialStadi-umat6:30p.m.andthegameagainstRichmondwill beginat7p.m.

S t o r y b y L u k e B r i n e [email protected]

Bus schedule, parking lot chaos calls for new system

G e t t o k n ow yo u r h o m e c o m i n g c o u r t

A b b e y H o u s t o n :1 7 ; S o c c e r a n dS o f t b a l l ; F M P ;

N o r t h w e s tM i s s o u r i S t a t e

U n i v e r s i t y ;S p e c i a l

E d u c a t i o n

H a i l e y W i l s o n :1 7 ; S o f t b a l l

a n d B a s k e t b a l l ; B a s e b a l l m a n a g e r ;

U n d e c i d e d ; B u s i n e s s

A l e x H o l d e n :1 8 ; B o y s S o c c e r

m a n a g e r a n dM u s i c M a k e r s ;

U n d e c i d e d ;P s y c h o l o g y

M e l i s s a W a t s o n :1 7 ; S e c r e t a r y f o r

S A D D a n d N H S ; F C A ;S t u d e n t C o u n c i l ;

C r o s s C o u n t r y ; T r a c ka n d F i e l d ; U n d e c i d e d ;

E n v i r o n m e n t a l o rO c e a n i c

E n g i n e e r i n g

R e a g a n O s b o r n :1 7 ; S o f t b a l l ;U n i v e r s i t y o fM i s s o u r i S t .

L o u i s ; N u r s i n g

B e n T e t e r :1 7 ; F o o t b a l l

a n d B a s e b a l l ;M i n e r a l A r e a

C o m m u n i t yC o l l e g e ;

A s s o c i a t e sD e g r e e

L a n d o n H e r n :1 8 ; F o o t b a l l ,

B a s k e t b a l l a n dB a s e b a l l ; M u s i c

M a k e r s ; M i s s o u r iU n i v e r s i t y ;

B u s i n e s sA d m i n i s t r a t i o n

C o l e W e l h o f f :1 7 ; G o l f a n d

M u s i c M a k e r s ;U n d e c i d e d ;

C h e m i c a lE n g i n e e r i n g

B r i c e R e n n e r :1 7 ; B a s k e t b a l la n d F o o t b a l l ;

U n d e c i d e d ;B u s i n e s s

R o n n i e B a k e r :1 7 ; G o l f ;

F a n t a s y F o o t b a l l ;U C M ; B u s i n e s s

M a n a g e m e n t

C a n d i d a t e Q u e s t i o n s : N a m e , A g e , A c t i v i t i e s , I n t e n d e d C o l l e g e ,

a n d M a j o r .

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tHe PrideHHsnews.com

Bus schedule, parking lot chaos calls for new system

Carslinedupbumpertobum-perbeingdirectedbyteachers inorange vests, parents trying todrop off their kids and studentsattempting to maneuver aroundthemisnowjustatypicalmorn-inginthehighschoolparkinglot. Over the summer, the drive-waystotheschoolwerechangedtoonewaysinanattempttoadjusttothenewbusschedulechanges. “This year the middle schoolstarts before the high school,so therefore, the bus scheduleschanged dramatically,” saidSchool Resource Officer Doug Rose.“Theprincipaladvisedmethatthebusesloadandunloadat

Story by Emily [email protected]

the east side entrance, causingparentpickuptothewestsideen-trance.” These changes to the trafficflowhavecausedastiroffrustra-tion among some in the studentbody. “I think it is a clutteredmess,” said senior Ambur Rob-ertson.“Iwishitwouldgobacktothewayitwasbefore.” In addition to the annoyancefromthestudents,somealsofeelthat the new driveway is not assafe for students driving in andoutoftheparkinglot. “Idon’tlikethechangestotheparking lot,” said senior Laura Hamilton. “People leaving theparking lotget inabig rushandtherearecarscomingfromthree

differentdirections,soyoureallyhavetopayattentiontoothercarsinordertostaysafe.” Despite some irritation fromstudents, Rose believes the stu-dent drivers are safe and secureentering and exiting the newdriveway. “Limiting the roads to justa one-way is the safest solutionpossible,”saidRose.“Inadditiontotheonewayroad,wehavead-ditional supervisors in vests su-pervisingtheparkinglot.” Eventhoughthedrivewaycangetcongested,AssistantPrincipalJason Farnsworth suggested awaytoalleviatesomeoftheclut-ter. “Parents could use the busdrop-offlaneafter7:25a.m.;that

would help out with the trafficflow,”saidFarnsworth. Although some students wantthe driveway to change back tothewayitusedtobe,Farnsworthdoesnotanticipateanybigaltera-

tions. “I don’t see the buses chang-ing,”saidFarnsworth.“It’spos-sible to see a few changes butnothingmajor.”

Photo by Luke Brines Students leave the parking lot via the new exit-only lane, now that traffic flow has been rerouted.

Asthenewlibrarian,Ihavemany ideas that I am excitedto implement at HHS! Manyof these projects will be on-going, but some should bedoneassoonasthissemesterisover. First, let’s talkaboutbooks: ·In the fall (and foreverthereafter), I plan on puttingQR codes (like a square bar-code)inthefrontcoversofasmany fiction (and some non-fiction) books as I can. Stu-dentswillhavetodownloadafreeQRcodescannerontheirsmartphoneandwhenbrows-ing will be able to scan thecode. A book trailer will ap-pearonyourphonetogiveyouanideaofwhatthebookwillbeaboutbeforeyoudecidetocheck itout.Thefirstdisplayisalreadysetup,socomeandbrowsethem! ·Additionally,youcanlookforastudentrecommendationdisplay. If you like to read,you can fill out forms (justliketheyusedtodoatBoard-ers) and other students can

New librarian makes changesGuest Writer Melissa Arenson [email protected]

checkoutbooksbasedonyourthoughts. ·We will have a new book“Mystery Box” that will con-tain new books (and eventu-allysomeolderones)thatwillbewrappedup.Youwillgetadescriptionofthebookandifyou select that book you willthenunwrapitandwillbeabletocheckoutasurprise.It’slikeabirthdayallyearround! Wehavenewspaces,too,toaccommodate the new Mac-Book initiative and your col-laborativelearningprojects. ·The Media Lounge: Thisis theoldcomputer lounge.Itservesadualpurposeforyouall. The back half is for techsupport on your Macs. Thefronthalfof the lounge is foryour collaborative learningprojects.Ms.Lockardhas thesignupbook,so ifyouknowyouhave a groupproject youwant toworkon, justseeher.If it’s a surprise when youget to class, just come downand see if the tables are free.Wehaveawhiteboardandallthe windows in the library aswell.Studentscanusetheseto

studyformathbyworkingoutpractice problems, study for-eign language, plan projects,

etc. Ask Ms. Lockard for themarkers.·Themainfloorofthelibrary:thisareaisthesameasitusedto be in many ways. Use itto study with just one otherperson (because that’s muchquieter than the large groups

theMediaLoungeisdesignedfor), read, relax, etc. We willhave a variety of music play-

Photo by Jessica PosialOne of the new changes that Mrs. Arenson has made is allowing stu-dents to walk through the libray during passing periods.

inginboththemainfloorandMedia Lounge daily (as soonasspeakersgethere).Itwillbeahugevariety!Soifyoudon’tlike it, check it out the nextday. ·TheQuietRoom:thisistheconference room of old. It is

still the conference room, butitisalsothetotallyquietstudyspaceforyou. Aswithallthingsnew,newpolicies are in play. PLEASEusetheexitdoorwhenexitingthe library! I love seeing allof you, but I really love yournoses the way they are andwould prefer that they not bebroken as people crash intooneanother!Evenifnooneiswalking in the entrance, justtake the extra second toopentheexitdoor(itevenhasasignthatsaysexit). If you have some sort ofamazing skill, we would lovetoputitondisplay.Cometalkto Mrs. Arenson if you haveany art, sculptures, music re-cordings (preferably burnedonCD),writings,etc.thatyouwould like to display. We’dlovetoshowyourskillsoff. Wewouldlovetoseeinthelibrary tobothstudyor relax,sobringyourmusic(withyourearbuds)andyourwork/booksandcomedown!

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A n d y C a m p b e l l , H i g h S c h o o l P r i n c i p a l

6 A r r i v e a n d c o n v e r s e w i t h t e a c h e r s

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B u i l t i n t i m e t o t a l k t o t e a c h e r s a n d s t u d e n t s

C r e a t e a l i s t f o r D r . M c D o n a l d o f a l l d u a l c r e d i t a n d A P c o u r s e s a n d c o r r e -

s p o n d i n g d e t a i l sP h o n e c a l l s , s t u d e n t m e e t i n g s , m e e t i n g s

w i t h F a r s n w o r t h

A d d i t i o n a l c o m m e n t s

M e e t i n g s w i t h s t a f f ( 3 ) ; t a l k t o t e a c h e r a b o u t p a r e n t e m a i l ; c o n t a c t p a r e n t a n d

w o r k w i t h F a r n s w o r t h t o f i x i s s u e

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a n d H TC l a s s r o o m o b s e r v a t i o n s ( 1 2 : 2 5 )

F i n i s h c l a s s r o o m o b s e r v a t i o n s ; t e a c h e r m e e t i n g s ; P u b l i c R e l a t i o n s i n t e r v i e w

M e e t w i t h s t u d e n t t e a c h e r ; i n t e r v i e w f o r n e w s p a p e r ; m e e t w i t h c o u n s e l o r s

a b o u t c h a n g e s i n p r o g r a m s

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S e t a s i d e t i m e d u r i n g p a s s i n g p e r i o d s f o r h a l l d u t y .

C h e c k o n f r e s h m e n S t u d e n t C o u n c i l m e e t i n g d u r i n g l u n c h .

U p d a t e c a l e n d a r .

D a i l y S c h e d u l e“ T h e v o l um e o f t h

e t h i ng s I n e e d to g e t

do n e i n a da y i s p ro ba b ly t h e mo s t s

t r e s s-

f u l p ar t,” s a i d Campb e l l . “

I h av e v o i cema i l s ,

ema i l s , w alk i ng t h e h al l s ,

c la s s rooms to

c h e ck and t h e n t h i ng s you can’t s

c h e d u le .

E v e r yon e ’s t

im e i s t h e mo s t v

al u a b le , s o i t ’s

h ar d t r yi ng to do e v e r y t h i ng .”

“M y fav o r i t e p ar t a

b o u t wo rk i ng h e r e i s

i n -

t e r ac t i ng w i t h t h e k i d s and t e ac h e r s ,” s a i d

Campb e l l . “Ge t t i n

g o u t and b e i ng a b le to t alk

and i n t e r ac t wi t h p e o p le i s

u lt imat e ly w hy I

g ot i n t h i s b

u s i n e s s .”

Students make transition from siblings to peers

“ I j u s t hav e to u nde r s t a

nd t h at t hat ’s

w h at

my da y w i l l lo ok l i k

e ,” s ai d Campb e l l . “

I

h av e to o rg an i ze and p r i o r i t ize my to - do

l i s t. I n t h i s j

o b, it i s

v e r y e a s y to g e t

o v e r w h e lm e d . I t h e l p s to b e o rg an i ze d ,

f lex i b le and h av i ng g re at p e o p le to wo rk

w i t h . I t ’s g r e at know i ng t h at I h av e an

adm in i s t rat i o n t e am t h at I can co u nt

o n .”


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“M y fav o r i t e p ar t a

b o u t wo rk i ng h e r e i s

i n -

t e r ac t i ng w i t h t h e k i d s and t e ac h e r s ,” s a i d

Campb e l l . “Ge t t i n

g o u t and b e i ng a b le to t alk

and i n t e r ac t wi t h p e o p le i s

u lt imat e ly w hy I

g ot i n t h i s b

u s i n e s s .”

Walking into the treacher-oushallsofthehighschoolforthefirsttimecanbeintimidat-ing for some, but having thecompany of a senior siblingcan provide comfort for newfreshman. “I think it is nice because[senior Hailey Wilson] canhelp me, and I don’t have toride the bus,” said freshmanHannah Wilson. Hailey finds the transitionintohighschoolforhersister,Hannah,tobestrange. “It’skindofweirdbecauseforalongtimewewenttothesameschooltogether,andthenthelastthreeyearswehaven’tbeeninthesameschool,”saidHailey. Senior Andrew Laugh-lin still finds himself a littleastonished when he sees hisyounger brother, freshmanNick Laughlin.

“It’s different,” said An-drew. “[Nick and I] haven’tbeeninthesameschoolbeforeso it is kind of weird seeinghiminthehalls.” Andrew’stwinbrother,se-nior Aaron Laughlin, feelsthat having their youngerbrotherinthesameschoolwillbebeneficialforallofthem. “Nick is taking the sameclasses that we took, and weare in drum line together, sowehaveanotherpracticepart-ner,” said Aaron. “It helpsAndyandIgetmoreinvolvedwith the freshman class andhelpsNick getmore involvedwiththeseniorclass.” Freshman Abby McDon-ald also believes having herolder brother, senior Chris-tian McDonald, in the sameschoolhasalreadyhelpedherduringthisschoolyear. “I get to meet other up-perclassmen that my brotherhangs out with,” said Abby.

“He also gives me advice onwhatclassestotake.” Christian is excited aboutseeingAbby’sjourneythroughherfreshmanyear. “I am looking forward towatchinghermatureandgrowup throughhigh school,” saidChristian. Senior Courtney Haw-ley and her sister freshmanOdessa Williamsareenjoyingtheironlyyearofhighschooltogetherbybothbeingapartofthecheersquad. “I am most excited aboutbeingcheerleadersandcomingtogetherandhavingabetterre-lationship,”saidWilliams. Hawleyisgoingtotakefulladvantage of this school yeartoprotectheryoungersister. “I like having my sister inhighschoolwithmebecauseIcan watch her,” said Hawley.“Iknowwhatmysisterisdo-ingandwhosheishangingoutwith.”

Students make transition from siblings to peersStory by Emily [email protected]

As the tantalizingaromaoffried foodshits yournose andyouwalkdownthepaintedpathofahighway,youfindyourselfinthemiddleofadiningroomdesignedforthosewhoarerug-gedNASCARfansatheart. The Garage Burgers andBrew is a relatively new eat-ing establishment located onCommercialStreetinoursmalltown.Itwasonce,infact,acargarage where mechanics fixedcars. Although there are cars

intheparkinglotnow,theyarenotthereforthoseservicesbuttoeatagoodmeal. Almost at the moment mytrusty partner and I sat down,we were introduced to ourlovely waitress, Jennifer. Be-cause this is a small, homeyrestaurant,shecametoourta-blefrequentlybeingthepictureof hospitality and service; no,she did not know I was thereforjournalisticpurposes. There was a surpris-ing amount of variety on themenu, but most items were,if you couldnot guess, burgerrelated. From the reviews onYelp’s website, however, thenon burger related options arealso great. Of course, I chosea burger because it is in therestaurant’s name. I orderedthe bacon cheeseburger, and

mydatechosetheTexasBBQburger.Bothwereverysizableportions and the burgers werethebestIhavehad. DespitethefactthatGarageBurgersandBrewdoeshappento say brew, it was hardly no-ticeable that it was also a bar.The regular dinner guests satin the front of the restaurantwhere the only brew optionswereonthemenu. With that said, thisplace iswonderful for adults and chil-drenalike. It takesanadult tothe past with a gumball ma-chineandaracecarvideogamethat the kids seemed to justlove.Therearealsodecorativeposters showing their theme,NASCAR/Autoshop,andthereis even a road painted on thefloorheadingfromtheentrancetothediningroom.

Thisnewestablishmentisawonderfuladditiontothecom-munitywithitsgreatfoodandhospitality. If you are in the

moodforsomefriedgoodness,headdowntotheGarageBurg-ersandBrewforagreatmeal.

Review: The Garage Burgers and Brew

R e v i e w b y L i z T h a y e [email protected]

“Thisnewestablishmentisawonderfuladditiontothecommunitywithitsgreatfoodandhospitality.”

“ I j u s t hav e to u nde r s t a

nd t h at t hat ’s

w h at

my da y w i l l lo ok l i k

e ,” s ai d Campb e l l . “

I

h av e to o rg an i ze and p r i o r i t ize my to - do

l i s t. I n t h i s j

o b, it i s

v e r y e a s y to g e t

o v e r w h e lm e d . I t h e l p s to b e o rg an i ze d ,

f lex i b le and h av i ng g re at p e o p le to wo rk

w i t h . I t ’s g r e at know i ng t h at I h av e an

adm in i s t rat i o n t e am t h at I can co u nt

o n .”

PhotobyJessiePoisal

Photo by Brently ProbascoSiblings Hailey and Hannah catch up duing passing period. After spending many years at different schools, the two must adjust to having each other around throughout the day.

The difficulty of lessening

one’spride to tell their parents

oftheshakyroadaheadofthem

canmakeanyfutureteenparent

weepatthethought.

Determininghowtotelltheir

parentsandwonderinghowthey

will react are just some of the

worries looming around teens’

minds. “It is pretty common to see

teensstrugglingtotelltheirpar-

ents that [they’re pregnant],”

said counselor Kari Bliss.

“Theysometimeswaittoolong

and struggle with feelings of

shame.Theystruggleandwon-

der what they should do and

howtotelltheirfamily.”

DuringthefirstweekofJune,

seniorBecky Taylor foundout

she was going to have a child

andonthesamedayshedecided

toinformhermom.

“Before I toldmymom that

I was pregnant I was really

scared,” said Taylor. “When

she found out, she was really

shocked.Shewasokaywith it,

butshewasalittlesadtoo.”

According to TeensHealth,

it iscrucial toprepare foryour

parent’s initial reaction. Their

response can depend on many

different aspects, such as their

values and their personality. It

canalsohelptorememberhow

they reacted to other situations

inthepast.

Aftertellingyourparentsthe

news, take some time to pause

andletthemtakeinthedisclo-

sure.Letyourparentssaywhat

they need to say and listen to

them.Mostimportantlyletthem

knowhowyoufeelaboutthesit-

uation. Taylorfindsiteasierforteens

to go ahead and confront their

parents with this life changing

news. “Youhavetogetitoutthere

andsayitwhethertheyaresup-

portiveornot,”said Taylor.

Blisshashadseveralencoun-

terswithteensseekingguidance

inhowtotelltheirparentsthey

arepregnant.Insomecases,the

pregnancyhasbroughtfamilies

closertogether.

“If it’s a relationship they

need to repair, they just need

tobehonestandbeopen,”said

Bliss. “Their parents may sur-

prise them by how supportive

they might be. I have seen it

sometimesrepairrelationships.”

According to Bliss, those

students who do not receive

support from their family and

friendswillnotbealone.

“If you don’t get support, I

willfindsupportforthatperson

whether if it is frommeoran-

other staffmemberor teacher.”

saidBliss.

Although the situation was

surprising for Taylor, she is

looking forward to the future

withhernewchild.

“Ialwayswantedtohavekids

butitjustcameearlierthanex-

pected,” said Taylor. “I’m so

excitedandhappyaboutit.Iam

alittlenervous,butitisnottoo

overwhelming.”

8.features


Whilemoststudentsarehopingtheycangetbacktosleepforafewmorehoursafterwakingup in themiddleofthenight,seniorJessica Lounsberry wakes up, gets outofbed, and feedsandchangeshernewborn baby before she can fallbackasleep. Afterdiscoveringshewaspreg-nantlastfall,shecontinuedschoolthroughtherestofherjunioryear. “I was really worried; I didn’texpectittohappenatsuchayoungage,”saidLounsberry. During the school day, Loun-sberryfeltthepressuresofbeingapregnantteenager. “The stares got awkward andmore intense; it was weird beingin school, it didn’t feel comfort-

While freshmen were worry-ingaboutfindingtheirwayaroundtheschool,andotherstudentswereworryingaboutdodging thefresh-menonthefirstdayofschoolthisyear,seniorRyan Rushlywaswor-ryingabouthisnewdaughterwhohadjustbeenborn.

Rushlyandhisgirlfriend,soph-omore Emily Licht, announcedtheirexpectantbabyonJanuary7,earlier this year after confirmingthepregnancyfromherfirst sono-gram.

“I had kind of known about itforabouttwomonthsbefore,butIdidn’twanttotakeatest,withmymomathomeespecially,”saidLi-cht. “I was scared, scared-scared,butRyanhelpedalot.”

Along with Rushly, Licht alsosays she was comforted by herfriendsatschool.

“Ihadtworeallygoodfriendsallyeartohelpmeandpeoplewantedtobemyfriends;itwasweird,”saidLicht. “There are always peoplewho are rude, but a lot of peoplewerebeingnicertome.”

Though Licht feels there willalways be those who respond tohersituationmeanly,shealsosaysthat that kindof responsewasnotsharedtoRushly.

“Noonewasreallymeantohim;people always take it as the girl’sfault,sonoonereallysaidanythingtohim,”saidLicht.“Itwasprettymuchthatgirls toldhimcongratu-lations.”

On August 14, Licht deliveredthe couple’s new baby, McKenna Rushly.

Lichtadmitsthatwhilesheen-joystakingcareofhernewdaugh-ter,thefeelingsofparenthoodhavenotquitesetin.

“Ithasn’thitmeyet,”saidLicht.“It’s fun, it’s not as bad as somethingsmakeitlooklike.Youhavesomebodywho’sthereallthetimeandtheylookuptoyou.”

Currentlyawayfromschool,Li-chtstaysathomeduringherdaytotakecareofthebaby;anaroundtheclockjob.

“She’llwakeupabout twice inthemiddleofthenighttoeat,we’llwake up with him when he goesto school, and thenwegoback tosleep and wake up around 9 a.m.,and during the day my mom will

takeusplaces,”saidLicht.Though Licht is thankful that

McKennaisnotanoisybaby,sheacknowledges thatbeingup in themiddleofthenighttotakecareofthe baby is tedious and tiresome,especiallyas she takescareofherduringtheday.

That is where parenting as acouplehelps.

“He gets up and feeds her inthemiddleofthenightandletsmesleep,”saidLicht.

ThoughRushlyworksandisatschoolduringtheday,themidnightfeedingsarenottheonlythingshehelps his girlfriend and daughterwith.

“Hebuysherstuffwheneverweneedit;himworkingreallyhelpsabunch,”saidLicht.

Rushly being away during thedayhasnotalteredhisrelationshipwithhisdaughter,however.

“He’s fantastic as a dad,” saidLicht. “He’s great with her. Wejokeaboutherwhenshe’solderandhe says he gets to dress her fromwhen she’s 13 to 21. Those firsttwodayswhenhehadtogobacktoschoolandleaveher,hecried.He’sprotectivealready.”

With eight out of ten teen fa-thers not marrying the mother oftheir child, Licht is thankful tohaveRushlyinherandherdaugh-ter’slifeformanyreasons.

“Idon’tfeellikeI’malone,”saidLicht.“Ifeelalonewhenhe’sgonebut when he’s here, it’s so muchbetterandIgettosleepthroughthenight. And she has her dad in herlife, which is the most importantthing.”

The couple plans to finishschool,withRushlygraduatingthisyearandLicht returningtoschoollaterthisyear.

They also plan to stay togethertoraisetheirchild,agreeingthatitisimportanttheyareboththereforher.

“I’m going to the alt schoolin January, and going to finishschool,”saidLicht.“Oncehegrad-uates,he’sgoingtogetajob.WhenI’m18,we’regoingtogetahousetogether.Hewants togetmarried,but I’ve never known marriagesthatworkoutwell,butIdon’twanttobewithanyoneelseandIdon’twant her around anyone else untilshe’solder.”

S e n i o r , s o p h o m o r e b e g i n f a m i l y t o g e t h e r S t o r y b y M a d i D a h nm a d i . d a h n @ h h s n e w s . c o m

Story by Emily Priesendorf

[email protected]

F a c i n g t h e s t r u g g l e s o f t e l l i n g l o v e d

o n e s y o u a r e p r e g n a n t

sometimesrepairrelationships.”

According to Bliss, those

students who do not receive

support from their family and

friendswillnotbealone.

“If you don’t get support, I

willfindsupportforthatperson

whether if it is frommeoran-

other staffmemberor teacher.”

saidBliss.

Although the situation was

surprising for Taylor, she is

looking forward to the future

withhernewchild.

“Ialwayswantedtohavekids

butitjustcameearlierthanex-

pected,” said Taylor. “I’m so

excitedandhappyaboutit.Iam

alittlenervous,butitisnottoo

overwhelming.”

features.9

Whilemoststudentsarehopingtheycangetbacktosleepforafewmorehoursafterwakingup in themiddleofthenight,seniorJessica Lounsberry wakes up, gets outofbed, and feedsandchangeshernewborn baby before she can fallbackasleep. Afterdiscoveringshewaspreg-nantlastfall,shecontinuedschoolthroughtherestofherjunioryear. “I was really worried; I didn’texpectittohappenatsuchayoungage,”saidLounsberry. During the school day, Loun-sberryfeltthepressuresofbeingapregnantteenager. “The stares got awkward andmore intense; it was weird beingin school, it didn’t feel comfort-

Jaclyn Murphywas17yearsoldwhenherlifestylechanged;shetradedinhersoccercleatsforbabyshoes.

Onemomentshewasjustanaverageteenagerandthenextshewastextingherparentstellingthemsheneededto

talk. Oncesheexplainedtohermomthatshecouldbepregnant,hermomthentookhertogetapregnancytest.That

tinypositivesignchangedeverything. “Webothbrokedownandcried,”saidMurphy.“MymomheldmeandtoldmethatnomatterwhatIdecided

todo,shewouldsupportmealltheway.” Thenextstep,tellingthebaby’sfather.Oncethefather’sfamilyfoundout,hisparentstriedtoconvinceMur-

phytogetanabortion. “Idon’tbelieveinabortion,”saidMurphy.“IgotmyselfinthissituationsoIneededtotakeresponsibilityfor

it.” Thebaby’sfatherwasnotaroundforlong,andMurphydecidedtokeepherbaby.Withkeepingherchild,she

hadtogrowupfastandsoon,makingalotofsacrificesinherownlife.

“Whenyouarehavingakidwhileyou’restillakidyourself,youhavenotimetogooutwithfriendsbecause

youhavetotakeonmoreresponsibility,”saidMurphy.“IhadtogetajobsoIcouldpayfordaycare.Ihadtogrow

upatontomakesureIwasgoingtobeagoodrolemodelformydaughter,Josie.”

Withherparent’ssupport,shewasabletoparticipateinschoolactivities.

“OnceJosiewasbornmyparentshelpedmeoutalot,”saidMurphy.“TheywouldwatchherwhileIwas

cheeringandwhenIwasplayingsoccer.” Eventhoughherparentshelpedtakecareofthechild,theywereunabletotakecareofherdaily.Murphywas

facedwiththechallengeofmakingsurethatherdaughterhadaplacetogoduringschool.

“ForthefirstsixmonthsaftermydaughterwasbornIwashomebound,”saidMurphy.“Then,Iwentbackto

schoolandJosiewenttodaycare.” AftercompletinghighschoolMurphymadethedecisiontoattendcollegetobeamedicalassistant.Murphy

hopesthatpeopleseejusthowpersistentshehasbeen.

“Everyoneisgoingtotellyouthatyoucan’tbutyouneedtoknowyoucan,”saidMurphy.“Allyouhaveto

doisputyourmindtoit.IjustwanttotellallthepeopleIwenttoschoolwiththat,youalltoldmeIcouldn’tdoit

butIdid.Iamagreatmomtomybeautifulthreeyearolddaughter.Iammarriedtothemostamazingmaninthe

worldwhotreatsJosielikesheishisownfleshandblood.I’dlikeyoutotryandtellmeIdidn’tdoit.”

ThoughMurphywas17andunassistedbythebaby’sfather,Becky Wehmeyerwas15yearsoldwhenshe

discoveredshewaspregnantandreceivedsupportonbothsides.

Shestartedtofeelverysickonemorningandshehadnocluewhatitcouldbe;herdadsuggestedthatshemay

bepregnant.Thatnightaftershegothomefromschool,shetookfourpregnancytests,allofwhichwerepositive.

LuckilyforWehmeyer,shehadagreatathomesupportsystemjustlikeMurphy.Wehmeyer’sfamilywas

veryinvolvedwithherpregnancy,aswasherbaby’sfather,Brandon Woolery.

Thebaby’sfather,Woolery,andWehmeyerweredatingatthetimeshegotpregnantandtheyarestilldating.

“It’sprettyhardbeinginarelationshipwhilebeinginhighschoolandbeingpregnant,”saidWehmeyer.“It’s

notaboutyouandhimanymore;it’sallaboutthelittlehumanyoumadetogether.Ifyouloveeachotheryoucan

makeitthrough.” SimilartoMurphy,Wehmeyerhadtogrowupfast.

“Ihadtogetajobtopayfordaycare,”saidWehmeyer.“Ihadtoputeverythingasideformybabywhoneeded

measamother.Youhavetobecomearolemodelforyourchild.”

However,unlikeMurphy,WehmeyerhadquiteabitofhelpfromWoolery,thefather.

“ImadeitthroughhighschoolwiththesamemanIamwithtoday,”saidWehmeyer.“Allofyouhadyourown

opinionaboutmebeingateenmomwhichinreality,mademestronger.So,Iprettymuchwanttothankyouall.”

Themainthingpregnantteensneedtounderstandisthatwithastrongsupportsystemtheycangetthroughthe

toughesttimes. “Iwouldtelltheteensgoingthroughthesamethingthattheyhavealongcurvyroadaheadofthem,”said

Wehmeyer.“Iftheyhaveastrongsupportsystemthenitwillmakeiteasier,butifnot,justthinkaboutthebaby.

He/shewillalwaysbethereforyou.Itsurelywillnotbeeasy,butitwillbeworthit.”

able,” said Lounsberry. “Peoplewere more cautious of what theydidaroundme;theybegantowatchwhattheydidorsaid.” Being pregnant posed its chal-lenges to her school schedule toowhen she had to go doctor’s ap-pointments. “They were always plannedfor after school, but I would misseighth hour,” said Lounsberry.“I would have them about once amonth.” Over the summer, Lounsberrygavebirthtohernewdaughter,So-phia,onAugust19,2014. Lounsberry, like 9.9 millionothermothersinAmerica,isasin-gleparent. “It’sjustmeandmymom,”saidLounsberry. According to Lounsberry, atfirst,ithadseemedlikethetwoof

themwouldworktogether toraisetheirchild. “Ihadsentapictureof thetesttohim, andwhen I sawhimnext,hewassmilingandseemedhappy,”saidLounsberry. According to Lounsberry, itwas around month three of herpregnancy that the father of herdaughter began to withdraw frombeingaparent.“I have no clue what happened,”said Lounsberry. “He said hewasn’treadyforafamily.” By herself, Lounsberry takescareofherbabyallday,whichin-cludes feeding, changing and giv-inghernearlyconstantattention. “I wake up around 1:30 a.m.withher andchangeand feedher,thenshegoesbacktosleeparound3,”saidLounsberry.“Thenabout6or7,shewakesupagainandI’ll

change and feed her and she’ll gobacktosleep;thisrepeatsaboutev-erythreeorfourhoursalldaythatI’llhavetochangeandfeedher.” Lounsberry iscurrentlyoutofschoolandonhomebound. “WhenshesleepsiswhenItrytodohomework,” saidLounsber-ry. Aside from relinquishing hertypicalschoolday,Lounsberryhasalsohadtocutdownonhersociallife. “It’sgonefromIusedtogoouteveryweekendwithmy friends toI’m staying at home every nightand spending time with her,” saidLounsberry. Withherbabynotevenamonthold,Lounsberryisjustnowlearn-ingwhatitisliketobeaparent. “When you see your baby for

the first time, it’s like ‘Oh gosh,’anditfinallyhits,‘I’mfinallyapar-ent,’”saidLounsberry.“It’sjustashocker.” After getting nice treatmentfromfriendsat school,Lounsber-ryhappilyadmits thathernewar-rivalhasbeenwellreceived. “Everyonehassaid thatshe’sacutebaby,andI’vegotalotofcon-gratulations,”saidLounsberry. Asfarasthefuture,Lounsber-ry admits that she is justgoing toplay it by ear as she continues tomakealifeforherandherdaughter. “I don’t really have a plan aslong as she gets what she needs,”saidLounsberry. “JustgivingherthebestIcan.”

S t o r y b y M a d i D a h [email protected]

M o t h e r s p r o v e o t h e r s w r o n g b y g r a d u a t i n g S t o r y b y D a n i D a l t o n [email protected]

Senior faces life as a single mom

F a c i n g t h e s t r u g g l e s o f t e l l i n g l o v e d

o n e s y o u a r e p r e g n a n t

10.features


Mercernaries work to involve more students WhenwalkingintoMemo-rialStadiumonaFridaynightthere are a couple of thingsyouhear: the announcer andthe music playing from thestadiumspeaker.Butusuallyoverallof thatyoucanhearaveryloudgroupofstudentscalledtheMercernaries. Just like sports teams, theMercernaries have workedto create goals for this year.Seniors Nick Johnson and Jericho Harris have beenlooking forways tohave thestudent section be knownstatewide. “Ourgoalistobetheloud-est student section in thestate,” said Johnson. “Wewant everyone in the crowdyellingtheirheartsoutontheorganized cheers we do. Wearehopingtodothisbysepa-ratingthemainMercernaries,theoneswhogoallout,intothecrowdtohelpmotivate.” Improving off last year,Johnson hopes to see more

people involved in cheeringontheWildcats. “I would like to have ev-eryone doing all the cheersandhavingagoodtime,”saidJohnson. Both leaders hope to ac-complish thisbysplittingupthe organized group. Theyfirst attempted this at thehomeopeneronAugust22. “Instead of showing upand sitting in the front, we

dispersed and got involved,”said Harris. “We showedthat the Mercernaries isn’tjustagroup;it’severyone.” TheMercernariesarelook-ingforotherwaystoimprovetheirorganizationinordertosupporttheathleticteams. “We want a louder crewandopen it up tomorepeo-ple,”said Harris.“Morepeo-plemeansthatwehavemoreideasandsupport.”

Story by Austin [email protected]

Athletes partying have negative effects on team, playersStory by Delaynie [email protected]

Afterabigwin,athletesof-ten celebrate.However, if thecelebrating becomes extreme,the athletes may face conse-quences-including a loss ofrespectfromtheirpeers. “When I hear about thepeoplethatpartyanddoallthestuff that we aren’t supposedto it makes me lose respectfor them, and I look at themasmoreofabadinfluencein-stead of a part of the team,”saidsophomorefootballplayerBen Gerke. One sophomore volleyballplayer, Alli Opat, feels thereis a lessening drive for theirsport. Reputations in sportshave an effect on how theplayers’ teammates determinetheir level of respect for eachother. “When I hear about some-onedoingsomethingwearen’t

AstheMercernarieswatchthe game, their main goal isto get the crowd and play-ers fired up. For sophomoreMorgan Selemaea, hear-ing the Mercernaries cheer-ingtheteamongiveshimanextradrive tocompeteathisbest. “They motivate me to dobetter,” said Selemaea. “Itfeelslikeeverybodyiscount-ing on me so it makes me

perform better. When theystartyelling,IknowIhavetomakeabigplay.” Insomecases,theMercer-naries’loudchantsandcheer-ingcancauseproblemswithanother group whose mainjob is to cheer the Wildcatson: the cheerleaders. SeniorCourtney Hawley feels thatthe Mercernaries are benefi-cialtotheteam’ssuccessbutin turn make it hard for the cheerleaders to make their ef-forts heard. “IliketheideaofMercer-naries,” saidHawley. “I likewhentheycheerwithusandgetthecrowdpumpedup,butwhen theyyell overus, theyfrustrateme.” For the football coaches,however, the Mercernarieshavenotcausedanyproblemswith the efficiency of com-municatingwiththeteam. Head Football CoachBrent Maxwell says he canhardlyhearthegroupsofstu-dentsthroughhisheadsets.

ALS challenge sweeps through the nationS t o r y b y L u k e B r i n e sluke.brines@hhs news.com

Story by Bethany [email protected]

When going to the biggest party of the year and having a few too many drinks, it is common for students to take out their phones and get on social media. What students do not think about is the consequences of their posts. “I see it every weekend,” said an anonymous source. “I used to do it, but now I just see them as immature. I mostly drank to try alcohol and to avoid my problems.” Party posting is a new trend among teens, where those in-toxicated share their posts incriminating themselves. “I think students aren’t in their right minds when tweeting while intoxicated,” said counselor Julie Zaring.

Over the summer, a pecu-liar epidemic swept acrossthe country. This odd ritualincludes pouring buckets ofbone-chilling ice water overone’sheadandthenchalleng-ingotherstodothesame.Thereason behind the soaked t-shirts and surprised squeals:amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,commonly known as ALS. ALSisacondition thataf-fects the central nervous sys-tem.Motorneuronsthroughoutthe body are slowly depleted,snatching away the brain’sability to control the body. Itisadeadlydiseaselackingthe

attentionitdeserves.Tocom-bat this, a group of ALS pa-tients started this movement,and their commitment to thecausehasinfluencedanation. “ALS is a disease thatas it progresses it paralyzes

yourbody,” said seniorMadi Phillips. “I feel likewhat it’s trying to relay, asyoupour thebucketof iceonyou,ishowitfeelstobepara-lyzed for one second at leastand feel what they’ve been

going through in their lives.” Even though the act ofpouringcoldwateroverone’shead does not automaticallymean that one supports themission of the ALS asso-ciation, many take part to at-tract attention to the cause. “While people may not bedonating,Iknowforsurethatif Ididn’tknowwhat itwasIwouldbelookingituptotryandfigureoutwhatALSstoodfor,”said junior Jared Bloustine. Freshman Audrey Welhoff takes a similarview of this movement. “I think it definitely has[made a difference] becauseit’sspreadawareness,notonlyin celebrities but in commu-

Photo by Sydney HoffmanMercenaries bring an energetic atmosphere to the crowd at sporting events, and this year are hoping to get more students involved.

W a n t t o s e e s o m e s t u d e n t s a n d f a c u l t y

p a r t i c i p a t e i n t h e c h a l -l e n g e ?

G o t o h h s n e w s . c o m t o w a t c h n o w .

Photo by Jessie PoisalStudents pour the ice cold water on themselves to experience how it feels to be paralyzed.

nities all across the country,”said Welhoff. “I think thatthis is the most awarenessALS has had. I didn’t reallyknow about it before this.” If a person is challengedand refuses to take the icydare, he or she is expectedto donate $100 to the ALScause. In this way, the ALSAssociationhasraised$109.8

features.11


Athletes partying have negative effects on team, playersStory by Delaynie [email protected]

Afterabigwin,athletesof-ten celebrate.However, if thecelebrating becomes extreme,the athletes may face conse-quences-including a loss ofrespectfromtheirpeers. “When I hear about thepeoplethatpartyanddoallthestuff that we aren’t supposedto it makes me lose respectfor them, and I look at themasmoreofabadinfluencein-stead of a part of the team,”saidsophomorefootballplayerBen Gerke. One sophomore volleyballplayer, Alli Opat, feels thereis a lessening drive for theirsport. Reputations in sportshave an effect on how theplayers’ teammates determinetheir level of respect for eachother. “When I hear about some-onedoingsomethingwearen’t

supposedto,itmakesmethinktheydon’t enjoyand loveoursport like therestofus,”saidOpat. “I feel like they aren’tgoing to try as hard becausetheirfocusissomewhereelse,andthat’snotfairtotherestofus.” Athleteswhoparty in theirfree time may find that theirteamates question their dedi-cation. “It makes me feel disap-pointed because they’re put-tingsomethingelsebeforetheteam,” said sophomore foot-ballplayerAustin Campbell. According to Head Vol-leyball Coach Gina Eberle,it is a big deal when athleteschoosetopartyormakeabaddecisionbecausetheyarerep-resentingtheirwholeteam. “Whatonepersondoes re-flectsthewholeteam,andthatis not fair to everyone,” saidEberle. Most coaches discuss their

policies of “do’s and dont’s”with their teams, letting themknow what is acceptable out-sideofschoolandwhatisnot. “Atthebeginningofthesea-son,varsitywentinthelockerroom and talked about goalsand aspirations,” said seniorvolleyball player Courtney Covey.‘“Weallmadethede-cision to make smart choiceseven when others aren't look-ing.” The vows taken during thesportsseasonscanvaryacrossawidevarietyofthings. “Wehavethreesimplerules:Don’ttalkbadaboutourteam-mates on social media, don’tpartyanddon’tskippractice,”saidsophomoresoftballplayerRaegan Dawson. Getting caught partakinginactivities likepartyingwillinvolve consequences. Everycoachwillhavehisorherownsystem for assigning conse-quences.

“Alossofplayingtimeusu-ally is the consequence,” saidEberle. “If it’s even rumoredthat they’ve done somethingtheysitoutagame.” Coaches donot always seeor hear everything that goeson outside of school, so it isleftuptotheteamtoholdeachotheraccountable. “Wewatchoutandpayat-tention to what others do tomakesure that theyarekeep-ingtheirword,”saidOpat. Whenitcomestotryingoutfor teams, coaches look at avariety of things; the reputa-tions students set for them-selvesmayinfluenceacoach’sselections. “Ilookatacombinationofattitude, ability and compat-ibility with other team mem-bers,”saidEberle. Onebaddecisioncanmakeyouloseyourpositionandcancauseissueswithyourcoach. “Nobody is locked into a

position at the beginning oftheseason;itvariesfromgametogame,”saidEberle. It is ideal for coaches andteams to not have to worryabout keeping track of theirplayers partying and makingbaddecisions. “There have been rumoredissuesinthepast,butIhaveagreatgroupofgirlsthisyearsoIdon’tthinkthatwillbeanis-sue,”saidEberle. Past mistakes that weremade are used as lessons forothersontheteam. “Last year we had issueswith a few people, but thisyear everybody watches outfor each other more becauseCoach Maxwell has broughtus closer as a team;we’re alllikebrothers,”saidGerke.

Posting while intoxicated may have severe consequencesS t o r y b y L u k e B r i n e sluke.brines@hhs news.com When going to the biggest party of the year and having a few too many drinks, it is common for students to take out their phones and get on social media. What students do not think about is the consequences of their posts. “I see it every weekend,” said an anonymous source. “I used to do it, but now I just see them as immature. I mostly drank to try alcohol and to avoid my problems.” Party posting is a new trend among teens, where those in-toxicated share their posts incriminating themselves. “I think students aren’t in their right minds when tweeting while intoxicated,” said counselor Julie Zaring.

“Students could also be doing this for popularity, and they may even think it’s cool.” Junior Toby Reberry believes students drunk tweet for one reason.

“I feel like they party post for attention,” said Reberry. There are not any high school rules against drunk tweeting, but if activity on your social media account

proves you have been drink-ing while underage by your social media account, there could be discipline. School resource officerDoug Rose explains the pro-

cess he must go through if a post is brought to his attention. “I put it on my computer and present it to a detec-tive,” said Rose. “Then, I contact the parents and leave it in their hands.” A picture posted on a social media website can be seen by anyone, which could lead to getting caught. According to Rose, other students bring the posts to him. If found posting a drunk tweet, post or picture of an underage person holding an alcoholic beverage, the person responsible could experience consequences.

W a n t t o s e e s o m e s t u d e n t s a n d f a c u l t y

p a r t i c i p a t e i n t h e c h a l -l e n g e ?

G o t o h h s n e w s . c o m t o w a t c h n o w .

Photo by Luke BrinesStudents do not realize the consequences of posting their innapropriate behavior on social media.

12.sPorts


“Its awesome but I’m thesameperson,justadifferentti-tle,”saidHeadFootballCoachBrent Maxwell regardinghis new position. “Just morepaper work and organizationwork.” When former Head Foot-ball Coach Chuck Lliterasannounced his retirementfrom coaching the WildcatsonOctober19lastyear,manyquestionsaroseregardingwhowouldfillhisshoes.Maxwell,whowastheoffensivecoordi-natorunderLliteras,waspro-motedtoheadcoachthispastFebruary. During his time inhisnewposition,Maxwellhaschangedmanyaspectsofhowtheteamfunctionsinitsdaytodayoperations. “We have changed our of-fensive scheme,” said Max-

well. “We have also alteredthedefensivescheme tomeetourabilitiesofourplayers.Wehave also focused on activi-ties that promote leadershipandcommunityservice.Basi-cally, just teaching them lifelongskillsforaftertheyleavehere.” Junior Hunter Leiphamfelt that learning a new play-ing style was a challenge forhimpersonally. “Learning a new playbookwastough,”saidLeipham. Junior Cole Tyson, unlikeLeipham, enjoys having anew playbook and feels thatit will produce more positiveresultsperplaythisseason. “I like the new plays andsetupswithall thesenewfor-mations,” said Tyson. “[We]haveabetterchanceofgettingpositiveyards[withthem].” Another aspect that Max-

wellhasimplementedwiththeteam thisyear ishavingeachplayer honor a teacher whohas impacted him throughouthisschoolyears. “Giving back [is going tobe a big thing for us],” saidMaxwell. “We have a bunchofgreatteachers,andnotjustat the high school; we havegreat teachers throughout thewholedistrict.” Maxwell hopes to see im-provementfromhisplayers,notjust on the field, but off thefieldandlaterinlifeaswell. “Our goals are to win asmany football games as pos-sible,butmoreimportantly,toteachthemthevaluesthatwillhelp them grow into a greatfather/husbandandasproduc-tivemembersofsociety,”saidMaxwell.

Football team adjusts to new coachStory by Austin [email protected]

Withbiglightsshiningdownand thousands of fans com-ing to watch multi-milliondollarathletesplay,itiseasyto let all of the fame go totheir heads. That is why somany were surprised withthe humble approach takenbytheKansasCityRoyals. “I really like the energyfromtheplayers,”saidseniorJake Hofer.“Whentheygethomeruns,theyaren’tflashylikeother teams.They seemmore like a down home,countryteam,notlikethebigmoneyteams.” The bandwagon for thisKansas City team is quick-ly expanding as their re-cord continues to get better.On August 12, the Royals

passedtheDetroitTigersandclaimedfirstintheirdivision. “I can’t remember theRoyals being this success-ful,”saidbaseballcoachJoeRohlfing. “I was born in1988 and the last time theymade the playoffs was in1985.” In fact, the last time theteamwonapennantfortheirdivisionwasinthesameyear.As of Monday, the Royalsholdarecordof79-63,with20gamesleftintheseason. Withtheirwinningrecord,this local baseball team isfrequently brought up. Stu-dentsandteachersatthehighschool are constantly check-ingtheirphonesforthelatestupdates. “Istayupdateddaily,”saidHofer. “I follow scores on

myphoneduringclasses.” Rohlfing has even down-loaded the MLB applicationonto his phone. Along withstaying updated by socialmedia, it is common to findsomeofthestudentsandstaffattheballgames. “Igoaboutonceamonth,”said Rohlfing. “Honestly, Idon’t think [theatmosphere]has changed there. With the

fact that over the years theyhave been unsuccessful, Ithinkit’lltakeacoupletimesofbeingsuccessfultochangetheirattitude.” Although Hofer’s opin-ion defers, he believes thatthestadiumenvironmenthasbecomelouderandmoreen-ergetic.Theybothfindcom-mongroundwhenitcomestotheRoyal’spitching. “Theyhavehadverygoodstarting pitching and reliefpitching,” said Rohlfing.“Theyhavealsocaughtalotofbreakswhichhashelped.” Many fans believe thattheyhavefoundaconnectionbetween the starting pitch-ingandthenumderofgameswon. “Ihavenoticed thatwhenthey are pitching better they

Students, staff cheer on Kansas City Royals’ successtend todobetter; theyseemto have a better chance atwinning,”saidHofer.“IfwekeepwinningandtheTigerskeep losing, we could havea good run because of thepitchingandgoodbullpen.” As the season continueson, baseball fans begin toconsider where the Royalsstandwhenitcomestoplay-offs. “Everyone likes a posi-tiveprediction,buthonestly,I don’t think they’ll maketheplayoffs,”saidRohlfing.“They have caught everybreak so far, and I feel likethings might change a littlebitinthelastmonth.Ihopethat I’m wrong and theymaketheplayoffs.”

S t o r y b y A l i S c h m i d [email protected]

Photo by Emily PriesendorfRoyals’ outfeilder Lorenzo Cain steps up to the plate.

Photo by Jessie PoisalBrent Maxwell, newly appointed head football coach, will be implement-ing new aspects into the team’s playing style and outlook on life.

sPorts.13


Football team adjusts to new coach

Students, staff cheer on Kansas City Royals’ success

Photo by Jessie PoisalBrent Maxwell, newly appointed head football coach, will be implement-ing new aspects into the team’s playing style and outlook on life.

Withtheschoolyearbeginningto take full stride, the fall sportsteams are following suit. Aftermanyhoursofgruelingpractices,the Wildcat programs are nowbeginning toset theireyeson theultimateprize:winningthetitleofstatechampion. Withacoupleofgamesapieceundertheirbelts,teamsarebegin-ningtobeabletoseehowtheywillperformasaunitfortheremainderoftheseason. HeadSoftballCoachDave Hixfeels that even though the team’sseason has started off sluggishlythattheywillbeabletoplaywiththe same intensity that they didinlastyear’srun,whichledthemdeepintotheplayoffs. “We have started off a littleslow but we seem to always dothat,”saidHix.“Wetrytonotlooktoofaraheadandplayonegameatatime.Ofcourse,wewouldliketowinconferenceoutright,butnoth-ing really matters until we get todistrictsinOctober.” Head Tennis Coach Ryan Cook believes that his team willhavemanychancestoimprovethe

skills they had coming into thisseason. “Thisseasonwillbeanewex-perience forus,” saidCook. “Wehavemanyreturnersbutareyoungin experience. I see and hope forgrowthateverymatchandpracticefromnowtilltheendofseason.” Senior Douglas Croy believesthatthesoccerteamthisyearwillbeabletocarrythemselvesfarduetohow theyareworking togetherasoneunitthisearlyintheseason. “I feel this season we have areallystrongteamthatworkswelltogether,” saidCroy. “Ifwe con-tinuetogrowandplayasateamIfeellikewewillbecompetitiveinthepostseason.” JuniorKatie Riffle, likeCroy,believesthatifthevolleyballteamcontinues to play in a team-ori-ented fashion the postseason willcontinue to look more and morepromising. “Ifwekeepplaying as a teamthentheseasonwillgoexactlythewaythatwewantitto,”saidRiffle.“WehavethepotentialandIthinkthatwe’regoingplaces.” Asforthefootballteam,seniorBrice Renner feels that thevari-ous triumphs and hardships that

the team has already faced hashelpedthemgrowintheirdrivetowinstate. “We have had our ups anddowns already this season; Ithink[experiencingthoseupsanddowns]wasagoodthingforustofeel so early in the season so wecanseethatwearen’tperfectandneed to continue to work hard,”said Renner “I think we will dojust that and come around withsomebigwinslaterintheseason.” In some cases, clear cut play-erscanbepointedoutaspotentialstars for a team. Cook feels thatthis is not the case for his team,duetothefactthatmanyhavenothad much experience up to thispoint. “Ifeelthatallofourplayersarekeyplayers,”saidCook.“Becauseof inexperience, we all face newchallenges.Weallplayavaluablerolethisseason.” Team chemistry can also playamajorfactorinhowateamwillfareduringtheirseason.Thebondthat the teammates of any sportsteamcreatescanhelppropelthemintoasuccessfulseasonbywork-ing inharmonywithoneanother.Hix feels thathis teamhasama-

jor advantage in this area due tohisplayershavingcompetedwitheachotherformultipleyearsnow. “Mostof thegirlshaveplayedtogetherinthesummerforthelasttwo to three years so they knoweachother’stendencies,weakness-es and strengths,” said Hix. “Af-termakingadeepplayoffrunlastyear, they have a common bondthatisawesome.” The tennis team, however, isin some cases just now begin-ning to connect with each other.Cook feels that theircamaraderieawayfromthecourt ishelping tostrengthentheirbond. “Theydoagoodjobgettingtoknow each other,” said Cook. “Itrangesfromopen-endedquestionsasagroupbeforepracticingtopar-ticipating in the IceBucketChal-lengeandjustlaughingandhavingagoodtimetogether.” Renner also believes that thebond he and his teammates havewitheachotherwillbeinfluentialinhowtheirseasonprogresses. “Thenumberone thing is thatwe are very close,” said Renner.“Weallloveeachotherandwoulddo anything for one another, so Ithinkthefamily-liketeamattitude

wehavewillbuildupandbeveryhardforotherteamstobreak.” For the cross country team,having diverse backgrounds hasproven to be a common way tobondaccording toseniorMelissa Watson. “Havingagoodvarietyofpeo-plerunningthisyear isbeneficialfor the team because we all havedifferent interests but can cometogether at practice and alwayshave good conversations,” saidWatson.“Forme,it’scooltolearnmore about my teammates andtheir interests. It helps the teamgrow close and get to know oneanotherbetter throughanactivityweallliketodo;crosscountry.” The tennis team’s next matchwillbeonMondayatNevada.Forvolleyball,theirnextmatchwillbean Invitational tomorrow at Wil-liamChrismanHighSchoolalongwithcrosscountrywhowillcom-peteatRay-Pec.Footballwillhavetheir homecoming game tonightagainst Richmond. Men’s soc-cer will compete next Thursdayat Warrensburg, and softball willplaynextTuesdayathomeagainstOdessa.

S t o r y b y J o e C r a m e [email protected]

Fall teams prepare for season

Students, athletic or not, findthemselves in a fast-paced envi-ronment when they step into theweight room, as multiple changeshavebeenmadethisyear. Weights was formerly taughtby former Head Football CoachChuck Lliteras, but after his re-tirement last year, Head BaseballCoach Joe Rohlfing and HeadFootball Coach Brent Maxwelltookoverthereins. Withtheirnewwayofrunningtheclass,somestudentshavefounditmoredifficultandstrenuous. Rohlfing believes that this as-sessment iscorrect,butsaysthereisreasoningbehindeverything. “Ibelieve it ismuchmoredif-ficult than previous years,” saidRohlfing.“Wehaveahigherpacedroutine.Thepurposeofdevelopinganewroutinewastomakeitmore

difficult,soI’mgladtohearwearedoingourjob.” They have adopted a new sys-tem in which each group has onestudent lift for 30 seconds, a restperiod and then the next studenttakeshis/herturn. This year the coaches havemovedontodoingmoreadditionalworkoutsinsteadofconstantlydo-ing the regular bench, squat andclean. “[Wedo]a lotofcircuitwork-outs,”saidRohlfing.“Westill fo-cusontheprimaryliftsbutsuper-setthoseliftswithothersecondaryliftswhichraisesourheartrates.” Rohlfing feels that thesework-outs will help the students learnhowtoworkhard. “Our kids have to understandwhat hard work really is,” saidRohlfing. “It’s one thing to say,‘I’mworkinghard,’andit’sanoth-ertounderstandwhenyoutrulyareworkinghard.”

Alotofstudents, includingse-nior John Kusmec, believe thatthisishelpingteachhardworkandenforcingthatthestudentswillac-tuallydotheworkassignedintheclass. “Theymakeyouactuallyworkand not let you just sit around,”said Kusmec. “Before, peoplewere just getting A’s for showinguptoclass;nowtheyactuallyhavetoworkforit.”

Rohlfing and Maxwell areworking with the athletes to im-prove their general athletic abili-ties. “[Weare]workingonimprove-mentwiththeirspeedandagilityaswellasbecomingbetterall-aroundathletes,”saidRohlfing.“[Makingthem]fasterandstronger.” As the other weights coach,Maxwellfeelsthattheweightroomisnot tougher thisyear, justmoredynamic.“Iamnotsuretheweightroomismore difficult this year, just dif-ferent,” said Maxwell. “We havemade some changes and providedmorestructuretomaketheweightroomamoreeffectiveandefficientplace for training to occur in myopinion.” Along with the new workoutMaxwell iswanting to see an im-provementinallstudentswhotaketheclass,notjustathletes. “Iwould like to thinkwehaveseen improvement in all students,

whether they are athletes or not,”said Maxwell. “Coach RohlfingandIcanseethephysicaltransfor-mationalreadyoccurring...bodyfat percentages decreasing andmusclemassandtoningincreasing. Thecoaches think that,despitethe changes, the weights class issomethingstudentslike. “I believe the students enjoycoming toclasscreatinganatmo-sphere inwhicheachof themcanbe successful and feelgoodabouttheir accomplishments which iswhat it should be about,” saidMaxWell.“However,withthatbe-ingsaid,Ithinkperformanceshavebeen tremendous among footballplayers but also the soccer team,whoisundefeated,aswellassoft-ball, volleyball, tennis and crosscountry,allofwhichhavejumpedouttoastrongstartwithintheirre-spectiveseasons.Ouroverallgoalistohelpeveryonewillingtoworktoimprovetheirphysiqueandself-esteem.”

Weight room increases difficultyStory by Tyler [email protected]

Photo by Dani DaltonStudents experience a faster workout pace due to the changes this year.

14.oPinion


Future should not depend on past posts

Advisory is valuable time wasted

Story by Bethany [email protected] Advisoryhourhasbeenanin-consistentelementthroughoutmyhighschoolcareer.Theideabe-hindadvisoryispairingateacherwithagroupofstudentsforthemajorityoftheirhighschoolyearstohelpthemalongthewayandpreparethemforthefuture.Ihavefoundittobeawasteofmystudylabtime.Thistimethathasbeensetasidehasthecapacitytobeincrediblyhelpfulforstudentswho

tendtopushfuturethoughtsoutoftheirmind,butithasnotbeenusedtoitspotential. Forexample,neveronceinmyadvisoryclasshastheideaofare-sumeevenbeenmentioned.Iknowthatthisispartofthecurriculuminpersonalfinance,butsomestudentsdonottakethatclassuntilsenioryear.Sophomores,whoarenotnormallyofferedpersonalfinance,arestillapplyingforjobsandneedingaprofessionalresume.Creatingaresumeisconsiderablyeasierifyouaddelementstoitwhiletheyarefreshinyourmind,ratherthanfouryearslater.Whynotteachfreshmenhowtocreateandformataresumeattheendoftheirfirstyeartoupdatealongthewaythroughouttheirhighschoolcareer? Ihavelearnedthatapproach-

ingthefutureisalotlessdauntingwhenyoustarttofigurethingsoutpiecebypiece.Applyingforcolleges,submittingessaysforscholarshipsandcorrespondingwithuniversitiesiseasierwhenyouknowwhatyou’redoing.Manystudents,muchlikemyself,donotunderstandthattheessaysthataresubmittedalongsideap-plicationshelpyoushowwhatisuniqueaboutyou.Howtowriteagoodadmission/scholarshipessayisinvaluableknowledgethatIamjustnowlearningasasenior,afterIhavealreadyappliedformanyscholarshipsandeventosomecol-leges.ThatskillissomethingthatwouldhavebeenmorevaluableifIhadlearneditin,say,myjuniorad-visoryclass.IunderstandthatnotalladvisorsareEnglishteachers,butallhadtogotocollegeandall

hadtogothroughthesameprocessthatIamfacingnow. Whenapplyingforacollegeitisimportanttostandout.Therearecertainthingsthatcollegeslookforinstudents;leadershipwithinactivities,communityserviceandthingsofthatnatureareimportant.IcertainlydidnotunderstandthiswhenIwasafreshmanorsopho-more.Thiscouldmakeagreatadvisorylesson.Notonlywillitpreparestudentstobethinkingabouthowtheiractionsnowcanaffectthewaycollegesviewthem,butitwillalsoencouragestudentstobeinvolved. Everyoneknowsthatthepricesofcollegeareskyhigh,makingtheimportanceofscholarshipsfollowsuit.Therearedozensoflocalscholarshipsthatmanystudentsneverevenhearabout.Whynot

workthroughscholarshipsasanadvisoryclass?Teacherscouldex-plainwhateachquestionisaskingfor.Thiscouldgoforjobresumesaswell.Thereareappropriateandcreativeresponsestothevarietyofquestionsasked,buttherearealsoinappropriateanswers.Ourstudentsarenotbeingtaughtthedifference. Advisoryisatimesetasideforstudentstohaveateacherhelpthemfigureouttheirlives.ThepastthreeyearsIdonotbelieveIhavelearnedanythingIdidnotalreadyknow.Inmyeyes,thatmeansmytimehasbeenwasted.Advisoryhasthepotentialtopreparestudentsforcollegeandbeyond,butifitstaysasitis,itisworthless.

When going into a job inter-viewandyourfuturebossasksyouto pull up your social media ac-counts, are you suddenly floodedwith thoughts of what is the firstthing they are going to see popup? Will it be that provocativejokeaboutthepresidentorthepartwhereyoucalledsomeoneoutonhisorherattitudeanditturnedintoanintenseTwitterfight? Today, when social media us-age is flourishing, teens oftenmake posts that include personalinformation. Although not all ofthis material is questionable, it iseasy for inappropriate commentsorphotostogopublic.Itturnsoutpotential employers are watchingandmakinghiringdecisionsbasedonwhattheysee. Idonotthinkmyfuturebossesand college administration shouldbeallowed toaskme formyper-sonal accounts to check what IpostandwhatIamtaggedin.Theyshould not judge me off of thethingsIdidwhileinhighschool. Iwholeheartedlybelievethatas

a hormonal teenager I am boundtogooffona rantandsaysome-thingincrediblystupidandnaive.IalsoamthepersonthatdoesnotgobackanddeletewhatIhavesaidinthepast. I refuse to delete those itemsbecausethatwashowIfeltinthatmoment. Whether it was wrongor right does not matter to me. IunderstandIneed tomakeas fewmistakesaspossible,butIamhu-man.IhavefeelingsandIamnotgoingtohidethosefeelings. Today, diaries are consideredold-fashioned. However, manypeople use their social media ac-counts as a new inventive dairy.Therefore,abosslookingupyouraccounts is almost the equivalentof that person readingyourdiary.Theywouldseeallyourfears,yourpassionsandeverylittlethingthathashappenedinyourlife. Ifacollegeorbossasksformypassword, I shouldbe able to askfortheirpasswordfortheirperson-al socialmedia accounts. If I hadaccesstoapotentialboss’sorcol-legeadministrator’spersonalinfor-mation,wouldIstillwanttoworkforthem?MaybeIwouldfindoutdetailsthatmademequestiontheirethics or honesty. Maybe I wouldlearn something that would makeme think twice about taking thatjob.ThatiswhyIbelieveIshouldalso have access to their records,even school records, of their ac-

tionswhentheywereyounger. “Forstarters,asauserofsocialmedia, Ihavemyprivacysettingsset so that only friends can seewhatIpost,”saidAndrewWright,Assistant Vice President and Di-rector of Admissions at MissouriState.“Iwouldnotbecomfortableif IwasapplyingforacreditcardandthecompanyaskedmetoshowthemmyFacebook account.Whyshould teenagersbeheld toadif-ferentstandard?IfIweretoseeapictureofastudentonthebeachatspringbreak,yellinginjoy,shouldIassumethattheyhavebeendrink-inganddoingsomethingwrong,orjustassumetheyareexcitedtobein a warm climate at an excitingtime?” Some adults do feel the samewaystudentsdo.Theydonotwantother individuals to pry throughtheirlives. “Where does it stop?,” saidWright. “Social media accountsmaynotbeenough.Shouldweasktoseeallthephotosontheirphone,too? After all, they may not havepostedsomethingincriminatingonFacebook or Instagram or Twit-ter.Shouldweaskthemtosubmittheirtabletsorlaptopstoaforensiccomputerexpert tosort throughitforanythingbad?” Wright makes a valid point,wheredoesitend?Whatdoschoolsactuallybasetheirdecisionsoffofwhenthedecidetoacceptyouinto

theirschool? “Webaseourdecisionson theacademicmerits,andforcompeti-tive scholarships, their involve-mentandtheirinterviewswithus,”saidWright.“Schoolsthatwishtotakethetimeandenergytodigintoeveryapplicant’s socialmediaac-counts have much too much timeontheirhands.” Governmentagenciesandcol-leges are still allowed to ask foryour passwords and your user-names,especially ifyouarecom-peting for a scholarship or if youareanathleteatthatschool.Somecollegesareeventakingitasfarasrequiringathletes to accept friendrequestsfromtheircoaches. Inthelongrun,theywillknoweverything about a student, espe-ciallyiftheyareallowedthepass-words to social media accounts.However,asaUScitizenIbelievethatIhavearighttoprivacyinmypersonallife. Twitter and Facebook, or anysocialmediaaccount,addsavoiceto the things you say; you wantyour problems and frustrations tobe heard. I think it is safe to saythat all students, teachers, admin-istrators,bossesandevendeansofcollegeshavesaidsomethinginthemidstoftheirangerthattheyregretand wish they could take back.Whethertheyhitthebuttontosenditouton the Internet, theyshouldnot be punished for that; neither

shouldI. According to the NationalConference of State Legislators,onMarch6,Missouri issuednewlegislationthatprotectsemployeesfrom being required to disclosepersonalusernamesorpasswords. Therefore, in the state of Mis-souri, bosses cannot ask for yourpersonal social media passwordsoryourusername; if theydo,youhavetherighttodenythemaccess.However, that doesn’t mean thatyour boss can’t “Facebook stalk”you;afterall,heorshehasallofyourpersonalinformation. Thebottomlineformeis this:Tobejudgedonwhatyourfriendsdo,orwhatyoudidwhenyouwereyounger,shouldnotaffectwhetheryougeta joborgetaccepted intothecollegeofyourdreams.Aper-sonshouldbejudgedonhisorheractual character, which requirestime. He or she should not bejudgedoffof their littlesnapshotsonTwitterorFacebook.Daytodaylifestyle and character should bewhatisjudged,notthesnippetsofitemstheypostedinarushoffury,sillinessorexhaustion. Usingsocialmediatovoiceanopinion is an expression of Free-domofSpeech.Ishouldbeabletomakeatweetandnothavetowon-derifIneedtogobackanddeleteit.

Story by Kayley [email protected]

From

the

eyes

of a

Wild

cat..

.

news.15


Advisory is valuable time wastedworkthroughscholarshipsasanadvisoryclass?Teacherscouldex-plainwhateachquestionisaskingfor.Thiscouldgoforjobresumesaswell.Thereareappropriateandcreativeresponsestothevarietyofquestionsasked,buttherearealsoinappropriateanswers.Ourstudentsarenotbeingtaughtthedifference. Advisoryisatimesetasideforstudentstohaveateacherhelpthemfigureouttheirlives.ThepastthreeyearsIdonotbelieveIhavelearnedanythingIdidnotalreadyknow.Inmyeyes,thatmeansmytimehasbeenwasted.Advisoryhasthepotentialtopreparestudentsforcollegeandbeyond,butifitstaysasitis,itisworthless.

Hi,mynameisCodyJonesandIamafreshman.Someofthethingswefreshman,or “freshmeat”, always thoughtwhenwewereyoungwere that theteacherswerecold,heartlessdemonsthatcarednothingaboutyou;weweregoingtogetshovedinalockerandfinally,theseniorsweregoingtousewoodenpaddlesonus.Sofar,noneofthesethingshaveproventrue(whichisarelief).Sofar,theteachersareactuallyhuman,thelockersarereallysmallandtheseniorsarenotthatbad.Beingafreshmanisactuallyprettycool;ithasbeenahugechangefrommiddleschool.Althoughwehavegottenlostfromtimetotime,Ithinkitissafetosaythatmosteveryonethinksitwasagoodchange. CodyJones

F r e s h m e n

DearJuniorClassof2016, Idon’tknowaboutyouguysbutmysophomoreyearwasgreat,butIthinkmyjunioryearwillbeevenbetter.Myfirsttwoyearsofhighschoolhavegonebyreallyfast;itseemslikenottoolongagoIwasafreshmanjusttryingtofindmyfit.Thenbeforeyouknewitweweremovinguptothenextlevelassophomores,nolongeratthebeginningofourjourney.Sophomoreyearcameandwent,thensummer,thenAugust14throlledaroundandwewereallbackinschoolfiguringoutourdailyroutinesagain. WhenwereceivedourscheduleoftheclasseswewouldbetakingthisyearatMeettheTeacherNight,itfeltlikegettingasoursurprise.IhadforgottenwhatclassesIsignedupforthenrealizedtheweightofallthecoursesandwhattheyconsistedof.Iwouldfollowthatthoughtupwithaquestion,“WhathaveIgottenmyselfinto?”Fourofmyclassesareweighted:APGovernment,APLanguage,PrinciplesofEngineering,andCollegeMath.MythreeotherclassesareHonorsChemistryII,IntroductiontoPsychology,andPersonalFinance.Afewoftheseclasses,beingrigorousandtimeconsuming,canbehardtokeepupwithattimes. HavingfootballpracticeafterschooleverydaythengivingmyselfapeptalkonthedrivehomefromthestadiumtodomyhomeworksoIdon’tgetbehindcanbehardattimes.Butthere’ssomethingelsewaitingformeatmyhousewhenIgethome,andthatisabigbowlofcerealreadytobedevouredandtransformedintoenergytodomyhomework.WhenIfinishupwithmyhomeworkIwillshower,getreadyforbed,thenhitthelightsandsaygoodnight.CatchingZ’sisimportanttomeandIknowI’mnottheonlyonewhothinksthat.WhenIpluginmyphoneandcomputertochargethematnightIthinkofmyselfasalsobeinganelectronicdevicerechargingitsbatteriestogoanotherday.IntheMorningIwillwakeuparound5ishandheadofftoschooltoworkoutandbeginanotherday. Youmightask“Whydoyoudoallthisextrastuffthatyoudon’thavetodo?”TheanswertothatisbecauseIbelieveinsettinggoalsformyself,andIknowIwillnotreachthemifIdon’tgotheextramile.Suresometimesitwillsuckbutthemoreitburnsandtakesatollonyouthemoreitwillpayoffintheend. Ican’twaittoseewhatelseistocomeofthisyearbeingajunior.Iwishthebestoflucktoallmyclassmates!! Sincere&Happy, BenjaminStyron

J u n i o r s

Dearfellowclassmates, Asyoualreadyknow,wehavemadeitthisfarintotheschoolyear.Congrats!Hopefullythiswillgiveyouhopeastothefactthatyouwillactuallysurvivehighschool!Ontheotherhand,forusseniors,itisareliefbecausewehaveactuallymadeitthisfarinourhighschoolcareer.August14wasthebeginningofmyse-nioryearandliketherestofyouguys,Iwasalittlebitanxioustostartschool.Imean,it’sthebeginningofmylastyearofhighschool!WhatcouldbemorescarythanfacingthefactthatIwillbecomeanadultsoon?ItseemslikeyesterdaythatIwasjustwalkinginforthefirstdayoffreshmanyear(carryingmymapandevery-thingbecausenoonewantstogetlostonthefirstday). Sofar,thisyearhasgoneprettygoodthough,andIhopeyourshastoo.I’vedecidedtogothe‘easyroute’thisyearandjusthavefunwithmylasttimeinhighschool.IwantedtodothethingsIlove(suchas:art,literatureandFrench)andamprettyexcitedtoseewherethisyeartakesmeandhowIwillbecomeabetterstu-dent,friendandperson.Nomatterwhatyourschedulelookslikeandwhatyou’reinterestedin,Ihopethatyoutakemyadviceandjustdothethingsyoulove.Yourlifeiswhatyoumakeit,andIhopeyoumakeitwhatyouwantittobe.Soasthisyeargetsofftohopefullyagoodstart,Ihopeyouenjoyit.Ihopeyoulaugh,smileanddon’tgettooangryatyourhomework!Untilnexttime, Yourclassmate, RebeccaKanies Ps.Seeyouinthehalls!

S e n i o r s

shouldI. According to the NationalConference of State Legislators,onMarch6,Missouri issuednewlegislationthatprotectsemployeesfrom being required to disclosepersonalusernamesorpasswords. Therefore, in the state of Mis-souri, bosses cannot ask for yourpersonal social media passwordsoryourusername; if theydo,youhavetherighttodenythemaccess.However, that doesn’t mean thatyour boss can’t “Facebook stalk”you;afterall,heorshehasallofyourpersonalinformation. Thebottomlineformeis this:Tobejudgedonwhatyourfriendsdo,orwhatyoudidwhenyouwereyounger,shouldnotaffectwhetheryougeta joborgetaccepted intothecollegeofyourdreams.Aper-sonshouldbejudgedonhisorheractual character, which requirestime. He or she should not bejudgedoffof their littlesnapshotsonTwitterorFacebook.Daytodaylifestyle and character should bewhatisjudged,notthesnippetsofitemstheypostedinarushoffury,sillinessorexhaustion. Usingsocialmediatovoiceanopinion is an expression of Free-domofSpeech.Ishouldbeabletomakeatweetandnothavetowon-derifIneedtogobackanddeleteit.

BeingasophomorewassomethingIwasn’tsureifIwouldenjoyornotlikeatall.Now,astheyearisstartingupagain,Ithinkthattherearesomethingstolookforwardto,but,somethingsthatalsopresentthemselvesasratherchalleng-ing. Iamlookingforwardforthisyearasasophomorebecauseitisachanceformetoreallygrow.Freshmanyearyoudon’thavequiteasmanyoptions,andyou’restilltryingtokindoffigureouthowthingsgoandrunatthehighschool.ButnowIalreadyhaveayear,Ihavemoreoptionsofwhatclassestotake,andabettergraspofwhatmygoalsareandwhatIwanttododuringmyhighschoolcareer. Ofcoursetherearealwaysthingstonotlookforwardto,suchasmoreresponsibility,slightlyharderclasses,andeveryyeargettingclosertowhenyougraduate.Graduatingmeansyouhavetoknowwhatyouwanttodowithyourlife.SomethingIalsofindchallengingisthefactthatstudentstrytofindtheiridentityinthingslikewhatsportstheyplay,whatsubjecttheyaregoodat,orwhattheyDO.Thisonlyleadstochaos.Peoplearealwaysjudgingandmakingfunofothers,constantlycreatingdrama.Soit’sagoodthingtomakesureyouknowwhoyouareinChrist.BecausewhenIhavethismindsetnomatterwhathappensthisyear,IknowIcangetthroughit.AndeventhoughIstillhavetwomoreyearstogo,IthinkIhaveabettergraspofwhatIwanttoaccomplishthisyear. Beingasophomoreonlyhappensonce.AndIwanttomakethemostofeveryopportunity. JuliaYoder

S o p h o m o r e s

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16.Profile


20 Questions with Mark RorvigQ: Do you enjoy being a father?

A: Yes

Q: What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?

A: My first year as a head coach in bas-ketball.

Q: What is your best coaching memory?

A: Being an administrator takes up more time and my schedule has to be open to supervise events.

Q: Why are you not coaching this year?

A: I do not like to watch the NBA that much, but for college, the Missouri Tigers.

Q: What is your favorite basketball team?

A: Blue- go cats!

Q: What is your favorite color?

A: So far, so good

Q: How are you liking being an as-sistant principal?

A: Basketball

Q: Did you play a sport in high school?

A: Sophie’s Busy Day- or at least it’s my favorite one to read.

Q: What is your child’s favorite book?

A: 6 months

Q: How old is your daughter?

A: She is usually very happy. She likes to suck her toes.

Q: What is your daughter like? Q: Do you use Wikipedia?

Q: Which suit of yours is your favorite?

Q: What is the craziest thing about this job?

Q: Do you have a teacher best friend?

Q: What is your favorite zoo animal?

Q: What is your favorite age/year?

Q: What is your dream hairstyle?

Q: Did you have a clique in high school?

Q: When is the best time to wear a striped sweater?

A: It depends on where I am, but in gen-eral, I like chocolate.

A: Yes

A: My grey one

A: The schedule

A: I get along with all of them.

A: Monkeys

A: I really enjoyed my senior year in college. You can still eat whatever you want and there is a lot less worries.

A: Landon Hern’s

A: No, I tried to get along with everyone.

A: All the time.

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