Staley Talon, February 2015, Volume 7, Issue 3

Opinion

Volume VI Issue IV | Talon | 1

#EnoughIsEnough#StopTheHate

talonStaley High School | Kansas City, Mo.Volume VII Issue III | Febuary 2015

talon

2 | Talon | Volume VII Issue III

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

(4)Opinion Flawed Society

(7)

Athletes for Club Teams

Thespian Conference

Fashion

(12)French Pen Pals

Enough is Enough (8) Hair Trends

(10)

Basketball Philanthropy(14)

(16)

Lifestyles

Sports

Sports

Lifestyles

Design by Abbi Atwell

Talon is published quarterly during the school year. Talon will accept letters to the editor in CR202 or at [email protected]. Before the letter is published, we will need to verify the writer’s identity with a photo identification. Letters may not exceed a length of 350 words. We will not publish letters that are libelous, obscene or that may cause a verifiable disruption of the education process of Staley High School. Letters must be signed. Anonymous letters will be discarded. Advertisers may contact the business manager at [email protected], (816) 413-4100 or at 2800 NE Shoal Creek Parkway, Kansas City, MO, 64156-1313.

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Feature

Volume VII Issue III | Talon | 3

Staff Page

In the many years I knew my brother, one thing he had always been was bright and happy. Always smiling when he walked into a room, always excited about life and always just so exuberant. It is not the fact that he has passed away

that has us mourning, because we will all, some day, return to our creator and Lord, Allah. It’s how he was wrongfully taken from us. A striking blow that has sent, not only us, but also a whole community down to its knees, praying that justice is served. The First Amendment of the U.S. Consti-

tution prohibits obstructing the exercise of the following:

•Freedom of Religion•Freedom of Speech•Freedom of the Press•Freedom of Assembly•Freedom of Petition These are all granted rights, and to be stripped of them,

whether you are a U.S. Citizen or not, is beyond unjust. If you’re on American soil, you generally have the same constitutional rights, and everyone should be allowed free exercise. Abdisamad had a really bright future ahead of him, but he had

to go early. He always acted so mature around everyone and was just himself no matter what. He was either at school, at the Masjid, out with friends or home with family. He’d never gone elsewhere. In school, Abdisamad was the brightest kid I’d ever known. He

worked hard, persevering through everything in his path with all the effort he could muster. During religious schooling on the weekends, it was no different. Even playing basketball, he showed perseverance. Through anything, Abdisamad’s faith, courage and strength were constantly tested, but unshaken throughout every obstacle he’s ever encountered during his short 15 years. We all say that he had to go early, and he had a promising fu-

ture ahead of him, which are both true, but it was the way Allah had wanted it. He loved him more than we could ever, and that’s why He called him back. We should all remember that Allah would never give you something you cannot handle. And that sends a message: pa-tience is one of the many keys to happiness. Only 15 years old, and his impact is being felt worldwide. We

can all become a lot nicer and kind to one another, just like he was. Emulate him and who he was. I remember once when we were at the masjid, and there was a homeless man who needed help. Abdisamad helped him up, and a man just coming out of the masjid said to him, “If you don’t have a home for him, don’t bother.” Abdisamad replied, “But he needs help.” I stood there and smiled because I was able to call such a wonderfully exuberant boy my little brother.

TalonStaffEditor-in-Chief

Abbi Atwell

Managing EditorPaige Hawkins

MultimediaEditor

Bryttany Holovach

Lifestyles EditorSean Fender

Features EditorPaige Hawkins

Opinions EditorAbbi Atwell

Sports EditorSean Fender

Fashion EditorDallas Beaulieu

Photos EditorDestiny Wilborn

Copy EditorsMarissa Hubbard

ReportersHafsa HusseinHannah Crites

Adrianna McLeanAmber Engle

PhotographersTiffany Thompson

Jamil Thomas-Nunn

Logan DawsonAlayna Lopez

Graphic ArtisitChase Vallejo

AdviserCherié Burgett

Abdisamad; His ImpactMy Brother, AdamWritten by Hafsa Hussein

Opinion

4 | Talon | Volume VII Issue III

Written by Marissa Hubbard

Photo by Destiny Wilborn

Photos byKeirceten Nelson

Graphic by Chase

On Dec.

28, 17-year-

old Leelah Alcorn, a

transgen-der female,

allegedly committed sui-

cide after her parent’s rejected

her decision to undergo transition

treatment, accord-ing to a suicide note

posted online. This incident sparked a

controversy about how teens who

identify as transgen-

dered, gay, lesbi-an, bi or other are viewed by society and their loved ones. As society is becoming more liberal on issues never confronted or immediately dis-missed, parents, like Alcorn’s, are having to deal with their chil-dren’s choices that were never before socially acceptable or scientifically possible. These deci-sions are creating a divide among traditional parents and their con-temporary children. It’s important for parents to support and guide their chil-dren through life, not to mold them into something they’re not.

A parent doing what they think is best while completely disre-garding the feelings of their child is among the worst decisions they could make. Accepting their child’s decision on things like gender preference, religious affiliation or sexual orientation is essential for a healthy developed mental state. According to research on Parental Acceptance-Rejection Theory by the University of Con-necticut, children who feel re-jected are more likely to become violent or have problems forming trusting relationships in the fu-ture. While parents play an

important part in their child’s development, it’s the people with whom they grow up, their peers, who influ-ence them the most. During the time spent in school, friends and

classmates unintentionally influ-ence how those around them per-ceive social relationships. Know-ing someone genuinely accepts choices made can completely boost confidence and provide a trustworthy friend. The social aspect of accep-tance goes both ways, so to be accepted by others, it is vital that you are willing to reciprocate. Once the cycle of acceptance has started, it will be nearly impossi-ble to stop.

Love Who You Have

It’s important for parents to support and guide their chil-dren through life, not to mold them into something they’re not.

Design by Abbi Atwell

Parents Should Accept Their Kids

Opinion


Written by Destiny Wilborn

A quick search for “Meninism” on the Internet may produce two dif-ferent definitions. The first is mostly all good intentions, though it is flawed: it is the idea of men standing up for femi-nism and women’s rights. The problem, however, is that they call themselves meninists, because no matter how important equality is, masculinity has always been more prevalent. Feminism is the idea that women should be socially, economically and politically equal to men. It does not apply to one specif-ic gender, despite its feminine root. However, if it makes people more com-fortable, alternative definitions suggest the idea that all gen-ders should be so-cially, economically, and politically equal to one another. I’m just concerned about why equality makes some people uncom-fortable. The more common version of meninism is the indication that men are becoming lesser than women and are losing their rights. Most of these claims

are strictly satirical, and honestly, I’m having a difficult time seeing how anyone could se-riously say these awful things, but several men be-came very dedi-cated to tearing down what mil-lions of women have been work-ing toward for years now when people started to realize that wom-en were being treated terribly and that per-haps we should do something to correct it. Some people have taken to Twitter in an at-tempt to regain the pride that they feel they have lost, and have began the trends of #Menin-ism and #YesAllMen, taking stereotypes of women and ap-plying it to them-selves. “Why won’t she open the door for me?” “Why can’t I live up to society’s standards?” It does noth-ing but mock stereo-types about women that men came up with in the first place. Meninists strongly feel that as women gain equali-

ty, men lose it. “Well what about men’s

rights?” Men have never been substan-dard to women. If a man wants any kind of rights, most of the time he has them, unlike wom-en, who have been beaten and killed for their rights. And then there are peo-ple who have the audacity to turn that suffering into a joke. Now, to re-cap: Meninism is the movement for men to fight for the rights, which they

were born and most have never lost. Per-

haps in-stead of making a mockery of the situation, equality can be achieved by having mutual respect for men and women. Men and wom-en have been working side-by-side to not only raise aware-ness of the sit-uation, but also

to actually create a lasting impact. Perhaps in-stead of going off of assumptions and stereotypes, menin-ists should actually look into what femi-nism is and become properly educated about all of the good that it does for all genders. Maybe then, we can move more toward equali-ty.

Photo by Destiny Wilborn

Social Media Trend Degrades Equality Movement

Meninists ‘Take a Stand’

Beating out thousands of other female applicants, senior Nancy Le won the National Center for Women and Information Technology: Aspirations in Computing Award for the Western Missouri and Kansas Division. Applications are accepted from Sept. 15 – Nov. 2 each year. Award recipients are notified in mid December, and award events take place around the country January through May. “They are just recognizing she aspires to be greatly involved in technology,” said Computer Applications teacher Lesley Martin. “That’s what the award is. She is a winner.” Le also works outside of school to inspire others to get more involved with

technology. “She volunteers her time teaching the elderly in her community of her ethnicity how to use the computer,” said Martin. “She is also a Cerner Scholar.” There is a large process to go through to receive this particular award, including teacher recommendations. “I had to write three short essays, and then based on my essays I was chosen for the award. Last year I was the runner up,” said Le. The awards ceremony will be held Feb. 6, and she will receive two engraved awards: one for her and one for the school’s trophy case. “Former winners of the NCW in Computing award are currently

studying computer science or a related field at Harvard, Yale, Rolla and Princeton, to name a few. I predict that Nancy has a bright future as well,” said event coordinator and UMKC engineering professor Judy Mullins. She will also receive opportunities for scholarships, internships, research experiences and other educational and employment opportunities provided by NCWIT member

organizations. “We are trying to inspire more women to be in the field,” said Le. Not many women are engineers, so there are awards and opportunities offered by NCWIT for women seeking to thrive in the field.

Aspiring EngineerNancy Le Wins Award

Written by Adrianna McLean

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Feature

Voume VII Issue III | Talon | 6


Feature

Senior Dom-inic Lopez said he thought that he would never get a chance to produce the one act “Lock-down” after it was cut from last year’s festival at Staley, but he did get an-other chance to pro-duce it at the Mis-souri State Thespian Conference. According to Lopez, the opportu-nity to produce the show was a great privilege because he was very passionate about what the con-tent of the act. Senior Quinn Blades entered a competition at the conference as well, where the odds were against him but the turnout was sub-stantial. He earned one out of the four

equal scholarships in which 100 Missouri thespians competed. Other awards were earned by Staley thespians. The Tech Challenge Team, seniors Anna Ohmart, Lopez, Rae Ann Roberts, Christopher Skram and sophomore Zachery Fowle, earned a certificate of recogni-tion. Senior Court-ney Hittle received a certificate of ac-complishment for her performance of the musical theater piece Pulled from “The Addams Fami-ly.” Many of the students said they didn’t expect the

results received. “I did not expect to get the certificate because there was hardly any time between one acts and individual performances, leav-ing me with no time

to warm up,” Hittle said. Time was an ob-

stacle during the conference for Hit-tle, apart from the individual obstacles faced by not only her but by many other participants in the conference. One thing that pulled both Hittle and Blades through was hard work.

“You can’t get anywhere without hard work,” Blades said. Another com-ponent that goes hand in hand with hard work is deter-mination. According to Hittle, even if a difficulty arises, her determination will pull her through. “I have a high level of determina-tion that will carry me through,” said Hittle. Through hard work and determina-tion, these students said they have been able to express their passion in theater that may have con-tributed to the suc-cess in the Missouri State Conference.

Thespian Conference HonorsStudents Perform One Act, Earn AwardsWritten by Bryttany Holovach

“You can’t get anywhere without hard work.”

Feature

Calling For Peace Written by Marissa HubbardDesign by Paige Hawkins

After losing sophomore Adam Hussein to a hit-and-run in Decem-ber, students in the English Language Learners Leadership class have worked to raise money and awareness to stop hate crimes. The class has made it their mission to spread a message of peace and under-standing, accord-ing to ELL teacher Heather Macintosh. “Change starts with us. I guess that’s what I hope,” Macintosh said. “That’s what the kids hope. Peo-ple will change their actions and think about what they do so the world will be a better place.” They have raised more than $5,000. Of the money, 80 percent will be donated to a hate crime preven-

tion foundation, and 20 percent will go to Hussein’s family, according to senior Ali Harb. “We hope that people understand that everyone is the same. We bleed the same color,” said Harb, who has been promoting their campaign against hate. “No need for hate because some-one is different whether it’s from their skin color or their beliefs.” The Lead-ership class has reached out with social media and letters. They have gained support from major Kansas City icons such as Jenny Matthews from radio station MIX 93.3 and local musician Tech N9ne. Mayor Sly James has also shown support for the anti-hate cam-paign.

“I was real-ly surprised, and it made me feel good, because now not only is the school involved, but the entire country,” said junior Tommy Vo, who created the T-shirt design. Other classes, including AVID, 2D Art and 3D Art, have shown their support by making symbols of peace and proj-ects to honor hate crime victims during the Peace Walk. “It’s unbeliev-able. I’m so happy for all the support and help we’re get-ting with this cam-paign,” Harb said. “The ELL Leadership class is so thankful for the help and sup-port we’re getting. ” Like many museums, the Peace Walk will be divided between the first and second floors of the school. The

upstairs will be de-scribing those vic-tims of hate-crime, while the downstairs will be honoring humanitarians who have stood against violence. “There are 20 people that have been killed because of some difference that they might have, whether it is religion, sexual orientation, gender, race, all of these things,” said Macin-tosh. The Peace Walk is free and will be held at Sta-ley from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Feb. 7. Donations will be accepted during the walk and anytime in room CR204. “Enough is Enough” T-shirts are also available for $10.

Group Works to Prevent Hate Crimes

Interviewed by KMBC’s Peggy Breit Jan. 20, senior Kahluna Bouchard, junior Raymon Aquino and senior Ali Harb talk about their cause and the Peace Walk. On Feb.7 from 3-5 p.m., ELL is hosting a Peace Walk at Staley. “We’re going to be asking the community or the parents to bring their children so we can educate the younger generation,” Bouchard said to Breit. Photo by Lauren Hudson


After a weeklong coin drive, senior Ali Harb col-lects and counts the coins that were donated by students from Staley High School and New Mark Middle School on Jan. 16. A total of $3,588.36 was collected from both schools. “It’s heartwarm-ing being a part of such a great cause,” said Harb. Photo by Logan Dawson

Showing support, counselor Jennifer Grossman signs one of the banners. She said she was heart-broken over what happened to Hussein. “He is someone I will never forget,” said Grossman. Photo by Logan Dawson

Students sign posters sent to Hussien’s family. By the end of lunch, several banners were filled with caring messages on Jan. 9. “I signed the poster out of respect for his family and him,” said junior Raymon Aquino. Photo by Logan Dawson

A friend of Hussien, junior Gore Pitia writes a message to the family. Several large banners were signed with messages of care. “He was a nice kid who knew and liked everyone. He always had a smile on his face,” said Pitia. Photo by Lo-gan Dawson

Feature

Start with a simple dress with ruffles on the end, and add a thick sweat-er that cov-ers to the edge of the dress. Fin-ish the look with tights and knee-high boots.

There are a lot of new hair trends, from the half-up-half-down trends, to the short look, or the long bob. All of these hairstyles are easy to accomplish and give a modern and fresh look.

TrendsHair 2015

ChoppedOff

Half Up, Half

Down

Best Lip Colors For Your Skin ToneFair skin: Light pinks and beige will bring a nice glow to your skin. This is also a good, neu-tral color that you can wear on a daily basis.

Medium: Reds and medium pinks are perfect for this skin tone. It will brighten your face without being too dramatic.

Photos by Alayna LopezDesign by Dallas Beaulieu

Fashion


Guys are branching out from the typical “guy” haircut and are bringing some edge and volume to the style. But while girls are cutting off their hair, guys are growing it out and styling it in different ways, like the more popular man bun.

Along with lotion, body wash can help aid in protecting your skin from winter’s bitter, dry cold air. Simple, clean bar soaps like Ivory leave your skin feeling clean and rejuvenated without all the additives. Body scrubs can remove dead skin and leave you feeling brand new.

Jovan Aftershave not only protects your skin from infection of minor cuts you may get while shaving, but leaves your skin renewed and mois-turized with a musky scent.

Skin CareProducts

Man Bun

Long Hair

Olive skin: Dark reds and dark pink colors never go wrong with olive skin tones, so play up any color to enhance your fea-tures.

Dark: Maroons and deep plums are best for darker skin tones. Try to avoid light shades unless you’re going for a statement lip color, otherwise these deeper shades will look more natural-ly flattering.

Fashion


Graphic by Chase VallejoWritten by Tiffany ThompsonPhotos by Tiffany ThompsonDesign by Sean Fender

Working on a project to get to know students around the world, teacher Susan Downey’s French III class writes letters to pen pals Jan. 28. The pen pals were taking English classes in France. “If you’re just in a class learning a language, and you’re not going to speak it for several years, then it’s very abstract,” said Downey. “The minute that you start saying, ‘Oh, this is stuff I want to tell my pen pal,’ then it makes that language become a reality.”

As a French teacher, Susan Downey is helping her students with any questions that they have about their pen pal letters. While writing their letters in French, students approached Downey with questions on how they could best communi-cate to their pal through the letters. “The reason that I’ve always had students write pen pal letters is to bring the reality of another language to the United States,” said Downey.

French Pen Pals Help Students Learn Lifestyles



This map shows the locations of where their letters are coming from. Two of the many cities where the French class-es are include Marseille and Mont de Marsan. “We made this map to give the students a visual of where they’re making connections in France,” said Downey.

Reading over the let-ter from her pen pal, junior Abbi Atwell admires the neat handwriting, which is written in English. Her pen pal’s name is Amandine, and she attends a private school that is just outside of Mont de Marsan. “It’s really interesting to hear about French culture from someone who is a native,” said Atwell. “I’ve only traveled to France once, but be-ing a tourist is very different compared to actually living there.”

With Valentine’s Day coming up, the French III class decided to include their pen pals in the festivities by send-ing Valentines to them. Valentine’s Day is not a popularly celebrated holiday in France. “We collected boxes of Val-entines to fill out for the students in France,” said Downey.

With her pen pal letter in hand, se-nior Marah Almalak reads about her new friend’s interests. Af-ter transferring from Gaza and enrolling in French III, Almalak described her first few months of learn-ing another language on top of English. “When I first came to America, people had to explain every single word to me,” said Almalak. “When I didn’t know a word in French, I probably didn’t even know it in English, so I had to switch from Spanish to French to English.”

Each student is able to make a real connection with his or her pen pals. Downey paired her stu-dents with the students in France by comparing their interests together. “The French really like music, so my pen pal and I talked about how different his music is compared to mine,” said sophomore Kendra Holt. “Our teacher connected me with him because we really like sports.”

Lifestyles

Sports

Team Supports Juvenile Diabetes Research

The boys’ basketball team took on the Oak Park Northmen and juvenile diabetes on Jan. 9. They came out with wins against both. They continued their partnership with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation this year, raising nearly $1,745.57, according to assistant coach Tyler Stricklin. “Knowing we can raise money to help kids like that made me want to play harder and not take the

game for granted,” said senior Trevor Lamb. Thanks to a coin drive competition by both schools and a raffle during the game, they were able to donate the money earned to JDRF. “This is a cause that is close to home for us, knowing that we can contribute to the fight to help one of our own, is a big deal,” said Stricklin. Stricklin is referring to senior forward Joey

Wilcox who has type 1 diabetes. “Being a diabetic can have a big effect on playing basketball. I need to pay close attention on how my body feels so nothing bad happens while playing,” said Wilcox. Not only were the boys able to come out with a win against the Northmen but also juvenile diabetes. “I think the game against Oak Park went well. We raised a lot of money for JDRF,

and whenever you do that it will always be a great night,” said Wilcox. JDRF is the largest charitable supporter of Type 1 Diabetes research. Their goal is to lessen the impact of diabetes on people’s lives. “When it comes down to it, it’s not about basketball. There are kids who wish they could play ball but can’t due to their conditions, so this game was bigger than us,” said Lamb.

Written by Paige Hawkins Graphic by Chase Vallejo Design by Abbi Atwell

Coins For a Cause



Sports

$1,745.57raised

Being welcomed onto the court, senior Dei-one Carter runs through a line of cheerlead-ers. Carter participated in the fourth annual coin drive. “Anything that has anything to do with diabetes, we’re always trying to help kids with that,” said Carter. Photo by Logan Dawson

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Reaching for the collection jar, sophomore Tyler Collins donates to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. The basketball team ran a coin drive to support the foundation. “I would love to see a similar drive down the road,” said Collins. “I would love the chance to help again.“ Photo by Lauren Hudson

Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation

Student Athletes Outside of StaleyFalcons Participate in Sports on Own Time

Design by Paige HawkinsWritten by Hannah Crites

While in Las Vegas with his stepsister, junior Zachary Mathisen poses in front of a sign for the National Dart As-sociation. Zachary became interested in the sport about two years after seeing his stepdad play.

Leaping out of the water, junior Hannah Palmeter swims the 100-meter butterfly at the 2013 sectionals. “Swim-ming is important to me because it’s something I always have no matter what’s going on in my life,” Palmeter said.

Taking a breath, junior Noah Reid swims freestyle. He has beem swimming since he was 9. “It gives me a lot of life traits, like how to manage my time. Hard work definitely pays off,” Reed said.

Many kids be-gin playing sports at a young age. Others pick up sports and other activities as they go through school. While many students prefer to participate in sports for school teams, oth-ers like to keep their athletic life separate from school. According to ESPN, 96 percent of kids said that they really enjoy playing their sport outside of school. No matter the reason, it is has proven to be a positive way for student athletes to express themselves. Some students take it

to the next level. Junior Hannah Palmeter said she has been swimming since the age of 6 and has made an effort to take her passion to its full potential by competing on a club team. “Being on a club team takes up a lot of my time and requires a big commitment, so I had to choose that over being on a high-school team,” Palmeter said. “But it helps me pre-pare for swimming in college, and I can get away from stress.” Junior Zach Mathisen also does a sport, but not at Sta-

ley. His interest in darts was sparked when he saw his stepdad playing it and decided to try. He has taken his talent across the country. “I went to Las Vegas to compete with people from all over the world and ended up taking home third place,” Mathisen said. “It’s a great hobby and stress reliever. Anytime I’m having a bad day, it really helps get my mind off of things.” Mathisen isn’t the only one who has earned an award on a club team. Senior Noah Reid recently placed 18th at junior nationals

swimming competition. “I’m always trying to better myself in swimming,” Reid said. “So, I decided it would be best to swim on a club team as a lead way for college swimming. Instead of swimming in the state, I’d be swimming in the nation. It provides a lot more opportunities for my future.” Reid has devot-ed his time and passion to excel. “It means every-thing to me. It sounds so cliché, but it really does,” Reid said.

Documents

Staley Talon, February 2015, Volume 7, Issue 3