Issue 2, Volume 92 September 10, 2010 Est. 1919

6 Guidance OfficeAre you talented in the visual, liter-ary and performing arts? Apply to the Young Arts Program. For more information, stop in the guidance office. Applications are due Octo-ber 15.

6 No SchoolThere will be no school on Monday the September 13 for grades K-12 due to teacher collaboration.

6Got Any Ideas?The High Life is always open to suggestions from the student body and staff. Send your ideas to the Journalism staff in Room 43, or give your ideas to directly to one of the High Life staff members.

6 State Fair is Here!

The Kansas State Fair will begin this Saturday, September 11, and will be open until the following Saturday. Monday will be Dollar Day at the Fair. The entrance fee will only be $1 for anyone with a Dillons card.

6 ACT RegistrationJuniors who plan on taking the ACT on October 23: registration will end September 17. Late registration will end on October 1.

VISIT US ONLINE AT MHSHIGHLIFE.COM | 801 E. First St. McPherson KS 67460 | 620-241-9500 ext. 115

San Francisco, California- 54 year old Daniel Goodwin scaled a 58 story skyscraper this Monday us-ing suction cups with no ropes. The 645 foot climb took three hours and was featured on many local TV stations.

Bogota, Colombia- The Guinness World Records has officially named 24 year old Edward Nino Hern-andez as the shortest man in the world. Standing at 27 inches tall, he hasn’t grown since the age of two, and is 1.5 inches shorter than the previous titleholder He Pingping of China.

Berlin, Germany- According to the police, a German man was shot in the back of the head during a New Years celebration five years ago. The bullet did not penetrate the skull, but was just under his skin. The man remembers receiving a blow to the head, but never sought medical help. Until recently, he wasn’t even aware he’d been shot.

Orange County California- The OMG burger, served at a restau-rant called The Catch, is a hefty 4 pounds, bigger than the human head. Consisting of 12 slices of cheese, a head of lettuce, 2 pounds of fries, a 14 inch bun and more, the OMG burger costs $39.95.

Buzz

Pups win 52-27

Missed the game? Find out what happened

on Sports.

What do you think?

Students polled: see what they had to say

on Opinions.

Introducing:Check out

“Who Wears It Best?” -our newest feature on

Entertainment.

The high Life

6 Dog Pound ShirtsThe Dog Pound shirts have arrived and can be picked up in Mrs. Nix-on’s room. Go Pups!

Bullpup Pals connect

Senior Sierra Brodin hangs out with Sydney Gumm during Bullpup Pals. All AP Government students participate in Bullpup Pals. Photo by Katie Mena.

Swim TeamFundraising

Ways money is being raised:

Andrea NowakMHL Editor

With so many clubs and or-ganizations happening at MHS, there are a lot of activities going on. However, next spring an event of massive proportions will be taking place, and all students will be par-ticipating.

“The Big Event is going to be one school day in the spring where all of the students at MHS go out into our community and do com-munity service for the day instead of attending class,” English teacher Gentry Nixon said.

Community service is a big part of many students’ lives, but never has something of this level hap-pened at MHS.

“The idea started with Katie Mena. She had heard about this over the summer. Other schools around the country have done something like this in the past,” Nixon said.

Since this event involves all of the MHS students, careful planning must be done to ensure the safety of all the students. Because of the size of this event, more than one organi-zation had to help sponsor it.

“She [Katie Mena] approached StuCo, KAY, and NHS with the idea, and we were all excited to participate. We knew this would be too big for one organization to take on, so the three are collaborating to make this work,” Nixon said.

The students will be going out to local businesses to do community service. This is a way to get every-one involved, and working towards a common goal.

“I think the community will benefit in multiple ways. For one, I really think we can have a positive impact on people and/or businesses in need. I also think that it would do our community good, in gen-eral, to see our students out visibly working towards a common goal,” Nixon said.

The big event

Rachel LeeOpinions Editor

History teacher Rick Reed and his AP American Government class started off the 2010/2011 Bullpup Pals program Wednesday, August 25th. The purpose of this program is to help unite all the different kinds of students that attend McPherson High School and show that embracing these differences can bring eve-ryone closer together.

“We wanted to create an authentic citizenship com-ponent for the AP American Government classes. In order for any citizenship piece to be effective it must be more than a ‘one and done’, and a program that es-tablishes long-term relationships with a population of kids with special needs seems to fit the bill,” Reed said. “We are beginning our third year of Bullpup Pals and are very pleased for the simple fact that the program that began as a citizenship module has embodied the idea of sincere citizenship and has changed the lives for all those involved.

The 3 AP classes alternate Wednesdays, each spending 54 minutes with the special education class.

Jim Munsey and Vicky Kloeppner create and admin-ister the activities that take place during Bullpup Pals. These activities include ‘Charlie the Caterpillar’, craft time, Easter egg painting and hunting, Christmas gift construction and many, more.

“I have come to the realization that special needs kids understand unconditional love, both received and given. McPherson High School has an intrinsic problem with relationships. We are all about creating a relationship that may be beneficial for ‘me’ later even if that relationship isn’t honest or sincere. McPher-son High School culture isolates and then fosters an environment of popular and not so popular. One of my goals is to destroy this mindset by starting with the systematically isolated group and then hopefully this attitude of inclusion will spread into the AC, gyms and classrooms,” Reed said.

The AP Government cases will continue to spend their Wednesdays with the special needs students making discoveries about their new friends and them-selves.

Colleen O’Connor Reporter

MHS’ latest club: students dive into Frisbee on page 2

vsLujano

Young?Page 4 Page 6 Page 7

-Car Washes-Fireworks Stand-Selling T-shirts and lanyards-Donations-Auction at summer meet (Olympic items)-Bake sale

3 days untilNo School

Collaboration Day

7 days untilMHS Play

19 days untilKU Honors Night

28 days untilFootball vs.

Gardner Edgerton

51 days untilHalloween

103 days untilChristmas Break

2 My HigH Life September 10, 2010

countdown

Spotlight

What is something that very few people know about you?I want to be a cat lady.

What is your favorite color?I like all colors.

What is your favorite des-sert?Banana Cream Pie.

What is the craziest adven-ture you’ve ever been on?Spp’n with Whitney Claire Wall.

What are your favorite places to shop?American Apparel, Urban Outfitters.

Kendra Reed, jr.

Andrea Nowak, MHL Editor

September 2010Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 2 3 4

8765

1312

9 11

19

1817161514

24232220

29282726

25

30

Pilates involves a different series of movements which are used to strength-

en the core and back. Also used to improve flexibility, pilates is a class that can help people of all body types improve their core and back power.

During this class, a YMCA instruc-tor will guide you in an intense

training routine used to give more power to your body. Although challenging, boot camp is a class that offers indoor and outdoor opportunities for gaining strength.

No SchoolLabor Day

No SchoolCollaboration

Day

ZUMBA

Sundays2:15-3:15PM

21

10

By using both fast and slow rhythm combinations, Zumba targets specific parts of the body. This class offers fun international dances that tone your glutes, legs, arms, and abdominals.

BOOT CAMP

PILATES

YOGA

include activities and the time

The HighLife staff has provided a schedule of dryland activities that the YMCA offers during the school year. These are activites that your fellow McPherson High School classmates participate in during their free time.

Check it out!

There are many ways to have a good time...at the

Yoga offers you the opportunity to sculpt and tone your muscles, as well as

improve flexibility and balance. All of these things are given while relieving stress and tension from the body.

ZUMBA

YOGA

Tuesdays7:00-7:45PM

YOGA

Thursdays7:00-7:45PM

PILATES

Tuesdays 8:15-9:00AM

BOOT CAMP

Tuesdays 5:30-6:15PM

BOOT CAMP

Thursdays 5:30-6:15PM

The 2010 United Way Triathlon took place on August 21. 150 participants competed either in teams or individu-ally. The event led the competitors on a course through-out McPherson.

Junior Kassidy Glazner and sophomores Colleen O’Connor and Allison Ivers reenact their task in the triathlon. Senior Rochelle Cottrell took first place in her individual division at the event.

Swimming Biking Running

2010 United Way Triathlon

Junior ex-change student

Enow Tabi Clin-ton has transitioned

smoothly into McPher-son High School, joining

the boys soccer team. Clinton also enjoys playing basketball with friends.

In Cameroon, Clinton listens to hip-hop and R&B, though they have different artists than in the United States. Clinton’s favorite food in America is French

fries, but he likes tomato stew and rice in Cameroon. The thing Clinton misses the

most about Cameroon is his family and friends, though he is enjoying his stay in the United States.

Junior Chris-tine Nielsen says

school in the United States is different in

every way. Instead of students rotat-

ing from class to class, teach-

ers rotate to the

students’ c l a s s -

rooms. In N o r w a y ,

Christine at-tended school

from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., and sports

teams were joined outside of school, in-

stead of being a school activity. Christine is excited to be doing something new,

but says that she is addicted to her family, friends, and boyfriend back

home.

Septemer 10, 2010 3feature

Rochelle Cottrell, Feature Editor

Thailand

Cameroon

Junior Julia Pfeiffer is having to make many adjustments to life in the United States. In Germany, teenagers do

not have cars and have very different menu choices. Julia also notes that the students at

McPherson High School have more school spirit than her previous school.

In Germany, Julia played sports such as hockey, dancing and tennis, and is con-

tinuing her participation in tennis at MHS. Despite all these changes, Julia hasn’t experienced any home-

sickness and is enjoying the Unit-ed States.

GermanyForeign Friends

Kamonwat “First” Rojjandadechakul, a

Junior exchange stu-dent has noticed many differences

in cultures since he has been in the United States. One of the main dif-ferences he points out is the food. First

says his favorite food in the United States is pizza, although he still misses the food in Thailand. Though he is enjoying his stay,

he still misses his fam-ily and friends back home.

Norway

Germany, when you have eaten in a restaurant, taking the leftovers with you is typically frowned upon; they are thrown away. In the US, it is cus-tomary to ask for a box.

F o od

~

Fo

od ~ Foo

d

~ F

o o d

Food in Germany is very different

•

M u

si

c~

M

usic ~

Mu

si

c

~ A m e r i -can mu-sictop hits

•

•

S p or

ts

~ S

ports ~ S

po

rt s ~

HockeyTennisPingpong for fun

•••

Corner

Cultu

reThailand is bigger than the United Kingdom, Iceland, Belgium and Austria com-bined. Thailand is famous for its hospitality, and the average visitor will have no difficulty in adapting tolocal customs.

F o od

~

Fo

od ~ Foo

d

~ F

o o d

S p or

ts

~ S

ports ~ S

po

rt s ~

M u

si

c~

M

usic ~

Mu

si

c ~

Rice with meat

• PopSame as U.S.

music

••

BadmittenTable

Tennis

••

CornerCu

lture

Cameroon became inde-pendent in 1960. It was formed from the former French Cameroons and the southern British Camer-oons.

F o od

~

Fo

od ~ Foo

d

~ F

o o d

S p or

ts

~ S

ports ~ S

po

rt s ~

M u

si

c~

M

usic ~

Mu

si

c

~ Hip hopR&B

••Rice and

t o m a t o stew

•

Soccer for schoolB a s k e t -ball for fun

•

•

Corner

Cultu

re

Norway is the sixth largest country of Europe. Nor-way is counted amongst the wealthiest countries of the world. The Norwegian Constitution was signed on May 17, 1814. The day is celebrated as a national holiday in the country.

F o od

~

Fo

od ~ Foo

d

~ F

o o d

S p or

ts

~ S

ports ~ S

po

rt s ~

M u

si

c~

M

usic ~

Mu

si

c

~ FishFood is healthier in

Norway

••

SoccerHandball

••

S a m e R&B S a m e Rock

•

•

Corner

Cultu

re

McPherson High’s varsity volleyball team played in a preseason AVCTL tournament on Saturday, August 28. They went 5-1, with the only lost against Salina South. With the following record to Valley Center Hornets who went 6-0.

“ I think the tournament went well we played really good together as a team,” sophomore Briana Pontious said.

MHS won the first game against Salina South 25-16 but then lost the second and third match 20-25 and 16-25. They won over Andover (25-12, 25-10, Campus 25-20, 25-27, 25-22), Buhler (25-20, 17-25, 25-8) Hutchinson (25-13, 25-7), and Salina Central (25-11, 25-21).

“In the Salina South game we got down and kind of started to fall apart,” Pontious said.

Tuesday, August 31 Varsity and JV both played in God-dard. They lost against Goddard (21-25 and 18-25) and Derby (24-26 and 21-25).

“It was an okay start for the season, I’m excited to see how the rest of the season turns out,” sophomore Alexa Unruh said.

The girls traveled to Andover on Tuesday, September 7. They won both games against Arkansas City (25-18 and 25-11) and Andover (25-18 and 25-11). Their record improved to 7-3.

“It went really well we played as a team and we didn’t have any negativity. We passed well and that helped us win,” said Pontious.

The team has a lot of games coming up. They play on September 14 in Andover and at the Goddard Invitational on Saturday, September 18.

“We have a lot of talented people on the team so I think we will do very well this season,” Unruh said.

Junior Bethany Farres holds the record this year for 66 kills. Sophomore Katelyn Loecker following with 39. Junior

Kelcie Scott has the most assists at 77 with Farres at 47. Junior Sophie Simon and sophomore Tashley Snyder both have 13 aces each and Farres following with 11. Junior Tif-fany Snyder and Tashley both have 45 digs being the most. Senior Sarah Gaeddert holds the record for blocks at 11.

MHS will host their first home game on Tuesday. September 21. They will play against Andover Central and Valley Center. The games are at 5 p.m. in the roundhouse.

“We are excited for the home court advantage against these two tough opponents. Valley Center is tied for first in the league and Andover Central is returning from a 38-1 season,” coach Christy Doile said.

4 SportS September 10, 2010

Leigh Loving, Sports Editor

Boys Soccer@ Andovervs Hutchinson

2-1 1-2

ScoreboardBullpup AthleticsGirls Tennisvs. McPherson Inv@ Salina Central Inv

1st 9/11

7th 7th

Cross Country@ WSU Classic (boys)@ WSU Classic (girls)

Footballvs Andover vs Salina South

52-27 9/10

Volleyball@ Andover@ Arkansas City

25-12 25-18

Freshman Paige Regnier bumps the ball into action during the Sports Preview. Photo by Max Pyle

Spikers start off strong at PreseasonAutumn ShortReporter

The boys’ soccer team began their season with a big win over Andover. The Bullpups were down late in the 2nd half 0-1 when senior Cory Horton scored a much needed goal to send the game into overtime.

In overtime sophomore Nick Torres scored the game win-ning goal to have the Pups winning 2-1.

“I think the reason we got scored on so early in the first game was because the team still had the first game jitters,” junior Steven Gonzalez said. “What we did well was keep our cool and stay in the game even when we were down, the best part was definitely the game winning goal which was a great start for our season.”

The next game against Hutchinson the Bullpups could not get a late time goal and lost 2-1. It was a one all game until late in the 2nd half of the game where Hutchinson scored a late goal to have the Pups ending the night with a loss.

“We didn’t communicate as well as we needed to and we couldn’t string any good runs together considering that we almost never made more than 3 or 4 passes.” Gonzalez said.

In the first round of the McPherson annual invitational the Pups lost to up and coming Maize South with a score of 4-2. Maize South has had quite the start considering this is their second year since becoming a school.

The Bullpups have a lot of things to overcome this year including a new head coach and many new starters.

The team faced Wichita Independent in the consolation bracket on Thursday but the statistics were not available as of press time.

Soccer has slow start after overtime victory

Tennis hosts home opener

McPherson High School girls’ varsity tennis team held an invita-tional on Thursday September 2. They had a good start to the season with the team taking first place and scoring 21 points with everyone contributing

“The first meet went awesome because Libby and I played really well together for it being our first meet,” sophomore Allison Ivers said.

There were five other teams there including Derby who tied for second with Valley Center with 15 points, Newton scored 7, Great Bend scored 6, and El Dorado scored 0. Casyn Buchman took first in #1 singles, and Kirsten Holle took first in #2 singles. In #1 doubles Kylee Bonham and Erika Wedel took first while Libby Graber and Allison Ivers took third in #2 doubles.

“Playing singles wasn’t very different because I played singles some last year and all summer,” junior Kirsten Holle said.

The JV team traveled to Lindsborg on Thursday September 2, but got canceled due to rain.

“We have a lot of talent, returning players, and incoming fresh-man so I think we will have a great year,” Ivers said.

The girls’ tennis team has been working hard for the past month to prepare for their first match.

“We have been practicing hard and focusing on what we need to accomplish this season,” Ivers said.

The next JV tennis meet is on Tuesday September 14 at Salina Central. The next varsity meet is on Thursday September 16 at Ark City High School.

Abby SteinerReporter

Chris RakowskiSports Columnist

Freshman Taylor Swartzendruber volleys the ball during the McPherson Invitational. Photo courtesy of Max Pyle

Senior Quinn Bowers side-tackles a Hutchinson opponent during their 2-1 loss. Photo by Katie Mena

Senior Kylee Bonham serves it up at the McPherson Invitational hosted on September 2. photo by Max Pyle

Sophomore Kayley Schmidt dives for a dig to keep the ball in play. Photo by Max Pyle

Bullpups triumph at Goddard

September 10, 2010

The Bullpup football team is off to a strong start with a 52-27 victory over the Andover High School Trojans.

“For the most part, we played pretty well, espe-cially for the first game,” head coach Tom Young said.

Although the team is please overall with the game, they are not completely satisfied with every aspect.

“We have stuff to work on,” junior Jordan Hart said. “We made a few of mental mistakes.”

The Trojans led the Bullpups twice in the first half, though MHS made up for early mistakes with a score of 25-14 at the half.

“We need to start faster,” senior Heath Collins said.

Junior quarterback Tyler Matthews threw for a whopping 304 yards and five touchdowns. On the

receiving side, senior Nick Gawanda had 122 yards in five catches for three touchdowns, while senior Christian Ulsaker caught eight passes for 99 yards, adding another touchdown. Senior Kevin O’Connor was also a large asset to the McPherson offense, carrying the ball for a total of 133 yards against the Trojans.

“It was a great way to start the season,” Young said. “Andover is a good team. It was a nice win.”

The team wasted no time after their first victory and began looking ahead to today’s game against Salina South.

“We’re getting mentally focused on the Cougars,” senior Tommy Crayton said.

To prepare for the game, MHS is looking at the strengths and weaknesses of Salina South and work-ing to capitalize on anything they can.

“They’re especially good on the line of scrimmage with their defensive line and offensive line,” Young said.

Game time for tonight’s matchup is 7 p.m. at McPherson Stadium.

Katie MenaPhotographer

5SportS

Football ready to take on Salina South

You are poi-soning your-self! You are not going to be seventeen forever.

Sophomore Austin O’Bannon hauls in a catch during the season opener against Andover. photo by Max Pyle

The one thing all athletes have in common is the desire to win. No matter if you’re on the volleyball team or the soccer team you always want to beat your opponent. What happens when your opponent wants to win just as badly as your team does? What if they train just as hard and prepare just as diligently as you do? There is one little convenient way to get ahead. You could always use steroids.

Hear me out on this one. It’s not like taking steroids is cheating. Cheating is calling a serve out that you know was good, corking your bat, or taking a stroke or two off your score. Steroids help you build muscle. It’s your body. Steroids are just an aid to help train more ef-ficiently.

With the help of an anabolic supplement, every weight you lift, sprint you run, and rep you take is maximized to its full potential. Nothing is wasted. Taking steroids doesn’t magically make you a better athlete. Putting in the hard work during training and practice is where the supplement helps. Sitting on the couch all day and juicing will not improve your ability one bit. Train-ing with steroids, however, will.

Being an athlete puts an enor-mous strain on your body. Your muscles are damaged after an intense workout, and the body naturally repairs them. This is where steroids

come in. The rebuilding of the mus-cles is assisted with a supplement such as an anabolic steroid. Taking steroids actually help your body.

ARE YOU FREAKING KID-DING ME? Do you know exactly what steroids do to a high schooler’s body? Yes they build muscle, improve physique, and increase endurance. They also can cause you to become sterile, stunt your growth, cause acne, incite depression, and can cause fatal organ damage. There’s a reason why certain chemicals are not found naturally in the body in mass quantity. You are poisoning yourself! You are not going to be seventeen forever. One day you will wake up and regret taking the easy way out. After hearing a few of the negatives do the benefits even look appealing?

Anabolic steroids aren’t the only source of teen athlete sub-stance abuse. Creatine, DHEA, and Ephedra are just a few of the other problem substances. While they may appear to have some benefits, all can be very deadly. One thing is for sure: the damage caused by a short-term way of thinking is irreversible. The negatives can and will stick with you for the rest of your life. Until next time...

Student X is an athlete. This is the second column in a series of unfiltered looks into MHS.

STUDENT XANONYMOUS

Senior Tommy Crayton has been playing football since age 10. He enjoys getting together with friends and having fun. Along with good times comes much responsi-bility for himself and those on the team. Being a senior he has a big role to fill. He must set examples for the other players. In order to have fun and be successful at the same time the whole team must work together and stay motivated. Not letting Coach Young down is his motivation when the going gets tough.

“[Players] should go hard every play and not let anyone down,” Crayton said.

He prepares outside of practice by getting mentally focused. Having played for so many years the memories add up over time. Crayton’s favorite was getting called for starting line up in every game. Every game is important and it is necessary for the team to have goals so that they can be reached. For the future of the season he predicts the team will be playing in the state game.

His goals for this year are per-sonal but also benefit the team.

“I want to grade out every game and dominate,” Crayton said.

As far as college he is undecided as to whether or not he will play football. His college of choice is also undecided.

Tommy CraytonBorn: March 9, 1993 Hometown: Pflugerville, TexasSport: Football Number of years played: 7

Cross Country places 7thThe season opened for the

cross country team Saturday September 4 at Raft Golf Course at WSU at the JK Gold Classic. Both the girls and boys took 7th overall out of 9 teams: Gardner-Edgerton, Blue Valley West, Wichita Kapaun Mt. Carmel, Wichita East, Campus, McPher-son, Andover, Augusta and El Dorado.

Caleb Porter took 12th individually, followed by Nick Rempe in 19th and then David Shorman at 37th. The best time for girls was Colleen O’Connor’s 30th. O’Connor was followed by Andrea Nowak at 38 and Myran-da Miller at 39. Other finishers included Hannah Williams at 41, Alex Schmidt at 46 and Saman-tha Goodell at 47.

“It went ok. It was more for experience for the new people. I think I did good because I ran 11 seconds faster than I ran at that course last year,” Porter said.

Then next stop for the team will be the Emporia Invitational tomorrow at Jones Park starting

at 9 a.m. The 13 teams compet-ing will be Emporia, McPherson, Campus, Maize, Great Bend, Lawrence, Lawrence Free State, Manhattan, Olathe South, St. Thomas Aquinas, Topeka Wash-burn Rural, Wichita Northwest and Olathe Northwest.

After Emporia, the team

will travel to Buhler for the Buhler Invitational on Thursday, September 16. The next week will hold McPher-son’s first home meet of the year on September 23 at 4:30 p.m. Buhler, El Dorado, Hutchinson, Liberal, Maize, Newton, Salina Central and Salina South will be com-ing to the Rolling Hills Golf Course for the McPherson Invitational.

“It’s a good opportunity for us to see a very chal-lenging course; challenging meaning there are lots of hills,” coach Chad Brake said.

Another thing the team is looking forward to this year

is the opportunity to host AVCTL Div II League. Last year, League was held at Lake

Afton Dam. Brake is hoping that having League at home will help the team be more prepared.

“Since we’re also hosting the League meet at that very same course [Rolling Hills], it’ll be a good chance for us to review,” Brake said.

Senior Alyssia Busby runs on the front lawn during practice. Photo courtesy of Max Pyle

Clarissa FenimoreEditor in Chief

Leigh Loving, Sports Editor

playerof theweek

6 OpiniOns September 10, 2010

“[I wash] my arms.”Johnny Rogers, fr.

“[I wash] my arm-pits?”

Brooke Gaeddert, soph.

“I think I wash my belly first.”

Ryan Clark, jr.

“[I wash] my left foot.”

Sarah Gaeddert, sr.

“I brush my teeth in the shower.”

Cory Buchta, Debate

What part of your body do you wash first when you shower?

beliefsWe believe that a free press is essential

to maintaining a healthy democracy.

Likewise, we believe that a free stu-

dent press is essential to maintaining

the free exchange of ideas on a school

campus.

We believe that we have an obligation

to serve as a voice for our audience.

We believe that we have an obligation

to expose dishonesty in public affairs

by public officials, and the improper

or illegal use of power by public of-

ficials.

legalLetters to the editor should be submit-ted to Room 43. Please limit comments to 300 words. Letters must be signed by the writer, but upon request, can be printed anonymous. The High Life is the official publication of McPherson High School, the opinions expressed in this newspaper are those of the stu-dents and do not necessarily reflect those of its administration, faculty and staff. A publication schedule is avail-able upon request. The subscription is $10 a year. Student price is $2 per year. Professional memberships for student journalists include Kansas Scholastic Press Association, National Scholas-tic Press Association, and Journalism Education Association.

contactMail

The High LifeMcPherson High School801 E. FirstMcPherson, KS 67460

Phone620-241-9500

ext. 115

E-mailhighlife@mcpherson.com

HoursStaff meets 5th hour daily. Staffers are also in the journalism room hours one, two, and seven. Staff usually meets Monday evenings before printing in Room 43.

Jacob Kresky Business ManagerHannah Martin News EditorLeigh Loving Sports Editor Rachel Lee Opinions EditorAndrea Nowak MHL EditorRochelle Cottrell Feature EditorKassidy Glazner Entertainment EditorJeni Arbuckle Photography EditorKatie Mena PhotographerMax Pyle Photographer

Phillip Watson CartoonistChris Rakowski Sports ColumnistMcKenzie Ediger ReporterLibby Graber ReporterAlex Jirgens ReporterColleen O’Connor ReporterAutumn Short ReporterTJ Smith Reporter/PhotographerAbby Steiner ReporterChanning Wall Reporter

The High Life StaffClarissa Fenimore

Editor in Chief

Libby GraberReporter

Well, it’s junior year. We’re not quite seniors, but still the upper classmen. I’m looking forward to going to the sports events with my fellow upper classmen and cheering my heart out. We have finally made our impres-sion, whether it’s good or bad. But we need to keep making our impressions. This is the year that really counts. This is what the big important people at the colleges look at. They look at our junior year. In past years, I might have slacked off a little bit. But, this year, I need to step it up a little bit. I need to keep my grades not good, but great. This is the begin-ning of the end of high school. These are the years that count.

We can finally start to think about going to college, and what we want to do with our lives. We need to step it up a little bit this year and really make a great im-pression. Not only in our educa-tion, but in everything. We need to start to prepare for going to college. We can finally start to think about what life will be like without our parents. Maybe we can start to learn how to cook, and maybe even wash some dish-

es. Be a little more responsible, but still have a little more fun.

The only thing that might be a downer is the lunch situation. It’s not quite cool that we have to stay at the school. Now, I have to spend extra time in the morn-ing to prepare my lunch for the day. It’s usually the same thing everyday. A peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and maybe some chips. However, maybe I’ll make the best of it. I want to go get a luncheable and pretend like I’m in second grade again. I always wanted those, but my parents would never buy me any. I want to go get an awesome lunch box, maybe Superman.

This year is all about having fun, but still getting my stuff done. I think I have awesome teachers this year and some pretty great classes. Despite the homework, I think I will actually have some fun in my classes. This year is not going to be dull. Hopefully, this year will be so much better than my freshman and sophomore year. But, hopefully it won’t be so great that my senior year won’t be better. I think junior year sounds so much fun because it is so close to senior year. Senior year is what everyone looks forward to. Now, we are so close, and I can’t wait.

Life as LibbyTJ SmithReporter

“Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as every-one else in this country. And that includes the right to build a place of worship and a community cen-ter on private property in Lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances. This is America. And our commit-ment to religious freedom must be unshakeable... The write of the Founders must endure.” President Barack Obama said.

I agree with the president whole-heartedly. Just because a small fraction of Islam worshipers are extremists and acted in terror-ism nearly a decade ago doesn’t mean that we’re allowed to take away their rights. If they’ve fol-lowed the city ordinances and have the money to pay for their community center I believe that they should be allowed to do so. It’s not like just because they’re Muslims and near Ground Zero that they’re automatically evil.

“But think about it,” Eric Can-tor said. “Why would you want, as an imam, why would you want to put a cultural center right there if it’s meant to heal people when right away it’s caused such a na-

tional uproar? That is in and of it-self evident of the fact that they’re not interested in healing or bring-ing people together. They’re inter-ested in posing their view. That’s what so insensitive about it.”

Insensitivity? I know it’s a sore spot for most Americans but re-ally? I guess that some people can feel bad that they’re building a community center and mosque there, but saying that it’s insen-sitive sounds a little ludicrous. They’re not making statues of the twin towers falling. They’re not building there so they can point and laugh at Ground Zero. They’re not building just to spite America. The fact of the matter is Islam is the fastest growing religion on the planet. There are plenty of Christian community centers and churches in downtown Manhat-tan. Islam deserves every right that other religions get. A few bad grapes shouldn’t be able to ruin things for the rest of the Islam world

On that note the mosque prob-ably shouldn’t be built there any-more. If everybody in the United States hadn’t made such a big deal about it then I think that building there would have been fine, but the Muslim community doesn’t really need this type of exposure.

To mosque or not to mosque

Fundraising seems to be the popular word for the Swim Team at the moment. The team started off by holding car washes, which slowly turned into auctioning off Olympic signed items, and their lat-est idea is selling T-shirts and lanyards. I guess you could say that they have been fairly successful. However, it takes more than successful fundraising to raise $7,000.00 in six months. It takes support; which has been given to the swim team.

For a long time, many people have doubted the school and their support, me included. A mixed thought that has been going around is, why is the administration striving to make this place we come to everyday feel like home, and yet the Swim Team must fundraise like crazy just to survive?

Before you look into why the school board chose the Swim Team and Golf Team, it looks like they targeted the programs. However, the board had a valid reason for budget cuts in those two ar-eas...no revenue. What we have to realize is that they do have our best interest in mind, but some-

times decisions have to be made in order to keep the school running. They aren’t always decisions that we agree with, but we must respect them. The thing I was most upset about it why the team was not being helped, why the community and school turned their heads when the team was put on the chopping block. However, once again, my assump-tion was wrong in a few areas.

Organizations like the Booster Club support the activites in this high school more than anyone will ever notice. Some people will attend every single fundraiser and donate in every way possible, without wanting any praise for doing so. We must remember that just because every good deed that someone does isn’t announced, does not mean it isn’t there.

On behalf of the high school swim team, thank you to everyone in the community who has attend-ed a car wash or helped the team out in any way. I also thank the Booster Club and everyone on it. Your support has not gone unnoticed.

Swim team drowning in debt?

Rachel Lee, Opinions Editor

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Kassidy Glazner, Entertainment Editor

WHO wears it best?

Mr. Lujano Coach Young

OR

Alex JirgensReporter

OK, if you hate (or like) Twi-light and looking for a good laugh, then watch Vampires Suck. A spoof of not only Twi-light, but Alice in Wonderland, Lady Gaga, Tiger Woods’ sex scandal and many other pop culture items of now, “VS” will literally make you laugh through the entire movie. It starts out when Becca (obvi-ous parody of Bella) moves to Sporks (parody of Forks, Wash-ington) with her dad, the town cop (OK, if you’ve seen Twi-light accidentally like I have, you know the whole introduc-tion). She meets Edward Sullen in biology, with the instructor announcing to her that she will

fall in love with this scary guy and make huge money through a movie franchise (it’s the truth, right?).I’m gonna fast forward through to the end where she turns into a vampire and eats the head “Team Jacob” girl. I didn’t want to reveal too much of the plot, because, after all, I’m giving you a review about a movie you can spend your hard earned money on. Oh, there’s a part in there where Becca and her friend walk out of the the-atre seeing “Breaking Dawn” and revealing the entire movie to the long line outside (OK, I said too much). The movie is rated PG-13 for

sex-u a l

r e f e r - ences, lan-guage and teen partying (when did the MPAA start rating movies with that in it?). If your parents are too strict and are probably concerned about the content, just wait to rent it. If they don’t care, go see it! And, you can fight with the person next to you on who’s better:

I bet you’re wondering, why am I reviewing such a movie? Well, look at my title, Cartoon-ist, I live for animation; and as such, Pixar movies have been part of my life from the very start. Once more, fresh from the labs of Pixar, the third installment in the Toy Story series proves to be yet another winner, along a huge line of hits by this company.The main plot of Toy Story is as follows, the opening cinema depicts Andy’s whimsical childhood with his toys playing, laughing and what not, only to fast forward to more than 10 years into the future where Andy is heading off to college and his toys once again worry about their future. In a hilarious mixup, Woody and his friends get shipped off to a daycare rather than the attic (which Andy had intended) only to be met by various new characters like Ken, played by Mi-chael Keaton, and Lotso Hugs Bear. Additional characters such as Dolly and Mr. Pricklepants later make an appearance and provide as

mu ch c o -medic t iming as ever. However, it’s all a ruse, t h e daycare in real- ity runs under Lotso’s cynical grip and he in turn eventually tries to destroy them at any means possible. All the while the toys try to get back to Andy when they discover that he’s looking for them.This movie is brilliant, the animation is top notch, the storyline is much darker than pre-vious movies and features a psychotic clap-ping monkey, Mr. Tortilla Head, a Spanish Buzz Lightyear, and an ending that brought most of the theater to tears.Truly, Toy Story 3 exceeds all hype and offers an enjoyable movie experience for all ages. If you haven’t seen it yet, I pity you.

Pixar works magic once again

“Vampires” great!

Phillip WatsonCartoonist

Hungry fo’ books?Colleen O’ConnorReporter

The term page-turner does not even begin to cover it. From the minute I opened this book, I was a prisoner to the plot as it pulled me along for the ride. Mockingjay, the last book in the trilogy of the Hunger Games series, digs deep into the life of Katniss Everdeen, survivor of the last 2 Hunger Games. The story takes place in an uniden-tified future time period after the destruction of North America, in a place called Panem. Panem is made up of 12 districts with the ruthless and powerful Capitol in the center. Every year, in order to show their supreme power, the Capitol selects two children, one male and one female, from each district to fight to the death for their entertainment. The first time Katniss entered the arena she managed to save both herself and Peeta Mellark, her fellow tribute, by outsmarting the Capitol. With one simple action she managed to set in motion a string of events that would eventually lead all of Panem into a revolt. From that moment on, every game Katniss played with President Snow became more and more deadly. Escaping to District 13 after the second arena was destroyed, Katniss is desperate to save Peeta who was taken captive by the Capitol. Katniss has to choose whether or not she wants to be the face of the revolution, continuing to endanger those she loves, or hand the power off. The Capitol is hungry for revenge and determined for Katniss to pay for their embarrassment. Mockingjay will put you on the edge of your seat, bring you to tears, shock you to your core, and ultimately leave you desperate for more.

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Katie MenaPhotographer

8 News September 10, 2010

Ultimate Frisbee is hereLeigh LovingSports Editor

As a vivid multicolored disc flies in your direction, you leap to grab it from the air. When you land on the soft grass, your new shirt gets a nice grass stain but that doesn’t matter. You just caught the winning throw of the inaugural game of the Ultimate Fris-bee Club. That’s right, we now have an Ultimate Frisbee Club.

“I came up with the idea one day and texted TJ [Smith]. We both thought it was a good idea. We played ultimate frisbee during the summer. Anyone can play the game, it’s easy to pick up on. You can join for free and you get to hang out and play Ultimate Frisbee,” junior Jake Frye said.

The club will facilitate games t h r o u g h o u t the year for its members.

“The Ulti-mate Frisbee Club will play games every week during the fall at Lakeside or Lin-nea Park, the one across from the fire station. We’ll take off during the win-ter for weather reasons and then pick it up in the spring again,” Frye said.

The club will meet outside of school on Saturday nights at Lakeside Park.

“Of the two parks, TJ prefers Lin-nea Park but Linnea has a lot of tree cover so its harder to throw. Right now we’ll meet on Saturday evenings at 7 at Lakeside Park across from the

pool. We will not meet on Wednesdays during Advisory Period. We can’t play a game at school and there’s no deci-sions to be made during meetings,” Frye said.

The goal of the club is to bring a unique group of kids together.

“The Ultimate Frisbee Club in-vites kids who have never played the game to have an opportunity to learn the game. For kids who have played it gives them a group to hang with. It will help us stay active and out of trouble,” Frye said.

Every club at McPherson High School must have a sponsor. The Ultimate Frisbee Club’s sponsor is dra-ma instructor Mr. Tyler.

“It was TJ’s idea to pick Mr. Tyler as the sponsor. He had played in college and

we thought he would be game to spon-sor us and he was,” Frye said.

The process of establishing a club at MHS is more complicated than most would think.

“We had to write a summary of what the club would be. Then we pre-sented it to the Student Council who voted on it and approved it. Finally it was brought to the administration to give it approval,” Frye said.

Walmart electronics upgradeRochelle CottrellFeature Editor

Being such a small community, McPherson does not offer every phone service for the various phone companies. Walmart’s new electronic addi-tion has attempted to compensate for this lack of phone services in the community.

“We provide Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T as well as various pre-paid phones and track phones,” Sales Associate Daniel Moraine said. “We also offer activation although you can do it yourself.”

Although other stores in town offer some of these services, Moraine feels it was a good addition to McPherson.

“I think it gives people another option, obviously there are Verizon stores [in McPherson] but this is the only place for AT&T,” Moraine said.

Not only does it give people different options for phone services, but it is also conveniently located. The new department has taken over the former Subway location at the front of the store.

“I think it is a little more professional having the phone services here instead of back in electronics,” Assistant Manager Chris Schro-eder said. “Not only have we expanded phone wise, but we are also able to show a little bit more of what we have to offer.”

With the phone world expanding rapidly with iPhones, Droids, Blackberries, and other technologically advanced smart phones, Walmart feels their electronical upgrade is an addition that the com-munity will appreciate.

Character building in KAYsHannah MartinNews Editor

With an average of 60 student mem-bers each year, McPherson High School’s KAY club (Kansas Association for Youth) is planning some big events for this semester. Started in 1946 by Miss. Wanda May Vinson, KAY is unique to the state of Kansas, and is a character-building, leadership-training, service program. Membership is open to all students in grades 9-12. The KAY organiza-tion hosts a number of training camps and conferences throughout the school year. This semester, McPherson High School will be hosting the regional Area 6 conference on November 5.

“The regional Area 6 conference is one of our big upcoming events that we’re prepar-ing for. [Because] the conference will be held here [at the high school] students will have to day off from school on November 5,” KAY sponsor Diane Marshall said.

The regional conference is not the only event the club is planning on participating in

this semester. “[We’re planning on participating in] Op-

eration Christmas Child, community trash walks, Loaves and Fishes. We will also be providing food at Parent Teacher Confer-ences,” Marshall said.

Each year KAY plans an Area 6 project.“Our Area 6 projects this year will be staff

appreciation days. This means all staff at all levels at McPherson High School,” Marshall said.

The KAY motto of “You don’t have to do anything, you get to do everything.” is appar-ent throughout the club when favorite ser-vice projects become tradition.

“The kids really like to do the Rake-n-Run and Trick-or-Treat so kids can eat,” Marshall said.

To find out more about the KAY program go to the KSHSAA website at www.kshsaa.org or contact the state director, Cheryl Gleason at cegleason@kshsaa.org.

From assessments to ACTClarissa FenimoreEditor in Chief

This year marks a first in the history of performance assessment at MHS. In-stead of administering state assessments, the school is focusing on the C3 initiative: Citizenship, College, and Career Readiness. Part of this new program involves the school being exempt from the state assessments in favor of using the ACT and ACT Plan as the means of testing. One of the biggest benefits this plan has for the student body is that all seniors will be able to take the ACT on October 24 for no charge.

“We, the entire district, believe that we need to focus on assessments that have value to our students, their parents and the staff. The ACT has more value to them than assessments,” Principal Bret McClendon said.

The C3 initiative’s main focus is to make sure that students are given the greatest opportunity to prepare for college that the school can offer. The plan is to continue with the program for many years to come so that students at the middle school level now will have experienced all of the benefits of C3 by the time they graduate.

“To my knowledge, we are the only school district in the state to pay for all se-niors to take the ACT. There are some states like Illinois and Wyoming where they pay for all students to take the ACT. They use it the way we’ve used assessments in the past,” McClendon said. “The goal is not to get great ACT scores; it’s to get them in the right curriculum to prepare them for college. Those kids are going to take the Plan in sixth, seventh and eighth so we can get them in the classes they need. If we do what we’re supposed to, they’ll be immediately prepared for college.”

Focus for the administration this year lies mainly with seniors. Since this year’s graduating class will only have one year to participate in C3, the school has set up an online ACT preparation class specifically for the seniors. The class is administered at night and is taught by an instructor via webcam.

“We took four tests: reading, English, math and science. We were there from 7 to 11,” senior Bobby Simpson said. “I think it’s going to help me. I would recommend it to help raise your [ACT] score for college.”

Though it’s the program’s first year at MHS, McClendon is confident that the changes being made will have a good impact on students.

“This is a huge undertaking. We don’t have all of the details worked out because we haven’t done this before. It’s worth it, though, and we’re convinced we’re moving in the right direction with this,” McClendon said.

Top Junior Jake Frye dives to snatch the frisbee from the air at Linea Park. Bottom Junior TJ Smith launches the disc to the end zone. Photos by TJ Smith and Jake Frye

“The Ultimate Frisbee Club invites kids who have never played the game to have an

opportunity to learn the game. For kids who have played it gives them a group to hang

with,” Ultimate Frisbee Club founder Jake Frye said.

Hannah Martin, News Editor