8800 W. 85th St.Overland Park, KSJanuary 31, 2014Vol. 52 - Issue 5

Maddy Lane had to prepare herself for a surgery that would help her

lose 100 pounds.

p. 8

News

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BRIEFSby andy gottschalk

Seniors Jonathan Wilson and Matt Spellman lead the student section in a stretch.

Read about Spider-man’s bad time on Broadway. Lower left-hand corner.

rachel harvey

Sugar, spice, everything nice, chemical X and a little computer graphic magic brought our favorite crime-fighting kindergarteners back to Cartoon Network.

In the special in which they star, “Dance Pantsed” Ringo Starr, the Beatles drummer, makes an appearance.

Quentin Tarantino, the director of such movies as “Django Unchained” and “Pulp Fiction,” sent his most recent screenplay to six people. “The Hateful Eight,” a western film he planned to develop, then got into some other hands. When it reached the internet he decided he wouldn’t make it anymore.

“I’m very, very depressed,” Tarantino said. “I finished a script, a first draft, and I didn’t mean to shoot it until next winter, a year from now.”

Carrie Fisher, who played Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan in the original trilogy (typically called just “Leia”)has signed on to film for J.J. Abrams’ next “Star Wars” movie, the seventh in the series.

The actress joked that her character “would be just like she was before, only slower and less inclined to be up for the big battle.”

In other news, the script for the film has officially been finished.

powerpuff girls find a return

to tv

overwhelming tunisian majority

supports new constitution

quentin tarantino’s

new screenplay gets leaked

carrie fisher signs on to “star wars: episode vii”

creepy science

movies

Frank Bruni of the New York Times on Hollywood’s stubborn attitude to Wonder Woman having her own feature film

Mary Barra reaches the apex of General Motors. Hillary Clinton dominates discussion of the 2016 presidential race. Diana Nyad crosses the shark-infested channel between Cuba and Key West.

Wonder Woman’s golden lasso gathers dust as she waits for a movie to call her own.

scientists reverse the aging process in mice, get one step closer to human immortality

Here’s the basics: chromosomes, which hold DNA, have protective caps at the ends called telomeres. Each time the cells divide the telomeres get shorter, and eventually the telomeres stop working, a large factor in the aging process.

Researchers at Harvard have successfully found a way to sidestep this and potentially increase the age in these mice. An injection that activated an enzyme, telomerase, helped repair damaged cells and reverse the aging process. Repeating the process in humans will prove to be a bit harder, though.

You play ‘em.Surprises people with odd noises.

Surprising, but sometimes doesn’t bode well.

venn diagram

chance in monopoly

chance the rapper

After $75 million spent on its production and several firings of directors and crew members, “Spider-man: Turn Off the Dark” finally closed its short-lived run on Broadway.

Suffering from artistic differences between its then director Julie Taymor and Bono of U2, who worked on the music, the show got off to a slow start. When it went into production several actors were injured because of the show’s untested aerial effects and risky stunts. To add insult to injury the musical’s original writer quit and wrote a tell-all tale of the fiasco titled “Song of Spider-man.”

spider-man musical closes after troubled

run on broadway

:-(

Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki on the country’s new constitutional democracy

With the birth of this text, we confirm our victory over

dictatorship.

Superintendent Dr. Jim Hinson proposed a big idea for Shawnee Mission: a laptop for every student.

On Jan. 28, the school board unanimously agreed to give Macbook Airs to each high school student and iPad Airs to each middle school student.

“This is the world in which students live... so many of our students have technology at home but then when they come to school, it’s almost a technology desert,” Hinson said.

not #hot, not #not but #MEH12

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789

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Domino’s pizzaSony Animation studiosThe passive phrase “I’ll wait.”Awards season coverageParent at School, or Parent Connect, or whateverTrance musicTech startup IPOsViking Alert being downCookie dough toothpasteAll PETA activists

shawnee mission board approves tech

initiative

Feature

3

Nothing Minor About Being a Major

a senior drum major holds tight to her musical talent and passionby kristin wells

Natassia Howell at a pep assembly playing the saxophone. Howell plans to pursue music education, along with playing the clarinet. PHOTO BY BriaNNa cOle

One clarinet-playing, senior band member has major plans for her musical talent.

Senior Natassia Howell leads the band as one of the drum majors.

“I had to go through a process to become drum major. There was signups and I signed up for it and there were after school practices to work on drum major stuff. Then the auditions were in front of the entire band in the auditorium,” Howell said.

While that entire procedure may already be tiring, not to men-tion nerve-wracking, there’s one final part of the process. The auditionees were asked why they wanted to be a drum major.

“I really want to be a music teacher and this would be a wonderful opportunity. I wanted to show my sister’s that if you work hard enough, you can do anything,” Howell said as why she wanted to be a drum major.

Although Howell has only been a drum major for one year, she has been involved in band since the fifth grade.

“We were playing recorders in elementary music class and one day I passed the cafeteria, where the band practiced, and saw

people playing instruments. I thought it was cool and they got to get out of class. I wanted to play the clarinet because it was like the recorder,” Howell said.

Howell is a multi-instrument band member. Not only does she play just the clarinet, she plays the alto saxophone in Overland Express and tenor saxophone. Howell also picked up the bass clarinet for the musical this year.

In addition to being a major band enthusiast, Howell has major plans for the role music will play in her life.

“I want to be a music teacher, probably high school. In college, I’ll be playing in the band, so that will keep my music skills up,” Howell said.

Her vision for music extends beyond college too. “In ten years, I see myself already out of school for four to five

years, being a music teacher, maybe at West, if Mr. Thomas is no longer here. Or I see myself getting a Masters degree,” Howell said.

In the beginning of her band career, Howell’s parents pushed her to continue with band and have been supportive ever since.

“I would say that my family inspires me. I also would say that because of my music, I kind of inspired my family. My sister, Quiannah, is now playing in band as a freshman. The littlest one, Destiny, plays trumpet at Westridge. I feel like it’s had that effect on them, “ Howell said.

Howell’s love for music extended even beyond just her sisters. “My dad started playing bass and my mom is musical too. It’s

amazing how much music is in our family. I’m thankful for my family for being my support group,” Howell said.

While being a drum major may have some recognition and authority perks, Howell doesn’t consider that the best part.

“I think my favorite part about being a drum major is getting to know other people in band outside of my friends. Getting to meet the freshmen and the sophomores. Getting to know them better helped my connect one-on-one with them. I get to be a helping servant,” Howell said.

Howell doesn’t plan on taking music out of her life anytime soon.

“I’ve gone so far with music, I can’t quit now,” Howell said.

4

Cell phones and social media have become incredibly popular in the past decade, but are they becoming detri-mental and slowly distancing us from the real world?

To put it plainly, yes. Smart phones and social media are disrupting normal conversations and basic social skills. Now let’s get this straight, everyone on “The Epic” uses a form of social media and has a cell phone as well, but some-one needs to draw the line. We aren’t trying to be hypocritical, but when stu-dents would rather stare at a glowing screen instead of talk with a real person, there is an obvious problem.

Let’s start with where it began, the first iPhone was sold on June 29, 2007. After that things got more and more im-pressive, but simultaneously created a greater tendency for people (especially students) to rely on their phone for all social interactions. On April 11, 2010, an app developer named Atebits was acquired by Twitter, Incorporated. Twit-ter then used Atebits’ pre-existing app called Tweetie and turned it into the

official Twitter mobile app. Along with the millions of teens and young adults downloading this app came the deafen-ing silence as now, most events, actions and interactions between them could be expressed in 140 characters or less. The need for knowing who did what when by word of mouth was gone as it could be spread between hundreds of “followers” within seconds.

Now that you have a bit of history about where your precious tweets and iPhones came from, let’s get to the real problem: diminishing social skills amongst teens and young adults. Just a quick glance at our own lunch will show you how bad the problem has become. Students are avoiding conversations and eye-contact by looking down at those little glowing screens. Teens and young adults would rather awkwardly sit and check their Twitter’s, Instagram’s and whatever else’s instead of engaging in conversations with people. Some can’t even hold an interesting conversation anymore without being violently jabbed with interesting topics to talk about.

Texting is a whole other issue. Tex-ting falsely prepares people for social situations. When one is texting another, they have time to reply and think through their response, but in a real conversation you have to think on your toes and hold back from saying what comes to mind or locking up. If that happens, then you are out of luck because your conversation partner either got bored or offended and left. Real conversations are vastly differ-ent from text messages. Students often can’t hold their own in an intellectual conversation or a conversation with an adult because they don’t know what to say or how to respond due to lack of so-cial skills stemming from their prevalent fixation on their phone.

Maybe it’s time for us to put down our phones, get off our Twitters and take a look at the world around us. Go for a hike, ride a bike or just have a good con-versation in person with someone you haven’t talked to in awhile. You might find that taking a break from technology is more fun than you thought.

iLove Being SocialWhat do a weight loss story, a profile on a budding music major, a book with a dystopian future, a Kansas Senator and a musical about Spider-man all have in common? They’re all in this issue. Duh.

contentsWhatchu know

‘bout movie news? Briefs will keep you up to

p.2

staffEditors-in-ChiEfassistant Editor

writErs

Managing EditorPhoto Editor

advisEr

Cartoonists

Andy Gottschalk & Marleah CampbellBrianna Cole

Lauren ScobeeSami Jett

Amy Morgan

Chance JulianAlex Ralston

Betty ThomasIsabelle FrankelJordan Johnson

Max Meyer

Brock BurnettSpence Lassalle

Kristin WellsGretchen Yearsley

p.23

Read what Dory has to say about

surrealist artist Magritte and a work of his.

p.11

Staffer Alex Ralston writes about micro-space living and its

benefits.

CHANCE JULIAN

Opinion

recycle your epic

@thesmwepic

smwest.com

Feature

6

Pimp My Ride

Automotive Technology 1 or “Auto Shop” is a class offered at West that allows students who want to go into an automotive career practice on their cars.

“We work on our own cars so if something breaks on them we can bring it in and learn how to fix it,” said Andrew Berkley, senior. Berkley has been in auto shop class since his freshman year, each year he has been in a more advanced class and now he is a lab assistant.

On a day when students attend all of their classes, the students spend class time doing book work or watching videos. They watch videos on how parts of cars are made and how. On block days, they’re able to work on their cars. They can also work on teachers’ cars if they need repairs.

Students get to decide what projects they do. They can do anything from repairing the engine to

giving a car a paint job. The class is a good oppor-tunity to work on your car in a safe environment with a professional.

Most students who take Auto 1 and more ad-vanced classes are hoping to going into automotive careers, but in Auto Essentials all sorts of students can learn valuable skills about cars.

“The students that do not go into industry benefit from the class because they know how to perform general repairs on their car. These things are break check, wiper change, oil change, and tire rotation,” said Ryan Mellick, the instructor of the class.

Students who take Auto Essentials are more prepared if they’re ever faced with an emergency. They learn how to diagnose problems and are able to save money if they can do repairs themselves instead of having to hire somebody to do it. They also learn what to look for when buying a car.

In Auto Shop, they learn more in depth about cars. They earn how to safely repair engines, brakes, heating and air conditioning, and other automotive skills.

“I really like working on cars and I wanted to learn more about it,” said Max Schnitzer, junior. Schnitzer is in Auto 1 and hopes to be a mechanic.

students learn about repairing cars in autoshopby isabelle frankel

Disappointedby brianna cole

I have come to the conclusion that I am completely disappointed with my generation. I can not fathom how we, as youth, are being drowned by the wrong concepts. And we are not being blinded by force, we are doing it to ourselves. How? I will focus on the Hot or Not app.

Hot or Not is an app where one will take an “attractive” selfie, post it for oth-ers to judge, then people will rate the person on a one to 10 scale of beauty. Then, the app composes all of your scores and creates an average number of how hot you are.

Some may believe this is a harmless and fun way to find the beautiful people

on this earth, but I have a different opinion. I do not judge those who wish to find cuties via an app with only the scroll of a thumb, but I do question the reasoning for posting yourself accesessviley.

I’ve expressed my view on selfie obsession and how some use it to gain some sort of confidence. As if 32 peers double tapping your Instagram picture could enhance your life.

What is the purpose for the attention?We have reached a critical time in our lives. I encourage those who care

what others think of them to find a different outlet. Don’t subject yourself to de-mand respect by your physical appearance. Be hot because you can turn any awkward situation into a comfortable one. Be attractive because you can recite every Train song known to man.

A new app that judges people based on their appearances.

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Maddy lanelost a lot of weight.You bet she’s darn

proud of itby jordan johnson

photos by brianna cole

feature

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adison Lane, senior, took the courageous step to have weight loss surgery helping her lose 100 pounds in six months.

“Before surgery I thought I needed to be fixed, but now I think I didn’t need to be fixed because I was never broken. I felt like I was given another chance;

I felt like I was reborn again. There is not a day that goes by that I wouldn’t do it again. I am happy,” Lane said.

Roux En-Y Gastric Bypass is one type of weight loss surgery that Lane decided to have; it takes approximately 45 minutes to complete.

“Anybody who has it [weight loss surgery], experiences it differ-ently. The band is known to result in 80 percent of people having problems. The sleeve I chose not to get because they remove the stomach, I didn’t want to lose anything. I had the Roux En-Y because it’s the most complex surgery, it’s harder to stretch out your stomach, there’s only 20 percent of your stomach left. There was a lower number statistically that there were problems to the Roux En-Y,” Lane said.

The Roux En-Y is the most common weight loss surgery in the United States.

“They created a pouch, but for me it’s called my new stomach; by making six incisions not even an inch big. My pouch is as big as a hard boiled egg. They went into my intestines taking six inches of it and took it to my pouch to connect the two so food will bypass the hormonal part of my stomach; it makes me full with less food,” Lane said. “I don’t recommend it because of how hard it is. This was my last resort and for anybody it should be their last resort. Until it actually happened to me, I didn’t know what to expect.”

Doctors in and out of state have told Lane and her mother Tammy Lane that a reason why she started gaining weight was from a steroid she had started taking.

“I found out I had asthma when I was four, I was doing breath-ing treatments three times a day. Then I got put on prednisone to try and help the asthma. I was gaining 40 pounds every two months,” Lane said. “They said it would come off, but it never did, it counteracted. My mom told me, ‘it’s not you, it’s the medication,’ but I didn’t believe her. When someone told me I was pretty, I said, ‘no, my personality is pretty.’”

Lane also began to develop a benign tumor meaning it isn’t growing so the doctors don’t want to remove it. The tumor rests in her pituitary gland.

Lane had become depressed and unhappy with herself. She was even called names.

“I got called Godzilla and King Kong and other stuff,” Lane said.Her weight gain had taken over her life.“Food was always there for me, food was my best friend. When

you look in the mirror and you hate what you see, there’s a prob-lem. Avoiding the mirror at any cost. No one should hate their self. You should never be ashamed,” Lane said.

During that time Lane had found out something tragic that added on to her depression.

“When I found out my dad had MS [multiple sclerosis- a disease involving an immune system attack to the central nervous system] was when I was gaining weight; I was depressed, not knowing when he was going to pass,” Lane said.

Lee Lane is still going strong. However, he wasn’t too fond of his only daughter going through weight loss surgery at such an ear-ly age. A few friends who knew about the upcoming surgery were supportive, wanting her to be healthy and happy except for one.

“My mom was a huge part in being there for me; because of this whole experience we’ve gotten closer, and she’s practically my best friend. When I told my best friend at the time, she said if I went through the surgery she wouldn’t be my friend anymore. It

hurt a lot and now we aren’t friends anymore. My dad didn’t agree with me having the surgery; he may not have wanted me to change myself, but it’s only because he loves me unconditionally whether I was 230 pounds or 100 pounds. To this day, he goes, ‘you know I love you either way because you’re my daughter, but, girl, you’re lookin’ like a Barbie doll.’ I may have lost 100 pounds, but I’m not plastic. Though he still doesn’t like it. He thinks every problem I have revolves around the surgery. Right now too much variety of foods developed an ulcer in my stomach a month ago. You can eventually have all types of foods years from now,” Lane said.

Lane has to be aware of sugar that can cause her to have dumping syndrome which is when eating food too quickly bypasses the stomach when the small intestine expands too quickly.

“I can’t have large amounts of sugar, the first time I experienced dumping syndrome I had eaten a small cupcake. I get heat flashes, I feel like I’m in a room that is on fire, start sweating real badly, bad shakes throughout my whole body; then I feel nauseous and then from my knees down I am numb. There’s no desire to have any-thing sweet anymore. Some of the kids around me can go out and eat candy, but that’s not an option for me. If I want to take seven bites, it will feel like someone else eating one pizza. I have to know my boundaries and I have to know what pushes my limits and eating anymore is not easy. When I go out to eat with someone, everyone will be grubbin’ and I can’t; my portion size is four times smaller,” Lane said.

A surgery like this takes a lot of preparation, planning and even qualifications to accomplish.

“Mentally preparing was 100 times harder than physically. Two weeks before surgery I had to have three protein shakes a day to empty out my system since they would be cutting me up inside and rearranging. The protein shakes could only contain water and the powder itself; I wasn’t allowed to add anything in it and they tasted awful. To get ready physically the night before, I had to do a 20 minute scrub with antibacterial soap and that’s all I could use. And

it smelled so bad. When I was getting prepped for surgery I was shaking and it wasn’t from the room being cold. I was nervous, knowing this is a huge decision to make and a big surgery especially for someone my age to have. I constantly was reminding myself that it will hurt... a lot. But then with time I will not only be okay, but will be even stronger than I was before,” Lane said.

The recovery of a surgery is never easy even if it is considered minor.

“I stayed [in the hospital] for four days, I was only supposed to be there for two but I had an allergic reaction to a pain medication they were giving me so they had to get it under control before I could be released. It was two weeks by the time I could go to the gym just to walk around the track but the day of surgery even they made me get up and walk down the halls three times so no blood clots would form. It was about two months before I could get back to Zumba full out,” Lane said.

In high school you expect to see teenagers coming back from surgery on their arm, foot or nose. You rarely see a 17 year old

sharing her weight loss surgery experience and then expecting it to be easy.

“Nothing about the surgery was easy, it was a long process, it took seven months to get approved. They would get my hopes up and say, ‘oh this didn’t get approved.’ One of the things to get ap-proved was to write down everything that I had done to try and lose weight; mine was two and a half pages. Some I remember are: South Beach Diet, Jenny Craig Diet, Weight Watchers, Slim Fast Diet, Biggest Loser Diet, Spark Solution Diet, Phentermine, Nutri-system, Flat Belly Diet, Medifast and Atkins. Then the required BMI [body mass index- your body fat calculated from weight and height] is 40 and mine was 39.5 and I had to have another co-morbidity to qualify and for me. Mine ended up being sleep apnea,” Lane said.

If your BMI is not 40 you may have other health related problems that will let you qualify for the surgery such as: Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure or severe sleep apnea like Lane which was discovered after she spent a night in a facility.

“They watch you while you sleep and hook you up to several wires and test different things in your sleep,” Lane said.

Doctors had discovered that Lane was not going into REM sleep; she had a type of obstructive sleep apnea. Her dream of getting weight loss surgery was coming true. Lane physically and emotionally needed this surgery.

“There were health problems; I couldn’t sleep because when you’re heavy, your heart has to work harder to pump blood while you’re sleeping, I couldn’t breathe due to my neck, I couldn’t dance, I couldn’t jog, I could barely walk up a flight of stairs,” Lane said.

After Lane met those requirements, a team of health profes-sionals such as: a doctor, dietitian, psychologist and surgeon stepped in to make sure this surgery was right for her. They went over nutrition and weight history, medical condition, psychological states, motivation and age.

“My surgeon's name is Dr. Stanley Hoen. The man that changed my life. He’s done over 200,000 successful surgeries,” Lane said..

A worried thought about if peer pressure was causing Lane to want to change her body for a boy had been asked. When Lane was going through her depression and meeting with her therapist, she had to convince everyone that she didn’t want the surgery be-cause she was depressed of the way she looked and felt.

“I did this because I wanted to be healthy, I didn’t want to be skinny,” Lane said.

To stay healthy, Lane has rules to stay committed to.

“I have to take three protein shakes a day every day. I have to. I can’t function without them; I take one to

school, one right when I get home and then before I am allowed to have dinner I have to have a shake, which also makes me full fast. One shake has 25 grams of protein and two grams of sugar. I can eat potatoes, veggies, meats except pork because it doesn’t sit well in my tummy but it’s different for every gastric bypass patient though. Eventually I can eat whatever I used to,” Lane said.

Lane wants to be healthy, happy and to dance. Lane teaches Zumba fitness classes at Element Fitness part time, but also has a chance to exercise on her own when she wants to. She hopes to attend Kansas City Kansas Community College in the fall to learn more about keeping your body healthy and save up money so she can move out of state to follow her dreams.

“I’m going to end up moving to California and being a dance teacher and do choreography. I plan on taking my work into movies then,” Lane said.

M“I may have lost 100 pounds, but I’m not plastic.”

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TEACHER BATTLEdarst aldrichvs.

Which NBA Hall-of-Famer is depicted in the NBA logo? (Jerry

West)

Which NBA franchise has the most championships? (Boston

Celtics)

Who is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer? (Kareem

Abdul- Jabbar

Which city has hosted the Final Four the most times?

(Kansas City)

Who won the most consecutive NCAA national

titles? (UCLA)

Who has the most career blocks in the history of the NBA? (Hakeem Olajuwon)

Which team from one of the major conferences has never

been to the NCAA appear-ances? (Northwestern)

darst is the boys basketball coach and aldrich is the girls basketball coach. who knows more basketball trivia?

by brock burnett

Who has the longest current streak of NCAA

appearances? (KU)

Who has the longest current tenure in the NCAA and at what school? (Jim

Boeheim)

Feature

Northwestern

Duke

Jerry West

Oscar Robertson

DIkembe Mutombo

Celtics

Kansas City

UCLA

Jim Boeheim

UCLA

KU

Jerry West

Lakers

Indianapolis

Hakeem Olajuwon

Northwestern

Michael Jordan

Jim Boeheim

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Whoah, there. Looks like a tie.

Feature

11

it’s a small space after

allCatch a Falling Star

can lenexa save its grand vision?by betty thomas

by alex ralston

An illustrated concept of what Lenexa plans to build. PHOTO COURTESY OF CITY OF LENEXA

Lenexa’s City Center has had its share of ups-and-downs. A recession, broken truss, and a empty parking garage made the development’s prospects look gloomy. But, recent events have brought optimism

to many residents.“The concept of City Center was borne from a community

visioning process called Vision2020 in 1997,” said Beccy Yocham, Director of City Development.

The goal has been to create a mixed-use neighborhood incorporating retail, commercial offices, and living space. Trendy words such as “walkability” and “sustainability” dot the center’s website; enticing disillusioned suburbanites who yearn for a more urban experience.

On the corner of 87th street and Renner Boulevard on roughly 250 acres is where the fully built center will stand. The easy access to Interstate 435, and thus I-35 and K-10, is one reason why the area was selected.

During the Great Recession construction on the project halted. Lenexa had two options: to back off the project, or to continue moving forward. They chose the latter and continued the project; spending $55 million on roads and other infrastructure.

A low point of this construction came as a $875,000 truss, meant to traverse the intersection for traffic lights, broke during installation. The heap of black metal sat on the side of the road for several months, drawing frustrations for many residents driving through the area.

“It made the intersection look trashy and was kept there an unnecessary amount of time,” said senior Katie Dougherty.

That incident combined with a parking garage had to be torn down due to it’s unsustainability from halted construction, gave the center some bad press.

However, tides have turned for the development. B.E Smith purchased the building located in City Center East. Kansas

City’s Business Journal called this purchase the “catalyst” for the area. Since the healthcare executive search firm purchased the building, and relocated its headquarters there, numerous other developments have been put in motion.

The biggest of which is the relocation of Perceptive Software’s corporate headquarters. Currently being built, the headquarters will be comprised of 240,000 square-feet over two buildings. They plan on seeking LEEDS certification and to move in this May. Alongside the Perceptive buildings will be Renner89, a 20,000 square-foot office and retail space.

Another project currently under construction is the WaterCrest apartment complex, located in City Center Northeast. The luxury apartments were approved last April, despite some resistance from local homeowners.

The next round of new buildings will include a Hyatt Place hotel with an attached conference center, on the east side on Renner, and the Domain apartment complex, on the west side. Also in the works is a new civic center, slated to open in 2016.

To occupy all the new buildings, Lenexa is currently talking with several restaurants and a grocery store.

The possibilities of new retail and dining opportunities have many students excited, especially those who live in the nearest neighborhood to the development, Parkhurst.

“I hope that it will have places for young adults to hang out,” senior Katie Tracy said “like a coffee shop or a trendy clothing store.”

However, many are also realistic about the time table of City Center. In a May, 2012 Kansas City Star article stated that the completed project would take 25-40 years.

“I hope that when my kids are my age, the area will be completely finished,” freshman Paige Humphreys said.

Despite slow development, City Center is finally coming into fruition. A fact that relieves and excites many local residents.

L

Can a small family live in a space under 500 square feet? Most people hear that and think, no way. Well, it turns out that you

can. Actually, you can fit a lot of things in 500 square feet if you think about it (that’s just under the size of a school bus).

This idea is the main pillar in an emerging culture of small-space living. Micro-apartments, teardrop campers, and transport-able homes are all examples of this growing movement. It allows for comfortable, environmentally friendly and space-efficient living in any location.

In the fifth grade, I tried making my closet into a little bedroom. I stuffed a blanket and a pillow in there along with a few books, a flashlight, and my Nintendo Gameboy. I could comfortably stay in there for at least a day (probably much longer if I had power outlets and plumbing inside my closet). That was only a measly 50 square feet. However, living in there was impractical. But if that space was four times bigger, you could realistically live there for much, much longer.

There’s a multitude of people who have experimented with and successfully lived in small spaces with a family. If you look up this subculture on the internet, you’ll find hundreds of videos dedicated to the subject. The most notable examples of this are on a YouTube channel run by Kirsten Dirksen, who documents the lifestyles of people that live in small spaces. One video she has is of a three-person family living inside of what is essentially a portable home that is under 300 square feet. Another is of a person who’s fitted his 420 square foot apartment to feel like it’s over 1000 square feet; that same person had a dinner party with ten people one night, and they all had enough space to feel relaxed. Even one video is of a family of four spending an entire summer in a VW Camper. They traveled cross-country in this vehicle. To me, that’s amazing - to be free of mortgage, being able to go anywhere, and doing what you want to do.

A major component to this kind of living is all about organiza-tion. In order to be able to fit all your stuff in one place you need to have crazy good organizational skills. One person in Manhattan lives in a 90 square foot apartment by herself. She uses all sorts of organizational techniques to fit all her stuff within the apartment - that includes collapsible furniture, multi-functional appliances, and stackable furniture as well. Some people may say the space is claustrophobia-inducing, but the people who participate in this movement view it as cozy.

Another part of this culture is the ability to move your house easily by keeping it lightweight and compact. This kind of goes along with the whole living in your car idea, but it doesn’t have to be on that small of a scale. One architectural firm in Spain prefabricates small portable houses with the basic necessities built in. It’s designed to be small (under 90 square feet) and transport-able without feeling cramped. It’s also affordable and eco-friendly because it’s a prefab home.

Another notable example of easily transportable houses are shipping container homes, which are relatively light and made from recycled materials. There’s little modification needed to build these homes, and they’re also incredibly cheap and easy to set up. You just configure the containers to your liking, kind of like a large-scale Legos build.

A large part of this movement is all about reducing your posses-sions to what you need, living spaces included. Living simplistically gives people happiness and allows them to be eco-friendly. You don’t really need a big house to be successful or happy. In the words of George Carlin: “A house is just a place to keep your stuff while you go out and get more stuff.”

Why not just take all that stuff out of the equation?

Feature

14

mimi rainen took up an offer to write regularly to a prison inmate and former student. now he has a passion for literature

by andy gottschalk

Stories from Beyond Prison Walls

Mimi Rainen was hired by Winnetonka high school back in 1978 and started teaching that January. Why January?

“I asked the principal why [the other teacher] left and he says, ‘She hates it here,’” Rainen said, leaning over her desk in imitation.

Well, Rainen “loved it immediately.”That’s where she met Steve, an athletic senior in the ‘78 gradu-

ating class. “He was just an outstanding athlete and a very nice young

man,” Rainen explained. “Then I had his younger brother. You remember kids when you have their siblings, so he stuck with me.”

It was when she had Steve’s brother that she heard that Steve had murdered someone.

“He got injured and this is where his troubles began. He hurt his knee in college, got in with the wrong crowd and started drinking and doing drugs,” Rainen said. He didn’t drink in high school, didn’t do drugs. Once he injured himself he lost his way.”

Rainen said of his murder: “He was high, he went to see this girl, and as he initially told me, ‘She didn’t think I was good enough for her.’ It was a very violent death. She said something that an-gered him and he killed her with a knife. So he’s life without parole.”

Steve was sent to prison at a young age, and later Rainen got a teaching job at West.

“I didn’t give him much thought until 2010. I heard from a former colleague. She sent out a blanket email to all the Winnetonka retirees asking, ‘Does anyone remember him?’ And I did. She said he was looking for a pen pal.”

“I was just jealous of my cell mate because he was getting so much mail,” Steve had told her, according to Rainen, in one of their earliest encounters.

Rainen recalls the beginning of their correspondence being a bit awkward at first, he, a nervous inmate, and she a teacher on the outside, communicating over regular letters.

After only a short while, Rainen took a step that would invariably change his life.

“ I asked him if he had many phone calls, and he said since his mother died he only called his brother occasionally. So I told him

he could call me on Mother’s Day if he wanted to. And he did, and I asked him ‘Would you read with me?’”

Steve said yes.“At first he said, ‘Well, I haven’t been to school in a long time. I

don’t know how to read very well,’” Rainen recalled. “And like the rest of them he was working out and watching television. He stayed involved in drugs many years once he was in prison.”

But he was off drugs now, and he wanted to read with Rainen.“When he first started writing me he bought a dictionary, and

his grammar isn’t very good. I don’t correct because I don’t want to intimidate him, inhibit anything he says,” Rainen said.

The first book they started reading that year was “Ender’s Game,” a book Rainen’s colleague “Doc” or Dr. John Schmidt had suggested.

“We didn’t know what his reading level was, so we started with a young adult book. Well, he read all in the ‘Ender’s Game’ series.”

That got him hooked.“Now he reads two books a week. He has all the Steinbeck

books, except for two. He loves Steinbeck.”And almost as if he was a student of hers, Rainen suggests

books they read together. Steve’s read “The Scarlet Letter,” “The Great Gatsby,” “Billy Bud,” amongst others. And each month he reads one of Rainen’s book club’s selections.

“What’s amazing about him is the fact that he hasn’t had any formal training. I don’t even know what he took in college, but he has such a good mind. He gets it,” Rainen said of Steve.

Steve was recently transferred to a lower-security prison, which means he has access to a new library. Its his curiosity of reading, his “hunger of knowledge,” Rainen said, that keeps him going.

“Someone who hasn’t had formal education since he was 19, to appreciate good literature. It’s amazing.”

Rainen wears a band asking for “No More

Victims.” It reminds her that drugs can lead people

down wrong paths, as was the case with Steve’s

homicide

Feature

15

300 Words

Instead of picking someone fa-mous to spend the day with, Freshman Darby Hole would

choose to be with her sister.Her older sister, Jess Hole, gradu-

ated from West last year. So besides three dogs and a cat, Darby is now the only child at home.

“It’s sad. I hate it actually that she’s gone,” Darby said. “My par-ents are a lot more focused on me and what I’m doing. I really miss her.”

As a family, the Holes are really close-knit. They take the time to be with each other.

“We all rely on each other a lot. We’re more open with each other than most families are. And I grew up with God in my life, too,” Darby said.

Like any family, the Holes have a budget. But theirs has a special part to it, a giving part.

“My parents budget their money with envelopes and so there’s one envelope labeled ‘giving’ and our family decides who is in need of the money that’s saved up in the giving envelope. It goes to someone who really needs it and a lot of thought and prayer go into who will receive the money,” Darby said.

Darby truly looks up to her older sister.

“She’s so great. I want to be more like her. It’d be cool to see things the way she sees them. She and I are probably closer than most sisters,” Darby said.

Darby’s family is essential to her and in who she is as a person.

“Family is extremely important. They’re the three most support-ive people I have in my life. Jess is my best friend. That sounds cliché but I’m serious. She’s so fun to be around. I haven’t met anyone like her. She has had a huge impact on my life,” Darby said.

everyone has a story. this is the belief behind the series “300 words.“ each issue, a student or teacher is chosen at random and their story

is told in 300 words

by kristin wells

I want to be more lIke her. It’d be cool to see thIngs the way she sees them.

PHOTO BY BRIANNA COLE

Athletes put in much more time and effort outside of school than the average student. So why should an athlete have to take a gym class too?

Athletes get plenty of physical activity during practices, and during summer weights they learn many workouts that they can use to stay healthy the rest of their lives. That is the overall purpose of a gym class, so there is no need to do both summer weights and gym. Students can take summer gym, so why can we not count summer weights as a gym credit? This would fill the gym require-ment, please the coaches, and most importantly help the athlete.

Also, students are allowed to take weights during the school year for a gym credit, so how is weights any different during the summer than it is during the school year? In many respects weights during the summer are much harder than weights during the school year. During the summer athletes spend between two and three hours lifting and conditioning. Weights class during the school year meets four time a week, but only for 52 minutes three times and once for an hour and a half.

This is just one possible solution. Why not give athletes a gym credit for participating in a sport? The majority of the sports offered at West require a large amount of physical activity in both games and practice. These activities benefit athletes’ health much more than a gym class.

Should all sports count as gym credits? All sports should not count as gym credits. Sports such as wrestling, swimming, cross country, and basketball should definitely count as a credit. These sports require a great work ethic and a large amount of dedication that athletes can use for the rest of their lives to stay healthy. Bowling and golf should count as credits. These would serve as life-long hobbies; not activities that would benefit a person’s health.

Along with that members of the varsity dance are required to take a year-

long class. This class does not count as a gym credit though. How is it possible that someone could take a class filled with physical activity, but not receive a gym credit?

Athletes would receive benefits in the classroom too. If they had an open block they could take an extra AP class, a for-eign language, or be in the music or art programs. This would allow athletes to pursue their interests in places other than sports. Athletes would also be able to fill that open block with a study hall. This would help athletes finish their homework because their nights are shortened by practice.

The main argument that could be made against these changes would be how to keep track of which students par-ticipate in summer weights or a sport. My solution would act similarly to enrollment for your other classes. When enrollment rolls around each year students that are planning on participating in summer weights would turn in their forms for sum-mer weights. Then, during the summer coaches would take attendance the same way they would for a class. There would also be a mandated amount of days athletes would have to be present for to receive their gym credit.

Athletes that plan on using participa-tion in a sport as their gym credit would have to handle this a little differently. Athletes that plan on participating in a non-cut sport would note this on their enrollment form, and then coaches would take attendance in the same way as I noted for summer weights. Athletes that plan on playing a cut sport would risk not receiving this credit if they are cut. How-ever, if they do make it they would follow the same system for non-cut sports.

Allowing athletes to count summer weights or participation in a sport as a gym credit would do nothing except ben-efit athletes. It would provide a solution to the problem that many athletes are faced with. Only positive things would result from these simple change to the system.

Sports

16

Gym Credits Revamped

Q&A with Abdullah

Abdulfattahwhy playing sports should count as gym credits a sit down interview aboaut this year’s olympics

an opinion by max meyer by spence lassalle

Spence Lassalle: What are your favorite Winter Olympic Sports?Abdullah Abdulfattah: Bobsleigh SL: Anything else? AA: Ice hockey, curling, biathlon, freestyle skiing and ski jumping.SL: How often do you watch the Olympics?AA: Whenever my favorite events are on.SL: How often have you been interested in them?AA: Since 2006.SL: Do you have a favorite athlete?AA: No not really, they’re all good.SL: How do you feel about the location of the games this year?AA: It’s a pretty good place and is really secure; prob-ably the best place for the Winter Olympics.SL: What are your thoughts on the security for the

Olympics?AA: I really hope that nothing happens. I think the government should spy on Russians and or suspected terrorists just in case so that nothing happens and that they would stop who ever is trying to interfere with Olympics before they can do it, only for a short period of time and that’s just for the safety of the people.SL: Do you have any Olympic merchandise?AA: A hat, t-shirts, bracelets and head band.SL:How did you get interested in the Olympics?AA: 2006, it was the first time I watched the Olympics and I was just watching TV and got bored I changed the channel a couple of times and games came up. I started betting on who was going to win with friends and it was really fun to watch. I still enjoy watching it today.

freeze frame Senior Jonathan Wilson leads

the student section in a cheer. PHOTO BY JENNIFER MAHR

No-Risk Assessment Free ConsultationOne Free Session

Sports

18

Super Bold Predictionsbroncos or seahawks? take a look at what some students think.

by max meyer

FREEZE FRAME Junior Tyriq Gunnels looks for a pass

while being guarded by an East de-fender. PHOTO BY ADDIE LAKE

“Seahawks. Region of boom. Richard Sherman,” Bryan Ralphs, sophomore.

“Broncos. Peyton Manning is going to be clutch,” Connor Riley, sophomore.

“Seattle Seahawks because Richard Sherman is my idol,” Derek Jones, freshmen.

“Definitely Broncos because they are in the AFC and Peyton Manning,” Alex Elliott, senior.

“I want the Seahawks to win because they have better colors,” Gabby Reed, junior.

Are you interested in living your life swimming in cash, travelling the world and never worrying about money simply by guessing who will win some bas-ketball games? If so, read on.

Two of the richest men in America, Dan Gilbert and War-ren Buffett, have made a pricey promise to anyone who fills out a perfect NCAA Tournament bracket this year. A one billion dollar promise, in fact.

There’s a bit of a catch. The one billion dollar prize is intended to be paid out over 40 years in $25 million installments. Darn, right?

Don’t get too excited; it’s not as easy as you might think.

Quite frankly, you have better odds of running into the Pope on your next trip to the grocery store than you do filling out a correct NCAA Tournament bracket this year. Your odds of Andrew Wiggins ringing your doorbell while you’re filling out your bracket and him finishing it for you exceed your chances of getting it perfect. You’re more likely to get crushed by a vend-ing machine and attacked by a shark simultaneously.

It’s pretty obvious that your odds of winning are slim. How bad are they, exactly? One in 9.2 quintillion (yes, that number exists). This number comes from assuming that every game you could choose from has exactly 50/50 odds. If you consider the fact that a #1 seed has never lost to a #16 seed in the history of the Tournament and fill out your bracket accordingly, you can reduce your odds to about 1 in 128 billion. If everyone in the United States filled out a bracket with this probability, we’d see a

winner every 400 years.In the unlikely case you

needed any more assurance that your immediate future prob-ably doesn’t hold a billion dol-lars, consider this crazy statistic: in the last 16 years of ESPN’s Tournament Challenge, not a single bracket of the almost 30 million entries has been perfect. Not one. I hate to break it to you, but it’s likely that for most of us, we’ll have to find another way to become billionaires.

Unfortunately, hilarious tweeter and Metro Sports reporter Mick Shaffer isn’t too confident in you either. “Odds for a perfect bracket? You literally have a better chance of your winning lottery ticket getting struck by lightening,” Shaffer tweeted on Jan. 21.

Warren Buffett and Dan Gil-bert didn’t get to the impeccable financial state they’re both in by making foolish risks, and this isn’t one of them.

Your odds of winning are so incomprehensibly small that I’m willing to one-up Warren Buffett. That’s right, folks, you heard it here first. If any SMW student fills out a perfect NCAA Tourna-ment bracket, I will personally award you $2 billion*.

*Over 80 years in $25 million installments, of course.

Most athletes enjoy playing sports like football, basketball, and soccer, but for some, rugby is the sport of choice.

Sophomore Cole Wynn learned about the sport through his dad and started playing two years ago.

“My dad grew up in New Zealand and there it’s the national sport so I kind of grew up with it,” he said.

He plays on a club team called Cougar Rugby. The players consist mainly of students from Shawnee Mission Northwest.

“There’s kids from all over. We have kids from Bishop Miege and a couple new kids from a school I’ve never even heard of,” said Wynn.

Wynn’s team plays a variety of other teams from the area. These include Shawnee Mission East, Saint James, Saint Thomas Aquinas and the Blue Valley and Olathe Schools.

Rugby is fairly similar to football. A team gains five points every time

they successfully take the ball into the other teams goal area. Each team has a total of 15 players. Players are able to carry, pass, or kick the ball in order to get it into the goal area. When passing the ball, they can only pass across the field or backwards. Unlike football, in rugby there is almost constant gameplay.

“Theres no stopping, no time-outs. You get a five minute break in between two forty minute quarters,” said Wynn.

The creation of rugby is credited to William Webb-Ellis. He was born in England in 1806 and moved to a town called Rugby, Warwickshire when he was a child.

In 1880 Matthew Bloxam, who went to school with Ellis, wrote a letter to the school magazine saying Ellis was the one who invented the game. He said Ellis was playing a game of soccer when he caught the ball in his arms and “instead of retiring back-

wards, rushed forwards with the ball in his hands towards the opposite goal”

Rugby came to America in the late 1800’s. It slowly began growing in Universities and the first recorded game took place in 1874 between Mc-Gill University and Harvard University. Then in 1876 Columbia, Princeton, Yale, and Harvard formed the Intercol-legiate Football Association.

The sport has become much more popular since the beginning. In 2004 attendance for the USA Sevens tournament was 15,800 people and in 2011, 52,000 fans filled the stadium. People of all ages across the country, including a few West students, are taking part in the game.

Sports

19

Beating the Odds

Get in the Game

how beating your inevitable failure could make you rich, and why you

probably won’t do it

even though rugby isn’t a school sponsored sport, several stu-dents enjoy playing outside of school

an opinion by marleah campbellby isabelle frankel

photo (cc): Rafa.ela Ely

Arts&Entertainment

21

We sat down with Maps For Travelers, the local indie post-hardcore rock band that is on the rise.

Maps For Travelers is a band that is signed to No Sleep Records and started recording music together in Kansas City. Beyond music ability, this band revealed their true colors instantly. Their different personalities showed more than their love for music, but also how enthusiastic they are for each other and what they produce as a team.

The group is composed of four unique members: Zach Broth-erton on lead guitar and vocals, RL Brooks on vocals, guitar and trumpet, Kevin Medina on percussion, and David Flemming on bass guitar.

The group came together due to other band break-ups. One member had a different story to tell, Flemming quickly responded with smile how he ended up in this particular band.

“I literally fell into this band,” Flemming said while his friends laughed out of amusement.

Each member has their own outlet other than their rock band. Brooks mentioned that he enjoys his screen printing job and Brotherton explained his love for comic books and video games. Without hesitation, Flemming began to sing Brian McKnight’s single “Anytime”, expressing his love for R&B.

“If I wasn’t in a rock band, I’d be in a R&B band [group]...sorry guys,” Flemming said.

Maps for Travelers has to deal with many of the troubling aspects of being part of a band. The most difficult part is that they must merge their ideas to make music while having each others creativity in mind.

“The difficulty is four different lives having to come together for a common goal. Our writing process is beautiful and also crushing, somedays we are not in the best mood,” Brooks said.

The chemistry between them really fuses them together regard-less of the success.

“As long as we can make music and have it reach other people

that’s my number one goal,” Brotherton said contently.Maps for Travelers perform locally and also at major music

festivals. This April the group will be performing at the Middle of the Map Fest. This festival is hosted in Kansas City and caters to music and film lovers of the midwest. Maps for Travelers has also performed at South by Southwest, a popular film and music festival in Austin, Texas.

“South by Southwest is fun but it gets crazy. We were running through the streets with all of our gear,” Medina said.

Maps for Travelers exposed their love for the group and their undeniable talent. Although Brotherton explained the group is like having three needy girlfriends, the bass player with the friendly smile capture the essence of Maps for Travelers.

“Regardless, I like hanging out with these guys and making music,” Flemming said.

Maps for Travelers

“Change Your Name”

we meet and greet with an upcoming band

by brianna cole & isaiah mckay

Maps for Travelers debut album titled Change Your Name, was released August of last year. They are signed to No Sleep Records. The band released a five song EP, Regress|Progress, in late 2010, which received rave reviews locally.

This album captures the listener right away with its first track “Good Life”, which showcases their explosive guitar riffs and thrashing vocals.

It continues with songs like “Get a New Face”, “World on a Wire”, and “456” which includes their solid hardcore rock melodies with pop influences.

“Swoon” is one of my favorite song by far on the album. It

receives my appreciation due to the soft vocals and consistent drum patterns.

I’m highly impressed with this album. I don’t normally get into rock music but this album had definitely changed my view on it. They incorporated an indie feel to it, which made me like it even more. I like how they add in a trumpet as their secret weapon. There is no doubt that this band has a bright future ahead of them. I give this album a 4 out of 5 stars because of the overall different influences that shine through each song.

album review by isaiah mckay

Arts&Entertainment

21

You’re Not a Teen Yethave you seen these john hughes movies?

by spence lassalle

Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick) is your average cool kid who just wants to take a day off, so he asks his buddy Cameron(Alan Ruck) for a ride in his dad’s Ferrari who’s pushed into picking up Ferris’s lover Sloane (Mia Sara) and hitting the town.

They take the Ferrari to a parking garage, but things go awry when the parking attendances take it for a spin. Cameron realizes maybe he’s in trouble, when he remembers his dad keeps track of the miles.

Being the clumsy teens they are, they think if they put car on blocks and put it in reverse the miles will just fall off, but then when they don’t Cameron gets furious and kicks the front of the car, sending it off the blocks and driving it back-wards through a glass window. Cameron mans up and decides to face his dad.

Ferris notices the time and he needs to get home or he’ll get busted. This movie has a side story with Ferris’ sister Jeanie (Jennifer Grey) at home when Principal Ed Rooney (Jeffrey Jones) visits hoping to catch Ferris but is confused to be a intruder by Jeanie.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles is a classic Thanksgiving movie with the two of the greatest men in comedy, Steve Martin and John Candy. The plot of the movie concerns Neal Page (Steve Martin) trying to get home in time to have Thanksgiving with his family. While trying to find a cab and racing against Kevin Bacon to get one he finally gets one but it is stolen by Del Griffith (John Candy).

When Neal finally gets to the airport he runs into Del again and has to sit next to him on the plane. The flight stops in wichita kansas instead of Chicago, and while all flights are delayed all hotels are full but Del knows a guy who could hook him up with a room but when they get their room it only has one bed. While asleep they get robbed and by morning things get awkward, since there sharing a bed after all. While trying to take a train it breaks down and they have to ride a bus to the rental car place and when Neal gets there he realizes his car isn’t there and gets furious and has to walk all the way back to the airport and cusses out a St. Louis car rental agent and has to ride home with Del but after a huge accident and the car burns it is no longer street legal so they have to ride in the trailer of a milk truck to the subway station and walk home from there.

4

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)

Planes, Trains and

Automobiles (1987)

3

Another holiday classic from the John Hughes library. This is the first movie from the series, having five movies total people really only care about the first two, considering the third one didn’t do so well and the fourth and fifth were television sequels and were not directed by John Hughes.

Hughes’ Home Alone is about a young boy, Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin), who is ac-cidentally left at home when his family accidently leaves for their vacation without him. Kevin’s mother Kate (Catherine O’Hara) remembers that they have forgotten Kevin when their on the plane, but when Kevin discovers that he is alone he doesn’t seem to care much and thinks of all the fun that he could have.

But two robbers obsessed with the house decide to come and rob the place, when they find out that it’s just one kid they think they could take him, but when they enter the house full of booby traps things get painful for them. All in all the rob-bers get served and the McCallisters return home only to leave Kevin by himself again.

Home Alone (1990)

2

Vacation is the one that started it all, Chevy Chase playing Clark Griswold, all he wants is a nice vacation for him and his family. Trying to take his kids to Wally World things go awry right from the beginning of the movie when hoping to get a sports wagon but conned into getting a fam-ily truckster, Clark realizes that things might not be that bad, but that is just the beginning.

While stopping for directions in St. Louis, their hubcaps and other accessories on the car we’re stolen. With one problem after another they stop to catch up with some relatives that are more on the redneck side. With the surprise that their crazy Aunt Edna (Imogene Coco) would be tagging along with them until Phoenix, Clark is shocked. While driving towards Phoenix Aunt Edna passes away on the way, sadly to say they just simply drop her off in the backyard of her destination.

They arrive to Wally World there only to find out that it is closed for repairs. Clark is furious so he buys a bb gun to use as a threat against the security guard (John Candy), and Clark threatens to shoot unless he takes them on some rides.

Then when the SWAT team shows up to arrest them, the owner of the park and creator of Marty Moose, Roy Walley (Eddie Bracken) comes to talk to them. Clark explains that all wanted to do was have a nice family vacation and how there such fans of Marty Moose. Roy says to let them go and that get off clean.

All in all, this movie is a classic and is the first in the hilarious “Vacation” series.

Vacation (1983)

1

Arts&Entertainment

22

Books You Would Readreviews that present books that are just as fresh as they are readable

by marleah campbell and brianna cole

For those of you suffering from PHGDS (Post Hunger Game Depression Syndrome), the “Divergent” series by Veronica Roth might just be the void filler you are looking for.

Similar to “The Hunger Games,” “Divergent” features a strong female protagonist struggling against the norm of her corrupted futuristic society. However, the comparisons stop there. There’s no yearly killing competition between children, no District 12 and no Peeta Mellark.

Three books make up the “Divergent” series: “Divergent,” “In-surgent” and “Allegiant.” The first of the three introduces us to the dystopian society and the star of the show, Beatrice ‘Tris’ Prior.

In Tris’s world, citizens are divided up into factions where they live their lives in pursuit of perfecting a virtue they find important: selflessness, bravery, intelligence, peacefulness or honesty. At age 16, everyone must take a simulation test to determine what faction they best fit into and what they will eventually chose. After selecting their faction, they will lead their lives as they are expected to, following the status quo of their fellow members. What happens, though, when the test fails?

“Divergent” has everything one could look for in a book. The fast moving plot makes this a quick read that keeps you interested. The action filled fighting scenes and risky stunts that force you to hold your breath are balanced with an intriguing underlying dash of romance, making this an interesting read for either gender and any age. Twists and turns make “Divergent” hard to put down, constantly leaving you telling yourself “just one more chapter.”

Be sure to read “Divergent” before it hits the big screens on March 21. The series gives readers a fresh plotline that is sure to have you flipping through the pages and constantly wanting more.

Finding literature that genuinely pulls your heartstrings is dif-ficult. Most sad stories are composed of sappy love quotes and misshapen dialogue that seems unrealistic, but “The Fault In Our Stars” by John Green is compelling and defeats the odds.

The protagonist is Hazel Grace Lancaster, a sixteen year old college student who is diagnosed with stage four thyroid can-cer with metastasis in her lungs. Her diagnosis is terminal and Lancaster begins to come to terms with her time left. Throughout the novel she does not express much pity for herself because she spends more time concerned for her parents. As an only child, she fears that she will leave her mother and father childless. Hazel uses a specific novel about another victim of cancer to enlighten herself.

The book begins with Lancaster’s mother requesting for her daughter to go to a cancer support group. Lancaster believes this support group is full of hopeless souls who won’t find much comfort with each other. When Lancaster arrives at the support group, she meets a snarky young man named Augustus Waters. She ends up falling in love with Waters and he shows her that her condition doesn’t affect how she enjoys her life in the present.

Throughout the book, Green develops concepts with the universe and why things happen the way they do. Green creates metaphors with the stars and karma, only to grow Lancaster as a character.

This book is roughly two-hundred pages and I read it within two days. I enjoyed how well Green wrote this story. I expected it to be heart-wrenching and too sad to enjoy but Green incorporated hu-mor and optimism in order to create something enlightening. “The Fault In Our Stars” is by far the most beautiful book I’ve ever read.

Divergentthe fault in our stars

By Veronica Roth

By John Green

Arts&Entertainment

23

an interesting opportunity of aid arises from spanish national honor society

by betty thomasSpanish National Honor Society has the

chance to pay for all four years of Alexander Armira’s high school education, and you can help.

Amira, a 15-year-old in Guatemala, is the student SNHS chose to sponsor through Yuda bands. The charity both creates scholarships for Guatemalan students, like Amira, and jobs for Guatemalans creating the bands.

“We chose YUDA bands because we will directly see how we are helping Alexander,” Jenny Brown, SNHS president, said.

By selling 700 bands, SNHS will accom-plish their goal. Eighty percent of Guate-malans live below the poverty line. With an

education, Amira will be able to break this cycle of poverty in his family for generations to come. Without a YUDA scholarship, he would be denied an education, and end up joining the majority of dropouts who work in the fields for less than a dollar a day.

“We should all be so grateful for our oppor-tunities for education here in the U.S,” senior Abby Banning said.

YUDA bands’ name is derived from the spanish word for help, ayuda. To help SNHS and Amira, you can purchase the leather and coconut bracelets for $7. They will be available February 3-14 before school on the Bridge and at home basketball games.

Dory’sreview

little known historical figures!

as told by ron walker

“Time Transfixed” by René Magritte (1938)

Nancy Kassebaum, KS Senator (1978-1997)

He paints everyday objects with abstract, quirky twists with a touch of surrealism. Magritte’s paintings often make you ques-tion what you are looking at. This painting is

one of his most iconic, it causes the admirer to question the nature of time.

Kassebaum was the first female senator elected for a full term without her husband previously being in congress. She was very well respected by her peers in the senate and good at working across the aisle.

Kassebaum came from a political family, the daughter of former governor and presidential nominee Alf Landon. She also married former Senate Majority Leader and White House Chief of Staff, Howard Baker, Jr. after her years in the Senate.

Yuda One Who Can Help

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Chance JulianAlex Ralston

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