TIGERprintth

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BLUE VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL

Vol. 41 Issue 2 September 2010 Stilwell, KS

insideACT on the rise2010 seniors score above national average, highest in history page 3

30 years of serviceCampus police officer has history on water patrol teampage 16

Knocked outNew concussion guidelines increase awarenesspage 23

Choose wisely. pages 12-13

inthenews

0 2 SEPTEMBER 2010

this month...

in the halls...

on the cover...

anniematheisnews editor

Family, Career and Community Lead-ers of America (FCCLA) is a new service organization at BV that focuses on assist-ing the community. Family and Consumer Sciences teacher Donna DeHart started FCCLA at BV due to the FACS curriculum migrating towards career pathways.

“It was always part of a class, and it was always really good,” DeHart said. “As career pathways change, so do the activi-ties in the class. But when it was part of a class, it was hard to have it across the whole student body.”

DeHart said she likes how FCCLA fo-cuses on the family because she believes

family is the core of American society. “I try to tell students to remember it

because you think of the priorities in your life that you want to line up so you can be successful,” DeHart said. “Family is usually first, and then your career and then your community.”

Two branches form FCCLA: commu-nity service and leadership development. FCCLA also participates in competitions called Star Events, where a student develops a portfolio and competes in an ongoing project.

“I think it gives students the opportu-nity to grow in lots of different ways,” De-Hart said. “They learn to work with people that aren’t from this school district, which is a good experience.”

Co-president junior Hannah Skidmore said she likes that FCCLA is so involved around the school and community.

“If you want to get involved, I strongly recommend it,” Skidmore said. “There are so many people that want to get involved but they don’t know how. FCCLA helps out with great organizations that help so many people around the community.”

FCCLA plans to take part in many different community service projects, such as helping at Ronald McDonald House, Children’s Mercy and Hope House. Members also plan to make quilts for the homeless.

Skidmore and co-president junior Asa Fowler have a large say in what commu-nity service projects the group will do.

DeHart said she believes FCCLA has the ability to appeal to all.

“Somehow it gets to be known as only a female organization, but it is not,” DeHart said. “Almost half of the national officers are male.”

DeHart said she believes FCCLA will grow in popularity as more students become involved and it starts to gain a reputation.

“It is an organization that kids aren’t sure what it is yet, but I have a real vision of what it is,” DeHart said. “But [students] have to see and experience it for them-selves.”

New club focuses on community

what is FCCLA?The group serves to promote:

Family Career CommunityStrengthening the function of the family as a basic unit of society.

Opportunities for personal development and preparation for adult life.

Individual and group involvement in helping achieve global harmony.

Pakistani floods devastate region, millions evacuatedkellycordingley

staff writer

Monsoon rains produced im-mense flooding in Northern Paki-stan in the past month. It rained for more than three days, displacing 20 million people.

Ten years ago, Pakistan was run by the military and is now directed by a new government. Because of this, citizens have been abandoning the current government and desir-ing a military intervention.

Senior Khadija Sirhindi has family in southern Pakistan that hasn’t been affected by the flooding. She said this disaster is horrendous compared to the 2009 earthquake that affected about 68,000 people.

“The earthquake just didn’t affect as many people as the flood has,” Sirhindi said.

According to CNN, this flooding has set Pakistan back decades. The devastation covered an area the size of Maryland, Missouri and Minnesota combined.

Sirhindi said the lack of U.S. support could be attributed to the distance between the two countries. Another reason is the fact that, in general, floods receive less attention than other natural disasters.

“So much aid has been given to recent disasters all over the world that there just isn’t enough,” Middle Eastern Studies teacher Brian Mowry said.

Mowry said the U.S. and Pakistan have good relations.“The U.S. is good at helping others,” Sirhindi said. “We all

want relations on a good level.”Mowry said after the Sept. 11 attack, Pakistan became an

even stronger ally. “The U.S. needed a friendly Middle Eastern county in the

war on terror,” he said. The border between Pakistan and Afghanistan allows the

Taliban to cross into Pakistan with ease. With the presence of the Taliban felt strongly all over the country, Mowry said people may start turning to them in desperation.

“The Taliban is gaining power,” Mowry said. “If the govern-ment doesn’t do well at relief efforts, they will lose support.”

The 2010 Shawnee Mission College Clinic is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 13 from 6:30 - 9 p.m. at Shawnee Mission East.

There will be about 200 colleges featured; free parking and shuttle service will be available.

Counselling department secretary Cindy Snell said any students who are interested in college should go to this event.

“It is a great place to get a good idea about colleges, and you can look at the list beforehand so when you get there you have an idea of what colleges you might be interested in,” she said. “Also, most of the people that you will be talking to have been to that college so they have a first-hand experience of that college.” By Ben Grove.

Sirhindi

1. College fair features hundreds of options

where is Pakistan?Afganistan

Pakistan

Oct. 8School picture retakesVarsity football game home against BVNW

Oct. 7Senior announcements and graduation meeting during Tiger Time

Oct. 2 Homecoming dance

Sept. 29Homecoming bonfire

Oct. 1Homecoming parade and football game

Oct. 15End of first quarter, no school

Oct. 13Community Service Day, seniors only

2. Homecoming spirit days announced

The week of homecoming is Monday, Sept. 27.The spirit days are:Monday - TV/movie character day Tuesday - Multiplicity dayWednesday - Geek squad dayThursday - Greek/Toga day Friday - Black and Gold day

By Jordan Huesers.

The school cafeteria offers students a wide variety of food choices ranging from Pizza Hut pizza to a salad bar. This year, the kitchen offers baked fries and chicken strips rather than the fried ones it did in pre-vious years. Photo illustration by Maegan Kabel.

inthenews

0 3SEPTEMBER 2010

caitlinhollandeditor-in-chief

Principal Scott Bacon spent a large portion of his summer researching ways to promote strong attendance in students — and found one in the School-Wide Positive Behavior Sup-ports program (SWPBS).

He has a three-inch binder stocked full of research on the new incentives he adapted to fit BV. Schools throughout the country have promoted the ideas Bacon brought to BV this year. All of the schools are already involved in SWPBS.

“I spent quite a bit of time personally researching this over the summer so that we can take some baby steps and make an impact this year,” he said.

He said the new incentives are ideas that came from other schools, but were easily applicable to BV.

“As I read through that information I thought, ‘This fits our school perfectly,’” he said. “We were already doing a lot of it.”

The new incentives for this year are $10 Tuesdays and monthly iPod giveaways. The giveaways are not funded in any way by the district; the money comes from the Pepsi fund, as well as various donors such as Community America Credit Union.

The incentives will fall into line with the Tiger Token award that already exists. The idea is that if a student has no unexcused absences, tardies or missing assignments they have a change to win $10 that week.

Junior Lauren Holland, the first ever $10 Tuesday winner, said the incentive has made a difference for her, and made her friends excited, too.

“It’ll give motivation to some people,” she said. “They think its cool that you could win $10 for just showing up and doing stuff.”

If the student has near-perfect attendance for the month and meets the no tardy or late work requirement, they have the opportunity to win in the iPod giveaway.

Holland said she appreciates the incentives even more because most schools don’t reward students in this way.

“We actually care that people are doing homework and are on time,” she said. “Not every school would do that.”

Bacon said he hopes the incentives will make a difference for students, because the new program provides more op-portunities to be recognized.

“We try to be as clear as we can about the kind of things we hope to see,” Bacon said. “We will continue to do that and hopefully do a better job of making that clear.”

Administrators hope incentives promote student responsibility

Acing the ACT exam2010 seniors earn highest scores in school history on college entrance test

sambrennanads manager

BV 2010 graduates had an average ACT composite score of 24.8, the highest average in school history.

The class scored higher than the state and national average this year.

The district average of 25 exceeded the state average of 22 and the national average of 21.

Principal Scott Bacon said that the teach-ing staff, students and parents had a lot to do with the rise in scores.

“We identified curriculum, and likened as-sessments with it,” Bacon said. “Students take learning seriously here because the next step for most of them is college. The parental community is very supportive and focused on academic excellence.”

Bacon said several classes help achieve high ACT scores, such as biology, chemistry, physics and any math class above Algebra II.

Assistant Principal of Curriculum and Instruction Brett Potts agreed that it was a combination of several aspects that made students successful.

“It is hard to put a finger on one thing,” Potts said. “We have terrific students whose first and foremost goal is to get ready for college.”

Potts said more information from assess-

ments is also a contributing factor to ACT scores.

“We know early on where kids are in math and reading, and from this both teach-ers and students know what it takes to do well,” Potts said.

He said it speaks highly of BV that the 2010 scores increased while national and state averages decreased.

Senior Brooke Williams said the ACT preparatory class helped her improve her scores. She started out in the class with a 22

on a practice test and then improved to a 26.“It was a lot of work,” Williams said. “It

helped a lot, we learned our strategies and our strengths and weaknesses.”

Williams said her math section improved the most with the class.

Diane O’Bryan, a first-year ACT prep teacher, said she believes the class makes students ready for all parts of the test.

“First of all, we want students to under-stand what areas of the test you need to improve on,” O’Bryan said. “Then leave the class with strategies that work for them.”

Over the semester students come into school on Saturdays to take practice tests.

“The best part is the kids really improve their scores,” O’Bryan said. “For a lot of people it is the difference between getting scholarships.”

Bacon said the scores represent more than just doing well on a test — it shows the college-readiness level of students.

Bacon said 95 percent of last year’s se-niors are in college, and 35 percent of them took an AP class.

“I want to encourage for more students to take that step in high school to prepare you even more for what’s to come,” he said.

Bacon said he looks forward to more ACT progress down the line.

“I’m excited for the direction we are going,” he said. “I truly believe it is just the beginning.”

25

24.5

2008

24

23.5

23

22.52006 2007 2009 2010

BV average ACT scores

this week’srewardsMonday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

$10 Tuesday

Tiger Token awards

Junior Lauren Holland collects her $10 on the first $10 Tuesday this year.

A new iPod touch will be given out one Tuesday each month.

The most gruesome fiends are all here at Haunt, and they are waiting for you. They know you’ll come to

navigate our 9 twisted attractions, like Asylum Island, Lore of the Vampires and the all-new Corn Stalkers. But, most importantly, you’ll come to be prey for our legions

of ravenous creatures.

Present this coupon at any Worlds of Fun ticket window to purchase up to 4 Regular* admissions. Save $7 off Worlds of Fun Friday Fright Night admission after 6 pm. Not valid toward the purchase of Junior/Senior, Twilight or Pay Once Visit Twice admissions. Offers valid any operating Friday from September 24 , 2010 – October 29, 2010. Also valid Thursday, Oct. 28. Cannot be combined with any other discount offer. No cash value. Prices, policies, schedules, and attraction availability are subject to change without notice. All prices plus tax. Limited attraction availability and Camp Snoopy closed Friday nights and Thurs. Oct. 28. Worlds of Fun reserves the right to be closed for private events. To view the most current operating schedule while planning your trip, please visit worldsoffun.com. Valid for up to four (4) All-Day Regular* admissions.Extreme Haunts are not recommended for smaller children.

Present this coupon at any Worlds of Fun ticket window to purchase up to 4 Regular* admissions. Save $12 off Worlds of Fun All-Day Regular* admission. *Regular admission is for guests 48” in height or taller in shoes. Not valid toward the purchase of Junior/Senior,

Twilight or Pay Once Visit Twice admissions. Offers valid any operating Saturday from September 18, 2010 – October 30, 2010. Cannot be combined with any other discount offer. No cash value. Prices, policies, schedules, and attraction availability are subject to change

without notice. All prices plus tax. Worlds of Fun reserves the right to be closed for private events. To view the most current operating schedule while planning your trip, please visit worldsoffun.com. Valid for up to four (4) All-Day Regular* admissions. Halloween Haunt is

frightening after 7pm. Extreme Haunts are not recommended for smaller children.

0190 worldsoffun.com worldsoffun.com 01911 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

WOFHntGts9.8x12.indd 1 9/9/10 4:46:23 PM

inthenews

0 4 SEPTEMBER 2010

outloud

0 5SEPTEMBER 2010

editor-in-chief Caitlin Holland

managing editor Sara Naatz

news/web editor Annie Matheis

opinion editor Jacob Pruitt

features editorJordan Huesers

sports editor Chris Roche

copy editor Emily Brown

design editor Jordan McEntee

photo editor Maegan Kabel

ads managerSam Brennan

circulationsCourtney Woodworth

staff writersJaida AnderlikKelly CordingleyClay CosbyBen GroveStephen KarstRyan O’TooleOdi Opole

photographersMaria FournierJuliana HimmelOlivia RoudebushConor Storm

cartoonistEvelyn Davis

adviserJill Chittum

Every day at lunch students are faced with some pretty easy choices.

Whole grain pasta or fried chicken? Chicken.

Salad or chips? Chips.

Apple or cookie? Probably the cookie.Looking at the eating habits of the BV population, we can see that

there is a quandary in our cafeteria.We are surrounded by good and bad food, but we can never seem

to choose the better option.Part of the problem is the selection. We crave the sugar and food

coloring, so we go for those snacks.The biggest issue is that the choice is apparently easy. So easy,

in fact, that most students eat unhealthy food every day without a second thought.

But how can students think they are ready to go into the world if they can not make the right decision when presented with a clearly right and wrong option?

No one can claim innocence in this war on food. We all know what would be the healthier choice for our body, yet, time and time again,

we continue to ignore our better judgment. The cafeteria does a good job of providing students with a wide

selection of items to choose from every day. For as long as we can remember there has been fruit, salad and milk waiting for us right around noon at school.

For as long as we can remember, students pass over the healthy food and go for the fries, cheese-filled breadsticks and flavored ‘sports’ drinks. The sport being ‘get someone else to throw away my trash.’

As high schoolers, we should be able to manage our food decisions reasonably. Just because the pizza from Pizza Hut is there every single day, doesn’t mean we should eat it. Every. Single. Day.

There is a way to do it right. Maybe have the pizza twice a week, but branch out and have a

salad the other three days. A little moderation goes a long way. The district website goes above and beyond in providing all the

dietary information of our lunch food. All you have to do is utilize it.Thinking some nutritional choices through is critical for students

who are four years or less away from college or a career. Once our high school years are up, we will be very much on our own to eat and do what we want.

If we can not take responsibility for our actions in a cafeteria, then we will not be able to be responsible for ourselves when we enter the real world.

The decision making starts now. So, instead of just piling on the pizza at lunch today, give it a little thought first.

The Tiger Print

staff editorial

21agreed

2 disagreed

raise voice How do you decide what to eat in the lunchroom?

Students should pay attention to choices in cafeteria

Junior Rick McCaw“Whatever comes with the meal. I’ll usually get

pizza and a bunch of fruit and salad.”

Senior Sherry Farrahi“I bring my food because I like to make healthy

choices and know what is in my food.”

Senior Zoey Sharp“Whatever resembles actual food the most.”

The Tiger Print is published nine times a year for the students, faculty and the sur-rounding community of Blue Valley High School. It is an open forum for student expression. Therefore, the opinions ex-pressed within this paper do not necessar-ily reflect the views of the administrations of Blue Valley Unified School District #229.Letters to the editor and reader responses are encouraged for publication. The Tiger Print reserves the right to edit all submis-sions for both language and content and encourages letters to be no more than 350 words. Letters should be submitted to room 450, e-mailed to theti-gerprint@yahoo.com or mailed to:

The Tiger Print c/oBlue Valley High School6001 W. 159th St.Stilwell, KS 66085phone: 913-239-4800

Pacemaker finalist, 2009 and 2010Member, Kansas Scholastic Press Associa-tion, National Scholastic Press Association and Columbia Scholastic Press Association

your

By Evelyn Davis.

outloud

0 6 SEPTEMBER 2010

Changes at BV put school morale in questionEvery

morning I pull into the parking lot at Blue Val-ley, swerving to avoid hit-ting the red

van parked a few spots down from me. I walk past the lunch room, resist my urge

to get a bagel, head to my first hour down the 400 hall, through the Avenue of the Arts and the crowded and noisy junior pod on the way.

I’ve had to persevere through pouring rain on the way to the mobiles, consequently causing me to persevere through a bad hair day as well.

I’ve heard countless speeches aimed at getting the student body fired up and talk-ing about the dream we want to accomplish here.

But the tradition and pride Blue Valley knows is crumbling with Southwest’s open-ing and recent budget cuts.

I’ve heard so many stories of the technol-ogy and fun atmosphere of the new school and so many remarks on how old our school is.

I know so many people who have lost a few of their best friends to another school, myself included.

Of course I wish my best friends were here to help me through the hard days, at-tend games with me decked out in black and gold and just enjoy junior year.

As for budget cuts, activities and sports at our school have seriously been affected and most of us have felt the hurt a little bit already.

It’s important that we keep our heads up for our peers, teams and clubs. BV is still an amazing school with some of the most amazing people I know, cliche as it may be.

We have new incentives to keep us on our toes, and now is the time to prove to

everyone that BV doesn’t need to be the newest, most expensive school around to have the most pride.

We can easily work together to raise money for our clubs and teams as well, and obviously budget cuts haven’t stopped stu-dents from chasing the causes they believe in.

Look at all the things going on around

our school. We have Project Playground starting up entirely because of student ef-forts and commitment, and all money was raised through sales of T-shirts and wrist-bands.

So make this your year to have more spirit than ever before. Study harder than ever before. Follow the cause you believe in no matter what the cost.

We often take for granted what we have here.

I know there are schools out there where drugs are more of a focus than student dreams, and we just aren’t like that.

BV gives us the opportunity to do something we believe in and are passionate about. We should take advantage of what other schools just don’t have.

Seniors Chris Martinat, James Vaughn, Brent Mason, Nick Sobczynski, Brian Grant and JT Nichols show their Tiger pride while cheering on the varsity football team at the first game. Despite BVSW opening, BV students should still show the same enthusiasm they have shown in the past. Photo by Courtney Wood-worth.

It’s a real-ly long walk from behind the baseball fields all the way to the doors of the school.

I’m sure the parking lot size is a concern for a lot of the students who drive to school.

At 7 in the morning the last thing a person wants to do is walk a long way to do anything.

As I drove into the parking lot for the fist time I noticed the small spots and narrow

lanes. As a student who came from Blue Valley

West where the parking lot is not only huge, but has many open spots, the adjustment was difficult.

At West, there is so much extra space that the band uses a good chunk of the parking lot to practice in the morning before school.

BV is an entirely different world. I also noticed that only juniors and se-

niors could get a spot. Meanwhile, sophomores are forced to

park all the way in the back by the baseball fields, where if you are running late your chances of getting to class on time are close to impossible.

And with Tardy Tracker, there is no way you can slip by on being late.

Another thing I stress about is actually parking in a spot, considering they are so close together I have to be extra careful when parking.

If you have a truck or some sort of a big car, parking is more difficult.

Considering the spots were narrowed in order to allow additional parking places for students, the risk-to-reward ratio might not be as high as they may have thought.

Even though there were only four or five parking issues reported last year, I’m sure a fender bender, even unreported, would ruin anyone’s morning.

Small parking lot poses problems for former BVW studentavoid a

fender benderArrive at school early to avoid the rush.

Don’t talk on your cell phone when in your car.

Leave yourself enough time so you don’t have to rush.

outloud

0 7SEPTEMBER 2010

2 years, 2 sidesAs President Barack Obama’s half-term mark approaches, 3 critical issues remain in focus

Now to examine the controversial Arizona law. First of all, it isn’t Obama’s lawyers suing Arizona. It’s the Department of Justice that is suing.

The law states that any police officer can check any person’s immigra-tion status with reasonable suspicion, after making ‘lawful contact.’ Law-ful contact being, “Hey, buddy, you are in the parking lot of a store, that’s private property. You could be trespassing. Lemme see them papers.”

The Obama administration is simply trying to stop racial profiling. The proposed system could easily be abused by local police officers with the power to deport someone without a warrant.

Obama completely ignores the main cause of high-cost health care, as his plan does not address tort reform, which would limit ridiculous malpractice suits. This is needed to reduce the price of malpractice insurance and the cost of medical care in general.

Without sacrificing quality. He says he’s open to conservative ideas, but then lampoons Re-

publicans when they stall his health care bill with legitimate concerns. Even after the Republicans proposed a plan that got to the heart

of the issue, he claimed they were still stalling for partisan reasons.He demanded his health care bill be passed now, because it’s

“desperately needed.” In reality, the bill doesn’t go into effect until 2013.

Obama personally improved the quality of American life with the pass-ing of his health care reform.

Your kid has cancer? Guess what, your insurance cannot drop you. You have a pre-existing heart condition? It’s your lucky day, chief.

No company can deny you. Lower income? Lower prices. You can not afford your own health insurance after high school? You get to stay on your parents’ insurance until you are 26.

If you have money, you have insurance.

Health care

Obama spoke of change time and time again as he ran for office. The man certainly does know how to deliver.

Alan S. Blinder, professor of economics at Princeton University, said Obama saved us from our economic free-fall and stopped us from enter-ing what the professor dubbed “The Great Depression 2.0.”

Blinder went on to say 2010 GDP increased 3.4 percent by the stimulus package alone, and kept the unemployment rate 1.5 percentage points lower by creating and saving 2.7 million jobs in his report on the end of the recession.

To put it simply, the previous administration was not putting any stimulus money into the economy.

When Obama came into office, the government started putting money into the economy.

It took a turn for the better. But that’s just a coincidence, right?

Obama promised his budget would result in a surplus, while so far his deficit has quadrupled George W. Bush’s in every year of his 8-year term.

While it is true Obama stabilized the economy, he’s stabilized it slightly below the level it was at in Bush’s prime. Just because $800 billion is going to make something better, doesn’t make it right.

In January 2006, the GDP capped its growth rate, then dropped significantly and started on a downward slide to a low in January 2008.

If you want to look to the stock market as an indicator of financial well-being, track NASDAQ’s numbers over the past 10 years. The mar-ket crashed when financial institutions started going under in 2007.

While this happened on Bush’s term, it was by no means Bush’s doing. It was Democrats forcing banking institutions to give loans to people they knew couldn’t pay them back, or sub-prime loans.

It then started to recover quickly but growth has slowed, appar-ently in time with Obama’s stimulus package.

The economy

He misrepresented Arizona sb1070 as legalizing racial profiling. In truth, the bill says that if during lawful interaction, an officer has

reasonable doubt of the individuals legal presence in America, he can detain the person until citizenship is confirmed.

This doesn’t mean a Hispanic man walking down the street in Phoe-nix can be asked to show his papers. Rather, if someone who is pulled over fails to produce a driver’s license or any indication of citizenship, he or she can be held.

Secondly, it allows state or municipal law enforcement agencies to deport illegal citizens without turning them over to federal authorities.

There’s no legal precedence for challenging the bill. It is a clear overstep of federal boundaries.

Pro Con

Arizona bill

outloud

0 8 SEPTEMBER 2010

About two months ago I decided to change my ways a little bit.

I put down the spare rib, baked beans and burger, and de-cided to go vegetarian.

It was a personal choice I decided to

make. My reasoning behind this lifestyle change is pretty simple: I figured there was a healthier way to eat and I wanted to see if I could actually do without.

Turns out, I can. It all started when I was watching Oprah the other week

(Yes, I do watch Oprah.) Her discussion topic for the show was the documentary Food Inc. I remembered hearing about the movie from some friends who had seen it. I recalled one of my friends saying, “Don’t watch it unless you’re prepared to go vegetarian. It’ll completely gross you out.”

I was hooked. While I still haven’t watched Food Inc., (I’ll admit I’m scared

to) I figured eating meat wasn’t necessary, so why would I

bother?In fact, there’s a good deal of information out there that

says the way most of our livestock is handled now, its prob-ably better if we don’t.

Most American cattle are injected with a hormone pellet in the ear that will make them grow faster and heavier in their lifetime. Essentially, it keeps cost down because the product is being produced at a quicker pace and at a greater amount.

There really isn’t much clarity on this issue now. Accord-ing to the FDA, the six hormones injected into the cows are at safe levels for consumption. In excess, though, three of those six are found to have connections to high cancer risks.

While the hormone levels are probably safe for consump-tion, I don’t really see the need to risk it if I don’t have to.

Honestly, the biggest difference in my diet has just been thinking through food decisions more carefully. Before I eat something, I not only think about whether or not it contains meat, but the general calorie and fat content as well.

The information out there leaves us with a tough decision to make. The least we can do is pay attention to what’s going on in the processing and preparation of our food.

Or, just drop the corn dog and eat something else.

Vegetarian lifestyle results in better choices

benefits of vegetarianism

Usually consume an average of 25 percent less fat than non-vegetarians. Because of this, vegetarians often have a low Body Mass Index (BMI.)

Often have lower cholesterol levels. This has a direct correlation to lower risk of heart attacks later on in life.

Improves the flow of the digestive tract.

Information from www. benefitsofvegetarianism.com.

upclose

0 9SEPTEMBER 2010

emilybrowncopy editor

It was moments before the beginning of his presentation. His mouth was dry and he took a quick sip of water before focusing on the judges in front of him.

Within a short time frame, he needed to market himself and his ideas. He needed to show them he was an expert in hospitality and he could be their winner.

He took a deep breath and started talking. BV graduate Kyle Stalcup won gold in the Star Event of

Hospitality at the Family Career and Community Leaders of America National Leadership meeting in Chicago. His prize was a $12,000 scholarship to the school of his choice.

“When they called my name and said that I received gold, I was ecstatic,” Kyle said. “I worked on that project since Janu-ary and I found out July 8, my birthday.”

Kyle created a portfolio with 20 pages of research in hospitality.

He also created his own mock training manual for a res-taurant and presented all of his information to five judges.

After his presentation, the judges were allowed to ask questions.

“He started working on it early,” FCCLA sponsor Donna DeHart said. “He stayed focused, he handled the presen-tation skills and he believed in himself and what he was presenting. He had a lot of passion for it.”

DeHart said she wasn’t surprised that Kyle won. “Kyle was a student who was not very connected to

school but he will do really well in the real world,” she said. Kyle had to win at the district and the state levels before

he could go to nationals in Chicago.

Senior Carly Thompson also won top gold in Teacher Education.

She said perseverance was key to finishing their projects. “You have to keep trying,” she said. “When you think

that you’ve done every single thing that you can, there are actually ten different things you can work on. There is always room for improvement.”

Thompson said every detail in their presentations had to be precise.

“You have to follow directions to the dot,” she said. “The judges are really, really strict. We had to keep improving things and fixing things.”

Kyle said his interest in hotel management and hospital-ity sparked at an early age.

“Hotel management is something that I have wanted to do since third grade,” Kyle said. “Whenever I used to walk into a hotel, I would think, ‘Wow, how cool is this?’”

Kyle’s mother, Laura Stalcup, said she was elated when she heard the Kyle won because he had worked so hard, but she wasn’t surprised.

“We have always traveled a lot as a family and because of that he has experienced many different cultures,” Laura said.

She said she noticed Kyle’s passion for hotel management when he was young.

“He was in third grade and we were driving down the street,” Laura said. “He asked me whether the linens or the TV sets were more important. Of course, I said the linens.”

Kyle said the experience was extremely rewarding.Winning first place will benefit his future in several ways. “If I say that I received a gold at a national competition in

hospitality, it looks really good to colleges and jobs,” he said. “You meet so many new people.”

maegankabelphoto editor

With budget cuts a prominent issue for the school year, students were told to expect larger class sizes than previous years.

First hour, 30 students.Second hour, 28 students.Third hour, 13 students?“We have had hours be problematic be-

fore,” counselor Sandy Fryer said. “We can’t predict it, we can’t figure it out. Sometimes it’s problematic in that they’re too full. This year, they’re too small.”

There are many pieces that must fit to-gether to create the master schedule.

“We noticed that issue back in the spring,” said Brett Potts, Assistant Principal

of Curriculum and Instruction. “There’s so many variables, there’s always an hour with a glitch. We sit down and start tweaking [the schedules] to plug back into the system and see where the kids fall.”

Singletons, classes that are only offered one period, are just one of the causes for the smaller third hour.

“Every kid we tried moving into third hour wouldn’t work,” Fryer said. “There would be a roadblock. When you have larger classes but, with Southwest opening, so fewer sections, it’s harder because there’s less flexibility.”

Potts said he tried moving pieces around, but he had to be cautious.

“We couldn’t move it too much without messing everything up,” he said. “[The glitch]

is more noticeable because of the situation staff-wise. We have a smaller staff, so the situation is amplified.”

During the school day, teachers are either in a plan period, on supervision or in class.

“We have very few teachers on plan or su-pervision for third hour,” Potts said. “It’s been difficult doing supervision due to smaller staff numbers and part-time teachers.”

Social studies teacher Mark Klopfen-stein’s third hour section of AP US History has only 12 students.

“My first thought was pretty much resignation,” he said. “I know counselors aren’t happy with 28 students to 12 students back-to-back. I will voice my concern but recognize that there probably isn’t anything that can be done.”

Klopfenstein said the biggest difficulty with the varying class size will be class activi-ties, but he also sees an upside.

“When I have 12 people in third hour, in theory at least, they get one-twelfth of my attention, whether that’s working one-on-one or more focus with less background noise,” he said. “With 28 people, there may be less focus.”

Junior Allen Zhu, one of Klopfenstein’s 12 third hour students, said he feels the smaller class size creates a more comfortable environment for discussion.

“I actually think it makes it better because the teacher doesn’t have to be concerned with so many students,” Zhu said. “It’s easier to develop student-teacher relationships.”

Class sizes vary due to glitches in schedule system

Taking goldin hospitality2010 graduate earns $12,000 scholarship at FCCLA Star Event

swapAt the FCCLA competition, contestants from different states exchanged their state pins when they met. Senior Carly Thompson kept her pins to remember the event.

Kansas

Texas

Louisiana

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1 0 SEPTEMBER 2010

jordanhuesersfeatures editor

She gouged her bone. Lost skin on her calf and shin. Severed her muscle.She underwent four surgeries and many hyperbaric oxy-

gen chamber treatments that locked her body in a glass tube and provided pure oxygen to help her heal.

Hospital stay: 22 days. In the emergency room the doctors told her she would

be lucky if she kept her leg, let alone ever walk again. Junior Becca Bond rode her first dirt bike on June 6.Expecting a quick ride with friends, Becca was unpre-

pared for what was about to happen. Luckily, she wore a helmet.

“One second we were all riding along,” Becca said. “The next second, I look up to see the four wheeler in front of us, stopped. I knew at that moment we were going to crash.”

Becca then felt a rush of sheer panic flow through her entire body.

“It was horrible knowing that there was nothing I could do to stop it and help myself,” Becca said. “My friend driving swerved the dirt bike as fast as he could. The next thing I know the dirt bike is out of control and I am being thrown off onto the gravel road.”

She told herself she would only have a few scrapes and a little road rash. She hoped and prayed everything would be fine.

Becca had two large, full thickness flaps of skin hanging off her lower calf exposing all of the muscle and her shin bone. The muffler burned the inside of her right leg. Sliding across the gravel caused burns on both knees and her right elbow.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Becca said. “I felt like I was honestly dreaming. One of the first things that came to my mind was, ‘My parents are going to be so upset.’ But what was really weird was I kept thinking about church that night and how I wasn’t going to be able to go. Now, it seems like no big deal, but at the time that’s mainly what I was thinking about.”

In a state of shock, Becca started grabbing the two flaps of skin, placing them over where they would be if they were still connected. She then pushed on them to add pressure.

“When I reached for my leg, I didn’t have any feelings,” she said. “I am usually the one who gets grossed out and passes out when I am around blood. But this time I was completely calm. In any other situation I wouldn’t have known what to do. But all of the sudden, my instincts kicked in and I did what I could.”

Her friends called for an ambulance and tried to comfort her.

“It was really scary seeing her fall off the bike,” junior Mer-edith Schmidt said. “I was scared her leg wouldn’t heal right or it was going to be a lot more serious than we thought. At the time it was just scary not knowing anything about how badly she was hurt.”

When the ambulance arrived, the paramedics laid Becca down and quickly began to wrap her leg.

“I can actually remember look-ing up at the emergency people helping me and seeing bugs on their shoulders and heads,” she said. “I would tell them each time a bug landed on them and they would swat it off. I think it was my way of taking my mind off things.”

Every day Becca received multiple cards and gifts from people, some of them she had never even met. The encouragement from her family, friends, nurses and doctors helped Becca remain optimistic.

“Basically I was thinking about all the things that could have happened to me,” Becca said. “I didn’t know if I would ever walk again or even keep my leg. I just knew being nega-tive would increase the chances for bad things to happen.”

Worried and in denial, Becca’s mom, Debbie Bond, prayed for God to take care of her daughter.

“We were shocked,” she said. “However, we tried to stay positive, and we knew she was in the best place she could possibly be.”

Debbie said Becca’s strong faith guided and strengthened her to complete the tasks needed to walk again.

“Amazingly, I have learned more from her in her grace through this,” Debbie said. “Doctors even told us her recovery was because of her determination. When the doctors told her something needed to be done, she did it.”

Becca, a state qualifier and a member of an elite program for swimming, said she will have to put her training on hold until her wound completely heals.

“I will have to work very hard to get back to where I was in swimming before the wreck,” she said.

Becca recently underwent a skin graft operation which should be her last surgery for her leg. Once the graft heals completely around the edges, she should be able to get back into the water. So far, her recovery has been successful.

“The doctors say that because I’m a young, healthy person, the healing is faster than it would be for an average person,” she said.

Becca is currently recovering from the accident by doing physical therapy to regain strength not only in her leg, but in her whole body because she was not able to move for a long period of time.

“She will be a better person because of this,” Debbie said. “We will all be better people.”

Bond

In th

eblinkof an eye

After summer dirt bike accident, competitive swimmer faces long, difficult recovery period

Two specialists work together to put a wound VAC on Becca’s injured leg. The wound VAC helps it heal from the inside out. The negative pressure aids the tissue as it grows towards the skin, so the skin can heal. Photo submitted by Becca Bond.

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1 1SEPTEMBER 2010

caitlinhollandeditor-in-chief

The one thing senior Carly Thompson remembers most about Eugene Ware Elementary School in Kansas City, Kan. is its playground.

Or, its lack of one.Thompson visited the school during an Out-of-County

Experience trip the Practicum in Teacher Education students take each year. During the student’s break period at Eugene Ware, Thompson and senior Amory Consley met with the school principal. On the way to her office, they glanced outside.

The playground they saw consisted of one small structure without a slide or monkey bars, a basketball goal without a net or rim and tetherball poles without tetherballs — all coated in markings, courtesy of local gangs.

“We saw their playground, which isn’t really much of a playground,” Thompson said. “It’s not much of anything. There’s a bunch of graffiti and gang tagging.”

Eugene Ware technology teacher Tessa Lyman, daugh-ter of BV teacher and Future Educators of America sponsor Donna DeHart, said kids at Eugene Ware don’t enjoy going to recess.

“They always tell me the playground is boring and there’s nothing to do out there,” Lyman said. “We have a couple re-cess balls, so they’ll kick those back and forth, or just run and walk around. They don’t play on the equipment a whole lot.”

Thompson and the rest of the FEA members have a goal to raise $10,000 for a brand new playground for the kids at Eugene Ware.

The group started fundraising on Sept. 13, selling Project Playground T-shirts and wristbands at lunch. The follow-ing week, students purchased raffle tickets at lunch for $1. Seventy-five students will be chosen from the raffle to actu-ally help build the playground in the spring.

Thompson said the reason the group wants to take on the ambitious project is simple — every child loves recess and deserves to have a fun, outside environment.

“Realistically they have a blacktop,” she said. “They don’t

have anything to work with or play on.”While meeting with the principal, Thompson discussed

the differences between the Kansas City, Kan., School District and Blue Valley.

“She talked about the middle schools in the area,” Thompson said. “They have to actually have metal detectors in the school. They’re actually searched when they come into school — its not what you would expect.”

Lyman said the biggest difference between elementary students in BV schools and Eugene Ware is the amount of background knowledge students bring to school. She said teaching students without a lot of life experiences changes the game completely.

“They don’t have prior knowledge of certain things,” Lyman said. “When you go into a Blue Valley classroom and talk about a boat pulling into a harbor, they can visualize it. [Students at Eugene Ware] don’t have any idea of what a harbor is or what it looks like, so I have to teach all of that before we can even get into a lesson. You take advantage of the things you think they should know, and sometimes they don’t really know it.”

Thompson said she hopes the kids will see the success of the project and realize their potential to make a difference.

“Maybe doing this for them will inspire them to do something for someone else,” she said. “It’ll just be a positive impact in their lives and make a difference for them.”

DeHart said she brought the students to Eugene Ware because she wanted them to get the experience of teaching outside the BV district.

“Kids are kids,” DeHart said. “But what my daughter’s second graders have been exposed to is much different than what they have been exposed to here. It’s just very different than our district. There’s much less parental involvement there and much less special services for special needs kids.”

DeHart said playtime is crucial for elementary-aged stu-dents to develop creativity.

“Play is the work of children,” she said. “One thing builds upon another and another. If they don’t have the opportu-nity for play, then sometimes things don’t connect in their brains. Play is important, and I don’t think our children get

enough of it.”Lyman said she can already visualize her students’

reactions to a brand new playground behind Eugene Ware Elementary.

“I think they would be really, really surprised and excited to have new equipment to play on,” she said. “They would really love it.”

(Top) The Eugene Ware playground doesn’t offer students many re-cess options. “We saw their playground, which isn’t really much of a playground.” senior Carly Thompson said. “It’s not much of anything.” (Above) The money raised will be used to replace structures like this. Photos submitted by Carly Thompson.

Buildinga playground

FEA, FCCLA members lead project benefiting Eugene Ware Elementary

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1 3SEPTEMBER 20101 2 SEPTEMBER 2010

You are what you eat

the vegetarian

Importance of making healthy choices begins in high school cafeteria, continues throughout life

Say goodbye to deep fried cafeteria food.At the start of this year, the cafeteria turned off its

fryers for good in order to promote healthier options for students.

They replaced the fryers with special ovens that repli-cate the taste of fried food without the health disadvan-tages.

“We’re ahead of the curve with our healthy options,” cafeteria supervisor John Brown said.

Old favorites like chocolate chip cookies in the check-out lines are still available, but have fewer calories instead

of the 300 they used to.The cafeteria offers fresh produce, a salad bar and fruit

and yogurt parfait as alternatives to traditional lunch op-tions.

“BV is very lucky to have all the options that it does,” Brown said. “I mean, some schools you go to you’ll be lucky to find a banana lying around.”

While the cafeteria provides new healthy options, Brown said students often underestimate the amount of calories their favorite snack contains.

“The biggest health concern is Gatorade,” he said. “It’s like calories in a bottle. You might as well drink a Diet Coke, but people are drinking it like it’s a health drink.”

saranaatzmanaging editor

he trend of including healthier options applies to national chains like McDon-ald’s.

Frank Kebe, father of senior Anna Kebe, is Operations Vice President for the Heartland region for McDonald’s.

He said in the past few years, McDonald’s has introduced apple slices in Happy Meals, a variety of salads and parfaits to the traditionally meat-and-potatoes menu.

“We attempt to appeal to a number of different customers,” he said. “Some come for nutrition and some come for the convenience. And then, of course, there are people who come for a combination of the two.”

Kebe said McDonald’s implemented these changes because of an increased demand for nutritional options.

“We do a lot of research,” he said. “Not only surveys, but customer focus groups as well. For example, one of our groups is a bunch of moms that we have come in and test things. We’ll actually bring the customers in about four times a year.”

saranaatzmanaging editor

McDonald’s combines speed, health eat this,not thatFast-food restaurants like McDonald’s are offering increasingly healthy options for customers. Nutritional facts can be found on the chain’s website.

eat this: Fruit ‘n Yogurt Parfaitcalories: 160grams of fat: 2

not that: McFlurry with M&M’s (12 ounces)calories: 710grams of fat: 25

eat this: Southwest Salad with Grilled Chickencalories: 320grams of fat: 9

not that: Quarter Pounder with Cheesecalories: 510grams of fat: 26

eat this: Apple Dippers with Low Fat Caramelcalories: 100grams of fat: .5

not that: Small French Friescalories: 230grams of fat: 11

anatomy of a lunch tray

steamed corn:2 ouncescalories: 63no saturated fat

Spanish rice:1/2 cupcalories: 124saturated fat: .6 grams

Teriyaki chicken:4 piecescalories: 156saturated fat: 1.6 grams

honey dew1/4 cupcalories: 19saturated fat: .03 grams

apple:calories: 72saturated fat: .04 grams

skim milk:calories: 80no saturated fat

Mom influences healthy food choices

Senior Raven Brower decided to go vegetarian four years ago. She said she realized that she didn’t need to consume meat to be healthy, which was the determining factor.

“It is a lot healthier,” she said. “You can get everything you need from plants, there’s really no reason to eat animals. And, animal fat is one of the most un-healthy things for you.”

Raven said her mom, Teresa Brower, also helped her transition to vegetarian-ism. Her mom has been a vegetarian for more than 30 years.

“Our family never used to be very healthy, but my mom has always kind of been interested in nutrition,” Raven said. “She started doing research, reading labels and reading studies on food and stuff, so we made the transition as a family to eating healthier.”

Raven said becoming vegetarian wasn’t as difficult a transition as she expect-ed — the hardest part was getting through her first Thanksgiving.

“I was at my grandma’s house and she is an incredible cook,” she said. “The whole house smelled delicious, so that was hard.”

Raven said her mom usually shops for fruits and vegetables at Whole Foods Market, but goes to the groceries store for most other things to keep the cost down.

“You particularly want to eat organic fruits and vegetables,” Raven said. “What the organic means is that when the fruits and vegetables are out in the fields, pes-ticides aren’t being sprayed on them. The foods that do have pesticides on them, you have to be sure you wash them really well, so you don’t ingest the chemicals.”

caitlinhollandeditor-in-chief

School cafeteria eliminates fryer, offers better options

the

cafe

teri

a su

perv

isor

T

Free-Range

Organic Foods produced organically have very few if pesti-cides or chemicals used in their growing process (3).

VegetarianA person who does not eat meat or any foods that contain meat products (1).

Pescatarian A person who does not eat meat, with the exception of fish (2).A person who does not eat meat or any animal prod-ucts such as dairy.

grocery words to know

Vegan

Animals are allowed to roam outside and are not kept in cages.

1.

2.3.

Cafeteria supervisor John Brown shared his idea of a well-balanced meal provided by the BV kitchen. Notice, no jumbo chocolate chip cookie included.

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1 4 SEPTEMBER 2010

ryano’toolestaff writer

Delicate brush strokes grace the walls. An aesthetically pleasing combination of angles, lines and colors bring the walls of a vacant theater to life.

BV graduate Andrea Morris was one of six graphic designers working on a mural for the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.

“Moshe Safdie, who pretty much de-signed all of Canada, designed the Kauffman Center,” Morris said. “He decided he wanted a mural behind each balcony in the Muriel Kauffman Theater. Twelve murals on each wall, 24 total.”

Students were chosen by the head of their department at The Kansas City Art Insti-tute in early January to design the project.

They submitted their portfolios and met with the designer after their selection.

They then dedicated a whole semester to designing. The only two requirements were for it to be abstract and to focus on the stage.

They presented their ideas to Safdie,

which Morris said sounded like a scary expe-rience at first.

“He’s very unintimidating once he starts talking,” she said. “You’re like ‘Oh, he’s like a grandpa.’ He’s really mellow and approach-able and easy to talk to.”

Art teacher Mark Mosier taught Morris at BV and thought her professional personality would be a good fit on this project.

“She just kind of looked for things on a more mature, more advanced level,” he said.

After the concept phase, painting started on June 14, with a slight snag.

“The walls were not flat,” Morris said. “They had drums on them, bumps if you will. So it was difficult because we had a lot of lines and angles. We even have a large foam wall that looks like hell because we just went at it to get used to painting on bumps.”

Morris said the walls benefited the mural in the end.

“Once you move, the whole mural chang-es,” she said. “It’s actually a really cool part.”

The theater opens in the fall.“We’re hoping that they’re going to

have an open house for all the people who worked on it, so we can take our families and

tour it before it gets trashed,” Morris said. Morris said she is excited to leave a per-

manent mark on the Kansas City arts scene.

“It’s pretty awesome knowing that it could be there when we have grandchildren that we could take to see them,” she said.

odiopolestaff writer

Here’s a tongue-twister: International Baccalaureate. Sounds like a fancy institution, right?Try internationally recognized academic program.Two schools in the Johnson County area currently offer IB:

Shawnee Mission Northwest and Shawnee Mission East.BV sophomore Archana Vasa heard about IB through

peers at a summer camp for gifted students. She said she would like to see the IB program at BV.

“IB is a really new thing, and a lot of schools are getting it,” she said. “It would be cool if we got it, so we can keep up with educational trends.”

The program emphasizes learning through small-group discussion, writing and integration of six core subject groups. The IB program also promotes a global education by standardizing curriculum throughout the world.

“If you’re taking an IB American History class here, you’re learning the same thing that’s being taught in England, India and Beijing,” said Bill Sanderson, IB Coordinator for Shawnee Mission Northwest.

As an IB Coordinator, Sanderson is responsible for the

operations of the program at his school. He recruits students, meets with students and parents and supervises the use of the curriculum.

Sam Ellerbeck, an SME alumni and IB graduate, said the classes are discussion-based.

“Group work is important,” Sam said. “The coursework cuts out social time, so working on IB stuff and hanging out with friends kind of became the same thing.”

AP European History teacher Jason Peres said IB and AP programs have similarities.

“IB and AP classes are two separate roads going to the same place,” he said. “The goal is to create someone who is a well-rounded student.”

Sanderson said IB classes are similar to college ones be-cause the work is more analytical and essay-based.

“I know IB will prepare me better for college, and help me get in to college,” SME senior Logan Heley said.

Both AP and IB classes include a higher level of work — and both require you to pay fees. Sanderson said the amount paid by a student taking 7 AP Exams is close to the amount paid by an IB diploma student.

“It kind of raises the bar,” Sanderson said. “If you’re going to put money into it, you better do a good job.”

Ed Ellerbeck, parent of two IB alumni said while IB is

beneficial, it also can be very challenging.“It’s definitely a good option to have, but if you’re not a

hard worker, you shouldn’t do it,” he said.Sanderson said that freedom is another big difference

between AP and IB, because in AP you pick the classes you want to do, and in IB you have a full schedule.

“It’s good because it forces you out of your comfort zone,” Sanderson said. “It makes you take those classes you ordinarily wouldn’t touch with a 10-foot pole. There’s always a student saying, ‘Wow, if I wasn’t in IB I would never have done Spanish 6.’”

Sanderson said IB also gets students involved in both their local and national community through the Creativity, Action and Service (CAS) part of the program.

IB requires 150 hours of activity in those three categories. Sanderson said he believes CAS is a positive aspect of the IB program.

“It’s good because it’s not academic, and it’s not numbers in a book,” Sanderson said. “It’s people, and it’s real.”

Heley said that sleep deprivation is one disadvantage of being in IB.

“I know that other IB students don’t get enough sleep,” Heley said. “One thing I’d like to see, later on, is the life expec-tancy of IB students versus non-IB students.”

Andrea Morris (center, white T-shirt) poses with the rest of the team working on the Kauffman Perform-ing Arts Center during construction. Photo submitted by Andrea Morris.

2007 graduate leaves mark on Kansas City with new mural in Kauffman PAC

IB program found in area schools offers rigorous courses

Painting the city

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1 5SEPTEMBER 2010

Stroke generates better life perspective for teacher

Positivelycharged

saranaatzmanaging editor

t was like any other day for chemistry teacher Neerav Shah. It was 2005, and he and his wife walked around their hometown of San Francisco without a care in the world. After a few challeng-ing months for the couple, it seemed

as if things were starting to look up.Suddenly, their leisurely walk was inter-

rupted. Neerav’s speech became slurred and illogical and he began to stumble. The left side of his body was failing him.

When he and his wife arrived at the hos-pital, the news was dire.

“When we got to the ER they knew some-thing was wrong,” he said. “I was walking funny and I couldn’t do anything with my left side. The doctor basically said he thought I’d had a stroke, but couldn’t know for sure until they took me to another hospital.”

Neerav was whisked from one hospital to another, unsure if the stroke had left him paralyzed.

“At first I didn’t really know what it meant,” Neerav’s wife Cindy Shah said. “All I knew was my husband couldn’t walk, talk or swallow. I was in disbelief.”

When he finally reached University of California, San Francisco Medical Center, the doctors worked quickly to perform a CAT scan of his brain.

The results were life-altering. The entire right side of his brain. Black.

The entire left side of his body. Paralyzed.A blockage in his his carotid artery, the

essential artery that delivers oxygenated blood to the brain, caused a massive stroke.

Shah arrived at the hospital in time to receive a medicine that would clear the pathway of blood to the brain; however, the doctors were unable to give Neerav the medicine, as he had developed testicular cancer just a few months earlier.

Taking the medicine would have risked spreading any cancer left over in his body, infecting his vital organs.

The doctors believed the blockage and the stroke may have been a reaction to the three-and-a-half months of chemotherapy he underwent in order to wipe out his cancer.

In the hospital, Neerav struggled to ac-cept his condition.

“He was stubborn,” Cindy said. “He had a tube that was feeding him and I think he ripped it out once.”

Neerav’s worried family fought back tears in his presence, warned by the nurses that crying would only make him feel worse.

“It was weird because all my family was trying not to seem upset around me,” Neerav said. “In hindsight [my wife] was very wor-ried. We had family and friends come up to help so she had support, but she was scared.”

During his stay in the hospital, Cindy of-ten wondered whether she and her husband would ever return to a normal life.

“I remember my parents took me out to eat to get out of the hospital,” she said. “We went out to Olive Garden, which was actually where me and Neerav had our first date. A mom, dad and kid walked in and I remember thinking ‘Will I ever be able to do that?’”

Neerav pushed away thoughts of his physical limitations during his time in the hospital.

“I didn’t recognize the fact that my left side was paralyzed,” he said. “It was like my brain was trying to protect me. When I got to the rehab center it really hit me.”

Neerav remained in a wheelchair after his hospital stay. He visited a physical therapist regularly, determined to walk again.

The physical therapists began by moving his leg in an attempt to retrain his muscles. The therapists told them his recovery would be quicker if he spent more time on his leg.

After a year of hard work and determina-tion, Neerav walked again.

“I was just so happy,” Cindy said. “It meant he would have more independence and we could do so many more things together.”

However, Neerav’s motor abilities weren’t the only thing to improve during this time.His entire outlook on life was changed.

“I think if something big like that hap-pens to you, you appreciate life so much more,” he said. “I appreciate every day I’m alive. I appreciate walking into this class and teaching every day. And I think that comes across to students and parents.”

After his stroke, Neerav combined his passion for chemistry and love for others in his teaching career.

“I’m really enthusiastic about [teaching chemistry],” he said. “I’ll be talking and my hand will be flailing around in excitement.”

After working with Neerav for three years, chemistry teacher Manal Siam has come to know him well and truly believes his students benefit from his unique perspective on life.

“He’s just so sweet,” she said. “He couldn’t hurt a fly. He’s always there and he’s so reli-able and supportive.”

Siam said she believes Neerav’s concern for his students makes him stand out from other teachers.

“He is awesome to work with,” she said. “He cares so much about the students’ learn-ing — I mean I can’t even emphasize how much — that he’ll do anything in his power to help them learn.”

Ultimately, Neerav said he believes his change in attitude makes him a better teacher for all of his students.

“I’m very sensitive and empathetic to my students and it’s probably because I appreci-ate life so much,” he said. “Not just my own, but I appreciate everyone else around me, too.”

I

Neerav Shah demonstrates how to conduct the foul water lab. Five years ago, Shah became paralyzed and lost motion in his left arm. “It doesn’t affect me much now because I’m used to it,” he said. “It’ll be stupid things like when I have to open a door and I have stuff in my hands. I’ll have to put it all down and prop it open with my foot or something.” Photo by Maria Fournier.

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1 6 SEPTEMBER 2010

anniematheisnews editor

He searched through zero-visibility water for dead bodies, trained other officers on how to use a Breathalyzer and eradicated millions of dollars of marijuana.

For 30 years, campus police officer Dennis Randall was a state police officer in northeast Missouri. He was a water patrol officer, a district supervisor, a public informa-tion officer and a member of the underwater search and rescue team.

As a member of the underwater rescue team, he recovered between 200-250 dead bodies.

“The first time I did it, it was scary,” Randall said. “The water that we dove in had zero-visibility; you couldn’t even see your hand in front of your face, so you had to do everything by feel.”

Randall said he had to put himself in a different mindset when he would recover bodies.

“You’re down on the bottom of a lake, river, farmer’s pond or wherever, and you’re looking for a body,” Randall said. “So, psycho-logically that can really get to you. I put my mindset as that the person’s soul has gone to wherever you personally believe they go, just the cavity is still here of the person.”

To recover the bodies, Randall said he had to go underwater and feel around until he felt something that seemed like a body, grab it and bring it to the surface.

“You get hardened as an officer,” Randall said. “It’s never easy; it’s always difficult, because you are recovering a human being — a person that once was alive.”

While a state police officer, Randall was also in charge of the maintenance and train-

ing of other officers on Breathalyzer usage.Randall said he would make the officers

run Breathalyzer tests. The test was com-posed of a stimulator that was set to .08, the legal minimum for intoxication. The stimula-tor would blow into the machine itself, giv-ing a reading to determine that the machine is operating correctly.

Randall said he enjoyed the maintenance and repairs side of the job.

“I got to learn a lot about the machines, how they operated and how to fix them if they were broken,” Randall said. “That part of it was pretty fun, because you got into a lot of technical, scientific jargon.”

During his time as a state police officer, Randall helped destroy marijuana fields. In one of his biggest eradications, with the help of other officers, he eliminated an estimated $5 million worth of marijuana.

In a different eradication, the highway patrol found a farmer who had planted mari-juana all the way along a 2-mile fence line.

“So we had to go through there, pull it, burn it, pour kerosene on it, kill it,” Randall said. “Then it starts to rot and is no good.”

Randall said this part was not his favorite aspect of the job.

“It was hard work, but you were getting an illegal substance off of the street, so that

part felt good,” Randall said. “It wasn’t like you were sitting on a combine picking corn, where the machine is doing the work. You’re doing the work. You’re pulling the marijuana plants out, you’re going down the line spray-ing it with kerosene and you’re helping dig the holes to bury it in.”

After retiring from his job as a state police officer, Randall took a year off, and then came to BV as a campus officer in 2005.

A campus officer is a police officer that is assigned to a school, with the primary goal of making sure the students have a safe learning environment.

“Here in the school, I am here for the students,” Randall said. “I am here to make sure that they are safe. They come to Officer Braden and myself, and the kids talk to us about anything and everything. We are not only police officers in the school, but we are also counselors.”

The officers maintain a safe learning environment by being in the school for po-lice functions, guest-speaking in classrooms and talking to the students.

“As a school resource officer at Blue Valley High School, I do more giving advice and guest-speaking in classrooms than I do police work,” SRO Ken Braden said. “That’s a good thing. At some places, they are so busy doing police stuff that they don’t have time to get to know the young people.”

Randall said building that relationship with the kids is the most rewarding part of his job.

“I am here, and I get to see you guys grow up, from squirrely freshmen to mature, young men and women when you graduate,” Randall said. “I see most [students] probably more than their parents see them, because I spend all day in the school with them.”

30 years on state police force defines campus officer’s career

Officer Dennis Randall handles some business in his office. Randall has many jobs that include checking parking permits, monitoring halls and investigating school crimes. “I have a very important job,” Randall said. “I provide a safe learning environment for Blue Valley students.” Photo by Conor Storm.

Expires 10/31/10

Expires 10/31/10

Expires 10/31/10

centerstage

1 7SEPTEMBER 2010

Skillfully flipping a burger, junior Hank Kellerman continues his daily work routine. Freddy’s Steakburgers and Custard employs many Blue Valley students. “The people are fun to work with,” he said. Photo by Olivia Roudebush.

Famous chain well received in OP

Freddy’s, a regional steakburger and frozen custard restaurant, recently opened on 135th Street.

Freddy’s is open Sunday - Thursday 10 a.m. - 10 p.m. and Friday and Satur-day 10 a.m. - 11 p.m.

They have a big following in Wichita and are trying to extend that fan base to Overland Park.

Junior Hank Kellerman, along with several other BV students, got a job at the new location.

“My parents told me about how

there is a new restaurant opening up, I applied online and got an interview with the manager the very next day,” he said.

He said Freddy’s offers a unique atmosphere and great-tasting food, which I have to agree with. Walking into Freddy’s was a great experience, and the food made me want to come back.

“It’s like a fast food restaurant but the food tastes like restaurant quality,” Kellerman said.

He said he enjoys working at Freddy’s and the hours fit his schedule well.

“I drive there after school, I start my shift at 4 and I am usually done with my shift by 10:45,” he said. “It’s a lot of fun, I like the people I work with, and long hours.”

Freddy’s features American-style cuisine with menu items like double cheeseburgers, chili dogs and frozen custard at an average cost of $6 a meal.

Their fries are a must-try, they have got a nice seasoning on them and they add a tasty side to your steak-burger or hot dog.

The new location is clean, with plenty of tables to sit and enjoy a meal with friends.

It’s nice to see Freddy’s bringing great food and prices to the Overland Park market, but with a lot of similar restaurants opening up, it will have a lot of competition.

Freddy’s gives students a new spot to go out and eat because of their good food and prices.

centerstage

1 8 SEPTEMBER 2010

SUPPORTING THE CAUSEBV students raise

breast cancer awareness

by wearing various colored

“Keep-A-Breast” wristbands.

jordanmcentee

design editor

Hundreds of students roam the halls of BV wearing colorful wrist-

bands that read, “I love boobies.”

What?

While there are opposing views on the appropriateness of the

bracelets, their actual purpose is to support breast cancer awareness

and research.

Junior Jen Kranjec works at Zumiez at Oak Park Mall, where these

popular bracelets are sold. She noticed a sharp increase in the sales

of the wristbands in the past couple months.

“Each week we’ll get a whole shipment of them and they’re all

gone by the end of the week,” Kranjec said. “Obviously whoever

decides what products to order has realized that these things are

popular.”

Of the various products sold in support of breast cancer aware-

ness, these bracelets are, by far, the most popular at Zumiez.

“The organization that makes them is called ‘Keep-a-Breast’

and they also make bumper stickers, shirts and a lot of other stuff,”

Kranjec said. “The bracelets are the definitely most popular because

they’re pretty cheap and fashionable. We’ll have whole packs of girls

come walking in and be like, ‘Do you have those boobies bracelets?’”

With the high demand for the wristbands, the store occasionally

runs out.

“Sometimes people will come in and we won’t have any,” Kranjec

said. “Some people even call ahead before they come to make sure

we have some.” Some people have a problem with the message

these bracelets put out, but Kranjec likes

the meaning behind them.

“I think they’re a

really good

thing,” she said. “You just have to be bold about the statement to get

the word out there. There’s nothing wrong with the word ‘boobies’.

People just don’t really realize at first that they’re for breast cancer.

A mom came into the store and didn’t believe that’s what they’re

actually for.”

At Rocklin High School in Rocklin, Calif., a student was given

a Saturday school referral because he refused to remove the

breast cancer bracelet when asked by school officials.

“When you use the term ‘boobies,’ many people find it

offensive and inappropriate, and we find it inappropriate to

be wearing it on school grounds,” Rocklin principal Mike

Garrison told CNN.

Some schools in the Kansas City area have also started

banning these bracelets because they believe they’re

inappropriate, as well.

“At work, this one mom told me that they’re not

allowed in her kids’ schools,” Kranjec said. “She said

her kids take them off during the school day then put

them back on after. I guess they’re pretty determined

to wear them.”

Despite other schools’ views, BV administration

doesn’t have a problem with the bracelets.

“I haven’t really heard much about them,” As-

sistant Principal of Activities Megan Allam said.

“I’ve just seen a couple people wearing them

in the lunchroom. It was like the first week

of school when someone pointed them out

to me. They were like, ‘Have you seen those

bracelets some kids have?’”

Allam said the wristbands are appropri-

ate, according to the dress code.

“I can’t think of anything in the dress

code that they would violate,” she said.

“There’s not really anything that ad-

dresses bracelets.”

‘Jeggings’ trend anticipated fad of season, receives mixed reviewscourtneywoodworth

staff photographer

From the hills of Hollywood to the halls of BV, the hybrid between jeans and leggings is making its mark in the world of fashion.

“I think that jeggings are going to be a fashion fad,” Wet Seal fashion associate Lindsey Glass said. “They will probably last about six months to a year.”

At Wet Seal, jeggings range from extra-small to extra-large with anywhere from dark-washed to acid-washed coloring.

“With jeggings you have to be careful because they tend to run a little small,” Glass said. “I usually recommend sizing up to people looking for a pair.”

The price for a pair of jeggings at Wet Seal is about halfway between the price of jeans and the price of leggings. Jeggings will cost you $15, while leggings are $7 and jeans are usually $25.

“If someone is carrying around a tunic or T-shirt I usually tell them to ‘Try these jeggings, they’re only $15,’” she said.

Jeggings look like jeans and are made of the same fabric used for leggings.

“I thought they were jeans when I first bought them,”

sophomore Grace Anne Johnson said. “When I got them home, I was confused because they didn’t have front pock-ets.”

Jeggings are an alternative way to get the look of jeans for a lower cost.

“They’re just like skinny jeans except easier to handle

because they are stretchier,” Johnson said. “They’re also really inexpensive.”

Although she said that the jeggings were more affordable and comfortable, overall she prefers jeans.

“I like skinny jeans better than jeggings,” she said. “They’re better quality and have more variety in styles.”

Photo by Maria Fournier.

Stretchy

jeans jeggingsvs.

Around $25 Around $15

comparingjeans and jeggings

Sizes run smallMore varieties

Have pockets Stretchy

centerstage

1 9SEPTEMBER 2010

Humor is the backbone of Going the Distance, but unfortunately the plot is lacking.

The plot features two young adults (Drew Barrymore and Justin Long) who fall in love in New York City — only to real-ize they live on opposite coasts. The movie is about their difficulties in sustaining a long-distance relationship.

Except for a couple supporting charac-ters that make scenes hilarious, I felt like hitting my head against a wall repeatedly because of the predictability of the plot.

Without comedian Jim Gaffigan, Satur-day Night Live actor Jason Sudeikis, or It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star Charlie Day, the movie would have no redeeming qualities.

Long neither adds nor detracts from the film. He showed how funny he can be

in Accepted, but sadly none of that carried over to this movie.

Although it is a superficial concern, I was also annoyed by Barrymore’s appear-ance. Her hair always looked like she had just rolled out of bed. While that is justified in a couple scenes where she actually did just roll out of bed, the main character shouldn’t have bad hair the entire movie.

The film is technically a romantic com-edy, but the romance was lackluster. Long and Barrymore did not have any chemistry, despite rumors that they are an actual couple.

If you go to the movies without expec-tations, you may enjoy Going the Distance because the comedic scenes were well-done. If you expect the romantic portion of the movie to have an interesting plot, you will be disappointed.

By Jaida Anderlik.

Drew Barrymore & Justin LongGoing the Distance

Photo by Jessica Miglio, Warner Bros.

centerstage

2 0 SEPTEMBER 2010

Apple released yet another version of the iPhone over the summer.

It is filled with a ton of new features and was Apple’s main project in 2010.

One of it’s most advanced features is FaceTime, a video chat appliation.

The FaceTime application only works if both people have an iPhone 4, which is a bummer for me because the only people I know with the new iPhones are my parents.

The iPhone 4 also has multitasking ca-pabilities, which greatly improves the usage of the phone. It runs up to four programs at one time, making it much simpler to use then its predecessors. You can also film HD video and edit and upload it straight from the phone, another awesome feature.

The Evo is Sprint’s new flagship smart-phone. Sprint put all the news gadgets and apps they had into it.

The Evo has a big advantage over the other phones because it features the 4G mo-bile network, meaning it can load Internet and apps faster.

Another feature that sets the Evo apart is a kickstand that makes it easier to use than other smartphones.

One of the only things I wasn’t a fan of on the Evo is its programming and the touch-screen. I would mis-click things often when my finger was directly on what I wanted to push.

There were too many pages of apps on the phone, unlike the iPhone which fits 16 apps on one page.

HTC Evo iPhone 4

Release of new smart phones amps up competition

smart phones

Final thought...

Final thought...

If you are looking for a new phone, the iPhone 4 is your best bet, but if you already own an older version, it isn’t worth upgrading. It appears Apple has finally hit the point where they are just riding their well-known name. They might have run out of innovation with their iPhone 4.

If you are on the Sprint plan, you should definitely pick up the HTC Evo, it is one of the best phones on the market and the best phone Sprint has to offer.

(est)the

Review by Chris Roche.

tigerturf

2 1SEPTEMBER 2010

claycosbystaff writer

For the first time in 25 years, a new head coach stands on BV’s sidelines.

Eric Driskell contributed to each of the Tiger’s four football state championships.

He played on the offensive line for the Tigers and has been an assistant coach.

Driskell said former coach Steve Rampy acted as a mentor for him from his playing days through the time when he was an as-

sistant coach. He credits the long-time coach with intro-

ducing the idea of coaching to him. “Once I started coaching I knew this is

what I wanted to do,” Driskell said.Driskell first began coaching 15 years ago

and has been teaching for 10 years. In that time Driskell has added to Tiger tradition.

This year, a new era begins.However, the season will not be full of

drastic changes.The Tigers’ tradition-enriched program

will be doing things similarly to how they have done them in previous years.

Driskell said expectations have not changed.

Driskell will not attempt to imitate his predecessor, but rather bring his own unique abilities to the position.

“I’m not going to try to be anyone but myself,” he said.

His familiarity with winning over the years has taught him what it takes to win it all.

Driskell said this year’s team resembles previous years’ state championship teams in one major way — the senior class is strong and unified.

This year’s senior class boasts more than 30 players, one of the highest numbers in school history.

Driskell names this teams’ other major strengths as leadership and work ethic.

“We will play hard all the time,” Driskell said. “The defense will be fast and hard-hit-ting and the offense will be explosive.”

Driskell’s head coaching career started

with a 2-0 record, and the Tigers outscored opponents 112 - 7 in those two games.

“I think coach Driskell does a really good

job of preparing us for every game and puts us in position to win each game,” cornerback, senior Cody Shrum said.

julianahimmelstaff photographer

To deal with unusually high temperatures to start off the fall sports season, BV teams took special precautions.

Activities such as band and cross country were the first to encounter the heat problem.

According to Kansas State High School Activities Associa-tion guidelines, if the temperature is over 90 degrees, water and rest breaks should be taken every 15-20 minutes.

The cross country team practiced hard, five days a week this summer, even in the heat.

The team had mileage goals for both girls’ and boys’ teams.

Cross country captain, senior Ben Gaede said he set his own goals to push through the late-summer heat.

“I set myself to become accustomed to run in the heat,” he said.

In order to keep runners healthy and safe, cross country coach Diana Huber had to make exceptions. Occasionally they would try to pick a shadier route, shorten the route or have morning practices before school.

The team took precautions to avoid heat sickness, like drinking a lot of water. Gaede said he experienced some trouble due to extreme heat.

“I got sick,” he said. “I’m not sure if anyone else did. I got super dizzy, my whole body got super cold and I almost passed out.”

The band also practiced in the heat during the summer as well as before school.

“Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday we are on the field at 7 a.m., practicing through first hour and on Thursday 6 - 9 p.m.,” saxophonist, sophomore Max Rohlf said.

Rohlf said enduring such extreme heat also affected the musicians’ health at times.

“We had a couple of kids over the course of band camp that had to go inside because they were sick,” Rohlf said.

Sophomore Nikki Sisson attended speed and agility train-ing over the summer. She said the heat affected the summer session.

“I feel that workouts went extremely well,” Sisson said. “Even though the heat was pretty unbearable.”

Sisson said sometimes athletes get so preoccupied with getting better, they forget to take precautions in extreme

heat. “It was pretty intense,” she said. “I didn’t want to get heat

stroke, but I kept going.”

Athletes plagued by high temperatures during training

Football coach Eric Driskell instructs a group of varsity players during a drill. “I think that this season is going to be very successful,” Driskell said. “The team just needs to keep getting better after every game we play.” Photo by Conor Storm.

Driskell aims to maintain tradition, success of previous years in 2010 season

a tradi-

1991 - Undefeated 5A State Champions (as a player)1997 - 5A State Runner-Up1998 - Undefeated 5A State Champions2003 - 5A State Champions2006 - EKL Champions, Undefeated 5A State Champions2008 - EKL Champions, 6A District Champions, 6A Regional Champions, 6A Sectional Champions2009 - 6A Regional Champions, 6A Sectional Champions

of excellence

Over the course of his career in the BV football program, Eric Driskell has experienced many of the team’s greatest accomplishments.

a tradition

Juniors Lauren O’Toole and Jane Webb sprint to the finish line during the cross country intersquad race. “Practicing during the summer has been really hard,” Webb said. Photo by Conor Storm.

new coach, same expectations

tigerturf

2 2 SEPTEMBER 2010

Stanek chooses college over immediate pro career

Blue Valley 2010 graduate Ryne Stanek had a tough decision to make — whether to pitch for the University of Arkansas or to start a new journey with the Seattle Mariners organization.

After a lot of thought, Stanek decided he would go to Arkansas to get an education and improve his skill level to prepare him for the draft.

“I’ll be able to get drafted again in a few years,” he said. “That’s my plan. I can come here, get stronger and perform well, and then go out in a couple of years and make a lot more money, and have some education under my belt.”

Stanek said he believes Arkansas’ team will be a strong competitor this year because it features a lot of young talent.

“Our team is going to be really young, Arkansas lost a lot of good players last year,

but we’re going to be good; really young and really talented, which is good,” he said. “I like all the guys on the team.”

In the fall, Stanek said the team condi-tions and does weight training before any official practices start.

Aside from his workout schedule, Stanek said he is taking more rigorous classes this semester.

“The school’s really not too bad,” Stanek said. “Being an athlete, we have some advan-tages like mandatory study halls and tutors that help us at all times. Its not too bad, if you have a test they can come help you. Its more time management.”

Arkansas’ regular season starts in spring 2011.

Stanek will travel across the country with the team.

“The travelling doesn’t bother me at all because I’ve traveled the past three sum-mers playing baseball all summer,” he said. “I think it will be fun. We fly out to California for our third series.”

Stanek said he will take an easier schedule second semester to allow more time for baseball and traveling.

“Whenever the season starts we’re going to be gone all the time, like most of the week,” he said. “We have certain tutors that go on the road with us that will teach us what’s going on in our classes, so it’s a lighter schedule. It wont kill our grades if we struggle. We take a hard schedule in the fall so we can take an easier one in the spring and even it out.”

Stanek said all of his teammates are easy to get along with and no one has a big ego. He said he knows once the first pitch is thrown, everyone will be down to business.

“Everybody here is about the same thing

— we’re all here to win and work hard, and get better for down the road,” Stanek said. “Everybody in this program has aspirations to play professional baseball.”

Stanek said his recruiting class features a lot of talent, and they all play at the same, competitive level that he enjoys.

“It’s pretty cool because in our recruiting class, there were eight of us that got drafted out of like 13 or 14,” he said.

Despite the recruiting madness, Stanek was able to keep his mind focused on help-ing his team win.

“I didn’t want it to be a distraction for the team, but I just went out there trying to work hard and win the whole time,” he said. “I just tried to take it in stride and not really worry about it.”

Baseball coach Matt Ortman said he looks forward to watching Stanek grow as a player in college, and maybe at the next level as well.

“I enjoyed the attention he was getting,” Ortman said. “I was really happy for him.”

bengrovestaff writer

Stanek

tigerturf

2 3SEPTEMBER 2010

FootballPrevious Action: 9/11 vs. Blue Valley Southwest W 56-0, 9/18 @ BVW 6-0 at press dateRecord: 2-0Key Athletes: Seniors Jacob McDermott and Ian Allen, Junior Justin FulksUpcoming Action: 9/24 vs Bishop Miege, 10/1 @ Blue Valley North

Boys SoccerPrevious Action: 9/11 @ Kearney W 4-3, 9/11 vs Topeka West W 4-2Record: 3-2Key Athletes: Senior Tom Adams and juniors Evan Wright and Hunter BrowningUpcoming Action: 9/29 @ Blue Valley West , 9/30 @ Turner

VolleyballPrevious Action: 9/13 BV West L(3-0)Record: 8-6Key Athletes: Senior Morgan VanGerpen and juniors Taylor Leathers and Meghan Mahoney,Upcoming Action: 9/28 vs Gardner, 9/30 @ Bishop MIege

Cross CountryPrevious Action: 9/11 @ Paola Invitational, Boys and Girls take 1st placeKey Athletes: Senior Ben Gaede, junior MacKenzie Gorthy and sophomore Grant PojeUpcoming Action: 9/25 Rim Rock Invitational @ the University of Kansas

Girls GolfPrevious Action: @ Alvamar Tournament, did not placeKey Athletes: Sophomore Megan RichardsUpcoming Action: 9/29 @ Overland Park Golf Course, 9/30 @ Heritage Golf Course

Girls TennisPrevious Action: 9/14 @ Shawnee Mission West, W 10-2Record: 2-1Key Athletes: Seniors Ashley Tiefel and Audrey Coventry Upcoming Action: 9/24 @ Bishop Miege, 9/27 vs Blue Valley West

SportsIn Brief

kellycordingleystaff writer

A 200-some-pound football player tack-ling his opponent onto his back happens all the time in games.

Coaches telling a player to shake it off isn’t uncommon, either. However, with new guidelines for concussion symptoms, shak-ing it off may not be an option anymore.

A concussion is qualified as a traumatic brain injury and needs time to rest and heal before it can function normally. BV athletic trainer Roberta Kuechler said concussions in teenagers and young adults are critical because the brain is still developing.

“If you get one concussion, it needs to fully heal because if you get another one before it is healed, permanent damage could occur,” Kuechler said. “You could have headaches for the rest of your life or even die if you don’t let your brain heal.”

There is new software out that makes it easier to diagnose concussions.

First, the athlete takes a video-game style test while they are completely healthy. The test involves memory and reaction times and can be taken on any computer.

If it is suspected that a player has a concussion, they take the test again and compare the results to the first test to see the severity the concussion.

“You think you’re OK and you feel better than you really are,” junior Rick McCaw said.

According to the Kansas State High School Activities Association (KSHSAA), any player who exhibits signs of a concussion will be immediately removed from the game and can not be cleared to practice or play the same day.

The athlete can’t return until cleared by an appropriate medical professional, a medi-cal doctor or osteopathic doctor.

The National Football League passed a series of new regulations earlier this year,

but these regulations have always been mandatory at BV.

During the football season, coaches take concussions very seriously. Coach Eric Driskell knows how a concussion can feel. He has had five or six diagnosed concussions since his freshman year in high school.

“I remember having an argument with my parents and 15 minutes later not remem-bering what it was about,” Driskell said. “It really freaked me out.”

Precautions are taken to prevent players from receiving a concussion. Air pockets in all of the football helmets are care-fully checked by staff prior to practices and games to make sure there is enough cushion in case of a jolt to the head.

“Some players like their helmets looser, but we just can’t do that,” Driskell said.

Junior Garret Schoenfeld ran a drill the first practice and lowered his head for a tackle, colliding heads with another player.

This collision resulted in his brain lunging forward in his head causing a mild concus-sion and the compression of his spine.

“It’s legit going to happen,” Schoenfeld said. “It’s our fault if we lower our heads dur-ing tackles.”

Kuechler said one common miscon-ception is that a player has to be knocked unconscious for their concussion to be taken seriously.

According to the KSHSAA, symptoms of a concussion can manifest themselves differently.

Some people will have blurry vision, dizziness, loss of memory, vomiting and in some cases, loss of consciousness, along with a list of other symptoms.

“I had one before, so I knew something was wrong with me,” Schoenfeld said. “I had blurry vision and was really disoriented. It was scary because I lost my memory.”

Junior Natalie Gloor experienced her first concussion during volleyball tryouts on the

first day of school.“My body hit the ground and then my

head bounced on the floor,” she said. Gloor said she remembers being very

dizzy and not being able to stand well. Coach Jessica Palmer immediately took her to the trainer who asked her questions to test her memory.

McCaw experienced a concussion during a soccer game.

“I don’t remember how I got it at all, I was told I got an elbow to the face,” he said.

He didn’t know he had a concussion until the next day. The night he got the concus-sion he was unable to walk, shaking uncon-trollably and was speaking with a lisp.

He went to Keuchler who checked his pu-pils and gave him a written test to diagnose his symptoms.

“It is important to teach the correct mechanics of tackling and head placement,” Keuchler said. “Students and coaches need to be educated on what a concussion is and what to look for, too.”

New concussion rules draw awareness to head injury

During the first Freshman A game of the season, Mikey Henson takes a hit from an opponent while carrying the ball. To avoid a concussion during a tackle, a player shouldn’t put their head down. “It’s legit going to happen,” junior Garret Schoenfeld said. “It’s our fault if we lower our heads.” Photo by Juliana Himmel.

incolor

2 4 SEPTEMBER 2010

(Above) Senior Addie McAlister watches as a nurse prepares to insert a needle into her arm. This year was McAlister’s sixth time donating. “I just do it to do it,” she said. “I like helping.” (Right) Senior Hannah Stone watches as a nurse finishes setting up the equipment for her donation. She decided to donate blood for the first time because all of her friends did. “I also wanted to know my blood type,” she said).

(Above) Junior Rebecca Jenkins, dressed as a blood drop, welcomes people into the gym when they’re ready to donate. Jenkins said she volunteered to wear the costume when no one else wanted to do it. “It’s fun to walk around in,” she said. “I worked the snack table making sure no one passed out and I checked people in.” Although she wasn’t able to donate this year, Jenkins does think giving blood is important. “You can save lives and it’s easy to do,” she said. “You aren’t just giving money, you’re saving someone’s life.” (Bottom) Ju-nior Chase Sossi sits, waiting as he donates blood. Sossi donated blood for the first time year. “My friends thought it would be fun,” he said.

Bleeding Black and GoldWhether for the first or sixth time, students donated blood during BV’s annual blood drive