SpotlightFebruary 14, 2013BLUE VALLEY

WEST

volume Twelve, number Seven 16200 anTioch road, overland park, kan. 66085

A handful of students around BV West live with food allergies. Spotlight dives into the details of what having a food allergy really means.

Reporters discuss how students cope and what accomadations are made by the school cafeteria to ensure the safety of all of its students. 12-13

Kansas City Classics:Spotlight explores different barbeque restaurants that express the food for which Kansas City is known. Each restaurant was rated on a scale from one to four, with some better than others. 10

Teenage Discrimination:Spotlight editor in chief, Meghan Ket-cham, expresses her opinion on the unfair social prejudice against teens. These prejudices can occur anywhere such as on the road or at a restaurant. 22

93Senior Countdown

Days Until Graduation

Students battle with food allergies daily

When Food Strikes Back

Photo Illustration by Meghan Ketcham

, Emily M

oore, Jacob Paschal, & H

annah White.

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Letter from the editors...

Our February paper features the issue of food allergies and how they affect students every day in the lunchroom. On our staff we actually have a

couple of people with food allergies. We thought that it was an important is-sue to cover because of the rise in food allergies over the past 50 years. In addi-tion, we wanted to cover Celiac disease because it too holds a lot of difficulties for students at lunchtime. Along with covering food allergies, we highlighted a few other stories that we found exciting. At the top of that list is the construction across the street. Although it is in its early stages, we still wanted to cover it now to show what

the future may be like for BV West. We also had a lot of fun with our sibling rivalry also to add some light-hearted humor to the paper, especially since we had a lot of serious stories

this month. #Ana #Mia was a tough story to cover and we hope that students understand how dangerous anorexia and bulimia are to their body and that

they can get help if they need it.A lot of work went into this paper and we hope that you enjoy it!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Meghan Ketcham and Maddy Wilson

You’ll find the following stories:

*Icy Relief with KC Ice Center in Shawnee Mission*A behind the scenes look at the production of The Wizard of Oz by Lauren Hansen*News regarding the flu epidemic from Lauren Pino*Stephanie Liang reviews “The Walking Dead”*COR’s Adam Hamilton speaks at President Obama’s Inaugural Breakfast

Web Editors in Chief: Tucker Paine and Abby Krstulic

Visit our updated website: www.BVWNEWS.com

Follow us on Twitter and “like” us on Facebook for more.

@BVWSpotlight BVWSpotlight BVWNews.com

Important Dates:

ERIN WALKERReporter

Senior Sam Smith recently auditioned in Chicago, IL for the hit TV show “The Voice.” “I sing because it is my passion, and I feel the need to share my passion with the world,” Smith said. “Music is what makes me happy and the fact that I get to perform for producers

and fellow contestants thrills me.” Smith is currently undergoing the sacrifices that the show requires, such as deleting social net-working accounts and keeping her progress in the show strictly private. “[Music] is my dream career,” Smith said. Smith is also passionately involved in music at BV West. She has taken part in Chamber, Cho-rale, and Mediterranean Night, as well as performing in past assemblies and Choraliers. She will not know the results of callback auditions until Mar. 1, but until then she continues practicing with dedication. “I try to stay focused before each performance so I stay on top of my game,” Smith said. “I [also] say a prayer before every performance, because I know I could not have done any of this without God.”

Senior Sam Smith auditions for The Voice• Feb. 14-Valentine’s Day• Feb. 15 thru18- No School• Feb. 15 & 16-State Boys Swim & Dive• Feb. 16-Wrestling Regionals• Feb. 18 thru 23-Bowling Regionals• Feb. 21- Foreign Language Honor

Societies Induction• Feb. 21-Journalism Regionals• Feb. 25-Spring Sports Begin• Feb. 27-Basketball Sub-state Begins• March 8-Relay for Life• March 14 thru 24-Spring Break

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DETOUR FOR DEVELOPMENTNew construction project across Antioch may affect students

EMILY BINSHTOKSection Editor and Business Manager

For months now, rumors have been floating around the school halls that there are plans to build a hospital across the street from BV West.

For once, the rumors are actually true, but they do not take into the account the enormous scope of this future construction project. This hospital will actually be part of a 300-acre retail and residential complex called the Village of Overland Park. According to the Price Development Group’s web-site, the development will contain 313 single-family homes and approximately 600 apartment units, as well as office space and 1,000,000 sq. ft. of outdoor shop-ping. There are plans to include two department stores, a grocery store, a movie theater, and possibly even a full-service hotel. All of this is in addition to the new extension of the Shawnee Mission Medical Center. The hospital will be built in stages, with the first consisting of private doctors’ offices and an outpatient radiology center. Later the construction of the emergency room and main 400-bed hospital bulding will follow. “The land from 159th Street to 167th Street and west of Hwy 69 is projected as the primary development area for the city in the coming decade,” property developer Monte Wendler said. “As this area develops, residents will need shopping, residential homes, medical care

and a host of other services. The vision of the Village of Overland Park is to be the ‘anchor’ for the new area.” Plans for the Village of Overland Park have been floating around since the land near Hwy 69 was aquired in 2006. The property was re-zoned in 2008, and con-struction on the spacious, empty lot has already begun. “Currently, the construction activity you see is the construction of 1.5 miles of road through the southern half of the site,” Wendler said. “This will facilitate the development of the hospital, as well as single-family lots in the southern portion of the property.” The new roads will be completed by the end of March 2013, and the first phase of construction should be done by Aug. 2013. This phase will involve the development of the first 57 single-family homes, and the rest of the single-family lots will be constructed later, in response to market demand. The new homes will be located near Antioch and 167th Street, while the hospital and retail areas will be closer to 159th Street and 69 Hwy. The entire project will be completed in an estimated seven to ten years. Some students have expressed concern about the new development being built so close to BV West. There are worries that it may cause congestion or impede the flow of traffic through the area, as well as other possible issues. “It is going to be helpful having a hospital closer by, but it might not be worth the time and money spent on it,” junior Jackson Henriksen said. “You have to look at

the design of the building, the staff there, and whether it is going to be affordable to the people who live nearby.” However, according to Wendler, the benefits of the development outweigh any possible issues. “We believe the project will have a positive impact on the BV School District,” Wendler said. “It will provide shopping, dining and other amenities across the street from the school. I am sure there are many extra-curricular activities at the school during evenings and weekends where the students, parents and faculty would enjoy being able to walk across the street for dinner or shopping between events. We are also developing many homes within the site so those children would attend schools within the BV School District.” The Village of Overland Park holds many possibili-ties for this area, and future students at BV West will definitely feel the effects of this new development.

Left: A barrier blocks entry to the road that was recently built near 167th St. and Antioch Rd. This road will facilitate the development of a hospital as well as single family lots in the southern portion of the property. Photo by Emily Binshtok

Right: A site plan for the new Village of Overland Park development. This development will likely include single-family houses, several hundred apart-ment units, an outdoor shopping area, a movie theater, and a hospital. Photo from www.pricedg.com

ERIN WALKERReporter

On Feb. 8, a new tradition was adopted in the BV West Foreign Language Department. Each class period of the day, all the students

enrolled in either French, Spanish or German gathered in the foreign language pod to feast on an assortment of international delights and play trivia games. The goal was to bring publicity to the department by showing students that learning a language is not just book work, it is also about experiencing other cultures. “I enjoyed eating the food of many nations and hope we have the opportunity to do this again,” freshman Ben Viestenz said. To start off the event, students munched on tasty foods ranging from the typical chips and salsa to mini quiches and strudel. Then students were separated by grade into groups and participated in a heated game of trivia. The questions stemmed from each respective country and involved geography, history and culture.

“I wish the games would have been a little more in-teractive, but they still got everyone to participate and stay engaged,” junior Nicolas Riveros said. The idea originated from teachers Courtney Domoney and Carly Gratton. Domoney and Grat-ton both previously taught at BV High and decided to bring some of the ideas of their department to BV West. Multiple BV West teachers have also promoted the event to BV Northwest, which will be taking part in it next year. “In the future, we hope to add even more activities including music, dancing and more games,” teacher Elissa Schlumpf said. Another goal was to unify the department together instead of being so divided by each language. “Other teachers and I want to bring the language group together as a tight-knit family, like the Music Department, for example,” Schlumpf said. “We also want to promote the idea that students can take more than one language class, which is typically unheard of here at BV West.”

Department unity was achieved when students gath-ered to play trivia. Working with other language classes allowed students to explore other cultures and meet more students. Although there were no prizes for the trivia winners, students walked away with satisfaction and a new enthusiasm for foreign languages. Many students are excited for its return in the following years. “My favorite part was interacting with all different people and hearing the multiple languages spoken,” Riveros said. “I hope it continues in upcoming year. It is just a fun, unique experience.”

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Bon Appetit, Buen Provecho, or Mahlzeit?

Foreign Language classes host an event to bring publicity to the department

Left: Students help themselves to multicultural food at the recent event hosted by the Foreign Language Department on Feb. 8. Right: Students from various grades and foreign language classes participate in a trivia game at the event. The trivia questions coincided with the event’s theme and mainly con-cerned the countries of Spain, France, and Germany. Photos by Coleen Bost

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#Ana #MiaTeens across the nation put themselves in danger by encouraging anorexia and bulimia

ASHLEY OADESReporter

Anorexia and Bulimia are common eating disor-ders that many teens across the United States struggle with. Recently, teens suffering from

these diseases have made a community on social media, supporting each other’s quest to become skinny. They call themselves either PRO-“Ana”, for Anorex-ia or PRO-“Mia”, for Bulimia. Some of the members of the community attend BV West. Ana and Mia were started on social media websites in order to personify eating disorders so that teens that suffer from them can talk openly. In fact, teens who have these eating disorders, talk about Ana and Mia like they are good friends. Along with the rest of the world, students at BV West are exposed to how society thinks girls or boys should look. Sometimes, an individual can feel like they do not meet society’s standards or are not good enough. Most girls and boys who become anorexic and bulimic do not necessarily have to be overweight; they just see them-selves that way. They become obsessed with perfection. Many try to become skinnier by vomiting, or they attempt to not eat anything at all. After a while, food becomes evil in their eyes; the ultimate enemy. They rapidly lose weight and their health deteriorates. Sometimes, Anorexia and Bulimia can lead to severe depression which in turn, can lead to self-harm. Some of the individuals in the PRO-Ana and PRO-Mia groups will post pictures of their self-inflicted wounds or their scars. These pictures will get hundreds of likes and com-ments and have recently caught the eye of many news stations. Also, teens in this group do not get the support needed to stop. They are told that skinny is beautiful and that they should keep going. Some of the photo captions include; skinny as a skeleton, I want my bones to show, true beauty, etc. However, people like sophomore, Brittany Gonzalez provide support for anyone in need of aid. Since most of the pictures that people post are posted on Instagram, Gonzalez decided to dedicate her personal Instagram to helping those dealing with #Blithe (self-harm) as well as to #Ana and #Mia.Many people come to Gonzalez seeking help with an eating disorder or another problem. Even though eating disorders are commonly associated with teenage girls, some of the people she talks to are boys. “So many people think that men can’t be anorexic because guys are obsessed with food, but I now lots of guys are anorexic,” Gonzalez said. “Lots of guys are de-pressed. Lots of guys cut. People think that having a food disorder is such a teenage girl thing, but it really isn’t. I have seen 40 year old women on Instagram, posting pic-

tures that say things like ‘haven’t eaten in 5 days, I am doing so great’.” Unfortunately, not a lot of people receive the help that they need. They do not think that anyone would help them if they looked for it. Some of these people belong to the BV West community. “There are people, and I know several at West, from freshman all the way to seniors, who need help,” Gonzalez said. “People who are calling out for help and aren’t getting any. It’s sad, I mean, so close to home and we are talking about it. But believe it or not, it’s definitely a problem here.” The worst thing about eat-ing disorders is their addictive qualities. Once a person starts, it feels almost impossible to stop. It does not matter if they want to or not. Eventually, habits become addictions. “All that stuff is addicting. Self-harm and eating disorders are especially addicting,” Gonzalez said. “You just get obsessed with calories or working out or whatever and they don’t realize how bad it is until they are in too deep that there is no conceivable way that your life can just turn around” One of the major issues at BV West is that students often do not talk about pressing issues like eating disor-ders. “Everyone knows what’s happening, but no one wants to talk about it,” Gonzalez said. “Students feel like they can’t talk about it or they don’t need to talk about it… it’s awkward and uncomfortable. My opinion is that if we, as a student body, don’t talk about it, then we can’t help anyone.”BV West teachers agree that eating disorders should be something that students learn about at school. “Some of our students are educated,” health teacher Terry Flynn said. “But most misunderstand them. They think they are related to diet and weight management instead of mental illness. Eating disorders are actually recognized as mental disorders in the Diagnostic and Statistical manual of mental disorders.” Teachers also agree that certain websites promote Ana and Mia and can seriously endanger students. “Unfortunately,” Flynn said. “Websites promote the behaviors without recognizing the dangers or the life

threatening aspects of Anorexia and Bulimia.” While #Ana #Mia may not be pertinent to all students at BV West, it is still important for them to recognize the struggles that those with anorexia and bulimia have daily. “BV West kids don’t realize that those teens will be forever affected by Ana and Mia,” Flynn said.Students that have an eating disorder or think that they may be developing one can be comforted by other students that care. Gonzalez wants students to know that she will listen and can relate. For those who need help with an eating disorder or another problem, the hotline number is 1-800-931-2237

Many teens struggle with eating disorders and it often takes over their lives, chaining them to calorie counting and harmful habits. Photo Illustration by Meghan Ketcham and Coleen Bost.

Eating Disorders:by the Numbers

• 1 or 2 out of 100 will struggle with an eating disorder•Most people who suffer with an eat-ing disorder develop one when they are between 13 and 17 years old

Information from kidshealth.org

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Dear Jacob,REBECCA ABRAHAM &

LAUREN ALBERSReporters

Exactly one year ago, sophomore Alexis Snowdy and 18-year-old Ja-cob Parise began dating. Although

Snowdy and Parise ignore their age gap, other students are surprised to learn that they are a couple. “When we first met I didn’t know if it would work well because of the age dif-ference,” Snowdy said. “But when I got to know him I found out he was a very intelligent, ambitious guy, and I started falling in love with him.” Along with the students, Snowdy’s parents were also a little shaken by the situation. When they first heard of their daughter’s unusual relationship, Alexis’s mother, Nancy Snowdy, recommended that the two of them just stay friends; however, Snowdy and Parise disagreed. Parise was soon enlisting in the Marines, and this would change every-thing about their relationship. Now they needed to make a decision about whether or not they should stay together. They had been dating for eight months, and they decided to stay together. This decision was difficult, but they

tried to make the best of the situation. Over the summer they spent every sec-ond together. Because they were always together, Snowdy became very close with Parise’s Family and friends. “Alexis goes to dinner with my dad and also buys my little brother ice cream,” Parise said. “She enjoys hanging out with him a lot. She and my sister are very close too. It means the world to me knowing she’s with my family.” Finally, it was time for Parise to enlist into the Marine’s, and he was both pre-pared and anxious for his journey. Parise left Kan. in Aug. 2012 and flew to Calif. where his boot camp would soon be in full effect. Once Parise was settled in Calif., Snowdy and Parise were only able to communicate through hand-written letters. Parise was only given a limited amount of space to write his letters, and this was difficult for him. Over time the letters began to pile up as months passed, but Parise would soon be heading home for the first time in three months. Snowdy and Parise’s family flew to Calif. with open arms and a strong yearning to see Parise. “It was great to have Jacob safe at

home over the holidays and back in his element,” Snowdy said. Snowdy was nervous that Parise may have changed during their time apart, but luckily he still remained the same teenage boy he had once been. He has grown to be more respectful and has a higher outlook on life. “I think this has changed me a bit be-cause I’m learning to take care of myself,” Parise said. “Not having my family or Alexis to fall back to is hard but it gets a little better knowing I’m closer to coming home to Alexis.” Parise was sent back to Calif. and is now taking classes on base, learning more in his field, and experiencing many new things. Parise is now able to keep in con-tact much easier with the use of his phone and Skype, which before was not allowed or offered. Although these past few months have been challenging, Snowdy and Parise remain stronger than ever. Parise will be returning home over Valentine’s Day to spend his break with his friends and fam-ily. Snowdy and Parise see a long future with one another and hope to be together all through Snowdy’s high school years and more.

Long-distance Valentines Sophomore Alexis Snowdy and BV West Alumni, Marine Jacob Parise share their unique relationship

• Above. Snowdy displays several letters she received from Parise while he was at bootcamp and basic training. The couple was unable to Skype or visit on the phone for several weeks. Letter writing helped them understand what was going on in each other’s lives when the were apart initially.• Far left. Reunited after basic training, Snowdy and Parise share a smile and an em-brace. Dating an older man requires a lot of emotional maturity from Snowdy and trust from Parise while he is away.• Left. Relaxing at the Parise household be-fore he left for the Marines, he and Snowdy share some fun times with his family. While he is away Snowdy visits with his family and even brings his little brother ice cream.

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CHEYENNE JONESReporter

By second semester of high school, most seniors are suffering from a serious condition of senioritis. Symptoms include: lethargy, lack of motivation, and an overall disenfranchisement with public education. To circumvent these

unpleasant side effects of senioritis, many BV West students graduated early last year or after the first semester of senior year. However, this unconventional route cannot be achieved without determination and a comparatively more difficult course load. BV West students are required to have three math, social studies, and science credits to graduate high school, but the particularly difficult required credits to attain are the four English credits. This conundrum requires BV West students to cram four credits into three years that should be spread over a span of four years. The solution is for students to either take an English class over the summer or to take two English classes together. Of course the most pertinent question are the whereabouts of these students now and what they are doing now after leaving BV West early.

No Time to WasteSeniors graduate at semester to get ahead in college

Well aware of the negative symptoms of senioritis, Maria

Betancourt chose to graduate early after her first semester of the 2012-2013 school year. “I wanted to graduate early because I knew that my second semester would be a joke,” said Betancourt, “I wanted to take advantage and not waste my time.” An obstacle that Betancourt encountered was completing all four English credits. Initially, she believed she would receive half of her Communication Arts credit from CAPS, but much to her disappointment this would not be true. With limited time, Betancourt completed the final half of her English credit through an online step-up class

in Louisburg every Saturday morning. She managed to cram a semester’s worth of education into four short weeks. “It was pretty hard, because I had to wake up at 7:30 every Saturday,” Betancourt said, “but the course itself was extremely easy.” Betancourt shapes her foray into higher education around the intent to save money and avoid copious amounts of debt. “I’m still living at home and I’m taking classes at JCCC, I’m planning on getting as many credits as I can before I transfer to a university so that I can save money,” said Betancourt. As for a major, she is still undecided and is taking many courses to discover the best fit for her.

Seeking an unconventional path of higher education mingled with international studies

directed Sunny Kim to graduate early from high school to save time. Under-standing that graduating early is the definite antidote for senioritis. “The main reason I graduated early was because I might transfer to college in South Korea and their semester starts around March,” Kim said. However, Kim encountered many restrictions on spring semester college admission. Many selective colleges and universities do not offer spring admission for freshmen. In addition, many colleges do not offer abundant scholarships for spring semester ad-mission. Coupled with Sunny Kim’s status as an international student, she did not qualify for a scholarship. To meet BV West graduation

requirements, Sunny Kim took two English classes last semester—AP English Literature and Composition with Ortolani and a 7th block online Communication Arts requirements. Although, for Sunny Kim, the process itself was not particularly strenuous, it was the thought of leaving her friends early and everything she knew behind that proved the most difficult. “What was hard for me was that I will leave my friends earlier and I will miss them,” Kim said. Currently attending KU and enrolled in their Business school, Kim is pursuing a major in marketing. However, her choice is not solidified. With hopes of studying abroad and getting more involved in school, she dreams of one day working in fashion marketing or general advertising.

For others, infectious se-nioritis is not the prob-lem, but the high school

atmosphere overall. Former BV West student Salis Fabregat, who graduated a year early, was ready to move on “I wanted to graduate early because I did not care for the high school atmosphere too much,” Fabregat said, “and I felt ready to move on if I could speed things up a bit.” After witnessing the sluggish behavior of senior year for the majority of BV West students, Fabregat sought to avoid the viral infection and graduated a year earlier rather than a semester early. This break from conven-

tion even sets her apart from those who graduated early.

Contrary to popular perception, acquiring enough credits to grad-uate was not overtly challenging. “Getting enough credits to graduate early was not too diffi-cult,” Fabregat said, “I took sum-mer courses before my freshman year and before my junior year, as well as computer and history courses during Gifted Educa-tion.” As for Fabregat’s plan for the future, she will attend a univer-sity in either Florida or Georgia. “I have applied to and will be attending school at a University in either Georgia or Florida in the fall.”

Maria Betancourt

Salis Fabregat

Sunny Kim

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Early Graduation?By Sunny Kim

• Faster college experience•Getting ahead•Saves time•People think you are smart

•Can’t apply to schools that don’t have spring admission•Less scholarships•Miss your friends•Miss the last semester of high school

Pros Cons

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Making A Difference

ABBY KRSTULICOnline Editor in Chief

Students have many choices of how they wish to spend the highly anticipated months of June, July and Aug. Summer

vacation is a time for most students to take a break from school and relax, but some stu-dents, like sophomore Madeline Hay, choose to spend their time helping others and growing in faith on mission trips. “[I love] the fellowship of everyone and the bonding of the mission trip,” Hay said. “So many friendships happen, but they’re not like school friendships. They’re more meaningful.” Hay participates in the mission trips di-rected by Church of the Resurrection. These trips last for one week in the summer. Hay has travelled to Dallas, Colo. and Chicago, Ill. on her trips, taking two trips in one summer. On the trips, students focus on helping the home-less by serving them in food kitchens or going door to door to hand them food. Mission trips typically combine service with opportunities to grow in faith. Hay enjoys the commodity that grows in all of the partici-pants. “Mostly with service projects it’s a faith thing,” Hay said. “So through that I get the reward of having my faith and keep it strong and not getting into temptation. It helps me get rooted in Christ by doing that.” Friends of Hay also recognize her passion for staying grounded with her faith. “I feel like everyone should take after Madeline,” junior Hayden McBee said. “She’s devoted her summers, where most would be out hooking up or partying, and she spends those few months serving the Lord and doing what she loves, and surrounding herself with good influences.” Junior Austin Crowder also notes Hay’s compassionate spirit and desire to help others. “She has a unique heart,” Crowder said. “I think she’s dedicated to service because she wants to make the world a little bit better. She is compassionate and always wants the best for people, even if they are strangers. She will do whatever she can to make their day.” The mission trips gave Hay unforgettable memories. One of the memories includes

reaching out to a girl in a wheelchair who was being ignored during one of the group’s service projects. “She was probably one of the coolest kids in the group,” Hay said. “And they made her sit at a table by herself while all of the other kids were playing with each other. So I just asked the teacher if she could move over and she did and there was no problem with it.” Along with these trips, Hay also participates in Teen Staff at Youth Front, a camp designed for teenagers to grow in their faith. She shares the experiences with her friends, as well. “She always tries to bring her friends to do stuff with her,” sophomore Sophie Andreesen said. “She tries to get them to do trip stuff and help them out.” By developing friendships with her faith, Hay has made meaningful connections with many different people. “Madeline and I have laughed together,” McBee said. “[We’ve also] cried together. We’ve grown spiritually together. I can hon-estly say I don’t know where I’d be today if I never knew Madeline.” An involvement and dedication to faith has also helped her stay out of trouble as she makes her way to high school. “I’m still friends with [people who party],” Hay said. “But having faith really helps me know where I stand.” This summer, Hay plans to join Church of the Resurrection as they serve in Chicago, Ill. and Omaha, Neb. She continues to set her sights even higher by making a goal to travel out of the country on a mission trip. “I think I want to go to South Africa,” Hay said. “[At Church of the Resurrection] you can go to South Africa or Honduras, and I think there’s a new one where you can go to Jamaica. So I would go to either South Africa or Jamaica.” No matter where Hay goes or what she de-cides to do, friends are confident in her ability to succeed and make a difference. “She can do anything she feels called to do,” Crowder said. “She has the persistence of a bull, so she will always be able to accomplish what she wants to.”

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Sophomore Madeline Hay builds her faith by helping others

From Left to Right: Madeline Hay poses with a group of RezLife mentors; Madeline Hay enjoys meeting with a group of teens involved in RezLife. Photos by Coleen Bost.

Where has Madeline Hay been?

Where does Madeline Hay want to go?

1 - Aurora, Colorado2 - Dallas,Texas3 - Chicago, Illinios

4 - South Africa

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Kansas City ClassicsSpotlight Editors in Chief review what Kansas City is best known for: barbecue.

My family absolutely loves Okalahome Joe’s Barbecue, and it is no secret that locals love it as well. Located on 47th St., Strang Line Rd. and 119th and Roe, this

restaurant attracts a crowd on any day of the week.On weekends, a line runs out the door. People just cannot get enough of this barbecue, and I definitely do not blame them. When I went to review Oklahoma Joe’s, I got a dish that in-cluded ribs and a choice of one meat. I chose pulled pork, and also got french fries on the side. Even though the ribs were slightly fatty, I was satisfied with my decision. I can be picky when it comes to sauces, so I was a fan of the amount of sauce that they used on the ribs. It was enough to keep them from getting dry, but it was not an overload.

The pulled pork was slightly disappointing, as it was a little too dry. There was sauce poured over the small stack that I got, but it was not enough to compensate for the meat’s dry flavor. I paired my pulled pork with the slices of Texas Toast that I recieved with my meal, and that pairing was great. The french fries that I ordered were good, even if they were a little spicy (I am a pretty big wimp with spices, so ignore me if you really like that). I would advise resturant go-ers to order fries and split them with their friends, because the portions are fairly large. Two or three people could easily split an order of fries. Oklahoma Joe’s provides barbecue maniacs with a satisfying meal, and a casual, fun atmosphere.

Opened in Sept. 2012, Smokey’s BBQ on 143rd St. and Metcalf Ave holds a different flavor for barbeque fans. Formerly a ‘50s ice cream shop, the restaurant’s décor

is a combination of ‘50s novelty ornamentation and smokehouse feel. The rolling chairs are fun and give the environment a lei-surely feel. For those who are fans of Kansas City barbeque, this may be a little bit of a disappointment. The barbeque is not bad, just differ-ent. It has a unique southern feel that many Kansas City residents do not taste often. As a former southern girl, I found that the restaurant reminded me of a place I lived in Georgia. It is laid-

back, and the sort of delight one might find on the way on a drive to Alabama or Georgia. The sauce has a nice southern flavor, but the meat could have used more as it was a bit dry. I ordered a brisket sandwich, and was filling and satisfying. The restaurant has a casual sort of meat that many would enjoy after a long run or a football game. It is a great place for teams to eat after a game or a competition. Overall, the barbeque was good, but not great. This is not the restaurant for barbeque snobs. However, it is a great place to go for a quick bite to eat. Smokey’s BBQ was not bad but it has a long way to go if it wants to compete with real KC BBQ.

Gates Bar-B-QTUCKER PAINEOnline Editor in Chief

Rating (out of four):

When people think of Kansas City, one word often comes to mind: barbecue. For decades, KC has been nationally renowned for its variation of amazing bar-

becue restaurants, sauces, and dishes. A celebrated favorite is Jack Stack Barbecue. My family has always been pretty intense when it comes to barbecue; so it is no surprise that it took a while to find our favorite stack of ribs, or pulled pork. Jack Stack keeps people coming back for more, and it isn’t hard to see why. The last time I went to Jack Stack, I ordered the barbe-cue chicken with original sauce, and a side of cheesy corn. My family ordered burnt ends to share. They describe their original sauce as “sweet and tangy”, and that’s exactly what it is—as someone who prefers sweet to spicy, this sauce was amazing.

The cheesy corn was the most delicious, cheesiest concoction of cheese and corn that I have ever tasted. That says a lot—with most of my family living in the Corn Belt, I’ve had my fair share of cheesy corn. As far as the burnt ends go, words probably won’t do them any justice. They were just as good as every other item my family ordered. I’d hate to knock Jack Stack even a little bit, but if there is one thing that bothers me only slightly it’s the environment. The food is the epitome of perfection, however I think the inside (at least at the Overland Park location) is not traditional enough. I’d like it to be a little more scruffy—old Kansas-City like. It seems a little too polished on the inside, as if they’re trying to impress the wrong crowd of people. Their food does the trick—I’m sure that even barbecue buffs could rave about it after a stack of juicy ribs.

Oklahoma Joe’sABBY KRSTULIC

Online Editor in Chief

Rating (out of four):

Rating (out of four):

MEGHAN KETCHAMEditor in Chief

Smokey’s BBQ

Gates Bar-B-Q is the most iconic restaurant in Kansas City and one of the most recognizable restaurants in the coun-try. Famous for it’s friendly “HI, MAY I HELP YOU?”

greeting and it’s mouthwatering brisket, Gates doesn’t disappoint. When I visited Gates I had the beef on bun, a brisket sandwich that comes with pickles and their famous steak fries. They have great sauce that comes on the sandwiches, and they actually sell the sauce itself in bottles at local grocery stores throughout the Midwest. The brisket on the sandwich was especially tasty, as the sauce perfectly complements the smoky flavor of the perfectly smoked meat. Gates is known for its fries as well. They have traditional,

steak-cut fries that taste great because they cook them perfectly, and also don’t put too much salt on them, an offense committed by several area barbecue joints. Gates also offers multiple flavors of barbecue sauce, and you can’t go wrong with any one of them. They offer an original flavor, that is on the spicy side and offers a nice kick to your sandwich. If you aren’t a fan of spicy foods then Gates may not be the place for you, however their Sweet and Mild flavor of barbecue sauce is a great alternative to their spicy original flavor. Gates is famous for the basics, and they stand out because of it. They’ve perfected their craft, so when you go to Gates stick to the basics, you’ll be delighted because of it.

3 out of 4 ribs

3 and 1/2 out of 4 ribs

Jack StackMADDY WILSON

Editor in ChiefRating (out of four):

3 and 1/2 out of 4 ribs

2 out of 4 ribs

bvwnews.com page11spotlight arts {

KATHERINE BYRKETSection Editor

To a freshman, high school can sound intimidating, life-changing, and exciting; however, Brittney Zappa never felt this way. Unlike most freshmen, Zappa had absorbed herself in pencils, paints, and polishes.

Inspired by her father to pursue art, Zappa began at the age of six. She fol-lowed her father’s footsteps and aspired to be an artist, too.

“When I was a little girl, he would teach me how to paint on canvas or draw anything I wanted to,” Zappa said. “The more my dad introduced me to art, the more I learned to love it.”

As Zappa continued to grow up, she learned about all of the other forms of art that she could become involved in.

“Once I was in seventh grade, I began designing and sewing clothes,” Zappa said. “At that point, I was really getting into all of the latest fashions.”

Zappa’s love for designing clothes has even led into her personal life. She was inspired by her work to design and create all of her friends’ clothes for their birthday parties.

“I think Brittney is the best artist I know,” freshman Sarah Hunter said. “Ever since she was just a little girl, her dream was to be an artist or a fashion designer, and every day she keeps getting better and better.”

Although Zappa’s dad played a big role in encouraging her to pursue art, her mother also inspired Zappa. Her mom introduced her to sewing, and this led to Zappa’s love for designing clothes.

Zappa’s friends are very supportive of what she does. They know how hard it is to work toward a goal that can take years to achieve.

“What makes Brittney unique is that she never gives up on something she

loves,” Hunter said. “Especially as an artist, Brittney’s ability really inspires me.”As an individual, Zappa is more than just a secluded artist who is focused on

her career. Zappa enjoys being with her friends and singing in concert choir.“Brittney is very thoughtful, funny, courageous, creative, and very patient,”

Hunter said. “We are like sisters because we have known each other since kin-dergarten.”

Aside from Zappa’s artwork on canvases, she also works a lot with acrylic paints on nails. This allows Zappa to use her artistic abilities in more aspects of her life.

“With acrylic paints and a nail polish base, I paint my nails with different designs every week,” Zappa said. “Most of the time it is an intricate design, but other times it is just simple.”

Although it is nice to be involved in multiple types of art spheres, this can be frustrating for Zappa. There are many career options in her future, but deciding on which to pursue will be Zappa’s biggest difficulty.

“As an artist, I wish to find a kind of art I truly love and work on that sec-tion of art, while not forgetting about the others,” Zappa said. “Later on in life, I will hopefully become some kind of artist, fashion designer, or makeup artist.”

Because Zappa and Hunter have been friends for such a long time, they have really learned to trust one another and turn to each other for advice.

“If I could give Brittney some advice, I would tell her to keep living her dream to become an artist,” Hunter said. “And enjoy everything in life because if you do, something good can happen one day.”

With this guidance, Zappa hopes to achieve her goal of becoming an artist of some sort in the future. Zappa’s creativity, patience, and knowledge will help her feel confident as she tries new drawings and creations.

Artist of the Month:Brittney Zappa

Designing fashion, portraits and nail art, fresh-man Brittney Zappa is able to express herself in multiple mediums.

Art courtesy of Brittney Zappa. Photo Illustration by Lauren Pino.

13page12page

bvwnews.comspotlight in-depth{ {bvwnews.com

spotlight in-depth

ALEXA HENDERSON & STEPHANIE LIANGReporters

Walking through the cafeteria, the smell of pizza wafts through the air as hoards of BV West students scramble to grab a slice, not realizing the difficulty of living without such a commonplace food. Yet, two million people in the United States alone suffer from a disease which prevents them from eating

foods such as pizza or cookies. This disorder, known as Celiac disease, affects one in every 133 people, includ-ing students from BV West. Passing these students in the hallway, one could never understand the struggle they endure on a daily basis to do something most take for granted. Contrary to popular belief, Celiac is more than an allergy to wheat, barley, and rye; it is a genetic immune disease that occurs in the small intestines. When gluten is consumed by a Celiac, it attacks the villi lining the small intestine, making it impossible for the body to absorb essential nutrients. Currently, there is no other treat-ment for Celiac other than adhering to a gluten-free diet, which can be a difficult transition. Junior Cooper Scott was forced to make these necessary changes to his diet when he was diagnosed with Celiac disease five years ago. “I have to be smarter about what I eat,” Scott said. Celiac can strike without warning, from early childhood to adulthood. For freshman Elizabeth McCand-less, the disease struck during 7th grade. The discovery came as a shock, when what seemed to be a harmless

rash turned into a life-changing diagnosis. When her test results came back positive, she realized she needed to change her diet drastically in order to avoid malnutrition --the most harmful symptom of Celiac. Other symp-toms include digestive problems, vomiting, abdominal pain, and weight loss. As long as a Celiac adheres to a strict diet, the symptoms are usually not life threatening, but they can be agonizingly painful. There are no specific treatments for the discomfort, but trained nurses know how to combat the varying symptoms. “I usually give the kids some tums,” nurse Laura Sulentic said. Thankfully, there are gluten-free options readily available in the community. Whole Foods Market is a won-derful alternative to the local supermarket, offering options such as rice flour in place of wheat flour. McCandless is grateful she can still enjoy some of her favorite foods. “My favorite foods are Udi’s Bread, Amy’s mac and cheese and Against the Grain pizza,” McCandless. The BV School District even offers a specially prepared gluten-free menu for students suffering from Celiac. Choices on the menu range from pulled pork to tuna salad; foods that any student would enjoy. Against wide-spread belief, a gluten-free diet does not restrict Celiacs from their comfort foods or from eating a variety of foods. As Scott and McCandless have shown, Celiac is a disease that separates them from other students but does not hinder their ability to live a normal life. “It was hard for a while, but I adjusted,” Scott said.

KATE PRICEReporter

Many remember the famed “peanut table” from elementary school: a select few students with peanut al-

lergies would be exiled away to their own table, adorned with a white sign, a peanut drawing emblazoned with a glaring red “NO” sym-bol. However, as the years pass and elementary school turns into middle school, and middle school evolves into high school, the peanut table mysteriously disappears and kids with food aller-gies are expected to fend for themselves, during the school day as well as everyday life. “I found out I was allergic to strawberries about a year ago,” sophomore Emma Benson said. “I baked a cake with strawberries and my face got red, and the my throat swelled up.” According to kidshealth.org, allergies occur when the immune system mistakenly assumes that a certain object or substance is dangerous to the body, such as foods, pollen from plants, dust or even certain medications. The immune system then produces antibodies called IgE anti-bodies, against the allergen. This then triggers a reaction to the food or other object that the body believes is foreign, which is an allergic reaction. The body thinks the allergen is harmful and bad, so the immune system tries to get rid of the bothering object. There are also some situations where an allergy to a certain food can cause is-sues in other areas of a person’s life as well. Debate Coach Arianne Fortune at BV West has an egg allergy, which caused problems when she was younger. “We found out I was allergic when I was a baby,” Fortune said. “The doctor gave me a vac-cination and I passed out in the doctor’s office. We since then found out I am allergic to eggs. Since many vaccinations are grown in or on hens’ eggs, that was the problem.” Many babies, kids and adults around the world have varying degrees of allergic reactions to different things, which can make everyday life a little more complicated. People with food aller-gies must be constantly aware of what they eat, and what they cannot even touch.

“I have not eaten shellfish or peanuts, since I am deathly allergic to those,” junior Will Gyori said. “One time in Kindergarten when we were cleaning up, I crawled under a table and touched a peanut, and my face swelled up so badly I had to go to the hospital.” Since there are quite a few students that go to BV West with mild to severe food allergies, the cafeteria takes special precautions in order to ensure that all students eat in a safe environment. “We have seven people formally listed as having allergies that we have to cater to, “ kitch-en manager and head of food services LaWanna Whitcomb said. “But there are only three kids that come in on a daily basis to get food.”Since there are students at BV West who are extremely allergic to several things, or allergic to something that is normally baked or cooked in many foods, some opt to bring their lunch. “Ever since elementary school, I have brought my lunch,” Gyori said. However, packing a lunch is not an option for everyone at school, even for those with allergies. “There is a kid who we cater to who is al-lergic to pineapple,” Whitcombsaid. “If we have pineapple in the fruit bar she can’t eat anything from it, even if it was never touching the pine-apple.” In situations like this, once the food leaves the preparation area, it is up to the kids to once again know what they can and cannot eat. “We can not re-arrange everything for one kid, so we put the responsibility on their shoulders to conduct themselves accordingly and know what they are allergic to,” Whitcomb said. Despite the differences, people with food allergies are in no way different than most other people, aside from being restricted on what they can or cannot eat. As long as they watch what they eat, there is no reason why those with food allergies cannot live normal lives. Still, many with food allergies wonder what they are miss-ing. “I really wish I could eat doughnuts, and chocolate, and milk products,” Gyori said. However, even without chocolate or dough-nuts, life with a food allergy can still be sweet.

Dangers in the LunchroomStudents cope with harmful food allergies at lunchtime

It’s Hard to be Gluten-FreeStudents with Celiac Disease suffer from more than just an allergy

Milk

How many BV West students have food allergies?

Out of 559 surveyed,

124 students claimed to have at least one

food allergy.

•559 students were surveyed during the lunch period on Feb. 6 and Feb. 7. The sur-vey asked students whether they had a food allergy and to list their food allergy(ies) if they chose yes.

15 students claimed to have a gluten allergy or Celiac Disease

19 students reported to be allergic to dairy or to be lactose intolerant

18 students claimed to have a seafood allergy

31 students reported a nut

allergy

Infographic and graphic art by Meghan Ketcham.

bvwnews.compage14 spotlight arts{

Merry Old Land of Oz

Broadening their HorizonsThe theater department tried many new things with their performance of The Wizard of Oz. This included:

•Online ticket sales a week in advance.“It was a great improvement,” Bushman said. “It commits people to coming when they buy tickets in advance, and it cut down on lines. It also built excitment- as an actor I could go online and literally visualize how many people were already planning to be there.”

•Matinee performance for sixth grade students.“I liked it,” senior Kirsti Stahly (Wicked Witch of the East) said. “It felt like it was the step between a dress rehearsal and an actual show and that we were more ready for our opening night. Also sixth graders are just a fun high energy and forgiv-ing audience.”

•Tea with Dorothy and Glinda on Saturday after-noon. Children could come and eat treats and take pictures with Dorothy and Glinda.“It could have gone better,” senior Hayley Barkoviak (Glinda the Good Witch) said. “But it was really cute.”

In addition to this, the cast of The Wizard of Oz was pleased to see that their performance sold out both nights. Some chairs were even set out in the rows for overflow.“I was beyond ecstatic when I was told that we were sold out,” Stahly said. “We haven’t sold out a single show for the four years I’ve been here, so it was just really cool that my last high school musical could be such a success with so much support.”

Theater department produces beloved musical Feb. 8 and 9

LAUREN HANSENReporter

The lights illuminated the stage as the munchkins sang, “follow the yellow brick road”. The BV West theater department

had their spring musical, The Wizard of Oz, on Feb. 8 and 9. Senior Domenick Adinolfi, who played the part of the Cowardly Lion, appreciated the fact that BV West performed a timeless musical. “The Wizard of Oz is unique because it came out in 1939 originally and it’s still a classic to this day,” Adinolfi said. “It’s lasted such a long time.” Director Laurie Vanderpol chose the show because she wanted to do a musical that showcased child-like qualities and also wouldn’t be too dif-ficult for the actors to learn in a short amount of time. “Most musicals are alike in that they’re kind of complex and complicated and they take a lot work and timing and coor-dination, and the Wizard of Oz was no different,” Vanderpol said. “For some reason I sort of thought it was a children’s fairy tale and it wasn’t going to be very complicated but is was very complicated. It was more com-plicated than I thought.” Senior Shelley Bushman en-joyed doing a classic musical that many students have heard of. “It’s fun because we do so many shows every year but it’s not often that we do a show that people know,” Bushman said. “It’s fun being able to tell people that you are in a show and they have actually heard of it.” Many long hours of hard work were put into making the show the best it could be. The cast practiced every day after school until 5:30 p.m., starting with auditions in Dec. However, it wasn’t all grueling hours of practice. “I thought it was really fun,” sophomore Me-gan Plant said. “I think everyone had a good time. It was just a party. My favorite part was hanging out with everybody in the theatre department.”The show was designed for the audience to have a good time while watching a musical that many people have seen performed before in different ways. “The movie is actually a lot different from the

musical because there was a lot of extra stuff added in,» Adinolfi said. «There was a whole new song and dance number that we added, and there were more tiny jokes in there that are not in the movie.” Adinolfi decided to join his first show at BV West make his senior year a time to remember. “It was actually the first musical I have ever been in. It was all kind of a new experience for me,” Adinolfi said. “It was just a lot of fun over-all.” The cast also enjoyed the cheerful vibe that the show had, saying that it had a youthful feel com-pared to past shows. “I absolutely loved how kid-ish and energetic it was,” freshman Erin Zipse said. “It was just differ-ent because some other plays have a mellow mood and this show was more energetic.”

The musical is also a way for the cast members to bond and form friend-ships while doing an activ-ity they enjoy. “I just loved getting to know all the people work-ing around the musical, and making new friends,” Zipse said. There were also kids from the elementary schools involved in the show, acting as munchkins and poppies. Some of the kids were the siblings of the BV West cast members. “We had little kids in the show, so that made it a little bit interesting,” Plant said. “You kind of had to go down to their level.” The cast of Wizard of Oz

also encourages anyone who wants to join future productions. “Just go for it and even if you don’t get a main part you still get to hang out with the awesome theatre kids,” Zipse said. Building friendships with other cast members is a big part of doing shows at BV West, but it is also important to the cast that their peers recognize their passion. “It’s always fun seeing a show at your school because it’s not every day that you can see some-one that you sit next to in math doing something that they love,” Bushman said. “It’s fun seeing your classmates and seeing what people can do because sometimes you don’t realize it.”

Center: A confused Dorothy (played by senior Shelley Bushman) looks around shortly after she lands in Oz. Above: Dorothy watches as her Uncle Henry (junior Trevor Robinson) and Auntie Em (senior Katelyn Jarvis) read a notice that requires her to give up her beloved dog, Toto. Photos by Coleen Bost.

bvwnews.com page15spotlight arts {

MiPhonesStudents find creative ways to individualize their phone cases

EMILY MOOREManaging Editor

Walking through the mall, there are many kiosks that sell all kinds of phone cases, from sparkles to creative designs. There are vast arrays of phone cases all in a row, one after another. It can be tempting to buy a new case even if

there is nothing wrong with the current one you have. Rather than spending the money, another option is rising in popularity around BV West. Students can custom make phone their phone cases. It is a way to have an indi-vidualized phone case that no one else will have. Not to mention, popular phone cases are expensive, so by making a phone case, students can avoid spending the extra chunk of cash. In some cases phone cases can be border-line unaffordable, especially for something that has a tendency to be interchangeable. Instead, the idea is to decorate it in a new way rather than to buy a different phone case entirely. Although it is the cheaper op-tion, senior Sonia Kumar admits that it takes some time to put it all together. “Usually they take me a few hours, like three, four hours,” Kumar said. However, not all phone decorations take a large amount of time. In fact, there is a way students can decorate white iPhones to improve the look if they have been cracked or damaged. Freshman Riona Rugova traced the cracks on her white iPhone with different colors of Sharpie and said it only took about ten minutes to do. However, Rugova did mention that it required some concentration. “If you do not like it you are stuck with it, so you do not want to mess up,” Rugova said. This technique is a creative way to cover up cracks without having to pay for a en-tirely new phone. Freshman Anna Deutsch also makes phone cases and agrees that it is less expensive that buying one. “It is definitely less expensive because there is no money needed to make them and if I want to buy a new one, usually I just get a cheap plain one to decorate,” Deutsch said. Kumar explains that some personalized phone cases still cost a good amount of money, depending on the décor put into it and where the materials are bought. “I buy from all kinds of vendors,” Kumar said. “Depending on if it is for me or if it is for someone else and what they really want, I have to go to certain people and get it.” Deutsch creates her phone cases for enjoyment and likes the way that the cases are unique and individualized. “My favorite part of the phone cases that I make is that they are personalized and I enjoy the process of creating them because art is an interest of mine,” Deutsch said. “I have made multiple cases but my favorite is the superhero one. I just got the idea one day when I saw a case that was worn out and I knew I would not use it so I tried a new style. I like how it turned out because I usually choose a theme that I enjoy.” However senior Tiffany Wu, who also decorated her own phone case, said that she made hers because she knew what she wanted but could not find it. “Well, I have always wanted a Tiffany Co. inspired one but I could not find one online that I really liked, so I just made one myself,” Wu said. Kumar says that any student can try it with the right supplies and extra time to put into it. “There’s all sorts of kits that anybody can do themselves,” Kumar said. “You just have to have the time and the patience and be willing to get superglue all over your hands.”

Both phone cases pictured above were made by senior Sonia Kumar. Photos courtesy of Sonia Kumar.

Other DIY Crafts In 3 Steps:•Turn Plain Shoes Sparkly-1. Coat shoes in liquid glue2. Pour sparkles over shoes, completely coating them3. Let dry and enjoy!

•Make Plain Scarves Sassy-1. Get a plain, light colored scarf and a thin point permanent marker2. Write all your favorite quotes on the scarf (Be sure not to let the marker bleed through onto other parts of the scarf!)3. Wear and enjoy!

•Create Leopard Print Shorts or Jeans for School Spirit-1. Get any pair of shorts or jeans, a permanent marker, and a leopard print stencil2. Put cardboard inside the jeans to prevent any bleeding3. Put the stencil over the jeans and color in the design with the permenent marker

DIY craft ideas from Pinterest.com.

bvwnews.compage16 spotlight sports{

Sports RecapsWrestling

JACOB PASCHALSection Editor

Boys Basketball

Girls Basketball

Boys Swim and DiveBoys Swim and Dive prepares for State meet

Girls basketball team steadily improving, 4-12 on the season

Visit bvwnews.com for the most recent sports scores

Wrestling team prepares for final two meets of the season

Girls Bowling

Recent Games:Won at home against Topeka West 40-30

Lost @ BV North 63-33

Lost @ BV Southwest 48-36

Upcoming Games:02/15 BV Northwest

02/19 @ Bishop Miege

02/22 @ Blue Valley

BV West junior Hope Witaszak goes up for a layup against BV Southwest. Photo by Alexis Larson.

Recent Results: EKL Meet - Waiting to be updated

Upcoming Meets: 02/16 Regionals Meet

02/22-02/23 State Meet

BV West senior Alex Craven holds his opponent on the mat. There were nine seniors on the wrestling team this season. Photo by BVW Takedown Club.

BV West sophomore Connor Kaiser goes up for the game winning shot in a nail biting game against BV Southwest. Photo by Alexis Larson.

The BV West boys bas-ketball team celebrates after beating BV South-west 53-51. Photo by Alexis Larson.

Recent Results: EKL Finals Meet (Swim and Dive) 4th Place as a team

Upcoming Meets: 02/14-02/16 State Swim and Dive in Topeka

Boys basketball team looks to finish strong, 8-7 on the season

BV West senior Kyle Fecteau dives backwards into the water. Photo by Coleen Bost.

Recent Results: EKL Tournament - 7th place

Royal Crest Tournament - 2nd place

Upcoming Meets: 02/21-02/22 Regionals Tournament

02/28-3/1 State Tournament

Girls bowling team improving with each tournament

Recent Games:Won at home against Bishop Miege 54-41

Lost at home against BV North 56-53

Won @ BV Southwest 53-51

Upcoming Games:02/15 BV Northwest

02/16 Lawrence Free State

02/19 @ Bishop Miege

bvwnews.com page17spotlight sports {

HARRISON WHITNEYReporter

There are many good athletes around the school at BV West, but one ath-lete that has stands out to many is senior Jordan Wright from the girls bas-ketball team. The team itself might not be having the best season, but they

are young and look for that senior leadership and someone to step up. During the season, Wright has been one of those stand out players, verbally and physically. “On the court I’m motivated by my teammates. One person can’t do it alone. We’ve definitely gotten better at being able to lift each other up when adversity hit us,” Wright said. Not only has Jordan shown leadership, talent, and experience to her team but outside of high school basketball she plays the whole summer on a AAU National Championship team and received awards such as hustle awards at a Adidas camp. Jordan is fairly new to the school with only a semester under her belt at BV West after transferring from BV North. After Wright graduates, she plans on playing basketball somewhere but Jordan isn’t sure on where she wants to go at the mo-ment. “I would like to play basketball in college because its definitely a part of me and who I am, but as of now im currently undecided on where I will be attending,” Wright said. This year the girls basketball team is off to a slow start but started to show many improvements over the past couple of games. They are a young team, and being a senior basketball player, Wright knows she needs to have her varsity expe-rience help out the younger players. “As far as goals for the team, I want us to continue to progress which we defi-

nitely have done. We’re a very young team with not a mass amount of experience under our belts, but we’ve started this improvement by winning more games than were won last year,” Wright said. Coming in senior year from a different school is difficult, not only adjusting to the new people but also to the varsity program at West for basketball. However, Jordan has high expectations and goals for herself that she wants to conquer. Not only by making her team better but also by leaving her name in the record books here at BV West. “A personal goal would be for me to break any season or game record that stands. The season is more than halfway over and im going to continue to chal-lenge myself to complete that task,” Wright said. Jordan has always been one of the youngest girls on her team, because she has certain talents to put her on higher levels than most girls her age. Not only being on the AAU teams, and varsity basketball all four years in high school she has learned to mature a little faster than most people her age. With experience and age comes different responsibilities that she will have to learn, and some of those expectations have been placed on her this year. “I’ve always been the youngest person on every team I’ve played on until this year so its been difficult for me adjusting to the role as a vocal leader for the team. Being the only senior, I think more than anything I would like to teach the younger girls about keeping there composure and always having good character not just on the court but all aspects of their lives,” Wright said. Leaders come from all different types of aspects they bring to the team, and for Jordan it’s skill and experience. She tries to lead her team with a good attitude and good take on life and the game itself, with trying to never be negative and always trying to encourage younger teammates.

Athlete of the Month:

Defense wins games; BV West senior Jordan Wright plays tight defense at practice. Wright’s intensity day in and day out served as a great example to her younger teammates. Photo by Elise St. Louis.

Jordan Wright

Wright’s Stats

Wright hopes to play basketball in college and has an impressive profile on the NCSA Athletic Recruiting web site.

Find all of her information at:

http://www.ncsasports.org/womens-basketball-recruiting/ks/overland-park/blue-valley-west-high-school/jordan-

wright

Points per game: 14

Field goal %: 38

bvwnews.compage18 spotlight sports{

Sticking it to the man

LAX, bro

BV West freshman plays a unique sport not traditionally suited for her gender

Lacrosse is an unorthodox sport that many students participate in at BV West

REBECCA ABRAHAMReporter

While most teenage girls go to the local skating rink to hang out and have a good time with friends, Spencer Berard trudges to the rink with over fifteen pounds of hockey gear on her back warming up for

hockey practice with the guys. Freshman Spencer Berard has been skating since the age of three, when she lived in Canada. Her entire family enjoys hockey as her dad and two older broth-ers played throughout high school and college. From the start, it was a big part of her life as her dad was a hockey coach and her brothers played on elite teams. She started playing hockey at the age of seven. Back then, her family didn’t think much of it and assumed that she would lose interest in a few months. She con-vinced her parents to let her continue with the sport when she wore her brother’s hockey gear to the table for Thanksgiving dinner. Her parents realized that she was really serious about the sport and she joined the Kansas City Stars, which at the time was coached by her dad. “At first, it felt weird being the only girl because I wasn’t included or ac-knowledged as part of the team’” said Berard. “No one really picks me as their partner as the boys got along really well. I think it was different because I’m a girl. At that time, I honestly think I got through it because three other girls joined the team, but they all quit once we entered the checking league. Thankfully, I haven’t got injured too badly yet.”

By then, Berard was playing at out of state tournaments almost every week with up to three or four games a day, which took up the entire weekend. To add to the stress, she also joined the JV and Varsity teams of the KC Storm for girl’s hockey, and is the youngest player on the Varsity team. She now has practice three to four times a week with her tournaments taking up the whole weekend. “It does get really stressful as I am always busy and have no more free time. It gets hard at tournaments because when I enter the rink, I get many stares and I am constantly being judged.” said Berard. Even though Berard has had many obstacles in her way, she couldn’t ever imagine giving it up. “I have wanted to quit in the past because so many people have the same dream as me. I never thought I could be the best or measure up to others playing what is essentially a guy’s sport. I have realized since that all I can do is play to the best of my ability and see where it takes me. Now, I don’t see myself ever quitting the sport because it’s such a big part of my life.” Spencer wants to continue to pursue hockey throughout high school. Her current goal is to make it to the triple A girl’s hockey team, The Lady Blues, and eventually go on to play in college. “I want to continue to play after high school into college and see where it goes from there. My dream college team to play for would be the Minnesota Go-phers, but to even be considered for the team I would have to make it to Division 3. I just know that I want to continue doing it for the rest of my life.”

ETHAN PAINEReporter

Most students at BV West are involved with traditional sports like basketball or softball, but a select group of students get the chance to play the unusual-to-this-area sport of lacrosse.

This group plays whether it’s during the official season or whether it’s during the offseason. They keep in touch and practice together. During their offseason they have practices on Saturdays to keep in shape for the up and coming season. “Most of the team has been playing in an indoor winter league to stay in shape for the actual season itself.” said sophomore Clay Cub-bage. This year Jaguar Lacrosse will face several teams including many of those who are spread throughout both Kansas and Missouri. The Hawklets just joined the league this year so it will be an interesting game for both of them. To keep in shape during the off season most of the team has been participating in an indoor league playing games in the league, in efforts to improve their skills and keep in shape for the season, which is not far away.

“The big games are the ones against Shawnee Mission East, Sain Thomas Aquinas, Blue Valley North, as well as our tournaments.” said Cubbage. Conditioning starts Feb. 18. They will then have practices start-ing that next week. After that the Jaguar lacrosse will travel to Tulsa, Oklahoma for a tournament.Some students play lacrosse for unique reasons. “The whole lacrosse environment is the reason I chose it over other school sports. Even in middle school, all the lacrosse guys knew each other and by the time we got to high school, we were a pretty tight knit group. You can be playing any team in the state and you will always know someone on the other side. That atmosphere is unique to la-crosse, and that’s the biggest reason I continue to play it. Just looking at Austin Carl’s accident, you see that almost all lacrosse players, not just from our team, are still praying for him. Even the KU and KState teams gave him a shoutout after hearing the news. I think that’s really amazing.” Junior Calvin Lee said. Thus the lacrosse team has lots of players that play lacrosse for their own special reasons and they all have reasons that they continue to play such an interesting sport.

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Music has been around since cavemen learned how to clap and whistle. Over the years, it has evolved into an art. Instruments were

invented to advance this art into a newer era of mu-sic; melodies were made with these new instruments. People would practice with these instruments and develop the skill to compose their own music. Then, music evolved even more by adding lyrics to the artists’ songs-emotion and power were now easily expressed through music. Singers were allowed to tell a story with a rhythm. In this generation, that is not the case. Music has been manipulated into garbage. “All the songs you hear on the radio nowadays are terrible,” junior Cale McMakin said. “A majority of the songs you hear are all about drinking, doing drugs, and/or having sex.” All music is today is about doing drugs, drinking alcohol, and having sex, as McMakin said. These artists are often little kids’ role models. They are not set-ting a good example to these kids. Listeners should be listening to music that tells a story. This story should be something they can relate to or maybe inspire them to do something that could help them or someone else. People (especially kids) should not listen to music that sends out a negative message. The kids who have this trash on their iPods are just feeding their ears with filth. I do not understand what makes people enjoy these types of songs. Singers in this generation are auto-tuned in every one of their songs and have no music writing

skills. Anyone could be big artist if they have the looks for it. Talent agents will find someone who has a body structure of a god or goddess with a mediocre voice and ask him or her if they want a record deal. In this gen-eration, all music is about marketability instead of the passion and enjoyment of music that artist’s once had. Modern day music artists are all repetitive. There are so many songs that sound exactly alike, and nearly all lyrics have the same message. Are artists not creative enough to come up with new material? They need to come up with songs that are not so cliché, and are important to them. A majority of teens do not recog-nize this monotonous music. Some people do not even expand their horizons to newer genres. There are a lot of songs out there on the Internet that have not been discovered yet; I highly recommend students check them out, for most of these songs are original and way better than the crap that is on the radio. Searching for music does not have to be search-ing on the Internet and finding indie bands. There are also tons of songs from past decades that are enjoyable. By doing this, people can learn about the evolution of music. Each decade has a different sound; in the ‘50s, songs had a lot of brass and string instruments play-ing. Then came the ‘60s and ‘70s, where rock and roll was more popular. Once the ‘80s began, more electric instruments were introduced that heavily influenced music. Also, hip-hop was born at this time and groups like Run DMC and Sugar Hill Gang were formed.

This kind of hip-hop is way bet-ter than the rappers now. In the ‘90s, rap was more about the values. Also in the ‘90s, punk rock became more popular and bands like Blink 182, Radiohead, and Green Day were estab-lished. As music got into the early 2000s, it started to gradually transform into the cacophony that we all hear today. Now that music is all about marketing instead of ac-tual talent, anyone can become a famous artist. Anyone can have a popular song that is played everywhere as long as it has a catchy chorus (hence, Rebecca Black). Seriously, a person could make a song about eating an ice cream cone. The chorus could be really simple, with about twelve words and the vocabulary of a five year old and it could still be a hit. Kids in this generation are not given the chance to fill their ears with music that has actual merit. It is intuitively obvious that music is ter-rible now and has only lasted as a result of the media. I just hope our generation figures this out soon enough.

The news about the release date of Game of Thrones this spring brought a relieved smile of pure joy to my face.

The premiere show of the third season of this series will be on March 31st on HBO. I rec-comend marking calendars a little earlier than this date to relive the first two seasons of this

thrilling series. Anyone who begins watching the series from the start of the season three will be utterly confused. The show is in-depth and has a number of subplots that make it impossible to start in the middle and experience the full enjoyment. I found Game of Thrones in the summer on HBO and was hooked to the point of embarrassment, watching both seasons in less than a week. When I found out this TV show was based on books, that was enough for me to buy the 3,000 pages of pure greatness that is the first four books of the series. The series will contain seven books

in total, each by George R.R. Martin. Each book is more intense than the last. I started with the TV show, not on purpose but that’s how I found it. Going back to reading the books, to most, might seem unnecessary. Personally, this was a great decision as I got a more in-depth version of the story I had seen. This series has a lot of information. The books are very intimidating with the size and amount of people in them, so is difficult to get a feel for the books in the beginning but I promise they are amazing. This may be a reason for some to start with the TV series first. Game of Thrones is unique in the fact that the series has a lot of different genres that may be appealing to a variety of people. Action and adventure that is more in-teresting than Lord of the Rings or maybe even Harry Potter. Also, it has a string of romances that are interesting to say the least. The series will always keep you interested and things that are unexpected happen on every page. I highly reccomend jumping on the bandwagon that is the Game of Thrones. Give the series a shot; watch the show, or read the book.

Reporter

Derek Bullis

Connor mCgovern

ReporterReporter

Connor mCgovernFrom Sax and Violins to Sex and ViolenceMany people feel that the music industry has lost the touch it once had

A Sword of S ormsMany people eagerly await the highly anticipated third season of Game of Thrones-- and for a good reason, too

bvwnews.compage22 spotlight opinion{

Teenage DiscriminationTeens in today’s society are often stereotyped as reckless, irresponsible, and unintelligent

Editor in Chief

Meghan KetchaM

In society today, teenagers are often viewed as mis-creants. If left alone, they will cause destruction. If there are too many of them together, damage is a

must. They tip poorly. They race their cars during the ungodly hours of the night. They are too lazy to put the grocery cart in the proper rack in the parking lot, so the wind flings it at some rich guy’s BMW. All of them are hooligans. To a person attempting to be an adult, these stereo-types are setbacks. Not only do they receive an unfavor-able reputation, but many act upon these stereotypes, assuming the worst. Since my thirteenth birthday, I have been treated

differently. Suddenly, I was expected to act like an adult, yet people also expected me to act like a hoodlum be-cause of the ‘teen’ at the end of the number. Since then, there are little things that annoy me about society’s stance on teenage behavior. If it is not a fast food restaurant, then I am seated in the back of the restaurant, next to the restrooms. The waiters bring the food as fast as they can and hand me the check before I can even finish my salad, which, by the way, has the oldest lettuce that they could dig out of the back of the refrigerator. Once, a waitress took advantage of the bill and added on an extra charge for the salad, even though the menu said that it was included. When I pointed this out, they made up a ridiculous excuse or ‘restaurant policy’. For teenagers, stereotypes only get worse when it becomes dark. I had just dropped off another teen in Olathe and when I turned onto Santa Fe, my headlight burnt out. The warning light came on, and not even a minute later, there were red and blue lights flashing behind me. I thought that if I explained the situation and how it had just occurred that I would only get a warning. I ended up getting a huge ticket, even after I diplo-matically explained how recently the bulb had died. As I drove home, I was upset that I would be punished for something out of my control. Most adults would have

gotten off with a warning. In addition to unfair calls made by the police, laws have been made to block teenagers from buying certain products because of unfair stereotypes. Teens can-not go to the store to buy Whiteout, Superglue, or large amounts of toilet paper. These restrictions, with their foundation in stereotypes, assume the worst from teenagers. Even though adults claim that they want us to take some responsibility, lawmakers do not even trust us to buy Superglue. How are we supposed to earn respon-sibility if we are not trusted in the first place? These stereotypes also do not make sense because adults have the potential to do the same things. Adults can tip rudely. Adults have the same abilities to toilet paper a house. Adults have just as much of a chance of a burnt headlight. Why not make these laws for everyone? While it may be more likely that teenagers will act out more than adults, it is wrong to assume that all will. Discriminating against all teenagers because there are a few bad ones is not okay. Can you assume that all adults will rob a bank if only one does? As the famous saying goes- “assuming makes and ass out of you and me.” So to the adults reading this, please do not assume the worst. Yes, teenagers make mistakes, but we also learn from those mistakes. Adults need to remember what is it like to be a teenager. If they want us to act like adults, then they should allow us the opportunity.

Generally, when your hair can freeze within the couple minutes it takes you to get from your parked car to the school, you want to walk into

a warm school. However, when I made my way into the school holding frozen sections of my hair, I only received a frigid blast of air. That reality is just a typical day at BV West. Year round, we deal with classrooms and hallways that usually have a temperature of either “Tundra” or “Des-ert,” but rarely in between. The room you froze to death in the day before can be the room that is unbearably hot the next day. Biology suggests that if a classroom feels cold, it might be you and not the room. Physical activity naturally increases body temperature, but lack of physical activity decreases it. So, possibly, a classroom that seems hor-ribly cold is actually at a reasonable temperature, but you are not doing much physical work, like when you are listening to a lecture, watching a documentary, or dozing off, while a room might feel hot because you are doing more, like a game, discussion, or competition. This is why people usually wake up cold in the morning because there is so little physical activity when you are asleep, and also, because the body generally starts the day out on the

colder side, it gets warmer as the day goes on, meaning your first class of the day should typically be the coldest. Eating also raises body temperature, so your warmest class may be the class following your lunch. Your psycho-logical state also affects body temperature; for instance, if you are stressed out, you may experience a drop or increase in temperature depending on the situation. Female and male body temperatures fluctuate differently, and teenagers normally have odd temperature fluctua-tions during puberty. Even more factors can affect your body temperatures, like illness, medication, or drugs, or like going on a diet, having trouble sleeping, or wearing more clothing (or, in some cases at BV West, wearing too little clothing). Still, it is really hard to believe that it is just human bi-ology causing the BV West Campus Ice Age, but science can once again give us other reasons. The school is very large, so it would be almost thermodynamically impos-sible to keep the whole school at one uniform tempera-ture. Trying to heat up the school like that in the winter would also be ridiculously expensive, and I do not think that even the affluent Blue Valley could afford to do that every day, all fall and winter. Teachers could also be the ones letting in the cold. Each classroom has an adjustable temperature control

module, so if the teacher prefers things nice and cool or they are wearing the warmest clothing they own, you might have to lose a couple of fingers because you do not coordinate your outfit with all eight of your teachers’ preferences. However, you do not have to just suffer through winter at BV West. If you bring a jacket, hoodie, sweat-shirt, or cardi-gan to school or keep one in your locker, you will always have something to layer over your clothes when your class turns arctic on you. Section Editor

Lauren Pino

Under the Weather Students at BV West brave the seemingly freezing temperatures around the school

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Six eet UnderMany students leave Facebook behind

bvwnews.com page 23spotlightopinion {

Spotlight is printed nine times a year for the students and the BV West community. Its goals are to inform, entertain, and interpret through editorials and bylined articles and to provide an open forum for communication for students and faculty members.

Spotlight aims to be fair, accurate and impartial. The content of this publication is determined by its student editors and may contain controversial subject matter.

Spotlight does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the faculty adviser, the administra-tion of Blue Valley West, or USD 229.

ONLINE at BVWNews.com

Reporters: Rebecca Abraham, Lauren Albers, Derek Bullis, Libby Frazier, Lauren Hansen, Alexa Henderson, Marissa Hotujac, Cheyenne Jones, Tay-lor Lake, Stephanie Liang, Connor McGovern, Justin Madden, Ashley Oades, Ethan Paine, Kate Price, Tomos Ridenhour, Jack Rogoz IV, Harrison Whitney, Ryan Williams, Erin Walker, John Wilson

Assistant News Editor: Mitchell Bird

Section Editors: Katherine Byrket, Emily Binsh-tok, Jacob Paschal, Lauren Pino

Managing Editor: Emily Moore

Online Editors in Chief: Abby Krstulic, Tucker Paine

Editors in Chief: Meghan Ketcham, Maddy Wilson

Photojournalists: Rebecca Abraham, Coleen Bost

Photo Editor: Elise St. Louis

Web Master: Danielle Jacobson

Business Manager: Emily Binshtok

Adviser: Debbie Glenn

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RyAN WILLIAMS

ReporterFacebook is on the verge of death. The site used to be populated by people discussing what was going on in their exciting lives—whether it was a

public service announcement about their boredom or a political rant. The site was full of in-depth games such as Farmville and Mafia Wars. These games took skill. When people began to play Farmville, they were blown away. Never before had anyone experienced such pure excitement. After a while, Facebook apps became too intense for many to handle, so they took advantage of the other exciting features that the website had. The ability to share photos on Facebook gave users of all ages a way to showcase their photography skills. Teenage girls finally got the chance to show the world that, with the proper bathroom mirror, they could make themselves look like a duck. The invention of the revolutionary “duck face” is one of Facebook’s many positive contributions to society. Duck faces reveal a girl’s true beauty. Sadly, many users still felt that they weren’t get-ting the full “professional photography” experience. Instagram came along and managed to solve all of their photo-taking needs. Instagram is a smartphone app used to take elegant photos on phones. For ages, people have

longed for an app that let them take high quality pictures of their food. Instagram was the brilliant solution, with high quality filters that made pictures look like they were taken with a 20-year-old camera. With awesome pictures of users posing like a duck in Wal-Mart bathrooms, posts including political rants, photography and games, Facebook seemed like heaven on earth. What could have gone wrong? Eventually, the original Facebook users grew tired of the site’s nearly infinite features, and usage began to decline. People grew tired of their professional quality photo filters. Farming no longer had the intensity that it once had and users stopped giving updates about their eventful lives. The knockout blow came along in a silver mini-van full of the internet’s favorite type of people: soccer moms. This is when Facebook began to experience its slow, painful death. These “soccer moms” started to “friend” their kids and all their kid’s friends. Facebook was no longer a place for bright young minds to share their political views and “Instagramed” food in peace, because no place can be peaceful with soccer moms around, leaving messages in all caps followed by “:)”. Facebook used to be a safe haven for kids to waste

time without disturbance. Once it was infiltrated by moms and followed by out-of-town relatives, young people left Facebook like rats on a sinking ship. These kids managed to escape Facebook’s addictive grasp and found a new home on Twitter. Twitter doesn’t offer the thrilling experience of planting crops like Facebook does, however it has one important aspect to it that Facebook didn’t: it doesn’t suck. If someone posts hundreds of political garbage tweets, people have the easy option of unfollowing them. Unfollowing is similar to unfriending, however there is no request needed for following people unless the account is private, so the process is easier, and typi-cally a lot less personal. Facebook shares the same fate as MySpace and Friendster. Twitter stands as the only social network that no one has gotten tired of yet. It will probably face a similar fate as Facebook at some point, but until then we will enjoy it. I would say that it’s a shame that Facebook is on the verge of death, but, nobody is going to miss it.

Cartoon by Lauren Pino.

bvwnews.compage24 spotlight photo essay{

We’re off to see...“Real” munchkins, professional sets and sell-out crowds...oh my!

Photos by: Coleen BostDesign by:

Abby Krstulic

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1- Dorothy (senior Shelley Bushman) sings about a land she dreams of traveling to “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” • 2- The Wicked Witch of the West (senior Kirsti Stahly) plots to steal Dorothy’s ruby red slippers. After one rehearsal, Stahly was approached by a mother whose daughter was frightened by her portrayl. Stahly had to go and talk to the girl to reassure her that she was not really a wicked witch.• 3- Junior Lindsay Hailes portrays a tree that Dorothy encounters in the land of Oz. The trees got to throw apples at Dorothy.•4- After arriving in the land of Oz, Dorothy is greeted by Glinda the Good Witch (senior Ciana Albarelli) and the land of munchkins. The munchkin en-semble featured BV West students as well as younger children from the community. •5- Cowardly Lion, Scarecrow, Dorothy and the Tin Man (seniors Domenick Adinolfi, Preston O’Ffill, Bushman and junior Justin Kline) begin their journey to meet the Wizard, who they hope will give them each what they have wished for. •6- Dorothy takes a nap after falling under the spell of poppies (Sophia Scott) in the forest. The Wicked Witch hoped that her nap would give her time to steal the ruby slippers.