hieldSS a i n t T h o m as A q ui n as Hig h S c ho ol

the

May 2, 2014 Volume 26, Issue 10

Tweets of the Month Upcoming Weather

Countdown

19 days until summer for underclassmen (13 school days)

13 days until Graduation

3 school days left for seniorsSaturday

71 77

80

52 54

58

Sunday

Monday

InsideBrekke’s Tweets Gain Popularity

Page A2

Walk for Life

Page A7

Taylor’s Announcements Liven Morning

Page A2

ThompsonTakes Home

Key Club Award

Page A3

Mayfield’s Legacy will carry on

Page A3

College Map

Pages A4-A5

Cofer Works for Continued Success

Pages A6

The Best ofSocial Media

Page A8

Saints Win Pinkout Game

Page B1

Opinions

Pages B3

Average senior ACT:

scored 32 or above

26.375

11

Total Common App Applications:Average Number of Applications:

2313.55

113

acceptancesrejected applications

accepted to of those applied

ACCEPTED

534

76%41

Rejected

different colleges applied to

attended

KAIROS

Class of 2014 ServiceFreshman year: 6,555 hoursSophomore year: 9,509 hoursJunior year: 12,454 hoursSenior year: 8,768 hours

495980

23

Kansas State Scholars

National Honor Society Members

on presidential honor rollnational Merit finalistsNational Merit Commended

117 67

teacher letters of recommendation writtenseniors using Mrs. Bruns’s letter of recommendation

STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS in the last four years

Total

1.) Aquinas - 172.) Shawnee Mission East - 143.) Bishop Carroll - 14

Girls: Fr. + Soph. + JR.Boys: Fr.

Girls: Fr. + Soph. + JR.Boys: Fr. + Sr.

Girls: Fr. + JR.

Boys: Fr. + Soph.

Girls: Soph.

Girls: Jr. + SR.

Fr.STATE

CHAMPIONS

by the numbers

9769

students accepted to out-of-state colleges

attending out-of-state colleges $415,000

Highest amount of total scholarship for

one student:

$9,000,000+

Total Scholarship Money Awarded to the Class of 2014:

Page design by Annie Schugart, editor-in-chief

A2 The Shield May 2, 2014Senior Features

@BREKKitdown_now #TweetMaster Senior Sarah Brekke answers questions about her Twitter popularity and tweet inspirations.

Q: When did you start to notice that your tweets were becoming more and more popular?A: My tweets weren’t really popular until senior year started. It’s funny because even my parents know about my Twitter because they read The Shield, so they constantly say things that they think are hilarious and then turn to me and say, “You should tweet that.” They’re thirsty for some Twitter fame.

Q: During this past school year the amount of people who follow you on Twitter has gone up significantly. Why do you think it has?A: I pay all my followers.

Q: What inspires you to tweet such hilarious things?A: The pope. Oh and fruit snacks. Those things are inspirational.

Q: How do you feel about being named The Best Tweeter of the 2014 class?A: I didn't really care if I won or not, I just love making people laugh! I'm also really thankful for all the people who let me show who I am through my tweets. This reply is getting too serious, so I guess I should say that one time I fell down the stairs while I was wearing a snorkel and I got the wind knocked out of me. Please don't ask why I was wearing a snorkel.

Q: So many of your tweets are about your love of Aquinas. What will you tweet about next year?A: I have no idea. Aquinas is just such a tweetable place. I'll probably just fail a class on purpose so I can go to Aquinas for another year. Hopefully my parents will support this decision.

Q: What is your advice for young tweeters who want to be as great as you someday?A: Be able to make fun of yourself! Also don't ever delete a tweet or John Wernel will never let you forget it.

Q: How long have you had a Twitter?A: I got a Twitter in the middle of my sophomore year. I cringe when I think about my first tweet because I think it was lyrics to a country song or something like that. How cute.

She has 461 priceless, witty, laughable tweets. She was recently named “Best Tweets” of the 2014 class. She bleeds blue and gold. She once painted a tree on her face. She is

Sarah Brekke.

Photo courtesy of SARAH BREKKE “I like the Brekkfast Club one because the picture is kind of frightening if you

look at it too long.” —Sarah Brekke

Photo illustrations courtesy of SARAH BREKKE Brekke proudly poses with her Best Tweets award using Photo Cut-Out magic.

Q: What Aquinas student (besides yourself) do you think has the best tweets?A: This is really weird but I love when the Geists’s retweet their mom's tweets that were meant to be texts! I die laughing every time. So I guess I'm saying that my favorite tweets are my classmates’ mom's tweets. Weird.

by JANIE BACHKORAReporter

TAYLOR BRIGHTENS MORNINGSSenior Lydia Taylor’s ad libs have added an extra spice to the morning announcments.

Senior Class President Lydia Taylor has been adding extra excitement to the morning an-nouncements this year.

Student Services Office assis-tant Patty Jordan said, “We have always had good announcers who do a good job, but the first thing that comes to mind when I think about what is different with Lydia is that her announce-ments are just good old fun.”

Students are also noticing the difference.

“I love her an-nouncements because they’re so full of energy,” junior Emily Lavery said.

Taylor was chosen by the StuCo executive officers to be the morning announcer this year.

“Usually they have an exec-utive officer do it, but I talked to Annie Lind and she let me do it because she knew that it is what I want to major in,” Taylor said. “I love doing the morning announce-

ments. It’s by far my favorite part of the day.”

Jordan said, “I think one of her best attributes that makes her really good at announcing is her ability to think on the fly. If she makes a mistake, she can cover it up really quickly and make fun of herself and move on.”

Lydia said, “The hardest thing for me to get over was just not to be embarrassed when I mess up and to just go with the flow.”

The average day starts with her com-ing in around roughly 7:57 a.m. to look over the material she is supposed to read.

“She does a really good job an-nouncing for the little time that she has to prepare,”

said Jordan. The preparation is also taking

place while the normal hustle and bustle of the Attendance Office is going. There are people being called in to pick up things and people are going in and out.

“When I am doing the announcements, I really have to try and focus because it’s so busy

around me,” Taylor said. “I just say what I think sometimes. I never plan on it. Some of those ad lib phrases I say just slip out.”

Jordan said, “Some mornings she will be reading the announce-ments to the school and someone will come in last minute and tell her to read something that she hasn’t even seen yet.”

Lydia is also interested in

taking her announcing career to another level by becoming a broadcaster.

“I don’t know much about broadcasting, but I think that Lyd-ia could be a really good broad-caster because she just seems to have really good instincts that are needed. She also has a really good natural speaking voice,” Jordan said.

Taylor plans on attending the University of Kansas next year to major in broadcasting. Eventually she wants to go into some sort of sports broadcasting after college.

“I want to become one because I just really love people,” Taylor said. “I say people is my best subject. I just like to work with people and find out their stories.” g

by JORDAN BARTZ Opinions Editor

Photo by JORDAN BARTZ | The ShieldSenior Lydia Taylor talks into the phone during Tuesday’s morning announcements. Taylor wants to be a sports broadcaster, and her energetic spin on announcements has earned her a fanbase.

“The hardest thing for me to get over was just not to be embarrassed when I mess up and to just go with the flow.”

LYDIA TAYLORSenior Class President

Hope Thompson’s best friend from Grace Center is a little boy with a mohawk.

“His name is Darius, and he would remember me so I would always go hang out with him,” she said. “He had a little mohawk, and he is adorable.”

Thompson is an active member of Key Club, and her favorite service event is volunteering at Angels of Grace Center in inner-city Kansas City, which provides child care for teen moms. She also enjoyed her work with TEAM Soccer, a program work-ing with special needs children.

“Little kids form bonds so fast,” she said, “so by the time you leave, they’re hugging you.”

Thompson went to Grace Center at nearly every available opportunity over the summer and through the fall.

This dedication has earned her the title of Key Clubber of the Year in Kansas. The award was based off a nomination letter by club moderators, in-cluding description of what the

students has contributed.“Hope not only lights up

the lives of the people she with on these projects but is an in-spiration to the other members of our Key Club,” Key Club Moderator Susan Dillingham wrote in the nomination letter for the award. “She is, without a doubt, one of our best loved members.”

While Thompson said her initial reaction upon receiving the award was embarrassment, it isn’t just Dillingham who believed Thompson was worthy of the award.

“Our students love her because she makes everyone feel like they belong at all the events, and those we volun-teer for love her because she reaches out to make each person feel special,” Dilling-ham said.

Thompson does not hold an office position in Key Club because she has never ran. Officers were ineligible for the award.

But Thompson will be leaving her high school Key Club years with more than merely a trophy.

“Key Club has taught me that even the smallest actions can make the biggest difference over time,” she said, “and I’ve made a lot of friends that I would have never made.” g

There are few people who ri-val Grant Mayfield’s passion for his school. He prides himself on al-ways being front row at any game, going all out in class competition, and going crazy during the Canned Food Drive. But his passion to be a Saint started well before he stepped foot inside the halls of Saint Thomas Aquinas. “I knew that I have always wanted to be a Saint,” Mayfield said. Mayfield literally grew up next door to Aquinas: He can see the football field from his bedroom window! Mayfield remembers he first started getting passionate about the Saints in fifth grade when he attended the football games. “My friends and I would run around at the football games and my sister always get mad at me for messing around,” Mayfield said.

A SLOW START When most people think of Grant Mayfield, they think of StuCo and musicals. But during Mayfield’s freshman year, he did neither. “Freshman year was completely different from the rest of my high school career,” he said. “I tried swimming, but I didn’t really like it.” “Honestly freshman year was a little bit of a disappointment. I came in thinking that I was going to run the school and that didn’t happen.” This is when things really start to change for Mayfield. “I decided that I was going to stop worrying about what people thought me.”

FREE FROM WORRY So Mayfield decided to try out for the musical. He had starred in the musicals at Holy Trinity in junior high but he did not want to be la-beled as a theater kid in high school. After a lot of encouragement from friends and family, he decided it was the right thing for him to do. “I didn’t want a big part, I just wanted to try,” Mayfield said. “I ended up actually really liking it.” Then Mayfield tried out for KC SuperStar, which is an “Amer-ican Idol”-style competition that awards the $10,000 Craig Citron Memorial Scholarship to the best high school singer in the metro-politan area. Mayfield sang the U2 song “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” “I will always remember Grant when he sang that song, it was just incredible,” vocal music teacher Joe Heidesch said. Heidesch wasn’t the only one that was impressed. Mayfield made it all the way to the finals, which are

the Top 10 singers in the competi-tion. The finals were held at Yardley Hall, which holds 1,600 people. “I didn’t realize how big a deal it was until I got there,” Mayfield said. “It was an unbelievable experience.” In addition to getting to sing at Yardley Hall, Mayfield got to sing at the Plaza lighting ceremony.

A SECOND SHOT AT STUCO Mayfield decided to run for StuCo again after failing to make it his freshman year. Mayfield knew a little more about what to expect and got elected. “I remember telling a joke about how all of us had grown ex-cept Wink and I think that’s what got me elected,” Mayfield said. He was elected to the Executive Council as a junior, which is a rare feat. “I know how much I love Aquinas but sometime it‘s hard to express it in a short speech,” Mayfield said. One of the reasons why May-field loves being on StuCo is he gets to help other people make memories. “I am proud to say that we have made it cool to love your school.”

DARING GREATLY Mayfield has seen a huge transformation from the years when he was just a neighbor. “When my cousins went here, there were over 1,300 people at Aquinas, and that was almost too big,” Mayfield said. “I think it’s cool that the smaller we becomes the better Aquinas becomes.” Mayfield is the student who proposed “Dare Greatly” as this year’s theme. The idea came from the Theodore Roosevelt quote, “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.” Mayfield could just not separate it from Aquinas because he had seen so much in sports, academics, theater and all around the school. “The things people are going to remember, those are people Daring Greatly,” he said.

GRADUATING, BUT NOT GONE Mayfield will not forget his time at Aquinas. “Everybody will remember homecoming and football games, but I want to remember everything,” he said. “Even like my time in class.” Mayfield intends to stay in-volved at Aquinas. “I plan on being that old guy who shows up to everything even though I don’t have any ties to the school anymore,” Mayfield said. “I just can’t separate myself from this place.”g

May 2, 2014

Senior FeaturesMAYFIELD’S

PASSION WON’T LEAVE Senior Lydia Taylor’s ad libs have added an extra spice to the morning announcments.

THOMPSONAWARDED KEY CLUB HONORSenior Hope Thompson was named Kansas Key

Clubber of the Year in March.

“Those we volunteer for love her because she reaches out to make

each person feel special.”

SUSAN DILLINGHAMKey Club Moderator

by ANNIE SCHUGARTEditor-in-Chief

Photo courtesy of SUSAN DILLINGHAMSophomore Melanie Murray, senior Katelyn Nattrass and senior Hope Thompson hold kids at the Angels of Grace Family Service Center in Kansas City, Kansas. Volunteering at Grace Center was Thompson’s favorite event and she did it several times last summer.

Photo by TROY HILDERHOF | The ShieldSenior Grant Mayfield stays fired up during the Blue Valley West football game Sept. 13. Mayfield was one of the Spirit Boys on the sidelines who kept the crowd loud and organized cheers.

by BRYAN ZACKCampus News Editor

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Do you ever just have those moments where, for a split second, you notice some small and quirky detail that makes you realize just how amazing Aquinas is? Don’t deny it; we all have: maybe it’s when we sing the alma mater with our arms around each other at the end of a victory at a basketball game, maybe it’s when we casually break a national record for the canned food drive, or may-be it’s when we walk into school in the mornings and realize that we’re going to miss the smell of the hallways when we graduate.

Whatever it is, we’ve all experi-enced it. We’ve all come to realize that Aquinas is truly an extraor-dinary place. We’ve all seen with our very own eyes the incredible impact we can make as a Com-munion of Saints who can come together to show what it means for love to truly conquer all.

As a graduating senior, people are always asking about what I want to do with my life. Some-times I’ll say I want to study engineering, or I’ll say English, or I’ll say government. Sometimes I’ll say “I’m not sure.”

But the truth is I do know what I want to do, and what I want to do is not something that can be defined by listing off a major or a minor. Aquinas has given me

the knowledge and confidence throughout the past four years to recognize what it is I want to do.

I’m ready to take what I have been given at Aquinas and share it with everyone outside of these brick walls. I’m ready to give the world a taste of what it means to be a Saint. And I hope you’ll join me.

I’m ready to show the world how love can conquer all. In a time in which our faith is con-stantly being tested, in a time when evil seems to triumph, we are protected by the walls of the community inside Aquinas. Yet we can’t stay here forever; rather, we must break down the walls out-side our world and conquer evil through the love we have come to recognize and believe in during our time at Aquinas.

If there is one thing I learned most during high school, it is that: to love.

We’re surrounded by examples of love in all we do, and we’re surrounded by the result of what incredible love and passion can accomplish.

For me, this past year as edi-tor-in-chief has been a whirlwind. But it wasn’t a single-person effort. Through this, I’ve seen a love and genuine dedication from everyone I’ve encountered.

To my staff: thank you for your endless work, for sacrificing time to put together something worth publishing and then go beyond

the expectations, for maybe creeping on people obnoxiously at times, and for being the best staff I could ever ask for.

To my adviser, Mr. Hallau-er: thank you. I know without a doubt that I could not have accomplished this without your assistance. You’ve put up with my shortcomings and have truly allowed me to exceed to my fullest potential. Thank you for never claiming that my ideas were crazy, even though most of the time they were. Thank you for allowing me to create freely.

Finally, to the readers, students and teachers: thank you for your support of The Shield. It is my hope that these stories are proof of the love that makes Aqui-nas unique. I know that I have, without a doubt, seen a genuine passion in every single person I’ve ever interviewed for an article. Thank you.

It’s hard to believe that in just a few days, I’ll be walking across the stage from graduation into the real world. We will never have these four years back.

But these four years have indeed given us something much greater than merely an education. They have given us the abilities to absolutely turn this world upside down if we can--together--show the world the power of love that Aquinas has shown us: the love that will conquer all, even outside these walls of Aquinas. g

by ANNIE SCHUGARTEditor-in-Chief

The Shield A3

A6 The Shield May 2, 2014Senior Sports

COFER’S LEGACY STRIDES TO THE FINISHThrough hard work and dedication, senior distance runner Bailee Cofer has become the most successful female distance runner in

Saint Thomas Aquinas history. But she is still fighting for more state championships.

Bailee Cofer holds two school records, is a three-time team state champion, and was this year’s individual state champion at the Kansas State Cross Country Championships.

FINDING A LOVE Cofer found her love for run-ning after a fifth grade road race with her dad. “I felt so good accomplishing it, and that lead to running CYO track in fifth grade,” she said. It was the summer following her fifth grade track season in which she tagged along with one of her friends to run at Aquinas summer conditioning. From then on, she hasn’t stopped.

STARTING STRONG As a freshman, Bailee finished 3rd at the state cross country meet and 7th in the 1,600-meter run at the state track meet. That year, she earned the nickname “Roo” after the character in Winnie the Pooh. “Roo was the baby kangaroo that hung out with the rest of the characters and was always eager to take on the world despite his size and age,” mentor and head coach Justin Wrigley said. “For some silly reason I saw a little ‘Roo’ inside of Bailee and so, to this day, I still call her Roo.”

DEDICATION A nickname, success, and long-lasting friendships came quickly through the Aquinas distance team, as did a new style of training. At this time in Bailee’s early career as a Saint, Wrigley began to ask for more of a commitment from the distance kids by increasing their mileage. Cofer, with this increased mileage, has reached a streak of running for more than 100 days in a row, a feat characterized by hard work, commitment, and dedication. “She works hard at every sin-gle aspect of the running lifestyle

and so she just keeps getting better and better. She has inspired others to join her on the quest for success so we have developed one of the deepest and most successful teams in state history,” Wrigley said. “She is living a level of commitment that most teenage athletes don’t realize is possible.”

HER INSPIRATION Cofer cites Wrigley as her biggest inspiration. “He has this unshakable confi-dence in me,” she said. “He whole-heartedly believes in my abilities and that makes me gain more confidence. He is such an encouraging person.”

HISTORIC SUCCESS This dedication and encour-agement has led to historic suc-cess. In her four years as a Saint, Cofer has been on the All-State cross country team four times.

She is also a four-time first team All-Metro recipient, a three-time regional cham-pion, and named two-time Academic All-State. She has been the cross country team’s MVP all four years, having 29 Top 10 finish-es throughout her cross country career, the most in school history.

A PLACE TO RELAX Not only has she meant a lot to the distance programs, but Aquinas track and cross-country has meant so much to her. “It’s a place I can go to relax and be with my friends. It has helped define myself in high school, helped define my morals and values. It has taught me hard-work and dedication.”

INSPIRING TEAMMATES Cofer has also made life-long friendships with her teammates. Senior teammate, co-captain, and best friend Grace Geiger looks up to Cofer as her inspiration. “She has given me so many inspirational words of advice. Last summer she just continued to tell me that all the hard work will pay off in the end. And she was

right,” Geiger said. Geiger has learned to be

patient from Cofer. Cofer has taught her to work hard and wait for success to come. Geiger was convinced to run in college, at the University of Nebraska because of Cofer’s encouragement. “Without her I don’t think I would have made the decision torun in college. She made me re-alize that I wanted to continue to run in college since I’ve had such positive, fun experiences with her and the team.” Geiger received a letter from Cofer at the end of last summer telling her how she has waited for three years to be varsity and that the time has come to do great things. “I forced myself to run with her. Running next to her in the races during cross country was so fun because I was doing something I loved alongside someone I love.”

RUNNING COLLEGIATELY

Cofer will be running next year at Drake University. Despite leaving Aquinas, her legacy and impact will always remain. Cofer holds two school records: a 14:54 4k and a 5:08 mile. “I hope they last for a while, but also get broken. Records are meant to be broken,” Cofer said.

PERFECT SCORE “Roo,” the individual state champion at this year’s state cross country meet, led the team to its remarkable sweep, scoring a per-fect 15, never been done before in Kansas history. It is her favorite moment as a Saint. “[Finishing] state cross-country and looking back, seeing all Aqui-nas [runners]. I was overwhelmed. I finally won state. I’m so proud to be on this Aquinas team because everyone worked so hard. I’m very proud of my teammates.”

A SPECIAL PERFORMANCE Wrigley will also remember this great performance forever. “It was a really special moment in my life and I’ll never forget it.” Even with records already won, Cofer is not done compet-ing as a Saint. Track season is not over and she sets her eyes on breaking her own school record in the 1,600-meter run as well as setting records in other distance events, continuing her phenome-nal running career. Wrigley will remember the fun moments they have shared over the past four years. He has watched her grow into the great runner, but even greater person, that she is today.

A NEW ERA “The new era of female distance running is occurring right now and Bailee has been greatly responsible for it,” Wrigley said. “She has been a tremendous blessing to our program. There is no way to record the value of the time I’ve been fortunate enough to spend with her.” “She’s not the baby kanga-roo anymore, but she’ll always be Roo to me.” g

“She is living a level of commitment that most teenage athletes don’t realize is possible.”

JUSTIN WRIGLEYHead Coach

“I’m so proud to be on this Aquinas team because

everyone worked so hard.”BAILEE COFER

Senior

ELLEN OF ALL TRADESSenior Ellen Loughman has excelled with three dominant varsity programs.

Since her freshman year, senior Ellen Loughman has had a serious impact on the soccer field, basketball court, and cross country course for Aquinas. Head soccer coach Craig Ewing said, “It is rare to see an athlete excel at this many sports, but even more rare that she has experienced such success with each one.” With a winning attitude and high work ethic, Loughman has achieved something great in Aquinas athletics and has certainly left her mark on the school. “The coaches called her the bottle rocket because even though no one knew where she was going to go, she was going to go fast and hard,” remarked basketball teammate Claire Ferguson. Loughman admitted that it is diffi-cult to manage all of her sports on top of school work and that the result is little free time for herself. Loughman also spoke of the impact her older brothers had on her as an athlete. “Had it not been for my older brothers making me so com-petitive, I probably wouldn’t have been as in to sports and as athletic,” she said. She recalls playing dodgeball with them in the backyard, and that being the beginning of many more years of loving

sports and competition. This background also increased Ellen’s mental and physical toughness. “Ellen is one of the toughest people I have ever met. She would go through the grind at cross country practice and then go play soccer games--very impressive,” said cross country team-mate Bailee Cofer.

At the last WIN (Women’s Intersport Network) for KC luncheon, a luncheon for the female state champions of the past

year, Ellen Loughman was a part of every Aquinas team being recognized--soccer, basketball and cross country. “The world is telling athletes to spe-cialize, but Ellen has chosen to work hard at three [sports],” Ewing said. Both Loughman and Ewing said that being good at more than one sport helps since there is some crossover between the three. For example, ball handling skills from basketball help Ellen as a goalie on the soc-cer field. Cross country helps with being in great shape for both basketball and soccer. “All sports help in different aspect of the others,” Loughman said. Loughman is appreciative of her coaches over the years.

“They understand that I am a multi-sport athlete, and that is what makes me who I am as a player,” she said. “The support of my coaches has helped me immensely to excel in all of my sports,” Loughman added. Her coaches certainly appreciate her as well. “She is a leader and brings character to her team,” Ewing said. Whether she is hitting a jumper on the basketball court, making a save on the soc-cer field, or running past the competition on the cross country course, Ellen Lough-man is the epitome of a dedicated Aquinas athlete. g

by JORDAN EBERHARDYReporter

“The world is telling athletes to specialize, but Ellen has chosen to work hard at three sports.”

CRAIG EWINGHead Soccer Coach

Another Season, Another Fight for State

Cross Country2nd in 2010 & 20111st in 2012 & 2013

Soccer1st in 2011-2013

2014 TBD

Basketball3rd in 20121st in 2013

Qualifier in 2014

Photo by ABBY POPE | The MedallionCofer crosses the finish line as the individual state champion at the 2013 Kansas State Cross-Country Cham-pionships. Cofer led the team to their historic perfect-score finish.

by JACKSON McELROYReporter

Annie Schugart is many things. Some know her as the Kansas Teen Journalist of the Year, others as a gifted and decorated flutist, still others as a key member of the varsity dance team. Some know her as a talented varsity debater, others as simply the awesome senior who got into Harvard. Teachers know her as that exceptional hard working student, friends know her as a crazy, goofy perfectionist who never gets enough sleep. Her newspaper staff knows her as the rather pessimistic editor in chief who never seems to think the newspaper is quite up to her high standards. She is many things. She is Annie Schugart. “She was the girl who could and did do it all,” said English department chairwoman Sue Waters, who saw Schugart in ac-tion as editor in chief of Pieces magazine. This is how most people see Annie. If they don’t really know her, they don’t get to see what she is really like. They miss out on the crazy things that she says, the excessive amount of laugh-ing, and the witty comments that epitomize her sense of humor. German 4 teacher Bryan

Thelen recalled how Annie consistently “starts laughing for absolutely no reason” in his class. He said that this then makes the rest of the class start cracking up and it just spirals from there. “Annie has found a good balance of focus and fun,” said Thelen. “She know how to work and achieve success, but also has a good time and a sense of humor,” he added. One of Annie’s fellow band members, Cameron Filipsen, described Annie as “one of the hardest working people in the band, and incredibly fun to be around.” “One of my favorite mem-ories of Annie is when she had to teach the band a dance routine for ‘Party Rock Anthem,’” Filipsen said. “That was some of the most fun the band has ever had together.” Newspaper Adviser Matt Hallauer gave Annie her only detention. “Most chiefs stop working at 9:30 when Newspaper class is over. When the last issue of

The Shield came out, Annie continued working on the paper through STA Period, and also through fifth hour Yearbook class. She then asked to stay through her seventh hour, which was German, and I told her that she couldn’t. She didn’t leave and Mr. Thelen had to write her up,” Hallauer said. Senior Bryan Zack worked with Annie on The Shield for four semesters and said Annie’s attitude toward everyone else is always kind and encouraging. Her attitude towards herself and her own work however, is often negative and dismissive. Perfec-tionist is an understatement in regards to Annie. “I will give her a story that I wrote in less than an hour and she will tell me that I did a great job and that it only needs a little tweeking. But when it comes to her one 1,000 word, well-written story with awesome interviews, she will refer to it as ‘not my best’ or ‘one of the worst things I’ve ever written’,” Zack said. Hallauer recalled another

instance in which Annie went far out of her way to make sure the newspaper was up to her extreme expectations. “We sent off the pages to the publisher while Annie was off doing something import-ant for her future, a contest or college or something, but she made us send her pictures of the pages so that she could look over them. She ended up calling the publisher and telling them to hold three of the pages until that night when she could fix them,” Hallauer said. “Most people know her for one thing,” Zack said. “What people don’t realize is that she’s not just really good at one thing. She’s really good at a lot of things.” People might wonder why Annie Schugart considers two hours a decent night’s sleep. But, looking at all that she manages, it is easy to see why sleep often gets neglected. Whether playing the flute, teaching dance classes, edit-ing and writing for the newspaper, editing Pieces magazine, keeping up with studies, or just being that crazy girl that her friends love so much, Annie is always doing something—and doing it well. “If she had more time, God knows what she could accom-plish,” Hallauer said.g

chugartS t h e un a u t hor i z ed bio g r a p h y sh e w o ul d h av e d on e mu c h be t t er

ann

ieMay 2, 2014

Tweets of the Month Countdown

34 days until Annie is done editing the yearbook

0 days until Annie’scollege decision

0 days until Annie is done with The Shield

AwardsNational

Journalist of the Year Runner-Up

HyVeeScholar-Athlete

of the Week

U.S. ArmyAll-American

Marching Band

President ofThe National Teen Council

Relentless senior Annie Schugart didn’t just stay active, she repeatedly achieved greatness at the national level.

What next?She’s going to Harvard to major in

English, physics, engineering or government. Then, according to @Annie_Schugart,

she’s running for president in 2032.

by JORDAN EBERHARDYReporter

First Saint Admitted

to Harvard

SAINTS WALK FOR LIFE

Photo by KATIE BERNARD | The ShieldDespite a rain delay, walkers still showed up in large numbers to show their pro-life support.

Photo by KATIE BERNARD | The ShieldTheology teacher Phil Farnan congratulates students as they arrive at the Advice and Aid Pregnancy Clinic.

Photos by KATIE BERNARD | The

ShieldABOVE: A crowd of Saints walk from Aquinas to a picnic at the Advice and Aid Pregnancy Clinic. The money raised from spon-sors and walkers totaled nearly $19,000.

RIGHT: Sopho-more John Man-ning and his dad head toward the picnic at the clinic.

Photo by KATIE BERNARD | The ShieldSenior Paige Hopfinger, junior Becca Hare and sophomore Abbey Hopfinger head back to Aquinas. They ran from Aquinas to the Advice and Aid Pregnancy Clinic and back, totaling approximately 13 miles.

May 2, 2014A8 The ShieldFeatures

social mediathe best of Aquinas

hieldStheMay 2, 2014 Volume 26, Issue 10

SPORTS+News

Standings

TRACK & FIELDRecent Finishes: 3rd (twice)

Update: “Our team goal is to win state, and we need to get more points spread out across the team too: not just distance runners, but sprinters, throwers, and jumpers, too.”

- Senior Demarrius Young

GIRLS’ SWIMMING

GIRLS’ SOCCER

BASEBALL

BOYS’ GOLF

Record: 10-2

Update: “Our season has been going well so far. We’ve been working on pitching pretty hard and not trying to walk as many people. We can’t keep giving up free bases.”

- Senior Alex Van Pelt

Recent Finishes: 2nd (twice), 4th

Update: “Every day we’re trying to get closer to shooting 72 for each one of us, and our ultimate goal is shooting a team total of 288 at state and beat Kapaun.”

- Senior Luke Henes

Record: 10-1

Update: “Our big goal is to win state, and in order to get there we need to improve our forward chemistry.” The team is ranked 12th in the nation. - Senior Kelly Sweeney

Record: 9-0

Update: “We’ve been doing really well, and even though we had some new freshmen on the team, the team has really come together. I’m really postive with our chances to go to state.” - Senior Molly Zych

Recent Finishes: 1st (twice), 2nd

Update: “We won the Blue Valley Southwest 5A Invitational. It was a big success for our team since most of our competition at state was there. I’m positive of our chances at bringing home a state title.” - Senior Hannah Ney

As of April 29th

SOFTBALL RUGBY

LACROSSE

Record: 20-2

Update: “We’ve been playing more succesful lately. Our team kind of got in a slump, but we’re still competeting and hoping to place well at nationals.” - Senior Justin Fields

Record: 3-7

Update: “Our season hasn’t been going as well as we hoped to, but we’re hoping to make the tournament if we beat Olathe East.” - Senior Austin Tedder

Photo by TROY HILDERHOF | The ShieldSophomore Kristina Colling (above) fends off a St. James defender at midfield. The girls’ soccer team holds up the trophy after their 2-0 victory. The team is ranked 12th in the nation.

PINKOUT MORE THAN JUST A GAMEThe Saint Thomas Aquinas girls’ soccer team puts on a PINKOUT themed game to raise money for breast cancer awareness.

by TROY HILDERHOFSports Editor

The Saint Thomas Aquinas girls’ soccer team defeated St. James 2-0 at home last Friday. The game theme, popularly known as PINK-OUT, is one the most important themes Aquinas athletics is proud to put on.

Although the girls’ soccer team won, they weren’t the real victors of the game. Coaches and players came together long before the game and started to figure out how to raise money for breast cancer awareness.

The soccer team used a couple different ways to donate money to Shawnee Mission Medical to support breast cancer awareness. At the soccer game, the team sold $10 raffle tickets with small prizes and gift cards.

“We sell pink trash bags, T-shirts, and collect dona-tions,” Head Coach Craig Ewing said. “We usually raise about $4,000 to $5,000 that goes to Shawnee Mission Women’s Center.”

Also to show their support for breast cancer awareness, the team dresses in pink uniforms and warms up with pink balls.

“We always have a walkout from the gym to the stadium,” Ewing said.

After prayer and the national anthem the team takes a group pic-ture with St. James. Each player and coach released a balloon to com-memorate a cancer victim as well.

“That involvement brings us closer to an achieving and understanding community,” Ewing said. The PINK-OUT tradition has affected the team pos-itively as well as get really

involved in a cause together. However, most of this wouldn’t

of been possible without Assistant Coach Brian White.

“White is in charge of it all. He is the leading organizer of PINK-OUT and makes the T-shirts for us

to sell,” senior Mary Disidore said. “He’s really good at adver-tising the events and makes us all really excited to sell shirts and make PINK-OUT popular.”

“It’s cool that both schools will come together for an important cause.” senior Kelly Sweeney said. Sweeney scored both of Aquinas’ goals in their victory over St. James on Friday.

The annual PINKOUT game has been going on for the previous six years, and the girls soccer team has won five out of six of them. g

“That involvement brings us closer to an achieving and

understanding community.”

CRAIG EWINGHead Coach

“It’s cool that both schools will come together

for an important cause.”

KELLY SWEENEYSenior

B2 The Shield May 2, 2014Arts & SPORTS

NEW EXEC COUNCIL WILLCONTINUE TO DARE GREATLY

The recently-elected quartet will focus on building school spirit.

by KATIE BERNARDReporter

Each member Saint Thomas Aquinas’ newest executive Student Council has high hopes for next year, but the council’s limited power may prevent the changes students want.

Next year’s council will consist of sophomore Isabel Kemp, and juniors Claire Fergu-son and Holly Hanson with junior Jason Frederick as student body president. Less than 15 percent of students who responded to The Shield’s survey claimed to know all four students elected.

POTENTIAL CHANGESThe four executives have

plenty of ideas to make the next school year better than ever, but no decisions have been made.

All four hope to swap the magazine sale for a potentially more successful fundraiser, but that will not be up to them.

“Ultimately [the magazine sale] is not up to us. We put in our input but we do not decide,” Hanson said.

The main focus of next year’s council will be school spirit. The student body will likely be met with new cheers and a very energetic Student Council next year. Hammons is confident in the newly-elected executives.

“They are team players and have apprenticed under excellent

school leaders,” Hammons said. “They are products of our system. Our faculty and staff have taught and influ-enced them, our classrooms and playing fields have shaped them, and our traditions and values are theirs.”

JASON FREDERICKJunior, 1 year on StuCoFrederick was excited and

a bit shocked to learn that he had been elected president.

“It didn’t really sink in when I first heard it on the announce-ments, but after a little while I was pretty ecstatic,” Frederick said.

Following up current presi-dent Annie Lind, Jason has some big shoes to fill. Jason hopes to increase school spirit especially among underclassmen by finding new cheers by sending upperclass-men into the sections of stands with less spirit to help energize the students. Jason also wants to

add another pancake breakfast to expand upon the success of this year’s CFO breakfast.

“Jason Frederick becomes the 27th Student Council president of this fine school and he will use his time and considerable talents to lead us ever forward,” said Student Council co-moderator Chuck Hammons.

CLAIRE FERGUSONJunior, 2 years on StuCo

Ferguson wants to spread spirit throughout all Aquinas sports by giving more class com-

petition incentives for atten-dance at the sports that receive less support.

“How cool would it be if we had 300 people at like a girls swimming meet or tennis?” Ferguson said.

Ferguson has been prep-ping for next year by exchang-ing ideas with Student Council members from other schools. She is hoping to use these ideas

as well as ideas of her own to make next school year the best it can be.

“I just think there are so many things that we could add to our school year to make it that much better,” Ferguson said.

HOLLY HANSON

Junior, 3 years on StuCoHolly hopes to increase

overall school spirit and improve upon the example set by this year’s executive council.

“My approach for next year

is take all of the things I have learned from this year, from the good to the bad, and help next year become even better,” Hanson said. “I will do my own thing but I will really try to live up to the example because they did so well, but I believe this next year we can do amazing as well.”

ISABEL KEMPSophomore,

2 years on StuCoIsabel hopes to maintain the

high school spirit and involvement next year. She is confident next year’s council will be able to live up to the example set by this year’s executives.

“I definitely want to try and keep the bond the Aquinas community has, the way everyone supports each other and the way we work together is amazing,” Kemp said.g

“They are your friends and classmates and they are eager for their opportunity to lead

and their time has come.”

CHUCK HAMMONSStuCo Moderator

One Aquinas student described it as “being in the zone all day.”

The student, who took unprescribed Adderall in attempt to stay focused on the large list of tasks she needed to accomplish, said the only negative effect was not being able to fall asleep. Other than that, she was able to “get 700 things done,” as she said.

Adderall, as well as medications such as Vyvanse, are often prescribed for Atten-tion Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). However, sometimes known as the “study drug,” these medications are believed by students to help with concentrating and ac-complishing everything--even if they aren’t diagnosed with ADD or ADHD.

Many students see it as a small price to pay for success compared to other options. Yet school administrators and law enforce-ment see it as a crime.

THE REWARD“It’s not a big deal because it’s not like

I’m cheating or knowing the answers,” the student said. “It’s just helping me focus and pay attention better. Honestly every-one has a little bit of ADD in them.”

The student said she took Adderall for the first time as a result of stress over everything she had to do in a short amount of time. Many students tend to take Ad-derall during finals week or for the ACT, as they see it as a small price to pay for a likely large reward. Over 33 percent of Aquinas students shared this mindset: the reward outweighs the risk.

Another Aquinas student said she sold most of her Adderall during finals week. While she stopped taking Adderall daily after realizing it had adverse effects on her health and sleep patterns, she still kept her prescription. Some of her friends knew she had decided to stop taking Adderall, and she said word got out quickly; soon, random people would approach her asking if she had extra pills to sell.

She sold Adderall primarily during finals weeks, although she said some of her

“clients” would purchase pills year-round until she stopped refilling her prescription.

“I think [selling or receiving Adderall] isn’t really a big deal. Although sounding quite ignorant, I think that as long as the person you sell them to has no allergies or stomach conditions, what harm can it really do?” she asked. “If my meds don’t help me, but do help someone else, and I could profit from them, then why keep them to myself ? Give and take. Supply and demand. It’s a good deal if you ask me.”

THE RISKWhile the students tend to see

selling or receiving Adderall as “not a big deal,” administration sees differently.

“[Giving or receiving Adderall] is a very serious viola-tion, not only to school but also to the police,” Principal of Student Services Mike Sullivan said. “If someone was selling that stuff, they would be expelled from school.”

He said punishment varies depend-ing on the situation and wouldn’t always necessarily result in expulsion, but it would always be considered a serious violation.

“Some people don’t realize it’s that big of a deal,” he said. “but it’s purchas-ing illegal drugs. You don’t always think about the consequences when you make that decision.”

While the policy regarding drug testing next year is not yet set in stone, Sullivan said that prescription drugs are de-tected in drug testing. While it’s difficult to

say how big of a problem Adderall abuse is at Aquinas, he said that if drug testing is instituted, it would help the problem of Adderall abuse.

Going off statistics regarding arrest reports compared to other public and private schools in the area, Aquinas has the lowest rate. Yet the problem is difficult to measure.

“If any kid is doing it, it’s a prob-lem,” he said.

School nurse Stephanny Sauceda pointed out several other negative effects of Adderall usage. Adderall alters the level

of dopamine, a neuratransmitter sometimes called the “sen-

sation seeking cen-ter,” in a person’s

brain.“When

the drug is discon-tinued, it pro-duces neg-ative ef-fects, both phys-

ically and

psycho-logically,”

Sauceda said. “Decreasing

the levels without medical supervision

can cause side effects such as seizures, depression, extreme fatigue, and irritability, [as well as] cardiovascular problems.”

She noted that Adderall can also be addictive when taken illegally or when medically unsupervised. She also men-tioned that alcohol and Adderall can cause alcohol poisoning, and mixing pills of any kind can be deadly.

Despite these warnings, many stu-dents still see it as merely a method to either make money or become extremely motivated. They see it as merely a win-win

situation without any consequences from Aquinas.

“I think it’s just a small deal made [big] anywhere or at any school,” the student who sold Adderall said. “I honestly don’t even think Aquinas cares all that much, nor do they do much about the ‘problem.’” g

by ANNIE SCHUGARTEditor-in-Chief

THE STUDY DRUG: A SILENT KILLERMany students who abuse Adderall—and even those who don’t—see it as being “no big deal.” But for

administration and police, the consequences are as serious as marijuana and other illegal drugs.

34%Yes

No66%

Do you know a student who has bought or sold ADD/ADHD medication from

another student in the past month?

Do you believe the risk outweighs the reward for using Adderall or similar

ADD/ADHD drugs without a prescription?

33%Reward

outweighs riskRisk

outweighs reward

67%

Jason Frederick Claire Ferguson Holly Hanson Isabel Kemp

Saint Thomas Aquinas students have had mixed opinions about Big Brother Will Be Watching You, a story I wrote about the upcoming changes to Aquinas’ privacy policy. However, many students do not un-derstand how good they are going to have it next year.

While doing research for my report, I found that other policies were much more invasive and limit-ing. Most of them ruled out monitor-ing student access by simply blocking any chance of the student getting themselves into trouble. One of the really positive parts of Bring Your Own Device is that next year the internet filtering will be as strict as it is now. You will be able to do more online as long as your teacher is OK with it. That is a fair

trade-off. BYOD and LanSchool also allows the

freedom to use a multitude of de-vices, compared to most schools which are tied down to one certain laptop model. BYOD and LanSchool will allow Aquinas students and faculty to explore past the laptop to the iPad, Android devices and the Surface, which many

students have already embraced. This will also make Aquinas much more competitive

when it comes to attracting new students, as guests can be very critical of a school’s digital offering. Despite the obvious lessening of pri-vacy students will have next year, many of them should look to other schools. St. James can keep an eye on students’ web history even if they are not at school, as long as they are on the school-provided laptops. As schools modernize, they will have to make tough privacy changes. Aquinas is simply going digital in the fairest way they can. Change is always tough for people and next year will be no exception. However, the best way to enjoy the change is to work with it. Talk with your teachers about what you can do and find ways to make BYOD and LanSchool another reason to love Aquinas. g

You’re lucky you’re allowed to read this. As a private Catholic school, we

aren’t protected by the First Amendment’s freedom of speech like most public schools. Our newspaper can be censored. It has been censored twice this year alone, although we are certainly allowed much more freedom than many private schools.

Yet perhaps the greatest censorship The Shield has encountered is self-cen-sorship. Because newspaper seems to be a “dying art,” the purpose of newspapers have shifted as well--especially school newspapers. Instead of dispelling myths or digging deep into the unknown, instead of prompting change, we self-censor. We give readers what they want to hear.

This perception of news is incorrect and needs to be shifted.

Students deserve to have a voice that is not squandered. As a private school legally subject to censorship, it is fortunate

that Saints nearly have the freedom of public schools. Most of our paper isn’t subject to pre-approval unless a prob-lem is posed or if an issue is brought up to administration. We are fortunate. Yet censorship is still an issue because it’s the topics that most need to be discussed that are censored.

The two censored articles this year were about enrollment struggles at Archdi-ocesan schools and the potential drug test-ing policy at Aquinas next year. Instead of providing opinions from various experts so that the Aquinas community could have

a more well-informed debate, The Shield was asked to not publish the articles. This act of censorship did not stop the discus-sion, it only limited the access to well-in-formed sources.

It is imperative that the future of the news program at Aquinas continues to strive for fearless and daring reporting, covering all aspects of Aquinas--not just always the positive aspects, which we already hear about endlessly from people paid by the school to trumpet the good news. It is imperative that the readers voice their opinion, but also respect the mindset and purpose of a newspaper. And finally, it is absolutely essential that newspapers keep and expands on freedom of speech.

Our forefathers fought for free speech because they saw the logic in not letting powerful people stifle information. The powerful people at Aquinas, whether in various situations that is administrators, teachers, or students, should too see the log-ic in promoting free discussion rather than stifling what really needs to be heard. g

The Shield B3May 2, 2014Opinions

MY BIG BROTHER ISN’T SO BAD

CENSOREDby ANNIE SCHUGARTEditor-in-Chief

by ALEX KINNANReporter

LanSchool is far less invasive and limiting than options at other schools.

The Shield needs to be seen as a tool for discussion rather than information

that needs to be stifled.

Saint Thomas Aquinas High School

hieldSthe

11411 Pflumm RoadOverland Park, KS 66215

913-319-2460www.stasaints.net/shield

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFAnnie Schugart

CAMPUS NEWS EDITORBryan Zack

OPINIONS EDITORJordan Bartz

SPORTS EDITORTroy Hilderhof

REPORTERSJanie BachkoraKatie Bernard

Jordan EberhardyAlex Kinnan

Jackson McElroy

ADVISERMatt Hallauer

MISSION STATEMENTThe Shield is a newspaper spon-sored by Saint Thomas Aquinas High School and produced by its students to provide information, entertainment, and open forum, as well as a learning experience for its staff members. The goal of The Shield’s staff is to meet pro-fessional journalism standards. Staff members are responsible for the content of the newspaper and strive to report news accurate-ly, objectively, and completely. The Shield is an open forum for student expression and aims to communicate the concerns of the student body as well as the facul-ty, staff, and Aquinas community.

SUBSCRIPTIONSSubscriptions to The Shield are $2 per issue. Contact mhallauer@stasaints.net.

ADVERTISINGThe Shield sells advertisements to help with publication costs. All ads will be subject to the same scrutiny as stories. The Shield will not print any obscenities or any ads promoting products illegal to those under the age of 18. For advertising, please call (913) 319-2460, send an email to mhallauer@stasaints.net, or visit www.stasaints.net/shield

LETTER POLICYLetters may be accepted by The Shield, provided that they are signed and do not contain libelous statements. The Shield re-serves the right to edit the letters for grammar, obscenity, or space consideration, and also reserves the right to not print a letter.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Opinions of Aquinas students, based off 170 student responses

to an poll sent via e-mail.

I have a steady job

66%

I’ll havesporadic odd jobs

22%

No12%

Will you have a job this summer?How many finals do you expect to take?

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7# of Finals

Other schools’ technology policies were much more

invasive and limiting. Most of them ruled out monitoring

student access by simply blocing any chance of the student getting

themselves into trouble.

Instead of dispelling myths or digging deep into the unkown,

instead of prompting change, we self-censor. We give readers

what they want to hear.

What others say:“Censorship, in my opinion, is a stupid and shallow way of approach-ing the solution to any problem.”

- Dwight D. Eisenhower

“When truth is replaced by silence, the silence is a lie.”

- Yevgeny Yevtushenko

“A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and false-hood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.”

- John F. Kennedy

“When you tear out a man’s tongue, you are not proving him a liar, you’re only telling the world that you fear what he might say.”

- George R.R. Martin

“We change people through conversation, not censorship.”

- Jay-Z

B4 The Shield May 2, 2014

Last Look

THEN & NOW: FRESHMAN YEAR TO SENIOR YEAR

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“Cheering at the football game when it was like a hurricane. It was something that will probably never happen again, and I’m glad I got to

experience it.” - Courtney Kelly

“Getting to school before the sun comes up to unload thousands of cans... That was alright.” - Grant Mayfield

“My favorite memory is just going to all the games that we got to dress up for! I loved coming together and being able to cheer on our team. It

is something I will never forget!” - Kaitlin Ketelle

“Winning state on a perfect 25-0 record freshman year with my older sister (who was a senior at the time).” - Tia Weledji

“Singing the Alma Mater at every time possible.” - Taylor Clement

“I’ve loved so much about Aquinas it’s impossible to choose, but the beautiful relief of winning Spring Olympics this year was a feeling I’ll

never forget.” - Alison Sell

“All of it. I can’t even depict one single memory. By now my whole high school career has mashed into one full memory. Everything atAquinas has been my favorite memory. Spring Olympics my senior year, fresh-men skit when we killed it, canning my sophomore year when it was

snowing, junior year when our hallway was a jumbled mess but we still managed to do well. My entire high school career has been my favorite

memory.” - Jordan Barmby

“Definitely being on stage for Dinner Theatre every year with all my friends and family surrounding me. You put so much effort into a couple hours of performing and nothing feels better than being able to share all that hard work and celebrate the year coming to an end by ‘Swingin’ with

the Saints.’” - Madison Victor

FAVORITE AQUINAS MEMORIES