JagWire Newspaper: Volume 26, Issue 2

SCARED TO SAY IT

Fear of polarization is ending discussions before they begin PAGE 14 SPECIAL SECTION: AGREE TO DISAGREE? PAGE 20 A&E:

LETTER FROM THE EDITORS

In newspaper, open discus- sion forms the base of every- thing we do as a staff. We talk through the whole issue process from story ideas to page planning and critiques. Even though sometimes these discussions have led to heated arguments, we’ve seen how essential they have been to making our paper a representation of our staff, mixed opinions and all.

However, we haven’t seen this level of open discussion in many of our other classes, whether those discussions are about current events or even weekend plans. We wanted to find out why so many people, including ourselves at times, are hesitant to speak up. Even when students do speak up, our peers fail to cul-

tivate respectful discussions and also struggle to learn from others’Weperspectives.

realized that now, more than ever, we needed to have this conversation. For our second issue, we wanted to make sure we gave students, especially those sometimes too scared to share their opinions, a voice. It wasn’t always easy for our staff to find the people whose voices got lost, but with lots of open discussion and some disagreeing, we man- aged.

We hope that our second issue sparks discussion, whether that be about your favorite matcha place or your Halloween costume for this year. We urge all our readers to be open to others’ perspectives and don’t be afraid to share your own. with

2025-26 JAGWIRE STAFF

Editors in Chief

avery clement

editor in chief

maddie martin

editor in chief

quinlyn peters

editor in chief

Online Editors in Chief

maddie martin

online editor in chief

evan leroy online editor in chief

Photo Editor

eva hernandez

photo editor

Copy Editors

madelyn mulryan copy editor

kennedy botkin copy editor

Managing Editors

natalia castillejos ramírez managing editor

gracyn schreiber managing editor

Analytics Manager

oliver feiring analytics manager

@millvalleynews1

@MillValleyNews

Staff

doreen mahugu

writer/photographer

mya franco writer/photographer

ryan bloomer writer/photographer

gwen ansell writer/photographer

cal bierl

writer/photographer

asher clement

writer/photographer

emma cooper writer/photographer

kady coulibaly writer/photographer

avery curry writer/photographer

bella davidson writer/photographer

jason sweany writer/photographer

lucas pennel writer/photographer

JagWire Office

5900 Monticello Road

Shawnee, KS 66226

Phone: (913) 422-4351

Email: jagwirenewspaper@gmail.com

Website: www.mvnews.org

Adviser: Kathy Habiger khabiger@usd232.org

JagWire, a monthly publication of Mill Valley High School, is printed by Valley Offset Printing

Censorship Policy

The Kansas Student Publications Act guarantees the same rights for student journalists as are guaranteed for professional journalists. These rights include, but are not limited to, all First Amendment rights, including the rights of freedom of speech and the press, insofar as published items may not contain libelous, slanderous or obscene statements, may not incite or promote illegal conduct and may not cause a substantial disruption to normal school activity. This law also prevents censorship of any kind by the adviser, building or district administration.

Discussing her player’s performance, tennis coach Denise Smith points out what she can do better in order to improve in her next match, Saturday, Oct. 11. photo by eva hernandez

Freshman Emily Solis organizes her display for her business, Emily’s Little Shop, Sunday, Oct. 12. photo by kady coulibaly

THE ECHO EFFECT

Social media algorithms are designed to polarize and sensationalize opinions

Social media algorithms are used to show viewers the content they want to see. They track people’s engagement to see what they like or dislike and tailor their feeds to their interests.

These algorithms make using social media more catered to each person; however, it also means people are only given content they want to see. This also means in many cases, only given content they agree with. This can make social media platforms harmful to students’ ability to disagree and argue with others.

A report by the National Library of Health reports that social media platforms may limit “exposure to diverse perspectives and favor the formation of groups of like minded users.” This can create “echo chambers” in which people are

only exposed to similar ideas and opinions, which reinforce their preexisting ones.

This can be harmful to students’ ability to disagree with others because the real world has no algorithms. During an in class discussion or a conversation at a lunch table, not every student will share the same opinion. It is very likely that students won’t agree on everything.

However, since social media only exposes people to content they are interested in, this means they are rarely seeing content that they disagree with. If students are exposed to content they don’t agree with, they can always hit the not interested button, which filters similar content out of their feeds.

This can be detrimental because it prevents students from seeing other perspectives. Whereas in real life and in person conversations there will always be people who disagree.

Social media doesn’t always expose people to diverse perspectives different from their own.

by jagwire staff

This can make people less tolerant of these beliefs because they are only seeing content that they like and content that is catered to their beliefs.

While social media algorithms will always be there to show people the content they are interested in, it doesn’t have to impact students’ ability to have productive conversations.

To combat this, students should attempt to be open to other people’s perspectives and listen to their arguments. Social media can convince people that there is a right and wrong side to arguments, but real life issues have more nuance. By listening and being open during discussions, students can combat some of the negative effects of the echo chambers that are created on social media platforms.

ELECTING OUR BOARD

by mya franco writer/photographer

by asher clement writer/photographer

With school board elections coming up Tuesday, Nov. 4, meet the candidates up for each member district position

SCHOOL BOARD DO’S

What the school board does for the schools it serves:

USD 232 elects board member positions staggered every four years, but elections are every two years

This year the elections are over positions four, five and six. The person elected will become one of two board members from each boundary line (see map)

Anyone who lives in the district is allowed to run for a position

Total, there will be six members elected

Board member responsibilities:

Setting goals for the district

Establishing policies for the schools

Operating the budget for the schools

Hiring and evaluating the superintendent

Developing and revising class curriculum

Source: USD 232 website

WHAT DO WE KNOW?

SENIOR

“I’m not really sure what the school board does, maybe make events that happen at school?”

FRESHMAN

MAP KEY

Member districts one and four

Member districts two and five

Member districts three and six

Mill Valley High School

DeSoto High School

How much do students know about the school board?

SOPHOMORE

“I think the school board manages all the activities or maybe makes rules for the district.”

“The school board decides what we end up doing in school.”

CANDIDATES Q&A

District candidates’ thoughts on different topics and their goals if they are elected onto the school board

DISTRICT FOUR CANDIDATES

Lucy Dewitt

Two chicken taquitos and a bubbly water, or just gum

What are your goals for the district?

My goals for the district are to continue the excellent work USD 232 does for kids.

Favorite part of the school district?

Who doesn’t love Friday Night Lights? I also enjoy homecoming. It’s such a magical time to see the floats and all the hard work the students put in.

DISTRICT FIVE CANDIDATES

Christian Amend

order: QT QT

The breakfast scramble and the cold brew coffee bar

What are your goals for the district?

I would like to see students learning not focus entirely on screen-time [and] incorporating more hands-on learning and access to skilled trade.

Favorite part of the school district?

The facilities in our school district are amazing! The sports fields and after school activities are awesome.

DISTRICT SIX CANDIDATES

Nancy Moneymaker

order: QT QT

Taquitos, coffee and sometimes a donut

What are your goals for the district?

The district goal of the “Best Educated Students in this Nation” is within our reach if we make wise school board decisions.

Favorite part of the school district?

I love all aspects of the De Soto school district. That sounds lame not to have a favorite, but it’s true.

Calley Malloy

order: QT QT

Black Iced Tea- unsweet, pickle flavor sunflower seeds and string cheese

What are your goals for the district?

My vision is to see USD 232 ranked as the #1 district in the state of Kansas. I also want every student in our district to feel seen, supported and valued.

Favorite part of the school district?

Most of all, I love our teachers and staff, the ones who greet me each morning at drop-off and make a lasting, meaningful impact on our students every day.

TJ Finan Brandi Jonasson

order: QT QT

Unsweet iced tea

What are your goals for the district?

My goals for the future of the district include implementing programs to train staff to recognize and support students in need, both academically and emotionally.

Favorite part of the school district?

My favorite part of the school district is the people. Our students, staff, and community members [create] a strong, positive environment for USD 232.

order: QT QT

Big Coca Cola fountain drink and Swedish Fish

What are your goals for the district?

I would love to see more learning opportunities for students, [and] more diverse clubs and extra curricular activities so there is a place for every student.

Favorite part of the school district?

The students are truly my favorite part of being involved in the school district. It’s always such a joy to spend time with them.

FRIDAY NIGHT FRIGHTS

by madelyn mulryan copy editor

Senior Eden Christian details her experience as a scare actor at Exiled Haunted trails at Zip KC

“One time I was hanging from my funhouse, trying to look like a statue, and this grown man came through. I jumped out and scared him so bad he fell straight on his [butt]. Sometimes I can’t control how much I scare people.”

“I’m not socially anxious and I’m very energetic, so I [got this job at Exiled] because I feel like it’s fun to act crazy, and my job really puts me in the Halloween spirit. I get to jump out and do a high pitched clown voice, sometimes I do cartwheels or crawl towards [who I’m scaring]. My favorite thing to do is act like a statue and then move.”

FREAKY FACTS

Differing ways students celebrate Halloween

Are you dressing up for Halloween?

Survey of 147 students What are your plans for halloween?

MATCHA MATCH UP RAGUS

JagWire Staff reviews local formulas of the matcha latte by flavor, milk content and sweetness

by natalia castillejos ramírez managing editor by gwen ansell writer/photographer

• Matcha originates in China during the Tang Dynasty

STARBUCKS

• Tea ceremonies—originating in the fourteenth century—are traditional Japanese rituals in which matcha is cultivated and consumed

• Matcha gains its green color through the choloroplasts

• High end matcha is made from tea leaves grown in the shade, which enriches its

LEAVING A MARK

Painting class students are helping paint three unique murals in lower B hallway

Since the beginning of the school year, art teacher Jodi Ellis and her Painting class have been working on three mu- rals in the lower B hallway that rest in three insets in the wall.

Last year, principal Gail Hold- er asked Ellis to make a mural on the staircase going down to the basement. Once they finished that project, Ellis got the idea to make another mural.

“I was walking through the building during my plan to get some steps in,” Ellis said. “I walked in [to B hall] and I saw the insets. [The insets are] like a framed image. It’s waiting for artwork to go in there. So, I asked Holder over the summer if we could [make the murals].”

To complete the mural, Ellis and her Painting class came to- gether to brainstorm ideas for what they wanted each mural to look like. Using those ideas, Ellis sketched out three rough designs in pencil, then put her draw- ings into ChatGPT to get three finished, colored designs. Ellis

ARTISTIC CREATORS

Each mural is sketched and painted by two or three students

by kennedy

botkin copy editor by kady coulibaly writer/photographer

then had to have the designs ap- proved by the administration be- fore the class could start on the mural.

The murals represent the dif- ferent classes offered in the hallway. Senior Hayli Scheffler is taking part in painting the mural

They did something to beautify the school that will live long after they leave this school.

shade,” Scheffler said. “I wanted two of them, but it didn’t work out. It was really difficult. I had to redraw one a lot of times.”

Junior Desean Williams, who worked on the mural based on Environmental Science and Marine Biology classes, also had difficulties painting the mural on the wall.

Art teacher Jodi Ellis ” ” ” ”

based on Psychology and Biol- ogy classes. Although Scheffler enjoys painting it, she still faced difficulty while doing so.

“The DNA strand was really difficult because you have to

“I’m not that good at draw- ing in [the] lines,” Williams said.

“Especially with painting it, I keep going out of the lines.”

Despite their difficulty, the paintings helped Scheffler and her classmates understand the effort that creating a mural requires.

“It really showed [me] the hard work that people put into murals,” Scheffler said. “I always thought it was just there and then done.”

The challenges senior Kaitlyn Tracy faced throughout this pro- cess have also helped her under- stand the mural process better.

“It’s definitely a lot harder than I thought it would be,” Tra-

Senior Quinlyn Peters

Junior Ellie Newell

Junior Kenley Edwards

cy said. “There’s a lot of planning that goes into it.”

Scheffler realized she now views the other murals in the school differently because of the effort she put into hers.

“It really showed [me] the hard work that people put into murals,” Scheffler said. “I always thought it was just there and then done.”

Tracy is proud of the effort her and her classmates put into each mural.

“I like the skeleton that’s on the part that I did,” Tracy said. “I think I did a pretty good job on that, and I think it’s going pretty [well].”

Ellis is happy with the effort she and her students put into the murals. She hopes her students are proud of their work and what they did for the school.

“My hope is that it gives some ownership to the students,” Ellis said. “They did something to beautify the school that will live long after they leave this school. I do think that having something that the kids are involved with that becomes a permanent structure in the school makes it feel more like theirs.”

Ellis is retiring after this year and is glad she is leaving part of her legacy“I’mbehind.retiring this year, so it’s interesting and exciting for me to leave something more permanent that will be seen after I leave,” Ellis said.

WHAT IT TAKES

The steps it took to get each mural planned

1. Ellis and her class brainstorm ideas

2. Ellis sketches out rough designs in pencil

3. Ellis uploads the designs to ChatGPT to create a reference for their final product

Senior Hayli Scheffler

Junior Clara Budimlija

Senior Kaitlyn Tracy

Junior Desean Williams

Senior Ana Rios

Senior Savannah Seymour

(Not pictured)

CALMING COLORING

“[The coloring wall is] a brain release [for when] you’re feeling overwhelmed. Sometimes you [only] have two minutes [to color] when you’re changing classes. We might have two minutes because we’re waiting till they do the next job.”

Coloring Wall Located in lunch ladies’ office, ask a lunch lady for further details

Every morning before the students arrive, the lunch staff begins their day at 5:30 to get the ovens running and set up breakfast for the students. After breakfast, they begin prepping and serving lunch, then they end their day by cleaning up the kitchen.

Along with making breakfast and lunch, the lunch staff has to do other, smaller jobs such as cutting vegetables for the salad bar, prepping a la carte items like yogurt parfaits or salads and washing dishes.

Head Chef

Laura Coleman provides insight into how her staff members assist her throughout the long day.

“[My staff members] make it easy and fun,” Coleman said. “Everybody’s always offering to help others, and we pick each other up when we’re down. That’s what we do.”

Although the staff can support each other, the team still faces hardships. Mikki Bryant explains one of their primary struggles they face day-to-day.

“[We are] very short staffed,” Bryant said. “It’s hard when you’re short staffed and you’re try - ing to get every-

SERVING SMILES

thing through and done.”

The staff often lacks full members each day, and with only four lunch staff subs shared between the whole district, it makes it difficult to efficiently get work done. Despite this, student nutrition manager Michelle Kile thinks the staff works well together because they are so closeknit, which helps them overcome this obstacle.

“I will say that we are a very close group,” Kile said. “If they sucked, this job would suck. And they don’t suck. We have a lot going on in here at any given day, [but] we have each other’s back, [and] we’re like a little family. ”

A good team that understands each other can improve workflow and the overall mood of staff members. To increase their bond, the lunch staff does various activities outside of school, like getting dinner together or having holiday parties in the kitchen. Coleman remembers when the lunch staff did a homecoming float together.

“We’ve been in the homecoming parade, [and it was] a way that we [could] all work togeth-

er,” Coleman said. “A lot of creative thinking and brainstorming [went into it, and the float] showed a little bit of everybody’s personality.”

Bryant explains why the students and faculty make her job at the school superior to other schools.

LUNCHROOM LOVE

Gratitude is shown to lunch staff by students

“I think [the lunch ladies are] very nice. What they do is very difficult, and they do a good job at it.”

-Junior Jace Hutchens

“I subbed, and I went to all different schools, and I chose this school because I loved it,” Bryant said. “I loved the people. I love the fast pace of it. It was just a great atmosphere.”

As a whole, the lunch staff likes working at the school because of its support and kindness.

“Every time I type in my lunch code, they make conversation with me, and seem attentive to what I have to say. I really appreciate what they do for us.”

-Junior Paxton Grunewald

“This building is nice, and the kids are awesome,” Kile said. “We love it here. I think the kids are great because they always say ‘Thank you’ or ‘Have a good day’ and they smile. I [also] think we’re part of their good day because it’s lunch.”

WORDS WITHHELD

Lack of discussion over opposing views leaves students divided

MIRRORED DIVIDES

by maddie martin editor in chief

by evan leroy online editor in chief

Lack of student discussion is a reflection of the divided world today

In recent years, there has been an increase in ideological divides among Americans. According to Pew Research Center, 88% of Americans feel there are strong conflicts between people of different political parties. This division often causes people to avoid talking about their beliefs.

Pew Research Center also found that 45% of people have avoided talking about politics with another person because of something they said about their beliefs. Scott Reinardy, interim dean of the William Allen White School of Journalism at KU, has observed this divide in his everyday life.

“We’re in an environment politically and socially where we pick our sides and say, ‘This is my side, and these are my people, and I’m never going anywhere,’” Reinardy said. “That’s unfortunate, because I have family members on the entire spectrum, politically, socially, and religiously. If we can’t engage with

each other, we won’t solve problems and we won’t gain a better understanding.”

Division in the country is beginning to be mirrored at the school. Students, like sophomore Jack Moulin, feel that there are

The political climate is very cutthroat nowadays, certain opinions are seen by one side as terrible.

Sophomore Jack

Moulin

by avery clement editor in chief

by cal bierl writer/photographer

are seen by one side as terrible. I’d say some opinions are very shunned, so there is a no-go to talk about them.”

Freshman John Kiene feels similarly.

“I think [students are scared to] fight or disagree,” Kiene said. “There can definitely be discussions that are respectful, but I think [students] just want to stay out of a fight.”

” ” ” ”

certain topics people avoid discussing because of others reactions.

“I feel like political topics are very tense,” Moulin said. “The political climate is very cutthroat nowadays. Certain opinions

While students may be afraid to voice their opinions, English teacher Victoria Byrd-Wright hopes that having discussions can combat these divides.

“The problem is that [students are] going to leave this building not agreeing with half of their country, so I think it’s important to have guided discussions in the classroom,” Byrd-Wright said. “That requires teaching them how to disagree and having a conversation where you’re both listening and you’re both hearing the other person rather than just talking at the other person.”

SUPPRESSED VIEWS

In the classroom, many students are often hesitant to speak up

During classroom discussions, students tend to avoid public disagreement. Social studies teacher George Walden claims that this behavior is related to the societal pressures of fitting in.

“Kids have more opinions than ever, but don’t share their opinion,” Walden said. “I’ve been doing this for 20 years, and in the seven years of my political participation class, it’s gone down every single year. Kids don’t want to talk. They’re afraid of being ridiculed. I used to have more people on the fringes, and they strongly agree or strongly disagree. Now I have more middle because everybody just wants to fly under the radar.”

Junior Lexi Blaine agrees with this idea, noting that her peers tend to identify with the popular belief during classroom discussions.

“If somebody answers the question, the kids who agree with them will definitely say something. The kids who disagree don’t really say anything

unless the teacher is like ‘Now somebody who disagrees has to speak,’” Blaine said.

One particular explanation for students being afraid to voice their contradicting opinions involves the fear of hurting someone. Kiene believes that there are some topics that should be left alone entirely.

“In general, if an issue is going to really hurt someone, you just agree to disagree,” Kiene said.

“That’s the only time where you shouldn’t [discuss certain topics], but I think for the most part

DIVIDED DISCUSSION

it’s perfectly acceptable to allow people to have their own opinions.”

Some students want to change the typical dynamic of structured interaction in the classroom. Freshman Chelyn Nielsen hopes to offer something with her beliefs in these talks.

“What makes me want to participate in classroom discussions is the fact that I get to inspire other people with my own personal opinion so that there’s more diversity in discussions,” Nielsen said.

SOCIAL STRAIN

Along with finding it hard to discuss and disagree with their peers during in class discussions, students also struggle to express their opinions within their own social groups.

Nielsen usually tries to avoid talking about controversial topics with her friends to prevent arguments.

“I try to keep it simple and peaceful, and I don’t try to argue with people because all of our opinions at the end of the day are based on our own personal views,” Nielsen said. “We can’t necessarily change how someone feels, but getting angry about it probably isn’t the best decision.”

While students may struggle to express their beliefs in person, Blaine believes social media can make people more confident in their opinions because they tend to repeat information they hear online.

“Social media comes into play with discussions because you can always hear things on social media, and a lot of people

Fear of dicussing opposing opinions negatively affects social interactions in person and through social media

will believe them but you don’t know if it’s true or not,” Blaine said. “So when people say stuff they heard on social media, they have no way of confirming if it’s true or not.”

Walden has also seen the problem with biases on social

Getting angry is what’s most popular right now, and what gets the most clicks. English teacher Victoria Byrd-Wright

media algorithms.

or my social media accounts are saying.’ It’s made having conversations hard.”

Byrd-Wright believes that social media has done a lot of harm to the way people debate.

“Getting angry is what’s most popular right now, and what gets the most clicks,” Byrd-Wright said. “I think that puts people more into their own echo chambers, so we’re much less willing to listen or concede on a point. I think that they don’t have good role models for watching people disagree because adults can’t do it, so how can we expect high schoolers to do the same?”

” ”

Walden agrees with this idea, explaining that the animosity of social media has made debating worse.

“We all have our own little algorithms and sets of facts that we’re reading and we’re hearing about,” Walden said. “The facts that I’m getting are different than yours. You might say something, I’d be like, ‘That’s stupid, because this is what my phone

DISAGREEMENT

DATA

Statistics on effects of disagreements within student relations

Survey of 147 students

“It’s really easy to hide behind that screen and just be like ‘I hate whatever you’re thinking or whatever you’re talking about,’” Walden said. “[It’s] super easy to do that [online], whereas you wouldn’t do that to somebody to their face.”

Topics students are most likely to be offended on if a friend expresses a strong opposing opinion: When students disagree on a serious moral/ political/ religious subject, they will: Have students ever ended a close relationship over a political/ moral disagreement?

AGREE TO DISAGREE?

Teachers and students find solutions to polarization caused by discussion

In response to disagreements and a lack of discussion between people today, teachers and students are looking for solutions.

” ”

In her class, History teacher Tina Keith educates her students on strong discussion techniques to promote students to share opinions that are backed by facts rather than emotions.

“I talk to [students] about when you present [an argument] to always make sure that you present it as your opinion [and back] it up with statistics or research,” Keith said.

Similarly, Reinardy strives to create a classroom environment where students can disagree on topics but not feel personally attacked.

“[Students] don’t want to be judged [or] put into a box,” Reinardy said. “Nobody likes to be criticized, but the whole idea of [my] class is that we’re not criticizing the individual, we’re trying to have conversations about their ideas. Although you’re attached to an idea, it doesn’t mean that’s all you know. If you think you know something, that’s great, but there’s other people

[People] can have their own beliefs, and they can agree and disagree with things, so trying to stay level headed is the best thing.

Junior Lexi Blaine

” ”

who know and think things that they can share that will provide a better understanding.”

While students can learn from one another, Moulin believes that on certain topics students may not be able to compromise on.

“Most things [one can] agree to disagree, but I think there are some ethical things that should not be compromised on [and] in general it is objectively wrong to have a negative opinion on that,” Moulin said.

When it does come to these disagreements on polarizing topics, Kiene focuses on using reason over emotion in order to avoid charged arguments.

”

If I disagree with somebody, I don’t feel pressure to go along with the flow. If I do find an error, I’ll voice it, but I’ll be kind about it.

Senior David Johnson

“You can’t dip down to that level. You can’t get mad or get frustrated with them, because ultimately, that’s going to just put you off for the worse, and that’ll just help their argument. So just stay calm and try to be, try to use as much reason as possible with them,” Keine said.

On topics where one can agree to disagree, Blaine feels it is important to value others’ perspectives.

“I’m fine with disagreeing with people,” Blaine said. “I try to stay level headed with it because it’s another person. They can have their own beliefs, and they can agree and disagree with things, so trying to stay level headed is the best thing.”

Senior David Johnson also recognizes that he often disagrees with his peers but emphasizes being respectful towards their opinions as well.

“It’s really easy to disagree with people,” Johnson said. “If I disagree with somebody, I obviously have to back it up, but I don’t feel pressure to go along with the flow. If I do find an error, I’ll definitely voice it, but I’ll be kind about it because it’s an opinion and everybody has an opinion.”

COSTUME CREATIVITY

According to CNN, Halloween costumes from the first half of the 20th century focused on being scary as a way for people to ward off evil spirits or reconcile with death. Now they are worn for pure fun and games, mainly by adolescents dressing up to go trick or treating. This tradition has become very commonplace in America, and most houses in every neighborhood hand out candy. October 31 is a day when people can go out and get candy for the small fee of a costume. In recent years, many costumes have become boring, unoriginal or lacking any type of effort.

ample, I recently saw a TikTok showing off a group costume based on the Wizard of Oz, but their costumes were various colored corsets and skirts. Now, when people actually go all out for Halloween, they are out of place in a group setting among these low effort costumes. When

” ”

This is not to say that there aren’t creative and interesting costumes still out there, but it has become socially acceptable to be boring. There has been a strong polarization of costumes: there are really great costumes that took a lot of effort to make and look amazing and costumes where it is just a solid color t-shirt and a skirt. With this divide, it becomes apparent who actually has the spirit for Halloween.

Most costumes have devolved into plain old clothes like corsets, skirts, shorts and shirts. For ex-

In recent years, many costumes have become boring, unoriginal or lacking any type of effort.

JagWire reporter Mya Franco

by mya franco writer/photographer

seems like the same costumes are becoming common. Last year when I was handing out candy, I saw the same costume at least six or seven times. This decline in creativity is a direct consequence of people slowly not being able to think for themselves. People nowadays don’t want to spend the hour it takes to actually sit down and find a costume. This causes last minute costumes to become more common, and lackluster costumes.

” ”

there is such a wide divide, those who actually have love for the holiday get dirty looks.

I have felt this dissonance in group settings many times in my years of participating in Halloween. Every year, I enjoy the hunt for a good, unique Halloween costume. Of course, there are different trends every year, but it

Finding a good, creative Halloween costume can be hard and time consuming, but overall, it takes minimal brainpower and time. While some people don’t have the time to find a good costume, if they used the time they spent doomscrolling on their phone to scroll through the thousands of Amazon Halloween costumes, they could find a creative costume. The costumes don’t even have to be original, but it has become clear that there is a lack of effort and imagination put into costumes. Every Halloween costume has potential, all it takes is a bit of effort, thought and creativity to stand out from the crowd.

CLASH CRAZE

Clash Royale continues to dominate screens, conversation and even time in the classroom

Do you Clash?” is a question heard frequently around the school. The popularity of the mobile game Clash Royale has increased significantly amongst students. According to Statista, the number of downloads surged to 25.5 million in July 2025.

by cal bierl writer/photographer

distracts from lessons.

“Overall, I’d say [Clash Royale has] been very good to help students connect over a mutual thing,” Hampton said.“But I think it can also be seen as negative, due to some focus being

”

The widespread appeal of Clash Royale is partly due to its marketing success. Freshman Mason Trilck claims that he and his peers were drawn to the game by online content.

“I saw an ad for [Clash Royale] on YouTube shorts, and then I started playing it from there,” Trilck said.

After this surge in popularity, many students began playing Clash Royale at school, including during class time. According to junior Nikoah Hampton, this increasing appearance of the game is not a major concern on its own, but it becomes an issue when it

Overall, I’d say [Clash Royale has] been very good to help students connect over a mutual thing.

supposed to have your phone at all in their class.”

The multiplayer design of Clash Royale has an impact on social life in school. Sophomore Adam Kuchynka describes how the game encourages his friends to talk more.

“A lot of people talk about what decks they run or play [together] at lunch,” Kuchynka said.

Clash Royale is beloved by students because of its wide variety of content.

taken away from school and onto the game. I only see teachers get mad about students playing in class when they’re trying to teach, or [when] you’re not

POPULAR PICKS

“It’s the fact that there’s just so much to do in the game,” Hampton said. “It’s very versatile there. It’s been out for a very long time. I think it’s actually executed very well.” 1st 2nd

Students average 2 hours a day playing Clash Royale

LOCALLY LOVED

Located in Shawnee, local businesses are a staple in the area, and students love going to them for things like shopping, eating or just hanging out

PRAYER BOX CAFE

Prayer Box Café is a local coffee shop that is popular among many students.

Owner Katie Bolen opened the cafe with the goal of making it a space where people feel comfortable.

“I want [customers] to feel good,” Bolen said. “It’s a safe space to feel good, emotionally, physically, spiritually and I just hope they maybe make connections with other people.”

To promote these connections, Bolen runs the shop with kindness.

“We run our business through kindness,” Bolen said. “People say, ‘They didn’t earn my respect.’ Well, respect isn’t something they give, it’s something we get. Same thing with kindness. [If] somebody’s having a bad day, they come in, being nice to them isn’t anything about them. It’s how we are. We’re kind.”

EMBELLISH

Embellish Boutique offers a variety of items from cloth- ing to home decor.

The boutique has been open for eight years, according to Hamilton, their goal has always been to serve their shoppers.

“It’s a wide variety of shoppers, but we’ve had some really loyal customers over the past eight years that have helped keep us in business,”Hamilton said.

For Hamilton those customer relationships are her favorite part of owning a business.

“We’ve met some really amaz- ing customers who have become our friends,” Hamilton said. “We have some customers that we’ve seen through life’s challenges, it’s good to establish friendships with customers that can evolve outside of a storefront.”

by gwen ansell writer/photographer

by maddie martin editor in chief

Station 3 is a local coffee shop located inside of a de- commissioned fire station. Nearly every inch of the building is covered with murals painted by local artists and even a KC heart stands outside. Courtney Nelson runs the cafe alongside her sister-in-law, Betsy Mecknes, and husband John Nelson. Nelson explains why they opened the shop after their students graduated from the school, leaving them as “empty nesters.”

“[We want our customers have a] friendly atmosphere, good coffee. Our new slogan is, ‘good coffee, good company.’ [We are] just providing the outdoor space that I feel like is sometimes hard to find a strip center,” Nelson said.

CHINA KING STATION 3

China King, is a local favor- ite restaurant owned and operated by Tracy Huang and Micheal Chen that serves the community authentic Chinese cuisine. Their daughter, sopho- more Hollie Chen, helps out.

“[I usually] come help out on Fridays and Saturdays,” Hollie said. “I usually come around four or five after school, then I work [until] it starts to slow down.”

China King has over 50 dish- es on the menu, ranging from chow mein to crab rangoons, all cooked in house to order.

“[The menu] evolved to whatever the customers’ taste preferences are, [causing us to add] more stuff to the menu,” Hollie Chen explained. “I hope that [customers are] very happy they enjoy the food.”

MORE TO EXPLORE

New girls tennis coaches Denise Smith and Aaron Kephart create a positive team culture

by ryan bloomer writer/photographer

MAKING A RACKET EXTENSIVE

This year, Denise Smith and Aaron Kephart accepted the positions of head and assistant coach respectively for the girls’ tennis team. Both coaches came in hoping to make their mark on the team.

While the season didn’t finish the way they had hoped, finishing the season with regionals the players experienced a lot of change, growth and development throughout their season. Junior Zoe Wendel saw a lot of change in the team’s everyday practice.

“Having a new coach, you have to get used to their coaching style [and] expectations,” Wendel said. “I would say [playing] higher competition it’s definitely a jump, and so it’s good to see where I need to get to. We didn’t really do anything that much technical stuff, more just motivational, that’s the big difference I noticed.”

Smith had a clear goal in mind with her players’ conditioning. Smith wanted to develop crucial techniques in hopes of sending as many players to state as possible.

“My current goal is to grow the program with year-round tennis players,” Smith said. “We have other sports that play year round. There are kids out there who want to play tennis as their main sport, and they play yearround. I want to get as many [of those students] to state as I can.”

Assistant coach Aaron Kephart made a massive impact on the team’s morale this season with all of the players. He also felt his impact on the team also had a very apparent impact on the season.

“My relationship with the team is great, I love the girls and the girls love me, You see their development from the beginning to the end,” Kehpart said.

EXPERIENCE

Get to know coach Denise Smith and her prior experience coaching tennis

She started playing tennis when she was around six

CHANGING THE GAME

GAME

Beginning in the 2026 season, football will be the final sport to move up to play in the 6A division

In 2022, the school officially moved up to the 6A classification in all sports but football. Now, five years later, football will be moving up to 6A, making it the last sport to make the move.

6A

by evan leroy online editor in chief

year during the regular season since the team is already a part of the Sunflower League, which is why the team already plays

” ”

Every year in September, schools send their enrollment counts to the Kansas State High School Activities Association, which organizes schools into groups based on enrollment numbers. For most sports, the 36 schools with the highest enrollment numbers are considered 6A. However, for football, the rankings change every two years and there are only 32 6A teams. This year was the first time the school’s enrollment was high enough to push the football team to the 6A classification.

Head football coach Joel Applebee thinks that there won’t be too much of a difference next

CHANGING CLASSES

It’ll be a little more difficult to win four or five straight games in the playoffs. But if any program can do it, it’s definitely football.

Athletic director Brent Bechard

of the [6A] teams during the season that we’ll be really familiar with, and there’ll be a few teams that we don’t see during the season. So it’ll be a challenge.”

Sophomore defensive lineman Josh Contreras thinks it won’t be too hard to adjust to the change since they already play mostly 6A schools.

“I’m not worried at all,” Contreras said. “I think the coaches will help us as much as they can, and that’s all we need to be successful in this upcoming season.”

”

”mostly 6A schools during the regular season. However the playoffs will be more difficult

“The whole playoff scene is going to be a little bit different,” Apple bee said.

“Wesee a lot

Athletic director Brent Bechard is optimistic the team can still win the state title despite this being the first time officially competing in the 6A classification.

“I don’t think it’s going to change anything as far as the team goes,” Bechard said. “It’ll be a little more difficult to win four or five straight games in the playoffs. But if any program can do it, it’s definitely football.”

Three schools in the area switch to play in other football classifications in 2026

Source: KSHSAA

I AM MV is a series that showcases students at the school and their unique interests, hobbies and talents

From modeling clay to arts and crafts, freshman Emily Solis channels her creativity into her jewelry business.

Emily’s Little Shop began when Solis was twelve. Orig- inally, she sold polymer clay earrings at her church and to her friends. Later, her parents helped her turn her art into a more pro- fessional business.

“My mom and dad found a market for kids where I could sell my products,” Solis said. “They’ve helped me find markets and with my Instagram and Facebook.”

Her shop makes earrings, scrunchies and bandana necklaces. Solis finds inspiration for her products in various ways.

“I get inspired when I go to the

her inspiration is from typical Mexican jewelry.

“I sell earrings to promote cul- ture,” Solis said. “I bought ear- rings from local shops [in Mex- ico] and brought to my stand to show my culture that way too.”

Overall, her business combines many of her passions. Her family, especially her brother Xavier Solis, have noticed her success.

“I admire her patience and everything she does with the markets,” Xavier said. “[From watching her] I learned if you want to start something, you need to work hard for it.”

Emily’s family does every- thing together, including her markets. Xavier believes this has been significant for his family.