Ten American missionaries were detained at the Haitian border Jan. 30 when they tried to take 33 children out of the country into the Dominican Republic. The 10 missionaries, members of the Idaho Baptist Convention, admitted that they did not have permission or the proper paperwork from the Haitian government needed to transport the orphans across the border.

“We were just trying to do the right thing,” said Laura Silsby, the detained leader of the missionaries, in an interview with MSNBC.

“Our point was to draw attention to the plight of Haitian orphans” told Corina Lankford, a fellow detainee, to The New York Times. “We came here to help, not to become the story,”

Ostensibly, their intent was to transport the children to the Dominican Republic and then to the United States, where they could be adopted. The missionaries were fully aware that what they were doing was wrong, so the Haitian government has been especially harsh toward them. Prime Minister Max Bellerive was angered by their actions.

“It is clear now that they were trying to cross the border without papers,” Bellerive said in an interview with MSNBC, “and it is clear now that they knew what they were doing was wrong.”

Although the Haitian government dropped all charges against the last two of the 10 detained Americans in question Feb. 25, the lesson to be learned from this incident stands.

Prior to the incarceration of the 10 Americans, 15 Haitian children a day were being airlifted from the largest pediatric field hospital in Haiti to the United States. Pilots would airlift the children to the United States, and then take care of the paperwork after they had arrived.

When the 10 Americans were captured and accused of kidnapping, the Haitian government started cracking down on the rules surrounding medical airlifts. Immediately after the jailing of the 10 Americans, Haitian officials required doctors to have all papers in order before the children could be airlifted to the United States. This was a near-impossible task, because the papers needed were buried under mountains of rubble. As a result of the lock down on medical airlifts by Haitian officials, only three children were airlifted to hospitals in the United States for the 24 days following the incarceration of the Americans. Pilots who violated this new policy faced up to a $400,00 fine and jail time if they airlifted children without the proper paperwork.

“For these kids, the kidnapping case isn’t just a distraction; it has become the difference between life and death” said Dr. Lee Sanders, a pediatrician who is treating children in a makeshift field hospital set up inside an airport.

One girl could lose her leg if she cannot get out of Haiti in time. The infection is spreading, and doctors will need to amputate.

The 10 Americans should have left well enough alone; they have only caused more problems for the Haitians. Innocent children have died because of their actions. If they had followed the rules, at least 300 additional children could have sought much-needed medical attention in United States.

The actions of the 10 missionaries were counter-productive, and have also detracted from the real issue at hand in Haiti, as their story was being splashed on the front pages of countless newspapers across America.

They had good intentions, but as the saying goes, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” And that’s exactly what the Haitians are experiencing — a living hell.

• Andrew Keith

Claire Gordon

As a freshman, I haven’t had much experience with taking finals. When winter was approaching, I would frequently hear my teachers remind the class, “this might be on the final” or “finals are coming up soon, so you should start studying.” I was worried, to say the least.

My outlook improved when I saw that school would actually start late at 9:15 a.m. and get out at noon. This would allow me to sleep longer and, in the end, improve my mood. Studies from the National Sleep Foundation found that teenagers need at least nine hours of sleep to perform efficiently. Side effects can include poor memory, reduced work efficiency and decreased decision-making skills, which, if I’m not mistaken, you need to take a major test. It also said that 30 percent of teens fall asleep during school without the recommended amount of sleep.

With one semester of finals under my belt, I felt more comfortable with the idea that we would only have half days. I could study before or after taking the finals and get help from teachers. But now, we’ll no longer reap the benefits of a late start during finals.

This semester, finals will start at the regular time of 7:40 a.m. As a result of a bus company change. It was a problem to get our students to school and make sure that the students for the middle schools and elementary schools get to their schools.

Sure, we get out earlier, but does that make up for the sleep that we could be getting? We aren’t just taking a regular test in one of our classes; we are taking tests that count for up to 20 percent or even more of our grades. We should at least get the opportunity to get an adequate amount of sleep.

And a very vital piece of information from sleepeducation.com, is that teens have a biological clock that controls when you feel sleepy and when you feel alert. The only problem with this is that it is set for teens to start falling asleep at 10 p.m. or later. This means that students would be more alert in the afternoon or evening rather than earlier in the morning. But it’s not just the students who will suffer.

Also, teachers are using this extra time before school to hold study sessions to help students cram before finals. What happens to the students who work or have other obligations and can’t come in after school? These students could end up having to stay up all night to study. This is not good for the students, or their grades. And if our school has to change our final schedule, why couldn’t we just make it later in the day?

This would benefit students who either study in the mornings, or students who need the sleep. This would help students to be well rested and prepared to take these finals.

The Sailor

Sophomore Jack Roeder stood proudly before the pristine cover in his garage. The fluorescent orange name “Jack” was crudely painted across it. It disappeared into a heap on the floor as he drew back the cover, revealing the white hull of a sailboat. Against the wall were the boat’s tightly wrapped sails, which, unraveled, consist of about 80 feet of fabric.

“Man, it can be a challenging boat sometimes,” Roeder said.

Roeder moved to the other side of the boat and stared at it with the watchful eye of a parent.

The boat, a present bought by his parents three years ago, is a 1980s Laser named “Pride”. Roeder started sailing only four years ago at Bartle Scout Camp when he took the sailing merit badge. He has made racing, sailing and now boat building his life’s passion.

“I have no idea where I would be without sailing, honestly. Before I started sailing, I was just your typical teenager playing countless hours of video games. Now that’s stopped,” Roeder said. “Sailing is what I live for now. I’ve shaped my entire life around it.”

Although it may seem like an unusual hobby for a midwestern teen, sailing is something that runs in his family. His cousins, who live in Miami, are avid sailors. Every summer, he makes the trip to visit them and, of course, it’s a great excuse for him to get some time in on the water.

“Sailing on the ocean is exhilarating; that’s the only way to describe it. You have five-foot waves that send your boat flying,” Roeder said. “I can remember once we were sailing off the coast, and we saw a lot of dark shadows beneath the boat. It turns out it was a school of sting rays below us. What other sport is going to give you that opportunity?”
Since Roeder began to sail, he has embraced it fully. To fuel his passion for sailing, he occasionally instructs sailing at Olathe Lake during the summer. It’s this love for sailing that has helped him to decide a career path.

“I really want to get into the Naval Academy. I know it’s a long shot, but I’m hoping that sailing is something that can help me get in,” Roeder said.

If he graduates from the Naval Academy, Roeder plans to continue in pursuit of a career in the Navy.

“I want to help people, and the Navy seems like the best way to do that. Not to mention, I will be on the water for a long time. I would be doing something I love,” Roeder said.

Roeder organized the equipment lying in the boat and sighed. He slipped the boat’s cover back on with precision.
“You know, no matter what happens I will always have sailing.”

The Builder

“I’ve always loved to expand on simple items and, as I’ve gotten older, those simple items have gotten just a bit larger,” Roeder said.

Roeder stared down upon his newest creation. He ran his hands over the coarse, white sides of the boat as he pulled off miniscule bits of plywood. His creation is a 10-foot motor boat made out of wood and sealed together artlessly. The boat stood awkwardly on a trailer outside in the cold. It was motorless and barely gave the appearance that it would be buoyant if placed in any waters.

“I’m going to launch it at Shawnee Mission Park,” Roeder said. “It’s hard to believe that this boat is even real; it’s even more hard to believe that my own hands built it.”

His plan to build the boat actually started out as a joke between himself and senior Carter Clond in woods class. They were assigned a project of their choice.

“We both just said one day, ‘Let’s build a boat.’ I don’t think either of us took it serious, and I started the project with a bit of skepticism,” Roeder said.

Roeder half-heartedly went through with the idea thinking it would just be a waste of time.

“Even when I continued building the boat, I was still surprised that I was actually doing it.”

Building has been one of Roeder’s favorite things to do since he was little. He used to have RC cars that he would upgrade. He now spends time improving on his 2007 Dodge Magnum.

Roeder eyed the boat and remarked on the boat’s symmetrical qualities. He was amazed that it could be so well built in two months and with the $40 he had to build it. The boat, however isn’t entirely finished.

“I still have to put another coat of paint on it. I also plan on attaching a 4-horsepower motor to it.,” Roeder said. “I’ve seen it run, though; I know it will work.”

He laughed nervously.

“I hope it will work.”

He took a step backward, admired the boat in the cold winter air and shot a sly grin at it.

“People are telling me it isn’t going to float. It’s nothing but motivation for me,” Roeder said. “I know that if it floats I’ll prove everybody wrong. If it doesn’t float, well, at least I can say I did something. How many other 15-year-olds do you know that have built a boat?”

Jeremy Allen

There she was, sitting in the hallway. Of everybody in this class, she had to be the only other person who missed the test the day before. I would have preferred to meet anyone else out there: the boy in the class who picks the skin off his hands and eats it; the girl who constantly scrutinizes and contradicts everything I say; heck, I’d even take the boy who has the tendency to “let one rip” at the most inappropriate times. But, no, as I walked out of the classroom door, there she was.

I guess I brought this on myself. I decided to take a mental health day which, causing me to miss a test so I had to go into the hallway while the rest of the class reviewed it.

I had sat in class by my fellow temporary exile for the entire school year. Even when we received new seats, by some divine plan, I was placed right next to her again. The school year is more than half over, and I still haven’t even managed to break the ice with her. Once I almost did, but she gave me the “don’t even think about talking to me” stare. It’s not that she was stuck up; it was that she was, for lack of a better word, awkward.

Thrown into this situation unwillingly, I decided to use it to my advantage and attempt to get to know her, if for no other reason than to make sure I hadn’t offended her in some way. Even if I could just barely break the surface, small talk would suffice.

There we sat, both blending in with the murals painted on the walls — in silence. The only thing breaking the quiet were the passers-by who likely assumed we had been kicked out of class.

The silence was deafening; the weight of it unbearable, crushing me from all sides until I didn’t think I would be able to take it anymore.

But then I came to a sudden realization: it wasn’t my desire to talk to her and her offish response that made me feel uncomfortable; it was that within all this awkwardness, I was entirely comfortable. I was the most comfortable I had been in a long time. And that, quite frankly, made me feel awkward.

I live for awkward moments in my life. And I must admit, when the teacher came out to say that we could come back into the room, I was a little sad.

Awkward moments, more specifically creating them, gives me a sense of comfort. I’ll be honest, I don’t like that awkward feeling initially; it’s only after the situation when I realize how much fun it was. I think the comfort comes from the fact that I know that it takes two people to make a situation feel awkward. She was experiencing it with me, if not more than I was.

As for the girl, I appreciate the fact that she, in some fashion, allowed me to bathe in the awkwardness. And, just to clarify, I haven’t said a word to her, even to this day.

Junior Adam Chase gazes forward at Mock Trial Competition.

In Mock Trial, students use their acting and debating skills to personify either a lawyer or witness in the trial being performed.

“You want to fit your character,” Mock Trial performer Erica Waltman said. “You have to know a lot of background information on your character, especially for the expert witnesses.”

Students receive their trial assignment a few months prior to the competitions.

“Although we have the trial months in advance, we don’t really start buckling down until a few weeks before the competition,” Waltman said.

Before any practices are completed, each student decides whether to act as a witness or a lawyer. Each student selects a characters that fits his or her own interests and strengths. This, in turn, enhances the performance.

“Generally people who can act become witnesses, and lawyers are people who can think on their feet,” Waltman said.

At the competition, each school performed their trial four times, competing against a different school in each round. Rounds are judged by local attorneys and law students.

This year, the NW trial involved a former soldier who shot a friend. The defense debated against the prosecution to prove that the client, Sazer Larson, suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.

“The doctor witnesses have a lot to memorize,” Waltman said. “They have a lot of background and medical information to recall.”

The founders of the club, juniors Addie Evans, Kaitlyn Carl, Caela McMillon, Kadie Nugent, Rachel Alvey and Jenny Skells, searched at the beginning of the year for a way to help women both overseas and at home. In late January, Evans found an organization online called The Girl Effect. The organization is all about working to improve girls’ lives and, in turn, improving the world.

“It’s about empowering girls to allow them to improve their lives and, therefore, their families and their communities,” sponsor Debra Brewer said.

The Girl Effect was approved as a club in mid-February after meeting with principal Bill Harrington. Although the group is using the name of the organization, they have adapted the purpose for what they want to accomplish. While the organization gives money to girls in developing countries. The mission statement of the club states that they will raise funds to empower women in developing countries as well as work to empower themselves and the women in their school.

“We want to focus on helping women in other countries and women in our school as well,” Skells said.

While The Girl Effect is about helping and supporting women around the world and in their community, the founders don’t want it to be looked at as a club only for girls.

“It’s not a feminist club, and we don’t want it to be viewed that way,” junior Jenny Skells said. “We just want to be there for girls in our school.”

Five boys attended the first meeting along with 24 girls.

“That really showed that this is not going to be a group only girls can be involved in,” Skells said.

The Girl Effect meets at 7:10 a.m. on Tuesdays in Room 204.

For two days, robotics teams from the Greater Kansas City area met to compete and show off their robot-building abilities.

“They did a very, very good job,” sponsor Bob Stewart said. “It really is something to be proud of.”

The competition requires that students design and build a radio-controlled robot capable of competing against other robots in a soccer-style game. Each team attempts to score points in a two-minute time period, avoiding hilly terrain and blocks from the opposing team. New this year are rules that prohibit the robots from lifting the ball. Only kicking is allowed.

Members of the Cougar Robotics team competed in 10 matches ­— winning seven, losing twice and tying once. The team scored high early on, but lost out late in the game.

“In robotics, we face a difficult task, building a robot in six weeks,” junior Ryan Kirkendall said. “It takes a lot out of you, but once the robot is completed, you realize how much you have learned. We do these things because they are hard and challenging, and when it’s all over, we are glad we did it.”

Fifteen teams competed in the tournament. The winning team included seniors Chris Mansker, Alex Geis, Matt Nowak, David Catt, Bryan Ayars, Rachael Zdeb and Lisa Imgrund.

“It was a lot of fun. It was intense competition and the 2nd year our team has won,” Geis said. Geis and his team will compete in the District Dodgeball tournament in April.

-Rachel Ferencz

Sophomore Kaitlin Eubanks lies in a tanning bed for the first time nervously. A salon worker sets the timer for the bed and leaves the room. As Eubanks relaxes under the bright illumination of UV lights, she begins to feel the heat of the bulbs surrounding her. After getting out, she realizes, upon later examination, that she had actually ended up with a harsh burn.

“I was in the bed way too long because the worker had set the wrong time,” Eubanks said. “I ended up red all over, especially on my stomach.”

Stories like these are common among those who use tanning beds, but despite the danger of getting burnt, many still think the pros to outweigh the cons. With both spring break and prom drawing closer, many teens may be looking to get a nice tan without the annoyance of having to sit outside for hours. The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) has found that about 1 million people stop by tanning salons every day in America, and with salons’ busy season of spring about to start, that number may increase.

According to the AAD, only 70 percent of indoor tanning bed users are female. With the popularity of tanning on the rise among people of all genders, ages and ethnicities, researchers from the San Diego State University discovered that salons can be found in some cities more frequently than Starbucks and McDonalds.

“I started tanning when I was 14,” Eubanks said. “I just started to hate looking pale, and now I go at least three or four times a week.”

Whatever the reason, 2.3 million teenagers like Eubanks pop into a tanning salon at least once a year, according to Time magazine. Yet, all over the continent, laws are being passed to protect minors from tanning beds. In Canada, laws prohibit children under the age of 8 from tanning, and 31 states have enacted similar restrictions for those under the age of 14, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

“We had a lot of different ages come in, like around dances, when lots of high-schoolers come in. But I even saw people in their 70s, which was pretty interesting,” said Lesa Eden, senior and former employee of Electric Sun Tanning Salon.

Using tanning beds can be healthy — to some extent. Vitamin D can be received from sunlight, which strengthens the immune system, among other benefits.

“You can get your daily allowance from just 10 to 15 minutes of sunlight,” dermatologist John Rupp said. “Since we know that the sun increases the chance for melanoma, basal and squamous cancers, we are advocating that you get vitamin D through vitamin supplements orally; it’s the safer way to get it.”

Studies have also shown that the body produces endorphins, hormones that can contribute to a better mood, while tanning. The rush of endorphins can create an artificial high, and a study by the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston found that 26 to 53 percent of people who head to the beach to tan exhibit signs of addiction to tanning, an addiction that can be commonly referred to as “tanorexia.”

“I’m happier after tanning,” senior Jasmine Radice said. “I feel much better about myself. It’s extremely relaxing, and I don’t even think about anything that’s going on.”

A few doctors and dermatologists think that tanning can help with some skin problems, like psoriasis, acne and eczema. Psoriasis is a condition that causes irritated, red and flaky skin, and eczema causes itchy and inflamed rashes. The National Psoriasis Foundation does include using a tanning salon as a way to help the conditions. They only recommend it as a last resort.

Many salons promote “facts” that aren’t true to attract more customers. The Federal Trade Commission recently attacked the Indoor Tanning Association for false statements in a promotional campaign. They advertised falsehoods such as government approval of indoor tanning and claims that sunbeds are safe because the amount of UV light received is monitored, etc. The association is now prohibited from making misleading statements to the public and can not claim in ads that indoor tanning is safe.

For example, some salons claim beds are safer because they block the “burning” UVB rays. Although most beds do have UVB blockage, that doesn’t necessarily make them safer. The sun produces three different rays of ultraviolet light; UVA, UVB and UVC. The skin needs a form of UV light to stimulate pigment in the skin. UVA rays are considered the lesser of two evils, but essentially both rays are dangerous.

“UVA rays penetrate deeper in the skin and also increase the risk of skin cancer. That’s why we don’t advocate that people to go to tanning salons,” Rupp said.

One of the biggest reasons tanning beds are not considered safe is skin cancer, alongside eye damage and photoaging, a process where the skin becomes wrinkly and spotty earlier in life. Basal cell carcinoma (the most common type of cancer), squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma (the deadliest skin cancer) are all on the rise. A tanning bed can increase the risk of getting squamous cell carcinoma by 2.5 times and basal cell carcinoma 1.5 times, according to the National Cancer Institute.

“I’m already at risk for skin cancer because it runs in my family,” Radice said. “I do worry about it, and that’s why I don’t go every single day. I split it up, and only go tanning before dance competitions or [school] dances.”

Damaged skin cells are harmless at first, but if they are not watched carefully, they could develop into any cancer.

They can be formed from just one use of the tanning salon, because as soon as people tan, their skin cells are damaged, causing the DNA to make abnormal cells. Although there is still danger from just being in the sunlight, it takes a more prolonged exposure to be as dangerous as a concentrated dose of UV light in a tanning bed.

“Skin cancers are very rare in [the teenage] age group, but I’ve seen a few girls who have melanoma, the most aggressive and deadly cancer,” Rupp said. “Two were 15 and one was 18, and one was actively going to tanning salons. Now I see those teenage girls every six months getting checkups for skin cancer.”

Dermatologists recommend spray-on tans, tanning lotions and creams. It’s a safer, but less popular, option.
“It makes you look splotchy, and it washes off easily,” sophomore Morgan Kronawitter said.

Several states require that schools begin teaching safety in the sun as early as possible to try to thwart the rapidly increasing rates of skin cancers, but it is harder than ever to stem the huge flow of teenagers going in and out of tanning beds every day.

“When you see someone who has been in sun all their life, their skin is saggy, leathery, has spots, and the skin does not act right,” Rupp said. “If you see someone tanned, their skin has been injured or damaged—people are beating up their skin.”

For more information on tanning or to find a dermatologist near you, visit www.aad.org, the site for the American Academy of Dermatology.

Maria Davison

I still have two-and-a-half years of high school left. And the way things are going, it’s very possible that, at the end of that time period, Northwest won’t be nearly as great of a place to go to school as it is now.

Almost $11 million were cut from the SMSD budget for this year. The cuts for next year haven’t been announced yet, but, according to the budget and finance director for the district, Tim Rooney, district officials expect to slice another $10 million or so from next year’s budget to meet the state’s budget deficit.

With the cuts that were made this year, programs like “teachers on assignment” and “New Beginnings” were lost. But, in reality, who knows what those programs actually did?

The district did that on purpose. They cut the things that they knew would have little to no affect on the majority of students. And they did a pretty good job. A lot of money was cut from the budget, and I barely noticed it.

But when the district has to cut another $10 million or more for next year, what will be cut? The most expensive programs are things like honors, AP or IB classes with 10 or fewer students and the gymnastics team. They already eliminated everything that students don’t care about, so what’s next? According to Rooney, everything is on the chopping block.

It seems like arts are one of the first things to be considered when the district is talking about making budget cuts. Northwest is a great place to go to school partially because of the great art and music programs. With every program being considered for cuts, the art programs may well take a punch in the gut.

If I didn’t have newspaper, orchestra, and cross country, I would never want to go to school. I wouldn’t have anything to look forward to during the day. Just going from English to math to science to Spanish and then home would make the high school experience so much less enriching.

And even more to the point, newspaper and orchestra are the two classes I learn the most in. I don’t spend that time taking notes about how to find the determinant of a matrix or how many moles of sodium chloride are in 2.65 grams. I learn how to work with people and how to manage time, and, most importantly, those are the places I learn what the real world is going to be like.

Students who are involved in extracurricular activities are also more likely to graduate from high school, become leaders, voice opinions and complete tasks, according to the Montana State University Extension Service.

Extracurricular activities are what makes Northwest, and the whole Shawnee Mission School District, a great place to go to school. If all of our programs eventually get cut because the people in Topeka refuse to raise taxes or just can’t come to an agreement about what’s best for the future of public education, the future is going to be rather bleak.