THE GRYPHON TIMES Friday, January 26, 2018 Volume 10 Issue 7

Standing in the Hall of Fame By Aliyah Kwizera

Since 2016, the University Academy Athletic Hall of

Fame has recognized alumni who carried their athletic ca-

reers into college.

This year, two more candidates were inducted. Their

names will be displayed on

plaques on the Hall of Fame

wall next to the gymnasium.

Before last Friday, the

wall consisted of only men.

Miles Conner, Auston LaB-

lance, Terrence Ross and

Darrenn White were previ-

ous inductees.

But at halftime of the

boys basketball game last

Friday, two women were

inducted—Ke’Auna Schiele

and A’yonna Cartwright.

Cartwright graduated

from UA in 2012. While

attending UA, she did track,

volleyball and basketball.

Schiele graduated in

2013. She played basket-

ball and volleyball at UA.

After graduation, Cartwright attended Southeast Mis-

souri State University. While there, she participated in track

and competed in the 60m, 200m, 2x400 (indoor), and also

in the 100m, 200m, 400m, 4x1, and 4x4 (outdoor).

“It feels amazing and is such an honor and blessing to

be one of the first females to be recognized in the UA Hall

of Fame,” said Cartwright. “This is such a huge accom-

plishment for me, and I am truly grateful.”

Cartwright worked hard from the very beginning.

“I feel like this is something that I've worked on for

basically my entire life. I started track at a young age and

was just naturally fast,” she said. “Over the years I put a lot

of work and tears in to be able to reach this milestone.”

After graduating from UA, Schiele enrolled into Grace-

land University and played volleyball.

“It feels great to be inducted into the Hall of Fame,”

Schiele said. “I was wondering what everyone else was

doing to be part of it—I just wanted in! So now it’s truly a

blessing to finally get this great honor.”

Schiele has also been committed to working hard.

She always made sure to be

a productive team member

and to show leadership

when it came to sports.

“Being a decent player

and having a leader’s atti-

tude behind it surely helps a

lot. It’s the things you do,

not only on the court but

also off the court, that help

you become a better

player,” she said.

UA Athletic Director,

Mr. John Gresham, said,

“Beginning the Hall of

Fame wall builds school

pride and shows the past

achievements of Gryphon

athletes. It’s also there for

other schools to see, to

show our athletic history.”

Cartwright, Schiele and Mr. Gresham all gave tips for

students aiming to make the wall in the future.

“Give everything you have every minute of every day,”

said Mr. Gresham. “From freshman year on, it all depends

on how much work you want to put in. Athletics is hard,

but if you have tenacity and a good work ethic, anything is

possible—including being a Gryphon Hall Of Famer!”

Schiele said, “Confidence is key. If you know that you

can do it, then you will. Doing the small things can push

you toward success. Don’t give up, because things are defi-

nitely going to get tough. Also, be a leader.”

Cartwright shared some advice, too.

“Always work hard. No matter how good you are, there

is always someone somewhere else working twice as hard,”

she said. “Don't be the talented athlete with a poor work

ethic. Always strive to be the best and do your best.”

Movement: No Time Wasted By Avery Austin

On Sunday Jan. 7 at the 2018 Golden Globes, celebri-

ties like Salma Hayek, Jessica Chastain and Oprah wore

black to show solidarity with the women who have come

out as victims of sexual assault against several men in the

movie and TV industry like Harvey Weinstein, Kevin

Spacey, and James Franco.

Many

who were

unable to

attend

showed

their sup-

port by

posting

pictures

of them

wearing

black

using hashtags like #WhyWeWearBlack and #TimesUp.

Founded in early January, the TIME’S UP initiative

was created to acknowledge and assist victims of sexual

harassment in Hollywood. The meaning behind the phrase

is to say “Time’s Up” on sexual harassment, on victim

shaming and on gender biases.

The TIME’S UP movement is also a response to all the

women who stepped forward in the #MeToo phenomenon

that blossomed on Twitter in October 2017, where women

started sharing their stories of being sexually harassed or

raped.

The women behind the TIME’S UP movement not only

brought the movement to the red carpet, but TIME’S UP

has also partnered with GoFundMe and is actively working

to build a legal defense fund for victims who want to seek

action against their abusers. The TIME’S UP effort has

raised $16.7 million dollars for a legal defense fund in 27

days, and the money is continuing to roll in.

“I think it’s a good cause,” said UA senior Kenton

Schiele. “It’s good to see celebrities in the media for posi-

tive things instead of negative.”

Actor James Franco, has recently been accused of sex-

ual harassment of a 17-year-old girl, despite showing his

support at the Golden Globes by wearing a TIME’S UP pin

and wearing black.

Despite the recent accusations against Franco, Schiele

said he’ll still watch movies that Franco is in.

“Of

course I will

watch his

movies, he’s a

great actor. I

won’t support

him anymore.

I still think

he’s a cool

dude, but he

just made a

mistake,” he

said.

Celebri-

ties are using

their fame and

influence as a

way to shine

light on the

issue, specifi-

cally on social

media.

“It’s kind

of a tipping

point,” actor

Robert Red-

ford said on Twitter. “It’s changing the order of things so

that women will have a stronger voice.”

Gaining such a response, it seems like the TIME’S UP

and #MeToo movements won’t be going anywhere soon.

These movements seem to be changing the way people will

approach the often taboo topics, giving women a voice and

providing a platform for them to speak from. 1

UA’s First Pro By Ryan Wilson

Being a pro at anything takes a lot of work and is a

lifelong dream for many. University Academy graduate

Martez Harrison had the chance to make that dream a

reality this year. Harrison, a former Gryphon hoops star,

signed with Glasgow Rocks of Scotland last fall.

Harrison came to UA in 8th grade. He was a three-

year starting point guard for the high school varsity team

and a two-time first team all-state selection while at UA.

One week Harrison was named Midland ESPN Player

Of The Week, when he had three very impressive per-

formances with 30-plus points in each game. Harrison had

36 points against Center and 59 against Harrisonville

while setting the MHSSA record for most points in a

quarter with 33. Then, Harrison finished off that big week

with 44 against Pleasant Hill.

Harrison was a relentless scorer, which was why he

was able to put up such big numbers.

Coach

James Jennings,

former UA

head boys’ bas-

ketball coach,

said he believed

that many

things contrib-

uted to Harri-

son’s success,

including his

ball handling

abilities, his

ability get to

the basket, his

aggressiveness,

and his basket-

ball IQ.

“He made

me look like

Dean Smith,”

Coach Jennings

said, referring

to the legendary

college coach.

Harrison also played AAU summer basketball during

his high school career. He played for the KC 76ers, a team

that was arguably the best AAU team in the city.

The 76ers took first place in the Fab 48 tournament,

which features the best talent from all over the states. Har-

rison played a pivotal role in 76ers’ first place finish that

year.

Harrison finished his high school career with multiple

Division I offers and more than 1,700 total points scored.

Despite all of this, Harrison still felt that he could

improve more before going to college. So, he attended

Brewster Prep Academy in Wolfeboro, N.H., where he

flourished playing against top competition in the nation.

After one season at Brewster, Harrison was ready to take

college basketball by storm.

He chose to come back home and play at UMKC,

where he averaged more than 16 points in three seasons

and took home WAC Conference Player of the Year in

the 2014-15 season. Harrison also received All-American

Honorable Mention.

After playing at UMKC, Harrison signed with the

Glasgow Rocks, a tier one European team. His time with

the team was short lived due to an hamstring injury, but

he learned a lot.

“As soon as I got to Scotland, I was by myself, so

nobody is forcing you go to practice like in high school,”

he said. “If you don't go to practice you'll get cut. If

you’re not putting in extra work outside of practice while

other people are, the coach will notice and you'll get cut.”

He also noticed differences between the U.S. and

Europe—basketball-wise and just in general.

“The American game is much faster, guys are more

athletic. That was the biggest adjustment for me,” Harri-

son said. “Overseas they’re bigger on fundamentals and

guys are more skilled.”

Harrison gave advice for aspiring athletes trying to

follow his footsteps.

“First, just finish school because you never know

when the ball is going to stop,” he said. “As far as athletes

go, you always need to be working because you never

know when somebody else is.”

Harrison hopes to sign with another team in Europe

this summer.

Schiele and Cartwright’s plaques will be added to the wall.

Women, like these, in Hollywood have

been speaking up about abuse.

Harrison played at Brewster Prep

after graduating from UA.

Upper School Debate Successes By Lily Scanlon

Last semester, the debate class at UA took off despite a

lack of experienced debaters.

The urban debate league that UA participates in is

called Debate Kansas City, or DKC. This year was the first

time in UA history that the school took home top honors at

the City Championships as a school.

Most of the debate team consisted of students who had

to go to tournaments to pass the class, so the majority of the

class didn’t have any experience.

On the varsity team there were only three debaters. The

varsity team consists of debaters who have experience and

are capable of competing at the varsity level. All three of

UA’s varsity debaters were able to make it to the semi-

finals round of City Championships.

The combination of new and experienced competitors

ultimately led to a school championship.

“A lot of that was mostly due to our new novice debat-

ers,” said UA debate coach, Mr. Sohail Jouya. The novice

team at UA completely took over the City Championships

with six teams coming out with undefeated scores.

Although the team did wonderfully at City Champion-

ships, Mr. Jouya said he is skeptical about how well UA is

doing overall.

“I definitely don’t think things are where they need to

be,” he said, adding, “I don’t even know if things are really

quite good yet.” He believes that the program is still too

young to determine anything for certain.

Mr. Jouya is very hopeful for his team of experienced

debaters, though. Raven LaBarrie, senior, and Lily Scanlon,

sophomore, formed a varsity team together, although Scan-

lon can still also qualify for junior varsity debate.

“We never had a national qualifier before at University

Academy and that might change this year.”

One thing that Mr. Jouya brings up a lot to get students

interested in debate is all the college and university scholar-

ship opportunities it provides.

“There were about $25 million worth of scholarship

opportunities

for my stu-

dents in the

past six

years,” said

Mr. Jouya.

LaBarrie is

taking advan-

tage of this

and has al-

ready re-

ceived schol-

arships from

six universi-

ties.

“There are a number of debate scholarships out there,

but you actually have to compete and kind of know some

stuff in order to attract some attention,” said Mr. Jouya.

LaBarrie said the hardest part of debate is “thinking of

arguments on your toes.” Although she does say that the

outcomes are very beneficial.

She also gave a warning to students who think debate is

just standing up and talking, saying that there’s a lot of hard

work that goes into it. If you want the scholarships that are

offered you must put work into it.

Perseverance is Key for Girls By Amaya Zweifel

University Acad-

emy’s girls’ basketball

team is halfway done

with the season.

Senior Sydney

Moechoe said, “We are

great when it comes to

picking each other up

and doing our best to

make sure everyone is

aware of what is going

on and off the court.”

Players believe that

building a better team

chemistry and commu-

nicating on the court

will result in better

games.

Although they’ve

had a difficult season when it comes to wins and losses,

there are still things about the season that have made them

proud. They are especially proud of the first game of the

season.

“[My favorite game] was definitely the first game of

this season against Lathrop. We were determined to win

because UA varsity girls haven’t won the first game of the

season in several years,” said Moechoe.

Senior Samiah Hafiz said

they wanted to start the season off

1-0, and they were successful

doing so.

Team manager Martinique

Briggs believes that the game

against North Platte on Jan. 16

was the best. “They did a good

job with fighting for and keeping

up with points,” she said. “They

play best against rival schools.”

“We are always ready to go

against our rival, Hogan, every

year and it’s always our best

game which lets us know we can

play that hard every game,” said

Moechoe.

The Hogan game is Feb. 2

at UA.

For many of the players, this will be their last time

playing against rival teams.

Hafiz says that this season is bittersweet. “I wish I

could play longer, but things always have to come to an

end,” she said.

Support the Lady Gryphons at their next home

game on Jan. 30 against Summit Christian. Let’s finish

out the season strong!

Gryphons Continue to Soar Through the Season By Audrey Pribnow

Wins have been

rolling in right and

left for the Univer-

sity Academy boys’

varsity basketball

team this season. The

team’s record cur-

rently stands at 12-3,

and players and

coaches don’t plan

on slowing down

anytime soon.

Most recently

the Gryphons de-

feated Grandview

Christian on Monday

by a score of 74-47.

Another recent win

that was especially

notable was the vic-

tory against confer-

ence opponent Barstow on Jan. 9. After a tight battle, UA

defeated Barstow 61-59 with a Kenton Schiele put back at

the buzzer.

The game was at Barstow, and it was Barstow’s first

loss on their home court in four years.

Sophomore basketball player Jordan Davis and senior

Ryan Wilson both said this particular win was a highlight of

the season so far.

Davis elaborated, saying he has enjoyed “beating teams

that we didn’t beat last year and actually blowing them out.”

The Barstow game wasn’t a blowout, but the

Gryphons have won six games by a margin of 24

or more points this season. The biggest blowout

victory came against Heritage Christian, who UA

beat by 52 points.

Even though things seem to be going well

overall, of course there is still room for growth

and improvement. Wilson said the team is still

working to please their coaches daily.

“I think the biggest challenge is playing up

to expectations and meeting the requirements

that the coaches set for us,” Wilson said.

Davis said the team is also continuing to

work on team chemistry.

Before you know it, districts will be here,

and all of the work the team has been putting in

will be put to the test on the big stage. Both

Davis and Wilson have high expectations of how

UA will perform in the district tournament.

They anticipate facing Hogan in the district

championship game—and winning. From there,

there’s no telling how far this team will go.

UA’s next game is tonight at KC Christian. The next

home game is on Tuesday against Summit Christian, which

will be another huge conference battle.

Come support your Gryphons!

Net Neutrality:

Good or Bad? By Tiffany Benites

What do you know about net neutrality? It's an impor-

tant principle that everyone needs to be aware of, and it

involves something we use a lot—the internet.

Net neutrality is the “rule” that internet service pro-

viders must treat all internet content equally. This pre-

vents companies that provide internet from slowing down,

speeding up or blocking websites their consumers use.

In December, the Federal Communication Commis-

sion (FCC) ruled that net neutrality rules would be re-

versed. This caused an uproar amongst many, and several

politicians are now filing lawsuits to challenge that FCC

decision.

Senior Daunte Mickens agrees with the principle of

net neutrality. He said, “It's what allows everyone to get

on the internet without having to pay for individual sites.”

UA fourth grade teacher, Mr. John Gawin, had a

similar opinion. Mr. Gawin said it keeps the internet open

to everyone and lets consumers have control instead of

giving control to the internet providing companies.

Of course, without net neutrality people might have to

begin paying for some of their favorite apps and websites.

Companies would be able to determine which sites they

think are more important, charge more for certain web-

sites, and even make some websites faster.

Internet companies can censor and block opinions

that they do not agree with, so it takes away information

that will make us more or less educated with what is go-

ing on in our world. It takes away the right to use the

internet freely and also limits social media, which allows

people to speak out using free speech rights.

How else might this affect you?

Mickens said, “Some apps that I want or like may go

away because they can’t afford the new internet cost.”

It could also affect business owners who rely heavily

on the internet to start up their new businesses with web-

sites. Net neutrality lets companies communicate with

customers and launch products without having to worry

about monopoly.

Entrepreneurship will now encounter more obstacles.

So it will not only affect us as a society, but it will also

affect the business and economy of the country, too.

Mickens said in his opinion there are no positive out-

comes to ending net neutrality. He said he believes it's

happening to only censor us even more and to make us

pay for what we shouldn't have to.

Stay tuned to see how things turn out with the net

neutrality controversy.

These debaters helped UA win the first

debate tournament of the season.

Left: The team took a picture with the second place trophy they earned at the Summit Christian Acad-

emy tournament toward the beginning of the season. Right: Michael-Paul Lang goes up for a layup in a

game against KC East.

Samiah Hafiz (left) and Jasmin McDonald (right) make

moves for the Lady Gryphons in games.

2

Do

you have a

job inter-

view this

weekend?

Are you

going to a

date with

someone

for the

first time?

Don’t

worry,

teachers from University Academy have gone through

these moments and have tips on how to leave a good first

impression.

If you’re going to a job interview or a scholarship

interview, dress formal to look sharp and professional.

Upper School literature teacher Mr. Andrew Blakemore

agreed with this suggestion, saying, “It definitely can

help. Sometimes little things separate us from someone

else. The little things add up.”

You can look very nice and sharp, but if you don’t

have respect or watch your tone, you might not come

across well.

According to a recent article that quoted a psychology

professor at Princeton, Alex Todorov, “Brief exposure is

sufficient for people to make up their minds and make up

all kinds of judgments, like whether you're trustworthy,

whether

you're com-

petent,

whether

you're ag-

gressive.”

Upper

School Op-

erations

Manager

Ms. Susie

Jackson had

some ad-

vice to

share on the

topic, too.

“Stay in a

positive manner,” she said. “Be yourself, and smile be-

cause a happy smile is always a good first impression.”

Make sure to treat others how you want to be treated

because it may be your only opportunity to show them

who you are.

Mr. Blakemore said, “Sometimes you only get one

shot.” Don’t take things for granted because you might

only have one chance to impress someone.

If you give great impressions, you might have more

opportunities in the future to become successful.

One more piece of advice to always remember: “If

you’re on time, you’re late,” said Mr. Blakemore. Being

early will show you are responsible and will suggest that

you care about being there.

Next time you are heading to a job interview or even

to the first day of a new class, keep these tips in mind.

As 2018 begins, high

school is slowly coming

to an end for University

Academy seniors. This is

their last semester, and

there are a lot of things at

stake for the Class of

2018.

“My biggest goal is

keeping my grades con-

sistent,” said senior

Amaya Zwiefel,

“however, the hardest part of senior year will be avoiding

senioritis.”

Senior Samiah Hafiz is excited about her last semester

in high school.

“It feels kind of weird because we’ve been here for 13

years and have been in every part of this school,” she said.

The graduation ceremony for the Class of 2018 will be

on May 24. But before seniors can graduate, there are things

they must do to prepare for graduation.

“I need to finish signing up for scholarships and choos-

ing the school that I will go to,” said Zweifel.

In order to walk across the stage on May 24, the seniors

have to meet the graduation requirements.

They need to be accepted into four colleges, must have

100 community service hours, and they must have a 96 per-

cent attendance rate.

The Class of 2018

may venture off to differ-

ent colleges after gradua-

tion, but they all share a

common goal as of right

now.

“My main goal is to

finish my senior year on a

good note with a high

GPA,” said senior

Kenton Schiele.

A lot of colleges are

requesting seven semes-

ter transcripts, and a higher GPA can result in more scholar-

ships, too.

“I want to make sure everything is done and put into

place so graduation can be a breeze,” said Hafiz.

Between homework, college applications, community

service hours and scholarships, these seniors definitely have

a lot on their plates, but there is no doubt they can get it all

done before graduation.

The race to the finish line begins now!

Good First

Impression Tips Escaping the Cold Temperatures By Jamesha Hawkins

It’s the winter time, and

many people are getting an-

noyed by the snow and cold

temperature. Winter is a com-

mon time when people are

ready for a getaway. The call

to a warm location is defi-

nitely appealing.

Luckily, there are a few

high school students and staff

members here at UA who

have traveled to one of these

desirable locations. If you

need a vacation spot for any

upcoming breaks this winter,

you may want to take up these suggestions they have to

offer.

Upper School Spanish teacher Mrs. Maria Belaustegui

recommends going to Bueno Aires, Argentina where she

grew up.

“There are so many places to visit in Argentina,” said

Mrs. Maria. “The weather is nice and it’s good to know

about a different culture.” Mrs. Maria also thought it would

be a good opportunity to practice a new language.

Sophomore Germani Lee-Pounds recommended Mex-

ico City. Lee-Pounds said that

Mexico City has plenty of

“beautiful buildings, and hill-

tops are very beautiful and

picture worthy.”

Warm vacation spots can

be a fun way to unwind during

the cold season.

“Traveling is always en-

riching,” said Mrs. Maria.

Traveling to another place

also allows people to escape

the cold temperatures in the

Midwest this time of year.

“Most people don’t enjoy

the cold weather, and snow makes them angry or just not

want to go outside, so they travel to places without snow

and with sun that makes them tan,” said Lee-Pounds.

There are some great warm vacation possibilities to go

to in the United States such as Honolulu, Hawaii; Miami,

Florida; and Dallas, Texas.

If you happen to have a passport, you could consider

checking out places like Auckland, New Zealand; Cape

Town, South Africa; and Amalfi Coast, Italy.

Take the chance to go to a warm place some time soon!

Class of 2018 Heads Toward the Finish Line By Essence Pearson

Acceptances Start Rolling In By Aniah Kemp

Applying to

colleges can vary

from being a joy-

ous occasion to

being a very

stressful one, and

the seniors at Uni-

versity Academy

certainly all feel

differently about

this decision mak-

ing process.

Senior Malik

Dickerson-McKinney said he started applying to schools

around the first week of August and the average waiting

period for an acceptance letter for him was about a week

and a half. Dickerson-McKinney said he's had a range of

emotions during this process.

“It's been stressful because you don’t know if you’re

getting accepted, but fun because if you do [get accepted]

that is one less college [you have to wait to hear back

from],” Dickerson-McKinney said.

He also said that he hasn’t been accepted to his number

one college yet, but he feels hopeful that he will get ac-

cepted.

“My number one school is the University of Southern

California (USC) and I am still waiting on acceptances

from Rice University, University of Chicago and many

more,” said Dickerson-McKinney.

However, senior Arsema Berhane went a different

route about applying to colleges. She applied through a site

called Questbridge and became a Questbridge Scholar.

Questbridge is a scholarship program for high-

achieving students that matches students with prestigious

schools. Students who receive the scholarship are granted

admission into a college that partners with Questbridge, and

these students are also given a full, four-year scholarship.

Berhane still applied to schools starting last August

through the Common App while participating in Quest-

bridge. Since she applied through Questbridge, it was a

very selective process that took about two or three months.

Berhane said she also feels that applying to schools was

pretty hard.

“My experience with applying to schools was stressful

because UA gives a lot of work while students are trying to

apply to schools.”

Through Questbridge, Berhane was matched with Grin-

nell College, which is located in Iowa. So she has received

a full scholarship to Grinnell, and this is where she will be

attending.

Berhane isn’t waiting on any more acceptance letters,

but she is waiting on more scholarships to help fund her

education.

During senior

year at University

Acad-

emy, seniors are

required to have

two college ac-

ceptances by the

end of the first

semester and a

total of four ac-

ceptances by the

time they gradu-

ate.

Overall, the

experience of applying for and gaining admission into col-

leges can be a different animal for everyone, but it seems as

if Berhane and Dickerson-McKinney have most of it fig-

ured out.

3

This is Santorini Greece, a warm island to visit.

Dickerson McKinney plays the violin

in addition to spending time working

on college applications.

Senior Arsema Berhane hugs a fel-

low UA student.

Seniors took a break from set-

ting up the Senior Board to take

a picture.

The 90s dance was a chance for the Class of 2018 to

make some memories together.

Seniors posed at Senior Picture

day in the fall.

By Paulina Garcia

When meeting someone for the first time,

consider dressing nicely to impress.

H&M Apologizes For Controversial Advertisement By Markeiana Wilson

In January, H&M released a controversial advertise-

ment that was interpreted wrong and caused a lot of trouble.

The young black boy who appeared in the H&M ad had

a green hoodie which read: “Coolest Monkey in the Jungle.”

To fix the situation, H&M apologized to the commu-

nity, removed the ad from the internet and said they re-

viewed their “internal routines.”

University Academy junior Jordan Howard said his

favorite store is H&M.

Howard said, “I love the clothes and all the different

variety of things they have in stores.”

He said they have very creative clothing—clothing that

could make you look very unique. He shops there every two

to three months, but he shops online every month.

“I am very disappointed in what happened. I don’t like

what all went down after the fact,” he said.

“This is all stupid because the mom knew the whole

time what [H&M was doing]. If she wasn’t cool with what

the boy was wearing, she should’ve said something then and

there without the involvement of social media—making it

something bigger than it needed it to be.”

Despite initial outrage in the

media over the advertisement,

Howard doesn’t think it will have

a long term negative impact on

the store.

He said, “This is just another

story that is going to blow over in

the next month because H&M is

still going to sell clothes and stay

in business.”

Howard felt like H&M’s controversial ad was not inten-

tional and was just a random shirt used for the photo shoot.

“Everyone loves to come up with something to make

people rowdy about some-

thing so innocent,” Howard

said.

“Everyone just over-

exaggerated this whole

situation. There are so many

more important things that

are happening in this world

that should be reported,”

Howard said.

UA Junior Eriana Tow-

nes is also a fan of H&M.

Townes said, “I love it. The

clothes are amazing.”

She said she will con-

tinue to shop at H&M be-

cause the clothes are cute

and different. She said she

shops there almost every week.

Townes said she thinks most people assumed H&M did

it on purpose to be racist, even if they didn’t.

Chiefs’ Season

Ends in Another

Disappointment By Michael Daniel

The Kansas City Chiefs’ season has ended, and once

again they have disappointed their fans

The Chiefs started off the season looking great, win-

ning five out of their first six games. Then, they went on a

downward spiral, losing two games in a row, winning the

next one, and then going on a five-game losing streak.

The team did turn things around a bit toward the end

of the sea-

son. They

went on a

four-game

winning

streak to

get their

fan’s hopes

up only to

lose in the

first round

of the play-

offs.

In the

playoffs,

the Chiefs

met up with

the Tennes-

see Titans at Arrowhead. In the first half the Chiefs scored

21 points and the Titans only scored three. But everything

changed in the second half, when the Titans scored 19 and

the Chiefs scored zero. The final score was 21-22.

Da’Marion Young, a sophomore at University Acad-

emy who is also a Chiefs fan, said right now it feels bad

to be a Chiefs fan because they are such a disappointment.

He said he’ll probably still remain a fan next season, but

he believes the Chiefs will do worse next year if they

trade away Alex Smith, which many fans think they’ll do.

The inconsistency of the Chiefs has led some fans to

becoming fans of the individual players and not the whole

team. One person who has experienced this is Jayden

Johnson, a sophomore at UA.

Johnson said he believes that the start of the next

season won't be very good for the Chiefs if they get a new

quarterback. But, he thinks things will improve later.

“I think they’ll take off once they build team chemis-

try,” Johnson said.

Elijah Hudson-Moore, a sophomore at UA, said be-

ing a fan of the Chiefs is like being on a roller coaster

because they start off good, which would be the roller

coaster going up, and then they choke, which would be

the roller coaster going down. Then the roller coaster

stops because the team usually loses in the playoffs.

Hudson-Moore also said he believes that the Chiefs

will not do well if they trade Alex Smith during this

year’s offseason.

“Patrick Mahomes can throw faster and farther,”

Hudson-Moore said, “but the only problem with him is

that he’s not accurate with his throws.”

Due to the rough season, the Chiefs may be in danger

of losing their bandwagon fans, with only the diehard fans

remaining.

Picture Perfect Student Scholars By Dennik McBride

University Academy seniors Marielena Ortiz and

David Howard have been accepted as 2018 Nelson-Atkins

Photography Scholars!

Even though it’s a very prestigious honor, the applica-

tion process wasn't too difficult for the students.

Howard said, “I just wrote an essay and submitted

three good

photos.”

Howard

and Ortiz sub-

mitted photos

ranging from

pictures of

nature and

architecture, to

people and

weather.

Few stu-

dents were

then selected

for the oppor-

tunity to not

only work with a professional photographer but also have

their work displayed in the Atkins museum.

The curator of the photography gallery at the Nelson

will bring in a professional photographer to work with the

teen photographers on developing their skills and portfolios.

Ortiz and Howard are pretty new to photography, but

they seem to enjoy it already.

“I like that I can capture people's emotions and state of

mind in a single picture,” said Howard.

This is Ms. Hammond’s second year teaching photog-

raphy and having students apply for the program.

“They only have 10 to 12 photographers around the

whole Kansas City area that get in, and this year we got

two,” said Ms. Hammond. Ortiz and Howard will be going

to the Nelson once a week from January through March for

the program. This is a great program and a wonderful op-

portunity for our UA students.

Howard said, “When I got accepted I couldn't believe it

was true.”

Teen photographers all over Kansas City applied for

the “competitive entry program.” said Ms. Hammond. The

UA family is extremely excited for Ortiz and Howard.

“I’m very, very proud of them.” said Ms. Hammond.

Future UA applicants should be excited about looking

forward to opportunities like this. The more time and ex-

perience Ms. Hammond acquires, the better.

Howard said, “I look forward to furthering my knowl-

edge about photography.”

Ms. Hammond is also excited for the future.

“I look forward to more photographers entering next

year,” she said.

The UA family is not only proud of Ortiz and Howard,

but also of Ms. Hammond. We congratulate you all and

look forward to your photography futures.

Ortiz and Howard were selected as Pho-

tography Scholars.

LeBron James modified the original H&M ad and

posted it to his social media accounts.

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