TIMESIssue 2, Volume 35 www.raypecnow.comThe Panther

Friday, November 21, 2014Raymore-Peculiar High School, Peculiar, Mo 64078

The Orator. More than just a movational speaker, Scott Backovich spoke to the high school on Nov. 18. The young man’s mission is to inspire students to be the change. “The way he spoke moved me in a way. It just gave me a different outlook on how to treat people. In the future, I will choose my words more carefully,” said junior Brayden Hudgins. Photos by Tyler Putney and Maddie Reihs

For the rest of this story continue reading on to page 2

“I’m not asking you to change your life. I’m asking you to step up and change

someone else’s.”Scott Backovich

Change makerSchool assembly ignites

passion throughout student body to live differently

On Tuesday, Nov. 18, students were buzzing about the anit-bullying assembly. However, the teenagers were astonished when they found themselves being dramatically impacted by the speaker Scott Backovich. Backovich travels the country touring high schools and speaking to their students about “stepping up” and “changing someone else’s life.” For one hour, the audience was laughing and enjoying Backovich and all what he said about the emotional subject. With real-life stories and examples from his personal life he was able to get his message to the students.

For the full Backovich experience, scan the QR code to visit RayPecNow.com

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The Panther Times is published by students throughout the entire RayPecNow publication. Our primary obligation is to inform readers about school community events and issues of national or international importance. We provide a public service; a channel of information, news, and entertainment for students and the community. The publisher of The Panther Times is the Raymore-Peculiar Board of Education and is printed by the Daily Star Journal in Warrensburg, Missouri. Some material courtesy of American Society of Newspaper Editors/MCT Campus Newspaper High School Services.

Editor-in-Chief Maddie Reihs

Online Managing Editor Katie Johns

Copy Managing Editor Blake Smith

Sports Beat Leader Tyler Putney

ReportersAbby Beck, Melina Hartnett,

Dania Gastelum, Cassie Allen, Rachel Hutchings, Natalie

Cummings, Alyssa Knisely, Bethany Walter, Cierra Fuqua,

Taylor Mendenhall, Samantha Caldwall, Justin Shklar

Academic Beat Leader Taylor Harshbarger

Organizations/ Profiles Beat Leader Sammantha Heggem

Community/EventsBeat Leader Rachel Murphey

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2014TTHE PANTHER TIMESStudent Life2

Hard at work, senior Brad Slaubaugh worked for over four months to organize and manage the Anti-Bullying Assembly on Tuesday, Nov. 18. Slaubaugh worked to raise over $2,700. The assembly was Slaughbaugh’s idea, after his own inspiration and desire to create a bully-free enviornment for the school. Photos by Tyler Putney and Maddie Reihs.

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Bullying has become a pandemic that has swept across the nation’s schools and infected anyone and everyone, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation or social status. The issue of bullying has gotten so bad, that over 77 percent of students get bullied a day in high school according to bullyingstatistics.org. One man, by the name of Scott Backovich, has made it his mission to find a cure to this bully epidemic by any means necessary.

Travelling across the nation four months at a time and in a new state every day, Backovich talks to countless numbers of students and teaches about their effects on others when they bully. On Nov. 18, Backovich visited Ray-Pec to talk to the 1900 strong student body about bullying and how to stop it.

“I started speaking professionally when I was 17 years old. I went to an event where they just asked me to go on stage and talk, and I fell in love with the idea of talking to people and helping them, and that’s why I’m here today,” said Backovich.

Backovich made a large portion of his speech about preventing bullying at the source. He stated numerous times in order to

stop bullying, it needed to start with the students.

“Like I said, nothing I said during that speech matters. What matters is how those students react to it. What matters is how they take it and apply it to their lives outside of this gym,” said Backovich .

However, the entire process would not have happened without a single students work and effort to bring Backovich to the school. Senior Brad Slaubaugh spent over four months to raise $2,700 to bring Burkovich to Ray-Pec.

“Getting in contact with him was easy. All I had to do was email him and ask if he could come here on a certain day and he said absolutely I’ll be there,” said Slaubaugh.

The assembly was not just a project for Slaubaugh, it was a dream come true, and months of work put into effect.

“I think we don’t talk about it enough. Society thinks it is a taboo topic, but in order to prevent suicide, people need to be aware that it happens and that they can be the ones to stop it,” said Slaubaugh.

Students throughout the school were buzzing about the assembly, taking to heart what Backovich

Backovich battles bullyingMotivational speaker visits to speak on bullying

had to say.“I really enjoyed the way he tied his own

expereince as well as providing examples into his speech. He really helped with ideas to fix the problems,” said senior Addie Schwartzman.

Bullying has increased to never before seen heights in the past three years as seen by bullyingstatistics.org, but with students like Slaubaugh and speakers like Backovich, a solution could be right around the corner. But as Backovich said, “It all starts with you.”

Sports Beat Leader Tyler Putney

Looking out on the crowd, Scott Backovich tells stories of his childhood to bond with the students of Ray-Pec.Photo by Maddie Reihs

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2014TTHE PANTHER TIMES Sports 7

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lettermen jackets208 E North Ave, Belton 64012

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On the courtSporting events coming to a court near you

Annual Faculty Game fuels rivalry between towns

Going for the shot, Dallas Lybarger moves past the Belton defense attempting to take the lead for the Men’s Faculty team. On Tuesday, Nov. 18, teachers put off grading tests to play a friendly game of basketball that quickly turned competitive. Halfway through the game after a foul on science teacher Paul Carvan, students from both sides left the bleachers and stormed the court in protest. Photo by Rachel Hutchings.

Sports Beat Leader Tyler Putney

To find out what happened next, scan the QR code to visit RayPecNow.com

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2014TTHE PANTHER TIMES opinion 3

The facts

15% of high schools start at 8:30 am or later

40%of high schools start before 8 am

87%of high school students are getting less than the recommended amount of sleep a night according to a National Sleep Foundation poll

When children develop into teenagers, their sleep-wake cycle shifts two hours later

making it difficult for them to go to sleep before 10:30 pm.

Melatonin, the sleep hormone, is released later

at night, making it dif f icult for teens to fa l l asleep

before 11 pm

Lack of sleep increases the risk oftraffic accidents

depressionand obesity

Dania GastelumReporter

The argument for why school start times must be pushed back to a later time is based in selfishness and a lack of comprehension of the unintended consequences.

Allowing students to sleep in could allow them

TEEN HEALTH CRISIS:School Schedule impactS overall well-being of StudentS

Around Ray-Pec and the nation, a long-time debate has ensued over high school start times being too early. The arguments for this mostly revolve around

to perform better at school. In turn, however, that also pushes all of society back by whatever is selected as a new starting time for the schools. Everything from sport’s practice to the amount of time it takes to complete one’s homework would lead to students falling asleep later, counterbalancing the whole reason behind sleeping in later.

The fact that when high school is pushed back by an hour or more so is the elementary level of schooling due to the sharing of buses between

the levels. The amount of money that would be spent by parents on the increased amount of before care would outweigh any potential benefits of a later start time for a school system.

Due to the unintended consequences of pushing back school, both socially and economically, it makes little to no logical sense to support any action to push school back by an hour or more.

inadequate sleep cycles, and nothing more. However, the issue with changing the school schedules goes far beyond the problems of sleep. If the school times were to change, not only would students be missing out on the “real world”, but after school activities such as sports’ practices and jobs.Having school start later in the day will cause more problems than it solves.

If schools were to

start an hour later, students would also get out an hour later. Students would now be rushing to 4 o’clock shifts after school, and COE students would get 2 measly hours of education. Student jobs and student education would no longer be able to be balanced.

Students have busy lives. Alternating school start times may fix the “tired” problem in the halls, but it leaves more problems in its wake.

School starts way too early for a teenager. Teens not only have seven hours of school a day but also hours of homework after school, and extra curricular activities, such as sports. By the time students are done with their day, they are exhausted. Students usually end up resenting school.

The least that our school systems could do for us is push back the start time a little bit. Students

involved in extra-curricular activities have virtually no time for rest.

There are students that just give up because they get too stressed.

Our schools should help to create less tension by giving us a little more time in the

mornings to sleep in, so by the time the school day starts we feel more prepared and ready to begin our daily education. Not only would this help our learning, but also our

outlook on school itself. If school started later, not as many students would be sleeping in

class, not as many students would be late to school,

and not as many students would complain.

The idea of sleeping in a few more minutes before having to get up from bed and head to school sounds close to heavenly.

School starts sooner for high school students, who wake up and stalk throughout the school day as zombies because of lack of sleep added onto the early awakening. Students find themselves fighting off sleep throughout the school day in order

to stay up later to finish homework, chores, and other responsibilities such as a job.

Lack of sleep results in poor

performance in school, which also has an effect on students’ grades and participation in class.

Ultimately less sleep proves to be problematic

for students, which then reflects

directly on the school. It does not make sense that high school students have to wake up earlier when scientifically speaking, teenagers require more sleep than children do.

Caleb DanielsContributing

Reporter

Darby WebbPaxton Weatherly

Contributing Reporters

Darby WebbPaxton Weatherly

Contributing Reporters

Tyler PutneySports Beat Leader

Tyler PutneySports Beat Leader

In 2010, schools spent $22,932,954 on transportation, and this would increase by about $8,000,000 if school starts are delayed

99.8%of students nation wide participate in extra curriculars who would be affected by school start t imes.

http://nces.ed.gov/pubs95/web/95741.asp

Photos by Maddie Reihs http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=67

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2014 TTHE PANTHER TIMESSports6Split Second, impact forever

Senior Krosbie Smith shares her story from the volleyball crashAbby Beck

Reporter

The student body and KC metro area were shaken as they learned of the volleyball team’s accident on Oct. 20, in route to their first District match. As a result of the accident, 13 of the girls were transported to hospitals and two suffered severe injuries.

One of the players with the more severe injuries was senior Krosbie Smith. When recalling the actual collision, Krosbie can only remember hearing girls screaming at the bus driver not to turn, and the truck slamming into the bus, right where she was sitting.

“I woke up on top of Haley Walsh. I was bleeding all over her and I was bleeding everywhere,” said Krosbie. “I just stood up and I told everyone to stay calm and that the ambulance would be there soon and that everything would be okay.”

Seconds later, Coach Bradye Peniston yelled for her, and Krosbie responded that she was unable to move off the bus by herself. After Coach Joe Maloney assisted her off the bus, Krosbie laid in the grass, anxiously awaiting the ambulance.

“I was thinking that this is it. I am never gonna get to play high school volleyball again. Your team is doing great. I’m never gonna get to play with these girls again. Getting it all taken away so easily by a stupid mistake that didn’t need to happen.

It hurts,” said Krosbie.Krosbie’s younger sister, freshman

Kinlie Smith was also on the bus, but not as severely injured as her. While Krosbie lay in the ambulance, Kinlie called their mother to let her know what had happened.

“I was freaking out. My mom couldn’t really understand me. I thought my sister was going to die, honestly,” said Kinlie.

On her way to the game, Dana Sutcliffe, the girls’ mother, was shocked and confused at the call. She arrived at the scene before the ambulances left. Outside of Krosbie’s ambulance, Kinlie was sobbing, refusing to look at her older sister in the state she was in.

“I was headed to Lee’s Summit West for districts and I got a call. Kinlie was screaming so loud that I couldn’t get anything out of it other than ‘wreck’ and Krosbie was bleeding. I was pretty frantic. It was probably and hopefully the worst call I’ll ever receive,” said Sutcliffe.

Fortunately, the girls were placed in the same hospital room at Children’s Mercy. Once released from the hospital, the other players and those not in the accident visited Krosbie while she waited to be treated.

During the accident, glass cut a large gash through Krosbie’s eyebrow, which

was so deep that it caused the head wound to bleed profusely. Paramedics warned Sutcliffe at the scene that Krosbie was losing a lot of blood and asked her not to react when she saw the severity of the wound.

“I asked my plastic surgeon how many stitches I got and he told me it was too many to count. I had internal stitches and stitches you could see,” said Krosbie.

The night of the accident, students posted on social media their concerns for the team. The RP update that was sent out after the accident did not include Krosbie’s name, yet her friends and family tried to contact her to show support.

The volleyball team is more than a team, they are a family. All the seniors grew up together and have played side-by-side. Sutcliffe was not only affected as a mother, but as a coach. She coaches club volleyball and has built strong bonds with all the girls in the accident.

“They are a big family and it was hard to see them all like that. It breaks your heart as a mom to see all of them hurt.” said Sutcliffe.

Krosbie says from this accident, she has learned to take nothing for granted. Though it started out a normal day, the accident has completely turned these players’ lives upside-down. The JV players

and those not injured in the accident played the district games, while varsity players with concussions watched from the sidelines. Seniors that were once excited to compete in districts their final year of high school volleyball were devastated.

“You think when you’re getting on a bus that you’re safe and it’s shocking that all this happened on a school bus,” said Krosbie. “It was shocking that it was all great and in that split second of time, it was all taken away from me.”

Showing her stitches from the accident, senior Krosbie Smith discusses the details of the traumatic incident that would change her life.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2014TTHE PANTHER TIMESThanksgiving4

The plan for the breakStudents’ thoughts and plans for Thanksgiving

“Every other year I go to my grandparent’s in Oklahoma. My

favorite part is the food...and the family time I guess.”

junior, Taylor Koper

“The rolls are my favorite. They’re amazing.”

sophomore, Nicole Johnson

“My favorite food to eat during Thanksgiving is

pumpkin pie.”junior, Victoria Delphia

“Being together with family and talking and getting to see

family you don’t get to see a lot. Plus the food is delivious.”

junior, Brayden Roberts

“Who doesn’t love the food? And my favorite part is Black Friday shopping because you get a bunch of good deals.”

junior, Rainey Stoll

“Black Friday is my favorite part. My mom takes me but I like it because I like watching people fight over

stuff. It’s entertaining.”senior, Ashay Patel

“The part where I eat all the turkey and take a

nap is the best part.”senior, Gavin Bates

“Seeing my family in general in Tennessee is

my most favorite part of Thanksgiving.”

senior, Mattew Smith

“I like food. My family likes it and I get to see my relatives.”

sophomore, Emily Goulding

“I like Thanksigiving because I like to spend time with my family and we just eat food and watch football all

day and I love that.”senior, Keeley Braun

“It is the only holiday you can eat as much food as you want and not be

judged.”junior, Drew Vandiver

“I like Thanksgiving because I get to see all the relatives that live across the country who only come in once or

twice a year.”senior, Dalton Dailey

“I love food, family, and memories.”

Art Teacher Laura Richarsdson

“I like Thanksgiving not just for the food, but for my family. I see Thanksgiving as a time to be grateful for the friends and family

that you have in your life.”freshman, Kaitlyn Nicole Davis

“I like Thanksgiving because of the food and all the family that I

get to spend with.”freshman, Montana Prickett

“I like Thanksgiving because it is great family bonding time and I get to eat a lot of scrumptious

food.”sophomore, Tyler George

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2014TTHE PANTHER TIMES Black Friday 5

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2014 TTHE PANTHER TIMESentertainment8

229 N MADISON ST, RAYMORE, MO 64083

(816) 322-3323

The Van Winkle Vibe

2/5winks

RayPecNow announcer takes surprising view on Dumb and Dumber To

Dumb and Dumber To lives up to its name and that is not necessarily a good thing. The long awaited sequel to the lowbrow, yet still funny 1994 comedy, Dumb and Dumber, sees our two protagonists, Lloyd Christmas (Jim Carrey) and Harry Dunne (Jeff Daniels) travelling across the country in order to track down Harry’s long lost daughter that he never knew he had.

For the first half hour, the movie gets by on pure

nostalgia. Once that has worn thin, watching the two actors, now in their fifties, play the same characters that they played so well 20 years ago, is almost sad. In the original movie, Harry & Lloyd were two innocent goofs who meant well and every once in awhile showed a bit of intelligence. In this iteration, the duo is lessened to not having a single clue about what is going on around them and worse, are sometimes mean spirited towards those who

come through the revolving door of supporting characters. This

might be fine for an original comedy but to a sequel with

two protagonists that we already know as mostly innocent, this is

an odd change of character.

To their credit,

Carrey and Daniels seem to be having fun. They get back into character fairly quickly and at times, especially in the first half, there is a little spark of

the magic

that was once there. But for the most part, the duo is dragged down by weak writing.The screenplay is credited to an

astonishing six writers. With so many minds, you would think there would be more funny jokes in an almost two hour long movie. There are plenty of jokes here but for five that hit, there are fifteen

that miss. Because of this, I found myself questioning at times if I was laughing because the joke was funny or if I was laughing because the joke

was not as bad as the ten that came before it. One thing that this sequel was clearly missing that the first had in droves was freedom for Carrey and Daniels to improvise. All of the jokes, funny or not, are delivered

in such an over the top manner, that they come off as being too rehearsed, as

opposed to the first where the two stars were given opportunities to throw in their own jokes from time to time.

Maybe I went

Logan Van WinkleContributing

Writerinto the theater with expectations that could never be met or maybe I was just lucky to have watched the original movie as a child with an immature sense of humor. Either way, Dumb and Dumber To was not worth the money I spent to see it in theaters. If you are still interested in seeing it, I recommend that you wait until it comes out on DVD. You might like it more than I did but if not, and you are like me, at least it will cost you $10 less to find out.

Photo by Maddie Reihs