Schwegel has Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), a disease that affects her voluntary muscles, leaving her arms and legs very weak and Schwegel in a power chair. While she faces many challenges in a school day, her biggest complaint about the KHS campus is the doors.

“People are usually very good about holding doors, but when they don’t, my chair gets stuck, and it’s very awkward,” Schwegel said.

Rachel Cosic, counselor, confirmed the doors are a huge problem at school. She has heard from students the buttons to open powered doors are hard to reach for students in wheelchairs and the bumps at the bottom of doorways can be difficult to cross.

Mike Gavin, freshman principal, has heard “no complaints” about the school campus, but believes there is room for improvement.

According to Julie Tadros, school nurse, the bathrooms in the nurse’s office had to be refurbished a few years ago. The doors were widened so wheelchairs cannot get stuck in the doorways and automatic toilets and sinks were installed.

As said by Gavin, even more changes are coming to the campus to make the school accessible to everyone.

For example, the synthetic grass to prevent rainouts on the football field is not the only improvement coming to the stadium. This new field will contain upgrades, like ramp entrances, to ensure that a wheelchair will not prevent a student from cheering on the Pioneers.

Bumps at the base of wheelchair ramps prove difficult for students in wheelchairs to cross.

Also, the covered walkway at the Dougherty Ferry lot, which was taken down earlier this year, is being remade to ensure fairness for all. According to Gavin, the stairs were covered but the ramp was not. The new covering will extend to prevent any student from being left out in the rain.

Schwegel wishes the entire campus could be enclosed so powered doors would not be a problem any longer. While her dream is not presently at KHS, the ongoing renovations will help to make the school more accessible for all who attend.

“The district is committed to the needs of our students,” Gavin said, “As a school, we want this to be a place that allows all students to be here.”

A different point of view

For a story like this, a little perspective is required. So during my third period, Eli Cost, a freshman journalism student, helped me track down a spare wheelchair at the school and do some research.

Let me tell you, research is tough.

My goal was to find out how difficult it really is for a student in a wheelchair to maneuver around the school, jot down a few thoughts, then return to SJ in time for lunch.

However, what I found irritated and upset me. The journalism building appears to be designed to keep anyone with a physical disability out. The main entrance boasts a large step that a student in a wheelchair would require help to cross, and like the back entrance, before entering the actual classrooms, there are claustrophobic cubes where the doors swing inward, blocking one’s path, especially when the tiny room is packed with two people and a wheelchair.

When I finally burst through the door into SJ, I prepared to complain about all I had been put through that day.

Then I thought.

I thought about how I was whining about being in a chair for less than a period when there are people who have never been able to stand. I thought about how I had moaned about losing control in an empty hallway when others have to avoid senseless walkers when the commons are full of people. I thought about how I yelled at Eli for messing up while assisting me when I know people with physical disabilities who have no help whatsoever from anyone.

Perspective is a powerful thing.

“Besides being the lonely cheese in our kindergarten show of The Farmer and the Dell, my first real show was Meet Me in St. Louis when I was in second grade,” Clodfelter said.

Clodfelter has been singing since she could talk and dancing as long as she can remember. Having taken both dance and voice lessons, she decided to try musicals in elementary school since they combine many of her favorite activities and help her meet new friends with similar interests. Musicals also allowed her to experience life from different points of view, depending on her character’s personality.

“The thing I loved about performing from the very beginning was that you can be anyone on stage,” Clodfelter said. “Life throws curve balls at you constantly, and it can take a long time to adjust, but the second you step onstage, you leave all of your troubles behind you and can take a few hours to forget and be someone completely different.”

When Clodfelter decided to audition for Grand Hotel, she was intimidated to be a freshman among a sea of talented upperclassmen at first. Having sang with David Cannon, choir director for women’s chorus class, she knew at least one of the adults in the casting process. For Clodfelter, however, it was difficult to gauge exactly what they were looking for, or how she might be perceived.

“It’s easy to be intimidated, and she wasn’t, nor was she overly cocky,” Kelly Schnider, Grand Hotel director, said.
Students looking to audition had to first go through a singing and dancing audition. If they were one of the chosen few who would compete for parts in the show, they next had a callback. The competition for freshman was pretty stiff, since students who had three years of experience working on KHS shows were also auditioning for the same roles.

“Nikki is totally unafraid to give her whole self to her role and never seems self-conscious of what people will think of her up on stage,” Elisa Steele, freshman, who has performed in shows with Clodfelter, said.

But even after a successful round of auditions, Clodfelter still prepared herself for the worst-case scenario: disappointment.

The day Clodfelter walked up to the cast list and saw her name among many other talented individuals was a time for excitement and a release of all the pent-up nervous energy she gained while waiting.

“I had a lot of friends who did not get cast, so I was mostly celebrating on the inside because I knew what they were going through. I’ve been there,” Clodfelter said.
Of all the young actors who auditioned for the show, seven freshmen were cast: Ryann Bank, Lauren Kelly, Jack Rowland, Emily Riggs, Danny Smith, Kendall Washington and Clodfelter herself. Grand Hotel is the story of guests and workers of the Grand Hotel Berlin and how their lives intertwine as they search for love or an escape from their problems.

As a telephone operator, Clodfelter and the two other operators were the eyes and ears of the hotel, and oversaw all of the drama that ensued. Along with singing and dancing in many of the numbers, Clodfelter also performed in a dance trio in the show.

But for Clodfelter, it is not all about the singing, dancing and performing. The relationships built with fellow cast members is what keeps her going through every tough rehearsal and the weeks spent preparing for a show.

“You spend so much time with the group of people, and they become like your family during the week of the show,” Clodfelter said. “Even though you may see people once it’s over, you can never go back in time.”

“I don’t stay in every weekend studying, but I do spend a lot of after school time working and I’ve pulled a few all nighters,’’ Tadros said. “It helps to improve my grades and my class ranking.’’

Class rank is a measure of how a student’s performance compares to other students in his or her class. For instance, a student may have a GPA better than 350 of his or her class of 400, so in this case, this student would have a class rank of 50.

“I see kids stressing about class rank each year,’’ Emily Berty, counselor, said. “It’s like standardized testing; it does make a difference.’’

For some selective colleges, if a student is outside of the top 5 percent in his or her class, the student is not likely to be considered for admission.  However, Berty admits class rank is not the only factor that weighs in to a college’s decision to admit a student.

“If a student is super involved with the school and has good test scores, these will outweigh class ranking,’’ Berty said.

Typically, class ranking is looked at after test scores and extra curricular activities.  This fact is not always comforting to students who hope to be admitted into the nation’s top colleges and universities.

“Although class ranking is important, it’s not cut and dry.  Still, kids stress about it, and it makes them less able to learn for learning’s sake,’’ Berty said.

For this reason, a handful of schools in Missouri are choosing not to use class ranking in their schools.  Clayton High School is among these.  According to Carolyn Blair, counselor and chairperson of Clayton’s guidance department, CHS did away with class ranking because it proved more harmful than helpful.

“Clayton’s academic environment is highly competitive, particularly among the top students,” Blair said.  “Students were making decisions about what classes to take, and even changing their schedules to try and get classes with certain teachers just so they could pump up their grade point averages and class rankings.’’

According to Blair, the fact that Clayton High does not maintain class rankings has not been a problem for colleges that would usually consider it.

“At this point, most colleges know we don’t keep track of class rank.  It makes admissions committees look at other parts of the student’s transcript, such as rigorous course load, grades earned in those courses, and overall grade-point average,” Blair said.

Unlike Clayton, Kirkwood believes class ranking serves an important purpose.

‘’Class ranking is a good indicator,’’ Mike Gavin, freshman principal, said. ‘’It’s a good way of showing students how they are performing compared to their classmates.’’

According to Gavin, class ranking also helps show underperforming kids how they look next to their peers.

‘’It helps them to think about what they are doing and whether or not they believe they should be at the bottom of their class or not,’’ Gavin said.

Students like Tadros disagree. They believe class ranking may not be the ideal way to measure a student’s strengths.

“Class rank is not an accurate representation of the students at KHS,’’ Tadros said. “It should be about how hard the student works and not how they stand compared to their classmates.’’

Young Republicans Club
The Young Republicans Club may be getting an undeserved bad reputation.
Dr. Lisa Autry, science teacher and club sponsor, said people sometimes think “mean” when they hear “Republican.”

“The number one thing is that conservatism is a value system.  It doesn’t mean [a conservative person is] mean or evil or greedy,” Autry said.

What the club does is educate people on what they are really about.
“I give [the club] a place, and they really do everything,” Autry said.
The club has had speakers like Rick Stream, state representative for Kirkwood and Des Peres, come in, and they have also discussed current political topics.

“I didn’t even know about the club last year,” Blakely Stretch, senior and president of the club, said.

People do not have to have all-Republican beliefs to be in the club, either.

“Sometimes I’ll go moderate.  I’m not 100 percent Republican,” Stretch said.

Guitar Club
If students think they have to know how to play guitar to be in Guitar Club, they are wrong.
David Williams, teacher and club sponsor, said experience is not necessary to join Guitar Club.
The club was created nine years ago when students wanted to play guitar after school.

“I started this club.  It just sort of happened,” Williams, who has been teaching guitar since 1977, said.

“If you’re looking to learn, or you already know how to play, just come and jam,”  Khalah Albert, junior, said.  “It’s a musical environment.”

The club is also a great place to meet new people.

“You meet up with other musicians,” Blake Voller, freshman who had already been playing three and a half years before joining, said  “It’s filled with great people.”

Young Democrats Club
The Young Democrats Club has a new energy this year than it has had in the past.
The club came back to life this year after “KHS 4 Obama,” which was a group created last year during the election year.  This year the group is called the Young Democrats Club, which was at KHS previously but with less enthusiasm.

“We brought [the Young Democrats] back this year,”  Ryan Schuessler, senior and club president, said. “It’s important that we keep these things around, even if it’s not an election year.”
The club also demonstrates the individualism at KHS.  According to Jim Cibulka, science teacher and club sponsor, some of the club members’ parents are not politically involved or are not even Democrats.  However their kids are getting involved in politics.

“KHS promotes independent minds,” Cibulka, said.

Kirkwood Youth Service (KYS)
Many students may want to do more for their community.  They just might not know where to go.
Constantly receiving calls and emails about opportunities, KYS is always busy helping the community, whether members are volunteering at the canned food drive, tutoring or helping at the AIDS garden.

“Some ideas are initiated outside of school, some [ideas] students come up with,”  Bob Becker, science teacher and KYS sponsor, said.
Unlike National Honor Society (NHS)  which also does community service, people do not have to meet a GPA requirement to be a part of KYS.
Not only can anybody join, people don’t have to wait to sign up to get involved.

“One of the main questions is, ‘Where do I sign up?’” Tony Fonseca, junior and KYS president, said.  “I want people to know that KYS is not something you have to be on a list.”
Members are also doing their duty to the community by being involved in KYS.

“It’s a responsibility to get involved and help out,” Becker said.

Mr. KHS was founded last year to raise money for the pommies, but what they didn’t realize was the money interfered with the main focus: crowning the true champion. Just because this pinnacle of pageants brought in over $1,000 for the pommies program and helped purchase new uniforms doesn’t mean that it can’t break hearts.

As Mr. Freshman Class, I was responsible for embodying the “swagger” of all of the freshmen. In front of a crowd of more than 400 on that Wednesday night, I was booted in the first round.

Sigh.

Maybe it was due to my shiny shoes not being shiny enough or my hips not being as loose as the change in my pockets. Whatever the problem, it was enough to lock me backstage with the nine other men swept from the limelight.

Perhaps the chance to show off their washboard abs in their skin-tight swimsuits was what brought such a testosterone-swamped group of guys together. If that’s what it takes to raise money for the dancers that
pump up the crowds at pep rallies, then so be it. But don’t strike down the only freshman in the first round to please the oh-so-desperate seniors.

I can admit, a free prom night with a limo might have been out of the question for me, but the second round wasn’t. No one seems to be complaining about the victor, Jayvn Solomon, who happens to be a senior. Solomon also happens to be Mr. Pep Club, a group that is alongside the pommies at pep rallies to rile up the crowd. Coincidence? I think not.

“It hurts to fall short by one place, but at least I wasn’t 24th place,” Joey Greenstein said moments after the decision was made to crown Solomon.

But as I looked at the crowd’s gleaming faces when all the contestants came out for a final bow, it was no secret that our dance moves pleasured their eyes. In that moment, it hit me. As a ninth grader, my job was to be 24th place. That’s the joy of being the scrawny little freshman.  I guess when next year’s pommies are counting the money as it flows in, I’ll be back stage with a new group to represent, shining the shoes and loosening the hips. Until then, I’m just Mr. 24th.

“I was pretty nervous,” McNamara, senior and varsity starting pitcher, said. “Last year I started against Oakville and gave up five runs in two innings, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.”

McNamara wouldn’t have expected that a play in the first inning could change a potential no-hit bid. But it did. A grounder, ruled an error by Kirkwood, was ruled a hit by Oakville. And with Oakville being the official scorer, it was ruled a hit.

“It was a pretty close play,” McNamara said. “All I knew was that it was called an error by Kirkwood.”

After that, McNamara mowed down the Oakville Tigers with four strikeouts. When McNamara did not give up a hit after four innings, he gave the idea of a no-hitter a thought.

“I think it was after the fourth inning that I realized I hadn’t given up a hit,” McNamara said. “But after I hadn’t given up a hit after the fifth inning, I started getting nervous.”

McNamara’s teammates and coaches respected one of the many unwritten rules of baseball by not speaking to the McMamara in the late innings of a no-hitter.

“He was throwing so well and keeping the ball down, so Coach Varady and I decided to let him go,” varsity head coach Ken Shaw said.

With extra help in the field and still no hits, McNamara went into the final inning hoping for the best.

“I was really nervous but confident because my pitches had been working all day, and I knew I was only three outs away,” McNamara said.

With Oakville down to its last out, it opted to pinch hit for the last batter.

“The first two pitches I threw were balls,” McNamara said. “The next pitch was a strike which he hit to deep left field. I knew Oakville had a short field so I started to get a little worried. But when the ball came down and landed in the glove, I knew I had done it. It felt so good to finally finish.”

As McNamara watched the last out recorded, his teammates mobbed him on the mound.

“They were going crazy,” McNamara said. “They ambushed me when it was over.”

McNamara was surprised at what he had done.

“I was in shock at first,” McNamara said. “I couldn’t believe I had actually done it.”

It was not until McNamara was home and saw the stats online that he realized that the play in the first inning was officially ruled a hit.

“I really wanted the no-hitter, but it was a pretty close play,” McNamara said. “I’ll still consider it as a no-hitter and tell people I threw a no-hitter.”

In the summer of 2007, Ben Nemtin, Duncan Penn, Dave Lingwood and Jonnie Penn, the masterminds behind the project, bought a 1969 purple transit bus with no odometer or gas gauge and called Brad.

“That was it for me. I was in,” Tiemann said. “After some formalities, we hit the road with a small but exceptional crew. After months…and the trip of a lifetime, a pilot episode was made and MTV picked it up.”

This first episode depicted the four cast members attempting to sneak into a party at the Mansion, dressed as Oompa Loompas and soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo. The Oompa Loompas made it in, but “Cristiano” was sent packing by a snarky security guard. This exploit, while comical, was not met without concerns.

“We never want to set an example of recklessness or irreverence. [The guys] are four of the most respectful people I have ever met,” Tiemann said. “Sometimes you have to take chances in life.”

The Buried Life is much more than parties, though. The foundation of the show is based around helping others, and this assistance is delivered without outside aid.

“We don’t have help from MTV, so once we choose who we are going to help, we can’t help others because we just don’t have the resources,” Tiemann said.

Despite the fact that not everyone is assisted, lives of people across the nation are changed due to the actions of the crew. Parents and children are reunited, fears are addressed and fond memories are revisited with the help of the show. During a particularly amusing moment in the show, Ben, Jonnie, Duncan and Dave dance and even sell the clothes off their backs to raise money in order to buy a computer for a charter school in desperate need of one. Their success and delivery of the brand-new computer brought a tear-jerking moment that none of the other shows on the notorious “un-reality” network can deliver. In a time when the former music station is airing more and more inappropriate and irrelevant shows, The Buried Life brings jolts of heart-wrenching moments like this to the population watching Silent Library and MADE.

The success of the show could not have been brought about without dedication from all members of the crew, and Tiemann was no exception when it came to putting his all into the project.

“If I can’t give something everything I have, then I don’t want to do it.” Tiemann said. “I can tell you this, from the beginning I have left nothing on the table with this project.”

Though Tiemann is clearly invested in the show, in none of the episodes does he explain what he wants to do before he dies. When asked, he responded with a disclaimer and then his dream.

“This answer doesn’t stem from naivety,” Tiemann said. “Help save the world.”

An episode that followed his ambition would surely take more than the 30 minutes given to the show, but there’s also a good chance that by helping create this show, he’s coming closer to completing this exact goal.

Recently, there have been concerns from students that teachers were searching cell phone messages. Mike Gavin, freshman principal, said teachers can have suspicion, but then must turn in the device to the correct grade level office where it can be searched.

“There is a level of gray area,” Gavin said. “A teacher has the power to regulate their space.”

Gavin said he couldn’t monitor every single teacher in the school, so he has no idea what the teachers do with the phones before they turn them in.

Out of 218 students, 47 percent said they have also had their phone taken during school hours. Unfortunately for students, most teachers have their own phone policies. A KHS math and ATLAS teacher, lets her students use phones during class unless they are distracting other students. On the contrary, A KHS physics teacher, takes phones at the first sight, holding them hostage in her tin can drawer until the end of the day, and making the student read a speech created to their parents.

Finding the perfect balance of cell phone policy would be like getting everything you ordered from the Steak ‘n’ Shake drive-thru, which is nearly impossible.

Our proposition to teachers and students: be respectful. Do not assume a student is up to no good. Have more faith. But, if the phone becomes a distraction, take it at your own risk. As for students, put your life on pause, listen to your teacher, and know the limits.

This unwanted end was brought on by the Kirkwood curfew, which on weekends is midnight, a time anyone below the age of 17 despises.

“The curfew is pointless,” Natalie Noonan, freshman, said. “The majority of people I know don’t obey it because we want to have fun. Getting in by curfew isn’t fun.”

But there has got to be more fun in staying out passed curfew besides driving around aimlessly.

“I’ve encountered teens staying out past curfew too many times to count,” School Resource Officer Chad Walton said. “What they are doing is usually alcohol and drug related.”

Some teens see the curfew only as an obstacle in the way of them enjoying their short stress-free break from school. It is a known fact teens stay out past curfew, but the rules seem to have little to no impact on them.

“I feel more pressured to be home by the curfew my parents give me, rather than what the cops give me,” Noonan said.

If out past curfew, teens can face tickets, and even legal issues as well as problems with parents. If out past their own curfew, teens face groundings.

“Nobody listens to the curfew,” Jeff Shipman, sophomore, said. “It will never stop anybody. And it’s just getting kids in trouble.”

Walton disagrees.

“The curfew absolutely essential,” Walton said. “We have to protect the juveniles. Kids are just starting to drive. It’s great that the curfew is set where it is.”

Mike Gavin, freshman principal, said the main problem is girls dressing provocatively.

“No butts, bellies, bra straps and boobies,” Gavin said. “The most frequent issues are girls with short shorts and boys that sag.”

Jordan Bishop, freshman, thinks students are disregarding the policy.

“It’s really unattractive when girls dress [unappropriately]. I think sagging is bad and no one wants to see boxers,” Bishop said.

The KHS dress code guideline states, “shorts, skirts, and dresses must be [the length of] finger tips extended. Undergarments must be covered. No sagging pants.” Fingertips extended means when a student puts his or her arms down, that wherever fingertips are is where the shorts should end.

“Some teachers ignore it and some follow it,” Maggie Green, sophomore, said. “I don’t like dress codes. I don’t think there should be a specific rule.”

Cindy Ricks, walking counselor, agrees with Green.

“I wish we were more consistent, and I wish we were stricter,” Ricks said. “If it were up to me, I would hold to the finger tip rule.”

Grant Nuelle, freshman, did not even realize KHS had a dress code policy.

“What dress code?” Nuelle said. “Do we have a dress code?”

The current punishment for violating the dress code according to guideline is students will be asked to change their clothing, cover up or go home.

In June, there will be a disciplinary hearing where students and administrators will examine and discuss the KHS handbook, Gavin said. Next year students could be facing changes in dress code.