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The Varsity football team stretches before the second half begins at the University City field on Friday, October 7.

Let’s consider for a moment the plight of teenage girls.

As cooler weather rolls around, addressing the question of what to wear becomes even more difficult. Due to some way our society has evolved, teenage girls have three basic options of bottoms to don: jeans, sweatpants or leggings. Ah, leggings.

To figure out why leggings are an appealing choice to a large number of girls, we must consider the problems with the other options.
We’ll start with the easier of the two. Sweatpants. I’m not sure if anyone has seen sweatpants, but they don’t provide the best image. Baggy, bulky and unflattering, there are only so many days a week your typical girl can wear sweatpants before being dubbed a slob. Besides, in the KHS classrooms, which typically range from Arctic temperatures to Sub-Saharan climates, the sweatshirt/ sweatpants combo is ill-advised when it comes to body heat regulation.

Then come jeans. If any administrator or school board member who had part in changing the dress code to ban leggings has ever spent a day in an average teenage girl’s skinny jeans, I applaud them. However, I’ll venture so far as to say that hasn’t happened. In that case, I’ll provide a little insight as to what an uncomfortable experience this can be.

Putting on these jeans requires a bit more energy than most overworked teenagers have at 6:45 a.m. The process includes some jumping and wriggling while pulling up on the belt loops and more often than not results in giving up and reverting to sweatpants, the problems of which we’ve discussed. If you do manage to get the jeans on, you’re in for a day of uncomfortable rubbing and stiffness.
So now that we understand why both jeans and sweatpants are so unsavory, the appeal of leggings should become more apparent. Leggings are a perfect compromise. They are a perfect staple for slightly dressier outfits, comfortable and easy to get on and off. They provide warmth and breathability and are an all-around versatile piece.

The main arguments against leggings have come from concerns that they are inappropriate for a school environment. In what way? They cover all skin. They’re fitted, but so are jeans. Jeans are actually outfitted with pocket designs to accentuate the body. Leggings are no less tight than their acceptable counterpart, yoga pants, but provide countless more wardrobe options. The only difference? Leggings are fitted through the ankle, accentuating the ever-distracting body part, calves. After all, teenage boys tend to fixate on calves.

The school district policy reads, “leggings may be worn if they are covered with shorts, skirt or tunic of the appropriate length,” but I urge administrators to make leggings acceptable by themselves. Besides, who wears tunics anymore, anyway?

According to administrators, this decision was made in order to move the graduation ceremony to a weekend other than Memorial Day weekend.

The last day of school for seniors will remain May 16, 2012. AP testing will be held the weeks of May 7-17.

“[My mission group] helped families get the items they needed but had lost from the tornado,” Shipley said. “We also got to interact with the people who had been affected. I got to hear all of their stories about how they live and how things had changed.”

Shipley and her mission group, Kirkwood United Methodist Church, were not the only ones making efforts to help.

“There were tons of families and mission groups there. People came from different states like Maryland, Texas and Pennsylvania,” Shipley said. “It was really inspiring to see so many people coming together to fix a town.”

By the end of the week-long trip, Shipley and her group felt as if they had accomplished a lot through their volunteer work.

“After we left, I felt we did so much, that I knew we really helped the families,” Shipley  said. “Realistically, though, there is still a lot needed to be done.”

While Shipley’s mission group helped sort household items in a warehouse, Drue Voorhees, sophomore, helped outside by cleaning up the debris from a couple of homes with her club field hockey team, AIM.

“It was so hard to take it out, because there was so much and it was everywhere,” Voorhees said. “But it was a little easier because there was a lot of help.”

When Voorhees and her team first arrived in Joplin, the scene was much different from what she had expected.

“It was so different from the pictures,” Voorhees said. “The full experience is different from seeing it somewhere else. We were almost in tears because of the destruction everywhere.”

“I saw a lot of teamwork,” Voorhees said. “People trying to get back on their feet after the tornado. The volunteers were all really nice and helpful. They were very positive and strong people.”

The Joplin residents have also noticed and are thankful for the relief efforts.

“It made me feel like the community is strong and we help each other out,” Emily Tarter, junior at McAuley Catholic High School in Joplin, said. “I feel better knowing people want to help the town out.”

“I would like to spend more time with my family, do some traveling, and spend more time with my job as mayor,” McDonnell said. “It was hard to do that while still running the store.”

For some students, McDonnell’s closing will have a change on childhood traditions.

“Whenever my family would have parties, McDonnell’s Market Place would always cater,” Madison Stream, sophomore, said. “I’m really sad that it’s closing. It was a huge part of our family traditions, and it’s going to be really weird having those traditions without it there.”

Kate Zisser, a McDonnell’s Market Place employee and a KHS alumna, believes the people will be what she misses the most.

“[The employees] are are like a family and I love them all. Also the customers,” Zisser said. “Working there for two years I’ve gotten to know all the regulars and it will be weird not seeing them anymore.”

McDonnell believes the closing will be bittersweet. Although he will have more time for other priorities, he is going to miss seeing his regular customers.

“It’s sad in some ways because you see a lot of people that come into your store for many years and you see many people being loyal shoppers. You may not see them on a regular basis anymore” McDonnell said.

Zisser, not only a two-year employee, was a frequent shopper growing up.

“My mom worked there when she was in high school and I’ve been going there ever since I was little to get the penny candy or the cookies, so with it closing it’s kind of like a piece of my childhood will be gone.”

The market place, not only a grocery store and deli, is home many of childhood memories for Kirkwood residents.

“It’s right by my house like I can just walk to it. I moved here four years ago and I’ve been going there since I moved there,” Rachel Blevins, senior, said. “I think its just going to be really sad because I literally drive by there everyday and it’s just like a familiarity. It’s part of the history of Kirkwood, and it’s just getting torn away.”