News Briefs 10/31/11

Students plan for mock government in Topeka
The Youth in Government Club provides a better understanding of politics to students interested in government. It allows them to view the processes the government goes through to make their decisions. This club has been at East for around 10 years and the students make up a model form of legislature. The members of this club do mock trials and create bills to see what goes into for getting one passed. Their next meeting is on Nov. 11 and are then going to Topeka on Nov. 20. While they are in Topeka, they will be sitting and discussing issues with politicians. Students from all over Kansas will go and pretend as if they are the committee negotiating fake bills.

SHARE arranges annual dodgeball tournament
The annual SHARE dodgeball tournament is coming up on Nov. 7. This tournament has been going on for about nine years now and the canned food idea came from a previous East teacher, who used to help out with the pantry at Wilhemena Food Kitchen and had a green bean dish that was popular. Her problem was that she was constantly out of green beans. That is when SHARE started collect green beans as an entry fee for this tournament. This year, they are requesting bags of tube socks from each team along with the green beans. The teams consist of about 8-10 players and the bracket will be up in the main hall and the tournament is held in the main gym. Only the first 32 teams are allowed to play.

Advanced Theater students prepare for show
The Advanced Repertory Theater class is putting on a show on Nov. 9th. This years’ show, “Nickel and Dimed,” and is about the role of woman in the work force. The play is based on a book in which the author goes undercover in the work force and tries to maintain a normal lifestyle. She found this to be extremely difficult and could not handle the stress. The show, performing arts teacher Brian Cappello,is a collaborative effort between him and the eight students in the class. Since there are only eight of them, they are all given multiple roles to play. They have been preparing for a couple weeks and are excited to see how the show turns out with such a small cast.

Former East student sentenced in Wyandotte court
A former East student who fatally shot a Shawnee Mission North student in a schoolyard fight has been sentenced to 13 years in prison, a judge ruled Oct. 21.

The jury convicted Stephen A. Reed, 17, in September of second-degree murder as well as criminal possession of a firearm by a juvenile for the shooting of Ryder Spillman, 16, of Kansas City, Kan.

Stephen Reed’s cousin, Shane Reed, 18, pleading guilty to aiding a felon and was sentenced to 18 months of juvenile prison.

Spillman was murdered near a KCK elementary school earlier this year, while running towards a vehicle. Law enforcement officers investigated the case and determined that Spillman did not have a gun at the scene of the crime.

Cross-dressing robber charged in County Court
Two men arrested on Oct. 21, after attempting to rob the US Bank at the Village Shops were charged in a Johnson County court on Oct. 22.

The accused are Dennis E. Bowen, 40, of Kansas City, Mo., and Joshua J. Parker, 19, of Kansas City, Mo., who both face one count of bank robbery in a criminal complaint filed Oct. 24 in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan.

One of the men was dressed as a woman when he entered the bank located at 6940 Mission Road. He hopped up and sat on the counter and said: “I’m back.” According to the teller who recognized the robber as the same person that robbed the bank on Aug. 23.
If convicted, the accused face up to 20 years in federal prison.

KU faces falling enrollment
University of Kansas’ fall enrollment is down this year to 28,718 students, according to figures released on Oct. 20. KU dropped 744 students overall compared to last fall, which represents a 2.5 percent decrease. This is the third consecutive year that KU’s enrollment has fallen, after a slight 1.8 percent drop last year, following KU’s record fall 2008 enrollment of 30,102. This dip was supposedly not unexpected. KU has been trying to increase the quality of their institution. The ACT scores for incoming freshmen class were at their highest ever—with an average of 24.7. KU currently has a student from all fifty states. This is also first time the majority of those students were undergraduate students. KU’s figures were in line with most of the state’s six regents universities.