A flight attendant begins her march to the front of the airplane, and frequent fliers feverishly plug away at their iPads and smartphones to send one more Angry Bird flying into the clouds before she can make the dreaded announcement.

“Please turn off and stow all portable electronic devices at this time.”

The passengers grimace. It’s possible that many of them think this regulation is about as sensible as the rumored Lawrence, KS, law that forbids townspeople to wear bees in their hats.

“One time I left [my phone] on, and my sister left hers on for the entire flight, and [the flight crew] didn’t tell us anything,” freshman Thomas Paige said.

Paige flew to California last December, just a few weeks after actor Alec Baldwin failed to turn off his cell phone on a flight departing from California for New York and was summarily dismissed from the plane.

December is far from the busiest month for airplane traffic — seventh according to OAG for the Traveler — but it is a busy month for airwave traffic. In December 2010, actor Josh Duhamel was forced to exit an airplane after sending a text on the runway. One year and three days later, American Airlines escorted Baldwin off a plane when he “took his phone into the plane’s lavatory” to avoid turning it off, according to the airline.

“It might have been a little ridiculous to lock himself into the bathroom,” junior Aleva Ivanov said. Ivanov has flown overseas several times. “It might have been a hazard, but he didn’t necessarily deserve to be kicked off the plane. Unless he was volatile about it — unless he was like, ‘No, I will not stop playing.’”

Perhaps passengers would be more motivated to follow airplane regulations if they knew why those regulations are in place.

“I’m not sure what the cell phones do to the plane,” Ivanov said. “I might be nervous that it would break some tie and make us fall out of the sky … but I don’t have enough knowledge to be scared.”

No plane crash has ever been officially attributed to a passenger’s use of an electronic device, but the Federal Communications Commission and Federal Aviation Administration would rather passengers be safe than sorry.

“There are still unknowns about the radio signals that portable electronic devices (PEDs) and cell phones give off,” the FFA says on its website. “These signals, especially in large quantities and emitted over a long time, may unintentionally affect aircraft communications, navigation, flight control and electronic equipment.”

The heading of the FFA’s section on cell phones is “Cell Phones: A Different Animal.”

“Cell phones (and other intentional transmitters) differ from most PEDs in that they send out signals strong enough to be received at distances far away from the user,” the organization says.

If Baldwin had been playing a game on, say, an iPod, which does not necessarily transmit electromagnetic signals — signals usually associated with communication — he could have continued playing once the plane reached a height of 10,000 feet. This height marks the end of what Boeing’s magazine, “Aero,” calls the “critical” periods: takeoff and landing.

According to “Aero,” wireless devices have been known to cause “autopilot disconnects, erratic flight deck indications, airplanes turning off course, and uncommanded turns” during flights. The magazine specifically warns aircraft against cell phones, as electromagnetic interference (EMI) is reputedly, but not absolutely, responsible for many of these unintentional episodes.

Technology companies’ solution to their products’ quarrel with air safety is airplane mode, which Apple says “disables the wireless features of your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to comply with airline regulations.”

The FFA implies that while airlines “may” allow their passengers to use phones set on airplane mode, which it says allows users only to “play games, check an address or look at the phone’s calendar,” some airlines will not accept this alternative.

Such skepticism often works both ways, though, as some passengers remain unconvinced that cell phones pose a threat to aircraft.

“I think they probably don’t want people getting distracted during an emergency,” Paige said, “so they just tell people it interferes with [the plane].”

“For us, growing up in Cameroon, it’s a religion,” soccer coach Kelly Barah said.

Barah has been playing since his early childhood in Cameroon and into his teens. Barah then went on to play for Cameroon’s soccer team and later professionally for France. Over the years, he played many positions, but he had a slight preference for the defensive end of the field. From there, he stopped playing professional soccer to finish school and graduate.

Though he has stopped playing professionally, Barah never stopped playing soccer. He has been coaching at Free State for five years both on and off the field. He also continues to play on a semi-pro team.

“There is nothing more fun than doing something that you really love to do,” Barah said.

Miller and Barah worked hard for things that they liked to do. But there are some faculty members that worked hard for others.

Before teaching at Free State, social studies teacher Jason Springer taught in Lom Sak, Thailand while serving with the Peace Corps. The Peace Corps was created to expose other cultures around the world to the American people, expose Americans to other cultures and to help other cultures and people with technical problems.

“It definitely opens your eyes; gives you a new perspective on life,” Springer said, fully encouraging people to try it.

Originally sent there to help create a curriculum for Thai teachers that taught English, Springer ended up teaching the class most of the time. During the year and a half he was in Lom Sak, Springer also worked on special projects that benefited the community.

Not many people can say they know the answer to one of life’s many mysteries. Springer probably has a tip or two, but business teacher Ben Mellen can answer one of these questions: why would anyone jump out of a perfectly good airplane?

“I was glad to jump out of there because it wasn’t a perfectly good airplane,” Mellen said.

A small, rumbling, single-engined plane worked its way up over a mile and a half in the vast sky. The ride was shaky; the plane on the verge of falling at any moment.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” the instructor asked. For Mellen, it was an easy choice: jump.

After somersaulting a few times, Mellen was confused and disoriented. He balanced himself, looking straight down at the earth with wind pulling his face back in an almost cartoon way. Pulling the cord, Mellen was jerked up as his parachute expanded and caught the air. From there on, it was a smooth ride. An amazing view all around; just gliding through the air.

“One time. Everybody should do it once,” Mellen finished.

There are over 130 teachers at Free State and only four stories here. Over 126 teachers are waiting to be asked.

Especially with Thanksgiving around the corner, weight loss may be the last thing students are thinking about. But for Free State principal Ed West, eating right and exercising have been his main focuses since this past summer.

“When you’re 5-foot-6 and [have] no hope of growing taller, growing wider is not a very good option,” West said.

After West and his wife joined a gym close to their house, he began to journal his calories. Between a combination of the two, West lost about 40 to 45 pounds.

“[Overall], my family has been pretty supportive,” West said. “I am pleased with myself. I enjoy being in shape a heck of a lot better than not.”

Forty-five pounds is no small deal. Many Free State students have noticed West’s weight loss.

“I was kind of surprised because it seemed like he lost so much weight in such a short amount of time,” junior Aaryn Wertz said.

West is surprised by how many people have noticed his transformation.

“It’s amazing how much people pay attention both to know that there was a change and to be able to acknowledge it and be willing to say something,” West said.

Though West enjoys the effects of weight loss, losing weight was not easy.

“Sometimes time is a crunch,” West said. “The food stuff is still a struggle…If I get started on a bag of chips, it’s easier for me to stop at zero than stop at one. On the days where I exercise and run more, I can have more that day.”

For people trying to lose weight, sometimes constant motivation is a challenge.

“I had been in shape before,” West said. “Back when I was a math teacher, I coached cross country, track and actually ran quite a bit,so I knew the feeling of being in shape. I knew I could [do it].”

West’s success shows students and faculty that getting in shape is indeed possible. Never giving up is always an important thing to keep in mind.

“Sometimes it is frustrating when you decide that you want to do something and a week later you’re not there yet. I’m not much different than a lot of students. I kind of get impatient,” West said. “I think you need to have a big goal. Then you need to break it down into smaller goals and if you blow it one day, that’s just the one day. Don’t feel like if you fall off the wagon…you can’t get back on.”

For every 100 boys that enter Boy Scouts, only four manage to reach the level of Eagle Scout.

For those who do, the accomplishment serves as a great resource for resumes and general life experiences.

Free State junior Joe Waisner started Boy Scouts back when he was in second grade and has stuck with it all the way into high school.

Waisner completed his Eagle Scout project by building a handicap ramp for the Kanwaka Township.

“It was actually really hard,” Waisner said. “We put 300 some hours into it.”

His project tooks weeks of planning and setting up.

“Most of the Eagle Scout projects are not that large,” Waisner said. “I’m not sure why I took that project, but I did it, and it took a long time. It really helps out out there. It was used for the election back in Nov.”

Waisner got most of his help from members of his family and his troop.

“Normally for Eagle Scout projects you have to raise money for it,” Waisner said, “however Kanwaka Township agreed to pay for it, which is good because it was around $6,000 dollars.”

Waisner has also been involved in football throughout high school, but he has never thought about quitting Scouts. When he did have a conflict, he simply switched to another troop.

Waisner believes that Scouts’ impact on a man is life-changing.

“Everyone that goes through it becomes a better person,” Waisner said.

Members of the Free State staff are also highly dedicated members of Boy Scouts.

Scott Smith has been involved in Scouting practically all of his life. He is a part of the Heart of America Council, an organization that oversees all the Boy Scout troops in the metro area. Smith has moved his way up the levels, and because of his hard work and dedication is now an Eagle Scout.

“People who don’t know much about scouting know that the Eagle Scout is something pretty special,” Smith said, “pretty important, and they know that if you’ve attained that, there’s been a lot of hard work and sacrifice.”

Smith says that Boy Scouts can make an incredible impact on a young man’s life and will help in the long run.

“Look at the principles of Scouting,” Smith said. “It instills a lot of good things things that we need today as far as discipline, patriotism, organization, maturity, and responsibility. I wish there were more people involved. The numbers aren’t necessarily down, but it’d be great if more young men were involved. We’d be better off as a country and better off as a society.”

Accomplishing the level of Eagle Scout has allowed Smith to put something remarkable on his professional resume all through his life.

“It doesn’t preclude you from being a star athlete, or good in band, or having a life outside of Scouts,” Smith said. “It’s a heck of a lot of fun.”

Junior James Braden has been in Boy Scouts since the age of six. He has been in Scouts for most of his life and is not planning on stopping soon. Braden is planning on building an information bulletin board at campsite for his Eagle Scout Project. He is also very involved in marching band and choir.

“I normally have to choose one or the other,” Braden said, “ and band and choir take priority. Because of parades, I have to miss some camp outs.”

Even with these conflicts, Braden commits to Boy Scouts.

“Boy Scouts is a big thing in my family,” Braden said. “My dad and brother are both really involved. It means a lot, and

I’ve made a lot of friends there. One of my closest friends is in Boy Scouts, and I would have never met him if it wasn’t for Boy Scouts.”

The night of October 5, Steve Jobs, the innovator and co-founder of Apple died from pancreatic cancer.

“I was sitting on my couch on Facebook when I saw all the status updates that Steve Jobs [had] died,” senior Sean Cesare said. “My first thought was ‘No!’”

For many students at Free State, their reaction was the same.

“I was surprised,” sophomore Ginny Nace said.

“I was hanging out when my friend came upstairs and said ‘Steve Jobs is dead,’” senior Hannah Stevens said. “I was like ‘Whoa…Really?’ It seemed too subtle the way she told me, as if it were no big deal. It seemed…sarcastic. It didn’t seem right.”

In California 1976 at age 21, college drop out Jobs and his school friend Steven Wozniak, started Apple in an old garage. Jobs had no training in technological design or hardware engineering. Nevertheless, the two worked together to begin to make a dent in technological history.

The first product they came up with was the computer, the Apple I. Jobs did what he did best at the time which was advertising, while Wozniak created the different parts for the Apple I. The Apple I came disassembled with an instruction manual, and was eventually upgraded to the Apple II.

The Apple II displayed early indications of Jobs’ talent with technological design. Most people in 1977 were used to scientific looking contraptions, but there was something sleeker about the Apple II.

“Much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on,” Jobs said in 2005 at Stanford, looking back at the beginning of his career.

In 1981, Wozniak suffered a car accident, spending months recuperating and never returned fully to working on the company. The task to continue was up to Jobs.

After visiting a research lab in Palo Alto California in 1979, Jobs was inspired by the experimental computers with computer mouses and good graphics, willing to make computers the best they could be for the future.

“The first Apple product [my family] had was a big bulky old Macintosh computer,” senior Jon Fitzgerald said.

Despite a few failures, with the help of a team of young people talented in software and hardware, the Macintosh Computer was released in 1984. This was the first time an affordable computer with a graphical user interface, folders, and icons was ever released.

The first Macintosh advertisement, now found on YouTube, was the clever play on George Orwell’s book 1984. This ad created an image of a new technological era. Though the Macintosh was flawed, it was the beginning of advancement and change.

In 1985, new innovators began to try to take over Apple. They stripped Jobs of his leadership, and took over the company. Frustrated, Jobs resigned from Apple, not returning until 1997.

For most of us, Jobs’ creation of Pixar and his return to Apple is what we grew up with. In 1995, Jobs created Pixar Animation Studios. Toy Story was released shortly thereafter, becoming the year’s top grossing movie.

“I think Pixar has the opportunity to be the next Disney,” Jobs said in 1998. “Not replace Disney, but be the next Disney.”

Upon Jobs’ return to Apple, he ended the feud between Microsoft and Apple. With his slogan “Think Different,” people were once again captivated. In 1998, the new, sleek iMac became the world’s best selling computer.

“I remember my family’s first Apple product was a desktop computer,” Nace said.

Jobs was on a roll. In 2001, the iPod First Generation was created, a moment that some of us remember. As soon as the iPod was released, Apple was not just a computer company anymore, but a consumer-electronic company. Most students remember their first Apple product as being an iPod.

“I owned a red Nano, the very first, really old version of the Nano,” Stevens said. “It donated about 25 percent to people who have AIDS in Africa.”

“My first Apple product was an iPod shuffle,” Cesare said.

“Mine was a classic 20 gigabyte fourth generation iPod,” Fitzgerald said. “It was a U2 edition, so it was black with a red wheel.”

“Every once in a while, a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything,” Jobs said.

In 2007, Jobs unveiled the iPhone. In 2010, the iPad was introduced. All Apple products are constantly being improved and released.

“Now, I have two iPods, an iPad and an iMac computer,” Stevens said. “We have definitely lost a great mind that can contribute fresh ideas to the ever changing technological world.”

“It is sad that he died,” freshman Jack Ziegler said. “He helped the world by [not only] inventing but [also] by donating a lot.”

The question for a lot of us is what will become of Apple?

“I think that technology will slow down a lot, just because [Jobs] invented so much,” junior Tesla Khague said.

“People are going to try to live up to his legacy and create things that don’t even matter,” senior Lily Lancaster said.

But junior Aspen McDaniel thinks otherwise.

“I think technological [innovations] will go up,” McDaniel said. “People will be inspired because they will think ‘I’m going to do it for him.’”

Without Jobs the world of technology will be different, but his legacy of achievement will never fade.

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work,” Jobs said at Stanford in 2005. “And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.”

Glowing skeletons, scary clowns, bloody vampires and numerous pretty little princesses. Enter what used to be a well-known bookstore in Lawrence, and this is some of what one can find.