The ceremony included a large crowd of his teammates and other classmates, in which his coach, Mr. Michael Dierks, summarized his awards and accomplishments over his time at Rockhurst.

Herriott gave a speech thanking his parents, his teammates, Coach Dierks, and his school before sitting down to sign his letter of intent.

The event ended with a photo opportunity for the top seven runners and coaches, all donning Sooner apparel.  Cupcakes were provided for all that attended.

There are the speeders, the lane weavers, the cut-offers- the a$@#*%$!, as my dad liked to call them. They’re a gung-ho bunch, hell-bent on beating that yellow light and shooting that gap, and they’re not unfamiliar with the middle finger (both giving and receiving). Soccer moms, pick-up truck drivers, and Johnson County residents regularly populate this faction of road-goers, though we’ve all joined their ranks at some point.

On the other end of the spectrum are the cruisers, the slow-turners, and the play-it-safe drive 5 under wimps, the bane of every speeders existence. The elderly, the uninsured, and the just-got-my-licensees can be found in this group, and are dedicated to making sure the rest of us never forget how to cuss someone out.

There also the nice guys, the head-nodders, quick wavers, and let-you-get-over-ers (…), the ones who make you feel better about driving and the state of humanity. Not to forget the no-blinkers, quick-blinkers, long-blinkers, squeaky brake-ers, subwoofers (to be observed en masse in the communities east of Troost Avenue), sing-a-longers, clunkers, flaunt my wealth-ers, too many bumper sticker-ers, or the guys who make awkward eye contact when you’re stopped next to them at a red light.

The smokers, chewers, texters, and movers deserve a mention too, whatever you may think of them (is it really safe to have that mattress hanging out of your trunk like that? Like, how can you see?).

The list goes on, long as the line at the DMV when all you want to do is get some new tags. So here’s to you, all of you, every driver out there on the road pissing me off and making my day all at the same time; without you driving would be a chore, but you make into more of an… adventure, and I thank you for that. Except for the guy in the front of the line at a red light who’s going straight when I’m trying to take a right.

I hate you.

Stop eating unhealthy food

So you’ve made it this far without eating the greasy goodness from your favorite restaurants.  Your struggling through the lasagna with brussel sprouts dinner your mom made, even though your questioning whether this odd combination of food is even considered edible.  And the one time you went to McDonalds, you stared dead at the picture of the Big Mac and did something you thought no person who calls himself a “man” could ever do: you ordered a salad.  So everything’s going fine with your resolution until Thursday lunch.  You try to shield your eyes from all of the students taking glorious bites of their Chic-fil-a sandwiches and you decide its no use; you toss your brown paper bag in the trash and get in the lunch line.

Stop playing video games so much

You started to realize you had a problem when you introduced yourself to a girl as your Skyrim name, Elbrith Bicklesburry, at party.  It’s tough to give up Xbox when you know you could be slaying dragons with your Elven Bow of Cold in Skyrim or developing your 7-foot 6-inch point guard in NBA 2K12, but you did it.  You haven’t turned it on in a month, and you’re pretty proud of yourself.  But then the ultimate test comes: a night with no homework.  Your not used to this situation, and you don’t know what to do with your time.  You can only be on Facebook for so long until you’re bored, and you’d rather die than watch the new episode of Jersey Shore.  You can’t take it anymore, and you play that Xbox until light creeps through your window and you realize it’s morning.

Get “ripped” (Get in shape)

            You’ve been hitting the gym like a body-builder since you started your resolution and you can really feel it working.  By now you’re wearing cut-off shirts and screaming “AAGGHHH” every time you finish a rep.  Your even drinking those “chocolate” protein shakes that taste more like raw meat and garbage.  So now it’s time to look at your results after one month.  You look in the mirror and….WHAT?  After almost ten whole visits to the gym, your abs don’t look like the Situation’s and your biceps don’t at all resemble that guy’s from the Old Spice commercials.  So forget it, this working out just isn’t working out.

So as we can see, it’s tough to keep these resolutions, especially for an entire year.  We have to wonder, is there any hope? Will we ever be able to kick our bad habits for good? I say instead of making yearly resolutions, just make daily, weekly, or monthly resolutions.  It’s a lot easier to stay away from Chic-fil-a if you know you can get it another time soon.  And it’s easier to turn off that Xbox if you know you can re-enter the world of Skyrim after you try to do something productive.  It may not be the solution to your problems, but it would sure help.

The production features five short plays written by Mr. David Ives, all of which are based on the often comedic ambiguity of the English language and the hilarity that it inspires.

Senior Michael Doyle directs “Sure Thing” and “Words, Words, Words” junior Zach Stollman directs “The Death of Trotsky” and “The Philadelphia”, and junior Will Walton directs “The Universal Language”.

“It is very impressive to see the [student] directors take charge in a production like this. They have such solid vision and give their own take on the play which gives it a very organic and natural feel,” Mr. Daniel Hrdlicka, faculty adviser, said.

The rookie directors have encountered problems that, as actors, they are all too familiar with.

“The real challenge is helping the actors realize their characters more fully because sometimes they only think skin deep into their character,” Stollman said.

The actors appreciate the comfortable and relaxed atmosphere the student directors bring to the process.

“One can almost feel more relaxed, not that Mrs. Barney and Mr. Hrdlicka aren’t cool, but because the directors are our friends and peers, they relate to us a little better, and we joke around a lot more,” junior Lorenzo Gatapia, actor in “All In The Timing”, said.

Support for the student-director experiment is just one example of the actors’ approval of the theater programs decisions this year.

“This year, I think the Rockhurst theater program has taken some new risks, from the improvisational spirit of Godspell to the choice of having students direct ‘All In the Timing’… an approach that appeals to everyone,” sophomore Zach Nickerson, actor in “All In The Timing”, said.

The freedom he has when mixing all of these sounds together and producing a quality track is part of what keeps Kerns hooked on his dubstep-making talent.

Millions of people worldwide may enjoy the music, but not nearly as many people actually know how to create the music like Kerns does. Using the elaborate and expensive equipment required to produce good dubstep is not something that comes without hard work and patience. There are dozens of knobs and buttons that go with the equipment.

“I still haven’t used some of the buttons, even after the endless hours of messing around with the synthesizer. There are so many buttons it would take forever to get used to all of their functions and what sounds they make,” Kerns said.

Kerns has been a longtime dubstep fan and an avid follower, but he finally decided to try out creating the music after he went to a concert of the popular dubstep group Deadmau5 his freshman year.

“After the Deadmau5 concert I knew I had to finally try it out. I had always considered it as something to do. I knew I wanted to be on that stage and lead the crowd with my music,” Kerns said.

So he bought a synthesizer and began to test out the long process of learning how to produce quality dubstep. As a beginner to the equipment, learning how to properly use the system was difficult because of the endless options his equipment  provides for making whatever sound possible.

“Figuring out the equipment took a while to get used to because there are so many complex sounds and pitches to the system. The unending combinations of buttons and sounds make anything possible,” Kerns said.

As a beginner Kerns started off with watching YouTube tutorials and reading numerous forums online about how to make the complex sounds of dubstep music.  After weeks of experimenting with the synthesizer, Kerns began to join the sounds together to assemble tracks.

Kerns’ track making process usually takes about ten days to turn into a complete product. He begins with picking a basic drumbeat for the track, and then little by little makes sound additions to the track filled with various pitches, paces, and beats until the track is complete and he is satisfied with it.

After only about one year of experience, Kerns, or better known as Squibs among his listeners, has produced over 30 tracks that he shares on his YouTube and Soundcloud pages; hundreds of people have already listened and enjoyed the music. Squibs’ dedication to the art of creating dubstep has received lots of  attention around the student body.

“Squibs is awesome at what he does. Making dubstep is not the easiest thing to do. It takes time, creativity, and patience to make music as good as his. He has a great dedication to making music that is impressive,” sophomore Matthew Brown said.

Tomorrow, Squibs will take his talents to a new level by performing in the annual Carlitos’ Battle of the Bands held in the main gym at Rockhurst on Feb. 4 to kick off Mission Week. Squibs will feature some tracks from professional artists in addition to many of his own. A live preformance is something Kerns has been looking forward to.

“One of the main reasons making dubstep is so much fun is because I am able to control the audience with my music while performing, so I am really excited for Battle of the Bands,” Kerns said.