The Bucs' Blade: Our Stories | February 2018

the

blade

OUR STORIES p. 9-23

GRAND HAVEN HIGH SCHOOL Volume 73 Issue 4, bucsblade.com

February 16, 2018

staff 73

letter from the

EDITOR IN CHIEF Maddie Brockmyre

EDITOR

NEWS EDITOR Jack Nicholson SPORTS EDITOR Chris Hudson Jack Reus PHOTO EDITOR Julia Drabczyk Maddie Monroe BUSINESS MANAGER Caleb Berko REPORTERS Jaime Cowman Morgan Dreese Maddie Fogg Nick Garvale Xavi Golden Sophia Jaeger Kelly Klouw Paul Moffett Carlos Rappleye Ryan Tongue Lucy Toppen Ashton Voorhees Alexis VanSingel Kiley Williams Sam Woiteshek Morgan Womack Alex Plouff

Dear readers, This edition is a big one. Literally. It is our biggest paper of the year, sitting at a pretty 32 pages. Half of these pages showcase our in depth package titled “Our stories,” a collection of lives tied together.

Let me walk you through the process of writing articles in which people share very intimate and personal details of their life with you. First, the biggest struggle, is finding them.

Before winter break, the whole staff of around 30 members got together and racked their brains for anyone that we could possibly talk to. We came up with six names.

So, we decided to crowdsource. We put up some basic posters, which you may have seen around the school. That’s where we got the majority of our sources. 13 brave people offered us, who have passed it onto you, a look into their lives and unique struggles.

Even with the new students to speak with, we still faced some road blocks. Given a few weeks to write 13 stories while attempting to send the message of inclusivity and depth among 2,000 students is not easy. I acknowledge that we are no where near telling the full story of Grand Haven with this story package, but I hope that this edition can spark a converstation about it.

As said before, I believe that a very specific image of a Grand Haven student is showcased consistently. I also believe that we can do better, as long as we take the time to understand each other. This paper attempts to give us the opportunity to do just that.

You will also see a wonderfully written opinion by one of our staff members about grappling with her identity as a Christian and a bisexual teenager, two reviews about the importance of powerful characters of color and the ongoing Chalkboard Project.

I hope that everyone will find something they can relate to and something they can learn from within this paper. It is never too late to listen.

Thank you for reading,

PUBLICATION POLICY The Bucs’ Blade is a student-produced news publication that publishes information relevant to the times as well as material that is essential to the overall well-being of its readers. It is The Bucs’ Blade’s responsibility to cover school, city, state, national and international events and issues that affect the concerns of the campus, its students or its readers.

The Bucs’ Blade operates as a designated public forum for student expression. The Editorial Board consisting of student editors is the sole decision-making and policy setting body of The Bucs’ Blade and has final say over all content decisions.. The adviser and administration have a non-review role and may offer advice on sensitive issues and will offer criticisms as warranted after publication but the Editorial Board reserves all rights to determine what material shall be published. Editorials represent the collective opinion of The Bucs’ Blade staff.

2 INDEX

@bucsblade @thebucsblade The Bucs’ Blade Maddie Brockmyre Editor in chief

www.bucsblade.com

Letters and submissions: Opinions expressed by individuals and in letters to the editor represent those of the author. Letters to the editor should be typed, double spaced and must include the author’s name, signature and class or position. Names of individuals may be withheld upon request, pending a vote of the Editorial Board. Letters may be submitted in hard copy to room 0205 at Grand Haven High School or via email at bucsblade@gmail.com. All letters are subject to review by the Editorial Board. Letters will not be edited except to fix space limitations. Should the Editorial Board deem a letter to be potentially libelous or containing content inappropriate for publication it will return the letter to the author with an opportunity for corrections. The Editorial Board is solely responsible for these decisions. Letters need to be received one week prior to print publication dates to be included in print.

ON THE COVER PHOTO BY Julia Drabczyk Mercedes Mitchell, Miah Masvero, Leanna Sanchez, Natalie Koetsier, Allyssa Walker and Zach Kauffman pose.

Contents

NEWS

p. 3 Staff editorial p. 4-5 Opinions p. 7 Hamberg

LIFE & ARTS p. 8 Fashion p. 24 Soundcloud p. 25 Reviews p. 26 Health p. 27 School arts

SPORTS

p. 28-29 Sports update p. 30 Olympics p. 31 Sophie Mariani

INDEPTH

p. 9-23 Seven students give insight into their unique struggles and life experiences

FOR THE FULL IN DEPTH PACKAGE, GO TO BUCSBLADE.COM

February 16, 2018, www.bucsblade.com

BRAVERY IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY

The Grand Haven stereotype is evident. Ask any high The 13 pages that hold a few of these stories are evidence that school student in West Michigan and you’ll probably get some everyone is fighting a battle. sort of “oh they’re white, rich spoiled kids… but they have a The courage it takes to speak so openly about something nice beach”. Yes, our population is mostly privileged, mostly so close to one’s core is hard to find. It’s even harder to share white and our beach is pretty great. But people ignore that with someone you barely know, and then share it with over our community is filled with different socioeconomic back- 2,000 of your peers. While we had some girls step forward grounds, races, sexualities, struggles and passions. This is be- with enthusiasm, very few boys followed suit, further showing cause we let them. how deep the fear of not fitting in is embedded in our school.

The Bucs’ Blade is spotlighting 13 unique stories, only 13 So, to everyone who talked to the Blade for this issue or conout of around 2,000 students. Seven of these stories are pre- sidered it, thank you. sented today in our print paper. We had The purpose of these stories isn’t to guilt a team of 11 staff members work over readers into feeling bad for their classmates three weeks to scour for new faces, new or to push an agenda. It’s to share and bestories, new perspectives. We wrote draft gin a discussion about who we are, both as after draft, hoping to showcase the differGrand Haven and as individuals. ent lives of the peers around us.

By sharing these stories, we hope to show We hope that in reading these stothat there are things happening within our ries, a greater understanding that people school that most may be unaware of. That are dealing with everything from mental there are students you may pass in the hallSTAFF illness, sexuality, anorexia, bulimia, and way and never even notice. We want people EDITORIAL race, is gained. We hope that we will gain to read this edition and be able to look at our Support 7-0 a stronger idea of who we are -- and that school differently. idea will spread so that others know it, You, the reader of this edition of the too.

Bucs’ Blade have the power to change the stigmas and issues Our job as a newspaper is to provide people with an op- that are talked about in this paper. You can have an honest portunity to be heard. But most importantly, it is to give the conversation about the issues you face, or you can get to know student body the information it needs to be educated and someone who faces their own struggles. If you simply recogaware. To be exposed to the rawness of people’s lives is a gift. nize that there are problems with how we treat others, and It allows for an understanding that every single face you see in choose to change your actions, you can make the difference the hall has a story, each accompanied with unique struggles. that we need.

www.bucsblade.com, February 16, 2018

Julia Drabczyk THE BUCS’ BLADE

TO READ “OUR STORIES” GO TO PAGE 9

NEWS 3

SHOP RIGHT Making the effort to track down fair trade certified products helps bring equality to third world producers while helping you find unique products too

Morgan Womack The Bucs’ Blade

No excuse not to support girls’ sports Female teams deserve better support from fans that only seem to care about the guys It’s the chilly January Friday of first semester’s dreaded exam week. Grand Haven students rejoice over a weekend with no homework-a rarity for high schoolers.

The excitement turns to the doubleheader of varsity basketball games against conference foe Caledonia. It will be like every other conference doubleheader -- girls varsity first, and the boys following shortly after. I’m ready to go.

I arrive at the gym around six, looking around for

4 OPINION

Opinion

ASHTON VOORHEES

Reporter

friends and fellow classmates to talk to before the start of the girls basketball game. I cover girls basketball as a part of the Bucs’ Blade sports team and regularly attend, so it doesn’t come as a surprise that as usual, they aren’t there yet. At this point I know the drill. The student section for the girls consists of only two rows of detached friend groups. I don’t know any of them; they’re all seniors, showing their last flex of school spirit. On this Fri-

A seven-year-old girl sits on the floor in cause they don’t cost nearly as much to prothe scorching heat of a factory in Indonesia, duce. However, fair trade items are the better making the Adidas shoes you are wearing option.

If something is fair trade certified, it means right now. Her hands begin to shake in fear that the workers who made the product are that if she takes a break, she will be beaten. paid fairly. That’s the reason fair trade items She was taken out of school to work for 12 are usually more expensive. A hours a day doing meticulous Opinion lot of fair trade companies are repetitive work, making only a focused on empowering their few cents per hour. employees and aiming their She’s hardly the only one. profits to go toward good Many of the brands you causes, like stopping human love are actually exploiting their trafficking. workers. In the United States, It’s important to shop we have specific labor laws so fair trade whenever you can, employees are treated and paid because every time you buy fairly. However, companies products from a company have found that they can make that isn’t fair trade, you are more profits by producing supporting slavery. Now, I their goods in different coununderstand that not everyone tries without the labor laws that we have and then sell them for MORGAN WOMACK has the opportunity to buy Reporter fair trade products because it a major profit in the U.S. can be expensive. However, if That’s why products from you get the chance, you should popular brands that exploit give it a try. their workers are cheaper, beday night, I would estimate roughly 12 people were in the high school student section at the tip-off of the girls game.

There’s no excuse for this.

Kids were not at home racking their brains on homework,.It was the end of exam week, there was no homework for teachers to assign. I’m sure there were reasons that students couldn’t come to the girls game that were completely understandable, this is not a blame game. But I couldn’t feel anything but embarrassment when as the Lady Bucs fought back in the fourth quarter against Caledonia, with nothing to support them but silent students piling into the gym ahead of the boys game.

It was a complete slap in the face , The two rows quickly turned to a full student section as the fourth quarter wound down, and I asked myself: why can’t the student body stand up and support the girls teams as much as we show our passion for the boys?

I understand that not everybody is a sports fanatic who likes to watch every second of the action. But when you show up at the end of the girls game, just to watch the boys version of the same exact sport, it starts to show that it’s not about the sport itself that the stu-

dent sections of girls games are so barren.

The reason doesn’t matter to me. It could be because of a perception that girls sports aren’t as physical and exciting. Maybe it’s because some fans only go to socialize. I don’t care. It’s all the same to me. The girls teams put as much time in to their sport as the boys, and it’s flat out disrespectful that their friends and fellow classmates walk in at the tail end of their game just to watch the boys.

So this is what I propose. If you’re going to support at all, you should support right and cheer for the girls just as much as the boys.

They put in so much effort; all of the exact same time that boys teams do and see that all of the student section regulars care about the boys teams and not them.

If you think girls sports are boring, watch a little more intently, actually pay attention and you’ll be surprised at what you see. If you’re there to socialize, even better. Grab a couple friends and arrive for girls games for roughly twice of the socializing time. It’s time to stop making excuses and cheer on the girls that play the same sports, put in the same amount of time and effort and have the same passion that the boys do that receives quadruple the support.

February 16, 2018, www.bucsblade.com

I

Stuck in purgatory Student struggles to find balance between religion and sexuality

Editor’s note: The author of this opinion is a member of the Bucs’ Blade staff who wished to remain anonymous to protect their privacy.

’m from two different worlds.

Both are seen as paradoxes, divided between the supporters and opponents. The first world, the one seen as perfect to some while others see it as corrupt, is the one that I openly exist in. My second world, my secret world, is the one many view with disgust, and others with love and pride. Christianity and the LGBTQ+ community have always had a contentious relationship. Seen as monsters in each other’s eyes, those of us caught in the middle are torn apart.

I struggled with my identity for years. I didn’t fit into these stereotypical boxes that I felt like I was supposed to fill. I wasn’t a conservative Christian so I didn’t fit in with my friends and most kids from my school, I didn’t go to a church on the regular basis for a while, and only wore a cross once I was on the way to worship. On the other hand, I didn’t have short hair, I never dressed like a tomboy, and I wasn’t abused. I was a girly girl who loved her family and God while liking both guys and gals. From what I could see, there wasn’t anyone like me in real life, or in media.

On television the whole LGBTQ+ community is under represented, and when they are represented they are stereotyped constantly. This still isn’t changing. GLAAD’s “Where We Are on TV” 2016-2017 report, noted that lesbian representation was down from 22 percent in 2015 to 20 percent, and I didn’t feel like anything of that 20 percent fit me.

www.bucsblade.com, February 16, 2018

The feeling as though there was no one I prayed for God to help me. like me was only heightened when I began to I prayed for forgiveness. lose my sense of security in the church. HearI prayed to be normal. ing about the sins of homosexuality made me After years of prayers and pain, I still had feel more scared than I already did. not given myself permission to accept my Many Sundays I would find myself grip- feelings. I knew what it was. What plagued ping the seat of the wooden church pew, me, what scared me away from the church, palms dripping in anxiety. I would handle the was the fact I liked girls and boys. I couldn’t crucifix on my neck trying to gain some sort understand why that was and I didn’t know of semblance of calmness. I would feel the anyone who thought like me enough to help room getting smaller, and the pastor started me. My friends were Catholic, Baptist, other talking straight to me. I was sure of it, and Christian denominations, and Jewish. Who then everyone was staring was going to be accepting of Opinion at me, right? He was in my me? I saw myself as a walking mind, calling me out, making sin and I thought God would sure I knew that he knew. abandon me, even though I As soon as the topic loved and longed for him. passed, the room snapped Like any millenial, I finally back to the normal size, no built up enough courage to one was looking at me, the Google my feelings. I typed pastor was talking about “I like girls and guys,” into another sort of sin, and I the search bar and thus fell felt alone. In a 2013 Pew down the hole of the interResearch Center survey of net. “Why do I like girls, but 1,200 LGBTQ adults, 29 kind of guys too?” “Will my percent said they felt unwelcome in a church parents hate me?” “Will I go to hell?” This or place of worship, and I was starting to feel was the most helpful thing I had tried to do the same. for myself, but the most confusing at the Eventually I became consumed with same time. thoughts of disgust and self-loathing. Anxiety The moment I realized I was bisexual and depression fueled the diminishing hope I wasn’t this amazing, euphoric experience full had to gain any happiness in life. According of excitement. I knew I was all along, but I to the CDC, “LGB youth seriously contem- hadn’t let myself come to term with it. That plate suicide at almost three times the rate of instant I said “I’m bi” for the first time my heterosexual youth,” When I was beginning eyes filled with tears and my heart with a feelto conform to that statistic, I started to pray. ing closest to disappointment. There was a

split in views, on the internet and my brain, one side encouraged me to be happy and to embrace my newly defined sexuality, while the other side demanded I never speak of this again and continue to hide it out of fear. The side I chose has given me freedom to embrace who I want to be.

I identify as a bisexual woman and feel welcome into the LGBTQ+ community, and I love it. I am also a Christian and go to church whenever I have a chance, because I love Jesus and God. Based on a Pew Research Center survey, 51 percent of LGBT adults have a religious affiliation, so there are a lot of people that possibly experienced the same thoughts and feelings as me.

Both my religion and my sexuality are intertwined in my DNA and they make me who I am. I believe God made me this way because he loves me for who I am, no matter my sexuality. I haven’t completely come out for fear my parents and grandparents will be disappointed, out of fear they will disown me, and out of fear that they will hate me.

But I’m starting to feel like I can’t hide it anymore, and I’m longing for freedom. I don’t know the future and what will happen with my family, with my church, and with my friends, but I know that I’ll be okay. As of right now my two lives tear at each other and I feel stuck in the middle, like I have to choose one. I look forward to the day where I can say I have the support of the two communities, the communities that should always have my back, no matter their history and how polar opposite they may be.

OPINION 5

In case you missed it

F R O Z E N

IN TIME

talent SHOWS

AMONG THE STARS

Ryan Tongue THE BUCS’ BLADE

SUPERHEROES: This ’mannequin’ is standing in the window of Borr’s Shoes & Accessories.

By Julia Drabczyk On Saturday Feb. 10 the windows on Washington were filled with superhero ‘mannequins’. The mannequins are either family members, employees, or volunteers that attract so many families downtown in the heart of winter. Approximately 20 or so stores downtown were littered with people, co-owner of Borr’s shoes and the chair of Frozen In Time, Sharon Behm, sheds light on the event.

“I came up with the idea seven years ago,” Behm said. “We were looking for an event to bring people downtown Grand Haven in the middle of February to be able to showcase our heated streets and sidewalks.”

6 NEWS

FINALIST: Sophmore Evan Yasick produly displays his potential NASA project.

Julia Drabczyk THE BUCS’ BLADE GOLD MEDAL: Junior Kaityln Sowles preforms interpretive dance for a win.

Julia Drabczyk THE BUCS’ BLADE LOUD N’ PROUD: Blind Cougar turns the amp to 11 during their performance.

By Jack Nicholson Kaityln Sowles took home the gold medal in solo performance during the talent show on Jan. 30 for her act. Sowles is a big fan of contemporary dance and hip-hop mixture, allowing her control and creativity for her solo recommended by her teachers and choreographers. “My heart was racing,” Sowles said.

“I have always wanted to go to showcase for the experience and opportunity, I was hoping I would get that chance this year.”

As for secondary guitar player, Aidan Martin plays as hard as he prowls in the Blind Cougar’s live performance of, “Pour Some Sugar On Me” by Def Leppard. “During the show itself I think we were all having fun,” Martin said. “It was so cool to watch everyone get into it.” The killer performance landed a first place in the group scoring, allowing them the option to go forward into the next showing along with Sowles.

By Caleb Berko Evan Yasick is currently a semifinalist in a nationwide competition to invent and design a tool that has the capibility to do two or more purposes and can work in zero gravity. If he is a finalist, his tool could be used by astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS).“[My tool] holds pens, pencils, screwdrivers or any other tool [the astronauts] would really need,” Yasick said. “And they clip onto the device in little lego hands; there’s also a compartment that they can put bolts, screws, and trash in.

And then it hooks to your pants, so they can have it on them all the time.”

February 16, 2018, www.bucsblade.com

Montroy resigns to spend time with family

After a sudden resignation of Spanish teacher Kirsten Montroy, student teacher Lauren Hamberg steps up and takes her place

By Lucy Toppen

Over 60 Years of Service 100 North Third Street, Grand Haven

616/842.3030

www.scholtenfant.com

www.bucsblade.com, Febuary , 16, 2018

How did you end up where you are now? Where did you come from? What´s your story?

“Where did I come from? I came from here and I went to highschool here.”

What experiences did you have that lead you here?

“I went through the whole spanish program at Grand Haven, then I went to Grand Valley. At Grand Valley I studied abroad in Bilbao for the academic year. Then I teacher assisted at Union in Grand Rapids. And then I came back here to student teach with Montroy. And then she retired and then I was like ‘hey I would like that job.’ And now I am here.”

How has student teaching for Montroy impacted you as a teacher today??

“You have to start [with Montroy’s impact on me] all the way back to high school spanish because I had her my second half of Spanish three all the way through five. Even in Spanish three she kept saying ‘you gotta go abroad, you gotta go abroad.’ She is the reason I went abroad and had that amazing experience and the influence she and all of the teachers I had at Grand Haven have had on me is the reason why I am a teacher.”

Maddie Monroe THE BUCS’ BLADE

What is it like to actually take over Montroy´s position after being influenced by her so greatly?

“It’s big shoes to fill. Taking everything she taught me and then making it my own and making sure that my own personality is in there is definitely a process.”

What is it like going straight from student teaching to a full time teaching position?

“I definitely would not have been able to do it if it wasn’t here. The staff and the department around me are extremely supportive, I already know them, they are great people and they are going to help me out no matter what. Besides that the kids are amazing. If I didn’t have these kids it would have been very difficult.”

What are you most excited about teaching here?

“I am excited because the Spanish department is moving forward in order to make sure that the kids are getting an immersion experience. Making that more authentic and have kids leaving here that can actually speak Spanish, that is what I am most excited about, to be a part of that.”

How did you finally decide that this was what was really best for you and your family?

“This past semester things kind of fell into place for us as a family. We moved to Grand Rapids to this amazing little community that truly embodies what we feel like are important things for us..”

Are you glad a student teacher is taking your place?

“I had two student teachers who were just phenominal, seeing that helped me realize that there are so many great next generation teachers. There was no way I was ever going to step away from this job and my students if I didn’t know there were great candidates available.”

What emotions do you have during these last few weeks?

“I am sad because this is 13 years of teaching for me, and this feels like home to me and I am kind of stepping away from my comfort zone here to be with my family.”

blade

the

¡HOLA HAMBERG!

What is your main reason for resigning?

I am never going to give anything but my best in the classroom and lately I am exhausted and I don’t have enough energy for my kids. At some point something has to give and it’s not fair for my kids at home or my students here to suffer because I am tired.”

wants you for next year!

Email C.E. SIkkenga at sikkengac@ghaps.org or stop by for an application in room 0205 NEWS 7

Funky fashion

By Julia Drabczyk

Sophmore Amani Senegal embraces her unique culture-based outfits How would you describe your style?

AS: Crazy, funky... It’s not fresh, but its original. I don’t know how to describe it, it’s a bit out there. It’s a mixture of a lot of things because I definitely know it didn’t just come from just anywhere. It’s style based off of imagination and creativity, that’s what I call it.

What influences your style?

AS: Food. It sounds weird, but it’s definitely food because I am really interested in colors, but it also comes from my culture, actually Gun Woo’s culture too because I’ve been really influenced by the whole Asian, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese culture. It kinda meshes with Nigerian culture too because of all the colors. I was a pretty plain kid when I was about five or six, but I was like I don’t know what this [color] is, but it’s pretty cool, so that whole Harajuku thing.

Where do you like to shop?

AS: H&M, I search on instagram for a lot of cool instagram shops because they typically have a lot of nice stuff. You don’t have to go to your typical Forever21, which they do have nice stuff, but at the same time I have to search for something different. I like layers too. So on certain shops on instagram they will have a whole bunch of layers, so just some really cool things that are different styles of clothing than what you would typically get in America.

8 FASHION

www.bucsblade.com, Feburary 16, 2018

EXTENDED EDITION

OUR STORIES 13 stories. 13 people. 13 students out of 2,000.

The following pages present 13 articlesin an attempt to showcase the different lives of different people. Thank you to those who stepped up to tell us their experiences.

With this story package, we hope to foster a conversation about who we are as a school, as a community, and as individuals. 13 stories cannot accurately cover every unique and complex perspective on life, but it’s a start.

It’s hard to find the courage to speak up. It’s hard to challenge your predetermined vision of the world. It’s hard to put yourself in someone else’s shoes.

But it is easy to listen, and that’s where we begin.

p. 10 Miah || p. 12 Allyssa || p. 14 Allison || p. 16 Evelyn || p. 18 Natalie || p. 20 Will || p. 22 Autumn p. 24 Leanna || p. 26 Zach || p. 28 Sierra || p. 30 Lillian || p. 32 Mercedes www.bucsblade.com, February 16, 2018

All photos by Julia Drabczyk

IN DEPTH 9

Miah Masvero

By Carlos Rappleye

J

unior Miah Masvero loves math.

She loves math so much that she uses its logical systems to think her way out of stressful situations. But life isn’t always so binary for Masvero.

“I am an asexual, trans girl lesbian,” Masvero said.

This means that she doesn’t feel any sexual attraction, but still feels romantically attracted to women. It also means she faces judgement and discrimination from people in her life, even the ones closest to her.

“My mom kicked me out after I came out to her,” Masvero said.

“My dad’s been decently supportive about it. I’ve had to convince him a little bit but he’s coming around. He was confused, because a lot of my activities aren’t inherently feminine, so when he heard about it, he was like, ‘well what do you mean, you don’t even like makeup or painting your nails’, and it’s like that’s not what being a girl is about, Dad.” To Masvero, being a girl doesn’t consist of “stereotypical feminine” activities. To her, it’s simply living and being comfortable with herself.

“I tried to imagine myself as a grown man and I wasn’t able to. It was just easier to imagine myself as a grown woman,” Masvero said.

It took many years for her to realize that she was transgender, first becoming exposed to the LGBTQ community in eighth grade. It took her even longer to grapple with that identity, feeling like she didn’t belong.

“I felt like I was cheating, because I’d been extremely homophobic and transphobic in the past, because I was raised in a Christian school and a religious household,” Masvero said. “I felt like I was invading that space, and it took me a good four to five months to realize that this is where I belong.”

Near the beginning of her sophomore year, Masvero decided it was time for a change. She was getting ready for homecoming, but the thought of it made her sick.

“I was looking at my outfit, it was a suit at the time, and I just had this pit in my stomach, because I was like ‘I don’t want to put this on again’,” Masvero said.

10 IN DEPTH

She quickly made plans with a friend of hers to head to the Lakes Mall and find a dress that Masvero could wear. Her friend help keep the dress hidden from Masvero’s parents, and on the night of homecoming she brought the dress to the dance to change into later.

“I had a bit of an awkward encounter with Deputy Devries because I brought [the dress] in a bag and he asked me what I had in the bag,” Masvero said. “I told him a change of clothes and he told me to put the bag away.”

She managed to change into the dress at the dance, and that night was the first moment of her public transition.

Masvero is in what she describes as stage three of her transition. It began with realizing she wasn’t comfortable as a male, and then moved to therapy. She’s currently dressing in public as a female and is open and out with everyone in her life. She hopes to soon start hormones to further her transition.

One of the hardest things for her to deal with isn’t direct, hateful discrimination, but small and offhand comments.

“I can deal with harassment,” Masvero said. “I can deal with people calling me an abomination, or whatever. It’s almost funny, in a way. But what really gets to me is when people purposely misgender me. I get a little release in my brain when someone calls me Miah or she. And the opposite happens when someone calls me he. It really hurts.”

Masvero wants to study the mathematics of human error at MIT, using math to view the world and the way people interact. There’s one thing she wishes she could change and understand, but she knows she might not be able to.

“It’d be great to live in a community where there’s a lot of acceptance, because obviously I’m a bit different and that’s hard,” Masvero said.

“But there’s only so much you can do.”

February 16, 2018, www.bucsblade.com

“

I TRIED TO IMAGINE MYSELF AS A GROWN MAN AND I WASN’T ABLE TO.

www.bucsblade.com, February 16, 2018

IN DEPTH 11

“

NO ONE WANTS TO BE PUT IN ONE PARTICULAR LABEL AND KNOWN FOR ONLY THAT. THERE IS ALWAYS MORE TO ANY ONE PERSON THAN JUST THAT ONE THING.

12 IN DEPTH

February 16, 2018, www.bucsblade.com

Allyssa Walker

By Lucy Toppen

T

he rhythmic creaking of the elementary school’s swings and seesaws go back and forth. The vibrant colors of the play equipment and sounds of laughter brighten the school’s grounds. A scene of joy to perhaps everyone except a confused, little girl standing apart from the smiles thinking, “Why me?”

Sophomore Allyssa Walker has battled Asian stereotypes and racial insensitivity since as early as first grade. “[Kids] would always make their eyes smaller to make fun of me,” Walker recalled. “Or the whole ‘ching-chong’ language thing. I was different so of course someone had to pick at it.”

The hardest part for Walker wasn’t always dealing with what was being said or who was saying it, but why.

“Mostly what bothered me was not knowing why,” Walker said. “Why would you do that to me? I didn’t do anything to you. What did I do?”

Walker grew up in an environment where a piece of her identity was the butt of playground jokes. The taunting dissipated as Walker got older, only to be replaced by plain ignorance.

“People would compare me to all Asian stereotypes,” Walker said.

“Like, ‘oh are you good at karate?’ and ‘what language do you speak?’, ‘Can you speak English?’ and people who would assume what country I was from. Some people will ask where are you from and I will say Michigan and they will say ‘no, where are you really from?’”

After enduring years of racist antics from her classmates, and watching friends go through similar struggles, Walker decided she would no longer allow them to negatively affect her.

“I had a friend in middle school who was adopted from China too,” Walker said.. “But she hated being Chinese, specifically because people were being rude to her. But I felt that nobody should be ashamed of their race, because it’s something they can’t control. So that kind of hit me like okay, yeah, people are going to say mean things but I don’t want to let it

www.bucsblade.com, February 16, 2018

bother me because I should be able to be proud of who I am. Everybody should be proud of who they are.”

This realization has allowed Walker to embrace who she is. As Walker continues her journey with overwhelming positivity and understanding towards all, she still dreams of things changing for the better here in Grand Haven.

“As I started growing up and getting older I could think okay it doesn’t matter what anyone thinks,” Walker said. “I just wish people could broaden their perspective. There’s a whole world out there and Grand Haven is so small. There are so many different people. You don’t have to put other people down for certain things they can’t help.”

With this universal perspective sitting in her mind, Walker realizes the importance of connecting with everyone. She has allowed her specific personal experiences to grow into a wider recognition of stereotyping as a whole.

“It’s like putting people in boxes,” Walker explained. “People see you as that particular box and only know you through that label. Of course it doesn’t feel good. It’s difficult for anyone. No one wants to be put in one particular label and known for only that. Their race or religion doesn’t define them, there is always more to any one person than just that one thing.¨ Walker battled adversity and along the way, became comfortable with herself, allowing her to define identity on her own terms.

“You don’t have to let people define who you are,” Walker said. “You get to do that.”

IN DEPTH 13

“

IT WAS JUST SO, SO HARD JUST TO GET THROUGH THE DAY. TO JUST WAKE UP IN THE MORNING AND BE ABLE TO GET ON THE BUS AND GO TO SCHOOL WAS SO IMPOSSIBLE BECAUSE I KNEW WHAT WAS WAITING FOR ME. I KNEW WHAT WAS GOING TO BE THERE.

14 IN DEPTH

February 16, 2018, www.bucsblade.com

Allison Gardner

By Alexis VanSingel

N

ervous energy surged through Allison Gardner’s body as she entered a crowded algebra class on her first day of high school.

Filled with the anxiety of being at a new school, she thought back on what her cousin had warned her, “You’re a freshman. You’re going to get picked on.” The buzz of conversation consumed the classroom, but Gardner, now a sophomore, still noticed the taunts.

“I knew what was coming,” Gardner said. “But what I didn’t know what was coming was that the other kids in my class were going to be on me as well.”

This was not the first time Gardner had faced bullying before. In elementary school, she was made fun of for her weight, and has struggled with teasing about her appearance since then.

“Even girls that were the same size as me were calling me fat and ugly and all of those things,” Gardner said. “From fourth grade, that just really hurts a person, especially when you’re so young.”

Throughout her freshman year, Gardner continued to hear these types of comments every day.

“That was the lowest I have ever been,” Gardner said. “There was just the little things people would say under their breath, as I walked by, little things that people would say to me on the daily. It hurt so bad to just hear that again and again.

She dreaded coming to a place where her peers continually taunted her.

“It was so, so hard to get through that year,” Gardner said. “It was just so, so hard just to get through the day, to just wake up in the morning, and be able to get on the bus and go to school was so impossible because I knew what was waiting for me. I knew what was going to be there.”

As Gardner became a sophomore at the beginning of this school year, things finally started to look up. The constant teasing subsided, and she was able to have normal days at school, but she still faces the consequences of what happened to her. Even today, Gardner struggles with her body image and being comfortable with herself.

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“I know I have it better than most people, but I still have these problems internally where I feel like my brain and my body are just at war all the time,” Gardner said.

Once in a while, she will still get comments that remind her of the bullying she’s faced, but now she’s able to cope with it better.

“Last semester, I was sitting with my friends and someone would be like, ‘Oh, I didn’t know people like you ate salads’,” Gardner said. “I get called fat a lot, or a pig, and all these things, and it used to hurt me so much, but now I know that I’m doing all these things for myself.”

Although eventually Gardner was able to make light of what she’s gone through, she didn’t always have such a positive perspective on it.

“To be honest, now I look back on it and I think differently, but back then I thought, ‘This is my fault’,” Gardner said. “‘They’re saying these things because they’re true. This is just how it is. This is just going to keep happening so I might as well get used to it.’”

Through all the ups and downs, Gardner fights to keep pushing to reach contentment with the way she looks.

“I’m not all the way there, but I am much more comfortable than I was, than I ever was before,” Gardner said. “Things take time. I think it’s the same way with most things, especially feeling more comfortable. It takes time to get back your self confidence and your self value.”

Most recently within her journey of healing, Gardner has actively pursued a healthier diet and lifestyle. She began powerlifting and fell in love with the inspiring energy and motivation she felt from the lifters around her. The goals she’s reaching inspire her to keep moving forward.

“It’s crazy to see what my body can do,” Gardner said. “I didn’t know I could do this. I didn’t know I could squat 255 pounds. I never thought I could do that. It’s insane to see the progress and how amazing our bodies are. It has definitely helped me in my lowest times, bring me back up to my high points. I remember to myself, you did that. I did something that I never thought I would be able to do.”

IN DEPTH 15

Evelyn Shulkabir

By Jaime Cowman

I

f aspiring artist freshman Evelyn Shulkabir could draw her bulimia, it wouldn’t be pretty. With a deformed body, the imaginary creature embodies her illness in its entirety.

It’s hunched over spine contorts the sickly thin arms while the stomach is bloated and blown out of proportion. Two droopy, dead-looking eyes stare at nothing.

Her drawing may be exaggerated and imaginary, but the monster isn’t far from reality to Shulkabir. It’s much more real than the art.

Her fight with her self image began around the seventh grade, when toxic relationships within her social circle caused her to view herself in a critical light. After being called not pretty or thin enough by the people closest to her, she began to pick apart every inch of herself. Her mindset shifted from not caring about what she did and looked like, to feeling like she wasn’t enough.

“I felt like I couldn’t make anyone happy with who I was,” she said. “I don’t feel like I really got to enjoy being a kid for long.”

Toward the beginning of her freshman year the state of her mental health deteriorated further. Both internal and external pressures to look a certain way and a break up led her to further question her worth. The thoughts about her self image that had been swimming in her mind for years finally pushed her to the edge. She had been at home, eating something she thought would add to her weight, so she decided to get rid of the food and throw it up.

At first, she felt terrible, but after convincing herself that it would be beneficial in the long run, she didn’t stop. For once, she had control over something.

“In a sense I did feel better, because I felt like I was making myself better physically wise,” she said. “After all this, you’re going to look prettier, you’re going to look skinnier.”

Her habit grew. By November, she had stopped eating properly. She skipped meals and the ones she did eat were followed with a trip to the bathroom to purge. She looked sick, was constantly shivering and could never seem to warm up. Her limbs became thinner and weaker. Her legs could hardly support her when she carried her backpack through the school hallways.

16 IN DEPTH

One day, when Shulkabir’s legs gave out underneath her, she finally knew she had to tell someone. She didn’t feel comfortable enough to go straight to her parents, so she contacted the school psychologist, Emily Berry. After talking, her and Mrs. Berry decided the best thing to do was call her mom.

That night, she told her mom about the secret she had kept bottled up for the past few months.

Soon after, she went to the doctor, where she was officially diagnosed with bulimia, a mental disorder that involves body distortion and leads to self-induced purging.

For now, Shulkabir is focused on recovery. She has therapists and nutritionists to help her keep track of her diet. She listens to her favorite music to distract her and uses techniques to help track her progress such as keeping a food journal. She redirects her unhealthy thoughts about purging into comments reassuring herself that eating is a good thing. She still struggles with her bulimic tendencies, but the important thing is that she’s improving.

In the future, she wants to use the things that are most important to her to help others struggling with similar issues.

“I want to be an art and music therapist,” she said. “Art and music is how I’ve coped and I want to use that to help people struggling.”

She uses art as an outlet to display her feelings in a creative way.

By looking to art that exaggerates features that may not be seen as conventionally pretty, Shulkabir hopes to create a different kind of standard, one that doesn’t measure self worth on how a person looks.

Shulkabir, who likes to read, drink peppermint tea, watch Parks and Rec and who wants to devote her life to helping others find help too, says she that rather than let her disorder define her, she tries to simply see it as part of who she is.

“I want people to know that this isn’t a healthy way to fix what you think is wrong,” Shulkabir said. “As long as you are happy with who you are, the number doesn’t matter.”

February 16, 2018, www.bucsblade.com

“

I DON’T FEEL LIKE I REALLY GOT TO ENJOY BEING A KID FOR LONG.

www.bucsblade.com, February 16, 2018

IN DEPTH 17

“

I THINK EVERYTHING THAT HAS HAPPENED HAS MADE ME WHO I AM TODAY AND I AM PROUD OF WHO I AM.

18 IN DEPTH

February 16, 2018, www.bucsblade.com

Natalie Koetsier

By Chris Hudson

E

arly on in her freshman year of high school, junior Natalie Koetsier had the unthinkable happen. It was a loss of more than just a best friend. It was the defeat of a courageous fighter that stood by her.

Koetsier’s best friend Devyn Harris passed away in the waking hours of Monday, Nov. 16, 2015, leaving Koetsier and many others struggling for answers.

Why was Devyn gone so soon? How would people deal with the sadness surging through the halls?

Koetsier was struck with more than just those pressing questions.

How would she stay strong without Devyn? She was Koetsier’s mutual “six o’clock” for numerous years, shielding her from the ambush of depression and uncertainty, battling the illness together.

“In eighth grade, [that was] the first time when the thought of ‘I don’t want to be here, I want to die’ was something that was becoming more than just a thought and I didn’t really know what to do about it,” Koetsier said.

The best friends turned to each other during their time of need. Harris had thought of the two of them as card players that were slid an unfavorable hand, yet against the odds, they would win the round. Together.

It was their promise to each other.

“When she died, I lost my partner,” Koetsier said. “Losing her was really rough.”

With Harris falling to the dealer’s hand, Koetsier had yet another bump in her path to recovery. The storm of negativity whirling around in her, Koetsier would have to develop a sense of new independence and confidence in order to keep her end of that promise in tact.

“All of a sudden, I had to do it all on my own and it was definitely the worst freshman year I ever could have had,” Koetsier said. “ I had to take this on and learn to overcome it all by myself.”

Though many would crack under the deteriorating conditions, Koetsier never bluffed and people, family and classmates especially, showed

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her the crucial support she needed.

To fully overcome it though, she had to finish the mission herself.

She had to top the mountain of depression alone.

“When I walked away from the negativity and bad friendships, that was when I realized I didn’t need other people to fully overcome it and make me feel happy,” Koetsier said. “I got the confidence I needed to do it. I found myself by walking away from those bad friends.”

As it might be a solution that’s off the beaten path, choosing to isolate herself in the final stretch proved to be the call that brought her out of the prolonged darkness.

“I wouldn’t change anything,” Koetsier said. “I think everything that has happened has made me who I am today and I am proud of who I am.

It really sucked at times and a lot of bad things happened, but I became confident in myself and I wouldn’t change it.”

Koetsier is a rare victor.

She found new confidence and self belief to beat a mental illness that doesn’t get the respect it deserves for how serious it truly is.

“Some of the most selfless people I know have struggled with depression,” Koetsier said. “Some of the kindest people I know have struggled with depression; the ones who laugh the hardest have struggled with depression. Having depression does not mean everyone is suicidal. Correlation does not equal causation.”

Koetsier has defied the odds and “won her hand,” but she hasn’t stopped there for the effort she has put into helping others in the same hard place.

“If you have depression, it doesn’t mean you are unstable,” Koetsier said. “It doesn’t mean you are incapable of making rational decisions; you are still a person.”

IN DEPTH 19

“

IF I’M IN LOVE IT DOESN’T MATTER WHO THEY ARE. IF I HAPPEN TO MEET SOMEONE AND THEY ARE A MAN OR A WOMAN, THEN SO BE IT.

20 IN DEPTH

February 16, 2018, www.bucsblade.com

Will*

By Maddie Brockmyre

*Editor’s note: The name has been changed to protect privacy.

I

t took three years for him to figure himself out. In eighth grade, Senior Will* wasn’t straight. He also knew that he didn’t not like girls. Stuck between two, he worried about what his friends would think, which side to choose and how he should feel, until his sophomore year of high school.

Then, in the time it takes to shower, years of confusion and frustration evaporated. Will knew.

He was bisexual.

“How I see it is, I’m not cutting myself off as far as love,” Will said.

“If I’m in love it doesn’t matter who they are. If I happen to meet someone and they are a man or a woman, then so be it.”

Now, he is unafraid. He has confidence in his sexuality, unashamed to talk about his crushes on both men and women with friends. Will fully embraces who he is after his struggle to find a way to accept that he was different than the person he had painted in his mind.

“I used to not believe that being bisexual was a thing, you know, like I thought people had to choose one or the other,” Will said. “I thought it was was black and white. I’d, like, tell myself that I was just straight or just gay but the other one would always be in the back of my mind. I just reached a point where I realized I would never reach a decision because I don’t have to make one. It’s totally normal.”

Before he came to that conclusion, not knowing what he wanted piled on top of his social anxieties, depression and stress from school.

“My sexuality was just one more thing I had to worry about, and it’s kind of a big thing,” Will said. “You’re 13 and you’re watching everyone date people while you just have no idea how you feel, so it’s hard. It’s hard not being able to relate to anyone. Just not knowing what I wanted was so difficult because it seemed like everyone already knew what they wanted except me.”

The confusion consumed his thoughts. Will would spend hours each day worrying about what others would think of him, what he’s supposed to do and how he’s supposed to feel, getting lost in the sea of possibilities.

For awhile, there seemed to be no answer to Will’s problem.

Until he took it upon himself to create one.

“I was taking a shower and it was just like, this one moment where I realized that I was so sick of caring about what people were going to think and who I was supposed to love,” Will said. “It was just always on my mind and it was such a waste of my time to be worrying about that, it was exhausting. It’s such a relief to not have that on my mind all the time now. I don’t have to be like, ‘Oh my god, who do I like? Who am I? What will people think?’ Its a weight lifted off of your shoulders.”

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This realization was revelatory for Will. He was able to create a support system for himself that allowed him to grow comfortable with who he was.

“I had no reason to care, you know, I had found friends and people that cared about me and I could talk to about it and they felt the same way,” Will said. “Having someone to talk to meant everything. Like, just knowing that other people feel the same way makes being bi not as taboo.”

Will was able to become proud of his sexuality. The stress and anxiety once bottled inside disappeared as the need to make a decision faded.

However, despite the positivity and support around him, there is still negativity from others that he continues to combat.

“There’s gonna be some ‘behind your back’ stuff always, like the usual,” Will said. “People say things and think things when they really have no idea who you are and what you’re going through. But honestly, it’s the s**t you hear in the hallways. People will make jokes that just aren’t funny and there are so many places that are just better at being accepting, so if we are comparing then I don’t think Grand Haven is the best it could be.”

Will believes that this culture of ignorance surrounding sexuality stems from lack of representation in the media as well as a lack of advocacy from all people to deter hateful or discriminatory statements.

“No one stands up for it,” Will said. “I mean, there are some people that do but there are more people just letting negative comments slide.

I feel like that’s a bigger problem than the actual comments because if people would just stand up and say something then there would be less incentive for someone to say a homophobic or just nasty thing or whatever in the first place.”

Despite the stereotypes, misinformation and judgement from some, Will trusts there is still hope. As long as others are willing to try to get better, the trend of inclusiveness will only continue to spread.

“The only way things are going to get better is with time and education,” Will said. “If people aren’t wanting to learn about stuff then it’ll never change. But I think that is our job as human beings, you know, to learn about one another. Love each other. The world would be a much better place.”

IN DEPTH 21

“

ONE OF MY FRIENDS DID NOT REACT WELL, THEY THOUGHT IT WAS GROSS AND THEY CALLED ME REALLY AWFUL NAMES. BUT I TRY AND CUT THOSE PEOPLE OUT WHO DON’T ACCEPT ME.

22 IN DEPTH

February 16, 2018, www.bucsblade.com

Autumn Chorney

By Maddie Monroe

J

unior Autumn Chorney is hard to ignore. She enters every room with enthusiasm, telling one-of-a-kind stories like the one time she befriended a raccoon that lived in her broken-down car or her pet pig she dresses in sweaters.

She addresses everyone (even teachers) with ‘hey bud’, making it hard not to smile when she talks. She is charismatic and not afraid to be honest, especially when it comes to her sexuality.

“I started to realize that I was gay around when I was 10 or 11,” Chorney said. “I had a crush on one of my friends but it seemed like all the other girls would just talk about like ‘oh my god that boy is so cute’ but I never felt that way.”

Once Chorney came out to her friends, she experienced an array of different reactions from the people around her. But she has figured out how to deal with those who don’t accept her.

“One of my friends did not react well, they thought it was gross and they called me really awful names,” Chorney said. “But I try and cut those people out who don’t accept me. I’ve noticed that girls mostly react like you are going to have a crush on them, which it’s not like that at all. But most of my friends have been very supportive and I’ve found more who support me.”

As Chorney searched for comfort and support from her friends, she also had a lot of difficulty opening up to her family.

“I didn’t tell my parents right away, I was terrified,” Chorney said.

“When I finally told my mom she was not happy, she was really angry with me and just didn’t understand. But over time she’s grown more accepting of me and I think she’s realized that I’m the same person and it doesn’t change anything. Now if she sees a girl my age she makes jokes like ‘look that could be your future wife’ which is really amazing.

I don’t think I will ever be able to tell my dad, I just know that he wouldn’t understand.”

www.bucsblade.com, February 16, 2018

After overcoming the fear of coming out to her friends and family, Chorney became more confident. She eventually joined the Gay-Straight Alliance club and has become one of its more influential members, she tries her best to make sure gays at Grand Haven are treated fairly.

“My goal is to better the community and make sure LGBTQ people at our school feel safe,” Chorney said. “We are currently trying to put together a trans clothing drive which helps trans kids get clothes for what fits their gender identity, so we are collecting donations so that those kids who can’t come out to their parents have a way to get clothes for free, without fear of their parents.”

Throughout her experiences, she has learned how to persevere through situations and remain confident in who she is without fear of what others think.

“There are definitely times when I’ve been treated differently because I’m gay,” Chorney said. “Like whenever I’m meeting someone new or that I don’t know very well, sometimes I’ll just offhandedly mention it and there’s always a slight moment where they get uncomfortable. I had this happen a few years ago with a teacher, they heard me talking about it and they never really looked at me the same after.”

Although she’s had some rough moments, Chorney never lets this diminish her spirit. She continues to be an advocate for others struggling with sexual or gender identity and remains an honest, open person.

“I don’t think anyone is ever fully confident in themselves,” Chorney said. “It’s something you learn over time and it’s not easy. I definitely wasn’t when I first came out. But you figure it all out along the way.”

IN DEPTH 23

Leanna Sanchez

By Jack Nicholson

S

taring at the fluorescent glow that spreads across the wall and ground from the neon light above her in her room, deciding which old school shirt to toss on, Senior Leanna Sanchez glanced at some older pictures of her.

She thought back to before her mind was clouded, before things got bad, before getting out of bed was a struggle on some days.

She thought about her life before depression, and how it changed everything.

“I guess it’s been kinda on and off for the past several years,” Sanchez said. “When it really got bad was about a year ago actually, I got dumped by my boyfriend and it was the catalyst. The hardest thing was to see him everyday, which really sucked, school was too hard for me.”

Sanchez has been battling with depression for quite a long, with some of her lowest moments emerging in this recent year.

“I felt alone and my friends didn’t know how to help me, so they just kind of didn’t,” Sanchez said. “That was hard for me, definitely the hardest thing, I don’t know what it is but it was just so hard.”

Her depression tackles Sanchez and often makes her act like someone completely different to others. In her mind she still feels like herself but the perception of who she seems versus the reality on the inside are constantly pushing and pulling at her core.

“I know I was acting different, I was closing in on myself and I wasn’t really talking to people a whole lot,” Sanchez said. “It’s so hard to interact with depression, it’s different for everyone which makes it really hard to understand and it makes it really hard for people to help because you want people to reach out and help you but at the same time you just want to be left alone.”

Sanchez understood that she had symptoms of depression due to her long periods of sadness and constant ups and downs, she eventually landed into the hands of a therapist.

24 IN DEPTH

“My therapist told me once that it’s really a self-centered disease,” Sanchez said. “Not to say it’s selfish, like everything is my fault, but it’s my fault that my friends aren’t talking to me, it’s my fault that all these bad things are happening to me — which is obviously not true, but you really believe that.”

From visiting her therapist for over a year now, Sanchez has realized how nice it is to talk to someone and be able to express certain emotions to a professional.

“It’s kind of confusing… you want [people to reach out to you] so bad and you don’t make an effort to reach out to people yourself,” Sanchez said. “You don’t ask people, you want them to know. I don’t know why but it’s so hard, it’s so hard to just say I need help. I’m just hoping I can make it easier for other people.”

Sanchez’s understanding of how she wanted to be treated allowed the years and genuine time with friends, family and a therapist develop a way to combat her depression.

“Confidence is everything, confidence is so important to me,” Sanchez said. ”Sometimes [depression is] really bad, so incapacitating to the point where you can’t even get out of bed. Other times you can go off and have a fun time with friends, it’s a confusing back and forth. I was really confident at times and then it would disappear.”

Relying on the idea of being self-confident allowed Sanchez to truly understand the importance of getting help and knowing how to get it.

“I feel like a lot more people struggle with mental illness than you know,” Sanchez said. “I want to help people. I have learned a lot about how you can deal with it and I want people to know that.”

February 16, 2018, www.bucsblade.com

“

IT’S SO HARD TO INTERACT WITH DEPRESSION. YOU WANT PEOPLE TO REACH OUT AND HELP YOU BUT AT THE SAME TIME YOU JUST WANT TO BE LEFT ALONE.

www.bucsblade.com, February 16, 2018

IN DEPTH 25

Zach Kauffman

By Maddie Monroe

J

unior Zach Kauffman is often judged. His quiet nature and sometimes lack of attention makes others think he doesn’t care, or that he gets bad grades. He knows what they assume, as some have made that assumption known to him.

“One time during class I was taking a test,” Kauffman said. “I went up to to teachers desk to ask for help to clarify one of the questions. She took the test out of my hands and rolled her eyes and kind of scoffed and said, ‘it doesn’t matter, you won’t amount to s**t.’ Verbatim. I didn’t really know what to do honestly, I was so shocked, so I just did not ask any more questions.”

After having this moment with a teacher, he felt small. He didn’t understand why he was being treated that way. It is not often students feel attacked by teachers, not just peers.

“Traditionally teachers think that I don’t apply myself, which sometimes I don’t and I know that,” Kauffman said. “But that leads them to believe that I’m not smart. Which most of the time, isn’t true.

I know other people think that too, but I just try to not pay attention to it.”

Kauffman recognizes that he doesn’t always apply himself in school.

While he admits that sometimes it is due to laziness, it is mostly from repeatedly being told he can’t do it, leading him to give up, in anger,

26 IN DEPTH

frustration or spite.

“I’ve always been told by people that I’m stupid,” Kauffman said.

“Which I think is the biggest reason I don’t try my hardest. Like, people say I don’t apply myself so much that I start to believe it, so then I give up trying all together. Its hard because now, no matter what I do people will still think that.”

After dealing with harsh comments from others for so long, Kauffman realized that what others thought of him doesn’t matter and began to have more faith in himself.

“Right now I’d say I’m the most confident I’ve been in a long time,” Kauffman said. “I’m more accepting of everything that I am now. I used to care a lot about what other people thought of me but over time I’ve realized that people are a***oles and that it’s really fun to prove them wrong. So when people judge me or say those things, it doesn’t get to me anymore. I’ve learned not to care about how people perceive me and that just because someone assumes you aren’t smart, doesn’t mean that you’re not.”

February 16, 2018, www.bucsblade.com

“

SHE TOOK THE TEST OUT OF MY HANDS AND ROLLED HER EYES AND KIND OF SCOFFED AND SAID, “IT DOESN’T MATTER, YOU WON’T AMOUNT TO S**T.” VERBATIM.

www.bucsblade.com, February 16, 2018

IN DEPTH 27

“

SOMETIMES THE ODDS ARE SET AGAINST ME BEING A FEMALE AND BEING A RACIAL MINORITY, BUT I GET THROUGH IT.

28 IN DEPTH

February 16, 2018, www.bucsblade.com

Sierra Vickers

By Maddie Monroe

S

enior Sierra Vickers isn’t much different than others. She loves makeup, pepperoni pizza, and music. She’s loud, full of laughter and has a bubbling personality full of sass.

Vickers fits right in, making space for herself in whatever situation she’s in, unafraid to be herself.

Despite the ease with which she befriends others and the confidence she carries herself with, being black in a predominantly white school isn’t easy.

“It is harder to be this race in this area and even in the world because of how it’s set up,” Vickers said. “Sometimes the odds are set against me being a female and being a racial minority, but I get through it.”

Although Vickers sometimes feels set back by her ethnicity, she embraces it and doesn’t let what others say control her.

“I try to not let anything get to me, sometimes I have to remind myself that just because I was born this way doesn’t mean it defines who I am,” Vickers said. “I think a lot of people judge others based on what they look like, so I try and be myself and block out any negativity.”

Vickers has often faced judgment and bullying from others because she is different. Being African American in a predominantly white school district poses many challenges for her.

“I’ve had many of those moments where I felt treated differently because of my race,” Vickers said. “Especially in middle school since a lot of people try and be the same and fit in. I got teased a lot for the way my hair looked or having curly hair and having darker skin. Sometimes I would

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get comments or get bullied for that.”

For Vickers, going along with the crowd was her best way to avoid bullying. She would often change things about herself so she wouldn’t stand out.

“Because I was so immature at the time, I would just try and fit in with what everyone else wanted me to be even though I was different,” Vickers said. “So I would straighten my hair or try and keep it concealed and I would dress like everyone else just so I felt normal.”

At first, fitting in seems to be the best coping method to Vickers. However she quickly realized that it is better to be who she is and just grow confident with her own self. She grew to love the things that made her unique.

“I really love makeup, its become an escape almost,” Vickers said. “It’s just a fun way to express myself and i’ve grown really passionate about it.

I’m trying to go to cosmetology school so that I can do it more seriously in the future.”

After dealing with her insecurities, Vickers realized the importance in being yourself and has embraced what makes her different.

“I think it’s just really important to be yourself,” Vickers said. “I hid the best parts of myself for so long. So now that I am older I really try and combat that and I have grown more and more confident with who I am.”

IN DEPTH 29

Lillian Shepard

By Julia Drabczyk

L

ooking into her own eyes, her body exposed to the mirror, freshman Lily Shepard notices. She notices that her hair has become a little frizzy, notices that her skin has some blemishes, notices the way her stomach feels a little larger than it did the day before.

She focuses on those flaws, an overwhelming wave of anxiety washing over her.

Shepard’s insecurities regarding her looks often swallow up her time, causing her to stress over the tiniest detail of her appearance. However, these worries were not always with her.

“When I moved here I was super bubbly and light and I didnt care what I looked like,” Shepard said. “I was whatever and I could say and do whatever and it didn’t bother me. Then in 8th grade I suddenly became so afraid of everything.”

She began to overanalyze every part of her body. If a little strand of hair were to fall out then it would add to her anxiety of people judging her. Then the days started to progressively get worse.

“Over the summer I just didn’t want to eat anything,” Shepard said.

“I felt fat because I had been eating mostly fast food because my friend would always take us around to fast food places. But then I would just stop eating because it was summer time and I’d be in my swimsuit. It was a very dramatic change for bit.”

As her diet flip-flops inconsistently, Shepard’s constant stress about the way her body looks causes her to analyze every decision she makes.

Her worries about her image can overpower her life and time.

“When it comes to image it has to do with weight, what your hair looks like, and what your skin is like,” Shepard said. “You have no idea how much time it takes to rub coconut oil to make your skin look clear and nice, or stepping on the scale to see if you dropped those few pounds, or fixing your hair because it is naturally curly. It just takes up so much time.

It’s all you think about.”

The obsession over her looks can lead Shepard to the feeling of guilt that fills her body just after a small sweet treat that is hardly enough

30 IN DEPTH

to make an impact on her body. She has even gone to the measure of working off every last bad carb.

“One time I ate a cookie and then realized I had 2 mini cupcakes, which don’t even amount to one cupcake, but I still was very upset about it,” Shepard said. “I started doing crunches in the middle of my living room at 10:30 at night.”

Instead of going home after school to nap or do homework she finds herself at the gym to continuously improve on how she looks and feels.

Shepard works hard to discipline herself to maintain a healthy diet and stick to workouts, but sometimes it is not enough for her. With that comes a lack of confidence.

“It’s an obstacle dealing with being scared and not bold,” Shepard said.

“There’s so many things that I look at and be like ‘oh I wish I could say that or look like that girl’, but I can’t because I’m not confident enough.”

However Shepard is learning to gain confidence and get more comfortable being in front of large crowds because of her theater experience. It is a way to escape reality for her.

“I like to act and sing and I’ve gotten more confident when it comes to performing in front of people,” Shepard said. “I don’t shake as much, but when it comes to talking to people I shake even more.”

Sometimes it can be a simple mindset for Shepard. She has created an expectation for what she wants to look like and although she often falls to comparing herself to others, Shepard is beginning to recognize the beauty in herself.

“I do have to shove that into my brains that I do not look like this other person that is built super skinny,” Shepard said. “Well you’re not, you are built with curves, and built with strong legs and skinny arms, and that’s just who you are.”

February 16, 2018, www.bucsblade.com

“

THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS THAT I LOOK AT AND BE LIKE ‘OH, I WISH I COULD SAY THAT OR LOOK LIKE THAT GIRL,’ BUT I CAN’T BECAUSE I’M NOT CONFIDENT ENOUGH.

www.bucsblade.com, February 16, 2018

IN DEPTH 31

“

JUST KNOWING THAT PEOPLE HAVE PUSHED THEM TO MAKE THEM WANT TO [COMMIT SUICIDE] IS THE HARDEST PART BECAUSE THEY DON’T UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY’RE DOING IS MAKING SOMEBODY ELSE NOT WANT TO BE ALIVE ANYMORE.

32 IN DEPTH

February 16, 2018, www.bucsblade.com

Mercedes Mitchell

By Jack Reus

S

he was held on the ground so she couldn’t get up. Punches were thrown at her left and right. It was supposed to be a great day at the park with friends, but it turned into something far worse.

She did not anticipate she would get beat up on this day, then again does anybody?

“I didn’t know what to do,” freshman Mercedes Mitchell said. “I couldn’t get out of it.”

This is just one example of the hardships Mitchell has faced throughout her life. She struggles with depression, anxiety and bullying and was officially diagnosed with depression and anxiety when she was in the seventh grade.

“I kind of had a sigh of relief because I thought I was just being too over dramatic and stuff, like I was just sad I wasn’t like actually depressed or anything, then they put me on meds and that helped a lot,” Mitchell said.

A catalyst of depression in Mitchell’s life has been bullying. It has impacted her on numerous occasions, ranging from verbal to physical and in person to online.

“A lot of people have told me I’m ugly or I need to lose weight and people have told me, ‘you should just slit your wrists’,” Mitchell said. “[Once] an anonymous account started texting my best friend, so I decided to help and stop them. They told me multiple times to slit my

www.bucsblade.com, February 16, 2018

wrists and that I shouldn’t have friends because I am too depressing.”

These experiences with bullying have had serious personal effects on Mitchell, but she says what hurts her most is the thought of bullying being so severe in someone’s life that they proceed to take their own life. She lost one of her closest friends in seventh grade to suicide.

“Just knowing that people have pushed them to make them want to [commit suicide] is the hardest part because they don’t understand what they’re doing is making somebody else not want to be alive anymore,” Mitchell said.

Through all the hardships Mitchell has faced, she continues on her positive journey through life. What keeps Mitchell going is her support group. She is surrounded by many people who truly care about her and genuinely support her through her journey with mental illness.

“I have a really loving family and really good friends and a lot of people who care about me,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell says she hopes that everyone, no matter how alone they feel, know they have someone to support them.

“I just want people to know that they are loved and they are wanted and people need them,” Mitchell said.

IN DEPTH 33

LOCAL STARS SHINE ON SOUNDCLOUD

Soundcloud is a well known outlet for users to upload their own music, and since its creation it has become one of the most used platforms for new artists

By Morgan Dreese and Ryan Tongue One of the hardest part about making it in a music career is putting your work out for the world to hear. In many instances, a person may be talented beyond measure, but lacks the opportunity and publicity to make it big. However, in August 2007 a new launch pad for young artists was created. Today, Soundcloud has over 10 million artists and has become a very popular and well known platform. It’s a cost free way for anybody to begin uploading music and trying to start a career.

“Soundcloud has no risk to it,” local artist Tommy Kowalski said. “There’s nothing to lose, its either you get a lot of views or you don’t and there’s no loss its all free to upload everything so it’s definitely the best way to do it.”

Kowalski began uploading in 2015 under the name of TCatdoom. Since then he has become increasingly popular, His newest song “Devil With A Halo” has been one of his most popular hits so far. When he was first starting out, Kowalski was only getting around 40 views per song. Now, he is getting around 20,000 views.

While Soundcloud has started as path with many opportunities for artists such as Kowalski, the amount of artists flooding the platform has made it challenging for new music to be heard. Being able to upload anything is helpful, but with the amount of low quality work put out, the software becomes cluttered so the good artists get lost in the shuffle.

“There’s so many underground artists on Soundcloud,” junior Carson Stenberg said. “So many [artists] aren’t getting the fame that they deserve. People with talent are getting drowned out by the masses.”

Morgan Dreese THE BUCS’ BLADE

Stenberg, known previously as “Csten the God” but recently changed it to “Mr E” began his music career by uploading onto Soundcloud. He found that in order to get any sort of publicity, uploading his work onto other platforms such as iTunes and Spotify is the key to more listeners.

But for both artists, the fame is besides the point. They both write purely to get their message out to the world, no matter the platform.

“I’m going to do whatever I want,” Kowalski said. “Whether I have no views or 50,000 views.”

With this new ability to start making music, many rush forward to express their disapproval of artists such as Kowalski and Stenberg.

“They’re gonna hate it no matter what,” Kowalski said.

“But with the people hating you there’s going to be the same amount of people in favor of you and loving you so you just have to choose [who] you’re going to look at.”

Stenberg looks at hate differently from Kowalski, choosing to embrace it rather than block it.

“It’s people that doubt me or people that don’t understand me that make me want to chase my dreams even more,” Stenberg said. “The hate is fuel, I love it.”

The future is an unknown for Stenberg and Kowalski.

Both will continue to write new music, while also investing their time in more realistic careers.

“Its kinda just a hobby, I’m not really pushing anything,” Kowalski said. “I mean if people were to come at me with like record deals and contracts I would go for it but I’m not pushing it as much as I could.”

ARTISTS WHO MADE IT BIG Lil Pump Known for his highly addictive hooks and coining the, “oou’s”, and “ya’s” ad-libs, Lil Pump is one of the most successful artists from the Soundcloud scene.

NOTABLE SONG: “Gucci Gang”

34 REVIEWS

MR. E: Carson Stenberg began recording music in a make-shift studio created by him and his friends in his garage. However nowadays he does not use a studio.

TCATDOOM: Local artist Tommy Kowalski records his music in his basement with a small studio he set up himself. Kowalski began using beats off Youtube but with his growing popularity, his production time has become a longer process.

Morgan Dreese THE BUCS’ BLADE

The growing popularity of Soundcloud creates new musicians By Alex Plouff

$uicide Boy$

Trippie Redd

They mastered the new trap sound by incorporating grime and death metal influences into spacey trap beats.

Often compared to Lil Uzi Vert, Trippie Redd uses spacey trap beats and auto tune to create catchy hooks and memorable melodies.

NOTABLE SONG: “$outh $ide $uicide”

NOTABLE SONG: “Dark Knight Dummo” February 16, 2018, www.bucsblade.com

Rising righteous representation New film and television show signal growth of minority inclusion and characters of color

MARVEL

I

By Xavi Golden

magine a superhero. Not any specific character, just the image that comes to your mind when you think about costumed do-gooders. You see, in your mind’s eye, a white guy who’s wearing his underwear on the outside of his pants.

Now, you’re not racist for thinking of the archetypal superhero as white, or sexist for thinking of him as a guy. You’ve been conditioned that way by movies, television shows, and comic books. The Avengers features a roster of five white guys and a white woman. Every Marvel movie so far has had a white guy as a protagonist.

On Feb. 16, that changes when Black Panther debuts today, it will rock the superhero genre in the simplest way possible: by casting black people. The representation of men and women of color in Black Panther does more than change your idea of a superhero, studies have shown that representation has multiple psychological benefits. It breaks down

into something incredibly simple; when kids see heroes like them being awesome, they feel awesome, too. Black Panther was also directed and written by black men, which is a rarity. It is incredibly difficult for minorities to break into the film industry, but hopefully this film will pave the way for more of them.

But Black Panther is just one movie and with few others like it to establish a precedent, there’s no guarantee it can change things for the better. However, there is a chance.

In the spring of 2017, people were saying similar things about Wonder Woman; there were dreams that the movie could increase the representation of women characters and provide opportunities for female creators. Later, that dream would come partially true. After Wonder Woman’s success in the domestic box office, Warner Bros., Disney, and other studios greenlit numerous projects with female protagonist.

Black Panther can be a moment of great-

CW

T

By Sophia Jaeger

he superhero craze has swept the nation from Marvel movies to DC shows the world of comic books is being revived through film. The latest edition to this craze comes in an action packed show dealing with real societal issues through superhuman means. The Black Lightning, produced by the CW channel, is a strikingly real life depiction of a society facing the issues of gang violence.

Released Jan. 16, the show focuses on main character Jeffersons Pierce (The Black Lightning) as he is forced to use his powers once more when his daughters (Anissa and Jennifer) find themselves in the hands of the notorious 100 gang.

Pierce previously abandoned his superhero ways at the pleading of his wife, for his daughters sake. He then began to focus on bettering his community as Principal of Garfield high school. Through being a principal he hopes to lead his students away

from the world of gang violence that plagues his city. Sadly without the presence of Black lightning on the street gangs have once again gained power over the city and its people.

The Black Lighting is a strikingly different take on a superhero, he is not facing supernatural characters or leagues of villains he is facing an evil all too real in intercities.

He faces many personal struggles that other superheros don’t have to face; he is black and even though he is an upstanding man in his community he still faces racism and police violence.

Black Lightning like many other CW shows doesn’t shy away from including characters who go against social norms in the terms of sexuality. CW also takes it’s enlightened look into the world of discrimination one step further with all the main characters being black and facing many issues of social justice just as they do in the real world. Overall the Black Lightning is a

Lamar, Future lead host of stars on Panther OST

By Maddie Brockmyre From the Top Dawg Entertainment produced album for the Marvel film Black Panther, the bass-heavy track “King’s Dead” features rap powerhouses Kendrick Lamar, Future and Jay Rock. Lamar takes the lead on the chorus, followed by Jay Rock’s biting verse in which he references Top Dawg’s boss moves and is speculated to take some shots at Detroit rapper Big Sean.

Future follows next, joining Lamar on the chorus and then tran-

www.bucsblade.com, February 16, 2018

sitioning to the bridge with Jay Rock in which they pay homage to hip-hop staples like “La Di Da Di” by Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick.

The beat then shifts as Lamar finishes out the song with a vicious verse with references to the movie’s villain, Killmonger, while James Blake’s vocals swirl with car tire screeches in background.

Black Panther will be in theaters today. The Grand Haven 9 has showings at 3:00, 4:00, 6:05, 7:00, 9:00, 10:00 and 11:30 p.m.

REVIEW 35

Eat THIS not THAT

Fitness coaches like Chad Jettner encourage students to use free school equipment and resources to get

Spring break fit

By Kelly Klouw and Kiley Williams

Local nutritionist promotes healthy eating techniques

Senior Olivia Sanborn demonstrates a dumbell lunge, targeting her abdominal and lower back muscles, hamstrings and glutes.

By Kelly Klouw and Kiley Williams Proper nutrition can be complex and confusing but is an essential to reaching your fitness goals.

Health class teaches students how to read nutrition labels and how chicken nuggets are really made, but what many students are still confused about is what to make for their everyday meals.

“Make sure your breakfast and lunch are a balance of good, complex carbohydrates and protein,” said Erica Phelps PD, the Fitness and Wellness Director at the Tri-Cities Family YMCA. “A healthy breakfast option is to make oatmeal because oatmeal is a whole grain, then you can add some kind of nut and fruit.”

For lunch you could do a turkey and cheese wrap, or if someone is not a sandwich person, cheese and crackers along with a fruit on SUPER the side.”

Busy schedules and lack of time SUBSTITUTIONS lead students towards quick, unEat carrots instead of healthy options such as McDonalds pretzels. Provides you or Taco Bell, but Phelps suggests with the crunch of the if on a time crunch go towards the snack without all the healthier alternative, such as a ‘Na- unwanted calories. ked Burrito’ from Qdoba.

“It’s similar to a burrito bowl, so Eat oatmeal instead of brown rice, beans and some salsa or cereal. Oatmeal will stick peppers,” Phelps said. “It’s one of with you longer and is a whole grain. many healthy ways of eating out.”

Not knowing what to eat is one Eat dried fruit instead problem, not knowing how to eat of fruit snacks. Helps is another. provide fiber and phyto“Don’t go long periods without nutrients to your daily eating, if you go longer than about diet. Still has sugars but five hours your body will start to natural sugars instead of crave sugars,” Phelps said. “And I additive. always say watch out for added sugars, it shouldn’t be one of the first ingredients.”

Certain beverages including sports drinks contain these added sugars that many students consume daily. It’s recommended to read nutrition labels for these drinks, or just drink water instead.

“A good tip is if you haven’t used the restroom in two hours you probably need to drink more.” Phelps said. “If you’re like ‘oh my gosh I’ve been at school all day’ or it’s lunch and ‘I haven’t been since I got up this morning’ then you probably need to drink more.”

Buying a new water bottle, or drinking out of a straw can motivate people to drink more. If you don’t like drinking water, adding oranges, strawberries, or cucumbers can spice it up just a tad.

But the number one tip.

“Always eat breakfast,” Phelps said. “It gives you a head start on your day.”

36 HEALTH

ON THE WEB For more photos and videos of exercises to add to your routine, go to www.bucsblade.com

A

s many students begin to think about getting in shape for Spring Break, experts caution of the importance of healthy nutrition in order to meet fitness goals. However eating healthy will only get you so far.

“80% of your health is based on what you do in the kitchen, 20% is what you do in terms of workouts,” said business teacher Chad Jettner who is also a fitness coach. “A combination of both nutrition and fitness is a home run, that’s really when the magic begins to happen.”

Gyms around the nation are busier now than any other time of the year with members looking ahead toward Spring Break. The high school offers a free, hour long session for those students who don’t want to break the bank buying memberships.

Jettner feels many potential users let their discomfort keep them from making use of these resources. He hopes to convince people to overcome these fears. and get to the gym.

“I think number one is stepping through those doors, there are a lot of people who are just fearful. They are fearful of the unknown because it is a bit intimidating coming in for the first time.” Jettner said. “Mr. Williams, Myself, and Mr. Richardson are happy to help students and staff create and implement ideas.”

The most important thing is to get yourself moving, whether it’s

walking around a neighborhood, or taking the extra stairs, but for those students that are interested in going to a weight room, Jettner has some tips..

“I recommend more full body workouts. A combination of some Olympic kind of lifts that again take time to get good at. Those big multi-muscle, multi-joint lifts really can help transform a physique because it elevates your metabolism to a new level.”

For those who are more interested in improving overall body tone instead of gaining bulky muscle Jettner recommends fast HIIT exercises.

“Coming in and doing a full body workout where you get your heart rate up, its fairly fast paced, you’re not super concerned about heavy weights.” Jettner said. “Rest periods are a little lower, you’re not taking as much time in between sets. You’re elevating that heart level, which is really going to burn more calories that way.”

Most students that use the fitness center go three days a week.

“You don’t have to spend a lot of time in the gym to see a difference, but you need to be there with urgency and have more of a faster pace workout.” Jettner said. “It’s not a good idea to go in there and talk to your friends for five minutes in between sets.”

The days you need a break from lifting, there are other options to target different strengths.

“It’s important to have mobility

and stability in addition to just lifting,” Jettner said. “Yoga and things where you’re working on flexibility and keeping healthy, not having injuries.”

Jettner is careful to remind those who work out that it’s important to fuel your body with the important food it needs including a protein shake or something as simple as yogurt and granola.

Rest and rejuvination is also important.

“Sleep, it’s underrated in terms of how it affects your recovery and your ability to capitalize on the nutrition and fitness piece,” Jettner said. “If you’re not getting enough sleep, there’s like this glass ceiling that you just can’t get passed.”

Encouraging students to take a step in a healthy direction is the main goal. According to Jettner, focusing on building confidence and healthier habits is more important than creating a certain body type.

Although Spring Break is right around the corner and many people’s motivation to get to the gym, it is important to remember health should always stay top priority.

“Body image is one thing that I am sensitive of, being healthy, that’s really the goal.” Jettner said. “It will make them feel so good about their bodies which will elevate their mood through these dark months of winter to keep them from dipping into those sometimes depressive states we get in and give them something to do, not just for two months, but as a lifestyle.” www.bucsblade.com, February 16, 2018

Shakespeare in the

PAC

Theater Director Rita McLary preview next week’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” Morgan Womack THE BUCS’ BLADE PREP WORK : Sophomore Sophia Bates rehearses for next week’s production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Bates and her fellow actors took to the stage to bring Shakespearean classic to life. Director of Theater Rita McLary says the play is unique because it is set outside of the usual historical period.

The Drama Department is taking the stage for their winter play, a Midsummer Night’s Dream on Feb. 23 and 24. Bucs’ Blade reporter Sophia Jaeger sat down with the director of theater Rita McLary to discuss what the play has in store.

SJ: How is “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” different from past plays?

RM: Well it’s Shakespeare and I have only directed one other Shakespeare here at Grand Haven before, so it’s unusual in that renown. It’s also unusual in the fact that we have set it outside of its historic period which I don’t think I’ve ever done before.

SJ: What’s the show about?

RM: Basically, a pair of lovers get mixed up on who they love. At least one of those is ordered by the nobility to marry the one she doesn’t want to marry. So there’s this confusion and they run away and try and work it out and it gets more complicated through magical events because they are visiting the

land of the fairies. It becomes ever more complicated with these two couples before it all works itself out in the end.

SJ: Who are the characters and who is playing them?

RM: We’ve divided the cast into three groups. We have the fairies [with] Miller Rohrs as the king of the fairies Oberon and Madison Smits as the queen of the fairies Titania. Then we have this group of actors who perform a play within the play and they are led by the director, Hadden Gould playing Quince And Bottom who is the over actor, he always wants to play all the parts, say all the lines, he’s that kind of actor. [Bottom] is played by Kilian Jacobs and it’s hysterical. Then we have our nobility and our humans, we call them the mere mortals. They’re led by Theseus and that’s played by Mackenzie Hornack and fiance Hippolyta which is Anna Bremmer. And of course Puck, who is the henchman for Oberon, or the jester as they describe him, [who is] played by Eric Livingston.

Dominique Christian dicusses with reporter Sophia Jaeger what theater means to her and what it’s like from backstage.

Morgan Womack THE BUCS BLADE ROPES: Senior Dominique Christian works the ropes backstage. Ropes control the movement of the curtains and other hanging elements.

Senior takes on offstage role in theater productions www.bucsblade.com, February 16, 2018

SJ: What does it mean to be a techie?

DC: People don’t really look at the aspect of the techie side, they always see the actors but if you think about it without the techies they would just be people standing on stage in the dark.

SJ: What got you involved in the Grand Haven Theater Department?

DC: Moving from my old school to Grand Haven my junior year I knew I wanted to stick with theatre because it was something I was familiar with and comfortable with. But since it was bigger and I had a new start, I could try something new so I was like ‘I’ll do the tech side of theatre’ and I immediately fell in love with it.

SJ: What are you looking forward to about the show?

RM: Seeing it all come together right now, two weeks out, we have a lot of good things going on but nothing’s perfected yet, so seeing it all come together and see all the work for the students pay off.

SJ: How has it been working with actors on the dialect of Shakespeare?

RM: It’s actually been great. We spent the first week just figuring out what Shakespeare’s words meant using various translations tools, just figuring out what he was trying to say and then all of a sudden the story just came to life and we could see ‘of course that means this’ and we could really understand it as we went through it together. They’ve done a lot of work on their own to make their lines hit the emphasis point that it needs to hit so we’ve studied that pretty thoroughly with an academic bent the first few weeks of rehearsal. We’re working on making it physical which is very important to Shakespeare. Students are great to work with, they are so motivated.

SJ: What’s your favorite thing about working backstage?

DC: Probably my favorite is seeing everything you’ve worked on coming together, seeing it during the performance on stage and you’re like ‘I did this, I helped make this’ and that feeling of accomplishment.

SJ: What do you want to get out of being a techie?

DC: Learning teamwork, I did get that some through sports but this is another perspective because you’re not working with your teammates to win a game, you’re working with other people to bring a performance together and a set together.

SJ: What do you feel is the best thing theater has given you?

DC: Just getting to know more people, in just the theatre department alone because that was something I was struggling with as a new kid last year. It was nice because it helped me meet people.

Sophomore singer qualifies for honors choir Sophomore Samantha Korecki attended the MSVMA State Honors Choir performance with her peer sophomore George Fullerton. They both advanced from regionals to states and they just recently learned that they qualified for All-State, which is the highest level. Korecki sat down with reporter Morgan Womack to talk about her experience.

MW: What were your favorite songs that you sang?

SK: I have two favorites: “Nyon Nyon” and “Stars.” “Nyon Nyon” was a really unconventional Morgan Womack THE BUCS’ BLADE piece, it didn’t actually mean anything, it was all made up words.

It was just really fun. And the tenors got to make robot noises with their mouths, I got to say “nyon” really, really fast and at a high pitch. It was basically just this mash up of all these crazy noises, it was super cool. And then “Stars,” I thought it was so beautiful. I loved it so much. It was moving, and then we actually got to move off the risers and that was cool.

MW: What was it like singing with the other students?

SK: At first it was a little intimidating because they’re all so good, like obviously we all made it to this point so we all deserve to be there, but I was around people who were either as good as me or better. At first I was a little freaked out because I wasn’t sure if I measured up, but then after the first hour I started making friends with people around me and it was much more relaxed. Then, it was just fun because I was making music with people who care about it as much as I do.

MW: What was the best part of this whole experience?

SK: I think my favorite part was the culmination at the very end. Not just the performance but the hour leading up to the performance, just being able to buddy around with everyone and feel like we’re all done with rehearsal, we’re prepared. We were all just hanging out and talking about being excited and nervous and we all got to totally geek out about the music.

ON THE WEB For longer versions of all interviews on this page go to www.bucsblade.com

ARTS 37

WRESTLING

BOYS BOWLING

RECORD: Won District competition at Mona Shores last Wednesday

RECORD: 5-4 Overall

WHAT’S HAPPENED THUS FAR:

Buccaneer boys bowling has had yet another solid year, following up their recent campaigns that have brought them nothing but success. They look to keep rolling right on through postseason matches.

Winning districts proved to be colossal to the Bucs team and the new-found confidence is a key spark for the individuals who qualified for more postseason matches.

KEY WRESTLERS: In their final year apart of the crew, leadership and skill from seniors Collin Monsma and Daniel Guillen has brought the Bucs to what they aspired early on and will hope to bring more hardware at regionals.

QUICK QUOTE: “The best part [is] that our young guys are finally understanding how to compete and understand the sport of wrestling,” head coach Vincent Gervais said.

BOYS SWIMMING

WHAT’S HAPPENED THUS FAR:

WINTER SPORTS UPDATE BOYS ICE HOCKEY

KEY BOWLERS: The Boys bowling team

is led by a group of veterans - senior Logan Batka and juniors Johnathan Garland and Cam Brenberger. The three of them and senior Maverick Green, combine well to be a tough opponent for any team and a powerful force for later play.

UPCOMING MATCHUP: Both the

boys and girls compete this week in a key conference match-up against Rockford.

GIRLS BOWLING

COURTESY PHOTO

RECORD: 5-2 Overall; 3-1 O-K Red

RECORD: Second place at MS Invite

WHAT’S HAPPENED THUS FAR:

WHAT’S HAPPENED THUS FAR:

The Bucs boys swim team has taken the season and conference by storm, with a strong outing week after week. Veteran leadership has been a big player into this squad’s victories, but newcomers like freshmen brothers Michael and Thomas MacDonald, have sparked new hope as well.

KEY SWIMMERS: Junior trio of Jackson

Throughout the entire girls bowling team, they all believe with their one-of-a-kind chemistry that this season has been huge for them, in a positive way. Coach Pat Mitchell is developing this team day after day and bowlers like his own daughter have seen the improvement. The team will be one to watch for once postseason play comes.

RECORD: 9-8-4 Overall; 4-0-2 in O-K Red Tier III WHAT’S HAPPENED THUS FAR: The Bucs hockey team has had a cooler stretch as of late, but still have a quality record to show for as the team hit a massive peak during December and early January play. Coming back from a showcase in Chelsea, MI where they finished 1-1 proved to be a step in the right direction to lead into the final part of the season.

Hamm, Mark Wilgenburg and Eli Vandenbrand have been extremely reliable and key to the “Pain Train’s” success this season. The three and others will be go-to leaders next season.

KEY BOWLERS: Freshmen Mercedes

KEY SKATERS: The first line - consisting of sophomore Cooper Fox, junior Trevor Kalis and senior Austin Fox - are the top three players on the team when it comes to point totals. The chemistry and goal-scoring ability between the three of them has been vital to the Bucs’ success.

QUICK QUOTE: “It’s been a long season,

UPCOMING MATCHUP: After the

QUICK QUOTE: “We are currently in first place in the conference and look to play our best consistently, to bring home the conference championship,” head coach Keegan Ferris said. “The season is continuing as a process of getting better every week as we prepare for the playoffs.”

but we’ve had a lot of fun and done really well,” junior Jackson Hamm said.

38 SPORTS

Mitchell along with a close-knit group of other key leaders have proved to be the reason for the Lady Bucs success this season.

great outing the team had at Mona Shores, they prep for key conference matches this weekend.

February 16, 2018, www.bucsblade.com

An inside look on how each of the competitive Buccaneer winter sports teams currently sit in the latter stages of their respective seasons

BOYS BASKETBALL

GIRLS BASKETBALL

GIRLS CHEER

RECORD: 10-6 Overall; 4-4 O-K Red

RECORD: 6th place in O-K Red

WHAT’S HAPPENED THUS FAR:

WHAT’S HAPPENED THUS FAR:

The Lady Bucs keep on grinding out close victories, improving their season record and closing the gap between what they have been eyeing for a long time: a conference title. Even after a recent loss from the hands of West Ottawa, the team remains confident in what they can do.

KEY PLAYERS: The guard and forward

duo of junior Alli Keyser and senior Sophie Mariani have powered the Lady Bucs offensive attack, helping close out big games.

UPCOMING MATCHUP: Grand Haven takes on Rockford at home on Feb. 16.

GIRLS SKIING

The competitive cheer team has been had a few ups and downs during this year’s campaign, but all of the Lady Bucs have developed their talent and skill and look to push it into districts.

KEY PLAYERS: Junior Adrianna Pipe has kept the team together through the low-points this season and will definitely be the go-to girl once the next competitive season is underway.

QUICK QUOTE: “At each competition, we’ve been increasing our scores and we are so excited to kill it at districts,” junior Adrianna Pipe said.

BOYS SKIING

COURTESY PHOTO

RECORD: 10-5 Overall; 5-4 O-K Red

RECORD: No wins (team meets)

RECORD: One individual win

WHAT’S HAPPENED THUS FAR:

WHAT’S HAPPENED THUS FAR:

WHAT’S HAPPENED THUS FAR: The Bucs have stayed hot throughout the duration of the season, hanging around at the top of the conference and playing aggressive basketball in order to maintain a good spot for a possible share of the conference crown.

Though this season for the girls ski team has had its share of ups and downs, all of the crew have learned a lot and developed their racing skills.

Getting this experience under their belt can be vital for future meets closing out this year and into next season.

KEY PLAYERS: Senior leadership and gritty play from Kellum Bridge-

KEY SKIERS: Even though the team is

QUICK QUOTE: “I believe we are prepared for anything that teams throw at us,” senior Malic Love said. “We have that ability to go out and beat many teams.”

UPCOMING MATCHUP: Both Bucs

forth, putting up 13 hard-earned points in a rough road contest against West Ottawa, has boosted the team to new heights this season. Bridgeforth’s playmaking ability has opened opportunities for teammates to feed off his play.

www.bucsblade.com, February 16, 2018

going through a rebuilding phase, junior Allison Vantrepott and company have proven to be solid leaders and reliable for Lady Bucs ski team success down the road. ski teams are coming off Cannonsburg matches.

Buccaneer Boys skiing has not won any competitions as a team at this point, but sophomore Mitchel Bosgraaf has had a breakthrough, bringing home the team’s only win, from an individual standpoint.

KEY SKIERS: Sophomore Mitchel Bosgraaf

is very accustomed to the sport and has provided all that he can offer to the team, delivering a hardearned victory early in the season to boost the squad with hope.

QUICK QUOTE: “It’s been a good season,” sophomore Mitchel Bosgraaf said. “I’m excited to see how we do against the best.”

SPORTS 39

2018 Winter Olympics: PyeongChang WHAT

YOU TO

NEED

Sam Woiteshek

KNOW

By Ashton Voorhees On Feb. 9, the snowy thrills and icy spills began 1980 Winter Olympics, where the American hockey in Pyeongchang, South Korea for the 2018 Winter team filled with college players beat the defending gold Olympics. South Korea had only hosted the olympic medalist Soviet Union team to take home gold. games once before, when Seoul hosted the 1988 SumIn skiing, the U.S. girls’ team has plenty of oppormer Olympics. Geographically, Pyeongchang is about tunity to medal with the experience and skill that will 125 kilometers from Seoul, and is even closer to the compete in Pyeongchang. Mikaela Shiffrin won gold in Demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. the slalom event last year and is favored to win again, The opening ceremony was on Friday, Feb. 9. Compe- while she also has good chances in the other disciplines tition kicked off on Feb. 7, with the first medals being she is competing in. Lindsey Vonn is looking to return awarded on Feb. 10. There are eight main sports in the to the Olympic spotlight after missing Sochi due to inWinter Olympics -- biathlon, bobsleigh, curling, jury, but boasts two olympic medals to her ice hockey, luge, skating, skiing, and snowname as well as seven medals in World boarding. There are also many variations Championships in six years of comand disciplines of the sports, with five difpeting. ferent disciplines in skiing, three skating Snowboarding is a strong suit disciplines, and two variations of the luge. for the Americans in almost evThe United States has a good ery Olympics, thanks to snowhistory in the Winter Olympics, boarding stars like Shaun White finishing in top spots consisand Kelly Clark. New kid on the tently. The United States folblock Chloe Kim has the potential to be as big Chl oe lowed just five total medals behind as those stars, and comes to Pyeongchang Kim GE TTY the first place Russia in 2014. Team with lots of momentum after her success IMA GE USA has finished top three in the medal in the X Games. Being on the AmeriS count 11 times, and has won the Winter Olympics can team with Korean heritage, with her just once before. Another year of strong athletes sent Olympic debut being in South Korea is just to the games means hopes are high for America’s sec- one of the reasons Chloe Kim is one of the most interond win in Winter Olympics history. esting stories going into Pyeongchang. To top that off, Current NHL players will not be making an appear- she is only 17 years old. ance for their nations’ Olympic teams, which is stirring Despite the strong competitors that Team USA up some talk and hype for the ice hockey tournament. brings to Pyeongchang, several countries are favored Teams will be composed of former NHL players, stars over the Americans in the 2018 Winter Olympics. Eufrom overseas leagues, and up-and-coming prospects ropean powerhouses such as Norway and Germany, not yet in the NHL system. This means the American and border neighbors Canada are expected to rival and hockey team will be watered down and other countries finish above Team USA in the final medal count. But with talented players that don’t compete in the NHL one thing is for sure about Pyeongchang is the fact that will have an edge over the Americans. It’s a story that the games aren’t finished until the last medal is handed sounds all too similar to the “Miracle on Ice” from the out.

The Athletes You Need to Keep Your Eye On ES

Age: 22

Fun Facts: Shiffrin has 41 World Cup wins in five events, and is on pace to be the winningest skier in World Cup history.

Gold Medal Event Dates: Feb. 17, Feb. 21, Feb. 23

40 SPORTS

nd

S sey W Vonn ABC NE

CHLOE KIM

Sport: Alpine Skiing

Sport: Halfpipe Snowboarding

Age: 33

Fun Facts: Vonn is the most successful American skier with 78 world cup victories. She only has 2 Olympic medals currently.

Gold Medal Event Dates: Feb. 17, Feb. 21, Feb. 23

e Chlo

el aS AG IM hiffri n GE T T Y

Li

a Mik

Sport: Alpine Skiing

LINDSEY VONN

Kim

TE D

MIKAELA SHIFFRIN

Calling it like I see it

ST SPOR TS ILLU

RA

Age: 17

Fun Facts: If Kim medals, she will become the youngest female snowboarder to win a medal. She was dominant at the X Games recently.

Gold Medal Event Dates: Feb. 12, her only day of competition

A sports fanatic’s offseason

Are the chips stale yet?

I know, you bought too much food for that Super Bowl party and now there’s a mountain of buffalo wings still in your fridge. The queso dip has mixed in with the guacamole and oh, by the way, no one is going to eat the veggie tray that your neighbor brought.

Now you must try to find a sporting event where people can eat all of this leftover junk food, right? That could be tough.

The Winter Olympics? Maybe, but while I love my country, no one can truly rally around ice skating the same way they can a football game.

Woah, March Madness? Hold onto your brackets buddy, it’s still February.

Oh I almost forgot about the Daytona 500. Wait, is that still a thing anymore?

Folks with surplus food, let me tell you: there’s nothing on TV for sports.

Welcome to the “dud month.” Things only get better from here.

NBA fans who are offended right now, I’m sorry. But people really only watch the NBA for the Finals or any Warriors-Cavs game. NHL fans, your league is gaining less and less popularity every day.

February is an odd time of the year for sports fans. March Madness is right around the corner, so most people tune into college basketball.

The NFL is done and people are still reeling from the biggest game of the year.

So, my advice to you is to toss that extra food and wait.

No, do not reach for the remote as you read this. Hear me out: Pretty soon, you’ll see teams like Middle Tennessee State make runs for national championship and the Splash Brothers leading Golden State to the trophy in the midst of their dynasty.

However, locally, this is a great time for Grand Haven sports. Our pride and joy, the boys and girls basketball teams are nearing the end of their seasons. Yet, the playoffs follow so go out and support!

The hockey team is quietly putting together a remarkable season. The Fox brothers, Cooper and Austin, are a lethal one-two punch. Plus, with juniors Trevor Kalis and Kyle Eveland, the team’s future looks promising.

Still not enough? If you’re a wrestling, swimming & diving, bowling or ski fan, go check out the Buccaneers’ athletes.

People rely on professional sports because it’s where you can see “dramatic games” and “everyone is talented.” I mean it’s better than a bunch of high schoolers chucking an orange sphere into a net, right?

No, you’re wrong. Anyone who was at the “Battle of Bridge” game two months ago will agree just as much. With everyone, from the fans to the players, pouring their hearts and souls into the game from tip-off to the end of double overtime, I’d say that is worth just as much to watch live.

Professionally, sports stink this month. Locally, there is no better time of year. Winter sports is where Grand Haven excels.

So, pardon me, but I have to run. I am going to have a quick snack of chips and guac-queso before I go watch Grand Haven-Rockford girls and boys’ games.

Never mind, the chips are stale.

February 16, 2018, www.bucsblade.com

YOU DON’T KNOW SOPHIE Senior forward Sophie Mariani is a player to count on due to her versaitility and unique work ethic

By Sam Woiteshek

Standing tall, senior Sophie Marini surveys the room. Anxiously waiting, she spots her interviewer at a nearby table. All of a sudden, the stern, battle-ready face she makes implies that she’s in the “zone” - and she’s not coming out of it.

Later that night, out on the court against Caledonia, that same look is transfixed on Mariani’s face. When a Fighting Scot misses a shot, almost instinctively Mariani pries the ball away for a rebound. As teammate Alli Keyser speeds up the court, Mariani heaves the ball to her in stride, for a sharp dime of a pass. This quarterback-wide receiver type of connection isn’t out of the ordinary, its business as usual for Mariani.

Perhaps this is why she is such a force on the floor. Always giving one-hundred percent and a fierce attitude, Mariani has become a staple of the Lady Bucs’ offense.

She has surely left her mark on the program. A three-year varsity player, Mariani’s endless pursuit of excellence is what will be celebrated for her successful career as a Buccaneer.

“She’s really worked hard at her game,” her coach Katie Kowalczyk-Fulmer said. “She’s one of the best players in the O-K Red and you don’t get to that point without a lot of hard work.”

Her work ethic has translated into unprecedented versatility.

As a sophomore, she was primarily a post player who worked close to the basket. As a junior, she moved the wing where she played on the perimeter. Coming into senior year, she expected to retain that position.

However, when two key players, junior Kelly Olthof and junior Esther Byington, were lost to injuries, Mariani was thrust to the 5 position - or what’s more commonly known as center. She’ll

admit that it wasn’t her choice, but it was what was best for her squad.

“I think everyone on our team has their own role and you can’t really decide that role for yourself; it’s brought upon you,” she said. “I didn’t pick this position but since I’ve been put in this position I am just trying to succeed.”

Learning a new role in a short time has shown hard work, grit and a unconditional commitment to the team. All of which has reflected off of her teammates.

“It made us all a lot more confident with so many games left in the season to know we had a player that could fill the positions of the players we lost,” senior Autumn Buikema said. “To know she would still continue to play poised despite switching positions so often.”

Not only has Mariani impacted her team through her skillfulness and flexibility, but her leadership has played a major role too.

“She’s a great leader,” Kowalczyk-Fulmer said.

“She’s a quiet leader, she leads by example in practice. She’s very well-liked - she’s just a great teammate.”

Voted as two-year captain by her peers, that statement rings true. Yet, Mariani’s quest for perfection of leadership hasn’t ceased.

“I’ve been trying to talk more on the floor,” Mariani explained. “Keep everyone in the same mindset, keep our goals in line, so I think maybe taking that position has helped me with that because I’ve been put out of my place and been outside my comfort zone.”

So far, the feeling of comfort and Sophie Mariani haven’t mixed well. In fact, she thrives best when comfort isn’t an option.

“Her sophomore year on varsity we played Spring Lake and it [was the] first time we had played them since 1998,” Kowalczyk-Fulmer said. “She scored the game-winning basket with about six seconds on the clock. She got an offensive rebound and put back for the win. It was a packed house and it was cool.”

Fast forward to now and sophomore year seems like a distant memory for Mariani, who

now plans to go to MichFAVORITE COLOR: Dark Blue igan State and travel abroad. Although DREAM JOB: Performer she’s not planFAVORITE SUBJECT: English ning to play college basketball, it FAVORITE MOVIE: Guardians doesn’t mean her of the Galaxy love for the game will fade.

In fact, as she remembered her stint with the Lady Bucs, she attributed her passion to one person.

“I would definitely have to give credit to my JV coach [Corky Nyssen],” Mariani said.

“I credit all my basketball to her. She’s like the “basketball master.” She knows everything and basically has taught me my entire game.”

With Mariani’s legacy cemented, it will be another coach that will have a hard time replacing her.

“You can’t say enough about her,” Kowa l c z y k - F u l mer said. “She’s put in a ton of time, she’s really coachable - she’s been a pleasure to coach and is a great kid and great teammate. She will definitely be Maddie Monroe THE BUCS’ BLADE missed.”

the

blade

Wants YOU to join our 2018-19 staff!

Stop in room 0200/0205 for an application or email

sikkengac@ghaps.org www.bucsblade.com, February 16, 2018

SPORTS 41

(BELOW) STUDENT PARTICIPANT: Junior Miya Luckey poses to get her photo taken for the project. “Freshmen year I got called horse because of my teeth,” Luckey said.

“Then I was really insecure about it, but now they don’t really call me that anymore and I have friends to back me up now.”

USED PRODUCT: Junior Alexis Hutt writes her word ‘used product’ on the chalkboard. She believes that the words stick out and the photos open people’s eyes to what they say to others. “Through middle school and now people just call me that because people tend to use me as they please and then throw me away,” Hutt said.

“I had one girl stop me in the hallway and told me that I was forever going to be a used product because people just need me or they take advantage and referred to me as a tampon and said that ‘I was something you need in the moment then you throw away after’ and that I was worthless after that.”

WORDS MATTER TOGETHERNESS: On Feb. 12 and 13 The Chalkboard Project began. Senior Hailey Bethke, one of the head members of The Chalkboard Project for GHHS, explains the intention of the project. “The goal of The Chalkboard Project is to combat negative perceptions with positive truths,” Bethke said. “So from that a person puts a word that has negatively impacted them on the chalkboard and what that does is that its them standing saying ‘I have been called this but this does not define me’ and they are putting it behind them.”

The project is now taking off heading from school to school with their own reasons. “For me I think our school needs a little push to get some togetherness,” Bethke said. “All type of people have been called names. Words affect everyone and it’s not just a certain friend group or a certain type of person that gets bullied or called a name.”

THE CREATORS: This project stemmed off of Spring Lake’s movement when junior Julia Clover started talking to her art teacher, Mrs. Guinup. “She had always had a dream and a vision for what she wanted it to look like in the hallways,” Clover said. “So we kinda started and it was just really low key at first and we got some more people on board. We just wanted to make a culture change in Spring Lake High school for what kids saw their peers as.” After a year of planning by Hailey Bethke, Emilee Schaub and Madison Chapel the vision came alive at Grand Haven.

42 PHOTOSTORY

By Julia Drabczyk

Students introduce The Chalkboard Project to embrace togetherness

BEHIND THE SCENES: The room was jamming to music and light spirits to lift up students and make it a comfortable environment.

The room was set up with two photo stations and treats outside.

“We are also doing prizes, so for each day two people will win,” Bethke said. “We are going to draw a name out of all of the papers and they are going to win either a gift card or a t-shirt.” These prizes will also continue on the make up day which is on Feb. 20.

THE PROCESS: The person behind the screen is junior Sam Negan from Spring Lake. He explains that photos only take a day or two to process and go on their website at www.thechalkboardproject.com.

There are also personal stories about the specfic word a student choose. The photos will be hung in the main hallway upstairs and downstairs from the end of athletic wing to the library. On March 21, there will be a celebration where, “We are going to have everyone go through the hallways and everyone’s word is going to be covered,” Bethke said. “And they [students] will write positive words on top of them.”

www.bucsblade.com, February 16, 2018