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Vol. 33, Edition 3, February 2016
the communicator
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letter from the editors Dear dear dear readers readers readers,
A warm welcome to the February edition of the Communicator! Allow us to usher you into our pages with a prayer for second semester. To the Gods of Community High and the Ghosts of Deans Past (salute), if you really do exist, we beseech you several requests for the coming semester: First, let our final exam grades come back as all A’s. Let this be the semester that the Community High Jazz Program finally gets busted for being the poorly-disguised crime ring that it is (give it up Jack, ~everyone~ knows). Please let Jack MacConnell, wherever he may be in life, be doing really really well and finally become recognized as the United States Dancer Laureate. Let the parking lot miraculously enter a space-time warp and come out as TWO parking lots. BRING BACK COMMSTOCK! Let us get a school-wide hack, and maybe not get schooled by Courtney in 3v3. Please, let the back lawn be green enough to eat lunch on by late March. In February, this month of Lovin’, let each and all of our relationships be healthy and full of good love.
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violin monster, an idiosyncratic musician, describes his life as a local celebrity.
20 where the werewolf howls, the violin follows
the communicator evaluates the chs drinking fountains.
12 down to the drain
news of flint’s contaminated water sparks state-wide and local protests.
6 ann arbor demands justice for flint
22 spencer: where ingredients matter
a community high alumni opens a small business in downtown ann arbor.
26 with a new life, a new language
getting to america is only half the battle for immigrants. for many, learning english has proved critical for success in america.
38 humans of community
see what the students and staff of community are up to around the school.
44 skyron
in its second year, skyline/huron women’s ice hockey continues to break the ice between schools.
52 op-ed
opinons written by communicator staff, with topics ranging from ISIS to to the hardships of puberty.
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communicator staff Print Editors-in-Chief Eva Rosenfeld Hannah Rubenstein Web Editors-in-Chief Matthew Ferraro Matty Hack Anumina Kumar Sophia Werthmann Managing Editors Cameron Fortune Jack Kelley Grace Koepele Frances MacKercher Sophia Simon Hannah Tschirhart Business and Public Relations Manager Abe Weiner Assistant Business Manager Dario Zullo Copy Editor Alexandra Hobrecht Arts and Entertainment Editor Andrew Gechter Music Editor Erez Dessel Social Media Editors Kate Burns Megan Syer Mentor Isabel Ratner Adviser Tracy Anderson
Staff Jasper Anderson Madeline Basanta Carson Borbely Conan Cekola Olivia Comai Hannah Davis Mary DeBona Brennan Eicher Sabina Fall Danny Freiband Lily Gechter Sophie Haviland Shane Hoffman M Howard Rachel Hystad Sebastian Inguez Audrey Jeffords Grace Jensen Charles Kotila Myles Markey Caitlin Mahoney KT Meono Alexis Metzler Sam Millman Juliette Nanos Catherine Nicoli Emily Ojeda Omolara Osofisan Ellen Reed Angel Rich Sophia Rosewarne Suephia Saam Kenneth Simpson Sophie Steinberg Alexander Shaw Natalie Sherson Firavich Hannah Simon Stavi Tennenbaum Emily Tschirhart Taylor Tucker-Gray Samuel Uribe Matthew Vetort Devin Weeks Jada Wilson Grace York
The Communicator, being committed to the free exchange of ideas, is an open forum for expression of opinions. It is student-run; students make all content decisions. Letters to the editor are encouraged and can be sent to thecommunicator@googlegroups. com. Signed articles will be accepted with no prior administrative review as space is available. The Communicator reserves the right to edit submissions. Furthermore, opinions expressed therein are those of the authors and not of this newspaper, Community High School, or Ann Arbor Public Schools. For our complete policy, please see www.chscommunicator.com.
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see the MLK assembly up close and personal.
take polls.
watch anarchocoffeeism for an introduction to egoist anarchism.
discover student art.
see what is going on around school.
for all this and so much more, visit us online at: http://www.chscommunicator.com and find us on social media! Facebook - The Communicator Instagram - @communicatorchs Twitter - @chscommunicator
about the cover Love is in the air this February and Communicator Staff wants to show love for this school and all the people in it. What better way to do this than from the cover of our magazine? So, inspired by the month of February and all the love it holds, Communicator staff bundled up and marched outside to the snow covered back lawn to give our school some love.
mary grobosky “When I was going through a really hard time my best friend Alexandra was always there for me even when I didn’t ask and even when she didn’t know what was going on she was there no matter what... she always came up and gave me a hug.”
katy pasquariello “At the end of my freshman year in June I did a TED Talk. I got to talk about something that was super important to me and people got to see. I talked about childhood trauma and getting past it.”
will carroll “When I realized rapping was something I wanted to do with my life, not just as a hobby. I just started making track after track.... [I] think i could actaully not only make it but really make an impact on music.””
the sweet life what were some of the sweetest moments in the lives of students and staff?
sophia rosewarne and omolara osofisan
lanie chagnovich “I go to this camp called camp storer and we go on this trip up to empire and I was with all the pathfinders somewhere just jumping up and down in the waves, even though it was freezing it was so much fun.”
isabel espinosa “Going flyboarding in Florida with my family. Flyboarding is like jetpacks strapped to your feet kinda. It was a little scary because I was like ten feet up in the air and I was above the ocean. I would do it again.”
kim tehranipour “The birth of my first daughter was the most amazing moment. It was so magical to see her finally after you spend all that time talking to your belly and to actually hold this little sweet bundle and I remember the softness of her little furry hair.”
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ann arbor demands justice FLIN for flint TOP ROW LEFT: One of the protesters is given the responsibility of wearing the comically large Rick Snyder mask. As the group gathers below the Governor’s condo on Main St., the protester dances on the sidewalk, showing off his sign to those passing by the crowd. RIGHT: A man on Washington St. greets a friend of his who is also attending the protest. He, like many others, came to the gathering equipped with his own sign, objecting to what has happened to the drinking water in Flint, MI.
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BOTTOM ROW FAR LEFT: One member of the bundled-up crowd raises his sign, depicting the Governor’s name with a skull and crossbones. LEFT: The crowd assembles below the windows of Gov. Snyder’s home, located directly above Four Directions on Main St. RIGHT: Julie Quiroz is a parent of a student in the Ann Arbor Public School District. She, along with a large crowd, met on the steps of Rackham Auditorium before beginning a march down Washington and Main St. FAR RIGHT: The crowd of protesters outside of the University of Michigan North Quad building as they begin their march from Washington St. to Main St.
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ABOVE: Protesters in Ann Arbor marched to Michigan Governor Rick Snyder’s condo on Main St. on MLK Day. They called for Governor Snyder to resign over what they claim to be his knowledge of deadly toxins being in Flint’s water for years.
protests over flint’s lead-poisoned water hit the streets of ann arbor and snyder’s home
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hannah rubenstein
n Jan. 18, a group of over 100 protesters gathered outside of Michigan Governor Rick Snyder’s two million dollar condo on Ann Arbor’s Main Street. In weather that was well below freezing, the bundled-up crowd shouted at the Governor’s windows, “Water, water, it’s a human right! Justice for Flint—Fight! Fight! Fight!” They held signs that read, “Heck of a job Ricky”, “Stop pointing your finger! YOU knew. 10 dead! Thousands poisoned”, “Fire Gov. Snyder” or simply “Water and Justice for Flint”. Protesters in Ann Arbor and all around Michigan are calling for the resignation of Rick Snyder. They accuse him of knowingly poisoning the people of Flint, a Michigan city with a population that is 57 percent black and 40 percent poor, with lead contaminated water. Before 2014, Flint received its water from the Detroit Water and Sewage Department and they had to pay in order to access it. In March of 2013, the Flint city council voted to switch from using Detroit’s water, which was connected to Lake Huron, to becoming a part of the Karegnondi Water Authority pipeline, which would give Flint direct access to Lake Huron’s water. While building the 8
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285 million dollar pipeline would be expensive, it would give Flint direct access to Lake Huron’s water, meaning that they would not have to continue paying Detroit. In the long run, this plan would save money. Unfortunately, the pipeline was not slated to be completed until mid-2016. As a response to the news that Flint would be leaving their water system, Detroit raised its prices on the water. Instead of paying the higher rate, then-Emergency Manager Darnell Earley turned to the closest water supply: the Flint River. Almost immediately after the switch was made to the Flint River water, locals began complaining about their water tasting, looking and smelling strange. According to Nayyirah Shariff, a resident of Flint and original member of the Flint Democracy Defense League, created in 2011 to combat an Emergency Manager being inserted into the city, the public began experiencing negative health effects straight away and attempted to do something about it. “People were attending city council [meetings] with their bottled water and with their clumps of hair that were falling out of their head in their hands,” Shariff said. Despite this, there was little
to no investigation done by the city. Stephen Busch, an official at the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, told the federal Environmental Protection Agency in February of 2015 that “The City of Flint…has an Optimized Corrosion Control Program”. It has recently been revealed that the MDEQ was performing no corrosion control on the water, thus lying to the EPA. The river’s water was tested by Virginia Tech and found to be 19 times more corrosive than the water from Detroit. This meant that once the water started flowing through Flint’s pipes, it started eroding them. Half of the pipes leading to Flint homes are made of lead, so that lead began to leach into the water supply. Finally, Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, a pediatrician in Flint, began to investigate. She compared toddlers’ blood lead levels and saw that the levels had spiked since the switch in water supply. She shared her findings, and it took only a few weeks for the city to take action. Flint switched back to Detroit’s water supply in October of 2015, but there was little that could be done; once the pipes were eroded, switching to different water couldn’t fully stop the lead and
other contaminants from infiltrating the water. According to the City of Flint’s website, even after returning to Detroit’s water, lead levels remained “well above the federal action level of 15 parts per billion in many homes”. In fact, the highest level of lead found in Flint was 13,000 parts per billion. Flint’s mayor, Karen Weaver, declared a state of emergency in the city on Dec. 14, 2015, about a month after she took office. Governor Snyder followed suit on Jan. 5, as did President Obama on Jan. 16. Snyder has activated The National Guard, whose members are now in the city, making efforts to distribute clean water. Lead poisoning can be incredibly detrimental to people’s health, particularly that of children, and its effects are irreversible. Depending on the length and severity of the exposure, the symptoms of lead poisoning can have an enormous range, anywhere from fatigue, abdominal cramps and headaches to memory loss, kidney dysfunction, coma or, in some cases, death. Since children’s brains and nervous systems are still developing, lead can cause serious and permanent brain damage, speech problems and development delays. Since the switch to the Flint River, 87 cases of Legionella bacteria, an extremely serious form of pneumonia, have been reported in Flint. Ten cases have been fatal. There is no definitive proof that this was caused by the water, but the outbreak and the change in water supply occurred at roughly the same time, and this disease can be contracted through bacteria in water. According to Shariff, the poisoned water has hurt children both physically and psychologically. “We have children who are afraid of the water,” she said. “Through the actions of our state government, we have a generation of kids who not only...lost opportunity because now they’re going to have this whole host of health problems, but kids who are afraid of water and [are] just psychologically damaged.” This story breaking led to protests in Flint, Lansing, Ann Arbor and other cities around Michigan. The protesters demand that the people of Flint be given clean water and that everything possible be done to help these people who may
have suffered irreversible harm. They also call for whoever caused this crisis to be held accountable. Governor Snyder placed the blame on the MDEQ for not properly treating the water. He announced the resignation of the former Director, Dan Wyatt, in December of 2015. Many of the protesters, however, firmly believe that the blame for the crisis rests on Governor Snyder’s shoulders. How much Rick Snyder knew about the dangerous nature of the water before it became a widely known fact is not yet entirely clear, but the U.S. Justice Department is investigating that question. As of Jan. 15, Michigan’s Attorney General, Bill Schuette, is also looking into it. “I don’t know how much [Snyder] personally knew,” Shariff said, “but members of his cabinet and staff knew that there were some issues...I know in August definitely there was a [contingent] of people from Flint who met with the Governor’s staff and other representatives from state agencies, and there was still no response from that.” That contingent included Shariff ’s Flint Democracy Defense League. Snyder is making efforts to correct some of the mistakes made and injustices suffered by residents of Flint. In his State of the State speech, delivered on Jan. 19, he addressed the citizens of Flint directly. “I know apologies won’t make up for the mistakes that were made; nothing will,” Snyder said. “But I take full responsibility to fix the problem and so that it can never happen again.” The protest in Ann Arbor was organized by two community activists, Jan BenDor and Colleen Crossey. BenDor, who was involved with an organized attempt to recall Governor Snyder back in 2011, explained that, when she saw the protests in Flint, she knew she wanted to hold one in Ann Arbor, too. After putting out the message to some friends, including Crossey, the two arranged for protesters to meet on the steps of Rackham Auditorium and march to Snyder’s condo, located on Main Street above the store Four Directions. BenDor, who was calling for Snyder to be charged with federal crimes, blamed Snyder for many issues across the state, including the Flint water crisis. “There’s no way [Snyder] can ever
apologize or make this better,” she said. “He needs to spend some time reflecting in a federal prison somewhere. All the other bad things that he’s done, he needs a long time to think about this.” In an effort to bring the citizens of Flint clean drinking water, there are now programs in Flint that will deliver clean water to those who may be unable to leave their houses for whatever reason, although Shariff explained that the phone number people have to call for this water can have an extremely long wait time. Water is also available to be picked up at Flint’s fire stations. Shariff, however, said that there were plenty of problems with that system as well. “You’re required to show a photo ID or a water bill to prove that you live in Flint [to get water],” she said. “That’s problematic for me as a social justice advocate, because we have immigrants and we have people who cannot afford a valid photo ID. If you are trans, until you have your Gender Reassignment Surgery, you have to have your birth name on your photo ID, even though you may [not identify with that name], and they are being required to show their photo ID to get water.” Sharriff went on to add that all of these solutions were only temporary. Her organization is demanding that when the infrastructure of Flint is replaced so that the lead pipes are no longer poisoning the water, the citizens will not be forced to pay for it. According to Shariff, the attitudes of Flint residents have changed since the scandal broke, something that distributing clean water will not be able to fix. “There’s a lot of anger, there’s rage, disbelief that their government would lie to them,” she said. With all that the people of Flint have had to go through in these past few years, Shariff couldn’t help but notice a horrible irony in the way that they are finally receiving clean water. “We didn’t need a photo ID to receive poisoned water that we’ve been getting out of our taps, but we need a photo ID to get clean water,” Shariff said. “[It] is just absolutely bizarre and yet another abuse on our community.”
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proust questionaire
elena flores art teacher
“whatever you pursue in life, pursue it with passion and interest, and never settle.” dario zullo and matt vetort
What are you looking forward to in 2016? I’m looking forward to excellent health. I am looking forward to being cancer-free. What was your best vacation? I think my best vacation was when I went to Spain. We got to visit with friends and family. We have friends that live in Andalusia and the Southern part of Spain. We got to see everything about the culture and the people. It was just perfect. What did you want to be when you were a kid? I always wanted to be a teacher. And then actually when I graduated with a fine arts degree I decided I didn’t want to be a teacher. I did promotion stuff, I did public relations, anything but being a teacher. But then, being away from teaching, after three or four years, I realized I really wanted to be a teacher. So when I came into teaching I realized this is really what I want to do with my life. 10
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What would be the first thing you would do if you won the lottery? I would build a home on Lake Michigan.
What is your favorite meal to cook? My favorite meal to cook is enchiladas. What is your favorite time of day? In the morning, around 9 o’clock on a Saturday.
What is your favorite T.V. show? I love [The Tonight Show Starring] Jimmy Fallon right now. What are your new years resolutions? To get more time in the studio and to sell my work at some small boutiques. Where is your dream home? Lake Michigan would be great.
Were you a good student? I was a good student. I did my work and studied really hard. I didn’t skip until senior year.
the tiny life big people living in tiny houses.
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n a typical day, Guillaume Dutilh rolls out of bed, gets ready for his day and walks out onto the porch of his house. However, unlike the typical American home, his house is what is known as a “tiny house”, a home built on less than 400 square feet of space. In a 2014 survey, the average American single-family home was built on 2,453 square feet of land. That’s six times the size of a relatively large tiny house. Many tiny houses, like Dutilh’s, are even small enough to be towed cross-country. On December 2, 2014, Dutilh and his girlfriend ditched their apartments, sold most of their things and moved into their own tiny house. They then hitched it to the back of their truck and set out on a cross-country adventure. Over the past year, Dutilh has come to appreciate the minimalist lifestyle that comes with his tiny house. “By embracing minimalism and a simpler lifestyle, we’re able to travel more and make [our passions] a living,” Dutilh said. Along with their apartments, the duo also left behind their careers and started working as travel
journalists for their personal blog, “Tiny House Giant Journey”. Dutilh formerly worked as a mechanical engineer at a movie company, but saw his true passion in photography. “She wanted to be a writer and I wanted to be a photographer and so our careers weren’t helping us get there,” Dutilh said. Many people choose to leave their former lifestyles behind for the minimalist ideals of the tiny houses, however many also choose the tiny life for financial reasons. Tiny houses have the freedom to be built according to a tight budget unlike most uniformly built homes. While the average tiny house can cost between just $20,000-$40,000, a survey from 2014 shows that the average house built cost just over $230,000. Due to their drastic decrease in size, it also costs much less to heat and cool a tiny house. Dutilh said, “If you have a huge house, it costs quite a bit to heat it, cool it, maintain it and all those things.” With their low price, some people also believe tiny houses could help solve issues involving homelessness and poverty. Projects focused on addressing these issues have been put into motion in
Indianapolis as well as several other cities. With the lesser cost of land and construction, beginning to fix the homeless issue in Detroit could become more than just an idea. With city and government support, the slowly recovering city could start to make a major turnaround. Opportunities to make use of the advantages of tiny houses are springing up all over the place in impoverished cities across the United States. As a result of the minimal cost of a tiny house, many people who choose to live in one have more time and money to pursue their real passions in life, instead of careers they’re forced to pursue if they wish to maintain their way of life. The minimalist aspect of the tiny house helps people to see what they need over what they just want, which unties their hands and lets them pursue their aspirations in life. Tiny houses have incredible amounts of untapped potential to improve life in the U.S. Dutilh admits that although he found his way of life in tiny houses, it isn’t for everybody. While he believes he will likely never go back to his old apartment style way of life, he also believes many people feel the same way about their typical American homes. “It depends, it’s not for everybody necessarily,” Dutilh said.
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down to the drain
the communicator evaluates the chs drinking fountains danny freiband & carson borbely grace koepele art
KEN’S ROOM Poor quality and aesthetic. Lingering aftertaste similar to iron. Mediocre temperature and mediocre location. Arc Length: 6 inches Time to Fill 1/2 Cup: 5.8 sec Temp: 23oC/73.4oF Awards: None
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LIZ’S ROOM Arguably the holy grail of water fountains. This fountain’s temperature, location, arc and cleanliness are all on point. Arc Length: 10 inches Time to Fill 1/2 Cup: 3.6 sec Temp: 20oC/64oF Awards: Best on 3rd Floor, Biggest Arc, Coldest Water
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ILC ROOM The water velocity on this drinking fountain is average, but the surface is clean and the water is high quality. An enjoyable and reliable place to get a drink. Arc Length: 6 inches Time to Fill 1/2 Cup: 4.5 sec Temp: 23oC/73.4oF Awards: Best on 2nd Floor
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JASON’S ROOM This is essentially the same as the water fountain near Steve’s room, but with slightly better all-around stats. Despite a surprisingly high water quality, this water fountain’s awkward size, height and button mechanism detract from the drinking experience. Arc Length: 4 inches Time to Fill 1/2 Cup: 4.5 sec Temp: 24oC/75.2oF Awards: Best on 1st Floor
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JUDITH’S ROOM This is a low quality water fountain. It is dirty, with tepid water, and it’s set up in a crowded location to boot. If possible, avoid drinking from this water fountain. Arc Length: 6 inches Time to Fill 1/2 Cup: 4.2 sec Temp: 25oC/77oF
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ANNE’S ROOM This is a high quality drinking fountain, with a good water speed, a clean surface and a beautiful arc. It isn’t at the same level as the drinking fountain near Liz’s room, but it consistently provides a positive drinking experience.
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Arc Length: 8.5 inches Time to Fill 1/2 Cup: 4 sec Temp: 24oC/75.2oF Awards: None
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DANELLE’S ROOM 7
This drinking fountain is mediocre at best; it has a fast arc, but the water is lukewarm and unappealing. Arc Length: 7.5 inches Time to Fill 1/2 Cup: 3.5 sec Temp: 24oC/75.2oF Awards: Fastest Drinking Fountain
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STEVE’S ROOM This is more like an ugly wall decoration than a drinking fountain. Everything about it is disappointing; it has a warm, hazardous arc, an unclean surface, a hard-to-press button and poor water quality. Arc Length: 3.5 inches Time to Fill 1/2 Cup: 5.2 sec Temp: 25oC/77oF Awards: STAY AWAY AT ALL COSTS!
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where to go.
when it comes to choosing the right college, only the individual can make the right choice. alexandra hobrecht kate burns art
When asked as she sat on the first floor of CHS, junior Annie Noffke laughed; as Brian Williams opened the laptop in his office, he nodded. Both answered in their own and different way, because there ultimately is no direct answer to the question: Does it matter where a student goes to college? There are two ways to interpret this question. As Williams, one of two school counselors, first viewed it, his answer was in terms of fit and personality. He knows it is crucial to figure out which college a student can excel. “You want it to have the right programs,” he said. “You want to feel good as a part of the community, and it’s got to be affordable.” From past experience, he sees students who wind up making the wrong decision, causing them to have a less fulfilling college career. Many students fear this will happen when they are not accepted into their first choices. Class of 2011 graduate, Sonya Kotov found herself in a common situation when she did not get accepted into her first, second or third choice, and it prevented her from making the most of her first year at the University of Michigan. “I’m not sure how it is now at CHS, but when I was a senior, I got the sense that large schools were impersonal and unfulfilling,” Kotov said. “That being said, 14
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Michigan ended up being an amazing fit —I honestly can’t imagine a school that would have better allowed me to pursue my passions.” Although Kotov had little hope in succeeding at Michigan, she now understands attending a large school was vital to finding her place as “one tiny individual in a sea of hundreds,” and accepting the reality of the real world. The size of the university, overwhelming at first, has allowed her to pursue passions for computer science courses, co-op living and radical feminist activism. Williams stresses the importance of finding a college that will match a student’s personality, as Kotov has now done. He believes that college is not only about the growth of knowledge, but also about communicating relationships and building an identity. “If you’re going to spend at least four years somewhere, it’s really going to impact your identity as a person,” Williams said. “I think it’s pretty crucial to find the right school for you, [one] that’s a good fit.” The other way to interpret the question, as Noffke did, was to compare outcomes of going to a prestigious university versus a smaller, lesser known school. “If two people are applying to the same job, and they have all the same references except one of them got into Yale and
one of them went to [Washtenaw Community College], they’re going to hire the person from Yale,” Knoffke said. “They can have the exact same GPA, they can have the same IQ, they can be the same person and just the fact that they got into a better college will heavily influence them in job opportunities.” Noffke’s belief that specific jobs will require higher degrees is not uncommon. According to the Washington Post, it does not matter where a student goes to college in most cases, but can affect specific opportunities, like jobs, when it comes to a situation such as Noffke described. She believes it ultimately depends on what profession the student will be pursuing, and if it is a self-employed position or a competitive job. Time Inc. reports the importance is in the fact that the student attends college, saying, “It doesn’t matter where you go to college, it just matters that you go.” This information is backed up by a study released in 2011 that found the earnings of two groups of college graduates varied little after 20 years. The study covered 19,000 alumni and showed that whether a student went to Williams College or Miami University of Ohio, the job results were very similar. Furthermore, in 2004, American author Gregg Easterbrook interviewed college officials and found that the atten-
dance of an esteemed college had little impact on job satisfaction. Easterbrook’s study was done over ten years ago however, and ten years can change the course of a student’s application process greatly. This connects back to the idea of finding a school that fits the student’s personality because, as Jeffrey J. Selingo wrote for the Washington Post, it does matter where a student goes to college because the real value is actually graduating. Therefore students must choose a college they can earn a degree from. In an article published by the Atlantic, the author leaves the reader with the ultimate message: “Don’t be the person who was accepted into Princeton but act like one who could have been.” Princeton is just an example and can be replaced with any elite college. While this message matches that of Time’s, it is not the only solution on the web. A simple Google search of the question brings up thousands of results with different answers and opinions. “I think there’s a certain drumbeat of our culture that artificially makes that matter, when in many cases it does not,” said Jerome Dueweke, Associate Director of Admission at Butler University in Indianapolis. “For students, the notion that one has to attend the highly ‘ranked’ college is unfortunate. That ranking or reputation means nothing if a student is not happy, supported, challenged [or] inspired in that environment.” Williams spoke to this side of the question with thoughts similar to those of Noffke and Dueweke: the decision should be individually-based. “We get a lot of students here that are Harvard [bound], or that level, or Brown, or something like that,” Williams said. “They’re going to flourish there. But that doesn’t work for a lot of our kids here. Smaller doesn’t necessarily mean easy. There are very rigorous small schools, too, so I think that really depends on the individual.” There is also, naturally, more pressure in some cities than others when it comes to the college decision making process. Particularly in Ann Arbor, many seniors and juniors can attest to the pressure of this decision, be it from their parents, peers or even the community in general. “Especially at Community, we hear a
lot of times that grades shouldn’t matter and it should be all about whether or not you know the material,” Noffke said. “In theory I think that’s true and that’s what we should aim for, but I think in this society the pressure is to get into a good college. I think that grades do matter, which is frustrating, because I definitely would like to just focus on learning the material, but instead you have to worry about all the tests.” While Noffke raises yet another relevant topic, Williams offers the idea that one of the reasons Community students feel the pressure is because the University of Michigan is located in Ann Arbor.
enroll many students from the state of which they are applying. This is not always the case, though. Of the 2015 graduating class from Community, for example, 18 percent of the students surveyed went to the University of Michigan, and 55 percent stayed within state. 107 of the 118 students participated in the survey. So as Montgomery writes, it may be helpful for seniors to research the demographics of a college they are applying to in order to see their chances of getting accepted, but it should not be the sole determinant in the college-application process. The ultimate decision will come down
“U of M is a great school but it’s not the school for everybody,” Williams said. “We get a lot of kids that go there and do great, but I would say there’s probably a little more pressure here as opposed to some of our surrounding communities, Dexter and Chelsea, where they’re not constantly being bombarded with the big block M.” To some schools, geographic diversity is just as important as ethnicity, race and gender. As Mark Montgomery wrote in an article on greatcollegeadvice.com, students will have a higher chance of getting accepted if the school does not
to each individual senior, and they will decide with their own ranked priorities how important attending a prestigious school may be. Some consider the question as freshmen, others as upperclassmen. But be it their future, their personality, the location of the school, or another deciding factor, they are the only ones who can truly answer this question in the end. “It can’t just be any college,” Williams said. “It has to be the right college for you.” febr uar y
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artist profile: josh krauth-harding caitlin mahoney
How did you get started in photography? My dad always had a camera in the house and he would let me fool around with it sometimes. I really enjoyed taking photos and playing around with it, and even more than that, I enjoyed editing photos. I would start taking photos to just manipulate them in Photoshop and software like that. When did you start taking photos?
I probably first started taking photos when I was 12 or 13. I probably started so I could have content to edit elsewhere. Is there a reason that you prefer photography to other mediums of artistic expression?
I can’t draw to save my life or anything like that, so I definitely prefer photography because it’s something where instead of creating the piece, I’m capturing something that already exists, and I can edit it from there, but I’m not creating it from scratch. I like being able to take something that already exists and capture it and reinterpret it into something new.
Have you ever taken a digital class or one of Steve’s film classes? I mostly do digital and I have not tried film. I really want to, it just has not worked out in my schedule yet. I am hoping to take it senior year.
What type of camera do you prefer? I have a Canon DSLR. It is a newer model too, so it’s pretty nice.
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What do you mostly take pictures of? Originally I was doing a lot of scenery stuff and landscapes. Recently, I have been doing portraits which I like a lot more. Would you consider a career in photography or other types of art? Yes, I am planning on going to college for graphic design and I would definitely look into a few photography courses that are in relation to graphic design. How do you find inspiration for your art and photography? I find inspiration from other people’s work. I’ll see something and think, wow I want to try that. Or it will inspire a new idea. I like putting my own twist on other people’s work. What does art mean to you? For me, I would say art is one of the most important things in my life. It is what I do when I’m bored. So for me it is like a main lifestyle choice. How has photography changed or helped you?
It has definitely given me more of an artistic eye. When I’m looking around, I notice things from a certain perspective that I wouldn’t otherwise and I start to see the world in a different way through a lens. I stop more and think about what I’m looking at.
COMMUNITY KITCHEN TEACHER’S RECIPES
robin’s tortilla soup Meet Robin Skrbina, a wolverine, a student teacher, and a cook Ingredients: 6-8 tortillas 3-4 cups veggie broth 1 yellow onion, diced 1 red bell pepper, diced 3 garlic cloves, minced 1 15 oz can fire-roasted chopped tomatoes 1 15 oz can fire-roasted crushed tomatoes 1 15 oz can black beans 1 cup corn kernels 8 oz canned green chiles, chopped 2 Tbsp cumin Optional: avocado Bake tortillas at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 3-5 minutes. Place ½ cup broth in saucepan, add onion, pepper, and garlic. Cook five minutes on low, stirring occasionally. Add rest of broth and both cans of tomatoes. Bring to boil. Add the beans, corn, chiles, and cumin. Cook on medium for 15 minutes. Use an immersion blender and blend briefly. Enjoy!
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steve coron connects with nature through time in the woods and hunting
rachel hystad steve coron photo courtesy
B
ang! was the sound Steve Coron heard when the bullet came out of his grandfather’s old rifle. Coron was 28 years old. It was the first deer he killed. “I shot it at 7:30 [a.m.], the first morning of opening season and it was really very cool,” Coron said. Coron has been hunting since he was ten years old; he started off hunting partridges, geese, ducks and pheasants with a shotgun. He comes from a family of hunters: his father, uncle and grandfather. Coron is a Community High School teacher, but when hunting season starts he is in Northern Michigan every possible weekend. However, when Coron was in high school, he faced the hard decision of whether he liked hunting and if he even wanted to hunt. “I was in sports and stuff and I was not sure if I liked hunting believe it or not,” Coron said. “Then 18
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I went to college and I did not hunt. Then I decided I wanted to hunt in my late twenties.” Coron shot his first deer with a rifle, but he also hunts with a bow and arrow, shotgun and muzzleloader. In the year of 2015 alone, Coron successfully killed three deer; two of them male and the other female. The last deer Coron shot was the doe and he shot her with his bow; the arrow went through her neck and chest cavity. She then walked ten feet and fell over dead. The two bucks Coron shot this school year were also shot in the neck. When Coron was hunting this year he saw a 12-point buck standing behind a
tree. All Coron could see was the buck’s head and a small part of its neck. Coron did not believe that he had the ability to shoot the deer in the ear so with the little neck he saw in the scope he aimed the cross hairs there and pulled the rifle’s trigger. The deer died on the spot. Hunting has been part of Coron’s life since he was a small child. Hunting makes him feel more like part of nature.It also gives him the ability to be in the woods and watch the wildlife.
“It gets me out in nature. It gets me in the woods.”
citizens petition for downtown park
sophie haviland and jasper anderson olivia comai art
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ecently, there has been an increase in the development of apartment buildings, condominiums and hotels in Ann Arbor. These buildings bolster the local economy, though many citizens believe they jeopardize the character of Ann Arbor, turning it into a commercial icon. Some are actively fighting the city and commercial developers to add a proposal to the ballot that will reclaim a park in the center of Ann Arbor. Alan Haber, peace activist and local park supporter, began collecting signatures to put a question on the ballot regarding the library lot, and whether to build a park or not. “I am an advocate of democracy so, it seems that if so many people wanted something and the government doesn’t want to give it to us, we have the right to petition,” Haber said. This proposal aims to officially assign the area bounded by Fifth Avenue, and William, Division and Liberty Streets as the “center of the city.” This area is projected to include a park with a carousel and a cafe in the summer and a skating rink and a Christmas tree in the winter. “So many people feel this that this place should not be another bloody skyscraper and there’s a lot of resentment around to all these skyscrapers,” Haber said. Alternately, the city has two other proposals. CA Ventures and Core Spaces are two real estate developing businesses that are competing for the land on the library lot. Core Spaces is looking to gain ownership of the lot to build a 17-story
apartment complex with both residential and hotel units. Similarly, CA Ventures would grant a 15-story building containing 100-200 apartments and 143 hotel suites with a restaurant/bar lounge. According to an MLive live blog about the development, “both developers also want to strike a deal to either purchase or lease 200 parking spaces in the city’s Library Lane underground garage on Fifth Avenue.” This plot of land has been considered as a potential city center since the early 60’s, when the old courthouse was torn down in 1954, and moved to its present location on the northeast corner of Main and Huron. This old courthouse had a grassy lawn with shaded trees, and served as Ann Arbor’s commons. When the building was removed, it was regarded as, according to the Ann Arbor Observer, “a universal tragedy,” and “nothing replaced the heart of Ann Arbor.” In 2008, developers built an underground parking lot below the library to increase parking in the downtown area, but what most people are unaware of is that they spent an unsolicited amount of money unwarranted to support the footing of the construction, along with enhanced electrical and sewer capacity to accommodate for the weight of a big building. One concern with having a park is that it will serve as another homeless destination, similar to Liberty Plaza. Landscape architect and designer of Liberty Plaza, Lawrence Halpern, designed many
of these multi-level plazas throughout the country. “They do not encourage cross-traffic or pedestrian activity,” said Lorri Spies, local park supporter. “They encourage loitering and vagrancy. They are unsafe because there are too many places to hide.” Christine Tracy, local park supporter and retired journalist, is concerned with the little green space that downtown Ann Arbor provides. She believes that the town should create a park in the empty lot next to the Ann Arbor District Library that everyone can enjoy. City developers, however, would like to construct an apartment building in this lot to grant more housing and help the economy. “We all own this property and do we want to sell it right now? It’s like we’re selling our future away. Once it’s gone it’s gone, that’s it,” Tracy said. There are numerous cities around the country which have installed parks in the center of their downtown areas. Another example is Saratoga Springs, Utah. This city contains a park which, according to Tracy, is very important to the community. The park contains a carousel, hosts occasional public events and holds weddings. When the Political Action Committee (PAC) ran a survey of 1608 people, 76 percent of them favored downtown parks and open space. Even though the city council does not recognize their proposal for a central park without a petition, it is evident that the majority of citizens in Ann Arbor want a park. febr uar y
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where the werewolf howls,
the violin follows
violin monster, an idiosyncratic musician, describes his life as a local celebrity. emily ojeda
The Violin Monster plays on the first floor of Community High School. He started off as a part-time street performer in Ann Arbor five years ago. Now, performance is his full-time career.
20 he cc o om mm mu un n ii cc aa tt o o rr 20 tt he
How one Ann Arbor Street Performer came to be the loving, charistmatic he is today.
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coincidence was all it took for his life to change. He was just the average human-wolf hybrid, walking around with a violin in his arms. On one particular night, some guys from a patio restaurant called him over. “Hey, would you play us some songs?” One interaction was all it took for the Violin Monster to truly be born. He was not always the sweet, soulful and friendly werewolf that can be seen playing the streets today. He was once human too. 469 years ago, he was making his way through a back alley in London when he was attacked. A few seconds of excruciating pain in his neck, and then his world went black. Groggy and bleeding, he woke up to find himself on a boat. “I was surprised to be alive. Most people don’t survive a werewolf attack. And I was no different. And it was quite a surprise for me when I transformed for the first time,” he said. And it would be a couple hundred more years before he became the musical monster seen today. “In the past, I’ve been a pirate and a mercenary. Back then, it was okay for me to be savage,” he explained. He says he would never want to return to that lifestyle. Having grown up around the violin, he began to play when he was seven years old. 488 years later, his life still revolves around music. Not only does the violin soothe him, but it makes him less dangerous around humans. “I haven’t attacked a human in five years,” he said. His love for music and entertainment is what helped become who he is now: a charismatic, unique and loved performer. “I love being out on the streets. I’ve been doing it fulltime for over four years now,” he said. As a new performer, he had to find a way to expand his audience. Sure, playing on the streets meant he would be around people all day. The biggest issue he faced was getting people interested in his music. He needed to find another way to expose himself. After his experience with the people at the restaurant, he decided he would try going to open mics. Open mic events were easy targets for him, because people go to them for music. It was his chance to perform for an audience that was actually listening. The open mics and street performanc-
es were the perfect combination. On the streets, he would make enough money to pay for his drinks at the open mics. This worked out quite well for him.
become an autumn seasonal brew. “That’s what’s got me excited about the future,” he said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen next.”
SO SMALL, YET SO BIG A lot of musicians will go out of their way to get bigger gigs and venues. However, that is not the case for the Violin Monster. The experiences that come with being a street performer are unique and very different than those of famous musicians. “[As a street performer,] people aren’t expecting to see you. They’re on their way to do things. A lot of people just walk by or don’t stop and listen at all,” he explained. “But then there are those magical moments that you have. I never know who is gonna walk by,” he said, recalling some of the wonderful interactions he’s had with people around town. “I like the surprise factor. I enjoy it a lot.”
OUT OF ANN ARBOR “I’ve traveled all over the country,” he said. One of his favorite places to visit is Austin, Texas, for the South By Southwest Music Festival. He’s been performing at that festival every year since March of 2012. “They close down 6th street, which is a huge wide street. There are venues all the way down [the street], right next to each other. And food. There’s music and films and all sorts of things going on,” he said. “And it’s just filled with people walking down the boardwalk. There’s a lot of people coming in for the festival from all over.”
ON ANN ARBOR “Ann Arbor is such a welcoming community. I travel south for five months during the colder months. I love visiting new places and bigger cities. But when I come back home, it’s a really nice welcoming feeling.” The people, he said, are very supportive of him. “My main goal, and the reason I love doing this, is to make people smile,” he said. Aside from performing on the streets downtown, he can also be seen playing at the Beer Grotto on Thursday nights. ON THE BEER It was in Ann Arbor that his career hit an interesting and unexpected turning point. His roommate at the time worked as the wine director at Paesano. And it just so happened that the owners of the ABC (Arbor Brewing Company) were regulars there. It was he who mentioned the idea of a Violin Monster themed beer to the owners. At first, they thought that this beer would just be a specialty draft, meaning that it would only be sold for a short time period. Instead, the owners contacted him saying that they wanted to bottle it. After meeting with the owners and giving input on the flavor, it was decided that the “Violin Monster” would
THE FUTURE “[For me] there are no typical days,” he said. “Life is an adventure.” In the past, he collaborated with Ann Arbor native rapper Jack Kennedy. Together, the two released a song called “Sheep’s Clothing.” Even with his on screen experience from making this music video, he never expected that he would one day be asked to appear on national television. To his surprise, the producers of the hit TV show “America’s Got Talent” contacted him. They were holding open auditions in Detroit, and they wanted him to come down to be in some of the crowd shots. “They liked my look and uniqueness. So I said ‘Yeah.’ And I would try out as well,” he said. “I think [the audition] went pretty well. Now I have to wait a couple of months to see if I’m going to be through to the next round.” Aside from America’s Got Talent, he’s currently got another project in his mind. “I would like to create a graphic novel someday,” he said. The novel would focus on his life both in the past and the present, constantly alternating between the two. He hopes to begin working on it this winter, staying in the cold weather a little longer than usual. “[The street] will always be my number one focus,” he said. But, I think it’s good to expand creatively.” febr uar y
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where ingredients matter
S abe weiner
teve Hall, Abby Olitzky and their staff only have two hours to transition their kitchen from making mac and cheese to fennel pork ribs. “I’ll be honest, I have not gotten too much sleep lately,” Hall said. Hall, a former Community High Student, is experiencing firsthand what it is like to turn your passion into your profession. Hall was a student at Community during the same time Paul Saginaw’s, the co-founder of Zingerman’s, sons went there. He recalls going to Zingerman’s almost everyday after school where Saginaw’s oldest son Zach, who worked behind the cheese counter, would tempt him with samples of exquisite cheeses from across the world. It was from these daily commutes that Hall’s passion and deep knowledge of cheese was cultivated. After college, Hall moved out to San Francisco, where he had a performing
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arts internship. When this did not turn into the job Hall thought it was going to, he had to find another way to make money, so he got a job at a cheese shop. Even though Hall was glad to be constantly working with his favorite food ,he desired something more out of the job. “I was very interested in organizing things and interacting more with people,” Hall said. It was with this goal in mind that Hall and his wife, Olitzky, decided to open up their own food business. Olitzky and Hall realized that it would be too expensive to open up their business in San Francisco, so they decided to move back Hall’s home state, Michigan. “The original plan was to open up a specialty food market in Detroit,” Hall said. “There is just a lot of urban agriculture and excitement around food there. But we realized in terms of a long-term place to live it was not our best option.” So Hall and Olitzky moved to Ann Arbor in 2012 and opened their busi-
ness under the name Central Provisions. With Central Provisions, Hall and Olitzky would teach classes and make special event dinners as a pop-up restaurant. This allowed them to get their name out so that when they would decided to open up their own permanent restaurant in 2015, Spencer, they would not be completely new to the business. With Spencer, which means “One who tends to a pantry,” Hall and Olitzky want to use local ingredients and support local food producers. “It can be hard because unlike California where stuff is always in season, Michigan has four distinct seasons, so that can restrict what we make but at the same time that’s what makes it so fun,” Hall said. This seasonal aspect allows Hall and Olitzky to be constantly changing their menu, something that makes Spencer unique. “There are many great restaurants in Ann Arbor, but a lot of them have the essentially the same menu every time you go. With Spencer, we change
our dinner menu every other day and working with local farmers allows us to do that. So for example, if I get a great batch of radishes in, I am going to run radishes that week.” Apart from just knowing that his ingredients are wholesome and fresh, Hall also likes working with local farms because he gets to talk to the people who actually produce the food. It was very important to Hall and Olitzky to have these relationships with their farmers before opening Spencer. “Having a farmer going to get his animals processed and asking us how we would like our meat cut or is planning on planting herbs and asking us what type of herbs we would like them to plant is much better than calling Gordon Food Services and asking for white onions,” Hall said. These personal relationships Hall and Olitzky have developed with their food producers is also a relationship they want to have with their diners. At Spencer, instead of having a waitstaff, the chef who prepared your food brings it to you. Only having 37 dining spots available at any given time also allows Hall to get feedback directly from his customers on the food.
This deep empathy Hall and Olitzky have for the food they provide is not just in their prepared dishes but in their cheese and wine that they sell retail and in flights. “I traveled all over the country visiting different dairy producers and learning about different cheeses before we opened up,” Hall said. Hall looks for the same passion of quality cheese he has in the producers he orders from. “One of our cheeses, Pleasant Ridge Reserve, has won best cheese in America three times in the past decades and part of what makes this cheese so special is that they only use summer dairy when the cows are eating fresh grass. So I asked the farmer how do you know when the cows are ready to be milked? He told me that he goes around to each individual cow and smells their breath because when the cows breath is really bad he knows that the grass has started to ferment in their fourth stomach,” Hall said. In the future, Hall hopes to potentially move to a larger location, but as of now, he could not be happier finding high quality ingredients and then turning them into high quality food for his diners.
hall and olitzky use local ingredients in support of local food producers.
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1. Soap up!
2. Rinse your hands
3. Grab paper towel
4. Turn off faucet with paper towel
5. Open door with paper towel
Tips to bust bacteria: Make sure your water is warm but it does not have to be hot. Be sure to scrub all areas of your hands including in between your fingers and the back of your hands. And most importantly, wash for 20 seconds or sing Happy Birthday two times through.
the right way to wash kate burns
1 out of 3 women leave the restroom without washing their hands. 2 out of 3 men leave the restroom without washing their hands.
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1 in 6 cell phones are infected by fecal matter
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QUESTIONS
ROBBIE STAPLETON cameron fortune
Robbie Stapleton, personal fitness and health teacher, is an outgoing, adventure seeking, exercise-loving person that everyone should know.
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? A baker because I wanted to bake cakes to bring to my mom. What’s your favorite part of your day? It’s a close call, I love getting under my covers at night in bed, but I also love working out with my students. What’s one piece of advice that you give to students that you wish they would take? I don’t give out advice unless I wish they would take it. I want them to take some chances, take risks. Favorite state and why? I love Colorado because I love to hike, but I have to stay loyal to Michigan. Partly because I live here, but it also has the largest amount of coastline out of all of the other states and it is really beautiful. Dream vacation spot? It has to be one of the national parks. My husband and I are hiking in all of the national parks before we die; there are 59 and we have been to 20. There are seven in Alaska, so maybe a trip there would be. Actually my dream vacation would be visiting the 59th park.
If you could teach a class other than the classes you already teach, what would you teach? I would probably teach U.S. History because I used to and have a masters degree in it. What do you do for lunch? Usually I run around the school trying to talk to people, have club meetings, or get things done. I eat lunch on the run, I hold a yogurt and run down the hall trying to down it before the next class. I think it is the same thing that everyone else who teaches in the school does. Can you tell me about your parents? My dad is 95 and we just had a big birthday bash for him in December, he’s awesome, he’s healthy, he’s remarried, living in Indiana and is sharp as a tack. My mom was the most fabulous person in the world and my best friend - she died in 1992. What emoji best describes you? The emoji of the woman in the flamenco dress.
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with a new life, a new language getting to america is only half the battle for immigrants. for many, learning english has proved critical for success in america.
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isabel ratner
usseen Al Ali* heard explosions as he dashed out of his home in Homs, Syria. Carrying his son and a few of his things, he, his wife and his five children ran to get on a bus while people yelled, “Hurry up! Hurry up! Hurry up!” The bus took them from Homs to Damascus, the capital of Syria. Al Ali had left Homs so quickly that he could not bring much with him. Once in Damascus, he bought some food and clothing for his family. The next step was getting from Damascus to Daraa, the border between Syria and Jordan. Al Ali had arranged for a friend to drive him and his family. From Daraa to Jordan, they continued, but this time they had to walk along the road. “[It was] about two hours walking. 11 [at] night,” Al Ali said. He and his family continued until they reached Zarqa, Jordan. They stayed there for three years and resumed a somewhat normal life. His children -- three daughters and two sons -- attended school there. But his sister-in-law, who had already been in Michigan for ten months, awaited them in the United States. Al Ali and his family finally arrived in Ann Arbor on Sept. 17, 2015. But they still knew adjusting to their new life wouldn’t be easy. They had left everything in Syria. “I am forgetting my home,” he said. STARTING OVER It has been difficult for Al Ali’s family to adapt to the big differences between America and Syria, like being away from his family. Al Ali has two sisters still living in Syria, and he is not used to being so far away from them. The freedom in the U.S. is also striking to Al Ali. In Syria, he had fewer privileges, and now he has the complete opposite.
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“Here, [there is] too much freedom. It’s good sometimes, but it’s too much,” he said. “Like when the kid of sixteen years is taking driving lessons…You must take bus! No cars!” Despite the difficulties of living in a new country, there are many positives to living in America. Most importantly to Al Ali, safety is no longer an issue for him and his family. He imitated the sound of explosions and said that he no longer hears them. “I am sleeping in my bed. But in Syria, no sleeping. [I am] scared,” he said. Al Ali has high hopes for living in America. He said that everything is expensive but he is confident he will get a job and money to buy food. “I wish I have a good job. I wish my children [will] study in America [and have a good education] for their future,” he said. “I hope I speak English as an American.” A PLACE FOR IMMERSION This is why he comes to the English as a Second Language (ESL) Program at Jewish Family Services. Al Ali takes classes with other non-English speakers, some of whom are refugees and others who are on student visas. The ESL program, which has been serving refugees since 1997, originated as a resettlement for Jewish refugees mainly from Russia. It has begun to turn into a place with refugee services such as immigration aid and ESL. The program is drop-in style: students come as they wish, depending on their work schedules and children. Currently there are about 120 students from 20-25 countries, ranging from Iraq, Syria, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and other Middle Eastern countries, to Nicaragua, Ecuador and other South American countries. Jessica Vinter began as a teacher for the
program and eventually evolved into being the Program Coordinator. She knew she wanted to work for an organization providing public service, and also had previous experience teaching Russian, Spanish, English literature and ESL. Vinter understood the importance of these refugees learning English. “When they are living in another country for extended periods of time or permanently, it’s not a question of wanting to learn English, it’s an absolute necessity to learn English,” Vinter said. Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced classes are held three days a week, in the mornings and afternoons. Vinter teaches the Intermediate and Advanced classes. She begins her classes with 20 minutes of speaking, where students walk around the room with a script given to them and make conversation with the other students in the class. Vinter also teaches reading, writing, grammar and culture. During one class taught by another teacher, students looked at a picture and described what was going on by forming sentences using the names of the other students in the class. They put these sentences on the board and read them; afterwards, the teacher corrected their spelling and pronunciation. Volunteers also come in to help the classes and work individually with students as conversation partners. Al Ali worked with Nancy Szabo, on one recent afternoon this past December. They looked at the same picture that Al Ali was working on in class. This time, he was to form multiple sentences for Szabo. “Okay so tell me some of the things you see in this picture,” Szabo said. “What is happening?” “They are dancing on the ice,” Al Ali replied. “And what are they wearing?”
Jessica Vinter has worked with the program for five years and teaches Intermediate and Advanced classes. For her birthday she received this map as a gift from her students. Vinter said,“It’s a birthday card. Isn’t it the greatest birthday card ever? They said ‘happy birthday’ all around the world. So each of those countries is where my students are from.”
“Hat.” “Okay so she is wearing a hat, and he is wearing a hat. You say they are wearing.” “They are wearing hat.” “Hats. So more than one you put an s at the end. She is wearing, he is wearing, they are wearing.” After this, Szabo goes on to explain the drop the “e”, add “-ing” rule to Al Ali, a rule that Americans learn at a very young age. Seeing her students’ English improve is one of the reasons Vinter loves what she does. “[The most rewarding part of the job is] seeing people make progress and make huge strides in their life goals, and not knowing English is a huge obstacle to that,” Vinter said. She recalled the memory of a student
from Senegal who came six months ago, knowing almost no English, who is now applying to the University of Michigan and taking the Advanced class at the ESL program. Vinter explained this while pointing to his transcript, which she had on her desk. Another one of her students came from Congo, also knowing no English. Now she is studying nursing at Washtenaw Community College. JFS does so much more than just teaching English. They expose the refugees to the community by taking them on field trips to places such as the Farmers Market or the Botanical Gardens, going to museums, and having potluck lunches. They support families with employment by helping them apply for jobs. Some refugees can not afford a car, so JFS gives them a bus pass. A food pan-
try is available in the building as well as clothes on hand. The organization does whatever they can to help the refugees during this difficult time, and also serves as a safe and comfortable place to show the refugees that people support them. “They come here, there are people that are just like them, in the same situation,” Vinter said. “They know they can come here any time, and learn English and socialize, and get help.” *name has been changed to protect anonymity
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starting again a michigan reformation program proves worthwhile for senior victor digiovanni.
dario zullo grace koepele Illustration
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s soon as Victor DiGiovanni stepped foot into West Highland Christian Academy he knew that he did not belong
there. During his junior year of high school, DiGiovanni was enrolled in a program called Promise Village, a treatment source for at-risk and struggling boys. For six months DiGiovanni attended a strict boarding school in Milford, Michigan. He would go without seeing his friends and family and undergo a serious reformation process. The purpose: to correct the behavioral issues that DiGiovanni had been experiencing in his personal life and additionally, to figure out what triggered him to act the way he had in the past. The decision came mutually between DiGiovanni and his parents. After several visits to the school and sessions with the staff of the program, DiGiovani knew this was what he needed. “When I walked in I knew it was going to be a rough place. Everything was lock-down. We couldn’t call or text. You got one call home, two to three times a 28
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week and it could only be ten minutes. So besides that we had no communication with our old lives,” DiGiovanni said. Every morning started with timed showers and breakfast, followed by a 30 minute drive to West Highland Christian Academy. The school would be much stricter than DiGiovanni had previously experienced, especially coming from the relaxed environment of Community. After school, the kids would perform arduous chores, with the purpose of bonding the kids just as much as getting tasks done. In the evening, DiGiovanni would have therapy sessions, either one on one with a mentor, or in a group setting. This time gave the teens a safe space to openly express their feelings without the judgments that are found in their peers. For DiGiovanni, this part was the most meaningful. “I came out with better understanding of what is right and wrong. I have the capability to positively affect the people around me,” DiGiovanni said. One of
the most impactful things for DiGiovanni was getting to know the other kids who were at the camp at a personal level. After hearing the stories from other kids, DiGiovanni realized how easy he had it easy back home in comparison. “Some boys came straight out of [a
“I was there for less than six months and I feel like I was there for six years from all the things I learned and all the experiences I had.” juvenile detention center]. [All of the] kids came from very bad behavioral issues,” DiGiovanni said. “[The kids] brought me down to their perspective. I realized how hard their lives were compared to mine and all I had been taking for granted.” DiGiovanni completed the program in six months, the fastest any student had ever completed it previously. “I found that if I love who I am it illuminates on everything else and everyone around me,” DiGiovanni said.
plum market launches new location
stavi tennenbaum
Plum Market’s wine, cheese, bakery and salad bar offers a variety of specialty and conventional goods.
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stavi tennenbaum
he shiny linoleum floors of the new Plum Market on Plymouth Road reflect a rainbow of produce items and local grocery goods. The late evening dinner rush meanders through the store, gathering ready-made hot bar products and select cuts from the meat and seafood counter. The popular local business, originally located off Maple Road, has opened its second Ann Arbor location in a bustling industrial complex on the north side of the city. Plum Market, a family-owned company since 2007, now owns five stores and an airport location in the Detroit Metropolitan Airport, servicing the all-natural, organic and locally-made needs of southeastern Michigan. Marketing coordinator Todd Belden said the new location has been in the works for some time now, thanks to repeated requests from customers. “We
always encourage feedback from our guests, and they’re not shy to let us know what they want. Just through talking with [them] we figured out they wanted a location that would be more convenient on the other side of town.” Plum prides itself on a close connection between its customer and team members, and on providing an elevated level of high-quality brands, customer service and product information. “Our guests are very knowledgeable, seek out specific items and are excited by those items,” Belden said. “Their lifestyle is a little bit different and they’re looking for more all-natural, organic items—products that are made locally.” Small private brands like Niman Ranch meats and Bell & Evans’ chickens are featured in many of Plum’s stores, as well as local companies like Zingerman’s and Mindo Chocolate Makers. Plum Market’s co-owners are the sons
of Edward Jonna, the founder of Bello Vino, an upscale specialty wine grocer that shut down in 2008 after five years in its Plymouth Road Mall location. Jason Vogel, team leader of the new Plum store, says the owners have therefore long considered the north side their original “stomping grounds” and were eager to return to the neighborhood. The north campus location is a smaller store, but contains several unique features, such as a wine bar, a beer growler filling station and a more developed café, which includes Zingerman’s-trained baristas and a self-service espresso machine. Despite the changes in layout and customer demographics that the store faces in a predominantly commercial area with many nearby competing businesses—a Busch’s and Kroger’s right across the street—the company believes the new location will be just as successful as its west side predecessor. febr uar y
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simon says you don’t know about the other one
Dear Simon Says, I’m in love but he doesn’t like me. What should I do? - Just a Girl in Love
Dear Just a Girl in Love, Does he know how you really feel? Are you sure he doesn’t like you? If you answered no, TELL HIM HOW YOU FEEL AND SEE HOW HE FEELS! If you answered yes to both of these questions, I would suggest getting a pint of Ben and Jerry’s Half Baked and going for a ride along Huron River Drive while listening to “Shawty Don’t Need No Man” by Chris J ft Plies. It will hurt for a little, but just remember that you will find another guy someday soon who you will share a mutual admiration with. Time heals, babe! - Simon Says Dear Simon Says, Why are boys so mean? - Sad Sophomore Dear Sad Sophomore, If you are writing this with a broken heart, I feel your pain and understand where you are coming from. In the words of Nazareth, “Love Hurts.” But don’t let one boy make you think they’re all bad. Keep on loving them and soon enough you will find one of the good ones. “You can be hurt by love, or healed by the same.” -Garrett Hedlund. - Simon Says Dear Simon Says, How do I get my boyfriend to make a move? - Impatient Hottie Dear Impatient Hottie, Invite him over to your house, dim the lights, put on a super boring movie (think nature documentary “March of the Penguins”), and cuddle up under some cozy blankets. If the movie is bad enough he will eventually realize he has better entertainment in his arms and BOOM: first kiss!!! - Simon Says
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t he c o m m u n i c a t o r
Our best advice to you is to take all our advice with a grain of salt. In the words of Tracy Anderson, we are not doctors, but we do have PhLD’s (Philosophy o’ Love Doctorate). sophia simon, hannah simon, and hannah tschirhart
Dear Simon Says, I need help reigniting the love life of my two hamsters. One is an immature loud masculine princess. He loves them carrots. The other is an elderly menopause ridden hamster lady. What should I do about their dying love life? - Critter’s Cupid Dear Critter’ Cupid, Put your hamsters in the kitchen and make it hot and steamy. Maybe put some rose petals on the counter but make sure there are objects surrounding the counter so they don’t accidentally fall off during their hot escapade (that would be an awkward visit to the vet). Top it off by playing some Marvin Gaye in the background and filling their water bottles with sparkling cider. - Simon Says
Dear Simon Says, I want to go out and party but my boyfriend won’t let me. He gets super clingy and mad whenever I want to have a crazy night with friends. - Sober in Seattle Dear Sober in Seattle, There is no relationship without communication(ship)! You should be able to have fun with your friends without your boyfriend freaking out to the point where he tracks you all the way to Stacy’s house and interrupts your Dungeons and Dragons quest to make sure you are not getting too wild as you fight off an angry warlock. It is good that he cares enough about you that he wants to make sure you are making smart decisions. But if it gets to the point where he can’t let you have a little fun because he dosen’t trust your judgement, it might be time for some real conversation. Talk to your man and let him know that you want him to trust you more. - Simon Says
Dear Simon Says, I have a crush on my really good friend. We’ve been close for a long time and I don’t want to jeopardize our relationship but do want to take it to the next level. Do you have any advice? - Just a Friend Dear Just a Friend, Tell them how you really feel! It is always worth taking risks when it comes to love. You don’t want to be old and alone, wishing you had expressed how you really felt...regret is the worst. Sure, it may be a little awkward for a while if their feelings aren’t reciprocated, but if this person is a good enough friend then they should always care for you. Don’t be afraid to tell someone how you really feel because experiencing love is worth it. You’ll never get what you want by holding your feelings inside. No pain, no gain! - Simon Says
ask your doctor today if love doctor is right for you... Dear Simon Says, I think I might have an STD. - Dazed and Confused Dear Dazed and Confused, See a doctor immediately! You can always talk to a Planned Parenthood representative here at Community (like Frances MacKercher or Joel Apple-Kraut) and see about getting a consultation on a donation basis. Having an STD is often stigmatized, but in reality 50 percent of sexually active people will have contracted an STD by the time they’re 25. If you get tested and find out you do, in fact, have an STD, make sure you communicate with past and future partners so they are informed about their own health as well and can make the choice to get tested so it doesn’t spread. Try to have a conversation about sexual history and risk of infection with future partners and always use some kind of barrier birth control like the male or female condom. - Simon Says
Dear Simon Says, How do I know if I’m in love? - SpiveGirl69 Dear SpiceGirl69, Do your knees get weak when they look into your eyes? Do you get butterflies when you’re wrapped in their arms? Do you know everything about them including their location because you went on their phone and shared their location with you? Kidding, kidding. I cannot answer this question for you, unfortunately. Only YOU know what you feel...so dig down deep and get real with yourself and your partner. Good luck babe! - Simon Says
Dear Simon Says, My boyfriend is way too clingy so I want to break up with him. How should I do it? - Gone Girl Dear Gone Girl, Every time he tries to touch you make sure you’re standing on a fuzzy fuzzy carpet. The static electricity will associate pain in his brain with touching you. He’ll tone it down (believe me). If that doesn’t work...Hit him with a BYE BOY via text or voicemail. - Simon Says Dear Simon Says, I can’t decide between two boys. Can I just date both of them? - Audacious Admirerer Dear Audacious Admirerer, #teamedward. Just be careful or he’ll call up his friend on the phone and make a plan to bust this chick (you). Furthermore, I’m gonna go with NO on this one. You don’t want to keep #2 waiting on a love he’ll never have... that’s just cruel! - Simon Says Dear Simon Says, I’ve never had a boyfriend, how do I get one? - Pessimistic Princess Dear Pessimistic Princess, Keep being yourself! Love finds us in mysterious ways, at mysterious times. There are plenty of boys out there for you. Love is all around us, so keep an open heart and an open mind. And when you find it, take it by the horns and never look back!! - Simon Says
Dear Simon Says, Help my boyfriend won’t talk to me about his feelings. What do I do? - Heartfelt Honey Dear Heartfelt Honey, Trick him into it. Ask him questions like, “What do you think of this poem?” Then read him some of Hemingway’s classic love stanzas. Once that kind of beauty and emotion gets ahold of his heartstrings, I’ll bet you he will pour out his heart in no time. - Simon Says submit anonymous questions to qooh.me/chscolumn to keep the advice column alive (they don’t have to be about love)
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GET IN THE GAME!
Teen Membership at the YMCA ANN ARBOR YMCA
Teens aged 12-19 can join the Y for $15/ month and access all the Y has to offer. Get in shape with pick-up basketball, teen yoga, studio cycling, strength and conditioning, free weights and two indoor pools and an indoor track. Not into sports? Our Youth in Government provides opportunities to get involved with governmental processes (including a three-day trip to Lansing!) and Youth Volunteer Corps gets you involved with service in your community during the school year and all summer long. The Y is open 5:30 am to 10 pm Monday through Friday, and 7 am to 7 pm on weekends, so, no matter what your schedule, there’s time to hang out at the Y. For more information, go to www.annarborymca.org, call 734.996.9622 or stop by after school. 32
t he c o m m u n i c a t o r
approved
app review
great apps you might not know about but should
useful
SCANNER AND TRANSLATOR-
This app allows you to take a picture of a document, like a page of notes, and it will turn the picture into text. You can then copy and paste, edit, or store it on your phone.
grace jensen and kt meono
BATTERY DOCTOR- “[It] monitors MUSIXMATCH- With musixmatch, how much battery life you have and how to save your battery life. It also helps you determine how much space you have left and if you can clean out your space.”
you can play music off your phone or Spotify and then scroll down to notifications. Each lyric will come up as it plays in the song. It can also listen to a song playing and ascertain what song it is.
interesting
MICRO HERO- This app lets you take
quick surveys from companies and researchers who want information. Each survey you take will earn money for a charity of your choice.
PLANT NANNY- This app encourag- STUFF N STYLE- You can view your es you to stay hydrated. You water your plant every time you drink a cup of water, and every time you water it, it grows.
entire closet in one place by adding photos of your clothing from your camera or the web. Then you can make outfits and get style advice from others.
ARGAR.IO- “So basically you’re this
COVET FASHION- The best fashion
games
JUMP CAR- “It’s so entertaining and
you can’t stop playing it. It’s very [good for] your hand-eye coordination skills. I think it’s a good game to play.” -Natalie Katz
circle and you eat other circles and try to get bigger... It’s really intense when you’re small and big circles are running at you.” -Kaleb Doughten-Priuska
game. Style outfits based on fun themes with real clothing from real brands. Then other people can rate your styles, and you earn prizes. febr uar y
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“It’s just weird being me sometimes,” Anderson said.
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t he c o m m u n i c a t o r
swinging through static
T
student finds solace on division street swing set.
eva rosenfeld
he photographer walking down Division Street felt compelled to stop when he saw the boy on the swings. Silver poles dug firmly into the spring lawn. Well-worn white Skullcandy headphones scrunched down afroed hair. “He just saw me on the swings listening to music and said, ‘It’s beautiful,’ and snapped some pictures,” said Dylan Anderson, CHS junior. The interaction, although initiated by the photographer, was worthwhile to both parties. The man got his photos, Anderson got affirmation. Here was another person, extracting something of value out of the many hours Anderson had spent on those swings. “Oh my god, I’m cool,” he thought. “I’m worth taking pictures of.” Since freshman year, Anderson has found sanctuary on the swing set on the front lawn of Community. He arrives
to school early and swings while the doors are still locked, then intermittently throughout the day. “My brain works in such a way that I need a repetitive action to focus on, and a ritualistic place to go to,” Anderson said. “Kind of like monks climbing a mountain to ring a bell just to climb back down to do it tomorrow. I just need patterns like that to function normally.” Anderson’s days are filled with such rituals. They range from small acts, like pacing and foot-tapping, to larger daily customs. Everyday when he gets home, no matter the weather, Anderson asks his mother for two dollars, walks a mile to the gas station, buys a Coca-Cola, and walks a mile back. Each ritual on its own might seem trivial, but in conjunction, Anderson’s array of actions is a step toward finding focus and purpose. Swinging provides a time to think about his life and aspirations of
becoming an illustrator. The daily Coca-Cola pilgrimage gives him the energy to draw, and make progress as an artist. “I’ve been working really hard to be super serious about [drawing],” he said. “I’ll be content to just sit in a room and stare at a wall forever but I’m like, well I should probably do something with my life. I wanna do meaningful things before I die, but I have no work ethic.” On his first day at Community, Anderson rejoiced over the presence of swings on the lawn. A swing set had been an outlet in elementary school, too, and he was excited to have access to one again -- a place to sort through the static. In fact, after three years at his frontlawn haven, Anderson feels a little shock each time he sees someone else there. “Woah, what? This can happen?” he joked. Then more seriously, he added, “It almost feels like its own little void.”
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FASHION how to turn your local thrift store into a designer closet.
Sophie Steinberg, senior, has just recently gotten into thrifting. “I try to thrift as much as possible. I am always loking for velvet shirts, like that red one,” she said. Steinberg found the four skirts shown at Salvation Army and Value World. “Sometimes I will buy a skirt for $2.50 and then get it tailored for $10.00,” she said. “It’s expensive, but $12.50 isn’t bad for a well-fitted, cute skirt. They have thousands of great outfits in those stores. You just need the patience to look.” 36
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N
5 thrifty looks by Steinberg
grace, lily and tracy talk thrifting
“I get my stuff from a children’s retail shop called Grow With Me. They have a lot of clothing in my size. I also go to Ann Arbor Thrift Shop and PTO thrift shop occasionally. I try to steer away from Salvation Army because I never really find things there and I don’t like their beliefs. When I go thrifting, I am mostly looking for shirts. I have a really small figure so I don’t have any luck looking for pants and other things like that. I got straight for shirts, look around, go for different colors and things. I don’t look at sizes because most things shrink in the wash. I really look for the quality of the clothes and whether or not I like the style. The best thing I ever got thrifting was a pair of Timberland combat boots for $10. I’ve scored a lot of good things. I’m pretty sure that this Batman shirt I am wearing now was thrifted.” -Lily Gechter
“I usually thrift at two different places-one is in Florida and the other is in St. Paul. I’ve started thrifting with my sister and my oldest daughter. When we were in Florida thrifting this last time, it was definitely a race to see who got into the store first. We have size zones that we’ve created. My sister is a size bigger than I am and my daughter is a size smaller, and there is a rule that you can only stay in your size zone. So if I found something that is my sister’s size, but I thought it fit me, she could take it over me because it was in her zone. We love, love, love thrifting. I’ve had parties before where people bring ten items that they want to get rid of, but are nice things that they wouldn’t throw away, and people will do a clothing swap. We always get good clothes that are in great shape. I would probably say over half of the things that I wear are from thrift stores.” -Tracy Anderson
“I go thrifting in every thrift store in Ann Arbor. I go to plato’s closet all the time, and value world and salvation army. When I go into a thrift store, I look for something that I can wear with leggings...usually this is a sweater or something. I’ve found some really good sweaters at thrift stores for one dollar or two. I would really recommend it for people who don’t want to spend money, but they still want a cute sweater to wear. Everyone needs a cute sweater to wear. I also have gotten some flannels to wear over my clothes when I am working or just around the house. Thrifting is a really good experience. I think it is sad when people aren’t open to thrift stores because they have a lot of good stuff that people do not know about.” -Grace York febr uar y
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What is a moment that shaped who you are?
Who do you look up to?
“I look up to my dad because I feel like he’s the most selfless person ever. He always tries to do good and whenever he sees a guy on the street with a sign he always asks them, “What do you need?” I’ve seen him get food for people multiple times. His positivity rubs off on me so I aspire to do better because of him. He’s my biggest role model.”
[A moment that shaped who I am was] when my parents got divorced. They got divorced when I was in first grade and I think it shaped me because it made me more independent and it helped me understand how relationships work. It was negative when it first happened, over time it became positive.”
Gabby Hornak
Cecilia Roe
HUMANS OF COMMUNITY sophia rosewarne and omolara osofisan
What are you proud of? “I’m really proud of how open I am to meeting new people. With the freshman that came into forum this year I was one of the only sophomores that welcomed them.”
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Katy Pasquariello t he c o m m u n i c a t o r
What is one of the best moments in your life? “That’s tough. Probably when I got into Community actually because it changed everything. When I first got in I was so excited and I was so happy when all my friends got in also so that was probably a really good moment.”
Meghana Tumalla
What is something that you have had to overcome?
“The transition into high school. Coming from Ann Arbor Open, I was surrounded by people that I knew a lot... I was nervous for the bigger environment, but I got used to that when I came here. My family and friends [helped me overcome that]. Sometimes I try to problem-solve by myself and figure things out on my own.”
Claire Middleton
What is one of your biggest regrets? What is one of your biggest regrets? “[One of my biggest regrets is] in dance recitals not being prepared to go out because I’ve been really, really nervous and I’ve made some mistakes I probably could have avoided. It makes me more nervous to perform because I think of moments that I messed up and I think it could happen again. I just go over a lot of my dance, I make sure I have everything I need, I tell myself it’s not a big deal if I mess up. [If I mess up] I try to just go with it and not make a bigger deal of it than it is.”
Clara Schueler
What is your biggest fear?
CourtneyKiley Kiley Courtney
“So obviously my biggest fear is that something would happen to my kids, that would just be horrible. Them getting really sick or dying. My personal fear that I’ve always been afraid of is falling through ice on a lake and then looking up through the ice while I’m drowning in freezing cold water and seeing the world as I sink down. I’ve always been afraid of falling through ice because my parents had a cottage on a lake and my dad was always like “stay of the soft spots because it’s really cold.” I remember watching this movie called The Good Son with Macaulay Culkin who was the kid in Home Alone and he purposefully pushed his brother through the ice and the little boy fell through and then the camera shot was up through the ice and ever since I saw that at, too young of an age, I was probably like ten, I’ve just been horrified. One time, at my parent’s cottage, all the ice was melting. I went down to the shore and there were these three white blobs on the shore. They were somebody’s big white dogs that fell through the ice in the winter. When the ice thawed they washed up in front of our house and that was traumatizing. I’m afraid of that.” febr uar y
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10
stories
students recall funny moments.
When I was six, my dad took me and my family to the carnival, and we went into a haunted house. It was supposed to be one of the scariest. So we went in and there was this scary man with a scary axe and a mask and he scared my dad. My dad peed his pants. -Tess Heidt
8
One time, I was in the grocery store and I thought I saw my dad. I ran up to him, two inches away from hugging him. I realized “Oh my god, that’s not my dad.” It was this old white guy who was definitely not my dad. -Maddie McCarver
7
I fell off of a three story building, and everyone thought it was hilarious. I landed in water so it was okay. -Kyle Radant
6 40
t he c o m m u n i c a t o r
I was at my friend’s house when I was younger, and somebody said something really funny, and I was laughing so hard that I started peeing myself. -Nicole Coveyou
1
In elementary school, I met my best friend when he threw an orange at the back of my head. Then later, on the playground, I retaliated by fly-kicking him off of the jungle gym. -Khalil Eljamal
9
I’m currently in a show at Pioneer, and for the audition, I had to find the little theatre. I didn’t know Pioneers layout so I was having a hard time finding it. I ended up going all the way around it to the backstage area and the woodshop, which was really shady. We ended up walking out onto the stage, and the director was having a meeting with a lot of people, and the walk out was very embarrassing. -Alexis Atkins
Last year during the winter time, I was with my friends at the bus stop. I was pretending to kick one of them, slipped, and fell super hard on my back. -Katie Parr
2
When I was little, I had a bowl cut. And one day I was stopped when I was going into the girl’s bathroom because they thought I was a boy. -Kasey Neff
3
I was about eleven years old and my mom and I were coming back from like Walmart or something like that. It was 10:00 at night. As we were all getting into the car, everybody got in, except me. My door was still open and I was slowly taking my stuff and putting it in the car. My mom thought I was in the car and started slowly pulling away and I ended up walking beside the car. When she started to drive faster I was like “WAIT, MOM!” and everybody was yelling “Wait!” Then my mom stopped and then I almost got my foot run over. -Teaira Majors
10 4
I was first learning how to drive and I was in the car with my dad and brother. We were driving in Ypsilanti and I accidentally turned down a one way road. We didn’t realize it until a car came back towards us and flashed its lights. And I just started screaming and my dad grabbed the wheel. -Jack Cassell
5
1000
A
emily tschirhart camille konrad photo
words
minimally cloudy day was an opportunity in the eyes of Camille Konrad, who snapped a panorama of city life in Chicago. The shot was taken in the Willis Tower, previously known as the Sears Tower, and captures the city in broad daylight. Konrad was attending her eighth grade school trip when she saw the beauty of the landscape. There are sections of glass 1,353 feet in the air that allow visitors to look down through the floor and see the city hundreds of feet below their feet. “There’s nothing beneath you,” Konrad said. “You can see out into everything.” Konrad was inspired to take the photograph as she looked over the city. She entered this photograph into Steve’s digital photography mid-term portfolio under the theme “halfway to nowhere.”
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buddy letters build new friendships
chs and ann arbor open students collaborate in innovative partnership.
Left: Community High students and third/ fourth graders from Ann Arbor Open meet for the first time, sharing stories of school, family, holiday plans and hobbies.
C
shane hoffmann
indy Haidu-Banks frantically ran up and down the floors of Community High, delivering students their buddy letters. As she passed them out, she revelled in the looks on her students’ faces as they immediately lit up with happiness and excitement. These “buddy letters” originated from a program started by Haidu-Banks and her close friend, Denise Chacon-Lontin, a teacher at Ann Arbor Open elementary school, about fifteen years ago. Each year, one of Haidu-Banks’ U.S. History classes is chosen to participate in the program along with Chacon-Lontin’s combined third and fourth grade class. Chacon-Lontin’s class starts the letters by introducing themselves. The students write about their interests, favorite sub42
t he c o m m u n i c a t o r
jects, family, pets and if they prefer a boy or girl buddy. “I ask volunteers in my class, three or four students to read the letters out loud and then students go ‘Oh, I want that buddy’ or ‘Oh, I play that game or read those books’ so they match up due to interest,” Haidu-Banks said. She delegates very little time in her class to this part of the program, as students are instructed to write letters on their own time and then turn them into her, by a deadline. Haidu-Banks reads all of her student’s letters as a precautionary action to ensure they haven’t written anything inappropriate, or something that could be a harmful influence on the younger children. “99.9 percent of the letters from the high school students are incredible, totally appropriate, insightful letters to the
younger kids,” Haidu-Banks said. While reading the letters, she gains an understanding of her students in a way she would not otherwise. She learns about their lives, families and interests. When Haidu-Banks and Chacon-Lontin began the program, they weren’t quite sure what the outcomes would be for the older students. They found that it was very beneficial for the high schoolers to learn how to write letters and to be able to express themselves through them, as letters are going out of fashion. However, writing skills were only one of the things they learned. “I saw some of my students who I never saw smile and laugh start to enjoy themselves and feel joy with the third and fourth graders and for me,” HaiduBanks said. “That is something you can’t even write into a curriculum. Just that
human interaction of being with a person, and becoming a mentor and their leader for the day. I see my students become joyful and see them in a different context, and becoming you know, more of a leader and just happy.” While the letters are an important part of the program it is only a small piece of the curriculum. The more overarching part is the year-round study of Native Americans, and in years to come, slavery. Each year, a meeting place for the two groups of students is in West Park, as it is halfway between Community and Ann Arbor Open. The first year, Chocan-Lontin and Haidu-Banks walked the groups along the old Native American trail in the park. However, they found that the trail was in bad shape. “I have lived on the park for over 30 years, watching the changes and seeing the trail disappear from neglect. Cindy and I saw the need, the possibilities for our students and the community,” Chacon-Lontin said. “People who were living on Huron Street were throwing trash down the hill, on this old Indian trail that’s authentic and historic, and it was being lost,” Haidu-Banks said. From there, they decided to make the restoration of the trail into a community service project. After going to many city meetings and presenting their plan, they were given a grant and assistance in cleaning the trail. “When we first started it was literally cleaning garbage and then it went to trimming back weeds and then it went to laying down wood chips on the trail. Then last year we were able to put up a really decent sign at the trail head so that people had an idea of the history of the trail,” Haidu-Banks said. At the end of each year the classes meet at West Park for a trail cleanup day. Chacon-Lontin’s has her student’s families prepare food and the classes share a day of eating food, repairing and celebrating the trail. Haidu-Banks’s and Chacon-Lontin’s classes meet at least once or twice before the end of the year picnic. They try to meet at West Park early in the year and then at Ann Arbor Open the Thursday before winter break for Open’s annual multicultural fair. In addition, the groups
usually attend a concert or event of some sort. These include University Musical Society or Washtenaw Community College plays. A much newer addition is a walking tour of downtown Ann Arbor in the spring, with the organization that set up the street exhibits by the courthouse and throughout the area. When the buddies meet for the first time, pandemonium ensues. “We walk into their school and they’re jumping up and down and screaming like we’re rockstars or something,” Haidu-Banks said. This year the classes met at Ann Arbor Open School on Wednesday, Dec. 16. Chacon-Lontin’s class showed off an impressive slideshow, in which every student had created a slide or two, featuring tons of topics from the area they studied, Mexico. In addition, a few kids showed some extreme bravery and presented their individual projects to the class. “They are proud to present their work to their buddy’s praise and encouragement. They enjoy sharing their lives with an older teenager who cares about them,” Chacon-Lontin said. After Chacon-Lontin’s class finished presenting their work, the classes shared a snack of chips, salsa and Capri Sun. The buddies talked with each other as well as their friends for the remaining fifteen to twenty minutes before HaiduBanks’s class returned to Community High. As the trail project comes to an end, they are looking for a new project to start pursuing as a group. Haidu-Banks and Chacon-Lontin have some things in mind, but no clear cut number one option, as of yet. There is another trail that does not have a sign or any kind of marker and it’s the same trail as in West Park. It runs along the river at Island Park and both Haidu-Banks and Chacon-Lontin are trying to decide if it’s a good thing it’s unmarked. “It really is visible. It’s not in any dan-
ger of not being walked, it’s a very well walked trail,” Haidu-Banks said. This trail is a part of a long system of trails, including the West Park trail, that stretch as far as Lake Michigan. Haidu-Banks loves passing out the letters during class because of the reactions she gets from her students. “They laugh and they giggle and it’s an exciting part of the class when I’m passing out the letters. They are just happy to hear from their little buddies; it’s a nice relationship,” she said. Students love the pro-
“As long as Cindy and I are teaching, the program will exist. Perhaps we can inspire others to try and keep it alive once we retire. But for Cindy and I it is a part of our year that we hold dear and we work hard to keep it alive. It is a gift to us, the heart of real education,” Chacon-Lontin said. gram and what it presents that is unique to their everyday curriculum. The teachers thoroughly enjoy it as well and have loved seeing it develop over the years. “It has been a powerful journey — from inspiration to finally having the trail recognized by the city with a sign and caretaking. We could not have predicted how it would evolve,” Chacon-Lontin said. “It’s so fun being able to connect with the younger kids and get to know them, it really helps with social skills and leadership,” said Katy Formicola, a Community sophomore, who participates in the program. Kaleb Doughton-Priuska, another sophomore and member of the program said, “I think it’s important for the younger kids to have someone to look up to, because not all kids have good role models.”
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skyron in its second year, skyline/huron women’s ice hockey continues to break the ice between schools. maddie basanta and hannah davis
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rom last year’s 2014-2015 season to now, the Ann Arbor Skyline-Huron (Skyron) women’s hockey team has changed and grown significantly. “I think that last year a lot of people took it not as a joke, but more of just a fun thing to do,” said Catherine Nicoli, Community sophomore. “This year it’s taken as more of a real sport, a real team, and we actually have chances to win so it’s being taken a lot more seriously.”
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One of the largest differences this season is the amount of experienced players. Last year, there were many girls that were new to hockey or even skating, but this year more players with more talent joined, making it much more intense and competitive. “I feel like this team has a lot of potential in terms of chemistry,” said Emily Letke, one of the Skyline-Huron team’s alternate team captains. “A lot of us work on the ice really well together or have the potential to because we’re all trying so hard.” Spending a large amount of time at practices, conditioning and games has made the team become much closer this year. “I’ve never been so close with a team in any other sport,” Nicoli said.“I think it’s the fact that we spend so much time together. It’s like a family.” Unfortunately, all the time that is put in improving skills, working out, and bonding with the team can make time management very difficult. Conditioning and practices can range from one to two hours, and on top of the drive to the ice rink and having to arrive 45 minutes early to practice and games, it all becomes very time consuming. With school and other extracurriculars it can be hard to keep up with it all. “I feel like time management is a huge part of it and time management is some-
thing that I’m not very good at necessarily,” Letke said. “So I really have to balance it with homework and staying eligible to play and keeping my grades up.” The coaching staff has made a big impact on the team and its growth. The Skyron team’s head coach, Patrick Buckley, is the assistant coach for the University of Michigan women’s hockey team and has pushed the Skyron girls a lot the past two seasons to work to be their best. “He’s very encouraging and supportive,” said Mairead Erhardt, a sophomore on the Huron-Skyline team. “But he knows when it’s time to have fun and when it’s time to buckle down.” The team of staff is dynamic because they all have skills in different areas, but work really well together as a whole. This is helpful to the team members because they can go to different coaches depending on what they need. Some of the current team members were new to the team last year and said it was a great way to meet new people. Since the team is combined with both Huron and Skyline, it gives the team members a chance to meet new people that they might not have met otherwise. Being with this group of people almost every day creates chances for really strong friendships. Not only were some of the girls new to the team last year, some of them were also new to hockey, or were stepping onto the ice for the first time. “The first time I touched the ice, even though I was really scared, I knew I had the drive and that I wanted to be the best,” Letke said. “I’ve worked as hard as I can to be the best at what I do, and hockey is really a sport I love.” Last year’s team was relatively small, so it gave new players a chance to take on leadership roles and grow significantly. “We had a very small team, with a total of only three defenseman so I had to take on a large role and I was a starter,” Erhardt said. “It was my first time playing hockey so I kind of had to step up which I loved.” The Skyron team gives girls the chance to try something new and gives them an opportunity to discover something they love.
LEFT PAGE: The Skryon team lines up on the goal line before doing suicides as punishment for not putting in enough hard work in the previous drills. RIGHT PAGE: Upper left: Members of the team wait in line anticipating the tip-in drill. Middle: Goalie, Adira Cohen, taks to assistant coach Alex Root about her previous set of saves. Lower left: The team watches as the head coach, Patrick Buckley, gives them pointers on how to protect the puck. Upper right: Junior, Olivia Boudette, screens the goalie, Adira Cohen, to try and tip in Moka John’s shot from point.
meet the team: Adira Cohen Georgia Plagens Olivia Boudette Hannah Bartoshesky Emily Letke Hannah Bradburn Catherine Nicoli Hannah Davis Megan Taylor Mariead Erhardt Veronica Zeimet
Rose Bogard Mackenzie O’Malley Ange Godwin Aranka Baka Caryn Cristiano Moka Johns Anna Scott Courtney Smith Zoe Koster-Mockeridge Erika Riano-Mojico
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sights & sounds of
detroit
mary debona and megan syer
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DIA
The Detroit Institute of Art was founded in 1885 and originally located on Jefferson Avenue before moving to Woodward Avenue in 1927. The foundation was started by William Valentiner, a scholar and art historian from Berlin. With over 100 galleries, the DIA is among the top six collections in the United States.
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dequindre cut
The Dequindre Cut opened to the public in 2009, a one and a half mile long greenway trail between the River Walk and Eastern Market on what used to be an abandoned railroad line. The trail is lined by plants and murals. The construction of the trail extending to Hamtramck is currently underway.
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eastern market
Eastern Market opened in 1841, as the Detroit Farmer’s Market. Farmers from all over Michigan bring meat, produce, flowers, pastries and other homemade products to Eastern Market on Saturdays year round. Sunday and Tuesday markets run June through October.
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the river walk
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belle isle
The Detroit River Walk opened to the public in 2007, a five mile long paved trail along the Detroit River. It expands from the Corktown area near the Ambassador bridge to Gabriel Richard Park, northeast of the Belle Isle Bridge, allowing a safe passageway for runners and cyclists onto the island. An expansion of the trail to the River Rouge is process.
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Belle Isle Park is Michigan’s 102nd state park with three lakes and 150 acres of wooded area are rooted in Belle Isle, offering many different features for all that visit. This includes a golf practice facility, nature zoo, picnic areas, aquarium, conservatory, maritime museum and more. Recreation Passport required for entry.
6 downtown detroit There are many things to do in downtown Detroit, such as going to a sporting event at locations including Comerica Park, Joe Louis Arena or Ford Field. These are also used occasionally for concerts. You could also go to the Fillmore Detroit, Fox Theater or the Detroit Opera House for a variety of entertainment. febr uar y
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a love playlist hannah simon what to listen to
listen to when you are
how to listen
Let’s Stay Together- Al Green
going to break up
If you want to hear the playlist:
No One’s Gonna Love you- Cee Lo Green
assuring someone of your love
Carrying Your Love With me- George Strait Jump (For My Love)- The Pointer Sisters Make You Feel My Love- Bob Dylan Young Love- Chris Brown You Can’t Hurry Love- The Supremes The One I Love- David Gray
1. download a QR code scanner leaving for Tennessee w/o your lover on your smartphone loving on a trampoline 2. take a picture of the code besuper duper in love low in love in high school 3. your phone will open the looking to take things slow spotify app to the songs with “the one”
Somebody to Love- Justin Bieber
in love with a pre-teen
4. plug in your earbuds
Love Interruption- Jack White
going all in
5. have a listen
Your Song- Elton John Fooled Around and Fell in Love- Elvin Bishop
dedicating a song to bae
DJ Play a Love Song- Jamie Foxx
slow dancing with your lover
Let’s Get it On- Marvin Gaye
...this is a high school newspaper
Come What May- The Moulin Rouge Is This Love- Bob Marley
crying about love
Baby Love- The Supremes
babysitting
Lovin’ in my Baby’s Eyes- Taj Mahal
dancing at your wedding
FALLINLOVE2NITE- Prince Magic- Coldplay
Take Me As I Am- Wyclef Jean
Young Hearts Run Free- Candi Staton
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hit by love
confused about whether or not you are experiencing love
clubbing with your lover in love with a magician love someone because of their personality young and in love
ATHLETE PROFILE
maggie mihaylova devin weeks
What got you interested in soccer? Soccer has always been in my family’s culture; we’re from Bulgaria. When I was three my parents made me play soccer. When I was about 13, they asked me if I wanted to continue. By then, I already had an extreme passion for the game and nothing was going to stop me from playing. How has your family influenced you as a soccer player? Ever since I was young I’ve been playing with my dad, brother, uncle and cousins. I was the only girl. They used to take it easy on me, but as I’ve progressed our games have gotten more intense. My family, and dad especially, gave me what I like to call my bag of tricks. All of my impressive moves come from playing for fun with my family. They also taught me a lot about mentally keeping my head and being open to new things, and being an all-around player with finesse. What’s your preference between club soccer and high school soccer? I think I prefer high school. I started playing for Skyline as a freshman. At first it was really intimidating because everyone was so skilled, but it was a great experience for me. In high school there’s a lot more pressure, and more people that you’re trying to impress. It’s also much more frequent and demanding than club [soccer], so it has helped me with balancing my time as a student and an athlete. What’re you looking forward to this season? I’ve been playing only club lately so I’m excited to change the pace at Skyline. I
believe in my team and I’m looking forward to competing for a state championship. I’m definitely ready to immerse myself. When I play soccer it’s as if I step into another realm. When I come off the field, I feel I’ve regained my sight. When I’m playing I’m in the mentality where nothing matters except executing the next move, pass or goal. I want to prove myself this season because I’m thinking about continuing to play in college. What’s the most memorable moment in your career? My freshman year we were playing in the district finals. I was wiped out after the first 90 minutes but the game came down to penalty kicks. Typically only five players are chosen to take the kicks, but this game it took nine, and I was the ninth kicker for my team. I freaked out for a second when I realized the situation, but I stepped up and scored, and we became the champions because of it. It was the best feeling in the world, almost like a fantasy.
Maggie Mihaylova, junior, is a fan of every aspect soccer. She most enjoys being on a team and seeing or making beautiful plays. She said seeing a great play is like eating the perfect cupcake, and everything is delicious.
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We are proud to print
The Communicator for
Ann Arbor Community High School
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www.edwardsbrothersmalloy.com
the hateful eight kenneth simpson
In the cold, harsh mountains of Wyoming, a group of strangers are stranded in a cabin due to a snow storm. Tensions are rising over a $10,000 bounty on one of their heads, and a night of chaos and bloodshed ensues: “The Hateful Eight”, directed by Quentin Tarantino, follows a bounty hunter named “The Hangman”. While he’s transporting Daisy Domergue into the nearest town to claim her bounty, he finds himself stranded in a local cabin with seven other strangers, each with their own agenda. “The Hateful Eight” is more tame compared to Tarantino’s last two movies, “Inglourious Basterds” and “Django Unchained”. The movie has a ton of violence, but it is more concentrated violence. The best comparison I can make is the violence is similar to that of a volcano: sooner or later it’s going to explode and when it does, the aftermath will undoubtedly be messy. The film has a great cinematic feel. Every scene in this movie looks as though it belongs in an art exhibit, especially in shots where the characters are in snowy environments. The actors all give great performances; Kurt Russell plays a excellent bounty hunter throughout the film. But the biggest stand-off of the film had to be when Walton Goggins’s and Samuel L. Jackson’s characters played off each other like yin and yang. Jackson’s character is a Civil War veteran who fought for the north, while Goggins’s character fought for the south. The interactions between them are always very tense, which creates some really interesting scenes. In a bold move, Tarantino decided to film the movie in a glorious 70mm, making the viewing twice as big as the typical 35mm projections used at the movies. This allows the audience to be more immersed into the movie. However, since only a few theaters are outfitted to show the 70mm version of the film many will miss out on this opportunity. Overall, “Hateful Eight” is a recommendable movie, with some very memorable scenes throughout and some vicious shootouts. Though this movie is more relaxed than Tarantino’s last two movies, it is still something that should be experienced.
movie review
star wars: the force awakens
mary deBona
No matter what galaxy you’re from, you probably already know that “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” came out Dec. 18 and set a box office opening day record of $120.5 million. Old faces such as Princess Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) and Han Solo (Harrison Ford) are back, alongside new faces including Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega) and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac). The familiar blue font that reads, “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…” appears on the screen before the opening crawl that explains how the last Jedi, Skywalker, has disappeared after Jedi training gone bad and the First Order, which has replaced the fallen Galactic Empire, will not rest until he has been defeated. The Empire’s base, the Death Star, was destroyed in both “A New Hope” and “Return of the Jedi”, but it’s back. Again. This time it’s been renamed the Starkiller Base. After Darth Vader’s death in “Return of the Jedi”, his heir and biggest fan, Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), has become the new face of the First Order. Ren is desperate to outdo Vader and “finish what he started” by using the force that has been passed down to him for evil. But first, he must find the rumored map that will lead him to Skywalker. This leaves the audience wondering how he is related to Vader. In the opening scene, General Organa’s most daring pilot, Dameron, finds part of the map to Skywalker and stores it inside of a droid, BB-8. The First Order, Ren and stormtroopers under his control set foot on Jakku in search of the map. When Ren is unable to find the
map but discovers Dameron instead, he brings him back to the Starkiller Base. He then uses the force to manipulate Dameron into revealing the location of the map. FN-2817, a rebellious stormtrooper who no longer wants to fight for the First Order, rescues Dameron from his cell in the Starkiller Base because he is in need of a pilot. When exchanging names, Dameron gives FN-2817 a nickname, Finn. The two of them escape in a stolen ship from the First Order, a TIE Fighter, which ends up crashing nearby on Jakku. Unable to find Dameron in the remains of the ship, Finn abandons it in search of a new pilot and ship, with knowledge of BB-8 carrying the map. He meets last-nameless Rey, a young girl who lives alone and trades metal scrapings that she finds in exchange for food. Finn spots her because she is accompanied by the droid, BB-8. The three of them are forced to flee Jakku, because the First Order was able to track Finn down from the stolen TIE Fighter. Rey comes across a ship that she calls “garbage”, that should be recognizable to all Star Wars fans. She ends up having to pilot it when the only other ship in sight explodes. Rey and Finn are able to escape from the First Order’s ships just before they come in contact with the owner of the ship. Maybe “The Force Awakens” was a little (or a lot) like “A New Hope” with a new trio, but JJ Abrams could not have been more promising for the rest of the upcoming third trilogy, and it does manage to get you right in the heart a few times. febr uar y
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op-ed.
poisoned water: seeking justice for flint matthew ferraro eva rosenfeld graphic
Over these last two years, something unimaginable has happened in the city of Flint, Michigan. In April 2014, the city -- which was under state receivership -- switched its water source from Detroit to the Flint River. While implementing the switch, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality neglected to treat the water for corrosion control by implementing a pipe coating that keeps drinking water from becoming contaminated with lead from old water mains. The results have been devastating. The number of Flint children who have high traces of lead in their bloodstream have doubled since the water switch was made. People were getting rashes, getting sick and slowly being poisoned. Then the state manipulated samples in Flint’s survey of water quality (conducted over a sample of homes) to ensure the city remained under the federal threshold for nontoxic amounts of lead. After it came out independently, over a year later, that Flint’s water was contaminated with lead, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) asked the state if it was treating the water for corrosion control. The DEQ at first said that of course they were, but after further questioning the agency owned up to the fact that they were not. Let’s start a tally: first, they lied to the people of Flint that their water was safe to drink, and then they lied to the federal regulators in charge of environmental protection. The sheer ineptitude of the state government, if not criminal, is certainly of the highest rung of immorality. The DEQ possibly let thousands of children be exposed to lead, which causes irreversible developmental damage, and then continued to do so well after the truth was known. They robbed the children and citizens of Flint of healthy futures, and they robbed our state of any moral decency. Governor Snyder needs to resign. This was a catastrophic failure of his 52
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leadership, one that could have been averted easily. DEQ director Dan Wyant and DEQ spokesperson Brad Wurfel have already resigned. They must be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, in state or federal courts. Then, in the pursuit of justice, I hope the citizens of Flint sue for the maximum possible amount. The ironic outcome from this crisis is that the whole scheme was supposed to save the state money by not purchasing water for Flint from Detroit. I have a feeling that this mess is going to cost the state way more than it bargained for, both in returning water service to the Detroit authority and in future law-
suits. And do you know who is going to foot the bill? The taxpayers of the “great” state of Michigan. I hope we all remember that when we elect the next set of hypocrites and self-serving civil servants to the legislature. If this sounds cynical coming from an 18-year-old, that’s because it is. I’m so disappointed in my Michigan. That does not mean I dispel the thought of hope in our future: I am an optimist at heart. However, I believe that we, as a state, must take a moment to shake our heads, hold these negligent officials accountable, and try to learn something from the tragic failure of those tasked with protecting us and our environment.
op-ed.
how stoya broke the silence stavi tennenbaum
In 2015, pornography was a multi-billion dollar industry. The sex industry is currently booming, and as work within it becomes a more normalized occupation, societal views on it and sex workers are changing. Women like Stoya, one of the most prominent adult actresses in the U.S. today, have become archetypes of modern feminism. She embraces sex work and pornography as any other economically-driven, professional industry. Stoya is also a VICE correspondent, and the news site publishes accounts of her experiences within the world of porn acting, often dealing with her struggle for credibility and respect in a society that generally still holds scorn and contempt for porn stars. Shown in a study by Covenant Eyes, 68 percent of men and 18 percent of women, ages 18 to 24, view porn in some manner at least once a week. Although its usage has become more than common, the industry behind it remains shrouded in secrecy and disapproval. Industry insiders like Stoya, who are working to combat this societal view of sex work by coming forward with the details of their profession and problematic aspects of the industry, are now also bringing forth the issue of rape and sexual assault within pornography. Stoya has recently accused James Deen, a renowned male porn star, of raping her on set. Her accusations, made publicly via Twitter, have moved several other actresses to speak out about their own experiences of sexual assault and rape whilst working with Deen, claiming that their allegations were silenced at the time of their occurrence by scene directors and Deen himself. There has been
widespread disbelief of Stoya’s assault, and of other women’s assaults, due to their occupation. This has prompted a heated debate over whether or not it’s possible for a sex worker to be raped. A woman’s right to consent is not taken away when she becomes a porn star. Any sexual act that occurs in the absence of consent is rape. The duality of consent within sex work seems to have been a difficult pill for the Internet to swallow, and is precisely why pornography needs acceptance and acknowledgment, not disregard and disdain, in the public eye. As society silences the inner workings of sex work, it also silences
the stories of women like Stoya, denying them access to the legal retribution they deserve and the public support and respect they are entitled to. This silencing perpetuates rape culture and reinforces gender inequality. The immediate victim blaming reaction to Stoya’s allegations epitomize rape culture in our society today. Instead of asking “What can we do to support you?”, Twitter users have asked “Why should we believe you?” and “What proof do you have?” Users such as @ TL responded to Stoya with “How do you disrespect someone who doesn’t even respect themselves?” and @Steven_Bonnell with “Jesus, why not file a police report instead of tweeting this?” James Deen himself, responding also through Twitter, has called the five different sets of accusations made against him by five different women “false and defamatory.” These actresses have issued statements providing details of their incidents involving Deen and explanations of how male power within the industry has prevented them from coming forward or speaking to law enforcement for years; however, the public continues to place male status and reputation before their safety. Today, society blames sex work victims for their consent being violated, and doubts their testimonies as survivors. Within the industry itself, James Deen has suffered some backlash: his content has been removed from Kink.com, a large San Francisco-based porn site that largely featured his work. Other sites and companies have now begun to broadcast their support for Stoya and their belief in the sacrosanctity of consent within pornography.
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op-ed.
silver linings: how ISIS is saving us from war with russia
Pro-Ukrainian forces march through Donbass, a major city in eastern Ukraine, in March 2015. myles markey photo courtesy of wikipedia commons
In November 2014, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced that the Russian military would soon commence bomber patrols globally, including the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. According to US News, Shoigu said, “In the current situation we have to maintain military presence in the Western Atlantic and Eastern Pacific as well as the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico.” The news struck many Americans 54
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and their media outlets hard, as the new plans furthered recent tensions between the U.S and Russia. Since Russia’s invasion and ongoing occupation of Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula, American officials have been butting heads with those of Russia. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) instituted heavy economic sanctions on Russia, which increased the conflict to a dangerous level. By last summer, America had troops and heavy arms
positioned in the Baltic States, and Russia had moved its military to its western borders, creating a standing front line which appeared as a sign to total trans-alliance war. While tensions in eastern Europe heightened that spring, a second global threat grew in the Middle East. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terror group (ISIS) gained control of Syrian city Raqqa. After this initial claim, ISIS proceeded to spread throughout
op-ed. Syria, gaining territory and recruits. By August, ISIS had gained enough land and power to be considered a global threat by American government; President Barack Obama, along with other members of NATO, authorized airstrikes on ISIS-controlled areas These air raids first began outside of the Kurdish city of Erbil, where the ISIS movement had sparked a mass exodus. Both conflicts presented a great threat to global peace, especially in America, where the government has had long-lasting tensions with both Russian leadership and terrorist groups (rightfully so). If the spherical influence of either power increased, it seemed like one, if not both, would soon reach its boiling point. Then, in October 2015, Russian Airlines flight 9268 crashed outside of the Sinai region of Egypt. After an investigation, Russian authorities declared the crash was the product of a terrorist bomber, whose allegiance most likely laid with ISIS. Suddenly, both America and Russia had their militaristic sights off of each other and reset on the same target for the first time since Adolf Hitler’s Nazi army in WWII. The formation of ISIS, arguably the strongest terror group in history, has suppressed the Russian-NATO conflict and could possibly unite Russia with its western neighbors, exemplifying truth in the perennial Arabian saying, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” The steps to unity have recently taken a positive turn, though at a great cost. After ISIS’s attacks in Paris last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced he desires an alliance with France in the war with ISIS. This alliance, though not yet made official, would be the first between a NATO country and Russia. This alliance could be a crucial buffer to future further tensions with Russia, as Putin clearly sees the NATO countries and their agendas as a threat. Over the past 15 years, 12 European countries have joined the organization, many
of which were formerly allies with Russia in the Soviet-era Warsaw Pact. With NATO territory now stretching as far as Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia, Russian controlled land on the European side is nearing geographical isolation. Both NATO and Russia have been striving for the allegiance of those still independent European countries, such as Belarus and Ukraine. These countries are well aware of their situation, and in Ukraine a civil war has recently erupted between pro-Russian separatists and
The ISIS flag states, “There is no god but Allah [God]. Mohammad is the messenger of God”. Known as the shahada, this sentiment of faith is widely used across Islam.
those who are pro-NATO. While the Russian military has been backing the separatist Ukrainian side from the east, the U.S. made the concerning political move to put 300 troops on the ground in the west. These Army paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade, based in Vicenza, Italy, were sent to train the Western Ukrainian Army in April of 2015, putting American and NATO troops only miles away from pro-Russian militants. “It’s hard not to get emotionally involved,” Captain Nick Salimbene, 31, told NewsWeek. “The reality is that in a few months we’re going to be back in Italy, and these guys are going to be in the ATO [anti-terrorist operation, the Ukrainian name for the conflict area] staring down separatist tanks.” Those separatist tanks are likely being provided by the Russian government. These
steps to war, however, all took place before the bombing of Russian Airlines flight 9268 and the Paris attacks of November. Now, less than a year after the Ukrainian standoff began, Russia is reaching out to one of America’s closest allies for allegiance. ISIS’s attacks succeeded in terrifying the world, but by doing so, they may have just united two of the powers they intended to corrupt. But the governmental shift of aggression isn’t the only silver lining of the Islamic State’s horrific displays of terror. A shift of media attention has also occurred, pulling nations to the Middle East instead of Eastern Europe. As recently as April of this year, U.S. News posted an article sub-headed, “A year of chaos in Ukraine has given Vladimir Putin plenty of practice in undermining the West.” Meanwhile, Russian news source RT.com, which covered the same event, titled its article, “Kissinger: ‘Breaking Russia has become objective for U.S.” RT.com is one of five Russian media outlets, all of which are controlled by the Russian government. While U.S. News had a much more malicious article in its biased nature, it’s a private entity media outlet, unlike the government based RT.com. The subjective attacks by each country’s media reflected the tensions of either country’s executive leaders on the ground of Ukraine. Last week, U.S. News reported a story of Russia’s successful airstrikes in Syria, titled, “Russia Launches New Airstrikes in Syria.” RT.com also covered an American airstrike that week, titled, “Pentagon confirms airstrikes killed top ISIS & Al-Qaeda leaders in Libya, Somalia.” Both media outlets, which service opposing views in their nature, credited each other on successes in the war against terror – a war these two enemies are helping one another to win. With the public’s eye off of Ukraine and the proposed French alliance looking to calm the storm between Russia and NATO, ISIS’s hope of world anarchy has most certainly backfired. febr uar y
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op-ed.
editorial cartoon olivia comai
in the spotlight: caitlyn jenner
m howard
Since Caitlyn Jenner came out to the world as a transgender woman in April 2015, she has undeniably been one of the most widely heard trans people in history. While she had the potential to change how the world views trans people and to finally bring us into the visibility of the general public, the opposite has happened. Trans people are still shamed, gawked at, ignored and belittled by the media, despite Jenner’s very public transition and many statements to the media. Why is this happening? First of all, Jenner is unwilling to accept that she is in the position of being a leader and a voice for the trans community. She has stated multiple times that she is not a spokesperson for the community, yet she remains the most famous trans person in the media’s spotlight; essentially, she is the only trans individual that many people know anything about. This creates the incorrect default thought that all transgender women are like Jenner - appearing to be very feminine 56
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women. This brings our attention to another issue. Jenner has stated in multiple interviews with big-time magazines like “Time”, that she feels that how well a trans person passes (whether they are perceived as the gender they identify as) is very important because it will make it easier for the people around them. “If you look like a man in a dress, it makes people uncomfortable,” Jenner said in her interview with “Time.” That particular comment has created a lot of tension within the trans community. The problem is that Jenner has access to resources that the vast majority of transgender individuals do not: hundreds of thousands of dollars for the clothes, makeup and surgeries that allow her to present herself the way she wants. For most trans people, the reality is that all those things simply cost too much, and they can’t express themselves in a way that will “make people more comfortable.” Additionally, many trans people face
much more pressing issues. Trans people are four times as likely as the average person to live in extreme poverty. The murder of trans people is at a historic high; it’s estimated that one in 12 trans people are killed in hate crimes. 80 percent of trans people are harassed at school. 46 percent of trans men and 42 percent of trans women attempt suicide, while only 4.6 percent of the general population reports a suicide attempt. There is more to worry about than looking pretty. It can certainly be argued that the attention on Jenner is good because she shines a much-needed light on the existence of trans people, who are otherwise almost completely ignored by the media. However, she makes no effort to use her fame to benefit of the community she claims to care so much about. Instead, she uses her resources to keep herself in the spotlight, while the rest of the trans community continues to suffer in silence.
op-ed.
why it sucks to have your voice change danny freiband olivia comai illustration
When I was thirteen years old, I was, for the most part, a soprano; sure, I mostly sang alto in choir, but my voice went just as high as most of the soprano singers, and I was known to jump up to the soprano part from time to time. A year later, my voice had dropped an octave, and I struggled to sing tenor. Despite all of its benefits, the male voice change has a great many drawbacks. the sass Like it or not, a lot of people associate teenagers with sassiness. This likely has its roots in the rebellious or defiant nature of some (certainly not all) teenagers. As a defining characteristic of teenage boys, a newly changed voice often gets associated with sassiness as well. The result is that when your voice changes, it can be nearly impossible to talk to certain people without being taken as offensive. Personally, I always subconsciously associated teenage boys’ voices with sassiness, which made it especially difficult for me to feel confident about my new way of talking. the challenge Especially in a school setting, there are occasionally adults who are accustomed to feeling “above” or in charge of children. When a boy’s voice changes, some adults feel challenged by the maturity and autonomy that a changed voice is thought to represent. I’ve found that since my voice changed, adults have been generally more strict with me, which probably has something to do with the teachers wanting to maintain their sense of power and authority.
the voice crack the singing Many people assume that every boy loves the grown-up, “manly” sounding voice he develops when his voice changes, but this is not always the case. Like a lot of boys, I sang a lot before my voice change. Boys who become used to singing with an unchanged voice must learn to refine, control and take care of a new voice when their voice changes. All too often, people underestimate just how different it is to sing with a changed versus an unchanged voice. It is not a matter of singing the exact same thing but having it sound lower. Speaking from experience, switching from an unchanged voice to a changed voice is much like switching from a guitar to a bass: The chords are just thicker and longer, but it requires new training and technique to play. In effect, switching from an unchanged voice to a changed voice is like learning to play an entirely different instrument.
While unimportant in the grand scheme of things, voice cracks are worth a mention. For some people, having a voice crack in public can be awkward or embarrassing, although it never really bothered me. the identity Perhaps the greatest negative effect of a boy’s voice change is a loss of a part of his identity. Our voices are very significant to who we are, and they are a bigger part of us than many of us realize. By the time my voice changed, I had spent over a decade with my unchanged voice. It is how I had always communicated with the world. It was a major part of how the world saw me. It was one of the things I associated with my personality. People knew who I was when they heard me speak. When my voice changed, all of this changed as well. Did others grow accustomed to my new voice? Of course they did. Did I learn to take my new voice as a part of my identity? Of course I did. Yet the changing of my voice came at a great cost; it’s no wonder it can suck so much to have your voice change. febr uar y
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op-ed.
21st century musical revolution: why “hamilton” is important for the theater and for the country hannah rubenstein photos courtesy of joan marcus
In August 2015, “Hamilton”, a musical about founding father Alexander Hamilton, opened on Broadway to resounding success, breaking records and selling out for months at a time. “Hamilton” has been an instant hit, but the sheer genius of “Hamilton” is more than the fact that it sells tickets; it’s what this show’s success means for this era of musical theater, and, to a larger extent, for America’s political climate. The key difference between this show and all of the other Broadway shows currently playing? The songs are almost entirely rap and hip-hop, and the creator and most of the main cast are people of color. Alexander Hamilton was an immigrant. He was born on the small Caribbean island of Nevis. His parents never married, and when Hamilton was very young, his father abandoned him and his mother, who died shortly after. A few years later, when Hamilton’s town was destroyed by a hurricane, he wrote a poem about the experience. His incredible writing impressed other members of the community, who rallied to raise money in order to send Hamilton to America. He was only 17 years old. Once in America, he became George Washington’s aide-de-camp during the Revolutionary War. After the war end58
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“I wrote my way out of hell, I wrote my way to revolution I was louder than the crack in the bell I wrote Eliza love letters until she fell I wrote about The Constitution and defended it well. And in the face of ignorance and resistance I wrote financial systems into existence, And when my prayers to God were met with indifference I picked up a pen, I wrote my own deliverance.” - Lin-Manuel Miranda playing Alexander Hamilton ed, he became a lawyer, a proponent of the abolition movement, the founder of the Coast Guard, the first general of the U.S. national army, one of the three authors of the Federalist Papers, and the first Secretary of the Treasury. In 1804, when he was only 49, he was shot in a duel with Vice President Aaron Burr. About 200 years later, in 2009, Lin-Manuel Miranda, the writer, composer and star of “Hamilton”, took a hard-earned break from performing in the Tony award winning “In the Heights”, his first Broadway musical. Set in Washington Heights, a poor neighborhood in New York City very near to where Miranda grew up, “In the Heights” followed a group of Hispanic and African American people and their lives. Miranda went on a vacation and
happened to pick up a biography of Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. In an interview with Charlie Rose for 60 Minutes, Miranda shared how lucky he felt to have randomly selected Chernow’s book. “I was just browsing the biography section,” he said. “It could have been Truman.” As Miranda read the biography, he was immediately struck by how familiar Hamilton’s story was to those of popular rappers. In that same interview with Charlie Rose, he said, “I drew a direct line between Hamilton’s writing his way out of his circumstances and the rappers I’d grown up adoring.” They “started from the bottom”and eventually attained monumental achievements. Miranda started searching online to see if anybody had written a musi-
cal about the man yet. When he found nothing, he immediately started writing. In 2009, Miranda performed the first draft of what would grow to become the opening song in “Hamilton” at the White House for President Obama, the First Family and a number of other high-ranking government officials. One of the most important aspects of Hamilton’s story is the fact that he is an immigrant. Throughout the musical, he is shown to be almost unfathomably hardworking and committed to making the most out of the opportunities he is presented with in America. This directly contradicts rhetoric we hear from politicians and in the media far too often, which asserts that immigrants are lazy people here to steal work from
what the founding of America looked like, and it has always been dominated by older white men. But “Hamilton” in no way adheres to that image. Miranda, who plays Alexander Hamilton, is of Puerto Rican descent. Aaron Burr, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington are played by young black men, despite the fact that the latter two historical figures were slave owners themselves. Phillipa Soo, who plays Eliza Schuyler Hamilton, is of Chinese descent. In fact, all but one of the main cast members are people of color, the one caucasian playing King George III. Leslie Odom Jr., who plays Aaron Burr, said in an interview for 60 Minutes, “[Miranda] has made these dead white guys make sense to a bunch of
made an incredible effort to make the show accessible to all, especially to people that might not otherwise be able to afford a Broadway production. The Rockefeller Foundation has arranged to buy $70 tickets for 20,000 high school students in New York to see “Hamilton”, the students only paying $10. This will open this unique view of American history to thousands of children, many of whom are racial minorities, who will now be able to see somebody who looks like them in a part of history they hadn’t been featured in before. The cast album has also been made available to listen to for free online. The rap-rich songs pretty much tell the entire story by themselves, so anybody can hear the vast majority of the show and
Far Upper Left From left to right: Marquis de Lafayette, Hercules Mulligan, John Laurens and Alexander Hamilton during Act 1 Upper Left From left to right: Eliza, Angelica and Peggy Schyuler during the song “The Schyuler Sisters” Upper Right Character Thomas Jefferson and the ensemble in the Act 2 opening song, “What’d I Miss?”
hard-working Americans. Not only is America a country of immigrants, but Hamilton, possibly the man who shaped our current government more than anybody else through his support of Federalism and creation of the National Bank, was born in the Caribbean. This point is cleverly accented by lines throughout the show, such as “Immigrants: We get the job done”, delivered by Hamilton and Marquis de Lafayette, a French leader of the American Revolution and a close friend of Hamilton’s in the show and in real life. In addition to highlighting immigration, the musical “Hamilton” puts African Americans and other racial minorities in starring roles as founding fathers. There has always been a picture of
black and brown people. He’s made them make sense in the context of our time with our music.” That is key to why “Hamilton” is so important; it takes the image of old white men founding our country and turns it on its head. Much of the American Revolution was built on the backs of slave labor, but history books give white men the credit for being our “founding fathers”. “Hamilton” not only draws attention to the fact that minorities are ignored in history, but also gives those minorities an ability to view themselves shaping that era of American history, something they very rarely get the opportunity to do. It is one thing for the actors to be people of color, but Miranda has also
fully follow its story. Miranda, who grew up listening to cast albums without the means to see many actual productions, made sure to put as much effort as possible into the soundtrack so that anybody could listen and enjoy the story that he created. “Hamilton” is a groundbreaking show. Its music has the potential to usher in a new wave of musical theater technique through its fast-paced raps and hip-hopstyled rhythms. Its social commentary is certainly relevant now, and will likely continue to be relevant for years to come. Finally, its representation and accessibility could change a large portion of an entire generation’s perspective towards America and American musical theater. febr uar y
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songs of the day erez dessel
Breakfast (intro) mic kellogg
Knock Knock
Sunday Morning
madlib, med & blu ft. mf doom
noname gypsy
Sunday mornings are different for everyone, but for Fatimah Warner, better known as Noname Gypsy, there is a happiness and peacefulness in them. In our song of the day, Sunday Morning by Noname Gypsy ft. K.O., the hook sets the setting of a serene Sunday-morning mood. The hook raises a peaceful scene into the mind of the listener and makes the listener want to move with the vibe of the song. Waking up on a Sunday morning to this song will put you in a very good mood for the rest of the day. Her lyrics broadly work around many issues, which she looks into more in other songs in her newest and first released mixtape, Telefone. Warner is a female hip-hop artist out of Chicago. In her younger years she loved poetry, which led her to compete in open mic and slam poetry competitions. She also spent a lot of time in the Youmedia project, a space of creativity for young artists, which led her to meet many people that also grew up to become great artists. She is very good friends, and has worked with, many other rappers out of Chicago, such as Chance the Rapper and Mick Jenkins. Her feature on “Lost” on Chance the Rapper’s “Acid Rap” album was the takeoff of her rap career. We recommend you look more into Noname Gypsy, who has become an incredible rapper in a mostly male art.
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Eggs. Bacon. Sausage. Pancakes. Waffles. Bacon. Hashbrowns. Bacon. Orange juice. Bacon. A good breakfast is the first step towards a good day, and a good song to listen to while making/eating breakfast is the first step towards a good breakfast. Now we here at SOTD are strong proponents of good days, and therefore of good breakfasts, and therefore of good breakfast songs. Seeing as Mic Kellogg has presented us with a song that is both good, and titled “Breakfast (intro)”, this seems like the one. This song is sheer and utter happiness captured in waves of sound. It’s the type of song that makes you kick back, “pour up some OJ on ice” and enjoy life. The lyrics shine a light the simple things in life that we should appreciate. A vinyl record spinning, the smell of roses in the morning and of course, a good breakfast. Musically, there is more to this song than meets the ear. My favorite part of the song is the creative use of harmonies within the background vocals. Katie LaFond, who, like Kellogg is a Milwaukee native, works her voice in beautifully with the rest of the track. She accents Kellogg without overpowering him. In fact, if you didn’t listen for her, you might not even realize she was there. These subtleties are what set apart the SOTDs from their counterpart tunes.
Even though every Song of the Day is equally special, today’s song has a little extra kick to it. “Knock Knock” by MED, Blu & Madlib (feat. MF DOOM) is a rare beauty. It comes from the new record dropped by the formidable team of MED, Blu & Madlib, called “Bad Neighbor,” which is a project that dropped with little fanfare. That being said, these three artists have a strong fanbase, and for me personally, all I need to see are some Madlib production credits and I’m there. “Knock Knock” catches Lord Quas in his element, as the three emcees flow over a deep, phasered-out disco sample. If you listen to the original Bernie Worrell song, Quas didn’t really need to flip the sample that much to make you knock your head to it, but, especially in the opening minute, you can hear the spots where the magic flew from the fingertips of Madlib. But wait, that’s the just the beat we’re talking about. DOOM was a perfect choice for a feature, as few people have the lyrical oddness to mesh with a Madlib track. His verse is short and sweet, and there’s really nothing more I can say about it that hasn’t already been said about sliced bread, Stan Smith’s or the wheel. You already knew Blu and MED were bringing their A-game, and I especially dug Blu’s sound over Madlib’s instrumentals. This whole album is an 8/10 experience, and, while it was good, it only succeeded in whetting my appetite for some more Madlib music.
then
sophia rosewarne and omolara osofisan judith dewoskin photos
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now
Judith DeWoskin
“This is from one of those booths that used to cost a quarter and now they cost $5.00.”
“I’m conducting the orchestra. That probably took place in Wisconsin. It was probably my day in a conducting class to conduct.”
“I know sadness comes to every family and you have to deal with it. I know joy is part of my life everyday, my personal life at home, my school life, everyday... The good thing about getting old is you get smarter because you have so many experiences and you help so many of your students and your friends and your colleagues through experiences that you just learn, you learn about life.”
“I really did want to have good grades and I did I had good grades but I didn’t have all A’s. I had good grades and I worked really hard and I read books instead of studying because that was more fun.” “My husband and I, you know the picture American Gothic, there’s a picture of a guy holding a pitchfork, we were imitating that. It was kind of a long sort of hippied-out dress and a leather necklace, which was the style then and my husband had written in Chinese something on his bow tie but I have no idea what.”
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art throb olivia comai
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