The Communicator, v. 47, Ed. 1, 2020-2021

THE COMMUNICATOR MAGAZINE VOL. 47 EDITION 1, NOVEMBER 2020

The Health Edition

About the 2 | The Communicator Magazine

COVER BY MIA GOLDSTEIN AND TAI TWOREK

The cover of this edition is an array of three of the same disposable masks. Written on the masks in red sharpie are statistics provided by local, state and national p ublic health departments, as of Nov. 12.

The brick-like formation of the masks symbolizes how subsuming the Covid-19 pandemic has been since March: our world is sequestered to the confines that the virus has built. Our lives have been drastically altered and we are now living a “new normal.” The lives we have led since the beginning of the pandemic almost feel completely separate to what we were previously used to. The array of the masks not only represents the construction of new norms, but how we discuss the pandemic in general — usually in an overwhelming recitation of numbers and statistics.

Cover

November 2020 | 3

THE COMMUNICATOR MAGAZINE: HEALTH EDITION

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Volume 47, Edition 1 | November 2020

06 Community Ensemble Theater Online

BY NATALIE MYCEK-CARD

The Community Ensemble Theater’s first meeting of the year was held over Zoom, and cast and crew alike are excited to see what remote acting has in store.

10 To Connect and Support

BY LUCY TOBIER

24 Without Development, Economic Growth Can “Tear a City Apart”

BY NOAH BERNSTEIN

The 2008 recession caused economic and housing instability in Ann Arbor. But when the economy began to boom after the recession and the city started to grow rapidly, discrepancies between Ann Arbor and the other cities in Washtenaw County have become evident.

20 Harassed

BY MAGGIE WOLF

Three CHS students reflect on their experiences with street harassment, bringing light to a prevalent issue.

4 | The Communicator Magazine

CHS has welcomed five new teachers to the staff since the school year has started — and each are more than ready to assist their students through the challenges of online learning.

18 Voicing your Vote

BY MIRA SCHWARZ

Your vote is your voice — and teens involved in the electoral process describe how imperative this sentiment is.

30 The Mask Edit

BY CATE WEISER

The pandemic has brought about new norms, such as mask wearing and the prevalence of personal protective equipment. A few local teens have decided to create their own mask-making businesses.

44 Addiction During the Pandemic

BY MORI ONO

The U.S.’s opioid epidemic has increased in the pandemic, causing disastrous impacts for those struggling with addiction.

48 Healthcare Workers in the Era of COVID-19

BY ANJALI KAKARLA

Although the pandemic put a halt to many daily activities, essential and frontline workers have not had a day off.

Two healthcare workers reflect on their experience with Covid-19.

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Catching up with Kerrytown

Beat.

BY MIA GOLDSTEIN

Kerrytown — the business conglomeration near CHS — is home to unique stores. However, some of these small business owners and employees attest to the difficulties of social distancing measures and the pandemic.

BY SCARLETT LONDON

With statewide lock downs as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, local theaters are trying to stay afloat.

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We Can Not Continue Like This

Black Death

BY SOPHIE FETTER AND RYAN CHUNG

In a poll conducted through The Communicator’s social media platforms, many CHS students indicated the difficulties of the current remote learning environment.

BY ELIOT KLUS

One Communicator journalist reflects on mortality and grief in relation to racism.

CONSTANTS Artist Profiles – 80

Playlist – 94

Picture This – 84

Media Reviews – 98

Fashion – 88 Proust Questionnaire – 92

Crave – 100 Our Turn – 101

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THE COMMUNICATOR ONLINE AND SOCIAL MEDIA

BREAKING NEWS CONSTANTS FEATURES OPINIONS PODCASTS

WWW.CHSCOMMUNICATOR.COM INSTAGRAM: @COMMUNICATORCHS TWITTER: @CHSCOMMUNICATOR

Photography by Ella Rosewarne

6 | The Communicator Magazine

Letter from the Editors Dear Readers, We are presenting this edition to you from the confines of our homes.

Instead of celebrating our productions with cinnamon sticks and Hello Faz pizza while watching the sun set in Room 300, we are instead meeting virtually, replicating our workspace over Zoom.

First, we want to acknowledge how difficult and different this school year is. It is hard to become accustomed to the nuances of Zoom and our online education platform as we are all isolated in our homes. This is exactly why our role as youth journalists is as important than ever.

Everyday, it feels as though the world changes drastically. And since the release of our last edition in the spring, so much has happened: an upsurgence in the Black Lives Matter movement, a presidential election drawing nearer, local elections on the horizon and, of course, the start of remote school. This year, it is imperative that we as Communicator journalists provide our readers with a platform to articulate the intricacies of what is happening; most importantly, with a sense of connection.

Since Sept. 8, we have welcomed in a new freshman class and a handful of new staff members. Usually, the newest Rainbow Zebras get a proper introduction to CHS during the Opening Day Assembly in St. Andrew’s Church. We hope that through our editions, our newest peers and teachers — as well as our entire readership ­— will get a sense of what is on the minds of CHS journalists: the goal of our editions this year is to provide a space to cover the stories that matter.

With that being said, the theme of this edition is health. It would be almost impossible to not cover the Covid-19 pandemic in some capacity this year. It has consumed our lives and changed our routines.

But we wanted to encourage our staff to think about health beyond the pandemic — to provide a space to talk about other issues such as reproductive or mental health.

We hope this edition will provide some sort of comfort. We are all navigating the uncertain future of the pandemic together, and we hope that through reading the important stories our journalists worked so tirelessly to write, you will get a sense as to how health relates to us.

MAGAZINE EDITORS-IN-CHIEF ZOE BUHALIS TAI TWOREK MORI ONO MIA GOLDSTEIN WEB EDITORS-IN-CHIEF CHARLES SOLOMON GENEVE THOMAS-PALMER DAN GUTENBERG JENNA JARJOURA SOCIAL MEDIA EDITORS-IN-CHIEF LILY SICKMAN-GARNER CATE WEISER NOAH BERNSTEIN DESIGN EDITOR CY VEILLEUX NEWS EDITOR LUCY TOBIER A&E EDITOR AVA KOSINSKI FEATURE EDITOR ELIOT KLUS OPINION EDITOR EVAN ASH PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR ELLA ROSEWARNE BUSINESS EDITOR HANNAH BERNSTEIN ADVISER TRACY ANDERSON

STAFF MARGARET ALPERN GABBI ANDERSON ABBI BACHMAN SAM BERKOOZ DELIA BINETTI AMY BOEVING ELLIOT BRAMSON SAM CAO MILO CHALIN RYAN CHUNG CAROLANN COLBECK HENRY CONNOR LEAH DEWEY SIENNAH DUCHATEAU SOPHIE FETTER ETHAN GIBB-RANDALL ZARA GREENE SELA GUR-ARIE SOREN GURNEY KURT HAUSMAN CARMEN JOHNSON SHANNON KAHAN ANJALI KARKARLA AILISH KILLBRIDE ELIJAH KLEIN JONAH KLEIN CHRISTINA KUIPER NICOLAS LANGDON SCARLETT LONDON RIA LOWENSCHUSS ARISTA LUONG MORGAN MCCLEASE ALEX MERCIER NATALIE MYCEK-CARD SOPHIE NUNEZ SEBASTIAN OLIVIA RACHAEL PASHTURRO TANE PATEL TANASIA PAYNE LEWIS PERRY ZACK SCHUELER MIRA SCHWARZ ELIZABETH SHAIEB ERIN SIMMONS LEVI STRASZEWSKI GRACE WANG MAGGIE WOLF HARRISON WORDEN SEBASTIAN WYNGAARD ZAKIYA FORTNER HENRY COLLINSTHOMPSON KIYELLE HOPES KEVIN DUTTON

Your Editors,

Zoe Buhalis

Mia Goldstein

Mori Ono

Taisiya Tworek

Mission Statement: The Communicator is a publication and open forum created by the students of Community High School.

The staff of The Communicator seeks to recognize the individuals, events and ideas relevant to readers to inform and inspire them to improve their community. The Communicator is committed to fair reporting, providing a platform for student voices and equitable coverage of all groups.

November 2020 | 7

Community Ensemble Theatre Online

The show must go on: Community Ensemble Theater actors continue their performances over Zoom.

BY NATALIE MYCEK-CARD

Last spring, as Covid-19 swept across the country, the members of Community Ensemble Theater (CET) never thought that it would shut down their production of William Shakespeare’s, “The Tempest.”

And yet, on March 11, an email was sent to the students and parents of CHS stating that all after-school activities were canceled, including CET’s rehearsals and show. The opening night of “The Tempest” had been just two days away. Now, they are back.

CET members are hard at work to once again put on “The Tempest.” This time, it will be virtual. Upon joining the first Zoom meeting for tech, everyone was participating. Tech defines the CET members working behind the scenes: the ones in charge of lighting, sound, props and more. The call was bustling with activity. Everyone had their cameras on and were making suggestions, taking notes and following along as Quinn Strassel, the director of CET, led the group through a scene from the show.

“For the fall, we’re not going to have any student to student interaction at all. So the entire show is going to be put together through Zoom, which is crazy,” Strassel said.

Sage Iwashyna, the technical director of the show, emphasized the importance of safety as being the number one priority.

“We’re completely Covid safe for this show, and we’re really committed to not putting anyone in harm’s way,” Iwashyna said

Although CET has made clear that safety is the number one priority, it also poses significant challenges towards the members of CET, cast and crew alike.

Gillian Perry addressed the biggest challenge that she is facing as the Head of Makeup. “For makeup specifically, it’ll be getting the materials to people’s houses and trying to teach them how to do their specific plot,” Perry said.

Since the show is completely virtual, materials such as props, costumes and accessories will be delivered without contact. This means that Perry will be teaching the cast members how to do their makeup.

While the contact-less transportation of props and costumes is one challenge, the mental stamina of the members is another.

“I think, for me, it’s just going to be being on the Zoom meeting forever,” Perry said.

Some cast members believe that the passion of acting might change on-camera. Noah Greenberg, a freshman in college and part of the upcoming performance, agrees.

“When you’re in-person, you just have a connection with the people that you don’t really have looking at a screen,” Greenberg said. “Also, when you’re on a set or in a theater, you really get into it, but I’m just in my basement, so I think it’ll definitely be different.”

Despite the challenges, being on Zoom opens new doors for both cast and crew. “Sometimes limitations can create really cool creative possibilities,” Strassel said. “I’m sort of excited to see how the limitations of Zoom can actually help us be more creative.”

Judith DeWoskin, the recently retired English teacher and matriarch of CHS, voiced her gratitude toward CET for helping her transition into retirement.

“I think it’s wonderful, and I think there’s continuity for me, because we worked on this play last year,” DeWoskin said. “I love this play. I love working with the students. They taught me everything, and I’m really happy to do it. In fact, I spoke to my husband saying, ‘What a good day to retire because I have the play.’”

Overall, there was a lot of enthusiasm from both the crew members and the cast. Many of them are eager to see how this new way of theatre will work.

“I’m interested in all of the adjustments we will have to make and all of the new things we’ll have to figure out how to do,” Perry said.

Photo Courtesy of the Community Ensemble Theater CET crew and staff return, this time online. Making a return from last year’s uncertainty, the members of CET are hard at work to put on a show online. “I’m interested in all of the adjustments we will have to make and all of the new things we’ll have to figure out how to do,” Iwashyna said.

8 | The Communicator Magazine

News | November 2020 | 9

In the time of Covid-19, Discord Servers, and Minecraft worlds are replacing Kerrytown and Community’s halls as the new hangout spots.

The Community Minecraft Server

BY SEBASTIAN WYNGAARD AND SANTIAGO FIORI

“School has a lot of rules, and you have to do stuff in school.

Whereas, in the discord server, you can just chill out or play games, hang out with people and there isn’t as much [pressure]”said Daanish Lateef, a member of the CHS Minecraft Server. Finding a way to hang out virtually like this is more important than ever this year. As school started online, I imagine many were disappointed, and at least for me, my disappointment has only grown with each day that I spend 6 hours on zoom. School just doesn’t feel complete, we have all the work with almost none of the social interaction. There is no meeting new people or hanging out with friends during the day.”

With this fundamental part of school gone, other ways to hang out with friends and meet new people have had to come about.

In this new virtual world, Minecraft is one of the ways people have filled that social void. One of the best parts of Minecraft in particular is just how creative and collaborative it lets you be.

“There are many holy sites [on the server] to which you can make pilgrimage, including the giant door made of doors and this special tree,” said John Umbriac, an admin of the serve. “There’s also the absolutely massive potato farm and other fun farms that people have built -- everybody kind of works together on that.”

While there are some collaborative works, a lot of people use the server like Lateef has. “I was doing more so my own thing, but I enjoy just being in the voice call with people,” Lateef said.

“Beyond just being a utility for reporting grievings or bugs or issues with the server directly or just general communication throughout the server, [the Discord and Minecraft servers] also, over about a month of existing, created a pretty cool community,” said Aaron Andrews, the Minecraft and Discord server owner. While a lot has happened on the Minecraft server, and it is still up and running, perhaps the most interesting thing to come out of all this is the community.

“At this point, it’s more about the group of people on there,” Umbriac said. “I think a good portion of them aren’t even from Community, but we still get in a voice call and play among us or jackbox or just have fun talking.”

While the Discord server easily could have just faded away as Minecraft lost focus, it didn’t because people put forth the effort to actually hang out and get to know each other better, and that seems worth it. While it can be hard to get through the initial awkwardness that is accentuated by meeting people entirely online, there are also a lot of benefits to it as Umbriac has seen.

“I’m always surprised by the variety of people I can meet,” Umbriac said. “It’s not all juniors and seniors. There’s all the grades from multiple different schools with lots of different interests,” Umbriac said. There is no sense of distance on Discord or in Minecraft. You can talk to or play with anyone in Ann Arbor or across the world.

While normally it is pretty hard to meet people at other schools, on the Commiecraft Discord server, it comes just as naturally as meeting anyone else.

While the link in the forum bulletin no longer works, as Andrews sees the server entering a different phase of its existence, a lot of people would still love to see new faces, and it shouldn’t be too hard to get a link if you just ask around.

Photo Courtesy of Owen Patott A photo taken from within Minecraft and posted on the Discord server. The photo is of a Nether portal, which can takes you a player to another dimension in the game.

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News | November 2020 | 11

To Connect and Support Community’s five newest teachers share their hopes and dreams for the upcoming school year.

BY LUCY TOBIER

Jessika Whiteside Growing up, Jessika Whiteside had one back-up plan for all awkward scenarios and dull moments — a book. Now, as an English teacher at CHS, she hopes to spread her love for English and build connections.

Whiteside’s love for reading and writing grew from helping her parents. Neither of her parents speak English as their first language, and she often helped them make phone calls and improve their writing in English.

“Sometimes, I wonder if maybe that was the first place that I could sort of be independent,” Whiteside said. “I think it was a spot for me to be different than everybody else.”

An only child living in an isolated neighborhood, Whiteside was never not reading. She read, and still reads, “a little bit of everything” and enjoys getting recommendations to discover books she normally might not have read.

For students, she recommends works by Margaret Atwood, Jason Reynolds, Louise Edrich and Nic Stone.

“I really, really love reading a book and handing it to a student and realizing that there’s something in there that I think will speak to them,” Whiteside said.

Whiteside taught both middle and high school at Romulus Community Schools for 15 years. While she loves the openness of middle schoolers, one of her favorite parts of teaching is seeing high schoolers transition and grow.

“I think the relationship part is the most important part to me,” Whiteside said. “I love getting to know people, seeing that change and what it’s like for them after high school and did all those dreams come true. And where life takes them and staying in touch.”

Even online, Whiteside is trying to build connections with students. While she says that it can be hard to read people, especially with cameras off, she also thinks that different aspects of students’ personalities can come out better virtually.

“I hope that they get to know me and give me a chance to get to know them. Know that I really want to get to know people and be part of a Community community,” Whiteside said.

I hope that they get a chance to know me and give me a chance to get to know them.

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Photo courtesy of Jessika Whiteside Whiteside posing for her son Griffin. She is excited to become a part of Community and be there for students this year.“I think the relationship part is the most important part to me,” Whiteside said. “I love getting to know people and seeing that change and what it’s like for them after high school and did all those dreams come true. And where life takes them and staying in touch.”

Emma Hamstra Emma Hamstra’s first day of teaching may have shocked a few of her students: instead of a traditional literature class with grammar lectures and assigned essays, they delved into rap music and its expressive capabilities. Hamstra, a rapper herself, is one of CHS’s newest additions to the English Department and most likely the only one with a rap name: Feminemma.

Hamstra grew up in Ann Arbor. CHS was her first choice for high school, but a high number in the lottery sent her to Pioneer High School (PHS). She loved PHS, though, and was influenced by her teachers there. She met Jeff Kass, a poet and teacher known for his book of poems, “Teacher/Pizza Guy,” and joined the VOLUME Youth Poetry Project at the Neutral Zone, which inspired her to become a teacher. “[It] gave me the courage and confidence to believe that what I have to say matters and that people want to hear that,’’ Hamstra said.

Poetry led to Hamstra’s love of rap. Her rap lyrics focus on anything from feminism to comic books to yoga.

“When I’m rapping, I’m rapping about my life,” Hamstra said.

“I’m not trying to pretend to be somebody else. I’m very honest about who I am.”

Hamstra is also hoping to draft some lyrics for her classes about grammatical topics and texts that the class is focusing on.

She tries to include a lot of pop culture in her lessons and finds that poetry is a great way to do that. Hamstra is also planning on bringing “non-traditional” authors, such as Toni Morrison and Claudia Rankine, into the curriculum.

“I think that having diversity in the text that we read is important in the classroom,” Hamstra said. “Traditionally, literary texts have been largely male and largely white. As a feminist, I strongly believe in the importance of hearing other people’s opinions and other voices” For students, Hamstra recommends reading Ta-Nehisi Coates’ run of “Black Panther” comics, “All American Boy” by Jason Reynolds and “Memoirs of a Geisha” by Arthur Golden.

Hamstra also wants to be able to help all of her students thrive this year. She has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and has spent time working with Eye to Eye, an organization that helps students with ADHD advocate for their education.

“It is really important to me to teach the young people that they have a voice and that they need to fight for their education and make sure that they’re getting the accommodations they need to be successful,” Hamstra said.

Above all, Hamstra wants to be able to provide the same level of support she received from her teachers.

“The most important thing for me right now is providing a safe and stable adult for the kids that I’m teaching,” Hamstra said.

“I want my students to always know I am your hype woman. I’ll be there. If you have a baseball game, I’ll be there. You got a jazz concert? I’ll be there, and I’ll bring the squad. We will be Mobb Deep there for you.”

Photography by Ruth Hamstra Hamstra on graduation day from Eastern Michigan University (EMU).

Before receiving her masters at EMU, she got her undergraduate degree from Georgetown University.

Photography by Ruth Hamstra Hamstra with her dog Eliot, named after the author T.S. Eliot. She is a big reader and wants to put more diverse texts in her classes

News | November 2020 | 13

Photography by BLANK Angela Keene, the CHS building substitute, posing for the camera. Keene is excited to support students and teachers this year.“Community has been amazing and to be on the other side, seeing the inside of what the teachers are dealing with, has been so inspirational. I feel like, at Community, everyone is just so kind to each other and so helpful,” Keene said.

Angela Keene This year, Angela Keene is working hard to nurture both chickens and high school students.

Keene, the building substitute at CHS, has a background in photography. After graduating, getting married and raising three kids, she received her associate degree and a degree in art and photography. She also worked as a professional photographer and started her own business taking senior photos and weddings. This experience taught her a few tips to pass on to seniors currently taking their photos. She recommends bringing a friend along to make you laugh and smile naturally to try to forget a camera is there.

Keene still takes photos of events and seniors when she is not in the classroom, spending time with her kids, raising baby chicks or rollerblading. Her favorite subject is nature and she has been experimenting with cyanotypes — prints taken with the help of sunlight — dried flowers and sunsets.

“Whenever things do get hard, photography has been a really good release to sort of go out and cathartically deal with my emotions,” Keene said.

Keene’s biggest challenge with teaching this year is the technolo14 | The Communicator Magazine

gy. Even as a photographer, she has always leaned away from new technology, opting for film and darkroom-style photography. She has been experimenting with breakout rooms to make students feel more at ease.

“We understand that people don’t want to turn their cameras on,” Keene said. “I don’t want to have my camera on most of the time. But it is nice to see the faces when people are there. It feels more real than when it’s just a name.”

Keene mainly fills in for art classes at CHS. Her current focus is trying to best accommodate each teacher’s different needs and styles in the classroom.

“I love the staff that I’ve been able to work with so far,” Keene said. “Community has been amazing and to be on the other side, seeing the inside of what the teachers are dealing with, has been so inspirational. I feel like, at Community, everyone is just so kind to each other and so helpful.”

Joslyn Hunscher-Young As a senior on The Communicator, Joslyn Hunscher-Young was voted most likely to return to Community. At the time, she was not thrilled. Now, as Community’s newest addition to the Social Studies and World Language departments, she is excited to help students make their mark.

Hunscher-Young dual-enrolled at PHS and then switched to CHS during her junior year as part of the class of 2006. She joined The Communicator, loved field day and even took a few Community Resource Classes (CRs) at the University of Michigan. She also joined the Black Student Union (BSU), which was doing a lot of work fighting for a more diverse CHS. Her experiences in BSU changed her and her outlook — even after graduating.

“I think that [my time in BSU] was helpful for me just in terms of forming my sort of understanding of the world and what my role should be in it,” Hunscher-Young said. “As well as, how to listen to others and really try to help amplify the voices of other people.”

After school and teaching in China for a year, Hunscher-Young returned to the Ann Arbor area with her husband — another 2006 CHS graduate and her high school sweetheart — and taught at

Washtenaw International High School (WISD). The WISD school year had already started when she was hired for a CHS position.

But seeing the opportunity, she took the job.

While this isn’t the start that Hunscher-Young — or those who voted her most likely to return — imagined, she is making the most of it.

“I wish that I had been able to have the in-person opening day and all of that, but I guess I sort of get two starts at Community,” Hunscher-Young said. “One virtually, and then another whenever we are back.”

Hunscher-Young knows the impact that a teacher can have on a student; it is why she wanted to teach. Now, having returned to CHS, she wants to help students make their own impact.

“I think there’s a lot that needs to shift and improve in our world right now,” Hunscher-Young said. “I and other adults obviously are not going to be able to do it all. Knowing that there are powerful young people out there that are already working for that change, and that they’re going to continue working on it is inspiring to me. I hope I’m able to support and amplify the work that students at Community are already doing.”

Photo courtesy of Joslyn Hunscher-Young Hunscher-Young posing with her classmates in BSU. BSU helped to shape her and her view of the world. “I think that [my time in BSU] was helpful for me just in terms of forming my sort of understanding of the world and what my role should be in it,” Hunscher-Young said. “As well as, how to listen to others and really try to help amplify the voices of other people.”

News | November 2020 | 15

Sarah Wiest Sarah Wiest, CHS’s newest English teacher, describes her childhood as a cliche. Growing up in a small, rural town in south-central Pennsylvania, she was always plotting her next steps on how to get out of the town.

After school at Princeton University and later University of Michigan — including a year student teaching with Tracy Anderson — and teaching at Saline High School, Wiest joined CHS this October. She says that this unusual school year made it easier for her to come in later. Students and classes had not settled in yet, and Wiest didn’t feel that she was coming into something “already in motion.” Now, she is all-in.

Wiest is teaching two sections of World Literature, Introduction to Literature and is the head of what used to be the Ed Kulka forum.

For her English classes, Wiest has a lot of lessons and projects she is excited to share with students and bring to the curriculum. Her first priority, though, is to support her students.

“This is such an abnormal year for everyone in this world; the world is going to have to be flexible with interpreting the end results of whatever happens during this pandemic,” Wiest said. “And for students, I think that my big plan is to help as many of you all, and even adults too. Take away the message that this is not a year that is going to define us performance-wise.”

During her own quarantine, Wiest has learned that she values social interaction and connections more than she thought. She even created a new connection by adopting a St. Bernard-Shepherd mix named Max. “He is quite a lot,” Wiest said. “He’s really cute, but he’s got some issues that he’s working through, just like all of us. Separation anxiety is the one that he is working through right now.”

When she is not teaching or helping Max through his issues, Wiest reads, writes and plays Dungeons and Dragons — that kind of “classic nerdy stuff,” she says. Wiest recommends reading “The Neapolitan Novels” by Elena Ferrante and “Mr. Penumbra’s 24Hour Bookstore,” a novel she describes as a “love letter to books, bookstores and just reading in general.”

Wiest also wants her students to know how much hope she has for Generation Z and current high school students.

“I think that this generation is doing such creative, beautifully engaged things in this world and I am just constantly in awe of young people right now,” Wiest said. “I really do believe in the power of young people to really just transform our world. I think a lot of historical changes are brought on by young people, and we’re in the middle of that again.”

Wiest leaves one final message: vote.

Photo courtesy of Sarah Wiest Wiest and her dog Maks.

Maks was adopted during the pandemic. “He’s really cute, but he’s got some issues that he’s working through, just like all of us,” She said.

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League of Women Voters Three women at CHS are working hard to ensure that students can register to vote, work the polls and help make change.

BY SHANNON KAHAN

It’s been 100 years since most American women have gained the right to vote. The League of Women Voters is a civic, non-partisan organization taking advantage of that right.

Pam Kirchen has been working with the League of Women Voters and with CHS for three years. She’s been helping seniors register to vote and is spreading the word that teenagers are capable of making change.

“You guys are the future,” Kirchen said. “When all of us old people die, you guys will be there, and it’s gonna be far more diverse, far more educated in terms of what our rights and responsibilities are around voting.”

That’s why, once a year, students aged 17 and a half or older are invited to the Craft Theatre at CHS to register to vote.

“It’s a feel-good activity and kids walk out of there excited,” Kirchen said. “I think it’s a rite of passage to learn how to register to vote and make it simple.”

However, this year is different. Because of the pandemic, CHS can’t have students come to the theater to register. Kirchen really misses seeing students’ faces as they register to vote. She even has nightmares about students being in the dark about the process. But she hasn’t given up. Instead, she has been collaborating with two CHS seniors, Grace Thomas and Sophie Fetter, to help spread the word to register to vote.

Thomas started working with Kirchen last spring. So far, the League of Women Voters has provided CHS with informational videos and step-by-step instructions on how to register to vote.

“We’re just trying to get the word out that voting is really important and that it’s really easy to register,” Thomas said.“We want to make sure that everybody knows what they’re supposed to do.”

Like Thomas, Fetter started working with the group

because she wanted to help make change. To her, voting is important because it allows voices to be heard.

“A youth perspective is just so important, especially with a lot of the issues facing today like climate change and the coronavirus,” Fetter said.

Thomas, Fetter and Kirchen all agree that voting is crucial when it comes to healthcare. Kirchen believes that access to healthcare is the most important thing to be decided in this election, and that if one candidate is chosen, people could lose their healthcare.

“My friend, Becky, had to go to her doctor to get Covid-19 test,” Kirchen said. “I went because I have really good insurance. She has really bad insurance. And so it took me 24 hours to get my results back, probably because I had better insurance, and it took her like 10 days to figure it out.”

Kirchen worries that this information isn’t very helpful for teens under age 17. But Kirchen wants to make it known that there are other steps to take to help make change. She suggests that students can make cold calls to Debbie Stabenow, United States Senator from Michigan, or Debbie Dingell, Michigan’s representative.

Fetter has some other suggestions for teenagers desperate to make change: become a poll worker and contact Pam Kirchen. Fetter was a poll worker in a previous election.

“It’s a good thing to put on your college applications, it’s also just a good way to help democracy,” Fetter said.

She also says that she learned so much more about the voting process. And the cherry on top: poll workers get paid for training and for the actual day.

To become a poll worker or a “democracy MVP” scan the QR code to the left.

News | November 2020 | 17

The Final Exam

A senior and student counselor give their thoughts on how standardized testing affects student life in high school.

BY LEWIS PERRY

Standardized testing plays a big role in the four years of high school, but how does it actually affect a student’s life?

In high school, there are two tests that play a part in determining what colleges accept you, the Scholastic Assessment Test and the American College Test, better known as the SAT and ACT. While generally a shorter test, the ACT includes a math, English, reading, and science section, while the SAT lacks a science section. Students are tasked with either taking both tests or picking one to take. Some colleges are test-optional, meaning you do not need to submit a test score to apply. These scores are added to a transcript and looked at by colleges within student applications.

Practice tests are available to help students determine which test they should take.

Max Perry, a senior at Huron High School, decided to take the ACT based on the way it fit his learning preference and how he performed on the pre-test. These pre-tests are very helpful in aiding high schoolers to develop more insight into which test they believe fits them best.

Students use various services to prepare for these tests. They can be online or in person. Online services have been becoming more and more popular because of how the pandemic affects meeting in person. Often, students will go on a video call with an expert to simulate an in-person meeting for test-prep. This is especially common now regarding the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I used an online test-prep service called Kaplan,” Perry said. “It gave me practice questions and videos. And it definitely helped me a lot on the ACT.” However, many students do not have the ability to access these resources.

18 | The Communicator Magazine

“Not everyone can pay for those several hundred, even thousand dollar multi-week courses,” said Brian Williams, a counselor at CHS. “I really don’t know how equitable it is.”

Over the years, he has helped students find free test-prep resources like Khan Academy. These free resources are accessible to any student and can provide review that is on-par with many expensive services.

There is a lot of suspense and thrill before taking these tests, according to Perry.

“I was really nervous because I know this can definitely be a make or break situation when getting into prestigious colleges,” Perry said.

Since these tests are around four hours long and are pretty grueling, they can take a toll on the students taking them, usually making them nervous or scared. Perry was able to calm down during the test and said, “I felt more confident as the test progressed, and I just felt more focused and relaxed.”

These tests are a big factor within your transcript when colleges look at applicants.

“They can definitely tell a lot about your academic strengths and struggles,” Perry said. “But I do think this year it does not play as big of a role considering the Covid-19 pandemic.”

His test date was postponed four times because of the pandemic. This period of time that was given to him because of his test being postponed allowed him to prepare more, as well as focus on areas he needed to improve within his studying. Perry also believes colleges should not consider test scores so much in the acceptance process.

“Maybe some more subject-based activities, not a sit down test,

but more whether it is some other type of hands-on activity, just to give colleges a better analysis of what kind of student you are,” Perry said.

According to many, these tests do not accurately define students and their learning abilities. They can change someone’s assumption on how good a student is by only basing it off of one learning aspect.

“We have advanced far enough that we can get a better holistic view on a child than having them take a three-hour test,” Williams said. He is in favor of schools being test-optional, allowing colleges to focus more on a student’s transcript and achievements, rather than basing a lot of their application on a test score.

This new way of applying to colleges has helped many students across the country. If a student has outstanding grades and a good transcript, but does not perform well on standardized tests, they now do not need to submit a test score to apply to a college. By using this format, college administrations will only look at what is on the transcript a student submits to them, rather than a test score added on.

“Do they really need the test?” Williams said.

In Ann Arbor, the four high schools are generally used as test-taking locations for students. With the pandemic, however, students taking a test this year are forced to go out of their way to find an alternate location. This results in many students within the Ann Arbor area not being able to take one of the tests, ultimately applying to test-optional colleges. Many people are concerned if colleges will actually assess a test-optional student’s application differently than those who applied with a test score.

“They like to see [test scores], but they are going to understand if you can’t send it in,” Williams said.

While it is either spending up to a year in advance preparing for this highly anticipated exam or just winging it, these standardized tests can take a big toll on high school students’ lives and futures.

“It was something I knew was going to play a big role in which colleges I get into, and I was satisfied with what I did,” Perry said.

“They can definitely tell a lot about your academic strengths and struggles,” Perry said. “But I do think this year it does not play as big of a role considering the Covid-19 pandemic.”

News | November 2020 | 19

Voicing Our

VOTE

Ann Arbor youth phone bank, work at polls, write letters, and participate in electoral work to make their voices heard this election.

BY MIRA SCHWARZ AND HENRY CONNOR

Photo courtesy of Sylva Das

SYLVA DAS

“

[I work for] One Campaign through Michigan Dems. It’s an organization that has a lot of different groups of people doing work in different areas of Michigan, but they’re connected to the Biden campaign.

We’re doing work for Biden, like phone banking for Biden and Harris, but then also Gary Peters because it’s just an overall democratic advocacy group. So you talk to voters about Biden and Harris, obviously, and also more local or regional candidates, 20 | The Communicator Magazine

like Gary Peters.

[I do it] once or twice a week usually, sometimes I do it once if I don’t have five times other stuff going on, but I try to do it as much as I can. Sometimes you have really nice conversations with sweet old ladies who’ve either already voted, or they are huge Biden supporters. They’re just super sweet, and they thank you for everything you are doing and just talk to you about how important it is that Biden gets elected.

It really makes your day because it’s just super sweet. But then there’s sometimes jerks, like Trump supporters who somehow got into the system, or just people who don’t want to hear from you, and it can be kind of mean, but you just block it out.

I think this is a super pivotal election because the result of it, and the decisions made from the next President will be decisions that shape the future. I’m only two years away from voting and two years away from going into the world. And these decisions are really going to impact me, and since I can’t vote, I still need to find a way to make my voice heard and make sure that the people who can vote can represent what I want and what I want the future to look like. All of these decisions are going to impact me. It is a little annoying that I can’t vote, but the electoral work is a way that I can make sure that other people are representing my beliefs and help Biden to be elected. I think it is so necessary that these candidates are elected, so that my voice can still be heard, even though I’m not voting.

I am not a huge fan of Biden. He is just another old white man, but I love Kamala Harris. She’s really inspiring, and I would be so happy if she became Vice President. She’d have so many firsts and be such a role model to look up to. I think it is very important to still find a way to have your voice heard even when you can’t vote. I know we still care about things that are happening, and I know that they will still affect us. I think that it is very important to find a way to make your voice heard even if it can’t be through voting.

my next best thing. I do bring my age into factor to inspire people to vote because some people don’t think their vote is important. So when I bring up that I am 16 and that I am a junior in high school and how I really can’t vote, but that person is going to impact my life so tremendously, I think it kind of gauges the interest and kind of gives me an advantage to voters.

I got to assure my future somehow, so it’s like only an hour, and it could be just once a week. You’re contributing to not only my future, and not even your future, but the future for those around you. Donald Trump won by 10,704 votes — two votes per precinct. It could be you who could make the difference between another four years of much loss, another four years of people dying because of our President’s stupidity and his ignorance and his blatant lock of the American people.

It’s so easy to vote; it is such a monumental thing and an amazing right that we have — a right that my parents paid for and fought for. My parents are immigrants, and they’re so happy to vote for the first time and to kind of squander that right makes me upset. The fact that I can’t do that but you have the chance to, and you don’t want to is kind of ignorant and kind of makes me upset that your vote could possibly change millions and millions of peoples lives and their futures and generations. It’s super easy, and you are making such a big impact, so my mind doesn’t understand why someone wouldn’t vote.

HILLARY POUDEU TCHOKOTHE

“

I am [doing] a fellowship with Michigan One Campaign, so basically I work for the Michigan democratic party. Essentially we’re working for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and Gary Peters, but in our script we say [that] we’re pushing to elect Democrats, but those are the three big names that we use. I am a little bit busy, but this election is so critical to so many people.

[I spent] 300 plus hours [phone banking this year]. I do enjoy it when the calls are good. Sometimes you have really slow days so, it’s kind of frustrating [when] you’re calling 100 people and no ones picked up, or they pick up and then they hang up immediately. But I mean I’ve been doing it for awhile so I guess it’s kind of a part of my daily routine. I think I kind of transitioned out of regular phone banking in August, but now I do a lot of recruiting, which essentially is still phone banking but instead of you asking them if they have received a ballot or not, or talk to them about who they should vote for and who would fit and how the candidate is best for them. I just do a lot of recruiting, which is like engaging volunteers to start phone banking with us because we want to get as many Michigan voters as we can, so having hundreds and hundreds of volunteers will help that, and it just pushes the message more that these candidates have such strong support as well.

I feel like phone banking and pushing this message that democrats are our best chance at this moment in time right now.

It’s just the only thing I can do to insure my future for me and my family. As someone who can’t vote and someone whose parents won’t let them protest, I guess it’s

Photo courtesy of Hillary Poudeu Tchokothe

Features | November 2020 | 21

“ Photo courtesy of Arya Kamat

22 | The Communicator Magazine

want to express their ideas or somehow push for what they want to see in the world, they usually go after candidates that they feel have similar ideals to them.

So, when [I] met Laurie Pohutsky back at [an] event, I felt like she was a really cool person, first of all, and after hearing about some of the work she’s done and even researching her after that event, I saw that a lot of the stuff she’s done is stuff that I would want to see in Michigan and also rest of the world. And I know that some of [what] she was advocating for in terms of reproductive justice work was so much what people will try to push for, so I just decided to sign up because I wanted to help get her on board and push for those ideas.

It feels like I’m doing the most I can at the moment. I’m able to do something because I can’t vote. I feel like I’m able to push for people who can put the change that I want to see in the world. Voting allows you to have your own power to vote for candidates you see aligned with your interests, but the electoral work still allows you to do that if you can’t vote. It just gets other people to vote for them. It’s more indirect.”

KAMAT

“

Phone banking is interesting. I consider myself a pretty extroverted person, but when it came to phone banking complete strangers, when I did my first call, I was so shocked that someone picked up, and I was actually responding to them. I was able to carry a conversation and see how they felt. No matter what age you’re in, phone banking is just one of those things that I felt helped me get more involved.

I was sort of afraid of how it would go as I’m comfortable talking with people I have an idea of or know, but talking to people whose face I wouldn’t be able to see and about something that I wasn’t as familiar with. The concept of political work was already a failure to me. It feels interesting since people are talking to adults, they might have different perspectives about politics in general, or if they find out that they’re talking to you, they may have a shift in their attitude since the person they’re talking to is a [younger] age. But I think that it proves that youth can still have opinions about politics and push for those even though they can’t vote.

Usually when people who are able to vote

ARYA

“

I wrote 175 letters to people in random states. They were people who were Democrats, but they were most likely not going to vote. I wrote letters to them just to make sure that they have all of the information that they need to vote and to try to get them to because it is obviously very important.

I started in like September or August, but I have been doing a lot more [letters] in October. It takes a lot of time. For 20 letters, it took me about one and a half hours. In the beginning, I wrote each individually, and they were about five to seven paragraphs each, and I wouldn’t type them. I would actually write them. They took me a long time, but then when I got to do more at a single time, I wrote two on one piece of paper, and I photocopied that. I just wrote ‘Dear,’ and then I didn’t write anything, so I could just write someone’s name in that place. But I did address all of the letters, and I did all the stamps, and I closed all of the letters and everything.

I wrote peoples names with fancy markers just so I could make it more personalized.

I have no idea what their lives are like. I have no idea if they’re even going to get the letters, but I think it’s just crazy how all those people could be in different places, but we can all unite to get this one person out of office who could do a lot of damage. For me, as someone who has a uterus and someone who is part of the LGBTQ community, it’s really scary to see how rights could literally be taken away. [Writing letters] just makes me feel like I am actually making a difference, and that I can actually help.

Four more years with Trump could do a lot more damage. Amy Coney Barrett without RBG here [is] terrifying because her morals just do not align with mine.

Last [election], I was four years younger, so I wouldn’t really care or understand, but now is the first big election that I could make a difference in. Before I started writing letters, I felt really hopeless because obviously [as] someone who can’t vote, I felt like I couldn’t make a difference.”

TALYA CASTELL

“

I am phone banking for Laurie Pohtsky because she is a champion of healthcare and the environment and someone who I want to see re-elected, especially because she defends reproductive rights. [Electoral work] is one of the biggest ways I can get involved and make sure my voice is heard because I am influencing others to one get out and vote and support the candidate I am supporting. Even though you can’t vote, you can still impact the election and have your voice heard in some degree.

You learn a lot of really useful skills when phone banking, and also it’s a way to make sure your voice is heard. I know as time goes on, I’m not as stressed phone banking; it’s kind of normal now, and I’ve gotten better at talking to people, so that’s like something I’ve really improved

LEILA BANK

Photo courtesy of Leila Bank

at. I’m glad I’ve been phone banking.

My favorite part about phone banking is knowing that I am making an impact even though it’s not always the funnest thing to do and can be stressful at times.

It makes me happy to know that I am convincing voters and helping voters know what to do in the election. It’s just stressful that you never know who you are gonna get on the phone, so sometimes people can be mean. I have had a few mean encounters, but usually they’re pretty nice. Regardless of the candidate you are voting for, I think we should just vote in general, letting politicians know what you want and what should be expected is extremely important and one of the ways that we can create change in our world, so definitely vote.”

Photo courtesy of Talya Castell

Features | November 2020 | 23

Harassed Three CHS students reflect on their own experiences with street harassment.

BY MAGGIE WOLF

In the late evening hours of Sept. 12, CHS junior Sylva Das met up with a friend she had not seen in a while. In light of the current pandemic, Das’ parents instructed the two to remain outside, and the girls decided to take a short walk.

Das and her friend ended up at Forsythe Middle School, where they sat down to catch up. However, not ten minutes after they arrived, they spotted a black SUV that slowly pulled up in front of the building.

When the car lingered, parked idly by the curb, both girls became increasingly uncomfortable and decided to return home.

However, the vehicle pulled away, and they were able to return to their conversation.

About five minutes later, headlights suddenly appeared behind them, and, realizing that it was the same car and that two college-aged men were behind the wheel, the girls got up and started running toward their neighborhood.

The car followed them through the residential streets until they ran into one of their neighbor’s backyards.

It turned around and pulled away, but ever since that incident, Das has felt uncomfortable walking by herself at night, especially since there are not always people around to help.

“It was so scary to think about what would’ve happened if the people in [my friend’s] neighbor’s house hadn’t come outside, or

“It was so scary to think about what would’ve happened if the people in [my friend’s] neighbor’s house hadn’t come outside, or if [the men in the car] would’ve caught up to us.”

24 | The Communicator Magazine

if [the men in the car] would’ve caught up to us,” Das said.

Unfortunately, this type of experience is very common. According to a study conducted by Stop Street Harassment, approximately three in every four women have been verbally harassed, and 66% of these occurrences took place in a public location.

The implications of this finding are further evidenced by a Gallup News study, showing that about 89% of men reported feeling safe walking alone at night, compared to only 62% of women. This 27% gap provides context for stories like Das’.

Due to these common occurrences of public harassment, many women take precautions to protect themselves when they leave the house; this can include carrying pepper spray or another device meant for self-defense, sticking with bigger groups, sending one’s location to a friend or trying to appear unapproachable. Several CHS students report taking protective measures of this type.

Madison Bell is one such student; her fear of men hiding beneath parked cars has caused her to avoid driving alone at night.

“Whenever I get up to my car at night, I hop in from four feet away,” Bell said. “I usually try to keep my head up to make me look more confident and less approachable and try to have my AirPods in, even if I’m not listening to anything. I always have my phone in my hand, so I can have someone on speed dial.”

Vanessa Farkas, another CHS student who has faced public harassment, reflects on a specific incident that occurred while walking downtown and how it has changed the way she presents herself to the world: “He was blocking my path and made a lunge after me, and I just ran, because I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, I’m in danger,’” Farkas said.

This experience introduced a deeply rooted fear of male harassment in Farkas. In the years following the incident, she reveals that she has consciously taken steps to appear more physically intimidating, even though this new persona is not an accurate reflection of her personality.

“I think I do want to look very menacing, but I think I also am very much the opposite of that,” Farkas said. “I feel like [my im-

Photography by Maggie Wolf Street lamps and skyscrapers light up a city at night.

Occurrences of harassment are most common in populated areas like this one. “I just think that two girls should be able to go on walks without feeling like they could be followed, or worse,” Das said.

age] is kind of just a facade. In reality, I’m very open to people.”

When considering the countless women who feel they must take precautions each time they leave the house and fear harassment on their way to school or work, one question comes to mind: what can be done? Das proposes a potential response.

“For middle school I went to [Rudolf] Steiner [School of Ann Arbor], and they had these self-defense classes for girls that were integrated into the curriculum,” Das said. “It was super empowering because it was all the girls in my class and [the teacher], and we would learn basic self-defense and what to do in certain situations.

I think in middle school and high school, if that was incorporated

into the curriculum, it would be really helpful.”

However, though Das is appreciative of her own self-defense education, she is hopeful that society will begin to recognize the irrationality of teaching girls to avoid harassment, rather than teaching men not to harass.

“I just think that two girls should be able to go on walks without feeling like they could be followed, or worse, and that just makes me really mad,” Das said. “I think it’s stupid that we should have to [learn self-defense] because we should just be teaching boys not to follow [us].”

Features | November 2020 | 25

Without development, economic growth can “tear a city apart”

BY NOAH BERNSTEIN

26 | The Communicator Magazine

D

ucking his head as he walked through the doorway, mayor Christopher Taylor sat down in a recently renovated local cafe. He reminisced about what the town was like when he first came as a student 40 years prior.

“I remember the old Borders when it was on State Street before it was on Liberty,” Taylor said. “It was a super cozy place that you could go to and feel at home in. I remember getting breakfast at five in the afternoon at Kresge’s, which was just a lunch counter that you won’t believe actually existed. I remember Drake’s, which was a sort of bizarre, 1930s candy-and-snack store.

The fact that these sorts of places have become corporatized is a loss.”

Taylor has been a member of the Ann Arbor City Council for 12 years. When he was first elected, Ann Arbor was in the midst of the most severe economic recession since the Great Depression: the finan-

an international cybersecurity company headquartered in Ann Arbor, cited his concern that living in the city is not accessible enough to retain potential employees. By improving this, the city would capitalize on potentially massive growth and begin to reverse profound gentrification.

“Between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, Washtenaw County is now the eighth most economically segregated county in America,” Song said. “We need to fix that.”

The moral incentive to fix this obvious; creating a more inclusive Ann Arbor is always good. But there are also financial windfalls. Mr. Song emphasized that development, affordability and transit — investments necessary to binding Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor together — are factors that companies like Song’s consider when they are looking to expand. “[These resources] work together to produce a growth that is equitable, or, in their absence, they can tear a city apart,” Song

Business investments and expansion are becoming more common in southeast Michigan. But as Ann Arbor speeds forward, many of its surrounding residents are left behind.

Photography by Noah Bernstein The Foundry Lofts is one of the many student-targeted apartment developments that have been built since the zoning changes. Residents first moved into the building at the corner of Huron Street and Division Street in 2016. Due to increasing student enrollment at the University of Michigan, high rises like this report being 99-100% occupied..

cial crisis of 2008. The city had just simplified zoning districts, allowing for taller buildings, but developers did not build up.

As the economy recovered, however, Ann Arbor’s downtown growth soared. “[Ann Arbor is] naturally a larger city than it is right now,” Taylor said. “There’s a concept of a college town, and there’s a growing concept of a university city. I think we’re more of a university city than a college town. We’re never going to be super big — we’re geographically locked — but I think we will be bigger than we are right now.”

The city has clear growth opportunities, but they come with growing pains: most evidently, economic stratification, especially between Ann Arbor and its surrounding communities. Because of this, many are left no option but to live far from the city limits. Accordingly, the city’s population nearly doubles each weekday as those workers commute into the city.

Dug Song, a co-founder of Duo Security,

said. “Equal access to opportunity and amenities is either enabled or prevented by our environment.”

Proposed municipal services similar to Song’s suggestions unleash community interaction essential to our regional economy. One of the biggest elements of this economy is the University of Michigan.

The college is a magnet for a diverse and skilled student body, morphing Ann Arbor into the “university city” Taylor referenced. In turn, this hive of young talent attracts businesses from around the country; in the summer of 2019, Google, for example, poured an additional $17 million into their southeast Michigan offices.

But another reason companies are turning to Ann Arbor is that current tech hubs, like San Francisco, are painfully unbalanced.

“What has happened [in San Francisco] is a tragedy,” said Song. “It’s one of the richest places in the world, with tremendous abundance created by the tech in-

Features | November 2020 | 27

dustry and beside them, some of the most gnawing and desperate need. It’s horrible to see people laying in the streets, people shooting up, all kinds of bodily fluids and feces. How did this happen?”

The Bay Area failed to acknowledge growth factors in their community, and it resulted in crushing inequity. Refusing to build up pushed San Francisco down into an abyss of homelessness, soaring prices and segregation. Understanding that the same could happen to Ann Arbor, Taylor called for additional density-friendly zoning changes that would fix the cracks in the foundation of our city.

“We need to increase density in our transit corridors like State Street, Packard and Stadium,” Taylor said. “There’s no reason why there shouldn’t be lots of housing there. It would be, by the nature of the market, less expensive, and by nature of being on a transit corridor, fundamentally accessible by mass transit.”

Public busing routes, like Taylor mentioned above, would connect housing complexes to classrooms, office spaces and other retail. A transit system of this manner would keep the wheels of Washtenaw County spinning.

“We’ve got to figure this out,” Song said.

“This is a fight for the soul of our city.

Change is a given, but equitable, inclusive growth is a choice.”

A claim against these efforts is that encouraging density will distort Ann Arbor’s identity. Anti-development residents oppose building up in concern that it will change the core of the city. But as evidenced in San Francisco, ignoring a need

*Name changed to protect anonymity 28 | The Communicator Magazine

for vertical growth does not sustain the culture of the city; instead, this reluctance can tear it apart.

Nicole White* is one of the many who have experienced this effect first hand. In the years following her eighteenth birthday, White spent the majority of her time homeless in Washtenaw County. As a single mother, she kept a job and even dreamt of going back to school, but her income was spread too thin to pay rent.

“What scared me the most is that no shelters were available for us at that time,” White said. “For days, we bounced around here and there in the dead of winter. It was very, very hard because I didn’t know what was gonna happen to me, or my kid.

White remembered feeling overwhelmed and underappreciated. But eventually, White found a shelter, then moved to transitional housing and finally landed at Avalon Housing — a permanent, affordable housing non-profit. There, she felt she was finally given a chance “Homelessness feels like you have an elephant on your chest,” White said. “On a daily basis, you just wake up thinking about it. When I heard that I was going to get this apartment, I felt that elephant lifting off.”

With her newfound stability and inspired by her own experience, White became an advocate for Proposal C, an affordable housing millage on the ballot Nov. 3.

“A lot of homeless people are scared to talk about their situation,” White said.

“And that’s what I’m here for. I am here to talk about my experience, my whole journey to make a change for everyone else.”

Photography Courtesy of Wystan Stevens An early 1900s postcard of Ann Arbor’s Main Street.

Decades later, all of the picture’s stores and restaurants have changed, and new buildings tower behind.

Features | November 2020 | 29

HEALTH

Photography by Ella Rosewarne

30 | The Communicator Magazine

How does health impact our communities?

As of November, we will have spent eight months of our lives in a pandemic. The Covid-19 pandemic has immersed itself into our everyday lives, creating an ongoing discussion about health in every realm. Not only does this edition seek to explore the ways that Covid-19 has changed our lives, but it also explores other aspects of discussion surrounding health. The communities that we are a part of are impacted in a multitude of ways: to CHS students that have gotten jobs during the pandemic, to high school sports teams playing with social distancing measures, to the necessity of accessible birth control, The Communicator journalists have sought to encompass health in all its capacities.

Features | November 2020 | 31

THE MASK EDIT

With the rise of Covid-19, masks have been declared a necessity; Ann Arbor teens have used their sewing skills to create and sell homemade masks to help their local and broader community.

BY CATE WEISER

A recent study conducted by the University of Illinois’ Mechanical Science and Engineering department found that two-layer fabric masks are 78.3 to 98.3% effective at blocking respiratory droplets. According to the CDC, Covid-19 is primarily spread through respiratory droplets which are caused by actions like sneezing, coughing or talking.

The state of Michigan has mandated masks in nearly all public spaces -- and with cases in the U.S. continuing to dramatically increase, there have been no signs of that mandate being lifted.

Liliana Knopp and Aly and Gabby Pacifico have produced and sold countless fabric masks, contributing hundreds of dollars to charity.

32 | The Communicator Magazine

HEALTH ALY AND GABBY PACIFICO Aly and Gabby Pacifico, twin sisters and seniors at Pioneer High School, began making masks in May of 2020. With help from their mom, they spent countless hours researching effective mask patterns and fabrics.

The first fabric they tried was too thick to breathe in, and the second fabric was deemed ugly and too hard to work with. Now, their masks are made of a layer of muslin with a patterned outer layer. The masks are tightly woven yet still breathable.

While they started making masks just for their family, they eventually decided to sell them to the general public.

The Pacificos make masks as a team: Aly cuts and serges the fabric; Gabby sews the body and runs their website (www.pacificodesignco.com) and social media (@pacificodesignco); and their mom helps with the technical sewing elements.

Prior to their website, they used a Google Form to take orders. Through the form, they made their first sale in early July to a family friend.

“We had local pickup, and she decided to pay in cash only,” Aly said. “She wanted to give us our first one dollar bill so that we could frame it. It was really special.”

Since their first sale, the Pacificos have sold over 350 masks. They receive requests for fabric, with some of the most popular being pineapple patterns, cactus patterns and university patterns -- specifically for the University of Michigan and Michigan State University.

The twins made the decision to donate 10% of each sale to Feeding America and 10% to Color for Change.

Feeding America fights to end food insecurity in the U.S. by providing nourishing and consistent meals to individuals that need it. Color for Change is an online racial justice organization that fights for a safe and equitable country for Black Americans.

As of Oct. 30, 2020, their business has donated over $300 to the two charities.

“We wanted to give something back to our community and donate some of our profits to charity,” Gabby said. “We thought that the mask business would be a very helpful way to accomplish that.”

Photos courtesy of Edda and Aly Pacifico FAR LEFT: Aly and Gabby pose at their fabric workspace. Depending on the day, they can make 15 or more masks LEFT: Several of the summer print masks sold by Pacifico Design Co. While most of these prints are no longer in stock, buyers can find a plethora of seasonal designs.

ABOVE: Gabby sits at her sewing machine. Her primary job was to sew simple parts of the mask and run their social media and website.

Features | November 2020 | 33

LILIANA KNOPP Liliana Knopp had never touched a sewing machine before Covid-19 brought her senior year at Skyline to an abrupt end.

After deciding she needed to fill up her free time, Knopp borrowed the machine from her older sister in early April, and she slowly began to learn how to make CDC-approved masks. Knopp initially only made masks for herself and her family. After getting several mask requests from her friends, she realized that she could turn her newfound talent into a business, which she launched in late April. Knopp uses fabric print stacks to create her masks. She never expected to purchase more than her first stack of 50 pieces.

Knopp has become a regular at JOANN Fabrics, where she gets all of her materials.

“I just go and have a party there, all the ladies know me,” Knopp said.

She picks the fabrics for her masks based on what catches her eye and requests she gets from clients. Her favorite was a summer request for a “witchy” patterned fabric.

Many of Knopp’s masks have text decals on them, reading “Nasty Woman,” “Vote Him Out” and “Black Lives Matter.” After the national uproar caused by George Floyd’s murder at the end of May, Knopp felt she needed to take action in any way she could.

“George Floyd being murdered sparked a lot in people,” Knopp said. “People’s priorities really aligned, and it caused a lot of anger, a lot of anger that hasn’t been fully unpacked yet. When that happened, everyone was finding what they could do. This was my way.”

All of the proceeds from Knopp’s Black Lives Matter masks went to various charities that worked to help the movement. Additionally, Knopp donates 20% of all purchases to a charity of the buyer’s choosing. She has a master list that they can choose from if they’re unsure where they want their money to go.

Knopp’s favorite charities are the Loveland Foundation and Unicorn Riot. The Loveland Foundation works to provide easier access to therapy for Black women and girls. Unicorn Riot is an independent journalist organization that works with underserved communities to provide assistance and justice when needed.

As of Oct. 30, 2020, Knopp has donated over $1,300 to charity.

Orders for Knopp’s masks have come from all over the U.S.; she’s received orders from California, Wyoming and Massachusetts.

34 | The Communicator Magazine

While Knopp receives phone calls and emails for orders, her biggest source of customers is through her Instagram: @a2maskss.

Promoting her products through social media has been a key strategy. On her Instagram, she posts behind-the-scenes clips showing the sewing process, reviews from happy customers and information on charities and donations.

Social media helped bring Knopp one of her favorite projects: masks for a wedding. The couple chose a design to match the colors of the event, and Knopp made 24 custom masks for the party.

Knopp shows no signs of slowing down. Her masks have changed with the seasons, and she now sells holiday designs. She wants to continue to provide well-made and protective masks for her community.

Photos courtesy of Liliana Knopp TOP LEFT: Knopp has several variations of her “Vote Him Out” masks. “I have something to say, and I’m doing that with masks,” Knopp said.

BELOW: Knopp shows off her multitude of mask designs. Her decal masks have a wire to push over the nose, and she also makes simple patterned masks that go over your face.

BOTTOM LEFT: A custom rainbow zebra mask made for a CHS student. Knopp special-ordered the zebra decal.

Features | November 2020 | 35

QUARANTINNE E I T N A R A QU Quarantine U Cases of Covid-19 are rapidly spiking among college students across the United States. Here’s what one of them has to say about life in quarantine.

BY MIA GOLDSTEIN

It was 12:06 p.m. on Sept. 10 when the email from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Health Services finally loaded into Ben Goldstein’s inbox.

It read: “You were recently tested for the virus that causes Covid-19. Your test was POSITIVE. You should immediately isolate yourself from others.”

After a couple hours, Goldstein would be collected from his room carrying a duffel bag and his backpack -- filled only with a few changes of clothes, his toiletries, bed sheets and computer -- and hurried to the Turner Dorms - the university’s quarantine dorms – across town. There, he would spend ten days in isolation.

Goldstein, a freshman at the University of Wisconsin, had spent a mere two weeks on campus before he contracted the virus. It didn’t come as a shock, though; he was going out to bars and staying out late with groups of friends.

The days prior to his diagnosis consisted of attending classes virtually, going to the gym, doing homework and partaking in the nightlife downtown.

QUA R

ANT

36 | The Communicator Magazine

INE

“College students will be college students,” Goldstein said. “I don’t really think you can blame us for wanting to go out and have a good time.”

At the time Goldstein’s test came back positive, the University Health System only required the students to be tested every two weeks. It was sheer luck that Goldstein had scheduled his test for Sept. 10, when he first arrived on campus in August; he would not have otherwise gotten tested.

Goldstein felt healthy on Sept. 9, when he was tested and would remain asymptomatic throughout his time being viral.

Besides getting tested biweekly and wearing masks in public, the University of Wisconsin had no strictly enforced social distancing guidelines. In Goldstein’s opinion, they were completely lenient.

Student dorm rooms exceeded the four-person limit, fraternity houses were throwing large parties and students were not practicing social distancing.

Goldstein’s roommate tested positive the day after him. He was stuck in their dorm for seven days without hearing from Health Services. Even after Goldstein alerted the university’s contact tracer, his roommate was left in the dark with no plan to be moved out of his dorm.

Goldstein had been assured by Health Services that everything was under control when it was not. The thought that the situation was getting out of hand raised concern for Goldstein, and he was unsure if the university was transparent with the students.

Eventually, his roommate’s mom posted on Facebook, which brought attention to her son’s neglected situation, and he was quickly moved to a quarantine dorm.

The area surrounding Turner Dorms was restricted by yellow gates and police officers patrolling the perimeters.

HEALTH

E N I T N A R QUA QUARANTIN E His room was bleak. There were two beds -- one for him and his new roommate -- a TV with cable, two dressers and two desks.

The brick walls were bare and there was one small window concealed by shades. The overhead lights were a harsh fluorescence that made Goldstein feel cold.

“We couldn’t really go outside because we were in this tiny fenced off area,” Goldstein said. “Cops would walk up and down the fence, telling us off.”

A white food tent was pitched on the front lawn of the dorm.

The students picked up their meals they ordered the day before at 5:45 p.m. sharp.

From the outside, it looked a lot like a jail.

It was a slightly different story on the inside.

Students were allowed to go into any dorm and walk around maskless. There were no resident advisors to watch over the students, so they had free rein.

Parties were being thrown nightly. It was uncontrollable.

“The second night I was there, I wasn’t having a good day,” Goldstein said. “I had a ton of homework and an early class the next day, so I wanted to get some rest. Upstairs, there were probably 60 people having a full-fledged party. It was until two in the morning that I heard them jumping and running down the hallway.”

An intoxicated student tried to sleep in Goldstein’s bed, thinking it was his own.

Communal water fountains had been broken, trash was overflowing, the hallway carpet reeked of throw up and the bathrooms were becoming grimy and moldy.

Although there were police officers monitoring the perimeters, they were unwilling to enter the building to enforce guidelines in fear of putting their own health at risk.

E

One night, someone pulled the fire alarm. The entire dorm was evacuated, and the fire department was forced to enter. The next day, the students received an email saying their behavior was completely unacceptable. The social area or “den” where the students hung out was locked shut.

“The health system was incredibly disorganized, unprepared and irresponsible with the whole situation,” Goldstein said. “There was no one checking in on our physical health or our mental health. One girl had to check herself into the emergency room because she got so sick.”

Goldstein struggled with his mental wellbeing the most during his time in isolation. When he wasn’t in class or doing homework, he was scrolling through his social feed and staying to himself.

But mostly, he was just left to his thoughts.

“The amount of time I had to just fester in my own thoughts made the whole experience incredibly hard,” Goldstein said. “All I could do was think. After an hour of going through social media you start seeing the same things.”

He rarely went outside and couldn’t get any physical activity because police officers were constantly patrolling the area. It made him feel uneasy and unwelcome.

He was released from Turner after ten days and re-situated in his old dorm where he continued to self-isolate. He returned feeling exhausted and in a worse mental and physical state than before.

Goldstein wishes the university had acted sooner.

“The health system only started mandating things when the cases spiked; at that point, it is too late,” Goldstein said. “Universities across the country should learn by example and really see the effects neglectful behavior from the university has on its students.”

N A R A QU Features | November 2020 | 37

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AN ESSAY

AND SOME NUMBERS AND A COUPLE OF

QUESTIONS

ABOUT WHAT PROGRAMS YOU WANT TO GET INTO,

THAT’S NOT YOU.

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It’s kind ofcollege a making our way in the dark type of thing.” “For me application process during athere pandemic. a member of the queer community are more important things than going to a really good thisschool“My right now.” So many students are overwhelmed and stressed and can’t deal with thisbeca instinct to you asking [about the college application process] my mind almost constantly,” Chappell-Lakin said. “I don’t want he was to say ‘Don’tare talk in to me about it,’ but I literally up for to be debt for the rest of my life, is the reality ofthe a lot of their loved ones the hospital.”

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Before she “For me figure it out It’s kind of a making way in the dark type of thing.”

-- is pretty tempting.” can even begin to worry about financial aid and merit scholarships, a member of theasqueer community there arenotmore important things than and going a really good As daunting the college application process is, it’s though, she has to finish her applications get intoto college.

The primary focus right now. With the recent appointment main Common Application essay has been especially challenging this- school Iwashyna’s right now.”

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So many students are overwhelmed stressed and can’tfordeal with “College is scary enough as it is. It’s not just school; you’re on taken the test three times since then and has met regularly with a e their loved ones are for in the thefirsthospital.”

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We’reourselves. forced to be grownups in this “[The main essay] tookin a really time type to write,”of Durkee said. “For me e “We have tointo figure it out It’s kind ofworld a making our way thelong dark thing.” that is crazier than it has maybe ever been.”

“It was July through September because it just took so long to come a member of the queer community there aare more important than going to ame.really good Chappell-Lakin’s stress about applying to and choosing college up with ideas. Then thethings supplemental essays almost killed Oh while on lockdown is also weighing on her. Because of Covid-19, my God, I didn’t realize they were such a thing.” his- school she right many tostudents overwhelmed and stressed can’t withofthisbeca hasn’tnow.” had theSo opportunity visit any of are the schools she’s Like Chappell-Lakin, Durkee and hasn’t been able deal to visit most applying to. Sheare has very of what the “It’s atmosphere is like the to colleges she’s applying to. Shetoknows sheabout wants to major e their loved ones inlittle thesense hospital.” really hard motivate myself think the in future wh on various college campuses, and she’s nervous to choose where she environmental engineering, which has helped her narrow down her ot I’m notwants really sure going to based happen inand the options, worldbutnext “I’ve closer, never foottoon to spend thewhat’s next four years of her life on a website as theweek.” election draws she’sset starting morethe cam e “We have maybeto a virtual information session.

However, she noted that there seriously consider some Canadian universities. figure it out ourselves. It’s kind of a making our way in the dark type of thing.” “For me are also benefits to the new online college visit system.

“As a member of the LGBT community, a woman and someone a member ofathe queer community thereevenare more things than toespecially a really good “There’s lot more resources online, which hopefully going who’simportant going to need health insurance, I’m going very worried, when there isn’t a pandemic people will have,because not about the Supreme Court nomination,” Durkee said. “I don’t this-school forward right now.”

So many are tooverwhelmed stressed and deal with everyone has the resources to travelstudents across the country go visit a know whatand other towns are going to becan’t like because without thethisbeca e their loved school,”ones Chappell-Lakin hoping that “It’s the resources college visits and without living there, you only know about are insaid. the“I’m hospital.” reallythat hard to motivate myself to think about thethe future wh are being provided now will be available in the future as well for town’s profile.” ot I’m notthose really what’s going to happen in the world next week.” never set foot who sure can’t travel.”

More than anything, though,“I’ve Durkee is exhausted.

This is on a longthe cam e “We have In addition to the quarantine-specific stressors, Chappell-Lakin and arduous process, and the social isolation and technological to figure it out ourselves. It’s kind of a making our way in the dark type of thing.” “For me has had to face the expected challenges that are inherent to the confusion that come with a global pandemic and online school has college of application process, such as the financialthere aid application made important it even more difficult. a member the queer community are more things than going to a really good particular.

“I’m just so overwhelmed, all the time,” Durkee said. “Every his- school inright So has many arebeen overwhelmed and and can’t deal with “Payingnow.” for college been students something that’s on my single survey that stressed they have us fill out I’m just like, ‘Stressed, I’mthisbeca e their loved mind aones lot. I’m are not rich, not even a“It’s littlereally bit rich,hard so so stressed.

It’s too much.’” in my thefamily’s hospital.” to motivate myself to think about the future wh scholarships and student aid and all that kind of stuff has been in ot I’m not really sure what’s going to happen in the world next week.” “I’ve never foot2020 on| 39the cam Features |set November as “We have to figure it out ourselves. It’s kind of a making our way in the dark type of thing.” “For me a a member of the queer community there are more important things than going to a really good

.

College Apps in Quarantine

BY LILY SICKMAN-GARNER

Friendships During Lockdown How students are meeting up, physically or virtually, during a pandemic.

BY HARRISON WORDEN

“

Make sure to wear a mask and try to stay 6 feet away.

”

40 | The Communicator Magazine

“We’ve played a lot of Among Us,” said CHS sophomore Oliver Hiltz-Perron about activities he has partaken in with friends during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

With indoor visits being risky, students have had to find more ways to connect with friends.

Multiplayer games are a common way to interact with friends without being in the same physical location. As of Nov. 9, Among Us, a popular game choice for virtual meetups, sat at the top of Google Play’s Top Free Games chart. Other online games people have been playing include playingcards.io — a virtual tabletop that allows for custom card games — and multiplayer Minecraft. Especially near the beginning of the pandemic, a large portion of gatherings between friends were online. But now, many people are making the leap to in-person activities.

Around the start of the school year, the new asynchronous Wednesdays seemed like the perfect opportunity to meet up in-person. As work could be done at any time, there was more flexibility to make plans.

However, this is becoming less and less possible due to increased work on Wednesdays, and the weather will only get colder from here. The cooler weather has shifted some outdoor visits from sitting around a table to sitting around a campfire. Campfires hit three birds with one stone: warmth, food and easy social distancing.

“I did basketball and football and foursquare with some friends at Carpenter Elementary,” said Adri Friebel, a CHS student.

“They don’t really care about masks, but we wore one because a relative inside the house had coronavirus.”

Masks seemed to be a common point of disagreement between students, and indeed the country as a whole, with some uncertainty over how important they were.

“Just a couple days ago, I went and played a soccer game, and no one wore a mask,” said Biel Tapley-Coll, a sophomore at CHS. It is important to note that this pandemic is still as dangerous as ever, and arguably even more so than it was this spring and summer. Daily new cases of Covid-19 in Washtenaw County reached their highest point ever in mid-October, and the state as a whole counted over 5,000 new confirmed cases on Nov. 2, alone. On the national level as well, daily new cases are reaching alltime highs. Needless to say, the pandemic is not over.

With the Covid-19 pandemic still in full swing and the weather getting colder, we may see a shift back to mainly online gatherings. But right now, in-person meetups are still common.

“Make sure to wear a mask and try to stay 6 feet away,” Hiltz-Perron said. And as Tapley-Coll put it, “Any symptoms at all that could be related to Covid, just don’t go.”

HEALTH

College Plans Can Change During Covid The uncertainty of the pandemic has altered everyday life – especially educational plans

BY HENRY COLLINS-THOMPSON

Karenna Collins-Thompson’s college plans were complete.

She had been visiting dorms and selecting her classes for the semester until the Covid-19 pandemic hit, and her university was going completely virtual. She had been looking forward to experiencing her first year of college on the campus.

“I had been anticipating my first year of college and I didn’t want to experience it online,” Collins-Thompson said.

In the Class of 2024, according to a student survey by SimpsonScarborough, 20% of college freshmen at Harvard and 40% of all college freshmen took a gap year, including Collins-Thompson. For her, safety was a big issue in her decision to take a gap year, as she was worried about moving during the pandemic, along with her desire to experience her first year of college on the campus. This concern is justified: colleges that have allowed students to take in-person classes during the pandemic, such as the University of Michigan, have seen a 471% increase in Covid-19 cases on the campus within two weeks since the first day of

school. Due to this, colleges have decided to increase the amount of online learning.

Samantha Ramser, another CHS graduate, is attending her college rather than taking a gap year.

“The school was online, so I felt safe, but it was unfortunate that I could not experience the first year of college on the campus,” Ramser said. “It has been hard to socialize with others who go to the school due to the online format, and I was looking forward to the campus and going to the college town.”

However, many students interviewed reported they were satisfied with online schooling. The time and public transport necessary for commuting to and from college, the dorms or one’s apartment are considerations that students do not have to make with the increased rates of online school. Students can use the extra time to work on school or their hobbies.

“It has actually made my work a lot easier to schedule,” Ramser said. “I feel I’ve been able to learn as well, and I feel safe.”

“

The school was online so I felt safe.

”

Features | November 2020 | 41

High School Athletics During Covid-19 With all the change in our world, some things remain the same — Michigan High School Athletics are in full swing.

BY KURT HAUSMAN

“Don’t forget to fill out your health screening.” “Keep those masks up at all times.”

“Six feet minimum when you’re on the sideline.” All of these have become common phrases now in the vocabulary of high school athletic coaches this fall.

Earlier this summer, the fate of the school year and high school athletics were in question. Players were still partaking in stringently cautious off-season activities, not knowing whether or not they were even preparing for a season that they could even play. When the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) gave the go-ahead for fall sports, many of those high school athletes were able to let out a sigh of relief, knowing that they were going to get the opportunity to play. But for some athletes, the journey of ups and downs was far from over.

The decision by the MHSAA was not supported by everyone. There was an option to move fall sports to the spring, proposed by the MHSAA, suggesting that it would be safer for all schools to postpone seasons. When it was confirmed that sports were allowed to be played in the fall season, many high school athletes were faced with a tough decision: risking their health or missing out playing the sport that they love.

Liam Rohrer, a sophomore at Pioneer High School, was one of the ones faced with this decision.

“I was mainly worried of it being trans42 | The Communicator Magazine

mitted to older people, or people that we have chosen to come in contact with,” Rohrer said. “There are people indirectly that it could get to that could be more at risk.”

Rohrer, who plays football, had an even more unusual experience than others.

Football wasn’t originally permitted along with the other fall sports. Rohrer and the Pioneer Football program were in full swing with their pre-season practices when the ruling came down that they would not be allowed to hold their season that fall, while all other fall sports were allowed. However, just a few weeks later, that ruling would be repealed, allowing football to be played in the fall. “[The decision] made me feel both disappointed and relieved at the same time when it was moved, and then hopeful, but again conflicted when it was moved back,” Rohrer said.

Now the decision was up to the Ann Arbor Public Schools (AAPS) District. Already having lost the first three weeks of their season, the football program was just waiting for yet another ruling. The district eventually came to the decision that Ann Arbor schools would be allowed to participate in football, but that they would not be allowed to participate in the first week of games.

Now, around a month into the fall season with sports in full swing, Rohrer looks back and reflects on this season and what

good has come from it.

“Honestly, it seemed pretty safe and like a worthwhile decision,” Rohrer said. “At first I was pretty dubious because it is a big risk and if people were to get infected, it can spread a lot. But I think because of how important football is to people and people’s mental health — just their drive to get through the days — for a lot of football players and people that are looking to go places with football, I think it’s a good decision to play in the fall.”

As a high school student doing online school, Rohrer uses football as a way to get away from all of the stress and weight of being a teenager in a pandemic.

“I think [football] just kind of gives something to work towards,” Rohrer said.

“I feel like sometimes people feel like they’re just stuck in the same spot doing the same things every day. But when you have sports and your competition, getting better every day, something to work at and to think about, I think it really just gives people a sense of purpose, day to day. That really helps them out.”

Photography Courtesy of Adam Wellman Pioneer Sophomore Liam Rohrer (Middle) tackles an opposing player in the last game of the JV Season. This would be the last of six games that the Pioneers would play in their shortened season. “I think [football] just kind of gives something to work towards,” Rohrer said.

HEALTH

Features | November 2020 | 43

A Pandemic in the Works Holding a job is hard enough for a high schooler trying to keep their grades up, but this year, it’s been even harder.

BY ERIN SIMMONS

Ren Gray-Wright, a student at CHS, has been working at Blank Slate Creamery in downtown Ann Arbor for nearly two years. They’ve been through a lot at their job, but they never thought they’d have to work through a global pandemic.

“It’s definitely changed the way we serve customers,” Gray-Wright said. “No one can use the bathroom if they’re not wearing a mask. Otherwise, we don’t let anyone inside at all. We basically just interact with the customers through the windows.”

Along with this, many customers that they interacted with were not following safety precautions, and this didn’t help. Gray-Wright recalls multiple people “pulling off their masks before they start talking to them,” and even some groups of people “sharing one mask.”

It definitely adds stress to the day.

However, businesses like Blank Slate are doing everything they can to keep both their customers and employees safe. Along with wearing masks and regularly washing hands, there are plenty of other precautions.

“Before every shift, we have to fill out a screening survey,” Gray-Wright said. “Before we clock in, we have to take our temperature.”

But neither Gray-Wright, nor Blank Slate, are alone.

Other businesses, such as Skip’s Canoe Livery, are also doing the best they can to stay open during these hard times. They were up and running full time during the pandemic before Skip’s closed for the season, with multiple CHS students employed there.

“It’s scary,” said Evan Ash — a CHS senior and seasonal employee — as he thinks of the long days,

Photography by Ren Gray-Wright Ren Gray-Wright dressed and ready to head into their job at Blank Slate Creamery.

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hard hours and maskless customers.

“Sometimes I felt disrespected,” Ash said. “People will see all these workers wearing their mask, and they don’t bother to put theirs on because they find it political.”

Zack Schueler — another seasonal Skip’s employee — also had concerns and plenty of his own bad experiences.

“There were some drunk people on the river that would definitely come off not wearing a mask, kind of refusing to,” Schueler said. “We would try to avoid them as best we could. If you don’t want to wear a mask, go talk to our manager, he’s right there.”

Each and every one of these students had something in common: a lack of respect from customers and both the physical and mental toll it took.

To keep themselves and their families safe from the virus and other concerns, many of them had protocols to follow when they got home.

Ash alone had a detailed step-by-step safety protocol.

“When I got home, I would always shower,” Ash said. “I tend to stay in my room. Sometimes I was like, ‘Should I be wearing a mask [at home] if I’m gonna keep working?’”

Gray-Wright also worked hard to keep their family and themselves safe with similar strategies, but it was still hard for everyone’s mental health. Whether they had big problems or small, not everything could be avoided. No matter how much hand-washing and social-distancing you do, occasionally things will slip through the cracks.

“There was an email sent out about someone who worked the same day as me and noticed that they had a fever above 100.4°F, so I had to quarantine for a couple days while they tested that person,” GrayWright said. “It sucks not being in control of when I get my food. People forget about me.”

Ash also had his own fears and concerns.

“I have a family member who’s really susceptible to the virus. Some days I was really like, ‘I can’t do this — I don’t want to bring Covid home to my family,’” Ash said. “There were definitely some hard days, some

guilt.”

Though his family supported him and his decision, he was truly and deeply concerned every day.

Each and every one of these students carried a heavy burden each day they left their house and returned after work. However, these same students actually had some good things come out of the whole experience — things many may not have even considered.

For Gray-Wright, it was their mental health; having to interact all day with potentially rude customers is always tiring, and getting a break from the constant customer service front has helped them make it through busy shifts.

For Ash, just getting a chance out of the house helped him feel better.

“Physically, I felt great,” Ash said. “I was active, I was staying healthy, and then this pandemic happened, and I lost all my drive. Then I started working at Skip’s, and I was loading these boats all day. I could tell I was getting stronger again.”

With both advantages and disadvantages of working, right now more than ever, it’s hard to make any final judgments.

The experience is different for everyone, from dealing with rude customers, to growing stronger and everything in between. However, if someone is looking for a job, or even working at a job they already had, there’s one major thing to always keep in mind: safety.

“Look at the team, see what they’re doing — are they washing their hands, are they trying to distance, everything,” Ash said. “You should know if they’re taking it seriously. If you’re going to be working there, make sure you feel safe while you’re doing it. You can approach this the right way, you can work and make money while still keeping the people around you safe.”

“I don’t want to bring Covid home to my family. There were definitely some hard days, some guilt.”

Features | November 2020 | 45

Addiction During the

Pandemic The Covid-19 pandemic has caused a surge in addiction-related deaths and has restricted access to treatment services.

BY MORI ONO

For 11 years, David Clayton experienced a living hell.

Clayton’s struggle with heroin addiction and alcoholism led to homelessness and suicidal tendencies. He had never imagined it would happen to him.

“I thought, ‘I’m a good kid from a good home,’” Clayton said. “‘This stuff doesn’t really happen to people from good neighborhoods and good areas.’”

Clayton is now a Regional Director and Outreach Coordinator for Families Against Narcotics (FAN). The organization seeks to support people affected by addiction and to remove the stigma surrounding it. Clayton joined the organization six months into recovery and now speaks at a wide variety of events for youth, medical staff and police departments.

In 2019, over 70,000 people died from drug overdoses in the U.S. — double that of car accident fatalities.

As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, opioid-related deaths may have increased by 30% to 40% in the U.S. From April to May, emergency medical services calls for overdoses rose by 33% in Michigan, and the percentage of people who declined transportation to emer-

gency departments doubled.

Research by the Well Being Trust projects that as many as 75,000 Americans will die from deaths of despair — those from drugs, alcohol and suicide — over the next decade from the pandemic-caused recession alone. Even the economic support in response to the recession has caused unintended consequences. For people without a solid foundation in recovery, they ultimately relapsed after being provided with the $1,200 by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. According to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, social isolation has made it much more difficult for people in recovery to maintain their mental health by triggering stress, loneliness, depression and anxiety. Such isolation has also made it less likely that people will be there to administer naloxone, a medication that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose.

“We need to increase access to naloxone distribution in our social network and for those who are more likely to come in contact with people who are in an overdose situation,” said Dr. Gina Dahlem, Ph.D., a clinical assistant professor at the University of Michigan and a family nurse practitioner.

The pandemic has also limited many programs for helping people in recovery. Not all people adapted to virtual support group meetings. As for FAN’s Hope Not Handcuffs program,

“[People were] dying from a clinical disease [addiction] and yet it wasn’t being treated as a disease.

It shows you where people’s priorities are.”

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which allows people to request help for substance use disorder from participating police departments, it was limited by police departments and community organizations reducing operations.

Many treatment centers were overwhelmed by the pandemic and prioritized Covid-19 patients over those dealing with addiction and few beds due to social distancing. Clayton was particularly frustrated by the creation and subsequent closing of a $9.5 million field hospital at the TCF Center in Detroit, which treated only 39 Covid-19 patients over three weeks.

“Wouldn’t it have been really nice if they used those beds they created a field hospital with for individuals with substance use disorders?” Clayton said.

The focus on Covid-19 research funding has also led to budget cuts for addiction research, even as addiction deaths increase.

Many healthcare systems have adapted to the pandemic through telehealth, providing healthcare-related services remotely. Elements of telehealth include online prescriptions, medication door deliveries and virtual therapy sessions. However, these options are unavailable for people who do not have access to the internet or a phone.

Efforts at preventing substance use disorders have also had to adapt. The Michigan Opioid Prescribing Engagement Network (M-OPEN)’s take-back events, which reduce the supply of opioids in communities, were canceled in April. Another event on Oct. 24, had social distancing and mask-wearing measures, but the pandemic has reduced the number of participating locations.

Another event, Dahlem’s training for obtaining and administering naloxone, has continued online with promising results from her analysis.

“Even [people’s] attitudes regarding naloxone and overdoses are changing,” Dahlem said.

Naloxone, also known by its brand names Narcan and Evzio, can currently be obtained through mailbased delivery to people’s homes. The state of Michigan also has a Naloxone standing order law, which allows pharmacists to provide Naloxone without a prescription.

In addition to its effects on treatment and prevention efforts, Covid-19 also has worse effects on people who suffer from drug use disorder. Drug use and regular smoking can cause damage to the respiratory and cardiovascular systems, both of which are often affected by the virus.

For Clayton, the first step in recovering from addiction is recognizing its effects and wanting to receive help.

“Addiction is something that can rip a family apart — and no one can ever be loved out of an addiction,” Clayton said. “They can’t be bought out of an addiction. You have to want to get help from yourself first and foremost.”

Monica Walker, a Clinical Relations Manager at M-OPEN, believes a key step in fighting the addiction epidemic is to create spaces for people to admit they are struggling with addiction and find treatment. For this to happen, she believes the stigma around addiction needs to end, and for addiction.

“Someone is a lot less likely to admit that they’re struggling if people think that this is a moral failing or that this is their choice,” Walker said. “It is a disorder just like any other disorder, such as heart disease or diabetes, and we really need to start thinking of it that way.”

RESOURCES Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration: findtreatment.samhsa.gov/, 1-800-662-HELP Centers for Disease Control Opioid Overdoses: cdc.gov/ drugoverdose Training and resources for administering naloxone: Overdoseaction.org Families Against Narcotics Washtenaw County: familiesagainstnarcotics.org/washtenaw Community Mental Health Partnership of Southeast Michigan: cmhpsm.org/ Features | November 2020 | 47

The Family Dilemma One local mother reflects on her struggle with stage three colon cancer.

BY CARMEN JOHNSON

Kate Stroud is the mother of two teens — Ella who attends Ann Arbor Public schools and Sam, who is now attending college in Detroit. In the summer of 2019, she was diagnosed with stage three colon cancer. When she was first told about her diagnosis, her doctors had already removed it. Stroud remembers feeling constipated and experiencing stomach pain for a long time, but had never wanted to go to the doctor. The afternoon that Stroud decided to go to the hospital, she had called her wife because she didn’t feel good. She assumed it was because she hadn’t eaten, so she had a protein shake.

“I had the protein shake and I threw up and my body just went into pissed mode. I was in pain, doubled over and then I called Jen and I said, ‘We got to go to the hospital.’’’ Stroud said.

After Stroud vomited, her wife came home and they headed to the hospital. Stroud describes the pain as similar to labor contractions. “You know it’s serious when you don’t have to wait in the ER,” Stroud said.

Five doctors in the room are all eager to have a patient; in July all the new residents come on and they’re all eager to get new work experiences. Stroud was given something for her pain and went off for scans. Two days later she was given Dilaudid and her scans came back. They found a full blockage of her colon, but it showed up negative for all cancer blood tests. After some time, Stroud’s doctors came back and told her that it was either Diverticulitis or something else, and sadly Stroud was not going to get out of the hospital without surgery.

“I was on so many drugs I didn’t care,” Stroud said. “The info was going in, but I didn’t care, so that was the weird part.”

They marked up where Stroud’s ostomy bag was going to be. Jen and Stroud’s mother got to feel everything real time, but Stroud didn’t find out she had cancer until days after she went into surgery. Stroud’s biggest struggle was the fear surrounding her diagnosis involving her family’s history.

“When they told me on Wednesday, I looked at my mom and asked, ‘Are you okay?’ Because my mom’s mom died of cancer at the exact age I was at that moment,” Stroud said.

Photo courtesy of Kate Stroud Kate Stroud, a mother of two, stands near the lake during a family cabin trip up north. Stroud has been diagnosed with cancer twice and has shared her story on her blog Leave the Light on. “You know it’s serious when you don’t have to wait in the E.R.,” Stroud said.

48 | The Communicator Magazine

Still on Dilaudid, Stroud was dealing with an ostomy bag and a 12-inch incision, only for her struggles to continue when she got home. She started weaning off the Dilaudid and her wife had to give her shots everyday.

“The realization that I had cancer and that chemo was coming had started to sink in,” Stroud said.

The second time Stroud was diagnosed, she knew something was wrong in her gut, even before her blood tests came back. Chemo was not something Stroud wanted to do; it wasn’t her style. “I’ve lived most of my life with healthy eating, I don’t really do, you know, pharmaceuticals. I don’t do doctors, I like nature’s way,” Stroud said.

Stroud did quite a bit of research to try and get out of doing chemo, but her oncologist told her she had no choice.

“I think to some extent I was in denial because my cancer the second time was growing on my ovary,” Stroud said. “And I didn’t even allow myself to think that. ‘Oh, this could be ovarian cancer, and ovarian cancer is very deadly.’”

During all of this uncertain time, Stroud never informed her kids what was going on with her. Stroud’s reasoning for this was to protect and make sure her kids were not negatively affected or worried about her. Stroud did eventually find Eastern medicine.

“We didn’t tell the kids until after New Year’s because we don’t want to ruin their Christmas,” Stroud said. “At the same time my tumor was growing very fast.”

The tumor probably started in October and was removed on Jan. 10; it had grown to be ten inches by six inches and two pounds.

This time instead of chemo, Stroud found a new doctor, who encouraged her to use Eastern medicine. Stroud’s new doctor worked in conjunction with hospitals and met with doctors every Friday; he recommends Eastern and Western medicine.

Stroud’s new doctor expressed his worry for her mental and physical health if she did chemo again and asked for six weeks to get her body to respond to his treatments “I started on his path, and he got me nasty herbs brewing this really weird tea,” Stroud said. “I started my weird diet and cut everything out.”

Stroud ended up making a final decision. It was the Tuesday after Jen’s dad died. She was responding to the herbs well and got a positive report from her doctor and surgeon.

“We had a PET scan,” Stroud said. “Soon as I was like a science experiment because my body did something weird.” When Stroud got the “all clear,” she and her wife were sitting in a restaurant and got the call about the PET scan; Stroud broke down in the middle of the restaurant.

“I just sobbed because for the first time since this all started, I had a full body scan with radiation and all,” Stroud said.

There was no cancer in Stroud’s body at that moment that they could detect. Due to the fact that Stroud’s wife’s father had died and the positive news they received, everyone was in an emotional state.

Stroud worries for her kids, but more for her daughter because of how easily stressed she can get. The increase of stress within

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young people relating to cancer and colon cancer starts in the gut.

“When we say, ‘Oh, my belly is upset’ or ‘I’m nervous,’ it’s tied to that area,” Stroud said. “So I’m worried about my little stress ball of a daughter.”

Stroud found being optimistic and having supportive friends around helped her get through the process. The biggest thing that helped her through this time was writing. Stroud shared her story and weekly updates on her blog called “Leave The Light On.”

“I needed to include my community on the journey and be able to share what I learned; and at least If I didn’t make it, I left something.”

Features | November 2020 | 49

Healthcare Workers in the Era of Covid-19 How local healthcare workers are fighting on the front lines.

BY ANJALI KAKARLA

Many lives were changed earlier this year when Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued a stay-at-home order. Citizens were told not to leave their homes unless necessary. Schools, gyms and restaurants were closed, and gatherings of 50 or more were banned. The only people allowed to continue doing their jobs in-person were essential workers — people who work to save lives. Janet Rojo and Jim Salisbury are health care professionals whose jobs completely changed in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. They are two of the many healthcare workers who have risked their lives to help the nation fight through these unprecedented times.

Janet Rojo On her first day tending to Covid-19 patients, Janet Rojo found herself in a completely different environment. Her new role was drastically different from her regular position: for 20 years, Rojo had worked as a nurse anesthesiologist in surgery.

Rojo was asked to help out at an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in Detroit built specifically to treat Covid-19 patients. She accepted. A meeting was set up for all of the healthcare workers at the ICU to talk about their roles. Rojo’s was to help with breathing and manual tasks.

On the first day of assuming her new role, there were extra things to think about for healthcare professionals. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) was one of them. Rojo said she and her colleagues had to practice putting on their PPE. She described it as feeling like she was back in her early days as a healthcare professional when everything required extra thinking.

“You want to make sure you’re doing it okay because [the] consequences could be

50 | The Communicator Magazine

grave,” Rojo said. “I don’t want to get sick, and I don’t want to make anyone else sick.”

Rojo, like many healthcare workers, says she saw a shortage of PPE at the beginning of the pandemic.

“I think we were exposed before we realized,” Rojo said. “We didn’t have protection, and a lot of my coworkers got very sick.”

At the time Rojo was brought in to work at the Covid ICU, Detroit was one of the worst hotspots in the nation. One reason she believes Detroit was hit so hard was because they had a learning curve and did not have enough information about the virus to respond to it effectively. At the time, hospitals were still developing techniques and purchasing equipment to fight the virus.

Rojo says working in Detroit when hospitals were overwhelmed was incredibly difficult. She had nightmares about bringing the virus home to her family and describes her experience in Detroit as “traumatic.”

Rojo ended up leaving Detroit and moving to a hospital in Washtenaw County.

She said there was a big difference between how she felt in Detroit versus how she felt in Ann Arbor.

“At the hospital in Detroit, it was much more chaotic,” Rojo said. “I think they got slammed with a lot of cases quickly. It was very, very different in Washtenaw County, where I felt like the planning was ahead of the crisis. Two very different scenarios.”

Jim Salisbury On an average pre-Covid day, Jim Salisbury can be found helping patients who have just come out of the hospital. He is an occupational therapist working in home health; his main job is to help patients re-

learn how to do everyday tasks. Salisbury says his days are very different now.

The main difference is the type of patients he treats. Salisbury is used to treating patients who have had elective surgery, such as hip and knee replacements. Now, he helps patients who have been released from the hospital and are convalescing from Covid-19.

The virus has changed a lot of things for healthcare workers. Many are having to learn new ways to navigate these challenges. One such challenge Salisbury now faces is communicating with his patients.

“It’s hard to make the connection because they can’t see your face,” Salisbury said. “They can’t really see you smile.”

Salisbury has noticed that some patients are even offended when they see him wearing a mask. “[Patients have said], ‘You think I’ve got it,’” Salisbury said. “And I’m like, ‘Well, anybody could [have it].’The surgical mask did not protect us anyway. It only protected them.”

Salisbury also noticed his patient’s neighbors paying close attention when his car pulled into the driveway.

“Early on, when I would put on my face shield and [other PPE] at the trunk of my car, I could see the neighbors looking out the windows and then freaking out,” Salisbury said. “A couple of people even asked me, ‘Do they have it?’ Which obviously, we can’t say anything. But now, nobody even notices me. Everybody just goes about their business. I feel like I could walk down the street in full gear, and nobody would look twice at this point.”

Working in Detroit, Salisbury works with a lot of low-income, multi-generational homes. He said that the families are stressed out. He loved working in Detroit

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“But now, nobody even notices me.

Everybody just goes about their business. I feel like I could walk down the street in full gear, and nobody would look twice at this point.”

bury had trouble getting enough PPE to protect himself and his patients.

“We know that N95 masks are the only things that protect you, period,” Salisbury said. “But there weren’t enough to go around. So they were telling us to use surgical masks. Well, surgical masks only protect us from giving it to somebody else.

They don’t protect anybody from getting it. At one point, I was thinking about not seeing my kids at all. I was just gonna have them stay with their mom until this is over.”

Thankfully, Salisbury got his hands on some extra N95 masks through a friend.

“So now, I have enough N95 masks that I can wear them with all my patients. Now,

I feel safe. I can’t tell you there’s no fear: I’m still stressed out, but it’s a lot better now that I have the N95 masks with every patient.”

A fear both Rojo and Salisbury share is bringing this deadly virus home to their families or catching it themselves. Both have had nightmares about this possibility.

Even though there is so much uncertainty these individuals face, they come to work every day ready to do their crucial, life-saving work.

Photo Courtesy of Janet Rojo Janet Rojo takes a picture in her PPE. Rojo and many other healthcare workers faced shortages of PPE at the beginning of the pandemic. “Your preparation is key,” Rojo said.

before the outbreak because Detroiters have such a good sense of humor. Despite working with patients who have just come home from the hospital, Salisbury is used to joking around with them. Now, he said, everybody is worried.

“I haven’t run into anybody in Detroit yet who doesn’t know somebody who has died,” Salisbury said. “Everybody knows somebody or knows of somebody on their block. The areas I work in are the very poor parts of Detroit. Most people there have had somebody in their family die.”

Salisbury has watched the community come together to take care of each other. People are doing as much as they can without breaking the social isolation rules, Salisbury said. People are shopping for other people, making food and delivering cards.

Salisbury used to work in a very different situation. Earlier on in his career, Salisbury worked for home health systems that did not take Medicare. He worked with people who had good insurance, “who were living in high-end assisted livings that were very rich.” The community he works with now is much more helpful and supportive.

At the beginning of the pandemic, Salis-

Features | November 2020 | 51

STAYING HEALTHY For two CHS students and one teacher, online school is proving to be a mental and physical struggle. Here is what they are doing to stay on top of life.

BY: ARISTA LUONG AND ELEANOR NIMAN

Photography by Ella Rosewarne Courtney Kiley stands in front of a 30-year-old Witch Hazel tree in her backyard. For Kiley, spending time outside is important for staying healthy. “For me, just going for a walk, seeing the trees, noticing the fall colors, that takes my mind of everything,” Kiley said.

Courtney Kiley Time has seemingly come to a stand-still for CHS science teacher Courtney Kiley. She finds it unbelievable that it is only week four of what seems to be an unending semester. The combination of not being able to see her students face-to-face and having to make sure everything on her Schoology page is working correctly means working double-time. Understandably, this is leaving Kiley feeling overworked and exhausted.

“I’m spending a lot more time working than I have in a long time,” Kiley said. “It’s going to be a long year.”

Schoology is turning out to be more of a minefield than the easy solution it was intended to be. Uploading countless assignments, verifying that links work and color-coding everything is extremely time consuming, unlike pressing a button on a photocopy machine and placing the freshly printed stack on a table for students to collect. Not only is online learning having a negative impact on Kiley’s mental health, but she is concerned that her students’ mental health is deteriorating as well.

“I am super worried about my students,” Kiley said. “I feel for [teenagers] the most right now.”

It is hard for Kiley to not be able to pull students aside during class to check-in on them.

“As a teacher, I can sense how kids are doing in my classroom based on their body language or how focused they are,” Kiley said.

“I just can’t do that on zoom.”

As a result, Kiley feels a huge disconnect with her students, espe52 | The Communicator Magazine

cially her Foundations of Science (FOS) 1 kids. She doesn’t even know what some of her students look like because she has never had them in her class before.

For a teacher who loves her students and her job, it is hard for Kiley to have fun or be excited when the once warm, smiling faces of her students are now replaced with black boxes.

During such a demanding time, Kiley finds herself depending on her friends, fellow staff members, family and the great outdoors to stay sane and healthy.

“I’m really relying on my coworkers Liz, Marcy and Tracy, not only for help with teaching, but also we take walks together and call each other,” Kiley said. “I take a two-mile walk every morning, and a lot of times Liz comes with me. She’ll be out on my back porch at 6:45 or 7:00 and we walk together.”

Kiley feels extremely lucky to have great friends to check-in and commiserate with. Watching the sunrise with Liz Stern is her favorite way to start the day. For Kiley, being outside is an easy remedy for stress, anxiety, or anything that goes wrong in a day.

“For me, just going for a walk, seeing the trees, noticing the fall colors, that just takes my mind off of everything,” Kiley said.

“That’s the thing that keeps me grounded and feels the most normal.”

Kiley is combating cabin fever and stress by talking to friends, going outside and spending every spare minute with her husband and kids.

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Anna Stansfield CHS senior Anna Stansfield has been spending a lot of time focusing on herself during quarantine, which she hadn’t been doing before.

“I used to feel burned out all the time,” Stansfield said. “It’s been a nice opportunity for me to feel more connected to myself.”

Before quarantine, Stansfield never spent much time in her room. But ever since she cleaned, organized and redecorated, Stansfield has found the room to be a calm space to relax and work.

“I’ve been working on having it be a place where I feel happy,” Stansfield said.

Due to many people in her family being at risk because of age or health, Stansfield has been trying to stay quarantined and hasn’t been seeing friends.

“It’s been tricky,” Stansfield said, “but I spend a lot of time on FaceTime with people, which is nice.”

Stansfield is also making an effort to wake up early every day and to maintain a routine. She has found that she is much more energized during the day if she wakes up before nine.

“Early on in quarantine, I would sleep super late and that would always mess me up,” Stansfield said. “When you get up late, you just can’t do anything.”

Stansfield has been utilizing her extra time by writing in her journal and spending time reading. Both have proven to be rewarding.

Photography courtesy of Anna Stansfield

Jillian Boynton Online school has proven to be difficult for many students, including CHS sophomore Jillian Boynton. Combining this semester and last, she has been learning online for almost six months, and her mental health has taken a toll.

“I think part of going to Community is being part of that group of people,” Boynton said. “So being at home and not seeing everybody in the hallways is so awkward.”

She has found it challenging to learn the material in her classes via zoom and struggles with not seeing her classmates and teachers in person. Trying to change the way she learns has been a struggle that has left Boynton feeling stressed and distant. While her mental health has not been thriving, Boynton has taken time at home to focus on her physical health.

One of Boynton’s strategies for combating stress is to exercise.

She finds that running and playing soccer help clear her head and wash away any frustration from the day. Boynton also finds that after a long day, her favorite method of self-care is to simply do nothing.

“I like to sit in my bedroom and relax, watch some Netflix, maybe drink some coffee and take a nap,” Boynton said. “I just need time to calm down before sleeping.”

With all the extra time on Boynton’s hands, she is exercising more and getting some much-needed rest and relaxation.

Photography courtesy of Jillian Boynton

Features | November 2020 | 53

Catching Up with Kerrytown A closer look into how local Ann Arbor businesses have either benefited or been crippled by the pandemic.

BY MIA GOLDSTEIN

MALOFTA VINTAGE

The Covid-19 pandemic has opened an unexpected door for Shannon Brydges, the owner of Malofta Vintage.

Brydges never intended to open up a physical space for her store.

Around a month ago, when another vendor moved, she was granted the opportunity to make it her own — and she took the chance.

Brydges is just starting to assemble her vintage clothing store on the second floor of Kerrytown Market & Shops. She plans to open in person on Nov. 7, but has been running her business since 2015 through Etsy.

As more people picked up an online shopping hobby during quarantine, her sales have benefited greatly.

To ensure a safe shopping experience for her and her customers, she will be wiping down high-touch surfaces frequently, enforcing social distancing, offering hand sanitizer at the register and mon54 | The Communicator Magazine

Photography by Mia Goldstein Shannon Brydges tapes sheets of paper on the window showcasing the opening date of her store, Malofta Vintage. Her opening day is Nov. 7 and she intends to keep it casual.

itoring how many people are in the shop.

Brydges is excited to step in growing her business.

“I just hope that I have a good response from the community, and that people like what I have to offer and my aesthetic,” Brydges said. “I’m just excited to build a local community around the shop because it’s all online right now. It’ll be really cool to be able to interact with people in-person.”

MISS KIM

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Miss Kim, a local Korean restaurant located in the heart of Kerrytown, has been up and running throughout the pandemic. The restaurant did this to keep their staff employed, but as people began following State mandates to stay socially isolated, sales faced a pretty serious decline.

“We’ve seen a significant dip in clientele,” said Terrance Gordon the supervisor of Miss Kim. “I would say almost half of what we used to have. And I think we’re one of the lucky [businesses] that have been like that.”

Even though the business stayed open to preserve their employees’ jobs, it was inevitable that some would be let go and others would leave themselves. At peak employment, there were around 30 staff members, and now only six remain.

Gordon has been an employee at Miss Kim for the four years the restaurant has been open. The biggest challenge he has faced throughout all of this was dealing with the abrupt change in the work environment. His position as supervisor has taken on a new role. He no longer advises employees, teaches classes or helps with hiring.

Now, most of his time is spent answering the phone and sanitizing the restaurant.

To boost the number of customers, Gordon and management are encouraging diners to use their outdoor seating and curbside pickup options.

“Every Saturday, we have a guest chef in-house to prepare food and do fun things like that,” Gordon said.

To keep the place fresh, the restaurant is rotating through cocktails and menus pretty frequently. Gordon thinks there are some positive takeaways from this whole situation.

“I’ve noticed that a lot of people are coming together through all this,” Gordon said. “We’ve donated 300 plus meals to the hospitals, and we’ve given out gift cards. People have come in and told us stories and written letters. It’s just been a really big coming-together of the community.”

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Photography by Mia Goldstein The photo above is a look into the back room of Miss Kim’s restaurant. They have temporarily turned this space into storage. Miss Kim is currently offering curbside pickup and outside dining.

Photography by Mia Goldstein The photo below is of Terrance Gordon, standing in the entrance of Miss Kim. He has worked at the restaurant for four years.

Features | November 2020 | 55

Kerrytown staple Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea never closed its doors when Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued Michigan’s stay-athome order on March 24, 2020. The local coffee shop was an essential part of the working environment in Ann Arbor; they supplied the hospital staff with coffee, as well as many frontline workers.

Their sales, however, did take a hit.

“For the first few months when everything was shut down, it slowed our business by 70 to 80%,” said Dawit Van Ee, a Sweetwaters barista. “During the morning shift, which I worked, there would be 30 to 50 customers.”

This is significantly fewer than the traffic they received years prior, when they were accustomed to welcoming around 400 customers per day.

In contrast, since they were among the few cafés in the area open during the state-wide quarantine, it brought new customers from folding competition.

When June arrived, sales began to increase, and the business achieved 70% of its normal sales. Their sales continue to increase

and are approaching standard rates as the end of October nears.

“The biggest challenge for us right now is not being able to provide some of the services that we usually provide to our customers,” Van Ee said. “People can’t really sit down and enjoy the café; everything is to-go and it feels rushed. It seems like we aren’t having that interaction with our daily customers.”

Kerrytown’s Sweetwaters is strictly enforcing safety precautions to ensure the staff and customers stay safe. Everyone is required to wear a mask when they enter the store. There are hand sanitizer dispensers located at the register and entrances, and there are extra masks available for customers.

Staff must have their temperature recorded when they start a shift, wash their hands thoroughly throughout their shifts and periodically sanitize the counter area. There are signs on tables to let customers know if a table has been cleaned.

Gradually, Sweetwater’s business is returning to normal as they anticipate more customers for the winter season.

Photography by Mia Goldstein A Sweetwaters barista rushes to prepare a drink for a nearby customer. All Sweetwaters employees are following safety guidelines by wearing masks.

SWEETWATERS 56 | The Communicator Magazine

FOUND GALLERY

Photography by Mia Goldstein Customers at Found Gallery browse the store and follow social distancing guidelines. Found Gallery had been closed for three months and is gradually starting to welcome more business.

For Mary Cambruzzi, owner of Found Gallery, business has been hard. Their brick-and-mortar shop in Kerrytown shut down in early March, one week before the state mandate. Cambruzzi and the staff were uncomfortable with the rise of Covid-19 cases and made the collective decision to temporarily close.

A few months later, the business has slowly reopened and is welcoming in old and new customers. Once the state allowed businesses to open, Cambruzzi took a week and deep-cleaned the store, hung up plexiglass shields and distanced the shopping aisles.

The three-month shutdown crippled the business.

“Basically, we lost a quarter of our year and had three months without any sales,” Cambruzzi said.

During the shutdown, Cambruzzi worked on developing the store’s website and listing the products she sells in-store. They have branched out to offer curbside pickup, expedited shipping to customers who purchase online and weekly email lists. In addition, Found has established a robust Instagram and Facebook following, which allows them to post what they have in stock.

Cambruzzi has gone above and beyond to offer a personalized shopping experience to customers. Those who do not feel comfortable shopping in-person can schedule FaceTime appointments for Cambruzzi to take them through the store virtually.

The number one challenge for Cambruzzi as a business owner is to offer great customer service that is safe for customers and staff.

Another struggle she confronted at the start of the shutdown was financially stabilizing the company. “[I had] to look at what loans might be available in ways that I could cut costs because we didn’t know how long [the pandemic] was going to last,” Cambruzzi said. “And I spent a lot of time researching and listening to other kinds of leaders in the retail field to what they were doing and what they were finding helpful.”

Overall she has been coping by accepting the fact that she can

only control so much.

“It became very important to find ways to calm myself — both personally and professionally — in order to deal with the things that I needed to deal with on a daily basis,” Cambruzzi said.

“During this time, there are so many things that are totally out of everyone’s control, whether you’re a business owner, or in your personal life. I just needed to make sure that I was taking care of myself at the same time that I was doing what I could to take care of my loved ones and my business.”

Photography by Mia Goldstein A Found Gallery employee sanitizes the front register.

The owner, Mary Cambruzzi, has lost many employees during the pandemic.

Features | November 2020 | 57

SPARROW MARKET For Jordan Sparrow, the new owner of Sparrow Market in downtown Kerrytown, business is booming.

“On the contrary to most businesses, we’re actually doing more business,” Sparrow said. “People are more fearful of going out to restaurants and are staying home.”

Currently, Sparrow is experiencing peak numbers. The business is up 20 to 30% compared to last year. Additionally, they are employing almost double of their usual staff.

Their customer base is mostly college students and familiar faces from years past.

Initially, Sparrow had to quickly develop a method to accommodate customers not comfortable with entering the store. Management rapidly began giving out their email addresses and posting on social media so the community knew their process: email them a list and they can bring groceries directly to a customer’s car.

Besides adapting to curbside pick-up orders and ensuring that staff and customers comply with Covid-19 safety guidelines, there have not been many major changes at Sparrow.

The business put up plexiglass shields at the register and are requiring staff to sanitize countertops and follow basic Covid-19 guidelines.

With winter ahead, Sparrow is preparing for an increase in curb-

58 | The Communicator Magazine

side orders.

“We don’t really know what to expect for the holidays,” Sparrow said. “We expect it to be busy, but we don’t if people are going to buy traditional [foods] like turkey and ham. Maybe it will just be regular grocers, as people aren’t going to be getting together as much.”

Sparrow Market is hunkering down and preparing for the worst during the upcoming seasons.

“We expect things to kind of go a little crazy, again, to some degree,” Sparrow said. “So we’re preparing for more curbside orders and probably less people in the actual store.”

Photography by Mia Goldstein Pictured above is owner Jordan Sparrow and a Sparrow Market employee ringing up customers. With the start of Covid-19, Sparrow’s business has been doing great.

Photography by Mia Goldstein Pictured to the right is a TeaHaus employee organizing the tea wall in the main store. TeaHaus has been unable to open the attached cafe due to safety and financial reasons.

TeaHaus, a local tea shop and café in Kerrytown, has definitely felt the full financial implications of Covid-19. The business is doing everything they can to stay afloat while also doing what they can to support the community.

The store shut down when Governor Whitmer issued the stay-at-home order and still has not completely reopened. The TeaHaus café remains closed, but the attached store where you can purchase products now accepts business.

Lisa McDonald, the owner of TeaHaus, has also been unable to open her other business right around the corner, Eat More Tea, due to financial and safety reasons.

“We’ve lost a large percentage of our sales,” McDonald said. “Two-thirds of my business is shut down.”

Overall, they are down in sales 30 to 35% compared to 2019.

The one thing that is helping them keep their doors open is their well-established website. Without their website, TeaHaus would be struggling even more. Compared to other businesses that had to scramble to put together sites, McDonald was confident in their online presence. The company has been shipping online orders worldwide for 12 years.

TeaHaus is starting to regain some business as more people are going out. Their peak months were July and August. However, they are hoping for the best and preparing for the worst as the winter months come around.

The biggest challenge for McDonald during these times is paying rent and affording expenses.

“My landlords were amazing,” McDonald said. “They gave [me] reduced rent for a few months, which literally made the difference between closing or not closing. Being down 35% in sales doesn’t mean that your expenses go down as well.”

Photography by Mia Goldstein The TeaHaus doors are finally open after being closed for a couple of months. Owner, Lisa McDonald utilized the TeaHaus kitchen to prepare meals for the community when the store was closed.

In her spare time, McDonald has been using the TeaHaus kitchen to prepare and donate meals to public schools, shelters and low-income housing units. She donates up to 600 meals a week and has been doing so since Ann Arbor Public Schools ceased in-person instruction.

“My biggest concern was that a lot of kids — even in Ann Arbor — the only meal they get a day is often free school lunch,” McDonald said. “Where are they going to get food?”

McDonald is encouraging people to shop locally during these challenging times.

“As we’ve seen, the pandemic has benefited already the people who have been killing small businesses to begin with,” McDonald said. “I think it’s not just the pandemic that’s killing small businesses right now.”

TEAHAUS

Features | November 2020 | 59

[beat.] /beet/ A dramatic pause, often used to denote an intangible realization, emotion or action in a play. In this case, how a local theater company is dealing with the Covid-19 crisis.

BY SCARLETT LONDON

Joseph Zettlemaier is a playwright in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He serves as Artistic Director for the Penny Seats, a local non-profit theater company. He is also involved with many other theaters, both around Washtenaw County and the country. The Penny Seats has been an Ann Arbor presence for ten years, but has postponed the rest of their 2020 season because of Covid-19.

“It was our first all-year season; we had one show per season,” Zettlemaier said. “We were going to start out with our big fundraiser: our 10 Year Anniversary Gala. This would be followed by an awesome new jukebox musical called ‘Summer of Love’ about 60 | The Communicator Magazine

the hippie movement in America, featuring bestselling [songs] of the 60’s. Next would have been our third Penny Dreadful: Our Halloween Gothic horror series, which would have been ‘Ripper’

by Jacob Marx Rice about the hunt for Jack the Ripper. And finally, our first ever Christmas performance, a family-friendly show written by me, called ‘The Winter Wolf.’”

Covid-19 arrived in the US just two weeks after the company had closed their first ever February play-reading festival, One Day More. It was a two day event, featuring four plays by Michigan playwrights. The event also served as a celebration of a pivotal

HEALTH achievement for the company: The Penny Seats recently became the resident theater company at Stone Chalet Inn and Event Center, giving the theater an indoor home for rehearsals and performances. The group planned to perform all future shows — except their popular outdoor summer performances — at Stone Chalet.

When mid-March saw the closure of businesses and schools around the state, Zettlemaier and the Penny Seats board of directors knew they had to make some immediate changes. First, they postponed their 10 Year Anniversary Gala, which had been scheduled to occur on April 17. They hope to turn the event into an 11 Anniversary Gala, held next year when it is safe to do so. Then, on May 20, following federal, state and local guidance, they made the difficult decision to stop all in-person performances and remount their planned shows at their respective time slots in 2021.

Although the Penny Seats is best known for their outdoor summer musicals, the idea of moving forward with them this year was not in the conversation.

“Summer is really the only time we feel safe doing outdoor theater,” Zettlemaier said. “The problem becomes our inability to keep the actors safe. The actors are still going to have to be close to each other. If there are any romantic scenes, anything like that, it just makes everything much more difficult. So in an attempt to keep literally everyone safe, we just thought it was best to not do any outdoor theater this year.”

Happily, the Penny Seats is in a fairly stable financial situation. Since they rely solely on donors and grants to fund their season, a lot of their funds are intact. Their lease at Stone Chalet is also based on actual use.

Thus, unlike many small regional theaters, they did not have to worry about paying monthly rent for an unused theater. Still, some uncertainty remains.

Although The Penny Seats is not in danger of closing its doors, Stone Chalet itself is up for sale, which may affect the future of the lease. Zettlemaier is also very concerned about other theaters in the area.

“I’m someone who makes my living doing theater arts,” Zettlemaier said. “It’s scary because there’s a lot of uncertainty surrounding which theaters are going to come back. American Theater Magazine just did a series of interviews with a bunch of theaters across the country, asking when theaters would shut down for good, if no theater happens next year?

Several of them said Summer 2020 is when they’d shut down.

Thankfully, The Penny Seats is not in that situation, but it is pretty scary.”

The group aimed to “provide meaningful experiences both to the actors and staff we had planned to work with, and to our audience.” With their in-person season on hold, The Penny Seats did not want to go dark this year. Thus, they have offered a series of monthly online play readings, performed in real time on Zoom Webinar format, called The Penny Arcade. This event features readings of work from around the country, diverse in style and format, read largely by actors who had been contracted for their 2020 season. One of Zettlemaier’s pieces, The Decade Dance, was featured in July. “[The virtual series] serves two purposes,” Zettlemaier explained.

“For us, it keeps our name out there; it keeps our visibility up.

The other reason was that when we shut down, we’d already cast two of our three shows this season, and it broke my heart to have these great actors we were going to work with not have jobs this year,” Zettlemaier said. “We’ve been trying to hire as many of those actors back to do these readings as possible, to at least give them something to do.”

Unfortunately, The Penny Seats do not have a set plan for reopening live performances. Since there is no Covid-19 vaccine or timeline for distribution of such vaccine, it is hard to know when theaters will be back up and running — especially for in-person performances. Although the Penny Seats board has come up with ideas, everything is hypothetical. As it gets colder, theaters with indoor venues worry about safety concerns regarding their audience.

“One of the things I’ve been telling people is, theaters can talk about reopening all they want, but we don’t actually reopen until the audience feels safe,” Zettlemaier said. “The theaters can open their doors, but it doesn’t matter if nobody comes. On so many levels, what we’re really waiting on is, when will people feel safe to come back to the theater? That being said, we are in the process of coming up with some plans that we’re pleased with, but it’s all contingent on when the vaccine and safety procedures are strong enough.”

Zettlemaier is hopeful that this pandemic won’t have many lasting negative effects on the surviving theaters after a vaccine has been produced.

“I would imagine the biggest change that might come out of this is theaters looking at their own finances,” Zettlemaier said. “Now that we’ve seen what an epidemic can do to theater, how do we shore up our finances? Some theaters have a lot of unnecessary expenditure. For example, buying five couches so you can decide which one couch you want, it’s ridiculous. These are theaters that furloughed their employees to save the financial stability of the theater. They should not have been making stupid financial decisions like that, not spending money like it’s never gonna run out. There will hopefully be a certain amount of greater fiscal responsibility among theaters.”

He is also hoping that once Covid dissipates, theaters do not feel the need to resurrect it.

“I hope that theaters don’t decide to do plays about Covid,” Zettlemaier said. “ I would love it if no one does that.”

There is no doubt that after this pandemic, the theater scene will look different. Not only will there be a lot fewer theaters, but companies are going to have less savings and a smaller budget than they’re used to. The aftermath of this pandemic will continue to hurt theaters for years to come. However, the number of theater-goers appears not to have faded. The Penny Seats is reporting excellent attendance at its monthly readings, and similar efforts by other regional theaters appear to be producing good results as well. This gives Zettelmaier — and the rest of the Michigan theater community — reason to hope that audiences will be there when the theaters come back.

“Theaters can talk about reopening all they want, but we don’t actually reopen until the audience feels safe”

Photography by Lauren London A Penny Seats performance of “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.” The show, directed by Zettlemaier, was performed at Washtenaw Community College.

Features | November 2020 | 61

He’s Talking To Us:

Homeless During Covid-19

Preston Neloms, a 65-year-old homeless man, couldn’t recapture his old life due to Covid-19.

BY SEBASTIAN OLIVA

“I must start my story in the good times,” said Preston Neloms, a 65-year-old homeless man.

Due to a situation in the hands of fate, Neloms is homeless.

“People feel that everybody in these circumstances are people who messed over their lives on drugs,” Neloms said. “It’s actually the contrary. Homelessness may push somebody towards drugs because of the constant denials of freedom others have.”

Neloms story begins in 2013 when he ran his non-emergency medical transportation business. He lost a contract due to strong competition within the industry, and suddenly, he found himself having financial struggles at home. It became such an issue that Neloms had to sell his vehicles and anything involved with his business. As a result, he and his wife went their separate ways.

“I couldn’t carry some of the responsibilities that I had financially, and that caused the fondness in our relationship to fade,” Neloms said.

Eventually, he obtained a few jobs here and there, but Neloms, being a Black man with a prior conviction dating to 1991, has made equal opportunity seemingly intangible.

“It kept hanging over me,” Neloms said.“It stops housing and it stops jobs.

The jobs that Neloms did find never paid enough for his rent.

“The escalating rent here in this county is ridiculous,” Neloms said. “The University of Michigan is a college town, but it is not the only thing that supports the community.”

Neloms then started working for a taxi company and was able to stand on his own two feet. That was, however, until the Covid pandemic unfolded. He was laid off subsequently, and before his SSI came, he was already two months behind paying rent. Neloms afterwards left his home for two weeks to lend a helping hand to his daughter by babysitting his grandkids.

When he came back to his home, he came to find out the locks on his doors had been changed during the first moratorium.

Neloms has now filed a court date to reclaim his home that he will soon attend over Zoom.

Preston would like to hold in high regard Robert J. Delonis Cen62 | The Communicator Magazine

Photography by Sebastian Oliva This is Preston Neloms, standing in front of the Robert. J. Delonis Center.

Neloms regularly visits the Delonis Center and uses their resources to create a positive outcome of his current situation. “We have to strive for the prize of what’s forwards,” Neloms said.

HEALTH

ter, Pastor Vicky of the Lutheran Church and House By The Side Of The Road. All of these three entities have provided Preston with the attire he currently has and the ability to slowly get back on his feet.

Preston stands by the Law of Attraction; by surrounding himself with people that are part of the solution and positive energy, he will manifest his goals quicker and alleviate the dilemma.

Features | November 2020 | 63

We Can Not Continue Like This

An anonymous survey of CHS students reveals an alarming epidemic of poor mental health and burnout.

BY SOPHIE FETTER AND RYAN CHUNG

Online school has been an abrupt change for students. An anonymous survey conducted by Communicator journalists measured the impact of online school on students’ mental health. The survey, which was sent out to health classes and multiple forums, received over 70 responses. It contained five short questions with multiple choice and written responses. The results of the survey showed an overwhelming trend of stress and poor mental health among students.

21.1% Neutral

9.2%

21.1%

Disagree

Agree

Burnout and Lack of Motivation The survey results showed many students are overwhelmed by work and are having trouble staying motivated. Students are struggling with the amount of schoolwork they receive and the time they have to complete it.

“It feels like there is more work and less time to do it,” one respondent said. “School is already 8:30 [a.m.] to 4:25 [p.m.]. Sometimes I can’t get a break. I have to spend eight hours in class, then have four to six more hours of homework.”

Wednesday work seems to be a main cause of this burnout. “I’m feeling kind of overwhelmed,” one student said. “I think it might be nice if we could have Wednesday just to do independent work from earlier in the week instead of getting new additional work as well.”

“Please stop giving work on Wednesday,” another said. “They were originally a way of catching up with work, but now they are just heavier work days that make it even harder to catch up.”

Additionally, the nature of online school has left students feeling disconnected and less motivated. Many students said that they often feel tired from sitting in front of the computer for hours on end. “This year it is a lot harder because I don’t have teachers that are pushing me in real life,” one student said. “It’s like all the motivation has gone away.”

“I’m more lonely and less motivated, less focused, and I don’t see the point in school anymore.”

64 | The Communicator Magazine

2.5%

Strongly Disagree

46.1% Strongly Agree

Do you feel more stressed over online assignments than you did with in-person assignments?

Difficulties Handling Stressors 2020 has brought numerous stressors into the lives of students such as the compounded impact of the pandemic with online school. Unsurprisingly, the collective level of stress within the student body has risen. Half of the respondents said they were less capable of dealing with stress; “I can’t even begin,” one student said, “I have never been this stressed in my life.”

“School, things happening politically, the virus and everything.

People you know are getting sick, and everything makes it so hard to focus on school work,” one respondent said.

Another described how they had to drop out of a drivers ed. class because of stress and lack of time.

“I just can’t deal with all of this; there’s so much work and so little time,” the student said. “I can’t focus, and by the time Zoom classes are over, all I can think about is sleep, but I’m sleeping terribly. It’s just really terrible right now, and my mental health is on the decline. I’m not sure it’s worth it.”

HEALTH

Mental Health Decline The section of the survey regarding students’ mental health produced the most concerning results. Almost three quarters of the respondents stated that since online school began, they have experienced a decline in their mental health. When the students were asked to describe their mental health this year compared to last, common themes of constant stress, lack of motivation, a sense of monotony, uncertainty, feelings of loneliness and depression were revealed.

“This year, my mental health takes a decline every single day,” one student said. “The more days pass without clarity from teachers, assignments not posted and other issues, the more often I find myself sleepless. In one of my classes, I cry almost every single time. Every. Single. Time. It doesn’t help that as a freshman, I’m not familiar with any people, which just makes this whole thing harder.”

Some students found that because of scarcity in social opportunities, they were unable to utilize their relationships as an outlet for stress. “[My mental health is] a lot worse since there have been zero interaction with peers,” a respondent said. “I have more stress from school with less outlets to help,” another said.

Others found that the overwhelming amount of work they were assigned to was leading them to feel hopeless and burnt out.

“I’m so much more stressed and down in the dumps. My mental health was bad, but last week it got way worse. We are starting to get more work and it’s way too much and overwhelming. I’m starting to put my focus on grades, and it’s just crippling me because I’m so worried about getting less than A’s.”

Overall, the survey’s findings were troubling. The message seems clear: the structure and workload of online school is causing severe amounts of stress in students.

One respondent summarized this issue with five words: “We can’t continue like this.”

50%

Less Capable

Do you feel that you are more capable or less capable to deal with stress now that school is online?

18.4% Neutral

28.9%

6.6%

Agree

Disagree

2.7%

Strongly Disagree

43.4%

Strongly Agree

Have you experienced a decline in your mental health since online school began?

Features | November 2020 | 65

Access at Risk Accesible birth control is necessary for teenagers — what will happen without it?

B

BY RIA LOWENSCHUSS

Birth control is essential for teenage health and wellbeing. It has existed longer than cars, trains, bound books, running water and the English language. Birth control has been around since 3000 B.C.E. when Ancient Egyptians and Cretans invented condoms out of fish and animal bladders. In Ancient Greece and Rome, the silphium plant was so commonly used as birth control that it went extinct. Queen Anne’s Lace was used to prevent pregnancy in India. Over the millennia, as perceptions of sexuality have changed, birth control has grown even more prevalent.

Birth control is used in the United States more frequently now than ever before. According to the Guttmacher Institute, 99% of women in the United States who are of reproductive age and have had sexual intercourse have used some form of contraceptive. Almost 65%, as noted by the CDC, are using a contraceptive device currently. It is important to note that although these institutions do very important work, they have a transmisogynistic and erasive perspective. The research that has been conducted on these topics is exclusionary to transgender men and people who use birth control that are not women.

These high rates of birth control usage are primarily due to heightened accessibility under the Affordable Care Act, according to Joanne Bailey, Director of Midwives at the University of Michigan Hospital.

“In this country, compared to any time previously, more people have health insurance that provides coverage for [birth control] than ever before,” Bailey said.

Rates of teenagers using birth control have gone up as well. Child Trends reports that 21% of sexually active teenagers use contraceptives, the highest percentage since 1991. The Guttmacher Institute adds that 33% of teens use birth control for reasons unrelated to sex.

Ava Lowen, a junior at Community High School, has been on birth control for two years. She takes it to help with her irregular periods.

“It has made my life so much better,” Lowen said. “I feel like I’m living now, and I’m not spending half of my time bleeding. I have so much more control over my life.”

Stevie Dumitrascu, a sophomore at Community, takes birth control for her skin as well as her severe cramps.

“My skin would definitely be worse, and that would really suck because that was always a big insecurity for me,” Dumitrascu said.

Both Dumitrascu and Lowen have insurance that covers their birth control; it is free. This is possible because of the Affordable

66 | The Communicator Magazine

HEALTH

Care Act — specifically the contraceptive coverage requirement, which was clarified by the Health Resources and Services Administration and the Institute of Medicine in 2012. The Affordable Care Act requires that insurance fully cover the cost of women’s preventative services, defined as all contraceptives approved by the FDA. In other words, birth control must be covered in every insurance plan.

But what if that was not true? Birth control can be expensive.

Without insurance, birth control pills can cost up to $50 a month, with an additional $35 to $250 for a doctor’s visit. This creates unfair barriers for teens and causes them stress and anxiety.

Dumitrascu said that if birth control were not free, it might not be an option for her.

“It just doesn’t seem fair because it is something that is so important,” Dumitrascu said.

Lowen is also concerned about it. “It’s so worrying that birth control might not be an option in a few years,” Lowen said. “It’s really troubling to think about how a few laws could affect my life so drastically.”

It is hard to know what the future holds in regards to accessible birth control for people.

“What’s vulnerable in the Supreme Court is primarily insurance being required to pay for [birth control],” Bailey said.

We have already seen evidence of this. In the 2014 case Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, the Supreme Court ruled that Hobby Lobby was not required to cover birth control because it violated their religious beliefs. This ruling was further cemented in July of this year, in the case Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter and Paul Home v. Pennsylvania, 591 U.S. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter and Paul Home, granting them an exception to the contraceptive mandate based on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993. Birth control coverage has also been eroded by the Trump Administration, which issued regulations that allow exceptions to the contraceptive mandate. In March, the Trump Administration restricted Title X grantees. Title X is a program that provides contraceptives and other reproductive health services to low income people.

Without birth control, many teenagers would face unplanned pregnancies, debilitating cramps and anxiety.

“I would be in a lot worse of a place mentally. I don’t think I’d be very happy. I think I’d be stressed out a lot and anxious and worrying,” Lowen said.

Birth control can also affect schoolwork and social lives.

“Before birth control, I’d have multiple days where my cramps would be so bad, I couldn’t get out of bed,” Dumitrascu said. “I might not be able to go to school or participate in things.”

Dumitrascu and Lowen worry about their own access to birth control, as well as how such developments could affect others.

“I know there’s a lot of plans to leave protecting or covering birth control up to the insurance provider, and I think that’s super scary,” Lowen said.

Dumitrascu shares these sentiments: “It’s scary to think that people could lose the ability to take their reproductive health into their own hands.”

Lowen recognizes that she is in a position of privilege: she can afford birth control without insurance.

“I have thought about how fortunate I am,” Lowen said. “Other people with the same prescription might be paying hundreds of dollars a month just for birth control for having the option to control your periods. The big issue is if you have a lot of money then you can always access things.”

The restrictions on contraceptive coverage mainly affect people with a low income, for whom even a small co-pay would be a barrier. This is a problem.

“We know that people that choose when they’re having children are more likely to end up with more money and more savings and do better in life than people who don’t have that easy access to birth control,” Bailey said. “So, in the end, it further exacerbates disparities in income and health.”

Reduced accessibility to birth control will bring with it risks and consequences that could easily be avoided. This will affect countless individuals across the United States, as well as the communities that surround them.

“Access to birth control and making it affordable or free is one of the best ways to make sure that people utilize it,” Bailey said.

“That has important health outcomes for individuals and for everybody around them.”

Birth control will continue to be part of the human experience but the concern is, who has access to this crucial health service?

Inaccessible birth control will negatively affect a countless number of people across the country. Access to birth control is and will remain a truly pressing issue, especially considering the current Supreme Court. The fight for accessible birth control has just begun.

Opinion | November 2020 | 67

BLACK DEATH When we die in America, it’s different.

BY: ELIOT KLUS

68 | The Communicator Magazine

HEALTH

As a mixed child in a white family, I simultaneously learned about my Blackness and its danger. I remember when my white stepfather first exposed the health risks my Black existence invites. There were several talks about the police and how I must act around them. My white parents did their due diligence in the way that they could, passing on the good judgment, but lacking the scars to teach it.

My understanding of my Blackness became inextricably tied with fear: a fear that, despite my academic and creative success, factors beyond my control could snatch away everything I have. That even if I worked as hard as I could, there was always the looming threat.

Black community members and leaders frequently invoke the Bible precept: “Tomorrow is promised to no one.”

It is tragic that my Blackness and the danger it causes me are associated in the first place. I rejoice in Black power and Black expression; it has become a defining part of myself. However, like many others, I struggle to separate the joy from the equally defining grief.

My conflation of Black life and Black pain is perhaps justified: I live in a country that treats Black lives as though they do not matter. There is pain to spare.

And, yes, the life of every living person has value. But Black lives fundamentally matter. The lives of Black community members matter. When Black community members’ lives are lost, that pain is felt. In this way, suffering from the systematic enslavement and destruction of the Black body compounds over time.

When a Black person dies, we cannot merely grieve a beautiful soul we love. We also must mourn the Black children they cannot care for, the Black men they cannot protect, the Black women they cannot defend. We must mourn the progress they will never push for, the barriers they will never break, the victories they will never see.

Just this year, we have mourned Black juggernauts

like Kobe Bryant, John Lewis and Chadwick Boseman.

These were Black men in dominant positions across their respective fields. These men exemplified Black excellence, and they inspired generations of Black children. Their losses have been felt.

This summer saw the Black Lives Matter movement’s resurgence, with powerful racial justice advocates decrying the police murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery. These deaths affect us viscerally. We see our friends and family in them. We march out of fear and outrage, because marching is how we pitch our value to an indifferent system. Their losses, and the losses of American racism’s untold victims, have been felt.

But losses are even more acute when they are close to home. I recently lost an important Black figure in my life. It hurts. I am grieving myself, but I also think about the future. She worked tirelessly to support hundreds of Black teenagers. She did, and loved, the critical work of listening to Black youth. She was indispensable. It’s hard to grieve somebody like that.

Even so, surrounded by Black death, it’s hard not to connect lost Black community members to the names that have become worn rallying cries. Trayvon Martin.

Michael Brown. George Floyd. Black death is so ubiquitous — through violence, illness and poverty — that we can categorize it instantly. We know how it works.

Black people die at younger ages and from more preventable causes than any other race group in America. It turns out, systematic racism kills you eventually.

And there are plenty of people dedicated to liberation and reform. But are there enough, and are they acting urgently enough? Honestly, how long can Black Americans endure this pain? I worry.

But in the interim, cruelly, we must move forward.

We must cope. And so, I will first grieve those I have loved and then rise and continue to fight.

Opinion | November 2020 | 69

As of November, we have been in a pandemic for eight months. There have 9,581,770 reported Covid-19 cases and 234,264 deaths nationwide. The pandemic is not over — and it is a privilege to exempt yourself from it.

STAFF EDITORIAL The week leading up to the Ann Arbor Public Schools’ district-wide closure passed by in a whirlwind. As the Covid-19 pandemic exploded globally, a domino effect occurred: first the cancellation of after-school activities were announced, then high school sports and finally, the closure of all school buildings for two weeks.

It was evident then that the last Friday of in-person school was a shifting point. Teachers utilized their class time during an abridged Friday schedule to remind students to check out books and stay connected.

Solemness hung heavily in the hallway and classroom air.

For a naive second, the coronavirus pandemic felt as though it was the “Great Equalizer”: every CHS student would endure the perils of the virus together.

Yet as the pandemic progressed, this idea was pain70 | The Communicator Magazine

fully rebutted. Although everyone has experienced the hardships of the pandemic in some capacity, the virus and the national handling of it has exacerbated the gaps in every aspect of our society. Covid-19 is the antithesis of the “Great Equalizer.”

Discourse surrounding healthcare has implemented itself into the political foreground of our country as the pandemic continues to rage on during the Presidential election season. But as case and death rates have exponentially risen since March, so has the prevalence of privilege. The virus has driven a dividing stake into the preexisting gaps of income and health.

Take, for example, Washtenaw County. The correlation between locations of virus hotspots and racial demographics is comparable to the overall trend throughout the country: Black and Latinx communities have been most heavily impacted by the pandemic.

HEALTH

The two zip codes with the highest number of Covid cases are 48197 and 48198; according to the Washtenaw County Health Department they have confirmed 773 and 600 total cases, respectively, as of Oct. 8. These zip codes are located in Ypsilanti, where Black or African American residents make up around 27% of the population, according to the most recent US Census.

Although white people have the highest case numbers in the county, it is because they constitute the majority of the population. Blacks and African Americans are disproportionately affected. Their share of total case numbers, 21% as of Oct. 8, are much higher when compared to their total population, 12.3%.

As of Oct. 11, we often see a national daily tally of up to 50,000 new cases. Only now, things don’t seem as unprecedented. While the frustrating statistics are now easy to brush past as the news cycle becomes redundant, every case and every death has a staggering and ineffable effect on every family.

Compounding problems continue to widen the gaps in our society, especially in terms of unemployment caused by the pandemic. In mid-April, families earning less than a combined salary of $150,000, individuals making under $75,000 and anyone not living on a current wage, were all eligible to receive a $1,200 stimulus check from the U.S. government. This came at a time when families were in need. It came at a time when “flatten the curve” was a term used daily to encourage the compliance of health recommendations and limit the amount of rising hospitalizations. It came at a time when there seemed to be a sliver of hope.

Now, we find ourselves in October. Two seasons and zero additional stimulus checks later. And while some had the financial means and healthcare support at their disposal to swiftly return themselves back into normalcy, it is unmistakable to miss the fact that others — largely those from already marginalized communities in society — are still struggling. $1,200 and empty promises from six months ago don’t even come close to fixing deep-rooted, systemic problems. The pandemic didn’t cause this disparity; our country’s preexisting, socioeconomic issues are now just taking an unfamiliar form.

It is a privilege to not have to think about your health, to not wear a mask in public, to work remotely and to be able to afford a hospital stay. If this year has proven anything, it is that healthcare in this country is inextricably tied to systemic racism and institutional problems. And now, we reach a monumental chance with the current political climate. We as a country will decide the outcome of the Presidential election in November, and the future of healthcare and the pandemic rests upon their shoulders.

It is a privilege to exempt yourself from the global pandemic.

Health, race and politics are inextricably connected in our country. We’ve seen the real consequences of the pandemic with our own eyes while simultaneously watching these same issues become politicized by the elected leaders that were supposed to have our backs.

With a lack of assistance comes a lack of equity; and the gaps deplorably continue to widen. Those disproportionately affected by the pandemic, especially those from marginalized backgrounds, are centerfold in the political debates surrounding Covid-19. Legislation passed on healthcare and pandemic procedures will have immediate and direct implications for them; whether it is reopening schools and universities, eliminating mask mandates, or allowing businesses to operate on the backs of essential workers, people of color and marginalized communities must risk their lives.

To not pay attention to Covid-19 regulations and the political debates on healthcare means your human rights are not at stake every four years during a presidential election. It means you have the privilege of isolating yourself from current events. It means you are not impacted from a historical disadvantage.

It means you are not the subsequent pawn of white supremacy.

We weren’t all in this together — we still aren’t.

Covid-19 did not equalize anything. It separated, divided and wedged further the existing, inequitable gaps between classes in our society. For oppressed and marginalized groups, the pandemic only exacerbated the already problematic disadvantages. And the quicker we understand this, the closer we become to solving both problems at once.

Opinion | November 2020 | 71

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Constants | November 2020 | 73

Dear Diary...

CHS students reflect on the first few weeks of online school

BY LILY SICKMAN-GARNER

“God I miss my friends. I have been sitting at home either doing school work or on FaceTime, sometimes both, for way, way, way too long. It really really sucks. And the worst part is, I have no idea when anything will go back to normal. What if the rest of high school is like this for me? What if I don’t get to enjoy it? I wish I knew when [this] would end.”

- Scarlett London “This is not how I pictured my last year of high school. There are students in my classes that I may never see again. There will not be one last homecoming with my high school friends. I miss learning in person. Online school is incredibly difficult for me. I have zero motivation to do any of my homework. It’s pretty easy to show up to Zoom class, but paying attention is a whole different story.”

- Sela Gur-Arie

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“These last few months have been really crazy, but on Saturday I was finally given one shred of consistency: my costume for CET’s ‘The Tempest.’ When I got home and saw it delivered and on my door, I couldn’t help but grin. I tried it on instantly. Just getting a chance to revisit this character I spent months working on, to revisit CET as a whole and everything involved within it, brought me joy, relief and a sense of calm in a way that no words can describe. “ - Rin Simmons

“I have a full six hour day of classes and then study or do homework until 7 pm. In the evenings, I have been trying to craft or read or do something creative that doesn’t include screens. It can be hard, though, because I have meetings every night. In some ways, though, this is a positive thing because I was able to lose myself in school work and studying. The days before the election seem to be slipping by much faster than if I was just lying around. Some days, I wish I could just take a giant sleeping pill and not have to worry about November.”

- Lucy Tobier

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P

andemic uppies

With increased social distancing measures in relation to Covid-19, a few CHS students have gotten dogs to keep them company.

BY SCARLETT LONDON AND ARISTA LUONG

Mira Schwarz “My old dog Baxter died over quarantine, so we decided to get a new puppy. We got Finley at the end of September. We were obviously going to get a new do, — ­ we like dogs — ­ we always have dogs in our house. We were told that it helps with grieving when you get another puppy, so our grandparents told us we should get one as soon as possible. My mom saw an ad on MLive, saying there was a puppy [available]. She called them, and we ended up getting him.

He’s pretty spunky and really funny. He likes to play with the red laser that is used for cats. He plays soccer in the backyard with my little brother and cries when he’s not given attention. Finley and Baxter were both attention seeking dogs. Finley actually likes me the most, which is new because all the other dogs liked my mom more. He’s a puppy, and he’s not the brightest, so he always brings a good laugh. The distraction has helped with a lot of the stress and dealing with everything that’s going on in the world today.”

Hannah Bernstein “His name’s Bernie, Bernie Bernstein, and he’s a golden doodle.

We got him at seven weeks old, which is a little early, but because of Covid. We got him April 21. We had two dogs when we moved to Michigan, but we haven’t had a dog in four years. We weren’t allowed to get a dog for a long time, but during quarantine, we were always going on walks. We were walking in the Arb one day and saw this little puppy a couple was walking. My mom just said, ‘You know what, we can get a dog.’ So when we got home, I grabbed the computer and started looking that day. It was the first breeder I reached out to that we ended up getting Bernie from. It was a perfect time to engage with the dog and have enough time to train him and everything. He’s so goofy; our family revolves around him. I feel like we interact more than we used to because we all have one common interest. When I get stressed, or don’t have someone to talk to, I go up to him, and I’ll just pet him. Because he’s so young he’s kind of a spazz, and he doesn’t really like to cuddle right now.”

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Lila Ryan “His name is Milo, and he is a beagle-dachshund mix. We got him from a rescue center in Auburn Hills around the first week of August. It’s been something my family, except my mom, has wanted for years, and we finally convinced her,” Ryan said.

Ryan’s mother thought this would be the best time to get a dog. “What changed my mind was knowing that Lila was going to be doing school from home, and her dad is also working from home. So it seemed like a good time to get a dog when we weren’t going to be gone all day for school and work,” Mrs. Ryan said.

This decision usually takes some time to figure out, but for Ryan’s family, this was not a long time coming.

“It was kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing; we started looking, he was the second dog we met, and we just said ‘Yep, we want him,’” Ryan said. “I think it’s always nice to have a furry friend there. And just you can kind of take your mind off of things and just lay with them and pet them or play with them for a bit. He’s a total cuddlebug.”

Margaret Alpern “She’s a chocolate lab, and we got her Friday night, so we haven’t fully decided on a name yet. We’re thinking about Cider, so we’re trying that out. She’s so calm; when we first got her, I thought she was going to be really crazy. Even though we’ve only had her for two days, she’s taken so much stress away. I was doing homework and I felt calm because she was near me.

We’ve been asking for a dog for a while, and we had kind of given up. My parents had known for two months, but my siblings and I had no idea until we got there. We saw a dog outside and we were like, ‘Oh my goodness.’ My mom isn’t going back to her office until January, so we’re all going to be home, and we have more free time on our hands. She doesn’t walk super far so when we take her on walks; we carry her most of the way back. She sleeps a lot but I guess it’s normal for a puppy.

She’s kind of normal, like she’s not super crazy or anything.

She’s kind of stubborn; if we go on walks, sometimes she sits and doesn’t move, and we have to pick her up and take her.”

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20 24 Getting to Know the Freshmen

BY AILISH KILBRIDE AND ABBI BACHMAN

We asked six CHS freshman ten questions.

1. Corn or cookies?

2. What’s the best thing about online school?

3. What’s the worst thing about online school?

4. If you were an animal, what would you be?

5. Where do you see yourself in ten years?

6. What’s an embarrassing song you used to listen to in sixth grade?

7. Instagram or Snapchat?

8. What’s your zodiac sign?

9. What’s your proudest moment?

10. What’s your favorite quote or motto?

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4

Maia Rivette 1) Cookies.

2) I get to have a study buddy, which is my dog.

3) The worst thing is not being able to see people.

4) A dog.

5) Working as a Nursing Assistant.

6) “Bad baby.”

7) Snapchat.

8) Sagittarius.

9) I stood up to my conservative, homophobic, Republican family.¨ 10) Treat others the way you want to be treated.

Addi Hinesman 1) Cookies.

2) I have more flexibility in my schedule.

3) Not being able to meet new people as easily.

4) A bunny.

5) Not sure yet.

6) I don’t think I had one.

7) Instagram.

8) Leo. 9) Being Marie in The Nutcracker.

10) Push yourself because no one’s going to do it for you.

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Miles McDonald 1) Cookies.

2) I get to sleep longer.

3) The worst thing is not being able to see people.

4) A raccoon.

5) At a good job.

6) “Marshmallow.”

7) Instagram.

8) Aquarius 9) Beating my personal best mile time.

10) If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.

Isabella Sluymers -Tuccinardi 1) Cookies.

2) I can still hangout with my pets, and if we finish work we can sometimes leave early.

3) Looking at a screen all day and not really getting to know people.

4) Honestly a combination of every animal in the world, I can’t pick just one.

5) Doing something with animals.

6) I have no idea.

7) They’re probably the same, but my favorite is TikTok. 8) Gemini.

9) When I jumped for the first time on a horse.

10) A chipmunk asked me what my name was today. I told him it was Joe, that lie will haunt me forever.

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Serena O’Brien 1) Cookies.

2) I get to stay in my pajamas and eat snacks all day.

3) It doesn’t feel real, so it’s hard to do my work.

4) I’d probably be baboon for no apparent reason.

5) Probably in a nice house.

6) “My House” by Flo Rida.

7) Snapchat.

8) Scorpio.

9) When I got first place at the Science Olympiad.

10) Stop waiting.

Allison Mayer 1) Cookies 2) I get to sleep longer.

3) The worst thing is not being able to see people.

4) A Chinchilla.

5) Hopefully a stable job.

6) ¨Gucci Flip Flops.¨ 7) Snapchat 8) Taurus 9) I was happy with how I did in a race that I finished.

10) Treat others the way you want to be treated.

Constants | November 2020 | 81

Artist Profiles

CHS students share the art they made while under stay at home order restrictions.

BY SEBASTIAN OLIVA AND LUCY TOBIER

RIN SIMMONS What inspires your art? I do a lot of fan art. I like to draw characters from things that already exist. I have a lot of fun doing that. So that’s probably most of my art. Especially recently, I’ve tried to branch out and do things that I might not normally do — to try and experiment and test my limits in a way. I’ve been painting, and I never really was a painter before. That’s kind of fun. And I try and kind of do less fan art and do more abstract or more backgrounds of nature. I guess lately, my big inspiration has been trying things that I haven’t done before.

That’s kind of what I’ve been having fun doing lately.

When did you start drawing? That’s so hard to say.

I’ve kind of been drawing as long as I can remember. I think since I could hold a marker or pencil I was drawing, honestly. It was always something I was obsessed with when I was younger. My mom still [has] drawings on the wall in her bedroom that I did when I was like four. I’ve basically been doing it as long as possible.

Are there any artists who inspired your drawing style? It’s not like a specific artist. It’s just because what turned me off from painting for a long time when I was younger was how hard it was to undo a mistake. And I was so meticulous and precise with my art that I hated it. But I think if I go in trying to remember and be more inspired by that mindset of, ‘I’ll make mistakes and that’s part of it,’ instead of being frustrated by that, it leads to me being much happier and ending up with much better work.

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Are there any themes you follow? So I guess.

Yeah, I guess lately, my big inspiration has been trying things that I haven’t done before. That’s kind of what I’ve been having fun doing lately.

What does your art aim to say? I don’t think so.

I’ve never been much of a person who does art with a lot of meaning to it. And it’s kind of a weird pet peeve of mine how a lot of people when they look at art, they feel like there has to be a meaning to it. And of course, there often isn’t meaning. And it’s great when there is, but I think people forget that sometimes the meaning is just that someone likes to do art. And that is what it is for me. I just have fun with it. It’s fun to see what I can do and this stuff makes me happy. And that’s really why I do it as there is not really any meaning to it. So occasionally, I do art, like I’ve done art for protests and stuff I’ve been to. But for the most part, I kind of draw once I’m in the mood, for it helps me focus. I also draw a lot during school, stuff like that.

Is there a piece your most proud of? Recently, it’s actually unfinished, but in the painting class, we’ve been doing a still life. And I’ve been painting, it’s all that sits on my desk. It’s like a vintage doll from Burger King. And it’s not done yet, but I’ve been really proud of it because I’ve never considered myself much of a painter. I never really painted much. I just did a lot of pencil drawing. And it’s been turning out really well. And I am very proud of this little doll painting.

Art by Rin Simmons Constants | November 2020 | 83

SADIE BARBER What inspires your art? The times where I make my best stuff is when I’m in, a good place mentally. So, at camp, I make really good stuff cuz I’m surrounded by people that I like.

So what inspires me? Probably just people.

When did you start drawing? Forever. I was homeschooled for preschool and kindergarten. So we would draw every day. But then five or so years ago at camp in the arts and crafts class.

I would just make collages and stuff. Camp has always been a really big influence for my art.

Are there any artists who inspired your drawing style? I guess Picasso. But a person that I like to look up to that inspires me [is my] voice teacher, Chris McCall. I’ve been seeing her since I was in fifth grade. She just really inspires me. We have so much in

common. She’s like an older version of me. And everything I ask her about, she has an answer. Or she gives me really good advice Are there any themes you follow? I usually try to go for I guess abstract, and things that don’t make sense. So I try to make it like a mystery — like all over the place.

What does your art aim to say? I think it could be like a different message for each of them.

Is there a piece you’re most proud of? I made it for art class in school. The theme was identity, so I just thought of stuff that represents who I am But other stuff I do, I feel like I tried to take a spiritual route, or questioning authority, I guess.

Art by Sadie Barber 84 | The Communicator Magazine

Photography by Lily McCready

LILY MCCREADY Why do you do art? It’s just a hobby. Like Ebba, I love Ebba. She’s so good at what she does, but she does it every day, probably if I had to guess. I garden also, so during spring or the fall when I’ve flowers coming out, I like taking pictures of flowers. I don’t like taking pictures of people though. Landscapes work better for me. I don’t know what it is about photographing people. I just I cannot do it.

to take pictures of a plane that’s going like 200 miles per hour. But if you can get the shot, it’s so worth it. But other than that, that’s pretty much it. Just like parks, sometimes trees, too, especially in the fall. One of my favorite shots that I’ve done is taking a picture up through the leaves, like if I’m laying on the ground, and I’m pointing it toward the sky.

And I just think that’s really cool. Mostly flowers.

Why do you think you can’t photograph people? Taking pictures of people is not a vibe for me. I don’t like doing it. Probably will never like doing it. I love national parks. I already love being outdoors. I like finding the perfect shot. I know some people may find it annoying or it’s time-consuming or whatever. But you know, finding the perfect lighting and working with the contrast and stuff. And editing, I find it really fun. Just adds another relaxing element to vacation for me.

Why did you choose photography as a medium? And how do you feel about other mediums? I’m not exactly sure why I chose photography, to be honest. It’s just ever since I was like, five, I just had fun taking pictures. And it’s evolved into this hobby where I have an actual camera now. And it’s something I do to consume my time. I don’t do other things, like I really don’t read books, but I just like getting outside to begin with. So then to be able to combine that with taking pictures, it’s the perfect mix for me. And I never really thought about other things, to be honest. There are a few other hobbies I have that are like stress relieving or relaxing, but there’s not much, at least not that I’ve tried anyway.

What are your favorite subjects? National parks, flowers, planes. My family goes to air shows during the summer, I didn’t get to go this summer because of Covid. But planes I like. It’s really hard

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PICTURE THIS

BY DELIA BINETTI, CARMEN JOHNSON AND CATE WEISER

Jenna Jarjoura gives us a glimpse of what her asynchronous days look like.

Almost every Wednesday ,Jarjoura spends her time at a friends house with her pod consisting of four other people.

“This photo was taken on a Wednesday. So it was an asynchronous day, and on Wednesdays, me and my friend group have a class that we do together [the history of the 1960s with Ryan]. We’ve kind of created a pod, where we come together on Wednesdays and do our zoom in the basement. Jarjoura uses her camera for many different captures, “I brought my camera that day because I wanted to test out my skills. I had watched so many videos, like 30 minutes worth of videos on YouTube, probably longer than that. Basically how to take good photos and how to change the settings on my camera, so I came in that day, and after class I knew I needed to take photos of them outside just for lighting purposes.”

Jarjoura captured a beautiful photo of her friends that day.

“This was just a really fun moment because Cy is not a huggy touchy person so Leah was definitely having a ton of it in this photo, but I just think that this is a photo that is really special because it is two of my favorite people on the planet in one photo together.

Jarjoura best describes this moment as if being “on cloud nine.”

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Nikolai Tang, a CHS senior, spent most of his summer fishing with friends. He found Argo dam most nights in July peaceful and gratifying. Tang and his friends took advantage of the warm nights enjoying many hours relaxing. Tang has enjoyed fishing for a lot of his life and found that teaching others how to fish was a fun bonding and learning experience. Tang loves the gratifying feeling after catching a fish and feels as if he outsmarted nature.

“Fishing this summer was a good way to be with my friends and social distance,” Tang said. “It’s a good way to go out and connect with nature during online school.”

With everything being online and having to sit at computers all day, Tang finds that spending time outside during this time is the best thing for his mental health.

Madison Bell, a junior at CHS, has been working towards her pilot’s license for over a year. Bell grew up traveling with her family, and she wants to continue that tradition as she grows older. She thought the easiest -- and cheapest -- way to do that would be through being able to fly herself wherever she wants.

After her first flight at the Ann Arbor Municipal Airport, Bell was hooked; she knew she had found a new passion. Her parents signed Bell up for four more flights and lessons immediately after.

On the day the photo was taken, Bell and her instructors practiced grass landings before circling an airport to watch the sunset. Her instructor offered to take a photo of Bell flying, and she agreed.

Bell has witnessed more beautiful scenes than she could count; on one of her flights with her instructor, they landed at an airport near a lake. The runway was short, and it required a quick takeoff.

“We flew right over the lake and I looked down and saw people tubing, and people on their boats, and families swimming,” Bell said. “It was really beautiful to see.”

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This past summer, Chloe Durkee and her friends organized a special tradition: backyard sleepovers and breakfast every Saturday. Durkee, a senior, duals between CHS and Skyline.

The group, which stuck to four to six people in size, would rotate backyards every weekend. They pitched tents and filled them with blankets and pillows, stretched extension cords outside and once put up LED lights.

The Fleetwood Diner became the home of their weekend meals. Durkee thought that the outdoor seating and uncrowded environment provided the perfect spot for a pandemic breakfast.

Durkee always got a side order of French toast. One of her friends consistently ordered a type of seed toast that spurred an argument at every meal; many of Durkee’s friends thought the toast was in poor taste. That memory was only one of many funny moments.

“Luke would always get a giant sweet tea,” Durkee said. “He literally only would take one sip of it. He did it every single time, without fail.”

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Carmen Johnson, a CHS senior, was strolling around in search of the perfect senior picture spot. She and a friend spent time together walking the streets of Ypsilanti that day in hope to find that perfect destination.

Johnson had this picture taken of her during the beginning of the school year. She describes how she was feeling that day as any ordinary day.

“I was downtown Ypsilanti near the bus station. This big mural is right by the parking lot next to GO! Ice Cream,” Johnson said. “Basically, I was just there with my friend, Sadye. We were looking at places that we can take our senior photos downtown because her mom wanted an urban feel for the pictures. I was feeling okay. It wasn’t too hot or too cold. It was a nice day and we had some free time, so we got together and we got some ice cream. We were in the area, and then I just walked over to the mural because I thought it was cool. I started posing and she started taking pictures of me. It was a super cool mural. I edited the colors to be more vibrant.”

One of Johnson’s favorite editing apps is VSCO.“I used VSCO to make the colors pop more. I really liked how this mural showed family and kids and how it is connected to Michigan and small businesses,” Johnson said. “It just has a lot of stuff and color that represents what’s going on in that area.”

“That’s me in forum — our zoom call,” said Charlie Rosenfeld, a freshman at CHS in the Hamstra forum.

“We’re making pumpkin muffins over Zoom, and I’m combining ingredients. I’m personally not the biggest muffin fan, but they were good.

Every Friday in the Hamstra forum, a student or guest teaches the class how to do something over Zoom.

“Fridays are very enjoyable, whether it’s cooking or learning how to juggle with Max [Klarman],” Rosenfeld said. “I definitely just like the collective activities — they’re very fun.”

Rosenfeld describes how CHS has met aspects of his expectations in his first few months of being a student, as well as what he’s looking forward to: “I’m probably most excited to go back to school and get to know people, or at least find more of a community at Community,” Rosenfeld said. “I definitely feel like there’s some more inclusivity and kindness.”

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It Just

Feels Right

BY SOPHIE NUNEZ

fashion

Photos by Sophie Nunez

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When Ella Glass looks in the mirror, she just knows if an outfit feels right or not.

“A couple weeks ago, I was getting ready to go somewhere and I just felt like I wasn’t expressing myself properly, so I changed,” Glass said. “I’m not sure how I know, I just do.”

Glass, a sophomore at CHS has a keen eye for fashion. Her interest in how she dresses was sparked freshman year and has only grown since then. She describes her style as “lazy and dark academia” and gets most of her inspiration from Pinterest.

“I am really interested in early 2000s fashion, but from Japan,” Glass said. “Late 90s and early 2000s fashion in Japan is really cool to me. If I were ever to buy new clothes or try to find new pieces of my wardrobe, I would definitely just start there.”

Glass loves to compliment her outfits with a pair of homemade earrings. She began making these unique earrings earlier this year, but she really got into them during quarantine.

“I never wear consistent statements or pieces of jewelry that are a staple in my wardrobe but every so often I’ll make a pair of earrings,” Glass said. “I think my earrings especially have just evolved with my style.”

Glass’s collection consists of many different kinds of earrings, from keys to little green aliens.

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Glass not only expresses herself through her clothes, but also her hair.

“I express myself with my hair more than I express myself through my clothes,” Glass said. “I think that each time I dye my hair or do something different to my hair, it’s sort of like how other people buy clothes.”

One of the boldest changes Glass made to her hair was shaving her head. She had been wanting to do it for four years and on the first day of quarantine, she took the leap and cut it all off.

“Honestly I think after I shaved my head I realized how unhappy I was with my hair all the time,” Glass said. “I was never satisfied with it no matter what I did. I definitely am happier since shaving my head.”

Shaving her head was a weird adjustment for glass, but definitely a liberating one.

As Glass’s style evolves, so does her clothing. She tries to stay away from buying fast fashion, and instead, she pairs clothes she already has in different ways.

“I am trying to shop more sustainably because that is really important to me,” Glass said. “When changing my look, I found myself using the clothes I already have.

But when I do, it’s mostly from Pacsun or Amazon; or over the summer, mostly I just wear like my dad’s t-shirts and pants I’ve had forever.”

Glass’s three go-to pieces from her wardrobe are her plaid cuffed pants, a reddish-orange sweater and black t-shirt screen printed with someone playing shuffleboard.

Her favorite addition to her outfits are her Doc Martens or Adidas continentals.

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W Photography by Ella Rosewarne Leah White enjoys spending time outside. In the past six months, she has missed spending time with friends. “With my friends or family I get to express myself to my fullest extent,” White said.

“Sharing experiences with people you care about may be one of my favorite things ever.”

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PROUST QUESTIONNAIRE

Leah WHITE

Sophomore at CHS shares her most treasured possession, her idea of happiness, her greatest regret and more aspects of her life.

W

BY ELLA ROSEWARNE

What is your idea of perfect happiness? I think perfect happiness is something that’s experienced only once in a while. I would describe perfect happiness as a feeling that you might get when dancing in the rain or when you’re laughing so hard you can barely breathe. It’s a feeling where everything else goes away and your heart feels full, and you’re grinning ear to ear. All the times I’ve felt what I thought to be perfect happiness, I’ve also felt a sense of total and utter presence and my entire self is in the moment. What is your greatest fear? Some of my fears are dark water where I can’t see the bottom and being in the dark alone. Though, my biggest fear is losing someone close to me. What is the trait you most deplore in others? Dishonestly and selfishness. Which living person do you most admire? My brother, I love how he is always excited to try something new and puts a lot of effort into it. What is your current state of mind? Frazzled. What do you most dislike about your appearance? Body type. I think this is more influenced by society’s standards than an opinion I have formed myself. Which words or phrases do you most overuse? I often find that the words phrases I use most are in response to what someone has said. Most of them are used in a sarcastic way. I’d say the most prominent ones are: “Ooh fantastic,” “Cute” and “How rock and roll of you.” When and where were you happiest? When I’m with my friends or family. I get to express myself to my fullest extent around them. Sharing experiences with people you care about may be one of my favorite things ever. Times I’ve been the happiest have been things like trips with people closest to me whether it’s just a local adventure or elsewhere. Which talent would you most like to have? I wish I could sing well; there are so many different things you can do with singing. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? Probably my willingness to push myself to do new things. What do you consider your greatest achievement? A couple years ago, I made a ukulele and learned how to play it. If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be? Either some type of bird or an aquatic animal, that way I would get a different perspective on the world.

Where would you most like to live? This question is often in my mind. For me I would want to travel around before I decided to settle down somewhere. Northern Ontario Canada is where I could

currently see myself living in the future. A couple summers ago, I started going to a camp in northern Ontario, and I was blown away by my surroundings. The trip I went on was a canoe trip so you are out in the wilderness for one month canoing around the lakes and setting up to camp each night. When I’m there, I can experience a feeling that is absolutely indescribable. To be able to live by or in a place like that with that energy would be absolutely ideal for me. What is your most treasured possession? My most treasured possession is definitely a ring that I have. My great grandmother found it in a flea market in the early ‘50s. I’m more attached to it because it’s from her, but I do also love the design. She had many more trinkets as such, but they were given to the older grandchildren when I was still very young. Wearing the ring always makes me think of her and the wonderful life she led. I believe it’s quite nice to have some inspiration on your finger at times. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? Having to break in a pair of Birkenstocks after you grow out of your previous pair.

What is your favorite occupation? My favorite occupation/hobby is definitely mountain biking. Mountain biking is something that I can do when I need to think and clear my thoughts or to do just for fun. I think you’d be surprised how therapeutic it is to absolutely hammer your bike over rocks and tree roots. There a rhythm to mountain biking that you can get into, and it almost feels like a type of meditation. What do you most value in your friends? Honesty and humor. Who are your favorite writers? I really like Ernest Hemingway. I find it amazing how with mere words you can go on a sort of adventure in your mind. Who are your heroes in real life? Many are people in my family but I would say I’m definitely a big admirer for people who stand up for themselves and others like, A.O.C. What are your favorite names? I have a list of names on the notes app in my phone. Some of my favorites from that list are Cordelia, Allanah, Faye, Gabriel and Jacob. What is it that you most dislike? I don’t like the mindset that isn’t open to change and growth. What is your greatest regret? Not trying new things, listening to yourself is important, but trying new things and having new experiences really broadens and enriches your life. How would you like to die? Either in my sleep or doing something I love.

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A

PLAYLIST: FOR A RAINY DAY

BY JENNA JARJOURA

FEATURED: Daisy

by Choker

A Necessity If you don’t have this song in any of your playlists, add it NOW. “Daisy,” an underrated song in Choker’s album “Honeybloom,” is a collection of mumbled lyrics that are worth learning. The song refers to a daisy, which is symbolic of new beginnings, transformations and purity. The six minute song has repetitions of “I was seeing life daisy, everything daisy, petal push daisy.”

This repetition is then cut off by an abrupt change — a transition. Choker changes the pace of the song from a slow, soft tone to a new, more upbeat sound that acts as a transformation from the beginning.

TRACK LIST Lost - Frank Ocean Under Control - The Internet Killing Me Softly With His Song - The Fugees Off the Grid - Alina Baraz BS - Still Woozy 96 | The Communicator Magazine

Isn’t It So Convenient - Mk.gee

I Won’t Dance - Ella Fitzgerald

By Any Means - Jorja Smith Dark and Handsome - Blood Orange

Spill the Milk - Eartheater Where Does the Love Go? - Maria Isabel & Yeek Swim - Valley N Side - Steve Lacy

Politics & Violence - Dominic Fike Better - ZAYN

FOR A SUNNY DAY TRACK LIST Cabin Fever - Jaden Playground - Steve Lacy Post Humorous - Gus Dapperton Phone Numbers - Dominic Fike & Kenny Beats On My Mind - Jorja Smith & Preditah Harvey - Her’s

FEATURED: Dreams

by Fleetwood Mac The Ultimate Oldie But Goodie Fleetwood Mac’s most popular song, “Dreams,” released in 1987, is the perfect song to play on a beautiful, sunny day.

The album “Rumours” was created during times of despair for Fleetwood Mac, as partnerships and marriages were coming to an end. “Dreams” tells a story of loneliness and the remembrance of better times. The contradicting sound that replicates a winding road allows you to get lost in the song.

Disco Man - Remi Wolf Cheesin’ - Cautious Clay, Remi Wolf & sophie meires Rover - S1mba Why iii Love the Moon. - Phony Ppl Me & You Together Song - The 1975 There’s Still a Light In the House - Valley Something’s Missing - The Internet Outside - Hamond JD’s song - boy pablo

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Soundtrack to Online School

Through quarantine and the start of online school, some people have depended more on music. We talked to four CHS students and one CHS teacher about what they have been listening to and why.

BY GRACE WANG AND ELLA ROSEWARNE

Wild Irish Roses Sebastian Oliva, a junior at CHS, has been listening to “Wild Irish Roses”

by Smino to get him through online school.

From the sudden switch to online last year to the transition this year, he listened to this song to bring him to a calm and peaceful place.

“At first, it was: how were sports going to work?” Oliva said. “I live with my mother, so I was worried about if she were to get sick, or if I were to get sick, and how this would affect us.” The unknown was what worried him most, but music allowed him to relax a bit.

Smino had not ever been his first choice of artist. However, Oliva started looking for ways to expand his music taste when the pandemic boredom set in.

Crazy Train Jack Wagner, Jazz Director at CHS, has also leaned on music during the pandemic.

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“Covid has been stressful; I have found myself listening to more hard rock from the 80s and 70s,” Wagner said. “That could just be taking me back to my roots in my young days. It’s hard-hitting music, and it’s fun because it feels like you’re getting aggression out when you listen to it. If I listen to Ozzy Osbourne doing ‘Crazy Train,’ or listen to Queen’s ‘Under Pressure,’ or anything [similar to] those, they just feel good.

I catch myself putting that stuff on if I go for a run or if I’m working out.”

After March 13, he found himself lying awake at night, trying to fix the world’s problems and wondering what would happen to the health of those he loves. For him, this era of stress feels never-ending.

“I may have settled on certain things, and that’s been replaced a lot by this new format, this online teaching format,” Wagner

“I was trying to think of artists that my friends or peers from school recommended that I should listen to,” Oliva said. “I remembered that they told me Smino is really good, and I kept listening to him, and he grew to be one of my favorite artists.” The song “Wild Irish Roses” stuck out to him because of the tempo and the beat; they calmed him down when things were tough. Oliva also found comfort in the way Smino delivered his lyrics: synchronized with the slower cadence.

In addition to boredom, the pandemic posed a period of loneliness on Oliva. He found a new way to connect through music.

“It brought up good memories I had with [friends] before this whole pandemic.”

This song helped him feel closer to people he could no longer see in person.

said. “It’s been so tough. The teachers have felt the stress tremendously.”

Being a musician allows him to be hyper-aware of how music changes his mood.

“Music has that power to put us into these emotional spaces, even if none of the other circumstances of our lives are any different,” Wagner said. “We could use music to reflect the angst that we’re feeling, but we can also use music to calm us from our angst. Depending on which way you want to go, you get to choose.”

Wagner believes bad music is subjective, and if you can get validation or what you want out of the song, then it isn’t bad. To him, good music is defined in its power to affect the listener emotionally.

Breathe In the Air Sadie Barber is a freshman at CHS. She focuses on the emotion and lyrics in songs.

Aja Turner Aldrich, feels pressure from changes in his education and relies on music.

“I’m more of a hands-on learner, and I have to see stuff visually, which is hard to do over a zoom call,” Aldrich said.

Online school is difficult for many students, but Aldrich has music to get him through. “Depending on what kind of mood I’m feeling, I’ll just throw on [music],” Aldrich said. “If I’m down or stressed out, and I’ll just sing along.[It] definitely relieves a lot of stress.”

That nostalgic feeling — knowing the lyrics — helps him brighten his mood.

Recently, Aldrich has been drawn to the album “Aja” by Steely Dan. His dad introduced the band at a young age, playing classic rock in the car for him and his brother.

He started listening to the band on his own after friends from the jazz program told him to check them out.

The title track is his favorite, but he loves the whole album as a fusion of jazz and rock. “It just sort of sets a mood, a pretty chill mood,” Aldrich says. “And then there’s some more upbeat stuff too.”

His favorite time to turn on the album is when driving. Steely Dan has come with him, from his Dad’s car to his own.

She likes songs with meaning behind them that she relates to, not just singing.

Barber describes her music taste as, “a mix of eras and feelings.”

One of Barber’s favorite songs recently is “Breathe in the Air” by Pink Floyd. It was introduced to her by her dad, who is a Pink Floyd fan, when they listened to their songs together. She liked the overall vibe of this song, so she started listening to it more.

“For long you live and high you fly // But only if you ride the tide // And balanced on the biggest wave //You race towards an early grave.”

This verse resonates with her most because of its message: live fast, die young.

“It’s just something good to keep in mind; things don’t matter as much as you think,” Barber said.

“It definitely gives me an outlet and something to relate to,” Barber said. Her top five artists are Joji, Nirvana, Lana Del Rey, Elliott Smith and Pink Floyd.

Since the beginning of quarantine, Barber has listened to more music and started making more playlists. She mostly finds new music from friends and family. Barber has around 50 playlists that she rotates between, depending on her mood.

Ballad of Big Nothing Ella Glass, a sophomore at CHS, has depended on music since the start of online school.

Ella Glass, a sophomore at CHS, has depended on music through quarantine and the start of online school. Generally, she listens to rock and pop music. Glass describes her music taste as “walking in the garden and falling asleep there.”

One of her favorite songs recently is “Ballad of Big Nothing” by Elliott Smith.

“You can do what you want to whenever you want to // You can do what you want to; there’s no one to stop you // Now you can do what you want to whenever you want to // Do what you want to whenever you want to // Do what you want to whenever you want to // Though it doesn’t mean a thing // Big nothing” This is the outro of the song and her favorite part. “It really sums up the song; you can have your freedom but at a price,” Glass said.

Glass says she listens to this song about five times a day. For her, this is more of a morning song.

She finds songs to listen to from friends, Spotify recommendations and TikTok. When she sees videos on TikTok recommending songs and bands, she adds them to a list to listen to later.

The first thing Glass notices when listening to a song is the lyrics; then, she listens for guitar parts in the song; then, bass, drums and backup vocals.

Her favorite song to play is “Francis Forever” by Mitski on her bass guitar.

“It makes you feel proud that you can replicate those sounds,” Glass said. “You can play it how you want to hear the song.”

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Media Reviews Her Written and Directed By Spike Jonze

BY HENRY CONNOR

Whether you have just gotten out of a relationship, are feeling lost in your emotions or you simply want something to watch, the film “Her,” available on Netflix, is definitely worth it. Taking place in a near future Los Angeles, we follow a passionate, yet lonely, man named “Theodore Twombly” who takes on the life of writing other people’s personal letters for them. Played by the phenomenal Joaquin Phoenix who had just won his first Oscar last year for his brilliant performance in “Joker,” his performance in this film is just as good, if not better. After suffering from a divorce with his wife Catherine, Theodore decides to purchase an operating system with artificial intelligence designed to be a virtual assistant. After choosing the voice to be female, the operating system gives herself the name of Samantha. As Theodore and Samantha bond with one another and learn and grow with each other, he slowly starts to convince himself he is falling in love with her, and they begin a relationship.

The strange yet beautiful part of “Her” is how it explores emotion. The film may feel weird at times, and a you may feel a bit uncomfortable, but at other times, something different happens. You feel for Theodore, and you get lost in this fake relationship just as much as he does. There is a sort of danger to technology that this film reminds us of. Dressed in the color of bright

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red, normally symbolizing strong passion and love, it’s clear from the start that Theodore stands out in this world as those around him wear very bland and mute colors. Theodore is full of life and love, and yet he gets trapped. He gets trapped in this illusion. This illusion of love. He is lost in his past, regretting the mistakes he made with Catherine and what he could have done differently, and Samantha is his way out. He can talk with Samantha and open up to her like he can with no one else. The sad truth is that deep down he misses the human connection he made with Catherine because he understands that his relationship with Samantha will never be the same.

As humans, we are always looking for a meaning in life. Before Theodore meets Samantha, he feels like he has lost this meaning he once had. Spike Jonze is trying to show us the truth about love and about our modern society. We have fallen into the trap of our technology and how it is keeping us from interacting with one another. Theodore is introverted and therefore fell into this exact pattern. The good news is that there is always hope for us, and people like Spike Jonze to help guide us. If you haven’t given “Her” a watch yet, please give it a try. Even if the plot turns you off, it is definitely worth the watch.

Artwork By Lucas B. Connor

Keep It Moving

By Joey Bada$$, Nas and Gary Clark Jr.

BY LEWIS PERRY

Rebecca Directed By Ben Wheatley

BY RIA LOWENCHUSS

“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.” These words open the hauntingly lovely “Rebecca,” a nightmare-inducing thriller disguised as a Jane Austen-esque whirlwind romance. Based on the 1938 novel by Daphne du Maurier and directed by Ben Wheatley, “Rebecca” is full of breathtaking cinematography and fittingly gorgeous costumes. The strong-standing cliffs, grand estates and winding mountain roads make watching this movie feel like a holiday for the eyes.

The story follows the narrator as she falls quickly and wholly in love with a mysterious English gentleman still reeling from the death of his first wife. This narrator is never given a name, instead forced to be Mrs. de Winter throughout the movie. Although seemingly innocent, this fact illuminates a key theme of this movie: love without knowledge and without truth.

Throughout the story, the main character blindly follows Mr. de Winter, never giving a second thought to actuality or her true needs. This shows that love can be dangerous when not punctuated by truth and balance.

Beautiful and thrilling, “Rebecca” is an engaging and suspenseful film that is a joy to watch. Lily James and Kristin Scott Thomas give stunning performances with emotional and hard-hitting acting. The ending falls a bit flat, compared to the rest of the movie, but overall this is a wonderful film. “Rebecca,” at its core, is a cautionary tale that warns against the biggest mistake: choosing blinded love over reality.

Two of New York’s greatest rappers, Joey Bada$$ and Nas, teamed up on a melodic and upbeat new single in “Keep it Moving.” Knowing the two rappers fanbases, there was no need to advertise and hype up the song, showing why it was announced a week before its release on Oct. 15, Static Selektah managed to get Nas and Joey Bada$$, as well as Gary Clark Jr., on a track that thrilled the rap community, combining two generations of New York hip-hop.

Nas and Joey each have two of their own verses, as well as Joey rapping the Chorus. The soul inspired beat from Static Selektah really maintains a solid progression throughout the whole song. The beat includes guitar from Gary Clark Jr., mixes from Selektah himself and a sample from “Walk on By” by Jonathan Davis.

Nas and Joey delivered as great as expected, being some of the best lyricists from their time periods in hip-hop.

The song transitions from verse-to-verse effortlessly without the need to repeat a chorus. The blend of old and new school New York rap allows this song to have a great connection and harmonization between Joey and Nas. “Suede Pumas back when I was chargin” is Nas referring to a popular shoe model from when he was much younger in New York. Joey and Nas go hand-in-hand in what sounds like a conversation between the two in the entirety of the song. Joey says, “I got a lot of love and respect for my OG’s” giving a nod to Nas, clearly one of his greatest influences.

Wrapping up the song, the outro includes a guitar solo from Gary Clark Jr., combined with the fantastic Soul beat that provides for a captivating ending the to song. While Nas and Joey could have had longer verses, the song ultimately comes out noteworthy and does not disappoint. If you are a person who enjoys old-school inspired rap music, definitely give this song a listen.

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CRAVE

APPLE CRANBERRY UPSIDE DOWN CAKE

BY AVA KOSINSKI

At Christmas dinner, my grandma brought out a new dessert: a tall yellow cake with rings of pineapple baked into the top and maraschino cherries placed in the center. The pineapple upside-down cake is a baking staple, but really anything can be made into an upside-down cake. This cake replaced the pineapple and cherry with apple and cranberry for a fall twist.

The yellow cake base is spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves, which created a pumpkin spice-type blend.

There was about a half cup of spices, which sounds like a lot, but gave the cake a strong flavor. The apples, Honeycrisp, came from a local farm stand. The thinly sliced apples and cranberries were held together by a brown sugar and butter glaze. The key to making this cake was the flipping, and when flipped properly, the fruit topping held together and created something beautiful. The seasonal fruits and spiced cake were the perfect additions to make this cake a fall staple.

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Our Turn

Communicator staff members discuss health during the pandemic

BY CY VEILLEUX AND DELIA BINETTI

Anjali Kakarla “It’s definitely affected me a lot mentally, it’s kind of depressing to not go outside and having to stay inside and not be able to see your friends. So I’ve been running every single day, which has really helped. It’s actually pretty fun.

And I used to hate running but I actually really like it now. And also, I’ve been FaceTiming my friends a lot. I’ve been trying to keep in touch with people so that I’m not completely isolated. That’s really helped.”

Sebastian Oliva “I think my best habit that I have is waking up really early.

I wake up at five in the morning every day to go run at the Pioneer track. I’m a student athlete, I run track, but due to the fact that there is no official season, I still want to physically be in shape and get ready for that season. The reason I do it is to create self discipline. And I think that discipline has brought up my self esteem, it has brought up my self awareness and it has bettered my self image.”

Gabbi Anderson “Before the pandemic I never really took the time to understand what I was feeling fully. I guess the pandemic has made me more in touch with how I’m feeling and my mental health. I’ve also learned how to deal with it in a good way that works for me. I was feeling really anxious at the beginning of quarantine, but I’ve found ways to help me deal with it.”

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personal protective equipment [pur-suh-nl pruh-tek-tiv ih-kwip-muhnt] noun protective clothing or equipment designed to protect the wearer from harm or infection.

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