ON CAMPUS PAGE 4 Left: Junior James Shelton and South High School Gay Straight Alliance adviser Courtney McGuire help out at Acoustic Latte Lounge Nov. 20 which benefitted the Trevor Project.
NORTH
POINTE
SYDNEY BENSON
GROSSE POINTE NORTH HIGH SCHOOL
FRIDAY, DEC. 5, 2014
SINCE 1968
SAT TESTING
Saturday, Dec. 6 at North
CHOIR HOLIDAY CONCERT Thursday, Dec. 11 and Friday, Dec. 12 at 7 p.m. at First English Lutheran Church
PRINCETON SCORE REPORTS For junior parents on Thursday, Dec. 11 at 6 p.m. in the PAC
ACT TESTING
Saturday, Dec. 13 at North
BAND-O-RAMA
Bands from Parcells and Brownell Middle Schools and North perform Wednesday, Dec. 17 at 7:30 p.m. in the gym
STRINGS EXTRAVAGANZA
Orchestras from all three middle schools and both high schools perform Thursday, Dec. 18 at 7:30 p.m. in the gym Contents 1-2 3 4
News Ideas On Campus
5 6 7 8
Life Reviews Sports Feature
IDEAS
“BELTING OUT NOTES
No recognition means challenges for students of minority religions
By Anu Subramaniam & Andrea Scapini CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF & CO-MANAGING EDITOR
Converting from Roman Catholicism to Islam meant that junior Law rence Lezuch went from hav ing time off school to obser ve holidays to obser v ing his holidays and performing his religious routine while balancing school. “I wake up 5:20, 5:30 in the morning, latest 5:45, and I pray for Fajr, and I usually go back to sleep after that, but I tr y not to because I don’t like oversleeping. After that, I of course go to school. I am the particular sect of Islam ... a Shia, so according to the Shia jurisprudence and all the Shia scholars and whatnot, I am allowed to pray at 12:15 ... (and) to do the evening prayer in the middle of the day,” Lezuch said. “Then the other prayer (is) the Asr, so there is Dhuhr and Asr, and I am allowed to pray those two together.” Due to the fact that Islamic holidays such as Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr occur during the school year, Lezuch must nav igate balancing schoolwork and celebration during that time. “During Ramadan, that’s during the summer, so there is no need for that to conf lict w ith school and whatnot during the summer. But there are certain Eids, which means holiday in English, that aren’t obser ved here obv iously, but in Dearborn, they are. One of the two—there are two Eids, I can say the most prominent one is Eid A l-Adha, which is the same day as Yom Kippur—is commemorating Abraham’s sacrifice,” he said. “I notice a lot of my friends who have been Muslim since birth—they were born into a Muslim family—they usually just skip (school) when there is an Eid.” District policy states that “upon the signed request of a student’s parent and
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w ith appropriate documentation, the Board w ill allow exceptions to the student’s continuous attendance at school,” meaning that students of minority religions can be excused from school for appropriate allotted celebration time. However, many students find missing school and hav ing to catch up on missed work more difficult than to remain in school. Junior Mallika Kanneganti’s parents have adjusted the timing of their holiday parties so they don’t conf lict w ith her school schedule. “The only holiday I celebrate is Diwali, and I have school on that a lot. It changes ever y year, but usually the end of October, early November,” Kanneganti said. Diwali is the Hindu celebration of lights that signifies the triumph of good over ev il. The holiday celebrates the return of Prince Rama from ex ile after he defeated the demons plaguing the nation of India. “My parents don’t really do any thing outside of school, but a lot of times there’s a Diwali party on the weekend (instead of ) on the holiday because the parents don’t want kids celebrating on school nights. We moved the party to the weekend instead of the actual day of Diwali,” Kanneganti said. Counselor Anne Mabley believes that the school system’s current policy makes it simple for students to exercise their freedom of religion. “I haven’t seen that as real problematic for most kids. If there’s a holiday that they need to worship that day, usually they get called in, and that’s not a problem. I don’t see it as an, as my kids say, epic problem, but I think we respect the fact that there are lots of religious holidays for kids, but we haven’t got a set standard about that,” Mabley said. “I think it’s important that students that know that they’re going to
By Anu Subramaniam & Caitlin Bush CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF & INTERN
Out of the 14,000 public school districts in the United States, only 49 were named Districts of Distinction for their outstanding programs. Grosse Pointe Public School System is now one of those districts, listed under Student Achievement for North’s Freshman Assist program. Districts of Distinction is a national program created by District Administration magazine that recognizes school systems for “initiatives that are yielding quantifiable benefits, and that could be replicated by other districts.”
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be participating in some sort of ritual, or whatever have you, and they know the day they might be missing, or whatever, days, to tell teachers that because teachers are really wonderful.” Junior Jacob Kahn feels that missing school to obser ve his Jew ish holidays are similar to missing for being sick. “I just take school off. I just ask the teachers that I’m gonna be out, and they give me the homework,” Kahn said. “It’s just like me being sick or something or going to the doctor’s or something like that. Usually I miss two days. It depends what day it ends up on, but it’s usually two days. It’s ... Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. I don’t mind. Either way, I’m getting the day off, so I don’t really care.” Lezuch also doesn’t mind working around school time. He capitalizes on the dow ntime that school allows throughout the day to pray. “It really hasn’t been that big of deal, really,” Lezuch said. “I pray during lunch because ... it just happened to match up perfectly, and I work after school.” Junior Julia Babcock recognizes the sensitiv ity of maneuvering days off school to accommodate for each religion and feels luck y that school is off on most Christian holidays she obser ves. “If it were my religion, and I didn’t have the time off, I would probably be upset, or I would just take it off myself,” Babcock said. “It’s wonderful that we live in a place where that’s so w idely celebrated because there’s other places where people are not even allowed to openly voice that they’re Christian, so it’s definitely a blessing, and I’m so thankful that we live in a place where we have time off school.”
Junior Mar’tel Morgan entered Freshman Assist in 2012 and exited the program having learned more than just English or math. “It’s not even organization and all that. It’s with discipline, also. It wasn’t harsh because Grosse Pointe is nowhere near harsh in any aspect of it, but they just—it’s amazing,” Morgan said. Morgan said it wasn’t just what the class did at school. “They took us out,” he said. “I remember once the only field trip or two field trips I didn’t attend, they went to a soup kitchen and helped there. And then I remember—this is my favorite field trip of all— we went to this place, and we were putting bags together for the kids going into foster care,” Morgan said. Freshman Assist began almost a decade ago as a joint effort between Principal Kate Murray, former Principal Tim Bearden and English teacher Geoffrey Young. “We began to realize that perhaps we weren’t meeting the needs of all of our students and that there were students arriving at North High School that had been undereducated and hadn’t had some of the opportunities that a lot of our Grosse Pointe students have. There was an increase in struggling learners, and we wanted to create a program that supported, wrapped around, encouraged and helped make those students be successful, not just in literacy, but throughout their schooling for their four years here,” Murray said. The district applied for the 2014 District of Distinction award after gathering information from the Freshman Assist teachers to fill out the application.
VOLUME 47, ISSUE 6
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© 2014 North Pointe
NEWS
2 – Friday, Dec. 5, 2014 – North Pointe
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“It was a group effort,” Murray said. “Rebecca Fannon, who is our communication specialist for the district and I pulled all the information together, and she submitted the nomination for us. We are one of 49 in the nation. It is a big deal.” One of the distinguishing features of Freshman Assist is its student mentor aspect. Morgan bonded with his mentors in each of his classes and felt they helped him with his freshman year. “They helped you with various things, actually,” Morgan said. “Francesca (Ciaramitaro, 2013 almuna) was there with me through all of it. But they also help you with a lot of things. You have different mentors for each class. You would have one mentor for a group of people, and they would help you with spelling, where to put the commas and periods and how to work out a paragraph or the intro to a whole essay.” Young was one of the teachers that spent time helping to develop the mentor side of the program. “The mentoring aspect of it is so developed, we have an actual curriculum. Projects, research projects that the mentors do, and then we have such specific programming for the actual freshmen that allow them to interact with those mentors to have teachers who specifically know what kinds of needs they have as learners. We try and gear the lessons and activities that we have towards them as learners.” Senior Nikki Haggerty has been a mentor the past two years and has experienced the program’s benefits. “I get to see a whole different aspect of high school because as you go on, as you
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When I get to hang out with my freshmen every day, it makes me so happy. Nicole Haggerty SENIOR
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Freshman assist
progress throughout these four years, I think we forget sometimes what it feels like to be a freshman and what it feels like to be a sophomore, even what it feels like to be a junior, and I am saying that as a senior,” Haggerty said. “When I get to hang out with my freshmen every day, it makes me so happy because I get to hear about all the things going on in freshman life, and I get to feel like a part of it, and it just makes me feel a lot more included in the school as a whole.” Freshman Assist reaches beyond the classroom’s borders and helps kids adjust to the high school environment. “Socially ... I got a few friends from Freshman Assist,” Morgan said. “We ... did field trips, we hung out with each other, we
the classroom. Some data that we can actually quantify, some test scores like the NWEA, argues to assess students’ ability in reading and math, and we have seen increase in those places too,” Young said. “A lot of previous freshman assists come back and say ‘Hey, I want to be a mentor next year,’ and students who’ve, for some of whom weren’t even engaged in school at all, to come back and say ‘Hey, I want to be a mentor in a year,’ is a pretty amazing feel.” Another main reason for the program’s success is the teachers involved with it. “Teachers at North commit to teaching five classes, they watch a tutorial and they have a prep hour. The work that these Freshman Assist teachers do to prepare mentors over the summer, to coordinate a Step Up Camp for students before school starts, to create and implement academic and social assignments for the mentors each quarter is all above and beyond that required work,” Murray said. “And they do this because they are willing and able, not for any sort of monetary compensation. They do this —they do the work—because they are committed to students and they have a passion for struggling learners, and they will continue this work whether they are a District of Distinction or not, whether they receive any monetary reward or not, because it is their passion.” Morgan feels that the environment in Freshman Assist is similar to North’s overall environment, which makes the program and school so helpful for students. “Freshman Assist is based on freshmen, but if I go to my counselor as a senior, or somebody else’s counselor if my counselor isn’t available, I could go to the psychologist, I can even go to Mrs. (Suzanne) Topper, the attendance lady, and talk to her about situations I am having in my life,” Morgan said. “And she would be able to help me just because that’s what we do as a family at Grosse Pointe North.”
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bonded with each other because we had the same classes five hours out of seven hours a day. So we got a good connection, talking with each other. We got in groups together with different people. When we moved seats, I remember one time Mr. Byrne was like, ‘You aren’t going to sit next to your friends, ‘cause you need to know other people also.’” Freshman Assist is geared towards improving each student’s level of academic and social success during the transition from middle to high school. “We have seen a significant reduction in each year of students getting in trouble because they feel more connected to the school climate and find success more in
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IDEAS
North Pointe – Friday, Dec. 5, 2014 –3
Married to music “Grosse Pointe Public School administrators and teachers are responsible for encouraging and ensuring freedom of expression and freedom of the press for all students, regardless of whether the ideas expressed may be considered unpopular, critical, controversial, tasteless or offensive.” BOARD OF EDUCATION POLICY Erica Lizza CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Anu Subramaniam CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Haley Reid CO-MANAGING EDITOR
Olivia Asimakis NEWS EDITOR
Brittney Hernandez LIFE EDITOR
Wendy Ishmaku BUSINESS MANAGER
Dora Juhasz WEB NEWS EDITOR
Jennifer Kusch IDEAS EDITOR
Kaley Makino WEB IDEAS EDITOR
Ritika Sanikommu ASSISTANT EDITOR
Emily Martinbianco WEB LIFE EDITOR
Our editorial represents the opinion of the North Pointe Editorial Board consisting of the editors above. Members who have a conflict of interest with an editorial topic do not partake in that meeting or vote.
OUR EDITORIAL
Low science standardized test scores reveal larger problem Able to boast Michigan Teacher of the Year and the Innovation Center, the science department has made great strides towards success. However, as the department barrels forward, it’s leaving a few things behind: the students. All the “new” the department is injecting into the classrooms brings with it new worries for students. The problem: students are feeling less prepared for standardized testing. North students have a 36% proficiency rate on the science portion of the Michigan Merit Exam. Proportionally, this means that only three of the nine students present at our most recent editorial board meeting would have passed. Science teachers have moved away from traditional teaching methods like lecture-based classes, note-taking and in-depth explanations of concepts behind the material being taught. Instead, they’re focused on the latest methods of integrating technology and modernizing their teaching systems. In turn, students are left to struggle with the basic concepts and are forced to adapt to the technology being pushed on them. Using phones in class has become a burden. In fact, students are more apt to use Google to search for answers to the material they aren’t really learning than to use Google Classroom or WebAssign. Group discussions often resemble the blind leading the blind. A vast majority of students don’t truly understand what they’re trying to learn in class until the teacher intervenes to go over the material. Teachers are trying to have students learn material on their own because studies have shown that struggling with material increases brain growth. However, at a certain point, teachers need to teach the basic underlying concepts so students can struggle with the application of those concepts—not the concepts themselves. It has become the norm for students to retake assessments. Even if they don’t understand the material, memorizing the answers and retaking the test is a simple way to get an A. And those teachers who don’t offer retakes often scale test grades, which makes it seem like students are understanding the material when in fact, they felt like they failed the test after walking out of the classroom. Nevertheless, the very next day the class is moving on to the next unit, and students have cracks in their learning foundations. Left alone to patch up the repairs, the structure fights to recover. When does the shaky structure fall down? On tests such as the practice ACT the Class of 2016 took on Nov. 25. Other tests that scare students include Advanced Placement (AP) exams. Students fear that they don’t know what they need to, and passing rates for AP science exams reflect that. It has reached a point where students are just trying to pass the AP test, and they are realizing that they went through a year of Advanced Placement work only to have to retake the course in college. Because student science scores are down, teachers are doing what they think will remedy the situation. Some of them make practice ACTs part of the classwork, replacing part of the curriculum. To make up for the time lost in class, they assign hour-long online video lectures as homework. Although the reasoning behind the videos makes sense, students see them as cumbersome and don’t make the effort to learn anything. These consequences go beyond standardized testing: students will also not be prepared for the college environment. In the end, science classes have become more of a memorization game, which is not what they should be. Not all teachers’ styles are problematic. There are a few that take their time to thoroughly teach their students and use technology to enhance their teaching, not replace it. Students exit their classrooms confident about the tests they took and their understanding of their material, a feeling that many students aren’t having. Our solution: teachers should submit their students’ uncurved, unscaled grades before any retakes as an accurate representation of class performance. Although the use of technology is beneficial in modern times, an effort should be made to shed the useless applications and consult some students on what the they think will help. The department needs to take a step back from innovation to look at how many students are struggling and falling out of love with science because of the new methods. Teachers’ “success” requires students to work harder as they take on more of the teaching role—instead of grasping concepts, they are grappling with them. Change is needed so students are better prepared and aren’t relying on Google and group chats to wade through assignments and pass the class. At least most guides give rock climbers a hook and safety measures before leaving them to grapple.
I’ve indulged myself wholeheartedly in a marriage with harmonious music, always on the prowl for the latest a cappella YouTube video or a band whose members’ voices complement each other perfectly. Being involved in choir certainly helps this personal research MY TURN project of mine. EMMA PUGLIA Is my free time filled with Pitch Perfect-esque moments? Not necessarily. I, for one, have never been impaled by a flying burrito but, if you mean impromptu jam sessions singing with friends in unison, then yes, Pitch Perfect is accurate. This obsession with the sounds of harmonization only began fairly recently. If I’m ever feeling blue, I just play the song “Lida Rose” from The Music Man, where four men who’ve hated each other for 15 years discover though their mindsets clash, their voices blend in perfect pitch. My mood brightens instantly. Music itself has that effect, doesn’t it? Here’s the basics: just Google “music improves” and the first four options will be: “music improves test scores,” “music improves memory,” “music improves mood” and “music improves sleep quality in students.” All true. Music activates stored memory in certain sections of the brain like the corpus callosum. According to two neuroscientists at the University of Montreal, how humans process melody mentally triggers brain regions that are connected to “euphoric reward responses,” creating that uplifting feeling. The benefits of music are exponential. However, not only does listening to it advance mental agility, but singing in a group improves physical health. Belting out notes in perfect harmony makes the heart happy. Literally. A 2013 study con-
ducted by the University of Gothenburg in Sweden proves that singing in a choir has the same healthy effects as yoga, improving one’s social and mental well-being. What’s most astounding about this study is how it details that when singing various notes in a choir, each member’s heart slows down and eventually synchronizes until they all beat as one, with the music’s tempo as a guide. The synchronization of heartbeats can be described metaphorically in one quote from Robin Williams as Maxwell “Wizard” Wallace in August Rush: “You know what music is? God’s little reminder that there’s something else besides us in this universe; harmonic connection between all living beings, everywhere, even the stars.” I may complain about choir frequently: the amount of time I spend at rehearsals, the audition process, the occasional drama. But I’m grateful to have music as such an important aspect of my life, one that led me to meet friends willing to harmonize and record “Jingle Bells” just for a 10-second Snapchat story. I’m not purely advocating joining choir— I’m stressing the importance of having music in your daily life. Although lessons on alliteration or the quadratic formula may come and go, music remains vital. It’ll bring your mind back into focus when you have to study hours on end for finals. It’ll give you the confidence to strut like Beyoncé down the street to the beat. It’ll remain as that link between living beings who understand that a collection of notes can be interpreted into something astounding. Learning about these studies before a Summer Select performance two years ago changed my perspective on standing smack dab in the middle of angelic voices. Suddenly, we were all connected. During a time of darkness in my life, music turned my heart fuzzy and became a shining light of joy.
“It’s cool, ‘cause you learn survival skills. I’ve been hunting. It’s so much fun.“
“I think it’s fun ... I go deer hunting a lot because I like to eat deer. It tastes good.”
“It takes a lot of patience, but once you get that deer, it feels great.”
Erika Benoit
Daniel Leone
Mitchell Zacharias
FRESHMAN
SOPHOMORE
JUNIOR
YOUR TURN: What’s your stance on hunting? By Yena Berhane & Sydney Benson
“It’s fun ... My family, if we do go hunting, we actually put it to use. We don’t waste it.”
“I think it’s a good sport for people who enjoy being outside in the cold. It is a controlled hunt, so it is a controlled season.”
Matt Kane
Stacy Kryzminski
SENIOR
LIFESKILLS TEACHER
EDITORS-IN-CHIEF: Erica Lizza, Anu Subramaniam MANAGING EDITORS: Haley Reid, Andrea Scapini SECTION EDITORS: Olivia Asimakis, Katelyn Carney, Brittney Hernandez, Jennifer Kusch WEB MANAGING EDITOR: Emma Puglia WEB SECTION EDITORS: Yena Berhane, Dora Juhasz, Kaley Makino, Emily Martinbianco BUSINESS MANAGER: Wendy Ishmaku PHOTO EDITOR: Alanna Sparks ASSISTANT EDITORS: Josie Bennett, Emma Brock, Radiance Cooper, Mora Downs, Audrey Kam, Billy Moin, Thomas Remenar, Ritika Sanikommu, Gowri Yerramalli STAFF REPORTERS: Luke Sturgill, Addison Toutant INTERNS: Sydney Benson, Caitlin Bush, Allison Lackner, Lauren Sexton, Conner Bott
“If the animals ain’t hunted, they die off because of hunger. Bad part about it (is) a lot of people that don’t have experience about it end up shooting other.” Rick Heyer SECURITY GUARD
The North Pointe is edited and produced by Advanced Journalism students at Grosse Pointe North High School and is published every two weeks. It is in practice a designated public forum without prior review. Comments should be directed to the student editors, who make all final content decisions. The views expressed are solely those of the authors or the student editorial board and do not reflect the opinions of the Grosse Pointe Public School System. We are a member of the Michigan Scholastic Press Association, Columbia Scholastic Press Association, National Scholastic Press Association and Student Press Law Center. We subscribe to McClatchy-Tribune Information Services and iStockphoto.com. One copy is available free to all community members. Additional copies may be purchased. Our editorial policy and advertising rates are available online at northpointenow.org. The North Pointe is printed on 100% recycled paper. CONTACT US 707 Vernier Road Grosse Pointe Woods MI, 48236 Phone: 313.432.3248 Email: northpointe@gpschools.org Twitter: @myGPN FACULTY ADVISER: Shari Adwers, MJE
EDITOR’S DESK AUDREY KAM
My Hiro I pour four ounces of water into an eight-ounce glass. Is the glass half full or half empty? Let’s talk about Big Hero 6. In a major departure from the plot of the Marvel comic, the movie is set in a fictional city that plays off the atmosphere and architecture of both San Francisco and Tokyo and is aptly named “San Fransokyo.” Rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it? This has a lot of media snobs up in arms about “ruining” the story and “whitewashing” the characters. Switching the setting from Japan to America slightly shifted the cast’s racial spread. Perhaps a bit more loyalty to the original media was warranted, but since the creators okayed the changes, Internet posters’ claims that the shift “ruined” the movie seem melodramatic. Interestingly enough, the protagonist of this story, living smack in the middle of San Fransokyo, is the first biracial protagonist in any Disney animated movie. A JapaneseAmerican kid living in a Japanese/American city in a major motion picture?! It’s probably not a coincidence. The level of symbolism going on here would make veteran English teachers weep. Again, some Internet dwellers are griping about this choice, asking “since Hiro in the comics was 100% Japanese, why did they change it?” “Wasn’t the rest of the cast white enough?” (They’re really not.) “Did they really have to shove that in there without any reason?” I take offense. I absolutely think that this character is necessary. Yes, it would have been super if there were another Disney movie with all Asian characters. However, the fact that Hiro is the first biracial Disney character should not be minimized by those wishing for “accuracy.” Far too many times I’ve told people that I’m half Indonesian and half white only to get the response, “So you’re white?” Who said that, in a tie between two races, the European one wins? Who decided this? If anything, my Indonesian blood should be the winner, since its 50% saturation greatly outweighs any single European ethnicity floating in my hemoglobin. Show me how they ruined this movie. Explain it to me. Because as far as I can see, what Disney did is make the setting more familiar, create six characters that shatter stereotypes and teach viewers about coping strategies for loss and grief, and they did this in an hour and a half with a funny and touching movie about a 15-year-old and a nurse robot. Far from needing a slap on the wrist, I believe that Disney deserves a high five and a few awards. Well done, Disney. If we want to affect a shift in the idea that biracial people are only half something, this movie is a step in the right direction. Movies like Big Hero 6 challenge the assertion that the world is black and white. The human race is so obsessed with questions like “Are zebras black with white stripes or white with black stripes?” Why must we debate the significance of this? Why is it that when you pour four ounces of water into a glass that could hold eight, philosophers flock to you to discuss whether the empty part or the full part deserves our attention? Physics tells us this: the glass is completely full. Half air and half water. But we can see the water.
ON CAMPUS
4 – North Pointe – Friday, Dec. 5, 2014
Acoustic Latte Lounge
Gay Straight Alliance and Diversity Club hosted the Acoustic Latte Lounge on Nov. 20 from 7-9 p.m. and raised $320 for the Trevor Project, an organization that creates a safe place for young people in crisis. By Emma Puglia & Sydney Benson WEB MANAGING EDITOR & INTERN
LEFT: Juniors Victoria Smith and Gabby Wren Sledge sing Lana Del Rey’s “Summertime Sadness” spontaneously at the Latte Lounge. “Last year, we had English together, and we had a project to pick a poem of some type and present it in front of the class,” Smith said. “When we heard each other sing, we decided that we would get together sometime and record a song. When we were at the Acoustic Lounge, we decided to sing that because we knew all the lyrics from when we did it earlier that year.” BELOW: Guitar in hand, senior Lauren Nyquist sings “The Way I Am” by Ingrid Michaelson at her first Acoustic Latte Lounge. “My friend Alex Greene had been talking about (the Latte Lounge) a lot in our art class,” she said. “It was a little bit more nervewracking because I was by myself. I’ve only played the guitar in front of people a couple times, but it was a lot of fun, and it was really cool because this area is a really positive environment.” BELOW LEFT: Math teacher Lauren Nixon records a student performance. Although it was her first year being involved in the Lounge as a teacher, Nixon used to make appearances when she was a student at North. “I never performed. I just came to watch,” she said. “I love being able to see all the students perform. Some of them are my own students, so it was cool to see them outside the classroom performing.”
BELOW RIGHT: Before the event began, senior Alex Greene, Gay Straight Alliance member and first-time Lounge attendee, drew with chalk provided by the Latte Lounge. “It’s a great way for us to start a charity event because this is all going to charity. Everything here is donated to get a cause down, and I think that’s amazing,” Greene said.
FACES IN THE CROWD Rachel Fresard
The term “band fanatic” best describes sophomore Rachel Fresard, but she doesn’t spend her days playing a clarinet or trombone. Instead, Fresard collects t-shirts with her favorite bands on them. “I collect band shirts because I love music,” Fresard said. Fresard makes regular trips to Hot Topic and antique shops to buy a wide variety of t-shirts. She has acquired more than a dozen band shirts, her favorite being a Led Zeppelin one. “I got it at an antique shop, and it’s a real rock shirt,” Fresard said. Fresard believes that her band shirts reveal her true personality. “My band shirts are special because I love music and rock shirts,” Fresard said. “Wearing these shirts shows what I like and who I am.”
Andrew Hallam North’s winter musical, Catch Me if You Can, is in full bloom. Freshman Andrew Hallam is one of the students cast in the production. “I really didn’t think of acting as big as I do now,” Hallam said. He has come to love the performing arts and considers it something important. Hallam began performing in fifth grade at St. Clare of Montefalco School when he auditioned for Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. “When my friends began to get into it in fifth grade ... I thought I should give it a shot,” Hallam said. “After trying out, I ended up playing an oompa loompa.” Throughout middle school, Hallam kept auditioning for new roles. “In eighth grade in The Little Mermaid, Jr., I was Prince Eric.”
Barbara Fama The upbeat moves that Albanian dancing entails have been a consistent part of senior Barbara Fama’s life the past seven years. “When I’m performing a dance, I get really into it because the music is so strong and powerful, and it really just moves me,” Fama said. “Performing these dances makes me very proud.” In sixth grade, Fama began taking classes at the Balkan American Community Center. She learned about Albanian heritage and danced every Friday. “I always wanted to be part of my culture. Albanians are very connected to their traditions,” Fama said. “I just want to make my mama proud, and I want Albanian people to be proud.” Fama has gained lifelong ties from her experience with traditional dance. “We’re very in touch with the Albanian community,” Fama said. “I’m very, very close with the teacher who teaches us how to dance, and I was friends with all the people that did dance. They’re like a second family to me.” By Gowri Yerramalli, Lauren Sexton & Andrea Scapini
FIVE MINUTES WITH
German teacher Carolyn Sevin By Katelyn Carney SECTION EDITOR
JOSIE BENNETT
German teacher Carolyn Sevin performed in a small singing groups when she was in Germany. “I traveled around with the corale of the University of Erlangen through East Germany, Poland and Czechoslovakia. That was during the time when they were still under communist control, so that was a very interesting experience.”
It was no coincidence that German teacher Carolyn Sevin’s current hobbies connected to one another. Sevin’s love for singing is what allowed her to realize her newfound passion for the German language. Sevin was originally required to take German in college to progress her singing abilities. “I was actua lly a music major to start off w ith in college, and I was told by my voice teacher that I needed to learn German in order to perform a ll of the great German music,” Sev in said. “So I sw itched from French, which I k new from high school, to German in my sophomore year of college.” Realizing her new passion for German, Sevin took another step for ward, and she studied abroad while living with a native family in Germany the following year. “After my sophomore year in college, I went to spend time in
Germany. I lived with a family, and that was a ver y eye-opening experience for me because I didn’t really have enough German to communicate ver y well, but I learned ver y, ver y fast. It’s a ver y good, quick way to learn,” Sevin said. Following college, Sevin moved to Germany and immersed herself in the culture for 25 years. W hile there, her f luency in both German and English allowed her to pursue teaching. “I taught a lot of adults, especially in the business world— engineers and salespeople who needed English for doing business internationally,” Sevin said. Despite her full involvement in German culture, Sevin did not abandon her musical abilities when she was in Germany. “I’ve been doing music since I was in college,” Sevin said. “I performed in a lot of music activities when I was living in Germany—solo activities and in small groups.”
What’s your background in German? I taught German here from 2000 to 2004. I was a colleague of Frau Salonen’s. After 2004, I taught in the elementary school. I lived in Germany for 25 years. I was a German major in college, and I have a master’s degree in German from a German university. I raised three children in Germany, so I’m pretty well-equipped.
What do you like to do in your free time? I really love the outdoors very much. I spend my summer vacation in the wilds of Canada, and I enjoy winter sports as well as skiing and cross-country skiing. Ice skating I like a lot. I’m also a runner. I participated in the Free Press marathon last year with a relay team from Grosse Pointe Women, people who are employed in the Grosse Pointe schools, and we plan to do that again in 2015. What was singing in Germany like? We traveled around a little bit. I traveled around with the chorale of the University of Erlangen through East Germany, Poland and Czechoslovakia. That was during the time when they were still under communist control, so that was a very interesting experience. What’s your favorite activity? Well, I also love to sing because I was a music major for a long time, and I taught music here in the district for eight years, and I participate myself in different choirs.
LIFE
North Pointe – Friday, Dec. 5, 2014 – 5
n the hunt Family continues long-standing hunting tradition
Jen Kusch & Lauren Sexton IDEAS EDITOR & INTERN
If it weren’t for the curly hair spilling out from her camouflage gear, senior Maria Tsakos would easily blend into the crowd of hunters that descend upon the Upper Peninsula every fall. Tsakos pursues her love of hunting by her family’s cabin in Cape, Michigan, primarily hunting deer.
PHOTO COURTESY OF MARIA TSAKOS
Michael Tsakos, Maria Tsakos and George Mourtos pose with their game “I’ve been hunting for like seven years,” Maria said. “I think I’ll definitely do it as I get older, for sure.”
“None of the other girls in my family hunt, so I’m always around all the guys, and I’m used to it because I’ve been doing it for so long, but they do crack jokes sometimes,” Tsakos said. Like most hunters, Tsakos has to travel across Michigan to be able to hunt the variety of wildlife the state has to offer. “We go up to my cabin up north … I go up once or twice a year because the deer season isn’t that long,” Tsakos said. For Tsakos, hunting is a pastime that brings her extended family together. “My grandpa does it, and a lot of my family and friends, like my cousin and stuff,” Tsakos said. “Sharing it with my family, like my dad and brother, is probably my favorite part.” Tsakos’ cousin, sophomore George Mourtos, is also an avid hunter. “I have a lot of family that do it ... We watch a lot of movies when we aren’t hunting. We listen to Greek music, and we eat some amazing food,” Mourtos said. These family outings unite the branches of their extended family in one place for good-natured sport and bonding in the woods. “My uncle owns a cabin, so we go there, all to the same place. We go two or three times a year,” Mourtos said. “Each family will go up in a car, and when we get there, we’ll make food and sleep. And then the next morning, we’ll wake up at five in the morning and head out to the barn together to start that day off and hunt.” Tsakos doesn’t mind the early mornings and rough conditions that come with the tradition. “I literally don’t care about the cold and how early it is because when I’m out there, I’m having fun, and it’s just really exciting,” Tsakos said. Both Tsakos and Mourtos have been chasing the rugged lifestyle since early childhood and are continuing a family legacy that is generations old. “My mom’s dad was the first generation for hunting, so I’m the third generation now that hunts,” Mourtos said.
Students weigh in on passing, failing hunting proposals
Members from all generations of their family participate. The time together allows them to make memories few families possess. “We all feel that it brings us together, being away from the city and most technology. We learn to enjoy the little things in life,” Mourtos’ father Frank Mourtos said. Tsakos’ father was the one who taught her to hunt. “He would always talk about it. I mean, I did take a hunting safety class, but really he just taught me,” Tsakos said, “we’d just go up, and he’d be with me the whole time.” While spending weekends in the woods and waiting quietly for hours in the cold may seem tedious to some, Tsakos enjoys the solitude. “It is a lot of waiting, and you do have to be really patient, but when the moment comes, and you see something really exciting, you can’t beat that,” Tsakos said. Both Tsakos and Mourtos cite Michigan’s wild deer population as their main focus during the hunting season. “My favorite time to go up is between fall and winter. It’s cold, but no snow. We’re hunting deer then. There’s also geese, turkey, ducks—you know. There’s a bunch, but I like deer hunting,” Mourtos said. Mourtos feels that he is well-versed in the art of deer hunting and takes pride in having the skills necessary to hunt effectively. “When it comes to equipment, I’ve grown up knowing that firearms are a tool, just like a hammer, and that when you are trained properly, you can become a craftsman,” Mourtos said, “We use anything from shotguns to rifles. (My favorite) is a 20-gauge shotgun with a rifled barrel because that’s what I’ve been hunting with since I was 9.” For Mourtos, the most important aspect of hunting is not the thrill of the kill or the rush that comes with wielding powerful guns, but the company of his relatives. “I like spending the time with my family … I’m definitely gonna keep the tradition going. It’s important to pass on spending the time with your family, you know?”
Hunting for facts? By Haley Reid MANAGING EDITOR
Mora Downs
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Contributing: Emma Puglia
13.7 million Safety tips
individuals 16 or older who hunt increase in hunters from 2006 to 2011
$34 billion
spent on trips, equipment and licenses for hunting activities
$2,484
__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
______________________________ ___________
9% _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _
1. Don't attempt climbing or jumping over anything with a loaded firearm in hand. 2. Never point a firearm at anything you do not intend to shoot. 3. Never shoot a bullet at a flat, hard surface or water. 4. Be sure of your target and what is beyond it. 5. Treat every firearm as if it is loaded. ___________ ___________ ___________ ________
ment?” science teacher and S.A.V.E. adviser Chris Skowronski said. “So there’s two separate proposals, and voters basically decided that they do not want wolves to be hunted, and voters believe that they should have the power to allow wolves to be hunted.” Although the first proposal did not pass, Moores feels it should have. “I wish the law would’ve passed because the wolf has no natural predators. It’s population control for them,” Moores said. Hunters believe their sport is beneficial because helps keep population growth in check. “It provides population control for animals that have no natural predator in the area, such as the deer in lower Michigan,” Moores said. Although hunting some animals might stabilize the populations, it could alter others. “Personally, I feel if you’re going to hunt an animal like a wolf, (they) keep deer population in line (and) rabbit populations in line, so without them, those herbivore populations are going to go up. It’s finding that right balance,” Skowronski said. Hunting can affect people as well as animals. “I know that some people don’t know when it’s hunting season and will go into parks or wherever it’s allowed, and there can be accidents,” Pangborn said. But when done legally and safely, it can have positive effects. “If it’s hunted within reason, if it’s based on science, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that,” Skowronski said,.“So it has to go back to the science and basically, is that population overcrowded, or is it undercrowded? And any type of hunting has to be done legally and following some kind of rules.”
average spent per hunter annually
____________________________________________________________________________________________
National hunting participation rates West North Central
Mountain
32%
10%
East North Central
7%
New England
4%
_ __ _ _ __ _ _ __ __ _ ____Middle Pacific _________________________________________ ___ ____ _ ____ _ Atlantic _ ____ _ _ ____ _ _ ____ _ _ ____ _ _ _ _ ______South _ ______Atlantic __ _______ _ _______ __ _ _______ _ _ _ _ __
3%
5%
West South Central
7%
Contributing: Connor Bott
___ ________________________
When sophomore Quinn Pangborn first watched filmmaker Robert Kenner’s documentary Food, Inc., she better understood why straying away from processed foods is becoming a nationwide trend. “It showed how animal meat was processed and what goes into it and how dangerous it can be to consume it,” Pangborn said. “It kinda grossed me out, so I stopped watching and just stopped eating meat.” While Pangborn has quit eating meat altogether, some people have opted to replace buying processed meat with hunting and storing their own game. “I have a family friend who specifically hunts for his family, and he fills his freezer every year with about 400 pounds of various meats, and that’s how they survive. They eat meat that he hunts,” sophomore Matt Moores said. Pangborn believes this may be a healthier option. “People who (hunt) themselves probably (eat) a lot safer, ‘cause they don’t have all the stuff that goes into it, and it’s not being combined with other animals, so I think that’s a much better way of eating it,” Pangborn said. Moores agrees. “The meat you get from the animals is healthier and more natural than the store-bought meat,” Moores said. In November, hunting, whether for food or sport, showed up on the Michigan ballot. “There were two proposals. Proposal 1 basically is ... should wolves be hunted, yes or no? And that was voted down. Basically, wolves are not legally hunted according to the public. It was like 55% voted for that measure and then 45% for against. Proposal 2 is basically who gives the authority to allow a species to be considered a ‘game species’ and who has that power—is it the voters, or is it an arm of the govern-
In 2011... _________________________________________
4%
East South Central
11%
WWW.WILDLIFE.STATE.NH.US WWW.MICHIGAN.GOV/DNR WWW.OUTSIDEHUNTING.COM
6 – Friday, Dec. 5, 2014 – North Pointe
REVIEWS
Beyond the Lights By Emily Martinbianco, Caitlin Bush & Allison Lackner WEB EDITOR & INTERNS
In this Romeo and Juliet spinoff set in the high-pressure world of politics and fame, two struggling characters’ worlds collide in a twisted moment of fate. Beyond the Lights often nears originality and consistently maintains an irresistible glow of love on the big screen. The opening scene creates a vision of the perfect mother-daughter relationship only to contrast with a crumbling one in which the protagonist feels constant pressure. In a f lashback, a young pageant girl is forced off stage after not meeting her mother’s high standards. In this moment, her mother presents the girl, Noni (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), with the option to either be the best or not be anything at all. Noni’s mother forces her to throw her “inadequate” runner-up trophy on the parking lot ground, shattering any acceptance and love she may have hoped for in the situation. Immediately, the viewer sympathizes with the bound-to-be-broken young girl. This heartbreaking moment introduces the emotionally-charged f low of the rest of the film. The sympathy and fear the viewer feels for Noni resonates as the film f lips to present day. Noni is a young adult and is now a famous popstar on the verge of the collapse that often comes with such a luxurious and high-pressure occupation. She predictably reaches her breaking point, but instead of shaving her head or bashing in the windows of a car as Britney Spears did, Noni attempts to jump from the balcony of her penthouse.
Noni’s dedicated bodyguard, police officer Kaz Nicol (Nate Parker), saves Noni by grabbing her hand as she attempts to plunge off of her balcony onto the unforgiving cement below. Their relationship predictably blooms in the wake of the adrenaline-packed incident. Noni tells the press that it was a drunken accident, but she isn’t fooling everyone. Because of that stunt, she bribes Kaz to stay silent, and her producers threaten to drop her potential record deal because she wasn’t setting a good example. Noni feels she’s failed to meet the steep expectations set by her own strict upbringing. Noni was supposed be the ideal, picture-perfect girl, and when she attempted suicide, her image was left broken, ref lecting who she truly was. Her brief taste of rebellion gave her the guts to try and break free. With Noni’s budding love for Kaz and a hunger for freedom, she took a leap of faith by breaking the mold and striking out on her own. Skillful acting is the driving force of emotion behind this movie. The romantically-charged tension between Kaz and Noni is impactful and makes them seem as one. Noni’s facial expressions convey her emotions perfectly, allowing the viewer to feel her emotions as well. The casting of the main characters in Beyond the Lights was f lawless. Kaz is a police officer, and his persona matches it. Additionally, Noni’s mother’s voice has an icy edge to it that could summon chills in even the most composed of audience members. The precision in casting was notable. The characters were supported well by their brilliant costumes, which added vibrant color to the characters, bringing them to life. Their wardrobes gave them dimension, and the clothes that Kaz wears give in-
sight to who he is. The differences among his work, casual and formal attire was divergent. Noni’s purple hair illustrated her power and luxurious style, and when she later took out her extensions, it demonstrated her newfound confidence. The set reinforces the beauty of the film’s name, with decorated scenes with bright lights and show y clips of the pop sensation performing on a gilded stage. The beautiful Mexican scenery was an extra f lair that gave the movie a multidimensional sense of beauty. The sets simply could not have been better. The movie is exhilarating, but it drags at times. The middle of the movie is slow and reminds viewers just how cliché and unoriginal the plotline is. However, the disappointment is short-lived, as the movie picks up toward the end and leaves viewers on the edges of their seats once again. Beyond the Lights’ age-old tale, revamped for the modern age, is f lawed but entertaining. Its stellar casting, costuming and setting are great, but they can’t repair the damage left by an overdone plot.
Beyond the Lights (2014) DirectedbyGinaPrince-Bythewood PG-13
MADAM SECRETARY
NO FIXED ADDRESS
AMERICAN EXPRESS UNSTAGED TAYLOR SWIFT
SONGS OF INNOCENCE
Been there, done that. Madam Secretary is nothing new, and it shows. This CBS addition reeks of gimmicks and lacks the spark originalWWW.TUMBLR.COM of ity necessary to join the ranks of other show-stopping political dramas like Netflix’s House of Cards. Madam Secretary starts with what is, for this genre, a true cliché. An unwitting former-CIA agent (now college professor) is whisked off her horse farm at the behest of the President himself. The Secretary of State has been killed in a plane crash, and only country darling Elizabeth McCord can save the day. With her steely determination and steadfast ethics she helps her old mentor and current leader of the free world. Yawn. Madame Secretary attempts to marry Scandal’s conspiracy plots and The West Wing’s back-door dealings but lacks the oomph of House of Cards. It’s not unique. McCord is just a female clone of Blue Bloods’ Frank Reagan. Is either in a position for its fame or power? Of course not. Both hesitantly accepted positions out of a moral obligation to better the world. The acting in Madam Secretary is better than the writing, but even Tea Leoni’s performance can’t carry an entire show. And must Zeljko Ivanek, who plays the President’s Chief of Staff, be cast as a seedy assistant one more time? That choice highlights the worn-out material on which this show’s dependent. The crowded race of top-notch political dramas is gritty and dirty with underthe-table maneuvering, chill-inducing monologues and evil. Madam Secretary has none of that. It has a wholesome new spin, but that’s likely not enough to make it a standout this season.
With the release of Nickelback’s newest album, No Fixed Address, the wonderfully infamous band is back and the same as ever. WWW.EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG The notorious band smashed out vocals that seem to have been set in stone back in the Stone Age alongside signature guitar riffs and uniquely overused drum beats. These usual heavy, guitar driven tunes and the husky, rough voice of lead singer Chad Kroeger are the typical driving force of the rock band’s album. This cookie-cutter album has, yet again, failed to impress the younger generations. But never fear, you few, diehard fans. The album is not all bad. Hits like “What Are You Waiting For?” and “Edge of a Revolution” have already begun their climb onto the radio and into popularity. These songs have a slightly different, upbeat sound with slightly unique, faster vocals and are worth giving a listen to. The age-old joke made out of Nickelback’s music being unappealing to the modern taste of the new generation of music snobs, has run its course. This cliché will soon subside with the band’s release of their first explicit album. Don’t be deterred by the band’s new bad-boy status. As mentioned before, despite the employment of explicit language, they haven’t changed a bit. This old-man jam session has taken a turn for the wild(er) side in just one song: “Edge of a Revolution.” The album itself is simply true to the tired Nickelback sound. It seems as though they have been producing the same music for hundreds of years, and it’s easy to believe they’ll continue to do so for hundreds more.
Taylor Swift fans dream of walking in Swift’s shoes, living a luxurious life full of fancy photo and video shoots. Thanks to the release of a new WWW.TAYLORSWIFT.COM app, “Swifties” are now in luck. On Nov. 11, Radical Media teamed up with music video director Joseph Kahn to launch the free “American Express Unstaged Taylor Swift Blank Space Experience” app for iPhone and Android users. The app takes Swift fans on a virtual tour through the mansion in her “Blank Space” music video. Users get the chance to explore the different rooms in the mansion and even follow one of the characters through the storyline of the music video, which depicts Swift pursuing a tumultuous romance in the European countryside. The player must find 41 hidden items while the tour is taking place. This feature adds a great incentive for users to download and explore the app, as they are not only watching the music video but participating in it as well. Enthusiasts can watch behind-thescenes footage of the music video and can also purchase her new album, 1989. Although this app may seem like a peek into Swift’s life, it lacks depth. The behind-the-scenes feature doesn’t delve into what the song or video is actually about. Skimming the surface of the opulent setting and lifestyle of Swift, there is no beneath-the-surface explanation of Swift’s single. Despite its drawbacks, this app has features that will satisfy Swift’s fans. So for all of the “Swifties” out there, the ultimate Taylor Swift experience is just a tap away.
U2’s new album Songs of Innocence will go down in history as one of the more forgettable albums of the year. The music WWW.U2.COM lacks variety and only presents a slightly inspirational tone with little detail. A song about one of the band members meeting his wife is given the bland title of “Song for Someone,” and another track, “The Troubles,” is simply about self-pitying guys. The album is full of emotional content, but it’s left formless, as if hoping to fit around the experiences of millions. This album continues one of U2’s decade-long trends: they show little interest in re-creating themselves as a band, which is an approach that kept them alive artistically throughout the ‘90s but that doesn’t quite work anymore. Most of the songs in Songs of Innocence sound very similar and lack individual personalities. The album presents a few weird moments, such as the Beach Boys’ chant at the start of “California (There is No End to Love)” and breath-like rhythms in “Raised by Wolves.” The watery, disco-punk beats of “This Is Where You Can Reach Me Now” and “Volcano” are different for a band that is usually aware of current pop trends. Only “Sleep Like a Baby Tonight” manages to feel fresh from start to finish, with pillowy strings, occasionally disrupted by fuzzy sounds from guitarist, Edge. Unlike U2’s past endeavors this album won’t stir up new emotions for listeners because there is barely any resemblance to the gravity and impact of past U2 albums. Songs of innocence is disappointing in its deliverance.
American Express Unstaged Taylor Swift; Joseph Kahn & Radical Media; Nov. 11, 2014; Android and iPhone; Free.
Songs of Innocence; Island Records; Nov. 18 2014; $6.99; iTunes.
Madam Secretary; 2014; TV-PG; CBS.
Nickelback; No Fixed Address (explicit); Republic Records; 2014.
By Jennifer Kusch
By Emily Martinbianco
By Gowri Yerramalli
By Radiance Cooper
SPORTS
North Pointe – Friday, Dec. 5, 2014 – 7
Turkeys, spares & strikes—oh my Christian Bledsoe Junior
Will bowling be spared? By Katelyn Carney SPROTS EDITOR
If you want to take a little frustration out on some white sticks with brightly painted red stripes around their necks and don’t want to do it with a Wii controller in hand, where do you go? Lately, it seems the obvious answer hasn’t been so clear. East Warren Lanes, Eastland Bowl, Shorecrest, Maple Lanes … we’ve heard the names used by the baby boomer generation. Even my dad reminisces about the good ‘ole days saying, “Remember when we used to bowl a couple of games at Grosse Pointe Woods Bowl then mosey next door to Howard Johnson’s for an ice cream soda?” (It’s okay. I don’t remember either.) Since its heyday in the 1970s, Metro Detroit bowling centers and their proprietors have vanished just like the middle class citizens that frequented their establishments. The decline from 119 bowling alleys listed in the 1967 phone book to only 55 listed on the Metro Detroit United States Bowling Congress web page today cites a depressing downward trend. What happened? Is bowling dead? To answer the first question, just consider a few factors. First, the price of real estate. Most bowling centers are located on main thoroughfares, and the property they stood on became more valuable than the businesses they housed. The most recent example of this was Continental Lanes, a 54-lane house on 13 Mile and Gratiot that at one time was so busy it was open 24 hours a day. LA Fitness saw the location as a gold mine and paid accordingly. Turns out LA Fitness was right—it sold over 7,200 memberships in its first month of operation. Second, bowling as a sport became expensive. Gone are the days of $1 shoes and $1 games. (Better bring $50 unless you’re leaving the fam at home.) The modern game with synthetic lanes and varying oil patterns led to incredible bowling ball manufacturing technology with an array of ball covers and weight block symmetry designed to lighten your wallet by $200 per bowling ball. Did I mention this technology is somewhat disposable when your “Strike Warrior” fades to a mere garden décor consideration after about 150 games? Third, busy schedules. League bowling requires one to set aside three hours of time every week for more than 30 weeks. That’s an order too tall for many individuals with today’s hectic lifestyle. Shall we shed a tear for the bowling proprietor as he goes the way of the tumbleweed in a western ghost town? Not so fast, mi amigo. Bowling can borrow a famous line from Mark Twain: “The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.” In 2010, bowling not only proved undead but also regained its rank as our nation’s number one participation sport following four consecutive years of growth for the industry with 70 million people having bowled in 2009 alone. But how’s that possible with fewer centers and fewer certified league bowlers? Bowling’s resurgence is due in no small part to youth. The misconception that bowling is dominated by older males could not be further from the truth—in reality, more than 60% of all bowlers are under age of 34 and half are women. Just look at the high school bowling statistics in Michigan to see the trend. Although neither the Norsemen nor the Blue Devils have bowling teams, every other team in the MAC conference to which we belong does. In fact, the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) reported that for the 2014-15 season, 348 schools will compete in the girls division, and 350 schools in the boys division. With an average of 20 bowlers per school team, combining varsity and JV squads, that adds up to just under 14,000 high school bowlers competing in one state. Michigan isn’t an anomaly, though. Iowa registered 5,029 boys and 4,312 girls participating in the 2013 bowling season. Now multiply that by the 48 states that officially recognize bowling as a high school sport, and you’ve more than doubled the numbers from 2004 when just 20 states did. Hold that last shovel of dirt because it doesn’t stop there. Opportunities now abound on the college level for students with 10-pin mastery. More than 3,500 student athletes on 200 university intercollegiate bowling teams compete in 80 certified tournaments each year. And over 100 colleges across the country offer bowling scholarships. As more and more students pick up the polished multicolored bowling balls, whether for sport or stress relief, bowling’s doomsday is far in the future. Is bowling dead? It depends on your approach, but in my opinion, it is the perfect game that won’t split anytime soon. WWW.BOWLINGBALL.COM
By Allison Lackner INTERN
Grandfathers are know n for telling stories and giv ing adv ice. Junior Christian Bledsoe also attributes his bowling experience to his grandfather. “My granddad is my inspiration,” Bledsoe said. “(He) got me into bowling, got me into league in (the) first place. I started when I was about 9 because ever ybody in my family bowls.” Bledsoe ranks his granddad as the most skilled in the family because of his years of experience and looks to him, as well as other family members, for bowling adv ice. “They show me places where I should stand and when to release,” Bledsoe said. The entire family practices together, and Bledsoe also practices by himself for his personal league. Eleven people in his family bowl. “We are in different leagues. We all practice together,” Bledsoe said. “We practice on Sundays, and my league plays on Saturdays.” Bledsoe appreciates the support system his family prov ides when bowling together. “It’s fine. It’s comforting because you have people behind you to support you,” Bledsoe said. The competitive nature of his family brings tension into Bonanza Bowling A lley where they practice. “When I win ... my family doesn’t take it that well because they have been bowling for years,” Bledsoe said. Bledsoe also gets support from his peers in the league. “My friend Antonio, his granddad takes me to a lot of tournaments because the way my mom’s work schedule (is), she can’t take me to places. It’s competitive and a great way to meet new people,” Bledsoe said. “Everybody in my league, I’m really close with.” The league has 30 people who are between 12-18 years old. Bledsoe has been a member of for four years but also competes outside of the league. “I do tournaments because of scholarship money,” Bledsoe said. “There’s tension there because you never know who’s going (to) bowl what.” Bledsoe has been to one national tournament and is tr ying to get involved w ith more. “I’ve only been to one, and that was in Muskegon, Michigan. There was 700 people there. It was really crowded. It was really competitive,” Bledsoe said. Bledsoe says he hasn’t yet learned how best to handle losing and that he gets a little angr y. “Mentally, I do bad one game, I’ll do bad the rest I’m not there anymore,” he said. And the adv ice Bledsoe says he gets from his granddad? “Calm dow n and clear your mind.”
Hottest new bowling balls for the upcoming season !Q TOUR NANO by Storm Products, Inc. Release: Dec. 9, 2014 Price: $149.95
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JACKAL by MOTIV Bowling Release: Oct. 22, 2014 Price: $254.99 WWW.MOTIVBOWLING.COM
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THUG
by DV8 Bowling Release: Oct. 14, 2014 Price: $164.95 WWW.DV8BOWLING.COM
Brian Shelson Athletic Director By Andrea Scapini MANAGING EDITOR
With two cans of Wild Cherry Pepsi hidden in his bowling bag, Athletic Director Brian Shelson used to take weekly trips to his local bowling alley growing up. “W hen I was young, I don’t know why, but my parents wouldn’t let me have pop when I was at the bowling alley Saturday mornings, so I would always sneak some pop into my bag,” Shelson said. “I’ve been on a bowling league since I was probably 7 or 8 years old. I was in a small tow n, so on Saturday mornings there wasn’t a lot to do, but we had a bowling alley, so I was a member of the YABA, Youth Area Bowling Association or something. So I did that for many years. A ll the way to high school, I was still on the Saturday morning league.” Shelson grew up in Pinconning, which is near Bay City. By his senior year at Pinconning High School, Shelson decided to form the bowling team his school lacked. “Me and my brother, who was a sophomore, started the high school bowling team. So we started it at Pinconning High School, we started the high school bowling team, and I believe it’s still going since ... the year 2000.” Bowling w ith his brother amplified Shelson’s competitive nature. “He’s about a 190 average as well, so we’d always compete w ith each other in that aspect,” Shelson said. “It was for more or less healthy competitiveness. It gave me someone there.”
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The structure of bowling leagues is also what drew Shelson to continuing to bowl. “It’s interesting because like I said, it’s one of those sports where you’ve got the team aspect, but it’s also indiv idual. I don’t know why, but I’ve been so competitive w ith all sports, and it’s weird to see bowling get so competitive,” he said. “I like the camaraderie of it. You got four guys on your team, or three guys on your team depending on if you’re a four- or fiveman team, but you’re also bowling for yourself, and that’s what’s kind of neat. And the other thing is, week after week, it’s based off of the average, which is kind of neat. It’s not just how you do that night. It’s how you do in the whole season.” Shelson’s desire to win was developed at a young age, especially when his father was around at the alley. “Our dad was always there, and it was one of those things too, my dad being a good bowler. It’s sad now being a dad myself and looking at how I treated my dad” Shelson said. “Not like horribly, but if I threw a bad shot, I’d immediately look back and see if he was watching. If he was watching, I’d yell at him to leave like, ‘Stop watching me.’ Those kinds of things.” The bond that Shelson created w ith his father through bowling is something that Shelson hopes to recreate w ith his ow n son. “He just turned 1, so we’ve got some time. It’ll be fun,” he said. “It’ll be great w ith my son watching him roll the ball dow n there and slowly teach him how to get more competitive w ith it as we go.”
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FEATURE
ExoticPets
8 – North Pointe – Friday, Dec 5, 2014
By Ritika Sanikommu
Not everyone’s idea of the “perfect pet”is the same. In fact, some people’s preferred companions may seem downright weird to others. But no matter how common, exotic or even cold-blooded an animal may be, the bond between a pet and its owner is just as special. Two students and a science teacher shed light on the unique experiences of owning and caring for unusual pets.
ASSISTANT EDITOR
OLLIE THE LIZARD
O ER .C
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11.5 million reptiles
ZE A TBO
18.1 million small animals AR D
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PA R K
A YouTube video first introduced sugar gliders, a type of flying squirrel, to junior Tessa Ulrich. The video piqued Ulrich’s and her mother’s interests in the animals, so the pair decided to buy one. “His name is Cooper. I got him at Lou’s Pet Shop. He is 2 years old,” Ulrich said. Sugar gliders are nocturnal animals similar to squirrels. They can be found in Australia and on surrounding islands. T UM BLR “He’s kind of like a flying squirrel,” Ulrich said. “His skin is like extra skin, and he can jump, and he glides, and that’s pretty cool.” Cooper spends most of the day in his cage which has similar furnishings to a hamster cage. “He has a cage. It’s one of those tall cages. He has a wheel in the cage, like a hamster. He has a water (bottle), the same thing a hamster uses, and then he has a fuzzy sock that we hang from the top of the cage, and he sleeps in that,” Ulrich said. Cooper enjoys interacting with people and often plays when around them. “We can take him out. He sits in your pocket, and you can put him in your pocket and walk around with him in there. He’s pretty friendly,” Ulrich said. Cooper’s diet includes human food and meat. “When we first got him, we fed him some sugar glider food, and they’re little pellets, and he didn’t really like it. He eats the same things that we eat, so what we eat for dinner that night he gets, so he eats steak and chicken. He likes to eat a lot of sugar.”
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PRETTY BIRD
PETPLACE.COM
20.6 million birds
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Exactly how many kindred creatures do Ollie, Tabitha and Cooper have nationwide?
RARE-O-METER
Ollie, science teacher Chris Skowronski’s leopard gecko, was a gift from his college days. “It’s a pet that I’ve had since 2003, and it was originally a gift for a birthday, and I thought it would be a great idea to have, being in college,” Skowronski said. Skowronski wanted a pet that would be easy to take care of while he was a student, and a gecko seemed like the perfect match. “(I wanted) something that would be low maintenance, and at the time, I didn’t realize that it lived for 25 years, so here it is 11 years later, and it’s doing really well. For me, it is something I committed to and wanted to take the best care possible for it, and it’s great to have it in the classroom, so it’s pretty neat.” Leopard geckos are indigenous to southern Asian countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan. The nocturnal animal usually lives in deserts where there is a wide variety of insects for it to feed on. “It’s a very docile pet. (It eats) 12 crickets a week, and that’s it. (It needs) enough water in there, and a pad for heating and a UV lamp—it’s very low maintenance. It’s a great pet if you’re looking for something to start with, but at the same time, know what you’re getting into,” Skowronski said. “It’s a longtime commitment. It’s not like a goldfish where it’s only going to live for a few months or a year.”
A SUGAR GLIDER WITH A SWEET TOOTH
Ollie:
COURTESY OF EMMA MONROE
Tabitha, junior Emma Monroe’s macaw, is four years older than Monroe. “Tabitha hatched (on) July 5, 1994 and is now 20 years old,” Monroe said. A family member purchased the macaw in California as a gift for Monroe. Tabitha is the most unique of Monroe’s eight pets. “I have a cat, three dogs and three other birds. Tabitha is definitely the loudest out of all of them. She talks, but only says curse words and simple phrases,” Monroe said. Tabitha usually stays indoors and is easy for Monroe to manage. “She’s easy to take care of—changing her water daily and giving her more seed, cheese and occasionally red meat,” Monroe said. Although macaws are able to fly, Tabitha is not accustomed to it. She is, however, able to walk around the house. “She doesn’t really know how to fly, so she just waddles around my house,” Monroe said.
$225
Tabitha:
$200
Cooper: $98
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annual
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