North Pointe - Feb. 13, 2014

NEWS PAGE 2 Left: Student Association is holding a Valentine’s Day f lower sale fundraiser today.

NORTH 1986

ALEXANDER’S SOPHOMORE YEARBOOK PHOTO

POINTE OLIVIA ASIMAKIS

GROSSE POINTE NORTH HIGH SCHOOL

“At our little station, we’ll have little heart cards and ribbon, and then when you buy them, you can write a little note and attach it to the f lower,” junior senator Nikki Stein said.

FRIDAY, FEB. 13, 2015

SINCE 1968

1992

1998

WWW.LAST.FM

WWW.WVAU.ORG

1997-99

WWW.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

Former student reaches star status

By Anu Subramaniam & Jennifer Kusch CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF & IDEAS EDITOR

After feeling the heat of the auditorium’s lights, experiencing the rush of a show and hearing the applause of his classmates during North’s 1984 Battle of the Bands, former North student Gregg Alexander was overcome with a hunger for performance.

The teen realized that his future was in California—2000 miles from his home in Grosse Pointe Woods.

Twenty-nine years after he left North’s hallways, Alexander found himself nominated for an Oscar for his song “Lost Stars.” “‘Lost Stars’ is kind of a metaphor for life in a lot of ways. Some of the lyrics like ‘Don’t you dare let our best memories bring you sorrow’ is about looking back on things that have happened in the past and focusing on the positive and on the good.

And it’s also about trying to live in the moment.

“One of the lyrics is ‘And God tell us the reason youth is wasted on the young,’ and that’s something that gets lost on us when we’re younger,” Alexander said.

“We take time and opportunities and chances for granted, and one of the hardest lessons to learn—and the earlier we learn it the better, and also a good reason why to try to help people that are less fortunate than us or people that are in hardship—is because if we don’t have objectivity on our own lives while we’re living them, sometimes our lives pass us by.”

His song, featured in the movie Begin Again, has garnered widespread acclaim.

Sung by Adam Levine and Keira Knightley, the movie’s stars, the song faces tough competition in the award circuit. He was introduced to the project by Bono, the lead singer of U2 and a personal friend.

“This year was very competitive because Coldplay, Lana Del Rey, Sia, Lorde, Alicia Keys, a lot of big stars were attached to big studio films that came out late in the year, and our film, Begin Again, was an independent film that came out in the summer,” Alexander said. “The process was very harrowing ... so when the song survived to the final vote—because they narrow it down from probably thousands of songs down to 75 songs, and then it gets narrowed down to five—we were very grateful that we survived that culling process.”

This nomination is not the first honor that Alexander has amassed during his career. Alexander wrote Santana and Michelle Branch’s song “The Game of Love,” which won a Grammy for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals in 2003.

“(It’s) a bit surrealistic. Certainly an unusual and unique honor in respect to the lineage of great songs in this category. Like ‘Purple Rain’ by Prince or ‘Singing in the Rain’ or ‘Let It Go’ from Frozen. So it’s an unusual accolade,” Alexander said.

After releasing two solo albums, Alexander formed his band the New Radicals.

One of the group’s albums, Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed Too, sold over a million copies. Alexander also wrote and sung “You Get What You Give,” released in 1998, which became an international hit and was later used in President Obama’s first presidential campaign.

While pursuing his passion with the New Radicals, Alexander worked with longtime collaborator Danielle Brisebois, who later joined him to co-write the tracks used in Begin Again.

Brisebois, the writer of Natasha Bedingfield’s “Pocketful of Sunshine” and “Unwritten” and a Golden Globenominated actress, is also nominated for the Oscar. “(It’s) friendship first, then the music naturally from the friendships,” Brisebois said. “I mean it just seems like another day ... when we’re hanging out together to be creative ... but it’s no different I’d say then like how anybody hangs out with their friends ... and for some reason, ours ended up going a little further then a lot of people’s.”

Although he may have first struck lyrical gold while living on the sunny coast of California, Alexander’s high school years fostered his love for music. “(I) started a rock-and-roll band with some of my friends and...we lost the Battle of the Bands,” Alexander said.

Alexander and his older brother Stephen Aiuto shared a love for music that gave them both more opportunities to play.

“I too was very involved in music and my experiences probably only encouraged Gregg to play music too. I remember playing a concert sixth hour at the GPN Auditorium. We had quite a turn out, and I remember being pretty nervous. Our band was called the Alpha Wave Effect,” Aiuto said via email.

While Alexander’s classmates were finishing up their sophomore year, the singer-songwriter decided to leave high school, making a solo cross-country move in order to pursue his dreams in the music industry.

“I decided to up the ante and work my way to California and try to take it to the top, do something bigger and widen my horizons, which was naive at the time,” Alexander said.

Alexander’s love of music, however,

started long before he played in Battle of the Bands.

“My dad bought a drum set for both of us in 1980 when I was 16 and Gregg was 10. Gregg then learned guitar at 12 shortly after starting writing basic songs. Gregg was a driven type of personality, so there was no stopping him,” Aiuto said. “When Gregg was young, he was an amazing raw talent with an incredible gift of writing catchy rock songs that really told his life story. His lyrics early on where the soundtrack to our family growing up in Grosse Pointe. He wrote most of those early songs by himself.”

Alexander drew much of his inspiration from his experience of growing up in Detroit and Grosse Pointe and from his family.

“Before I went to California at 16, my mom came out for a visit with me. So she was the person that kinda allowed me to see ... that me being there could be a way to a way forward and stuff, so I really owe a lot of that to her,” Alexander said.

His quick rise came as a surprise, especially considering the industry’s preferences at the time.

“When I ran away at 16, nobody thought ... it would be possible, and I guess it’s just crazy odds—you could put it as one in a million,” Alexander said. “Back then, in the late ‘80s, they didn’t do record deals to people that were maybe younger—most of the pop stars back then were in their mid to late 20s, so when I got a record deal at 17, everyone was surprised, including me and my parents.”

Alexander’s biggest role played out behind the scenes, as he later disbanded the New Radicals and grew into a well-known songwriter. Alexander penned lyrics for performers like Enrique Iglesias, Hanson, Hall & Oates, Cee Lo Green and Rod Stewart.

Alexander credits much of his foundation to his Detroit roots.

“The city of Detroit has provided so much amazing music and inspiration,” Alexander said. “(I want) everyone to be as thankful and grateful as we all should be to have been blessed enough to grow up in such a beautiful community where we have so many opportunities that literally 99.9999% of the general population don’t have,” Alexander said. “I believe that it’s a responsibility as we go out into the world to try and spread as much positivity, express our gratefulness and learn from our own mistakes but also learn from the mistakes of past generations.”

WWW.HOLLYWOODREPORTER.COM

2014

WWW.THEE-POCHTIMES.COM

2014

WWW.THEE-POCHTIMES.COM

Former student Gregg Alexander left North in 1986 to pursue a career in music. Alexander went on to join a band, the New Radicals, and to write a Grammy-winning song. His recent song “Lost Stars” is nominated for an Oscar. He co-writes with his friend, Danielle Brisebois, pictured above with celebrity Adam Levine. “Because one of the things I always heard growing up was there was some teachers that would tell you anything is possible, and then there were other ones that —and even students, fellow students—that would always be critical, and I think you need to take the good and the bad advice, and weigh it all up and follow your heart,” Alexander said.

Contents

Life - Page 5

Ideas - Page 3

“All love doesn’t have to be eternal. It just has to be sincere. And it sure as anything shouldn’t fit in a box.” @thenorthpointe

2014

www.northpointenow.org

Left: Shadow box in senior Nikki Haggerty’s house encasing momentos of her father’s band.

1 2 3 4

News Calendar Ideas On

Campus

5 6 7 8

Life Reviews Sports Feature

NIKKI HAGGERTY

VOLUME 47, ISSUE 10

NEWS

2 – Friday, Feb. 13, 2015 – North Pointe

By Radiance Cooper & Ritika Sanikommu ASSISTANT EDITORS

This year the Michigan Merit Exam (MME), which juniors have taken for nine years, w ill be replaced by the new MSTEP test.

The tests’ components are similar, but testing w ill take place in both March and April.

“The old MME consisted of the ACT test, the WorkKeys test on Wednesday and then the Michigan component, so science and social studies plus some additional questions on English and math,” Assistant Principal Tom Beach said. “The new test is called the MSTEP which is ... the Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress, and it consists of, this year and only this year ... the ACT test, which w ill take place on March 3, Tuesday. There is the WorkKeys test which w ill take place March 4. Then we jump to April, and the April test is really what they call the Michigan piece, and it is six days of testing for juniors.”

Sophomore Sarah Corbet thinks that the two weeks of additional testing w ill cause additional and unnecessar y stress for juniors.

“That’s a lot. I don’t think that’s a good idea. That’s too much testing. That’s a lot of stress for students to deal w ith, and they have to make up classes on top of studying for this test,” Corbet said.

The old version of the MME allowed administration to see students’ progress throughout their academic careers.

“In the ideal world of testing, you get a snapshot of students

ever y single year as they’re progressing towards their accumulation event which should be senior year,” Beach said. “W hat the MME did is it allowed us to look at juniors one year at a time...so it’s not really comparing apples to apples, it’s comparing apples to oranges because this year’s juniors may be significantly better than last year’s juniors, and they compare us and say, ‘Look we did so much better,’ but really we’re not comparing the same thing.”

“

What the MME did is it allowed us to look at juniors one year at a time ... it’s not really comparing apples to apples, it’s comparing apples to oranges.

Tom Beach

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

“

New MSTEP test in April for juniors

Tests such as the PL AN and Explore are used to prepare students for the ACT. Unlike the MME, the MSTEP w ill test students over their cumulative knowledge of ever y subject.

“In the last couple of years, districts like ours put into place the PL AN test in ninth grade and tenth grade—actually our district also did the Explore test in eighth grade—so all of this w ill accumulate in this ACT because the Explore and the PL AN tells you if you’re on track or passing the ACT and being college ready,” Beach said, “The nice thing about the ACT is it tests ever y thing, all

the subjects, so you get the snapshot of ever y year as they move towards it. Ultimately, that’s where Michigan wants to go w ith the old ME AP, and so Michigan is designing their third grade through eleventh grade test, but it’s not done yet.”

A lthough this new test is being used as a pilot, Corbet does not see this as a progressive step in standardized testing.

“It doesn’t sound revolutionar y or innovative in any way. It’s kind of the same thing—it’s like ME AP all over again,” Corbet said.

Junior Mariah Familara does not see this new test as beneficial, nor does she see it as an accurate way to gauge student progress.

“It’s just another test that tests us on what the state thinks that we should know, but what the state thinks we should know can’t necessarily measure our intelligence,” Familara said.

A lthough students may not look for ward to the new test, administration still encourages them to tr y their best.

“As of right now, ever y high school has to take this test, and what they’re gonna do w ith it w ill impact our rankings and things like that w ithin the state, so we certainly hope students do well on it. As far as colleges, I believe colleges w ill be looking at them because it’s in transition I think a lot of them are kind of sitting on the fence to see what happens,” Beach said, “But it’s one of those things that if you don’t do well on it, and they do start looking at it, that would be a bad thing, right?

It’s kind of like when one of your teachers says in class, ‘You might wanna remember this for a test.’

You probably should remember it and work on that because it might come up again.”

SA holds flower sale In preparation for the annual Michigan Association of Student Councils and Honors Societies (MASC/MAHS) Student Leadership Conference, Student Association is raising money from a Valentine’s Day flower sale to donate to the conference’s charity of choice.

“We’re selling them Friday the thirteenth, and we’re going to be in front of the Union in the morning and at lunches,” Class of 2016 senator Nicole Stein said.

Red and pink roses will be available for purchase at $3 for one rose and $5 for two roses.

“We’re raising money to help out the MASC state charity, which is New World Flood, so we are going to donate the money to the charity,” Stein said.

The conference selects a different state charity each year and asks attending schools to donate. Monetary donations were requested for the New World Flood, a non-profit organization created to increase volunteerism and community service events across Michigan.

“We’re hoping to raise somewhere around 300 or more dollars,” Class of 2016 senator Meghan Mitchell said. “Our biggest fundraiser is homecoming, but we have donated to a lot of things this year so we ended up running low on money.”

The flower sale won’t be the only fundraisers centered around the conference charity. Student Association hopes that a basketball shoot out, which would be set for March 2830, will also help raise money before the conference.

“We are in the works of a three-point shoot out in the gyms, but we have yet to plan that,” Stein said.

New water fountains installed Rapid Bottle Filling Stations have replaced drinking fountains around the school after last year’s graduating class made efforts to go green.

“The class officers of the Class of 2014 wanted to leave kind of a lasting impression. Something that could be used by the entire student body and faculty, and it’s also an environment plus for a building and community,” Class of 2014 adviser Frank Tymrak said.

The bottle filling stations help eliminate waste from disposed plastic water bottles and make North more eco-friendly.

“The main thing we are trying to accomplish with the filling stations is to make North a more environmentally friendly school,” Class of 2014 student council president Michelle Austin said via email. “I know that throughout my four years at North, I would have a plastic water bottle every day at lunch, which would build up in the top shelf of my locker until I finally threw them away. Hopefully these filling stations will promote students to bring refillable water bottles so we can reduce the waste of the plastic bottles.”

The graduated student council hopes future classes continue what they’ve already started for the benefit of the school. “(Maybe) other groups and organization(s) will see the need to eventually have the entire campus with those types of water dispensers,” Tymrak said.

South hosts college night

GOWRI YERRAMALLI

MID-WINTER BREAK

No school Monday, Feb. 16 through Friday, Feb. 20

ACT TESTING Tuesday, March 3 from 8 a.m. to 3:05 p.m. for juniors

WORK KEYS TESTING

Wednesday, March 4 from 8 a.m. to 3:05 p.m. for juniors

COLLEGE NIGHT

Thursday, March 5 from 6 to 8 p.m. at South High School in the main and auxiliary gyms

SPRING PLAY

Thursday, March 5 to Saturday, March 7 at 7:30 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center

Gas prices drop

By Dora Juhasz and Emily Martinbianco WEB NEWS EDITOR & WEB LIFE EDITOR

Recent price plummets at the pump have senior Emily McBride’s family considering returning to the gas-guzzling car they previously owned.

“We used to have a Hummer while I was in elementary school, and my mom got rid of it because the gas prices were so bad, but now she wants to get another one because they’re lower again,” McBride said.

The decline in prices, however, is no coincidence according to social studies teacher Brian Degnore.

“Oil prices are a lot cheaper now because of the fact that there’s been a lot of shale production in the United States, and OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries)... controls the market as far as oil is concerned,” Degnore said. “And they want to drive out all that competition, so they’re making as much oil as they have in the past in order to drive out all the other producers.”

Lower gas prices can stimulate the economy by creating the opportunity for people to spend the money they previously spent on gas.

“What it means for the economy is that, roughly, it’s the equivalent to a $750 tax cut. The more money that people have in their pockets, the more money that they’ll spend—the better the economy will be,” Degnore said.

This can have a positive effect on students and families who spend a significant amount of money on gas.

“I would think it comes down to like really simple things, so instead of filling up your gas tank for like $40, it costs $20,” Degnore said.

“That means you can go out to eat more, that means you can buy more frivolous things, that means you can buy things that people have

been waiting to buy maybe and haven’t bought them yet.”

For senior Delaney Bennett, who pays for her own gas, the decline in price puts money into her pocket.

“The prices are really cheap so I don’t have to go to the gas station as much. I don’t have to spend as much money on gas, so I can spend it on other things,” Bennett said. “I don’t like to buy my own gas, but my parents won’t, so I have to.”

Although the plunge in prices seems positive for individuals, it may have negative repercussions. People like McBride and her family may be more likely to buy high gas-consuming cars like Hummers, which release more toxins into the environment.

People could also be reluctant to spend the money they are saving on gas and decide to keep it instead. Although this may seem like a prudent personal choice, it would limit economic stimulation.

For now, however, individuals and many business owners are reaping the benefits. Junior Tyler Scoggin’s father owns a car dealership, and the fall in prices means more opportunity to sell cars.

“They’ll (car sales) probably go up because people wanna buy cars now while gas is cheap.

So the more cars bought, I guess, the better he does,” Scoggin said.

Despite current optimism about gas prices, they are likely to fluctuate. According to www. usnews.com, the average price at the pump jumped from $2.03 to $2.05 within a 24-hour period during the last week of January.

If McBride’s family does decide to buy another Hummer and trade in their current Volkswagen Beetle, which costs about $20-30 to fill up, they’ll have to adapt to the changing prices.

“The prices will probably go back up soon, and then drop again like that,” McBride said.

“We’ll just have to keep paying for the gas and spending money on it.”

While seniors wait to hear back from colleges, underclassmen are searching for places to apply. To help with this process, South High School is hosting the annual district College Night on March 5, for any interested students.

“I’m still working on getting that tentative list out, so we usually plan for about 125 schools to be in attendance—colleges and universities,” College Night coordinator Tereasa Bennett said. “It is an opportunity for (students) to see multiple schools all in one location. So you will have—normally, schools come to your high school on college visit days throughout the year in the fall, and this is an opportunity for you, if you can’t get out of class that day but, its all kinds of schools. It’s also military, military academies. West Point is going to be here. Naval Academy is going to be here. We have schools that are Division I, Big 10, Division II schools. A lot of kids are getting recruited from those schools and some DIII schools.”

The University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Cleveland Institute of Art and College for Creative Studies will be doing separate presentations because of student interest.

“That’s where our biggest application pool goes. So when you’re asking kids where they’ve applied or where they are going to apply, the majority would be saying Michigan, Michigan State,” Bennett said.

Bennett hopes the representatives will answer students’ questions about schools and the application process.

“We are hoping to get sophomores and juniors that are really interested and seniors that need maybe a little clarification. Maybe they are between a couple schools, and maybe those schools are going to be here,” Bennett said.

By Yena Berhane, Caitlin Bush & Gowri Yerramalli

Elite Driving School 586.778.4934

State of Michigan Approved and Certified for Classes & Road Tests ROAD TESTING given by ELITE DRIVING SCHOOL Private Lessons available for Teens and Adults *No Down Payment Required* Payment Plans available “A Driving Experience that’s Priceless” Visit our web page www.elitedrivingschool.org

Learn to Drive New Segment I and II Classes Form Monthly Teens 14.8 to 18 years of age Pick Up and Drop Off available for Driving Six hours of ‘on-the-road’ driving 23804 Harper Ave., between 9 & 10 mile Rd., St. Clair Shores. MI 48080

IDEAS

North Pointe – Friday, Feb. 13, 2015 – 3

Is rock dead?

“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

Vaccination exemptions should be excluded A hacking cough comes from the back of the classroom. In the hallway, fingernails busily scratch a full-body rash. These symptoms, along with a high fever, inflamed eyes and tiny white spots with blue centers in the mouth are the tell-tale signs of measles.

The United States eradicated measles in 2000 but has seen a resurgence and a record number of cases this year. The outbreak originated in Disneyland, supposedly the “happiest place on earth.”

Contagious diseases, like measles, spread easily among large groups of people, whether in an amusement park or a high school, especially when a portion of the population is unvaccinated.

Measles has a 10-14 day incubation period without symptoms, which means people can spread the disease without even being aware they have it. The virus is highly contagious, and almost one-third of cases result in complications including diarrhea, ear infections, pneumonia, bronchitis or encephalitis, the inflammation of the brain. That inflammation can cause lasting blindness, deafness, brain damage and even death.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends individuals get vaccinated against chickenpox, diphtheria, hib, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, flu, measles, mumps, rubella, pertussis, polio, pneumococcal Rotavirus and tetanus.

Most children receive these vaccinations at a young age before they enter a school environment that has more people and a higher chance of exposure. Kids typically receive the initial mumps, measles and rubella (MMR) vaccine around 12-15 months and a booster shot before they start school.

These vaccinations are remarkably effective at preventing diseases. According to the CDC, a single dose of the MMR vaccine is 95% effective, and a second dose increases immunity for those who don’t respond fully to the first one.

While a small number of children who receive vaccines develop allergic reactions or other severe symptoms, the vast majority of vaccinated kids don’t experience any of these symptoms. Furthermore, they likely won’t experience the painful, potentially fatal symptoms of measles or other contagious diseases.

The only study linking vaccines to autism was debunked when it was discovered that the doctor who published it had deliberately falsified information and failed to disclose conflicts of interest, resulting in a fraudulent theory.

Vaccines are important because they protect individuals from contracting the disease and spreading it to those who are most susceptible and cannot be vaccinated themselves: children with autoimmune diseases, infants or cancer patients.

The immunity of the general population creates a herd immunity that limits possible exposure to the disease and also shields those for whom the vaccine has not been entirely effective.

The state of Michigan requires students to have certain vaccinations before being admitted to public education facilities.

Among these are chicken pox, diphtheria, hepatitis B, tetanus, mumps, rubella, pertussis, polio, meningococcal and measles.

However, the Michigan Education Department does allow students who haven’t been vaccinated to be admitted if vaccinations violate their parents’ religious or philosophical beliefs.

Parents must fill out an exemption waiver and submit it to the local health department for approval.

Mississippi and West Virginia are the only two states that don’t allow these exemptions. The result: the highest immunization rates among kindergarteners in the country. Michigan has one of the lowest. Nationally, waiver rates average 1.8%, but Michigan has a 5.9% waiver rate.

Michigan should join the ranks of those two states and allow vaccination waivers only for health reasons. Diseases like measles are preventable, but right now there are over 100 reported cases in the United States, one even in Michigan.

The unvaccinated population is not only in danger of catching these contagious and deadly diseases but also of spreading them to people who cannot be vaccinated.

Public schools should include seminars in their orientations educating parents on the risks of not vaccinating and should also provide opportunities for children to get immunized. If parents are adamant about not vaccinating, the government should also provide information on options other than public school.

A student should only be exempt from getting vaccinations if his or her immune system cannot handle the doses. Public safety and student health should not be endangered by one individual’s decision to not vaccinate.

Google describes rock music as “a type of popular dance music originating in the 1950s characterized by a heavy beat and simple melodies.”

A few years ago, while channel surfing, I came across a once-in-a-lifetime program that changed the way I listened to music: The Rolling MY TURN Stones 50th RADIANCE COOPER Anniversary Concert.

Thousands of people had gathered in Madison Square Garden to witness four old men perform some of their most beloved tunes. The enormous spectacle pulled me in, and my love of rock music took off.

Even more surprising than the concert itself was the fact that the Rolling Stones had been around since my grandmother was a little kid, and they could still draw a sold out concert in a place like Madison Square Garden. We are talking about Mick Jagger at 65, still moving around the stage as if he were 25, and Keith Richards at 66 churning out riffs better than any of the modern day guitar heros. I didn’t realize it then, but what I was witnessing was rock n’ roll in the most legendary form.

From there, I went on to obsess over my share of the best rock bands over the decades.

I swooned over the Beatles with their British accents and melodic rock sound. I got up close and personal watching an unplugged Led Zeppelin. Axl Rose took me back to the 80s with a bellowing, harmonious voice and Slash shredding on the guitar. I was enriched while listening to the messages hidden in Nirvana’s best albums.

All of these artists have one thing in

“Since they’ve been going down, it’s been kind of nice ‘cause now we don’t have to worry about balancing out the money so much.”

Hazel Lyman FRESHMAN

common: their music is immortal. Their music has gone down in history. Their music has been kept alive over the generations and transcended time.

In its glory days, rock dominated the airwaves. It’s now a genre of music that has been drowned out by the poppy tunes and sappy beats of today. I’ll be fair by saying that today’s musicians are certainley talented and make songs that can easily get stuck in our heads, but their stamp on music will most likely be forgotten. Most of their music won’t be played 20 years down the road and most definitely won’t be given a fiftiethth anniversary celebration of their music.

What happened? Rock suffered a tremendous fall from grace, a slow and blind falling out from the music scene. While the music scene was changing and people’s tastes in music took a turn for the simple, rock took a back seat. Nowadays, it’s hard to find rock musicians getting airtime on contemporary radio. And during award season most rock categories have simmered down if not completely disappeared.

Why is that? KISS bassist Gene Simmons raised hysteria online when he explained it’s because “rock is dead.” I refuse to believe this. The radio stations might not be catering to rock like they used to, but all hope is not lost. Rock music has had a certain livelihood and rebellious side since its conception and still does to this day. Rock music was made to last forever.

What goes around comes back around, and rock music will make its comeback to the music scene one day.

Until then, I will stand among the millions of other fans, patiently awaiting rock’s return.

SIn the words of Daughtry, “Long live rock n’ roll and music for the soul.”

“Not a lot. My parents pay for most of my gas.”

“I think I will be affected when I do start driving because I have to go to school every day and come back home and other places.”

Steven Levick

Jasmine Williams

SOPHOMORE

JUNIOR

YOUR TURN: How have the changing gas prices affected you?

By Emma Puglia

“I have to put more and more money aside from my paycheck to pay for gas. I had more money to spend on clothes and food and stuff.”

“They’ve been a great benefit to me ... (but) we still have to remember that we have to be careful about our energy usage.”

“We’re happy that they’re down. Now I’ve noticed they’re going up again ...

Two months ago we would have seen $2.15.”

Noah Varicalli

Keith Austin Brown

Debbie Figurski

SENIOR

VOCAL TEACHER

COUNSELING CENTER SECRETARY

INTERNS: Conner Bott, Alex Harring, Nathan Lonczynski, Lindsey Ramsdell, Lauren Sexton, Sarah Wietecha EDITORS-IN-CHIEF: Erica Lizza, Anu Subramaniam MANAGING EDITORS: Haley Reid, Andrea Scapini SECTION EDITORS: Olivia Asimakis, Katelyn Carney, Brittney Hernandez, Audrey Kam, Jennifer Kusch WEB EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Emma Puglia WEB MANAGING EDITOR: Mora Downs WEB SECTION EDITORS: Dora Juhasz, Kaley Makino, Emily Martinbianco BUSINESS MANAGER: Wendy Ishmaku PHOTO EDITOR: Alanna Sparks ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR: Sydney Benson ASSISTANT EDITORS: Josie Bennett, Yena Berhane, Emma Brock, Radiance Cooper, Billy Moin, Thomas Remenar, Ritika Sanikommu, Gowri Yerramalli STAFF REPORTERS: Caitlin Bush, Dajai Chatman, Allison Lackner, Luke Sturgill, Addison Toutant

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: @thenorthpointe Website: NorthPointeNow.org FACULTY ADVISER: Shari Adwers, MJE

EDITOR’S DESK

AUDREY KAM

Love is a sham As I’m sure you’re aware, Valentine’s Day is tomorrow. If you’ve entered any sort of store this week, you’ve seen the Valentine’s decorations plastered over every surface, the heartshaped boxes of heart-shaped candy with heart-shaped discount stickers slapped on them.

Love is in the air!

Wait—that’s just glitter and rampant consumerism.

Go ahead. Tell me I’m just bitter because I’m single. I’m totally bitter because I didn’t choose to be single. At all. My empty heart aches for a “bae” to hold close in these cold winter months.

Psyche. Allow me to tell you why I’m bitter.

Rewind a few centuries to the very beginning of Valentine’s Day. A soon-to-be saint facing execution wrote his lover a final goodbye which he signed “From your Valentine.” Valentine happened to be his name. (Incidentally, there is also a Roman fertility festival around this time which probably contributed to the loving theme of the holiday).

When something is signed “Your Valentine,” it means that the sender loves the recipient so much that he feels the need to say, “Hey, if I die, I would write to you specifically because that’s how much I value our love.”

But we’ve perverted the whole thing. Now Valentine’s Day is an opportunity for a profit. A true Hallmark™ holiday, right down to the estimated 180 million cards exchanged across the country.

For two whole weeks, everything is a garish shade of pink or red. Sorry, but the lace glued to the edges of that heartshaped table doesn’t make me feel anything even close to love, and I can wait for the day-after sale to get my pity chocolate.

As a society, we have made it too easy to proclaim “love” with a hastily purchased thing and to celebrate that “love” only one day out of every year. Every year I bring this up, and every year I’m met with the same people arguing with me for the same reasons, with the same reasoning: female, in relationship, scoffing at me in a bathroom.

“Valentine’s Day is a celebration of love! All kinds. Like you could hug, or kiss, or you know.

You’re just bitter because it never works out for you.”

Love. All kinds. I would be okay with that.

I actually went to Hallmark’s corporate site to look for things to get mad about, but really all I found is that Hallmark is dedicated to selling cards to everyone. They are absolutely inclusive with their obnoxious commercialism. In a way, it’s sad that a corporation that makes money selling shallow poetry on cardstock is so accepting (especially when humans have the capacity for bigotry and discrimination).

So hear me when I say that I hate Valentine’s Day not because I am against love but because this particular expression of love was cheapened when it was put on sale.

Feb. 14 has the potential to be a celebration of heartfelt love, a day when you let your person know that you love him or her to the utmost. If love is truly a thing to be celebrated, then why in the name of the saints do we need a “Day” to do it?

I know, we’re in high school, so maybe declaring a lifelong commitment to loving whomever you’re dating isn’t really in your best interests. All love doesn’t have to be eternal, it just has to be sincere. And it sure as anything shouldn’t fit in a box.

ON CAMPUS

4 – North Pointe – Friday, Feb.13, 2015

Cardboard boat regatta Physics stdents braved the waters to race on Monday, Feb. 9.

By Sydney Benson PHOTO EDITOR

LEFT: Victory never felt so good to junior Kent Strobl, whose boat won its heat.

“We worked really hard, and I have to give a lot of props to Luke Drieborg, he did a lot of work,” Strobl said. “Brandon Simone, the architect of the whole boat, did an amazing (job).”

BELOW: Junior Francesca Giacona thought building the boat was a challenge because of the length of the process. “It was really difficult to start from scratch, but once we got the basic design set, then we could just keep adding on and cementing the whole foundation.”

BELOW RIGHT: During her boat’s heat, junior Emily Brown Baker was thinking about how to stay afloat. “(I was thinking) Just to do anything to stay balanced and not let any more water,” Brown Baker said.

BELOW LEFT: Junior Michael Lemanske did not have the swine flu but may have come down with a case of pig fever. “First it was called the Lambor-dinghi, and I’m like Lambor-dinghi owned a farm, so let’s get this pig duct tape. So we got this pig duct tape, and I’m like, lets name it Two Pigs in a Boat,” Lemanske said. “And then we were like, ‘oh yeah’ that’s a good name. And then I was sitting in physics class and I’m like, ‘The Flying Swine.’”

FACES IN THE CROWD

Mackenzie Obermok

Canadian-born freshman MacKenzie Obermok is a jack of many trades.

In addition to participating in over a dozen sports since she was three, including pastimes like horseback riding and martial arts, Obermok has also won numerous awards for her art.

Obermok earned four Scholastic Art Awards, two gold keys and two silver keys last year for her digital artwork and photography. All of those works were featured in the Detroit Institute of Art. This past summer, one of Obermok’s paintings traveled to New York. “[The painting] was of a girl leaning over the side of a boat and looking at her reflection in the water,” Obermok said.

It was displayed in an art gallery in New York City for one month.

“I was so happy,” Obermok said of her exposure in New York. “I also won a hundred dollars for one [of the Scholastic pieces.”

Danielle Bennett For sophomore Danielle Bennett, photography is an interest that extends beyond the art room’s walls.

“It’s just a nice way to express yourself without doing it directly, like with writing,” Bennett said.

Bennett finds inspiration for her photos in her everyday life and in the things she sees happening around her.

“I really just do what I feel like doing ... sometimes I’ll use other photographers and Tumblr. I use Tumblr too,” Bennett said.

Along with taking a photography class at school, Bennett has entered her photos in a National Scholastic competition for artistic high schoolers. Although she hasn’t won an award yet, Bennett continues to find validation in what she does.

“I really like the way some of my pictures turn out, and I just like being able to say that I did that ‘cause I’m not really good at other kinds of art, so this is one way I can still do it,” Bennett said.

Matt Carlsen For junior Matt Carlsen, drawing progressed from a childhood pastime to a lifelong hobby.

“I like to draw and sometimes paint,” Carlsen said.

“I’m in drawing and painting right now. I really like it.”

Carlsen has had the opportunity to take art classes at both North and South.

“Last year I was at South, so my favorite class there was Ceramics, but I really like drawing and painting,” Carlsen said.

Carlsen’s favorite artist is Vincent Van Gogh.

“He just has this cool and unique style to his art,” he said.

Still lifes of random objects are Carlsen’s favorite things to draw. He also plans to pursue a career in art.

“I’m planning on going to Stavin. It’s an art school in Georgia,” Carlsen said.

He hopes his art skills will assist him while studying architecture.

“I just think it’d be fun,” he said.

By Lindsey Ramsdell, Sarah Wietecha & Katelynn Mulder

FIVE MINUTES WITH

Speech language pathologist Nancy Ringler

By Andrea Scapini MANAGING EDITOR

ANDREA SCAPINI

Speech language pathologist Nancy Ringler has developed a passion for making quilts for others. “I made these three little quilts for my niece, and one of the patterns I never tried before, so I thought I would try it on something small,” Ringler said.

With a view overlooking the water and a clear mind, speech language pathologist Nancy Ringler escapes to her “happy spot” through quilting.

“I don’t have a lot of time here at home, but we have a house up north.

I put my sewing machine to look out the window into Saginaw Bay, and I just cut and sew, and cut and sew,” Ringler said. “It’s peaceful and relaxing, and it is a zone.”

Ringler was surrounded by quilting her entire life, but it wasn’t until she was slightly older that she picked up the hobby herself.

“My sister, who’s three years older than I am, she’s an avid craftsperson. So she got into it, and then I did, I guess. My very first quilt, I was in high school ... I still have it, and I wrap the leaves to my dining room table in it so they don’t get scratched,” Ringler said. “It was just random fabric—all pieces together, and some of them are so old and so dry-rotted, that’s why I don’t use it much anymore. I’m too sentimental to throw it away.”

While she was initially drawn to quilting because of the straightfor-

ward directions and simplistic designs, Ringler began challenging herself with more complicated patterns as she became more experienced.

“I am not artistic, not at all, but when you just follow these directions, it’s really cool, and it just comes out and it’s like art—fabric art,” she said.

“Every time I make a quilt, I try to learn a technique that I haven’t done before to push myself.”

Ringler pieces the quilts together, but when it comes to the quilted topstitch, Ringler outsources the task.

“I don’t quilt them. I find that tedious. There’s a woman in Marlette (Michigan) ... an Amish woman ... and she hand-quilts them for me. I just piece the top together, and then I take them up north, and she hand quilts,” she said.

Each full-size quilt can take from a few months to a year for Ringler to fully complete, but she’s constantly searching for her next project’s design.

“People in movies always say that the last one they did was their favorite, and that’s pretty much me until I start a new one,” she said. “Something or someone will inspire me.”

Is quilting a family affair?

Absolutely. My husband’s sister, she also quilts, so she, my daughter and I all went on a retreat together. It was really fun. There’s a retreat house—it’s a Christian retreat house— out on Lake Huron up around Port Huron.

What did you do on a daily basis there?

These people are insane quilters. There were about 50 women, and some of them don’t sleep, they just quilt all night ... Some people arrive on Thursday, but we arrived Friday night because I’m still at work, and then you just spend all days cutting and sewing. Then you learn because some of these people are just crazy quilters. It’s incredible.

Why do you enjoy making baby quilts?

My daughters are in their late 20s and early 30s. They still have quilts that their greatgreat-aunt made for them in Minnesota, and they’re treasures. To me, it just wraps you up. I made another little quilted pillow and folded up my daughter’s little baby quilt that was all tattered, put it inside there and sewed it. So she still has it, but not everybody has to look at it.

Is quilting is an outlet for relieving stress?

My job can be very very stressful, and I take care of my mother-in-law who has Alzheimer’s, and I do outside therapy two nights a week with a family member and then a dear friend of mine who is brain damaged. At the end of the week, I am really, really tired, so I like to just have this place to go—my happy spot.

Up close & personal

LIFE

Students share celebrity encounters Josie Bennett & Emma Brock

North Pointe – Friday, Feb. 13, 2015 – 5

COURTESY OF TATIANA GIAMMARCO

ABOVE: Sophomore Tatiana Giammarco, country singer Hunter Hayes, freshman Jackie Brophy and sophomore Ryan Heimberger crowd together for a meet and greet photo in 2014.

Tatiana Giammarco & Hunter Hayes North Pointe: Have you met Hunter Hayes?

Tatiana Giammarco: Yep. My dad called me while I was in school and told me I was meeting him ‘cause my dad knows someone on the tour and that he had tickets left over for the meet and greet.

NP: How did your dad get the tickets?

Giammarco: It’s his job for a living to protect all these famous people.

ASSISTANT EDITORS

NP: What was the feeling when you got the call from your dad?

Giammarco: I wanted to cry ‘cause I was in school. I was in Italian class, and it took me forever to get back to him, but I was excited because (Hunter Hayes) was my role model and my happy place.

NP: How much time did you spend with Hunter Hayes? How was it?

Giammarco: It was like a quick thing, and then a picture, then you go. I was really nervous. He was the one person I was nervous to meet.

COURTESY OF NIKKI HAGGERTY

COURTESY OF NIKKI HAGGERTY

ABOVE LEFT: Senior Nikki Haggerty, father Michael Haggerty and 2012 alumna Danielle Haggerty pose for a family photo pre-Grammys in 2007.

ABOVE RIGHT: Michael Romeo and Michael Haggerty perform side-by-side on stage with their band Adrenalin in 1982.

Nikki Haggerty & everybody North Pointe: How did you meet all these celebrities?

Nikki Haggerty: Mostly through my dad ... the reason that we go to the Grammys is because my dad was in a rock band, Adrenalin, and they got pretty famous. They toured with Journey for a little bit, I think. They hung out with Aerosmith all the time. So the Grammy Academy invited him to be a judge, and that means we get to vote and be invited every year. You get to know people when you ... know the right people, and he gets to introduce his family to these people, you know, and I’m lucky enough to be his daughter, to meet these people.

NP: Who all have you met?

Haggerty: I met Verdine White. He is the bass player for Earth, Wind & Fire. I met Alto Reed.

He’s from Bob Seger. I had met Steven Tyler. Steven Tyler is the lead singer of Aerosmith, and I was at a concert, and he took the hat off my head, put it on his head and threw it backstage to keep it. (I also met) Jimmy Bones. He’s the keyboard player for Kid Rock. Bobby Burch—he’s the bass player for Elton John—I met him in Las Vegas when I went to see an Elton John show. I was at this exclusive thing at the Roostertail, probably when I was in fifth grade, right before the Jonas Brothers became super famous. They were all crowded on the stage, and they were singing to girls individually, and I got to meet them, and that was really cool.

NP: What were they like?

Haggerty: Verdine White was really funny, actually. He was making fun of me and my sister— kind of like picking fun, stuff like that. Usher ... was really polite. They’re all nice, like I’ve never met anyone that’s mean. My dad hasn’t, either.

My dad has told me, he’s like, “I’ve never met any celebrities or like rock stars that are mean.” And they’re all really nice that I’ve met, at least.

NP: How did you meet Usher?

Haggerty: It was really funny. I had lost my ticket—my Grammy ticket—and I was outside in line by the red carpet, and I had my ticket in my hand, and I dropped it. And my dad looked at me and was like, “Where’s your ticket?” and I was like, “I don’t know,” and I was looking around, and I’m kind of a wanderer, so I’m running around, and I picked up my ticket, and I bumped into someone with this huge fur coat on. I remember he was wearing this massive fur coat, and I bumped into him, and he looked down, and he had sunglasses on—‘cause you know, that was really cool back then—and he like flipped up his sunglasses, and he was like, “Where are you supposed to be?” and ... I just kinda looked up and I was like, “Oh my gosh.” I didn’t even say anything and he (was) kinda just ... looking around like where I should be, and my dad’s like, “Nikki, come on,” and I was like, “Bye,” and I walked away. It was the coolest thing though because ... it was him.

NP: How much time did you spend with the celebrities?

Haggerty: Fifteen minutes tops because it’s not like we were spending the whole night. But my dad has spent nights upon nights with Aerosmith. It’s kinda crazy. And my mom and dad ... I think they were like 22 or something, they went to the Grammys by themselves on a date, and I think that’s the cutest date ever. Like, “Hey babe, wanna go to the Grammys?” “Like, sure!”

How cool is that? And they got to meet a whole bunch of people there, too.

NP: How many times have you met the celebrities?

Haggerty: Well a couple more (times), but they’re not like rock stars, you know what I mean? My dad knows—because of knowing people he knows—more people. I’ve met Dave Bergman, who just passed away, and he played for the Tigers. I’ve met Kirk Maltby multiple times and just because he’s a friend of my dad’s. He knows these people. Doug Podel—he’s a radio guy in Detroit, and he’s really famous down in Detroit. I met these people because of my dad.

Obviously I’m not in L.A. every day of my life, so I don’t get to hit them up whenever I want.

NP: What was the actual experience of going to the Grammys?

Haggerty: Oh, it’s at the Staple(s) Center in L.A. We stayed at a hotel a couple blocks away, and we walked there in our fancy dresses and stuff. And we had a car, a Mercedes Benz that somehow fell into our hands, and we got to drive that home. That was really cool. You walk up, and you stand in this huge, long line, and it’s right by the red carpet. You walk on the red carpet to get your ticket (and) show your ticket.

And you walk inside, and it’s huge, like it’s huge.

I’ve never seen a place bigger, and the stage was enormous, and I mean it was obviously—it was decorated differently ... But Usher, I got to see Usher perform live. I’ve never gotten to see him perform. I got to see all these people perform live, and it was really cool being there. Being with my parents and my sister and being able to point and be like, “Oh my God, oh my God, that’s Usher!” like, “Oh my God, that’s Steven Tyler,” or like, “Oh my God, look at all these people. That’s Eminem over there,” you know?

NP: So you haven’t gone to the Grammys since you were little?

Haggerty: I think it was fourth or fifth grade and in middle school—that’s when school starts getting serious, and so you can’t really miss as much school as you’d like to, and so ‘cause we want to go on spring break, and other kind of vacations, I can’t take a week to go the Grammys, but me and Karina Lucchese—hopefully junior year in college, we’re gonna go.

COURTESY OF RYAN BABCOCK

ABOVE: Senior Ryan Babcock poses with rapper Mike Stud for an Instagram photo in 2014.

Ryan Babcock & Mike Stud North Pointe: What was it like meeting Mike Stud?

Ryan Babcock: It was pretty cool. He’s a really cool guy. He kind of reminds me a lot of myself because he used to play sports and kind of like the same humor. It was pretty cool to kind of talk to him for a little bit. He was just a really cool guy.

NP: Have you met any other celebrities?

Babcock: Yeah. I met Drake, actually.

NP: What was it like meeting him?

Babcock: Quick. I saw him at the back of his tour bus there. When I went to his concert a couple summers ago, and I saw him and his crew going to their bus, and I said, “Great show,” and he said, “Thanks, appreciate it a lot.” That was it.

NP: What’s the best part about meeting celebrities?

Babcock: Probably that, music-wise, like artists, you kind of listen to them so much that you don’t even really ... remember that they are a normal human being like you and I. It’s cool to see that anyone can go out and do what they are doing.

COURTESY OF JIMMY MAZZOLA

LEFT: Freshman Jimmy Mazzola (laying center) and his Grosse Pointe WoodsShores Little League teammates prepare for the Thanksgiving Parade. The team filmed a commercial with Miguel Cabrera in 2013 but were unable to attain a photo.

Jimmy Mazzola & Miguel Cabrera North Pointe:Who did you meet?

Jimmy Mazzola: Miguel Cabrera.

NP: How did you meet him?

Mazzola: I was put into a commercial, and he was the star of it.

NP: What was the commercial for?

Mazzola: It was for Chrysler.

NP: How did that happen?

Mazzola: My baseball team. We went to the (Little League) World Series, and so when we came back home, they wanted to do a commercial with us, and he happened to be there. We filmed at Ghesquiere Park and Wayne State’s baseball field.

NP: What was the experience like?

Mazzola: He was funny. It was very cool ... ‘cause I spoke Spanish with him.

6 – Friday, Feb. 13, 2015 – North Pointe

REVIEWS

WWW.COMINGSOON.NET

By Lauren Sexton INTERN

The sad reality is there are no second chances in life, and every action has a reaction.

Project Almanac isn’t Back to the Future, where characters can travel to the past to fix their problems and avoid consequences.

Project Almanac is a found-footage, sci-fi film directed by Dean Israelite.

The movie stars include up-and-coming actors Sofia Black D’Elia, Jonny Weston, Allen Evangelista, Virginia Gardner and Sam Lerner.

High school senior David Raskin (Weston) is an MIT-accepted student who is unable to afford the tuition.

Looking through boxes of his late father’s engineering ideas, David and his sister Chris stumble upon their dad’s

old camera containing shocking footage. Amazed by the discovery, David shares his newfound knowledge with his friends. In awe, they begin to investigate.

In the untouched basement, David finds blueprints to what seems like a time machine. He thinks building the time machine will help him find a way to pay for his tuition. After countless efforts, he and his friends are finally able to get the machine to work on a toy car, but they’re scared of using it on a living organism.

The acting, at some points, feels forced, and isn’t consistent with a typical teen’s behavior. Some of the characters’ actions weren’t believable and were insulting to teenage audience. However, Project Almanac still has moments where it pulls viewers in.

In the beginning, the machine shows a little of the ripple effect, but David and his friends are too naive to think ahead.

They try to find ways to make the time machine more efficient, improving time jumps and stability. But they create unexpected problems by allowing themselves to be noticed during one of their trips to the past.

The movie’s captivating plot is overshadowed by the filming method. The correct term to describe this technique is “found footage,” but that’s simply a fancy way of saying it was filmed like a home movie. The movie jumps around from scene to scene which was purposely done to make the filming seem cheap and unprofessional. Some scenes, such as when the friends are time jumping, make the viewer dizzy.

Project Almanac was highly anticipated, but it falls short because of a number of minor f laws. The movie drags on for two hours, but the story could have been told in a half hour.

Despite its significant f laws, Project Almanac is actually good. Its plot makes the film something worth seeing. Obsessed with his new power, David breaks the golden rule and tries to perfect his life and relationships without considering the consequences. Blind to possible repercussions, he thinks he can fix everything to have a perfect future, but there are no second chances.

The moral of the entire movie is an eye-opener, and it makes the audience ponder what they would have done in this situation. Viewers find their answer in end. Project Almanac isn’t a bad film.

It’s a movie that shouldn’t be evaluated based on who’s in it or who directed it.

It should be judged on its story and its moral.

Project Almanac (2015) Directed by Dean Israelite

“Welcome To Yesterday”

PG-13; 1 hr. 46 min.

TV SHOW

ALBUM

APP

ALBUM

EMPIRE

INTERLUDE

SWIPE

REFLECTION

Swipe is trying to swoop its way into the social media world.

The idea behind the app is for users to post photos they wouldn’t put on their TwitWWW.ITUNES.APPLE.COM ter, Facebook or Instagram accounts for their followers to see. Swipe is the “anonymous” version of Instagram.

Little information has to be given to get started on the app. All it requires is a username, password, name and phone number. If a contact already has Swipe, the app automatically follows them for you.

The set up is as simple as it gets and resembles Snapchat’s layout. There is a camera button in the bottom middle, a contact icon that shows followers and followings on the left and a heart icon for likes on the right. When the heart icon is clicked, it sends the user a notification revealing the name of whoever liked their post.

Most of the app’s functions just require a swipe. If a post isn’t interesting, swipe to the left. If the post is interesting, a swipe to the right will like the post and notify the owner. If you want to reply to a post, tap the picture, comment and swipe up. If the owners respond to a reply they reveal their identity, and when the conversation dies down, you just swipe it away. When posting a photo, take a picture, choose if it is anonymous or not, then swipe up to post. It’s as simple as one swipe.

The makers of Swipe thought people would be posting artsy and scandalous photos, when in reality all the photos are blurry pictures of half of people’s faces.

Overall, Swipe is a good distraction, but it’s simply another one of those apps that will eventually end up in the other folder.

Fifth Harmony is the latest brainchild of British producer and The X Factor creator Simon Cowell.

The girl group composed of Camila Cabello, WWW.WIKIA.COM Normani Kordei, Dinah Jane Hansen, Ally Brooke Hernandez and Lauren Jauregi took third place on season two of The X Factor in 2012.

On Feb. 3, Fifth Harmony released its debut album Reflection. Prior to the official release, iTunes offered “First Play,” which allowed fans to listen to all 14 songs before purchasing the album. This raised the album’s publicity and was a smart move by Fifth Harmony’s management team.

The songs show growth from Fifth Harmony’s 2013 EP Better Together. Most of the songs embody the R&B-like style of Ariana Grande, such as “Going Nowhere” and “Suga Mama.”

However, songs like “Bo$$” and “Them Girls Be Like” continue Fifth Harmony’s original theme of girl power. They are catchy but lack the maturity that is conveyed in the rest of the new album.

Reflection’s greatest hits are “Brave Honest Beautiful” featuring Meghan Trainor and “Like Mariah” featuring Tyga.

Both have fun, unique beats that are easy to dance to. They reference idolized female artists like Mariah Carey, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Madonna and Shakira. The collaboration with Meghan Trainor was beautifully done. Trainor’s voice meshed with the other girls’ so well that she could be the sixth member of the group.

Specific songs on the album are worth the buy, but the forgettable outliers will be skipped every time the album is put on shuffle. Reflection isn’t perfect but certainly did make a splash for Fifth Harmony’s official debut.

With heated emotions and heavy beats, Fox’s new hit Empire premiered on prime time Jan. 7, 2015. The hiphop-infused drama appears as just another sleazy slot WWW.TWITCHY.COM in the TV schedule but surprises skeptical viewers with intriguing depth and unique characters.

The story holds a parallel to Shakespeare’s King Lear—a hot-headed, power-thirsty father approaches the time when he must hand down his throne. Record-producing mogul and former rap royal Lucius Lyon (Terrence Howard) is nearing the end of his career and faces the imminent decision of passing his company down. The stakeholders: his three competing sons.

Empire produces more than a competition-based storyline and hair-raising harmonies, however. The show addresses the issue of homosexuality in the world of hip-hop. Jamal Lyon (Jussie Smollett) faces adversity as he fights for his father’s acceptance as well as the approval of his rising fanbase. The show delves far below the surface of an issue that isn’t typically addressed in the realm of the music industry.

Tensions arise as Lucius Lyon’s ferocious ex-wife, Cookie (Taraji Henson), emerges from prison with a tactful plan to reclaim her share of the company. This is where the plotline becomes sadly predictable. While the relations between Cookie and Lucius are the story’s centerpiece, they become redundant and overdramatic.

However, Empire has redeeming qualities. The intrigue surrounding characters’ backstories keeps viewers glued in anticipation for further development. Dazzling duets produced by rap’s own Timbaland are unique to the show.

Empire may not be able to sustain a strong plotline forever, but the Fox drama is certainly entertaining for the time being.

WWW.JAMIECULLUM.COM

Talented and well-versed jazz artist Jamie Cullum has produced a jazz hit that appeals to mainstream music lovers with his unconventional jazz-to-pop blend

in Interlude.

With a soulful voice and a distinct performance style, the swing music extraordinaire is the perfect candidate to bridge the gap between seemingly antiquated and modern styles of music.

The album revives the jive, and jazz has never sounded cooler.

Cullum finds no muse in typical performance. The artist is known for his largely improvised live shows, which include beatboxing. Taking jazz music and giving it a little spin, Cullum thrives on the barrier between the ‘boogie’ and the ‘dougie.’

Staying true to his personal style, his vocals and instrumentals bound from note to note in a smooth yet jagged fashion. The abrupt jumps in sound only temporarily hinder the music flow as listeners soon catch on to Cullum’s diverse and unique musical patterns.

In tune with typical jazz music, the album’s showtune influences are showcased in the wilder songs. This breathes life into this hip-swinging, finger-snapping music. In dazzling tunes like “Don’t You Know” and the album’s namesake, “Interlude,” Cullum’s talent for creating life in music is best exposed.

In Interlude, this musical visionary has produced his richest and best album to date. The music swings listeners right back to the Golden Age of jazz. The quick-witted artist and his quick-tempoed music have crashed onto the music scene with the coolest bang yet.

Empire; 2015; TV-14; Fox.

Jamie Cullum; Interlude; Island Records; 2015.

By Haley Reid

By Emily Martinbianco

Swipe; Swipe Lab, Inc.; Updated January 8; Apple; Free.

By Caitlin Bush

Fifth Harmony; Reflection; Sony; 2015.

By Mora Downs

SPORTS

Counting your blessings

FAR LEFT: Sophomore Isabella Nguyen performs on the uneven bars.

LEFT: For the conclusion of her uneven bar routine, Isabella Nguyen finishes with a full twist release. Her sister, senior Maria Nguyen, is hopeful for the team to improve for the rest of the season. “Our scores just keep getting higher. Hopefully we’ll do really good at states,”

Doing more than breaking even Winter sports teams have had record-breaking seasons, and gymnasts have broken multiple titles within the last few meets

By Katelyn Carney SPORTS EDITOR

At an early age, a young man realizes that he is blessed w ith athleticism and a keen mind. Supported by lov ing parents, he begins to work hard to develop an athletic prowess.

Bless you boys.

This baseball superstar is so talented that he is drafted by the Chicago Cubs straight out of Maine South High School. However, he is w ise enough to know that education is a ticket to a better life in the long haul. So he opts for a scholarship to Illinois State University, where he is given the opportunity to pursue athletics in addition to a degree.

Bless you boys.

He continues to blossom as a baseball player at Illinois State, where he is voted MV P in 1973 and 1974, named an A ll-American outfielder by the Sporting News and later ends his college career w ith a .4366 batting average.

Bless you boys.

Getting a second chance, he is drafted by the New York Yankees and then goes on to w in a batting championship and the title of league MV P in his first two minor league seasons.

Bless you boys.

Over the next six years, he plays on three major league teams, rarely getting much playing time but never complaining, understanding how few are blessed to have an opportunity to get paid to participate in a recreational child’s game.

Bless you boys.

On March 24, 1984, he is a part of a three-team trade that sends him to the Detroit Tigers.

He becomes a v ital member of the Tigers’ magical 1984 season, where they w in the pennant, leading the div ision w ire-to-w ire after an unheard-of 35-5 start, eventually going on to capture the World Series. The unbelievably fast start leads to a local news station coining the slogan “Bless you boys.”

His contract affords him the ability to purchase a beautiful home in an aff luent East-side suburb.

His dedication, hard work, humility and ability to disregard the limelight translates into a 19year major league career.

The athlete, in retirement, uses the college education he received to develop a successful business while devoting his spare time to various charities including (but not limited to) the Police Athletic Committee (PAC), Caring Athletes Team for Children’s & Henr y Ford Hospitals (CATCH) and the Joe Niekro Foundation.

Realizing how fortunate he was, wanting to share his baseball knowledge, he founded the RedBirds youth baseball organization, dedicated to developing the lives of young men through the lessons they learn from playing baseball.

Bless you boys.

In truth, it was us, the Grosse Pointe community, who was blessed to have know n that athlete and call him our ow n. In the midst of milliondollar contracts, ESPN highlight reels, steroid scandals, domestic v iolence cases, salar y arbitration, free agents and all other topics that lend a negative connotation to sports, Dave Bergman was the polar opposite.

He was a true professional who played for the love of the game and realized how luck y he was to be on payroll that enabled him to live his childhood dream. Bergman never saw himself as world champion, but as an ordinar y guy who stressed academics and respect and concern for others while striv ing for athletic excellence w ith a w inning attitude.

The world lost a sports icon, a truly professional athlete in ever y sense of the word, on Feb. 2 when Bergman succumbed to bile duct cancer at the mere age of 61.

The sad thing is that few outside the Grosse Pointe community realize what a hero he truly was. How much better would the world be if all our sports icons acted a little less like spoiled 2-year-olds and a little more like him? Let him lead as an example to all of what the meaning of the game is.

So bless the boys who seek more from the game than the next “W.” Bless the boys who acknowledge that ball isn’t always life. Bless the boys who don’t expect to be the constant subject of the public limelight. Bless the boys who keep their morals above their achievements. Bless the boys who strive to uphold the legacy this incredible athlete left because he w ill not soon be forgotten, as an athlete or as a role model.

Bless you, Dave Bergman.

North Pointe – Friday, Feb. 13, 2015 – 7

By Emily Martinbianco & Allison Lackner WEB EDITOR & STAFF REPORTER

The words “sisters” and “competitors” are synonymous for gymnasts Isabelle and Maria Nguyen. The sophomore and senior pair have broken multiple records this season alone.

Because of their close relationship, the sisters’ competitive sides come out and enable them push each other inside the gym.

“We compete against each other,” Isabelle said. “We want to beat each other’s scores.”

Even with the drive of competition, the sisters remain close.

“The Nguyens have a very close relationship, and it is so nice to see them working together and supporting each other in the gym every day. They are both great competitors, so when it comes to awards, I think they would both like to be on the top of the podium, but if they can’t be, they are happy if it’s their sister up there instead. It’s a great healthy rivalry,” Grosse Pointe United Gymnastics (GPUG) head coach Courtney Hamidi said via email.

This competitiveness has encouraged the Nguyen sisters to beat not only scores set by others, but also top the bars raised by each other.

“Last year I broke the floor record, and this year I broke it again. My sister broke my record recently,” Maria said.

Though they may fight for records, the sisters are thankful for each other.

“I’m happy for her, but I’m hoping that before the season ends I’m able to break another record because I want my name on the board. But, I mean, I’m happy for her. She broke, like, three,” Maria said.

“This season I broke the balance beam, the floor exercises and all-around,” Isabelle said.

Despite the fact that they’ve already broken records, they intend to keep pushing each other for more.

“Maria was the first to break the floor record, and then Isabelle set a new record in that event a few meets later. So they will have to keep fighting for that one. Isabelle also set new records on the beam and in the all-around (breaking her own record of last year),” Hamidi via email said.

Maria was happily surprised when she first shattered one of the school records.

“Breaking the record was really cool. It was exciting because I didn’t know it at the time, and someone came up to me and told me. I didn’t realize that I broke it. It’s cool having my name up on the board this year, and it’d be cool to have it up there again,” said Maria.

Although Maria has recently struggled with injuries, she has maintained a positive attitude throughout the season and hopes to get back in the lineup and help the rest of her team as quickly as possible, her coach said.

“She also has such gorgeous quality of movement about her gymnastics. The first time I saw her floor routine I was blown away.

I never get tired of watching her perform,” Coach Hamidi said.

Hamidi feels her sister shows the same dedication and effort towards the team.

“I love what a fierce competitor Isabelle is. She never wants a day off, and even though she already has the hardest routines on the team, she continues to challenge herself to learn new and difficult skills,” Coach Hamidi said. “She has such a great combination of power and control that her gymnastics is always so much fun to watch.”

The sisters have gymnastics in their blood, and as such, were introduced to the sport at a young age.

“My dad used to do it, so he thought it would be cool (for us to do it too),” Maria said.

The girls were first urged by their parents to get into gymnastics so they could let out their energy.

“I’ve been doing gymnastics since I was in fifth grade. I got a trampoline at one point ... we loved flipping around on (the trampoline), and we had too much energy at home, or at least that’s what I’m told, so our parents put us in gymnastics,” Maria said.

Through their years of gymnastics, the girls have reaped the successes that have come from hard work. Isabelle believes that attending practice is worth it in the long run.

“We practice four days a week, two hours each day. It’s Monday through Thursday. We usually warm up for a half hour and then work on whatever event we compete in. There is floor, vault, beam and bar,” Maria said.

The practices include North and South students, but the GPUG team doesn’t let rivalry get in its way.

“I’m happy that we combine because I don’t like how everyone thinks that we are rivals,” Isabelle said.

“I like the team as a combine (sic) team because we get to represent our whole community of Grosse Pointe, and it gives the girls on the team a chance to become close friends with girls at the other school who would otherwise be considered rivals,” Hamidi said.

The gymnastics team is stronger this year with the record breaking sisters and other team members according to the coach.

“We have a very strong team this year. Last year the team set a new school record for team score, and I think we have a good chance to break that record this year once we get past a few injuries and illness and can send our full lineup out on the floor.

It is exciting to watch all of the girls on the team improve and set new personal bests in their events. We have a lot of great returning gymnasts so it is a very experienced team,” Hamidi said. “We are capable of it with all of the great talent we have on the team.”

With the Nguyen duo on the roster, success is predicted for GPUG’s future.

“Last year the gymnastics team did really good, and this year we are excelling because we have a lot of the same gymnasts coming back and were more prepared this year. Our scores just keep getting higher,” Maria said. “Hopefully we’ll do really good at states.”

North, South rowers unite, beat record

By Anu Subramaniam

Ten North and South students broke the world youth lightweight 100k rowing record by 40 minutes, but a technicality invalidated their time and removed them from the record books

The technicality may have cost the rowers the record title, but the team is not discouraged.

“We don’t really care too much because we know we beat it, One thousand kilometers, five hours and fifty-seven min- and then there is another one we are going to do over the sumutes, six South students and four North students broke the mer when we have more time,” Ragland said. youth mixed lightweight 100k rowing world record.

The race, however, did provide a special bonding experiThe four North students included seniors Duncan Ragland ence for the rowers. and Raymond Mattingly and juniors Christian Preston and “It was a good experience for us all. It brought us closer,” Faith Volpe.

Preston said.

“It was a pretty long day because it took six hours, but it South junior Nick Shankie shared the excitement and disfelt really good to be done,” appointment from beating the Ragland said. record but not making it into the To prepare for the rigrecord books. orous race, the team in“Breaking the record was fun creased the intensity of its because it took us six hours, and workouts. it was really exciting for every“(We did) hours of steady one because we beat the current state—holding the maxiworld record by 40 minutes,” mum you could hold for Shankie said. “I was glad it was an hour—multiple times,” over because I cut a lot of weight Preston said. to do it because it was a lightThe team beat the origiweight record. But I had a lot of nal world record, posted by fun doing it.” a Croatian team, by a signifShankie doesn’t feel that havicant amount of time.

DETROIT BOAT CLUB CREW ing members from both North “We beat the old record Senior Duncan Ragland accepts an award following the regatta. and South is an obstacle. by 40 minutes, and we beat “We are just one big happy the record that is currently posted by like 10 minutes. But due family. We’ve known each other for a long time. We spend alto a minute bylaw that we apparently overlooked, they took it most four hours a day together, usually,” Shankie said. away from us,” Ragland said.

Ragland believes his teammates motivated him to help As a mixed team, there is a certain female-to-male ratio beat the record. that must be maintained for the team’s time to count.

“A group within a group. We had the task of representing “It was that one-third of the people on the team had to be our team, the Detroit Boat Club Crew, and doing it for each female, it was mixed, a mixed event, so we had three out of other,” Ragland said. ten, which was not enough apparently because we thought Volpe feels that she would not have been able to accomplish that just the girls had to do a third of the meters, but in reality, this feat without the help of her teammates. they had to be a third of the people,” Ragland said.

“Being the weakest link, I was really lucky to have such a The way the race was structured, a group would row 500 great team supporting me. Without them, I would have lost meters and then switch off with another. motivation halfway through,” Volpe said. “While I was reluc“It was a relay, so each of us girls rowed 500 meters 22 times. tant to do it at first, I’m really happy that I chose to be a part of After each turn, we had about a 15-minute rest where the oth- this achievement. We’ll do really good at states.” er members took their turn,” Volpe said via email.

CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

8 – North Pointe – Friday, Feb. 13, 2015

FEATURE

Leave it to love

Yena Berhane & Audrey Kam

WEB SPORTS EDITOR AND FEATURE EDITOR

Valentine’s Day has been labeled a Hallmark holiday, in which flower companies and chocolatiers profit on the romance. But some embrace the holiday, its traditions (and sometimes each other)

Junior Josh Lupo and senior Emily Surzyn LUPO: I would describe her as someone who is caring and compassionate and always kind and always there for me, but not like one of those crazy psycho girlfriends you see on Twitter. I’m talking about that Twitter feed that’s like the stalker girlfriend with the picture of the woman, and she’s like, “bum, bum, bummm.”

But yeah, she’s always been there for me whenever I needed her support.

SURZYN: Last year, we went to Pepperoni Grille, which is our favorite restaurant. We kind of just went out to dinner. Then (we) came back to my house and watched a movie and hung out.

I think we’re pretty much going to do the same thing (this year), except I think we’re going to the Village Grille or something like that. Yeah, we pretty much just always do that. Go to dinner or go back to my house or go to the movies.

I think when it comes to our relationship and stuff, we would much rather focus on more important days like our anniversary or our first kiss and stuff like that.

I’d say we’re kind of like really good friends. We act like we’re best friends with each other. We have a really good relationship because we fight a lot, but it’s not over big stuff. We always work through things really quickly and kind of make a joke about everything.

Spanish teachers Jennifer and Michael Spears

MRS: I remember when we were dating before we got married ... this was probably our first Valentine’s Day, and I think when you’re dating, Valentine’s Day has a lot more significance. I think once you’re married , you just get casual about it. But I do remember the first year that we were dating — he cooked me dinner at his house, and he’s a really great cook. He made this Spanish chicken dish for me that, was really elaborate, and then he bought me these little ruby earrings. I just remember how impressed I was that he did that. Then after that I think things got a little more predictable because you get to a point where you’re comfortable with each other. That first Valentine’s Day is high-stakes, especially for the guy. I think society puts more pressure on the guy to come through with something romantic and surprising.

MR: My favorite ones are the quiet ones where we just go out to dinner and hang out by ourselves and have a good time, something low key. (This year we will) probably go out to dinner, maybe a movie. It always gets better year after year. There’s always something new to learn and always something new to do. She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.

PIT ORCHESTRA: Senior Trey Burke

Seniors Eric Simoes and Ryane Pangborn

It’s for anyone who’s single or lonely, dying alone. Anyone who’s single or lonely, you’ll

SIMOES: I think we’re going to hang out and eat some Chinese food, nothing too over the top.

I think it’s kind of like to each their own. Ryane and I are pretty laid-back people for the most part. We don’t really feel the need to go over the top, and we don’t really think we need to spend a lot of money and buy certain gifts for a lot of things too, like other couples. I think that we know each other so well, and as long as we get to spend the day together and be together throughout the day, I think that’s all that really counts, especially since we celebrated our two-year (anniversary) last night (Feb 8). We did something really over the top. So not to be a cheapskate, but it would break the bank for me to do two things in a row.

If I could describe my relationship with Ryane, honestly, we’re just best friends. We do everything together, we know each other like the back of our hands. I think we know each other better than we know ourselves, to be honest. Ryane knows when I’m mad before I do. She knows when I’m upset before I do. I think that we’ve grown so close to each other that we’re inseparable.

We have a great time together. We’re just best friends when it comes down to it.”

PANGBORN: I think that people really blow it out of proportion. I think it’s definitely special to have a day where you recognize your love to one another, how much you love them and how much they love you back. But I think people expect way too much from it, and I also think people hate on it way too much. It shouldn’t be that big of a deal. I think every day you should remember how much you love somebody and treat them well. I don’t know, that’s why I think it should be just kind of low key.

always be loved by the pit.

Director Dave Cleveland We pass out Valentines to each other in the pit orchestra because we spend a lot of time with each other. It started as a way to get to know each other a little better and have fun with each other.

Junior Hattie Sauget We don’t really have time for a party because we have to get ready for the play. This is just a way we can have fun and acknowledge the holiday. It’s a tradition. Its part of what we do in pit.

Sophomore PJ Gusmano We have one big box, and we just put them all in there and just pass them out on Valentine’s Day or whenever we get to rehearse closest to then.

Freshman Joseph Florence It’s just something fun we do. It’s traditional.

We’re really goofy. We’re not your typical relationship. I feel like we’re more like best friends most of the time. We’re not usually all lovey-dovey—we just do stupid stuff together, and we just like to hang out and have fun.

Contributing: Alex Harring

WANTED:

ENGINEERS, ARCHITECTS, SCIENTISTS, AND VISIONARIES. Lawrence Technological University isn’t for just anyone. We want the future designers, engineers, scientists, and entrepreneurs who will create the innovations of tomorrow.

If you believe that everything is possible, and that possible is everything, we want you at LTU. Check out our Students’ View of LTU video at www.ltu.edu/svv.

Ready to apply now? Visit ltu.edu/applyfree.

POSSIBLE IS EVERYTHING.

Architecture and Design | Arts and Sciences | Engineering | Management

Lawrence Technological University | Office of Admissions 21000 West Ten Mile Road, Southfield, MI 48075-1058 | 800.225.5588 | admissions@ltu.edu | www.ltu.edu