North Pointe - Jan. 26, 2018

ON CAMPUS PAGE 4 The Forensic Science class investigates a crime scene for their final on Friday, Jan. 12. To see more, head to page 4.

SYEDA RIZVI

NORTH

GROSSE POINTE NORTH HIGH SCHOOL

POINTE NORTHPOINTENOW.ORG

SINCE 1968

FRIDAY, JAN. 26, 2018

Student Association hosts first ever Charity Week

UPCOMING

E VENTS REPORT CARDS AVAILABLE

Monday, Jan. 29

ACT TESTING Saturday, Feb. 10 at 8 a.m.

FRESHMAN LINK CREW SEMINAR Monday Feb. 12 at 8:40 a.m.

INTERACT CLUB MEETING Thursday, Feb.15 from 3-4 p.m in cafeteria MID-WINTER BREAK Monday Feb. 19-23 W

INSIDE

" WE'RE TRYING TO BE TOGETHER HERE, WE'RE NOT TRYING TO BEAT EACH OTHER." PAGE 2

" I THINK

A PART OF THE PROBLEM IS INSTANT GRATIFICATION

"GET AT ALL INFORMED TIMES BUT AND MAKE THAT'S JUST YOUR VOICE ME, THE IDEA HEARD. WE THAT YOU CANNOT NEED A AFFORD RESPONSE TO LOSE RIGHT AWAY." THEM." PAGE PAGE 7

PLAYING THE SEXTING GAME

By Sofia Ketels, Katelynn Mulder & Sophie Kehrig PAGE EDITORS & STAFF REPORTER

Since technology has revolutionized the smartphone, culture has shifted to follow suit. Suddenly it became possible to send a picture that would disappear into oblivion in an instant, or at least many people are under that impression.

More than ever before, young people feel comfortable asking for particularly compromising pictures of others.

Sexting is legal between consenting adults, but in many cases involving minors sexting can be punishable by law for a variety of reasons. One of the most glaring being sexual harassment.

Senior Rachel Malinowski said sexual harassment like this should not exist in what she sees as a progressive generation.

She said that both sides have to attempt to understand why the other is behaving in the way they are, and attempt to remedy it.

“I think they should publicly come out and apologize to these women. Just the fact that you can say to their face, just you and them, (say) sorry,” Malinowski said. “I want them to stand in front of everyone and publicly announce what they have done. What they have done wrong, and what they are going to do about it.”

As the mother of a teenage girl, psy-

chology teacher Jennifer Weisbrodt has learned to deal with the everyday drama and stress that comes with being a girl in high school. However, one phenomenon she was not prepared for was seeing boys coerce girls her daughter’s age into sending explicit photos of themselves.

“I can tell you, as a parent of a daughter I was just amazed at how frequently it happens, and how young it was happening. She’s a freshman now at South, but for the last two years I cannot tell you how many of her friends have had a lot of stress, had to approach administration because of what you’re saying, where they were pressured,” Weisbrodt said. “And in a silly moment they sent something because they were asked to send it by someone who was at the time was a friend, a boyfriend, and then it went other places that they couldn’t imagine it would have gone, and it did.”

Over two thirds of 12-18 year old girls will be asked for sexually explicit images of themselves, according to a recent Northwestern study. And in these situations, boys are four times as likely to pressure girls into sending “nudes” than vice versa.

To Weisbrodt, girls who want to keep the peace and avoid conflict in their relationships will often send what the boy wants them to in order to preserve their seemingly healthy relationship.

In an analysis of accounts of 500 12-18

year old girls, researchers found that requests for nude photos often started out as compliments or promises of affection, but quickly turned to outbursts of anger and more threatening messages.

“I hate it, it really bothers me. As a mother of a son I am going to be so frustrated if he were to ever do anything like that,” math teacher Julie Pappas said.

She believes that the issue of sexual harassment is partially due to how it is portrayed in the media. Typically in pop culture, boys are portrayed as having more of a predatory role, while girls are stuck playing defense against their tactics that are staged as well-meaning and playful. Pappas said that when people see things on TV and other forms of media being portrayed as acceptable, people think it is more acceptable in real life.

Senior Morgan Mitchell said some boys think it’s appropriate to pressure girls to send nude photos because they’re not shamed for their sexuality in the same way girls are, or even expected to refrain from asking at all.

Many times the blanket excuse “boys will be boys” shoos away any responsibility for such acts.

Mitchell wants to see better education on the subject, both inside and outside of school.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

Teachers get pay returned following state Supreme Court ruling

By Syeda Rizvi & Michal Hartt PAGE EDITOR & STAFF REPORTER The Supreme Court recently deemed deductions from teachers’ pay that would’ve gone towards retiree healthcare paychecks unconstitutional. As a result, the state of Michigan plans to refund 275,000 public school teachers with an allocated $550 million, along with interest. According to Detroitnews.com, Michigan will receive the refund which will then be distributed to individual school districts and then to employees.

Social studies teacher Andrew Taylor, who was impacted by the state’s decision, emphasised the point that teachers were left out of all the decision making by the state and federal legislature regarding their pay.

“It was not unfair for them to take (from our salary) in general, it was unfair for them to do it with no choice. The employees and workers did not have a choice whether to participate in this system or not, they just decided ‘we’re taking your money,’” Taylor said. “In general, asking people to pay for services they are going to receive is totally fair, but not having a choice whether or not to have to pay for those is not fair.”

The law, which has now been amended, reduced pay for staff and school teachers by three percent, and that money went to fund retiree health care benefits.

However, removing three percent violated contract clauses of not only the state, but the federal Constitution as well. The average refund each teacher will recieve is estimated to be around $2,000, but will vary with regards to variables such as how long a teacher has been working.

SYEDA RIZVI

By Rory Angott PAGE EDITOR

Starting in the summer of 2017, the North and South Student Associations joined forces to plan for the first ever Grosse Pointe Charity Week with all funds raised going to the I Love Lucy Fund.

Sophomore Clare Loch jumped into the planning at the start as North’s head of the Charity Week committee, citing her general admiration for charity work as her motivation. Loch is also very personally connected to the charity.

“We chose the I Love Lucy Fund because my sister is an alumni of South, she graduated in 2017 and since I go to North we thought it would be a good charity since it’s connected to both North and South,” Loch said. “It relieves the financial burdens that cancer brings to families. It’s very local, so you’re having a very direct impact on the Detroit area.”

The fund was founded in 2013 after South alumna Lucy Loch was diagnosed with stage 3B Hodgkin's Lymphoma. The goal of the organization is to help local families in need who are also battling childhood cancer. Since 2014, Clare Loch said that the I Love Lucy Fund has helped 5o families at the St. John Meade Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Unit tackle the financial struggles cancer treatment can bring.

North S.A. adviser Jonathan Byrne, optimistic about the event, said that charity week is a way for students at both North and South to make a direct impact on the community, and have fun while doing it.

“I think that we should be able to (raise more than $10,000),” Byrne said. “Most of the events are during Charity Week itself but at homecoming we did the miracle minute during the pep assembly and we raised over $1,000 from that, which was just the beginning.”

Throughout the week, which will begin Friday, Jan. 26 and conclude the following Friday, a variety of fundraisers will be held. On Monday, Charity Week kicks off with a $5 all-you-can-eat breakfast at North.

Among other events, cookies will be sold between classes on the 26th and, on that evening, “Trolls” will be shown at Parcells to involve elementary school kids in the event.

Along with these school hosted events, certain restaurants around Grosse Pointe will be donating a percentage of proceeds earned on select nights. These restaurants include but are not limited to Telly’s, Trattoria Serventi (formerly Andiamo) and both Grosse Pointe TCBY locations.

South sophomore Evie Kuhnlein said that she has enjoyed the planning of the event because it has brought her closer to the North students. As this is the first Grosse Pointe Charity Week, Kuhnlein is excited to see the end result and is confident that it will be positive.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

@thenorthpointe www.northpointenow.org

VOLUME 50 | ISSUE 9

News Briefs

1 2

Editorial On Campus

3 4

Life Reviews

5 6

In-Depth Sports

7 8

IN BRIEF Choir students compete in Solo & Ensemble Choir students participated in the statewide Solo & Ensemble Festival at Chippewa Valley High School Saturday, Jan. 13. The festival allowed students from all over Michigan to show off their musical abilities and be evaluated and critiqued by college choral professors.

Pointe Chorale, the advanced choir, performed “Alleluia” and “At the Round Earth’s Imagined Corners” at the event.

Though it wasn’t a competition between schools, student performances were judged on a one to five scale with one being the highest and five being the lowest. Pointe Chorale scored a one.

Junior Sam Salisbury, was one of the 20 students in Pointe Chorale who sang at the event. He enjoyed taking part in it, mainly because of the songs the choir performed.

“The songs we did were songs that I really enjoyed,” Salisbury said. “I felt pretty relaxed during the performance because I was comfortable with the music.”

Dance team teaches class for grades K-8 GPN dance team is hosting a dance team clinic on Feb. 5 and 6 for kids in grades K-8. There is a $35 fee, which includes a dance clinic t-shirt, pom-poms, a halftime performance at the girl’s basketball game on Feb. 6, a pizza party and practice with the team.

Junior Shella McNamara is a member of the dance team, worked to help plan the clinic.

“We’ve been doing the dance clinic for the last few years and we invite a bunch of kids from the elementary schools and a couple middle schoolers,” McNamara said. “We bring them in and we teach them a couple different dance moves. We teach them how to do a turn, kicks and then we teach them a dance that we choreographed and they perform it at the basketball game the next day.”

The clinic is open to all kids, but flyers are only sent to Parcells’ feeder elementary schools. According to McNamara, there are usually between 20 and 25 kids who attend.

“It's really fun because of watching the kids slowly figure out and learn the dances. In the very beginning, they’re like ‘What? How do you do that?’ and it's kind of nice throughout the night for them to learn what to do,” McNamara said. “Kids are a lot less shy than teenagers, you could say, because if we had a clinic for teenagers, they’d all just kind of be like standing around and trying to do the moves, but the kids like do little jumps and kicks, its so cute.”

Forensic science creates mock crime scene For the second year, the Forensic Science class will spend a week as detectives during their mock crime scene investigation. The forensics class studies the science of crime scene investigation, and it is a relatively new class. It was made available to students during second semester of last year.

The investigation occurs right the end of the semester, and continues for an entire week. Students are put into teams and, using skills they have learned, are given the task of analyzing as much as they can of a crime scene presented to them to try to figure out what happened.

Elizabeth Michaels, the Forensics teacher, said the point of this investigation is not to assign blame, but rather collect evidence and provide as much information based on the scientific analysis of that evidence.

“It’s really like a final assessment, because it’s not technically their final exam,” Michaels said. “But, it’s really the one that I care about the most.”

Lakefront park requires photo identification Grosse Pointe Woods Lakefront Park, located in St. Clair Shores, will require pass holders eight years and older to have a picture ID on their park passes this summer.

City administrator, Br uce Smith and his team made this decision in an effort to reduce the number of nonresidents coming into the park and causing trouble.

Smith has said there have been several instances when non-residents used passes that didn’t belong to them and caused damages or got into fights.

According to the Detroit News, there were three or four incidents this past month or two with some property damage and assaults and the city decided it was time to take some steps.

Junior Carlo Recchia goes to Lakefront Park frequently in the summer with his friends. Recchia thinks that the change is unnecessary.

“When I bring my Harper Woods friends (to the park), they usually don’t do anything stupid in general, so usually we’re just well behaved and respectful,” Recchia said.

Junior Paul Gusmano, a resident of Grosse Pointe Farms, also agrees with Recchia that the change is bad. “(The park requiring picture IDs) is sort of annoying, honestly. I have a lot of friends who live in the Woods, and because I live in the Farms, it's a lot harder to hang out with them at their park. So it's just a really big inconvenience for me,” Gusmano said.

NEWS

Sexting CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

“(Boys need) to be taught in the first place that that’s not OK,” Mitchell said. “We shouldn’t be so focused on doing things after they happen and just preventing them in the first place, establishing a clear concept of consent in their minds.”

More often the responsibility is put off on the girls in the situation.

Pappas suspects that the disparity in expectation is a result of women being oversexualized, and she’s disheartened by it, saying that males should be held to the same standards as females.

Weisbrodt agrees, saying that as a society, we have not done a good job of making sure both parties know that this is not acceptable behavior under any circumstances. She occasionally has conversations with her 10 year old son about the topic, and said she emphasizes that even if a girl seems like she would send explicit photographs if he asked, it is still not okay to ask. She believes that this is an issue that needs to be discussed more

often and more openly.

“I think there needs to be some education on both ends really, for the boys that it’s not appropriate, even

“

(Boys need) to be taught in the first place that that's not OK. Morgan Mitchell SENIOR

“

2 – Friday, Jan. 26, 2018 – North Pointe

in a relationship, to ask for that,” Weisbrodt said. “For the girls that under no circumstances do you want to send something compromising.”

Since October 2017, people have been sharing their stories of sexual harassment and abuse on all forms of social media. This has sparked nationwide reform on sexual harassment in the workplace, and

given the Time’s Up Movement, an organization dedicated to ending sexual harassment, a larger platform.

Malinowski believes that this social reform in the professional world means that it’s time that teenagers also see similar changes in the culture surrounding sexting and other forms of harassment that can happen in high school, as that is where it starts.

Weisbrodt agrees, saying that reform happening across the board is a good thing, because this is a problem that begins in adolescence, so this is the best way to get at the root of the problem.

“I think you are seeing a trickle down effect. It begins in adolescence, this idea of a negativity towards women, that belittling people is okay, that making sexual comments is okay,” Weisbrodt said. “That doesn't start in adulthood. There’s a pattern of it, so to start (change) where it begins is, I think, the right way to go.”

Charity Week CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 “In the past doing joint events with North and South has normally been very dramatic — a competition — and one (school) normally does more than the other and it never works out,” Kuhnlein said. “So, from the get go, we’ve been making this, even though we tend to just laugh the saying off, a One GP thing. We’re trying to be together here, we’re not trying to beat each other.”

To wrap up the week, representatives A LE X from North and South will announce HA RR IN the total earnings at the North versus G South girls basketball game on Friday, Feb. 1. At the game, the athletic department will donate a percentage of the proceeds to the cause

Refunded pay CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Jon Dean and Lisa Abbey, both Deputy Superintendents, were impacted by this and will be getting their money returned.

The two are supporters of this refund, and believe that it is fair for their money to be refunded back to employees.

Dean believes that teachers are often victimized and treated unfairly.

“Education in Michigan is underfunded,” Dean said via email. “All employees in our school deserve more compensation for the valuable work they perform on a daily basis.”

Abbey agrees, and both she and Dean said they are sure that each employee will be thrilled to receive the refund.

Rennel doesn’t have a specific reason as to why teachers were

targeted specifically instead of other professions. He said that recently, teachers have been having more issues with the state legislature.

“Not only was it unfair, but it was unconstitutional,” he said.

“I’m not sure exactly why, but we got a lot of challenges with Michigan legislature who seemed to not value teachers very well.”

Most teachers and state administrators interviewed agree, as did the Supreme Court, that this matter was the state of Michigan's fault and that it was a mistake on their part. Which is why the Court demanded the state make amends “The state sometimes seems to be changing agreements that they have already made,” Taylor said.

and Student Association will be s e l l i n g concessions.

L o c h reiterated h o w important this event is and encourages all students to participate.

“People don’t get excited a lot about donating to charity, but it’s such a worthy cause.

It makes you feel good and this is a really fun way to do it,” Loch said. “I’m just excited for people to be excited about participating in the events, because it’s such a worthy cause and, again, this is close to my heart.”

There is still time to order a yearbook ad for your senior.

Limited space available on a first-come, first serve basis.

Email gpnyearbook@gmail.com for details.

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

By Jordan Craighead & Cairington Stahl

“A Driving Experience that’s Priceless” Visit our web page www.elitedrivingschool.org www.elitedrivingschoolscs.com M A R K E TING

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

EDITORIAL

NORTH

POINTE

“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 Abbey Cadieux EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Lindsey Ramsdell EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Caitlin Bush MANAGING EDITOR

Alex Harring MANAGING EDITOR

Anna Post EDITOR-AT-LARGE

Michal Ruprecht EDITOR-AT-LARGE

Allison Lackner Sonny Mulpuri BUSINESS MANAGER WEB MANAGING EDITOR

Sofia Ketels PAGE EDITOR

Zoe Graves Rory Angott Syeda Rizvi PAGE EDITOR PAGE EDITOR PAGE 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.

SPECIAL MESSAGE

Our legacy: Reflecting on our past, building a better future As the Executive Board of this 50-year-old publication, we know our staff’s strengths and weaknesses. While diversity of our staff has nearly tripled in the last six years, recently we’ve noticed that our homogeneity has hindered the breadth of our source pool.

An internal audit of the source variety of our first eight issues of Volume 50 has shown that out of an average of 50 sources used each issue, about 5-6 are minorities in terms of race, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation. Although we more consistently diversify our standing elements, such as the Your Turn, Faces in the Crowd and the Five Minutes With, overall we have noticed some shortcomings. Additionally, this does not count our own staff members’ opinion pieces.

We know that as an award-winning staff commended for our longstanding editorial freedom and hard-hitting content at both the state and national level, we can — and will — do much better.

Our school is approximately 36 percent non-white, yet our audit would suggest otherwise. If you looked at our newspaper with no background on the school, it would appear as though the overwhelming majority of our student body is the same. With roughly 10 percent of our sources being minority students, it is clear that we can look harder for different viewpoints.

For the remainder of Volume 50 and beyond, we are making a commitment to our readership to do a better job of equitably reflecting the diversity of the student body in the publication as a whole. To be a true, representative outlet for our school, we must strive to make sure all voices are heard and all news is reported.

Not only will we strive to be more inclusive, we will also continue to hold ourselves accountable. We will continue to be watchdogs of administration, question decisions, report on conflict and fact-check everything.

As we pen this letter, the Women’s Marches rage on both in cities close to home and across the country, and the President’s #FakeNewsAwards trend on social media. We acknowledge that our reporters may have overlooked minorities — including opinion and political minorities — when building stories or planning issues in the past, but this year more than ever is the perfect time to make changes in our newspaper for the better.

This year, we will be asking tougher questions, writing grittier stories, interviewing more students with diversity of opinion and background, being present at events and doing all that we can to extract the stories that matter from the fluff. As executive editors, our main duty is producing a publication that gives readers a balance of both what you want to hear and what you need to. That means writing profiles that reflect the variety of the student body and talents of our school, news stories that impact students and opinion pieces that stimulate conversation.

That starts with us and ends with you. North Pointe is a co-curricular activity, therefore the makeup of our staff is at the discretion of however many students get scheduled into our hours. With this being said, the North Pointe staff is currently 71 percent white. We will make a conscious effort to do better in the new year, but we can’t do it alone.

While we can try to find and report on the many different facets of North, we need your help. If you have a story idea or an opinion about something, Tweet us, email us, stop by our headquarters during first through fourth hours or write a letter to the editor. We are open to all students and ideas.

A free and vibrant press is embedded in our country’s Constitution.

Newspapers are inherently democratic, meaning participation from our readership is essential.

This is just as much our publication as it is yours.

Be careful what you search for First it was “Dear Fat People,” and now it’s Logan Paul finding, filming and laughing at a MY TURN suicide victim. When AMELIA will YouTube realize NOWICKI that with power comes responsibility, and that their ‘golden boys’ are losing value?

When Sam Pepper sexually assaulted random girls for what he called a prank video back in 2014, viewers were outraged. Even after he posted a video later, appropriately titled “I’m Sorry,” people still weren’t over it.

In 2017, YouTube superstar PewDiePie was in the middle of most of the website’s controversy for a number of reasons, whether for using the n-word during a livestream or making antiSemitic jokes.

Usually, when people think of the internet, they think of an endless amount of information, cat videos, work tools and social media networking, but that’s only the tip of the iceberg.

Under the surface, the internet is a place that can be horrific, depending on where we go. Some places can also be potentially dangerous if we really look, and others show a disgusting reality hiding right under our noses.

YouTube is one of those places.

Not only has YouTube recently been taking the heat for their irresponsible stars, but some viewers have found twisted content that the company has yet to notice.

However, the platform is used by most students and many educators at North. Students use YouTube for many reasons, from makeup tutorials to gaming walkthroughs, but they also use it as a resource for homework or information.

Teachers use educational content to supplement learning, and they often assign notes on videos to aid students’ understanding of what they’re watching.

So what happens when students stumble upon something not so educational?

The odds of a student finding a disturbing

"I think Youtube should have immediately taken down the video and suspended his account.

They should have blocked all his videos from being seen."

Amelia Fly

"They should have taken it down as soon as they found it because I heard that they left it up for like eight hours, and actually Logan Paul took it down himself."

Johnathan Chapman

FRESHMAN

SOPHOMORE

JUNIOR

YOUR TURN: What do you think YouTube should have done at the start of the Logan Paul controversy? By Jordan Craighead

"After (Youtube responded), I feel like they did the right thing.

I feel like Logan Paul should have realized not to upload it in the first place."

Chris Smith

Jack Flynn

BUSINESS TEACHER

SENIOR

NORTH

"They should have taken it down immediately and probably taken away his YouTube channel and looked into it slowly and thoroughly to figure out what to do from there."

POINTE

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF: Abbey Cadieux, Lindsey Ramsdell

EDITORS-AT-LARGE: Anna Post, Michal Ruprecht BUSINESS MANAGER: Allison Lackner WEBSITE MANAGING EDITOR: Sonny Mulpuri WEBSITE EDITORS: Erin Kaled, Billy Steigelman

Lindsey Ramsdell editor-in-chief

Caitlin Bush managing editor

Alex Harring managing editor

video on the website is more likely than it may seem. Viewers and content creators alike are beginning to realize that many things are often being overlooked by the company, and instead, they’re caving to ad companies’ demands, and only focusing on the smaller issues doesn’t completely solve the issue.

For example, many sites have been demonetized, meaning their creators are no longer getting paid for their videos, but YouTube is hesitant to restrict content completely.

The recent Logan Paul incident caused an uproar online. News about the disrespectful video spread like wildfire across social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram, allowing many people to hear about his treacherous behavior.

The thing is, YouTube didn’t take the video down, even after the controversy sparked. It was Paul himself who took it down after the imminent backlash slapped him in the face.

YouTube’s response was something nobody really expected.

Finally, the platform is coming to the realization that kings need consequences. As a result, they stripped Paul of the top-of-the-line monetization system, cancelled his appearance in an upcoming YouTube Red show, and production of his new YouTube Red movie “The Thinning 2” was cancelled.

But is this the only time that the YouTube executives are going to take action? It’s important to notice that they only really respond to anything when one of their big stars is involved in an issue, so a lot of the crazy content is often going unnoticed.

Smaller accounts that discuss a multitude of things, from celebrating Hitler’s birthday to praising a serial killer, are flying completely under YouTube’s radar, and that needs to stop.

Sure, YouTube has some undercover demons, but they’re way too late in realizing that the creators they praise are abusing their power. YouTube needs to figure itself out before it becomes the absolute center of media controversy and falls apart completely.

"They should’ve told him it was wrong and delete the video, ...instead of letting it go on. Banning him and removing his show wasn’t the right thing to do, because it was important to him."

Andrew Peabody

MANAGING EDITORS: Caitlin Bush, Alex Harring

Abbey Cadieux editor-in-chief

North Pointe – Friday, Jan. 26, 2018 – 3

PAGE EDITORS: Rory Angott, Elizabeth Ballinger, Amber Braker, Zoe Graves, Sofia Ketels, Katelynn Mulder, Syeda Rizvi, Katie Thomas STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS: Marina Gabriel, Jillian LaPere, Rachel Malinowski, Alyssa McLarty, Ashley Sexton, Nya Tatum, Kennedy Williams STAFF REPORTERS: Nick Asimakis, Arzoo Chhaya, Jordan Craighead, Michael Hartt, Sophie Kehrig, Mariah Loper, Brooklyn McWhorter, Taylor Mitchell, Abi Murray, Amelia Nowicki, Adam Schwartz, Sarah Shanley, Cairington Stahl, Benjamin Uram, Emily Widgren, Hannah Zalewski INTERNS: Amelia Abraham, JoAnna Alexander, Charlie Bernas, Aundrianna Boles, Savannah Burguron, Maggie Carron, Nadia Fama, Colin Haroutunian, Donald Hightower, Raven Jason, Cheryl Knorp, Emily

"I think it's really important, and I think YouTube realizes this now, but they should have been more cautious of their uploadings."

Alyssa Sandoval ENGLISH TEACHER

McCloskey, Preston Rossignol, Katlyn RoodBallard, Amelia Schock, Sydney Semack, Jonathan Smith, Cordy Wettstein The North Pointe is edited and produced by 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. Readers are encouraged to write letters to the editor. Letters are edited only for length and are screened for libel and obscenity.

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. The North Pointe is printed on 100 percent recycled paper.

CONTACT US 707 Vernier Road Grosse Pointe Woods MI, 48236 Email: gpnnorthpointe@gmail.com Phone: 313.432.3248 Twitter: @TheNorthPointe Website: northpointenow.org FACULTY ADVISER: Shari Adwers, MJE

EDITOR'S DESK ALEX HARRING

A dream, deferred At the University of Michigan this fall, the admissions committee received about 40,000 early action applications for the Class of 2022, admitting a mere 6,000 in the first round — a 15 percent early acceptance rate.

But if you asked any Grosse Pointe North senior about this statistic, it would seem too low.

The era of ominously thin envelopes and bright acceptance packages showing up in the mailbox is behind us. With college decisions moving to online portals, there is no warning.

Likewise, as college decisions move online, so do celebratory announcements. There is no more waiting to hear the buzz at school the next day, decisions are instantly available via an accepted student’s social media profile or Snapchat story.

Admitted students’ hashtags and excited posts are wellintentioned, but they are the only thing a classmate with a lessthan-hoped-for decision sees. It would be easy for a student who applied to and was deferred at Michigan to think they were the only one in that boat. There’s no Facebook page or fun packages for deferred students.

But, contrary to how it may feel for a student whose decision email reads “We regret to inform you,” they are definitely not alone. In reality, the opposite is true. That deferred student is in the overwhelming majority. For Michigan, a whopping 34,000 other high school seniors are in the same exact position.

Thankfully, the admissions process is over for me. I’m just playing the waiting game now. The process is a long and winding road full of twists and turns.

Many people seem to believe that this road begins junior year with standardized tests and campus visits. I will agree that 11th grade is certainly an important stop on the road to higher education, but college preparation truly begins in middle school.

The classes you chose to take then affects your schedule thereafter, and then your admissions profile come application time.

At Kenyon College, a toprated liberal arts college in Ohio, two out of every three admitted applicants completed Calculus AB or BC in high school. I’m not very good at math (which is why I’m not taking Calculus in high school), but I can tell you that not taking Calculus puts you at a disadvantage when applying.

Well, if you want to go there, you should take Calculus then, right? If only it was that easy.

To take Calculus as a senior in high school, that would mean you would’ve had to be in honors math since sixth grade. So in sixth grade, when you were 11 years old and sporting Abercrombie and Fitch and below-the-knee shorts, you would’ve had to be placed into that math track and continue through senior year. That’s a lot of planning ahead.

College is important, but don’t let this notion that what you get on your ACT will determine which colleges you get accepted into and ruin the most formative times in your life. I fell into that trap for so long. It took a lot of time for me to realize that one ACT score or semester grade was not going to make or break anything in life — even a coveted college acceptance.

Strive to be the best version of yourself, not for perfection.

More often than not, that will be enough.

As my decisions come back and I either joyfully glare onto the bright screen, or stare unenthusiastically at the rejection letter in front of me, I know it will be OK. If there’s one thing that this process has taught me, it’s that there are a lot of good schools.

You can only go to one. So you only need to get into one.

And if I get denied, they’re missing out.

ON CAMPUS

4 – Friday, Jan. 26, 2018 – North Pointe

FACES IN THE CROWD Ava Wisniewski

DO NOT ENTER

By Zoe Graves PAGE EDITOR

Forensic science class creates a full crime scene as midterm preparation

SOPHIE KEHRIG

BLOODY MESS | One of the many different units they covered over the course of the semester, junior Gina Barbione thought their blood spatter unit was one of the coolest. "We had a blood unit, and we just had a big wall and we put paper on the wall, and we tried to recreate blood spatters," Barbione said. "Like how they look, with different velocity, like high velocity and low velocity and like walking drips and stuff like that. That was kind of cool."

Exhibiting her passion for violin, junior Ava Wisniewski has been able to share her enjoyment of music by performing at many places and showing off her musical talent.

“I enjoy playing the music, listening to songs and playing songs you can hear on the radio,” Wisnieski said.

She has performed at many different places and gathered inspiration from all of her teachers, especially her current one, Colette Mataj whom teachers her at her house “I’ve performed multiple times at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, in orchestra halls (and) at North and South,” Wisniewski said.

Although she doesn’t want to continue with violin as a career, Wisniewski considers it a fun hobby and feels her greatest accomplishment has been being able to perform at the DSO. “My greatest accomplishment playing the violin was being accepted to the DSO Civic Youth Ensembles a few years ago and playing at Orchestra Hall with that program,” Wisnieski said.

Brandon Kreuter

ALL PHOTOS BY SYEDA RIZVI

BUGGED OUT | One of the harder parts of the lab to find was a dead fly, tying back to the unit about entomology. Barbone enjoyed the class, and reccomends it to other students. "It's a lot to remember, but it was really fun," Barbone said. "If you’re interested in that stuff, and you don’t really have a problem with seeing blood or something, or for example we did this one lab about entomology, so the study of bugs. So, if you don’t have a problem with that then this class if definitely for you."

SNUFFED OUT | The crime scene was made up of a tape silhouette in the middle of a classroom, with a body draped near the window. There were various other pieces of evidence such as fibers around the room as well. "Harder things to find were like fibers and hair and stuff like that," Barbone said. "But like analyzing the stuff, and getting to the right conclusions, that was the harder part."

DEAD AS A DOORNAIL | The makeshift body was made of paper, and the "cause of death" was open to interpretation depending on the conclusion students came to and the evidence they collected.

Enjoying the bright sunshine, riding on a jet ski and hanging out is what sophomore Brandon Kreuter enjoys about traveling on his annual trips to Florida.

During spring break, Kreuter and his family go to Siesta Key for about a week, and he gets to hang out and do a lot of cool things.

He said that he and his family love warm weather, and the weather in Siesta Key is usually perfect.

“The activities I do on the trips to Florida are usually done with my family,” Kreuter said. “We just get to spend time with each other and enjoy. My family and I also really like the water, so we always either rent a boat or a couple of jet skis.”

His favorite parts of their most recent visit were going jet skiing and seeing the Detroit Tigers at spring training.

“I enjoy traveling because I love seeing new places,” Kreuter said. “I love exploring new places that I’ve never been to before.”

Lindsey Brewer

HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER | Sophomore Syeda Rizvi, junior Gina Barbone and senior Jessica Akiki study the crime scene. Since they had to analyze parts of the crime scene relating to each unit they'd done over the year, Barbone thought that it was more difficult than their previous labs. "We had to do everything on our own.

We had to ask the teacher for certain information, and so for example she didn’t tell us when we were missing stuff, we had to come up that ourselves," Barbone said.

"Normally, we don't have that. So when something was missing, she would say “hey look at that topic again,” but this time it was not like that."

For freshman Lindsey Brewer, sewing has been a hobby that she and her grandma have been able to bond over.

Brewer has been sewing for four years, and her grandma is the one who helped her develop her skills for sewing.

“She bought me my very own sewing machine,” Brewer said. “It’s Hello Kitty themed.”

Brewer enjoys all the different kinds of fabrics she uses and how they can contrast each other.

Her favorite piece she’s made has been the Fourth of July quilt that she made with her grandma when she was in third grade.

Brewer said her greatest sewing accomplishment has been the fact that she has been able to do everything on her own, and she finds it interesting that you can choose everything.

“I like how you can customize your order,” Brewer said. “Whatever you’re doing, you can choose the fabric, you can choose to make a pillow, quilt, shirts, pants or do whatever you want. The options are really endless in sewing.”

By Adam Schwartz

FIVE MINUTES WITH

Psychologist Christine Kuhl

By Sarah Shanley STAFF REPORTER

CHRISTINE KUHL

WORDS OF ADVICE | Since psychologist Christine Kuhl works with teenagers, Kuhl has seen firsthand how distracted and stressed they are today. "Take care of yourself, be in the moment, be present, and engage with the people around you," Kuhl said. "I feel like definitely teenagers today have so many distractions and so much going on that it can be hard to just be present, so those are things that I try to remind students of."

Outside of the office, school psychologist Christine Kuhl spends most of her time with her family. Kuhl has two daughters, Grace (9 years old) and Julia (6 years old).

She plans to spend mid-winter break with her family, and said becoming a wife and mother is a highlight of her life. “(The happiest moments) in my life were getting married and having my children,” Kuhl said. “Probably (having) my kids for sure. They are really silly and funny, and I love watching their goofy personalities develop, its really fun.

For that, and it was really a proud moment.”

She describes herself as a relatively calm person.

“I really love people and engaging with people, I like to think I’m pretty funny. Humour is something that's pretty important to me, (but I’m a) little bit of a worrier. I have to keep that in check sometimes,” Kuhl said. “My mind is always going, I’m always trying to come up with solutions to problems, also sometimes I can get

caught up in that, and you know it can become preoccupying.”

Besides spending time with her family, Kuhl also enjoys spending time giving back to her community. She helped put together the sensory room, which helps with the peer to peer program. She also takes barre and yoga classes.

“It’s just a way to center myself. It's just an hour every once in while that's totally mine, and I just get to do nothing but think about my practice, and what I’m doing with my time,” Kuhl said. “Those quiet moments are hard to come by in daily life, when I book it and go to class I feel, like, totally calm.”

If Kuhl could give students one piece of advice, it would be to make sure they are taking care of themselves so they can get everything out of life.

“Take care of yourself first so that you can be the best person that you can be, so you can be there to help others and be there for friends and family,” Kuhl said. “You can’t do that very well if you can’t take care of yourself.”

DO YOU HAVE PETS? No, I’m a little bit of a neat freak so pets are not in my home, much to kids disappointment.

FAVORITE FOOD? I’m Middle Eastern, so I would say anything Middle Eastern. Probably grape leaves are my favorite, they are so good.

FAVORITE TV SHOW? I’m a reality TV junkie, which is really bad, it’s like my guilty pleasure. So I would say the “Real Housewives” franchise is really my favorite, even though it's totally awful.

FAVORITE BOOK? It’s a book called “Effortless Healing” which is really interesting. It’s written by a doctor who more believes in healing yourself through good food, diet and sleep, which is something I’m really interested in. I’m really enjoying that book right now. I really enjoyed the “Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” which was really just fascinating on so many levels.

Branding a new band

By Michal Ruprecht & Erin Kaled EDITOR-AT-LARGE & WEB EDITOR

Strumming guitars, bumping drums and bass, glistening keyboard sounds and ethereal vocals fill sophomore Jenna Buckman’s basement for two hours. This weekly routine is Strawberry Blonde’s practice time.

The band was formed in November by sophomore Brooklyn McWhorter (lead vocals and acoustic guitar) to take her passion and musical talent to create original indie rock and alternative songs. It’s made up of Buckman (guitar), juniors Carlo Recchia (drums) and Zoe Witt-Michalski (electric bass), manager Liz Alderete and its newest member, South High School sophomore Naomi Ozormoor (keyboard).

“It’s like a piece of the community,” Recchia said. “It’s like you’re listening to these bands that are just starting up and uprooting in your community. It’s like you’re getting a piece of your community, which is pretty cool.”

Ozormoor joined last December because she wanted to rekindle ties with North students. Ozormoor added that the name Strawberry Blonde appealed to all of the members, but has no figurative meaning.

“I feel great performing with other people in a group outside of school,” Ozormoor said.

“It’s a far less awkward environment and it allows me to feel more like myself when I’m with the band.”

Ozormoor has played piano since she was seven and was inspired by her cousin. She said that she hopes Strawberry Blonde will inspire others, too.

“I love inspiring kids. Regardless if it’s with producing art that kids could enjoy or if it’s with playing an instrument that may interest kids, I think it’s a good idea,” Ozormoor said. “I sometimes have the fear that later generations of kids would become less musically-inclined because of school taking up a majority of the time, so it’s good to prove that you’re able to have fun and do things even with school going on.”

Since the group didn’t have a drum set when they formed, McWhorter decided to create a funding page on gofundme.com with a $195 goal last month. The group raised $265 in less than a week.

“I think that experience showed us how much people supported us,” Recchia said. “They believed that by investing their money in this ... we can actually do something with it.”

Alderete is in charge of the band’s Instagram, Facebook and YouTube accounts and said social media will allow them to reach a larger audience. She added that merchandise and an album is on their to-do list.

Ozormoor and Recchia said fame isn’t

LIFE

North Pointe – Friday, Jan. 26, 2018 – 5

Strawberry Blonde Band crowdfunds humble beginning

important to the members, band but booking gigs and playing at open nights microphone is their goal in the months. upcoming Recchia added that their friends listen and critique the band’s original music.

“Our recent goals are to find open mic night venues to perform at and just get our name known and hopefully after we write some more songs we can put together an EP,” he said. “We honestly aren’t too

Scan to hear the band’s first song

fo cu s e d on achieving anything.

We’re just doing this to have fun and make music together, but we will gladly take any opportunities that we may have in the future of our band.”

Ozormoor said she hopes to play in the future even with a busy schedule.

She added that she has bought a new keyboard and is experimenting with new genres because the band has helped her become more confident in her music abilities.

“Our band is rather diverse. Not only the people in it, but their personalities and their interests, too.

Altogether, I think we’re an aesthetically appealing bunch,” Ozormoor said. “Strawberry Blonde has really given me a lot of confidence as a person and it would be amazing if I were to stay with them for their entire run.”

Contributing: Abi Murray & Ben Uram LI

Q&A with the drummer

North Pointe: How did you come up with the band?

Carlo Recchia: We came up with the name because one day Brooklyn, she really just came up to our lunch and she just told us that she wanted to create a band and one of the first names she said was strawberry blonde and we didn’t really have any better ideas so we just kept it at that.

NP: Who created the band?

CR: Brooklyn was the one who came up with the idea for the band.

NP: Do you plan on staying together for a long time?

CR: We’re planning on staying together for as long as we can which hopefully could be past high school, but we’re not sure about that.

The Women’s March

L ZA

DE

RE

TE

NP: How do you feel when you’re performing with everyone else?

CR: It’s really fun, its a really relaxed environment because we’re really open with ideas and stuff and we just have a fun time playing together.

NP:

Do you have a favorite song to perform?

If so, why is it your favorite?

CR:

Probably “Strawberry Letter,” that’s a fun song. It’s just a fun rhythm to play, especially at the part where it gets faster.

NP: When and where do you guys perform?

CR: We havent done any performances yet but we’re hoping to perform, we’ve been reseraching like open mic nights at places so hopefully we can do that.

Reflections on women’s marches across Michigan from students who were there

Lansing

Ann Arbor

“I felt empowered being surrounded by like-minded, fearless people. It’s important to me that I use my privilege to stand and speak for those who don’t have that luxury and to promote womanhood and equality.”

- Senior Maddy Martinbianco

“It was amazing. There were so many people there. It was so inspiring to see like a grandma and then a 4-year-old there. It really shows that this is a people fight.”

- Senior Caitlin Mayernick

REVIEWS

6 – Friday, Jan. 26, 2018 - North Pointe

G-Eazy misses the mark in new album

By Anna Post EDITOR-AT-LARGE

A f t e r r id i ng h ig h on t he succe sse s of h is prev iou s albu m “ W he n It’s Da rk O ut ,” t he t h r il ls of t he t op -10 t ide a re beg i n n i ng t o set tle, leav i ng egot ist ical h it ma ke r G -E a z y st uck a nd u n i n spi re d.

Compr ise d of a le ng t hy 20 t r a ck s, “ T he Beaut if u l a nd Da m ne d” of fe r s t he 28 -yea r- old a cha nce t o ba re bot h side s of h is sou l, G a nd Ge r ald , wh ile prov id i ng ly r ical rea son i ng beh i nd h is l ife st r uggle s a s he m e n d s t h e t wo d i a m e t r i c a l l y o p p o s e d ve r s io n s of h i m s el f .

T h roug hout t he albu m , t he a r t ist t a ck le s t he proble mat ic l ife st yle of bei ng a pa r t ie r. But a ccord i ng t o G -Ea z y, t he focu s of h is work st ret che s fa r beyond t he st e re ot y pical expe ct at ion s a ssociat e d w it h h is pa ssion for a good t i me. To h i m ,“sex, d r ugs a nd rock ‘n’ rol l” is cl iché d for a rea son. “It’s d a rk .”

W h ile t he aud ie nce get s t o hea r t he r aw real it y of G -Ea z y’s wa r r i ng i nt rospe ct ion s a nd d a rk h ist or y, t hey a re lef t que st ion i ng if t he word s f low i ng out of t hei r hea dphone s a re bal la d s or exce r pt s f rom a que r u lou s t e e n’s jou r nal.

So, no G -E a z y. To a n swe r you r que st ion , “d a rk ” isn’t a good description of your album. “Cl iché d” work s ju st f i ne.

I n st ea d of u si ng h is albu m a s a plat for m t o c reat e wor t hy cont e nt , G -Ea z y st ick s t o what he k nows be st.

He spit s mea n i ngle ss ba r s f il le d w it h obnox iou s ba nal it ie s i n t r a ck s l i ke “ P r ay for Me,” a nd si ngs about h is st r uggle s w it h d r ugs, relat ion sh ips a nd fa me i n ly r ical f lu ke s l i ke “ T hat’s a L ot ” a nd “ Pick Me Up.” T he absu rd it y la ce d w it h i n ea ch song be come s ove r whel m i ng — t r a n sfor m i ng t he suppose d mu sical re me d ie s i nt o a pile of mu sical t r a sh. Not on ly wa s t he cont e nt re pet it ive, but eve r y e mot ion wa s sel f-i n f l ict e d. G -Ea z y con st a ntly complai ne d about t he l ife st yle he l ive d , but neve r me nt ione d how he worke d t o alt e r t he de st r uct ive pat h he wa s goi ng dow n.

G -Ea z y con st a ntly r aps about h is pat h t o fa me a nd how h is “Ge m i n i ways” have le d h i m dow n a t rouble some l ife f i l le d w it h obse ssion a nd r age, but not once de not i ng h is rea son i ng beh i nd h is

ha rd sh ip. Su re, one’s a ct ion s cou ld be due t o t he al ig n me nt of t he st a r s, but let’s get real he re. Fa r more mea n i ng re side s beyond a n ove r se n sit ive pa r t y boy’s e nd le ss horoscope monolog ue s.

Eve r ybody ha s a pa st a nd a st or y t o t el l, a nd G -Ea z y sei ze s t o a ccompl ish t he ea sie st a spe ct of bei ng a n a r t ist — sha r i ng it. “ T he Beaut if u l a nd Da m ne d” ha s a force d ove r al l t one, leav i ng h is aud ie nce fe el i ng u ncom for t able a s he cont r a d ict s h i m sel f. I n t r a ck s l i ke “L ove Is Gone,” G -Ea z y c r it ique s t he idea of mat e r ial ism , lobs a couple of i n su lt s at P re side nt Donald Tr u mp a nd posit ion s h i m sel f a s a st rong a dvocat e for wome n’s r ig ht s. A lt houg h h is plea for ge nde r e qu al it y d id se r ve sig n if ica nt mea n i ng, it m ig ht of be e n more com for t i ng if he d id n’t wa st e h is t i me i n prev iou s t r a ck s whe re he cal le d wome n ha r sh profa n it ie s a nd t h rew t he m u nde r t he st e re ot y pical labels he clai m s t o loat he.

A f t e r loa d s of ly r ical non se n se a nd st upid it y, t he suppose d a st rolog ist a nd sel f-proclai me d fe m i n ist e nd s h is bu nd le of melod ic cha os w it h a br ief mor al: “ Most of y'al l shou ld probably pa r t y le ss a nd focu s more.”

A h h , t he word s of w isdom we al l have be e n wait i ng for, com i ng f rom t he cowa rd ly mu sicia n h i m sel f — one hou r a nd 45 m i nut e s lat e r.

"The Beautiful and Damned" (2017) iTunes, $11.99

G-EAZY.COM

BOOK

APP

VIDEO GAME

MOVIE

SIMON VS. THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA

TODOIST

FORTNITE BATTLE ROYALE

THE COMMUTER

There’s no way to kick off a relationship like blackmail.

Title character Simon would have no problem being blackmailed — which is obviously one of the best BECKYALBERTALLI.COM signs of a healthy relationship — if it didn’t involve potentially outing his “friend.”

In coming-of-age novel “Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda” by Becky Albertalli, Simon Spier — a gay high school student who is still in the closet — struggles with finding the right time to come out, and making sure he does it on his terms.

In an accidental encounter, Simon’s “friend” Martin Addison — or as Simon affectionately refers to him, Martin Adderall — logs onto a school computer and finds Simon’s email account with which he anonymously flirts back and forth with another student. Martin blackmails Simon into helping him date Simon’s friend, Abby. If Simon refuses to help Martin, he sends screenshots of the emails to “the Tumblr” — their school’s equivalent of “Gossip Girl” — therefore outing Simon.

Ironically, “the Tumblr” is where Simon found Blue, his mystery email romance. Blue’s true identity is unknown to Simon, as is Simon’s to Blue. They only know each other as Blue and Jacques, two 16-year-olds who are still in the closet. Both are struggling with how and when to come out, despite both knowing that their parents and friends would be accepting if they did.

One of the most realistic cliques in any young adult novel, Simon’s friends are made up of his childhood besties Leah and Nick along with Abby and a handful of kids who are from either Nick’s soccer team or are acquaintances of Leah. They’re a blend of people who have known each other for most of their lives and hang out regularly with casual friends who only really see each other at school and the occasional parties.

With his parent’s reality-TV obsession and his dad’s sometimes over-the-line dad jokes, along with the relationship “drama” going on in his friend group, the majority of teenagers would be able to relate to some aspect of Simon’s life.

“Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda” will be on the big screen soon in the movie adaptation “Love, Simon.” It hits theaters March 16 and is already being anxiously awaited by fans of the book.

Todoist claims to be an app that will “organize your life.” The app allows users to create a to-do list in one spot to make their tasks seem not TODIST.COM as overwhelming, but doing so in itself is a lot of unnecessary work. Todoist has more features, but users must upgrade to premium, which is $28.99 a year.

The app allows users to add projects and in each project add a mini to-do list.

The labels and filters inside the app are only included with premium. The inbox is where all of the user’s to-do lists are stored and is one of the only features the app offers that comes without purchasing premium. For everything inside the inbox, there is an option to schedule a time for it to remind the user, but, once again, push notifications are only included with premium, making this option pointless.

The hidden expenses aren’t worth all the trouble of putting tasks into the app.

Todoist is only compatible with Apple products, which is an obvious drawback b e caus e not eve r yone ow n s Ap ple devices. The app can also be used on the Apple Watch, but it appears as though it would clutter up one’s Apple Watch.

The user can also see their to-do list on the widgets, and from there the user can open Todoist and add a task. This one widget can cause confusion, making one’s phone overwhelming if they have a lot on their app.

Apple products already come with calendar, notes and reminder apps, which already do a good enough job keeping users organized. These Apple apps might be all separated, but they have more options and customizations than Todoist. The app is unnecessary and is more of a hassle than the user would bargain for, especially with all the premium fees. The app is a waste of time to download and the old-fashioned pen and paper to-do lists are much more efficient.

"Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda"; 2015; By Becky Albertalli

Todoist; 2017; Available to download for free.

By Zoe Graves

By Allison Lackner

Amid the current competition of “king of the hill” or “free for all” survival games, For tnite Battle Roya le s t a n d s o u t among the top for its vibrant, color f u l desig n EPICGAMES.COM a nd its comical, lighthearted approach to the mode.

Even so, the pacing of the game is slow, and there are numerous oddities that can prove frustrating for players besides the mode’s basic, randomized loot.

One of the main appeals of the battle royale mode in Fortnite is that it’s free, while its competitors come with hefty price tags. PlayerUnknown’s Battleground costs $29.99, and H1Z1 is $19.99.

Both are available on video game hub Steam. So for casual players or those who are cash-strapped, Fortnite is certainly the more attractive option.

In game, another difference that makes Fortnite stand out is the ability to build walls and stairs on the spot, assuming one has the right number of materials. This adds another dimension to fire fights, as while they offer less use at close range, at long range, the expertise of building shines, allowing players to hide behind artificial barriers as cover from sniper or rifle fire. Either way, the battle is only extended, needlessly at times, especially in the varying durabilities and setup times of the walls.

Occasionally, similar to the battles, a round may feel slow in itself, especially with the map’s lack of vehicles. Perhaps the map is too small for them, but the mountains of the map provide only extra time spent maneuvering around it. There are moments of intensity, often in gunfights, yet other times it’s laborious, walking around the map for minutes waiting for something to occur.

The atmosphere of the game is quite comical, perhaps even immature. The characters’ “emotes” provide dances and gestures reminiscent to those of Team Fortress 2, and the map is nowhere near as drab and dull as maps of other games.

While some items are staples of the freefor-all setting, additions such as the spike trap seem to be more of a cheap gimmick for casual players, as while it’s avoidable, its ability to instantly knock out opponents can be infuriating.

Setting itself apart from the rest through its vibrant characters and free-to-play status, Fortnite Battle Royale has the ability to appeal to a variety of players, whether on a budget or interested in a random, casual game mode.

Fornite Battle Royale; 2017; Teen

By Colin Haroutunian

Michael made a decision that will lead to life or death for a complete stranger.

A former NYPD detective turned insurance salesman, Michael THECOMMUTERMOVIE.COM lives a normal life with his everyday routine which includes getting on the commuter with civilians leaving from work. But this particular day turns out to be anything but normal. Michael (Liam Neeson) gets fired from his job and walks the street of New York city lost on how he break the news to his wife and get his son through college.

The following decisions he make leads to murder, secrets and paranoia.

Neeson revives his role as a butt-kicking hero in “The Commuter.” Actors alongside Neeson such as Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga take on vital roles to the mystery on the commuter. Vera Farmiga, who plays Joanna meets Michael on the train.

She sits and taunts him with one question, “What kind of person are you?” then asks him if could he do “one little thing” of finding a stranger before the last stop on the train for $100,000. Michael takes on the challenge. And as he digs deeper into the investigation, he learns the truth about the stranger hiding on the train.

“The Commuter” is an action-packed film full of twist and turns. However, while an exciting film, it moves fast and leaves some plots within the story open without an explanation. Neeson’s wife in the film was supposedly kidnapped with their son, but once Michael reaches the end of the tracks and solves the mystery, she shows up to the crime scene saved by the FBI calm and unaffected by any supposed kidnappers.

With a film that moves as fast as this one, bathroom breaks are not an option. Overall, those that enjoyed the film “Taken” would also enjoy this film.

The conclusion of “The Commuter” is an unexpected plot twister. It’s a great first mystery film for the new year. While Neeson doesn't seem to step outside the box of his usual films, he still manages to do great job of bringing the action and excitement that everyone anticipates from him.

"The Commuter"; 2018; PG-13

By Taylor Mitchell

IN-DEPTH

ANNA POST

Recent developments spur interest regarding celebrity impact on society

By Caitlin Bush, Allison Lackner & Michael Hartt MANAGING EDITOR, BUSINESS MANAGER & STAFF REPORTER

Influences are all around us. Parents, siblings, friends and even celebrities influence everyday thoughts, decisions and purchases. With increased access to technology, outside forces are hard to avoid.

With constant use of media platforms, it’s hard to escape the f lood of inf luential figures. But according to social studies teacher Dan Gilleran, technology is just a tool, what we do with it is what really matters.

“There was a psychologist who was talking about it and he said that social media acts for middle school kids like rocket fuel, it just sparks them and they just go from zero to one thousand so quickly because of what they see on social media,” Gilleran said. “When you talk about middle school and young kids, they have such an intense need to fit in and that becomes so important to them.”

Kids are persuaded to follow certain social media celebrities based off their peers. Senior Jonas Gee thinks attaching to and imitating celebrities they see online is just part of how kids and teens function.

“We have phones with us 24-7 and they have access to this unlimited media source which includes YouTubers or artists,” Gee said. “They (the kids) watch these people and they look up to these people, along with the thousands of other children who look up to these people. It’s just what they do and how they live, that is how they are entertained.”

According to YouTube, more than half of YouTube views come from mobile devices. Tools like these have dramatically changed how society functions and where priorities are placed.

According to Statistic Brain, people spent an average of 40 minutes on YouTube per mobile session in 2016.

This large amount of time on one social media platform allows the viewers to be constantly connected with their favorite celebrities, only further increasing their effect on their followers.

“The world was fine 50 years ago when we had some celebrities, but not this automatic access. It has to do with technology a nd

the number of cable channels, the magazines, the instant access,” Gilleran said. “It used to be we didn’t know what movie stars were like and there are some stars that keep their distance. We shouldn’t know everything about these celebrities, to me it takes away from their whole allure.”

Freshman Shay Gualdoni said people are too invested in celebrities, but doesn’t see the impact it has on daily life. Gualdoni believes who we follow is because of who they are and how entertaining they are, not because our peers encourage it.

“I think it’s what content they post or if they are in a movie that you really like, or you follow them if they relate to you,” Gualdoni said.

Celebrities can hold a lot of power. They have used their prominence to advertise brands or bring up new talking points and matters for social change, such as the #MeToo campaign which gained momentum when celebrities promoted it on Twitter. The more followers a public figure has, the more powerful they can become.

“I would definitely say that I am (influenced),” Gee said. “I mean a lot of the music I listen to, and clothes that I wear are styles that I see as popular or cool...so yes I am for sure influenced.”

According to YouTube, they have over a billion users which is almost one-third of all people on the Internet — and each day, those users watch a billion hours of video, generating billions of views.

Social media platforms are expanding exponentially, and all the attention from younger generations is drawing in older generations leading to even more people using social media platforms for entertainment.

According to Pew Research Center, from 2012 to 2016, Facebook is the most-widely used social media platform, and its user base is most broadly representative of the population as a whole. In 2016, Statistic Brain stated that there are 4.95 billion videos viewed everyday on YouTube and every minute 300 hours of video are uploaded to the platform.

Social media has become incorporated into society and people’s everyday habits, and a large reason for its attractiveness is the instant and constant connection to the one’s favorite stars.

“I think a part of the problem is instant gratification at all times but that’s just me, the idea that you need a response right away,” Gilleran said. “To me it doesn’t really make sense that you should do something just because you can get that instant gratification. You should pause and think about the consequences before you send it and I think the responsible celebrities do that.”

North Pointe – Friday, Jan. 26, 2018 – 7

POSITIVE IMPACT

Just as negative ideas are spread via media, so are positive ones. Many movements are started and spread to a larger audience through the use of social media making the message have a deeper impact.

According to Adweek, in 2015 five movements went viral via social media including: Black Lives Matter, Pray for Paris, I Stand with Ahmed and Worldwide Refugee Crisis.

Currently, the #MeToo movement, a hashtag created to spread awareness for sexual assault and harassment, especially in the workplace, is trending. It began after the public revelations of sexual misconduct allegations against Harvey Weinstein. Many celebrities have participated in this movement by sharing their stories, giving everyday people a sense of community and comfort.

“It’s great that you can see them banding together because you can see the #MeToo movement how it started a wildfire and because they are positive and standing together, other people finally had the courage to be able to get up and say what they need to say, and I think that is amazing and a super great thing,” Gee said.

According to Gilleran, spreading positivity over social media is also important for people’s mental health.

“You don’t have to always be living in that world of constantly seeking out the negative, sometimes you just have to disconnect,” Gilleran said. “The more positive people you have in your life the better, clearly. It just enlightens everybody and uplifts everybody.”

NEGATIVE IMPACT

Negative media influences impact people in profound ways, either for the better by stimulating change, or the worse by spreading destructive ideals. Negative influences are easy to locate in 2018 as the amount of places where they can be found is growing.

The negativity is easy to get attached to, especially for elementary and middle school students, and some people do not know the content that they are viewing is harmful, according to Psychology teacher Jennifer Weisbrodt.

“Whether we consciously or subconsciously pick up on the negativity in the social media, it happens. I think especially with the younger generation they are especially vulnerable to picking up on even just the language that is used, the way people dress. They may not even consciously know that they are copying those things,” Weisbrodt said. “But (the bad habits) come out in society and then they become the norm.”

Social media websites that are used often by pre-teens and teens seem to be the main source of negative influences that adolescents are exposed to.

With social media websites being used daily the negativity experienced can grow exponentially.

Currently, Logan Paul is thought to be a major source of negative feedback on social media due to his latest Youtube video in the Suicide Forest of Japan. His video showed a the body of someone who had recently committed suicide. Paul said

it was to raise suicide awareness but many, including senior Jones Gee, thinks the disrespect Paul displayed is unacceptable.

“I understand the aspect he was going for, he was trying to raise awareness or whatever, (but) the disrespect he had for the body and the family of that body...people have been suspended off that site for just talking about views that maybe Youtube doesn’t agree with and their ‘golden boy’ goes up there and shows a dead body to kids and he doesn’t even get a slap on the wrist, (it) seems a bit ridiculous,” said Gee. “He is really unhealthy for the platform.”

According to Weisbrodt, exposure to suicide, especially in adolescence, can have unparalleled consequences.

“Once there is an exposure to something in terms of suicide, rates do go up. So I think that that is a very real concern involving the video,” Weisbrodt said.

Although the bad influences are looked down upon for the most part, the negativity experienced by users of social media can often be bittersweet.

Negative events in the media such as natural disasters, crime and military conflict can sometimes be eye-opening and lead to improvement.

“If (negative events in the media) can help you to guard against that happening in the future, then in that case it may be useful,” Weisbrodt said. “Overall, I think you can definitely learn from some of the negativity that is out there.”

don’t have to always “ You be living in that world of

constantly seeking out the negative, sometimes you just have to disconnect.

“

Dan Gilleran SOCIAL STUDIES TEACHER

ANNA POST

SPORTS

8 – Friday, Jan. 26, 2018 – North Pointe

NO DAYS OFF

Teams use different methods to cope with breaks during sports seasons

By Sonny Mulpuri & Nick Asimakis WEB EDITOR & STAFF REPORTER Time off from school ushers in much-needed relaxation and stress relief. However, for athletes, during breaks their dedication to their sport must be increased. Coaches expect athletes to get the proper rest along with staying in shape, but many also schedule even more rigorous practice routines during the days off.

Senior Henry Zalewski has participated in basketball seasons during both winter and mid-winter breaks for the last four years. For Zalewski, breaks are a time for recovery and watching more game film.

“We get a lot more rest and a lot more freetime to actually do things with our basketball team and practice more,” Zalewski said. “Before games during the week, we get to come in early and do shoot arounds. It’s easier to get ready for the games and gives us more time to prepare.”

Athletes like Zalewski also reap the benefits of more flexibility during breaks. The practice times are adjusted to better suit the players and their coaches. Since freshman year, he has noticed that the practices have become more intensive and longer.

“Practices (during break) are usually longer, much longer than they usually are. They’re like two-and-a-half to three hours on days like that because we have more time to rest and actually do things, and they are usually much harder than the regular practices are,” Zalewski said.

Staying in shape is one of the biggest concerns for coaches over break, but head wrestling coach Derek Davison doesn’t believe his players regress after their time off. During Christmas break, Davison trusted his athletes to eat properly and get the right amount of sleep knowing that they would

have to compete in two tournaments over break.

Davison said if athletes train correctly they should never get burned out or have a decline in their performance. He says his team not only trains hard, but they train smart so wrestlers peak at particular times in the season. He’s hoping that during mid-winter break to do some more off-mat training.

“For mid-winter break, myself, I would love to have an early morning training session such as cardio or weights then an evening practice, almost a two-a-day type day,” Davison said.

Just as Zalewski coped with his first breaks during basketball season, freshman Maddie Kohler was able to overcome the effects of the break, even though she originally did not believe it would affect her. “(Break) was a lot different actually. I went to sleep so most of the day I would just be sleeping instead of working in school,” Kohler said. “It was harder for me to get up for the game but I felt way more rested when I wasn’t working during the day, so it was actually easier and I think in my opinion I played better, just because of it.”

Having a routine is what makes an athlete efficient and productive. For Zalewski, break allows him to dedicate more time towards basketball, but once school starts again, he’s able to concentrate on more than just sports.

“Sooner or later it gets to the point that I kinda want to go to school. Having the leeway to do what you want is nice, but sooner or later you just need to get back on a schedule, and it just gives me something to do,” Zalewski said. “I actually participate in the sport because I need to keep my grades up and everything. Getting back into school, it puts my mind back into being there.”

By Emily Widgren STAFF REPORTER

LIINDSEY RAMSDELL

TEAM BONDING | The girls hockey team during one of their boxing practices. The team does both yoga and boxing in addition to their conditioning. Senior Natalie Barstys believes that both activites are beneficial in their own ways. “Yoga teaches us how to control our breathing and control our thought process in a game and stay calm. Boxing teaches us how to toughen up and take hits. Off-ice and conditioning is just conditioning,” she said.

CATE GANGIER

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT | The gymnastics team poses after practice in the upper gym. While coach Kristen Remilett sticks to conditioning and workouts focused on gymnastics, she believes there is variety in the team’s workouts .“ The daily checklist contains a variety of exercises to promote strength and endurance. During each practice, gymnasts spend some time on cardio, core strengthening, abdominal, arms and leg strengthening exercises to round out the conditioning routine,” she said. “They can do the exercises at their own pace depending on which apparatus they are working on.”

Watching players, clad in padding and helmets, sprint across the ice, chasing pucks and crashing into sideboards, one would not expect that occasionally during the week, the same rugged athletes are practicing their downward-facing dog positions at yoga.

Today’s athletes must be equally specific skill-oriented as they are physically fit overall.

Maintaining this balance requires a variety of conditioning for players. As players step off of home field or hang up their jerseys for a day, they are ultimately improving their range of abilities as a whole.

Senior Kylee Banaszewski, girls hockey team captain, said her team does off-ice workouts as well as assorted activities such as boxing and yoga.

“On days that we do off-ice workouts, we stay in the rink and work on a combination of legs, arms, abs and hitting. We’ve also booked private yoga and boxing sessions,” Banaszewski said. “I think this has a positive effect on the team because it increases our physicality on the ice, as well as builds up strength and stamina for games where everyone’s getting a lot of ice time.”

The workouts are designed to help with all sports, but Banaszewski said they are more focused on hockey by timing the workouts to mirror the length of a shift, which is 30 to 45 seconds. The workouts also benefit the players by strengthening their arms and legs, making their skating skills, such as strides across the ice, stronger.

Natalie Barstys, a senior on the girls hockey team, believes that their workouts are beneficial not only for the team’s skills on the ice, but also for their overall stamina and athleticism.

“With yoga, it kind of has a specific purpose, and with running it’s kind of like running to condition. Whereas yoga, it teaches us how to focus and get in the right mindset for everything,” Barstys said.

“Especially in hockey, it’s better to take hits and take them safely and carefully and l know how not to get hurt, and boxing teaches us that.”

Barstys said that the workouts also have a positive effect on the team as a whole. The workouts allow the team to work together and improve the team’s bond.

“We’re not just going to practice on

WIKIMEDIA

the weekdays, we’re doing things on the weekends or after practice,” Barstys said.

Unlike girls hockey, gymnastics coach Kristen Remillet sticks to a more gym-based workout.

“The first half hour of our practice is devoted to stretching, warming up and basic gymnastics skills,” Remillet said. “During the next hour and a half, gymnasts spend a majority of the time working on the four apparatuses.”

According to Remillet, the workouts help maintain a good core and strong body which is vital to the success of the girls in gymnastics meets and in order to keep the team in the best physical condition for the sport.

Both girls hockey and gymnastics have a way to keep the team’s workouts different and challenging.

“Lately we’ve been picking up the intensity during our workouts, but they’ve always been pretty similar,” Banaszewski said. “We stick to the same kind of exercises that help condition hockey players specifically, whether that be leg workouts that improve our skating or arm workouts that help us get off stronger shots and so on.”

Unlike the hockey team, Remillet switches up the conditioning by giving the group a different list of exercises every practice.

“I have created 3 different workouts that we rotate between. The daily checklist contains a variety of exercises to promote strength and endurance,” Remillet said. “During each practice, gymnasts spend some time on cardio, core strengthening, abdominal, arms and leg strengthening exercises to round out the conditioning routine.”

Banaszewski also regards practices outside of normal practice times to be crucial to the success of a team.

“Training is just as important to a team as the drills they would do in practice. It keeps everyone in shape and improves overall performance in games.” Banaszewski said.

Unlike Banaszewski, Remillet believes that outside exercises for your sport in high school should not be a normalized practice.

“We spend a good amount of time in our gym and we need to remember that high school sports are only possible because we are students first and foremost,” Remillet said. “Athletics are wonderful, but students need to make time for academics and other extracurricular activities as well.”