Black & Gold, Issue 6 by CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL

Sports

March 24, 2014

Volume 94

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Check out a roundup of winter sports on page 8, and the scoop on hockey traditions, and a story on two football player’s journey to the collegiate level aph

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Issue 6 Arts & Entertainment

Black Gold

2014 MIPA Spartan Award Winner

Traverse City Central High School 1150 Milliken Drive, Traverse City, Michigan 49686

Photo: E. Simon

Turn to page 6 for a look at Art Club’s preparation for Art Prize, the NMC Art Show, as well as student paintings

Central’s auditorium to be renovated After bond failures, the district has decided to make the investment regardless

Graphic: H. Lancashire

Kristin McLintock Staff Reporter

fter several bond failures, Central’s auditorium has received the funding to undergo a renovation in the

spring. The renovation will consist of refurbishing various parts of the auditorium. “We are pretty much locked into the space. We’re not knocking walls down and expanding the space in any way,” Director of Capital Products and

Maintenance Paul Thwing said. “We’re basically working within the box that’s there.” Most of the significant improvements to the auditorium will be behind the scenes. “We are going to replace the curtains, etc., but the big pieces are the electrical components—the panels and the boards that provide all the power to the lighting—and to the sound system all need to be replaced,” Thwing said. “It’s old and antiquated and not all of it’s in good condition. It’s not safe to operate most of the time.” Another new feature in the designs is a dug-out orchestra pit in front of the current stage, which can be adjusted to various heights. “We’re going to have it built so that it has a floor in the orchestra pit that

WorldQuest team headed to Washington D.C.

they can raise up so that it’s at the level of the floor of the auditorium and then if we want we can raise it up so that it will be level with the stage, so we actually end up extending the front of the stage out quite a ways,” Thwing said. Users can expect an upgraded backdrop called a cyclorama, which will not only be safer, but will also be a lot more manageable for productions. “It is a neutral back drop that you can project colors onto instead of having to paint a backdrop,” musical participant Robbie Shields ‘17 said. The Lighting system will also be improved in hopes of creating a more useable facility. “We’re going to go with all LED lighting so that we have multifunctions in the lighting system without having

to go back and replace bulbs and gels and all the things that they have to take care of now,” Thwing said. The projection booth in the back of the theatre is planned to be eliminated and moved back, making use of all the available space. “We’re going to try and take that whole back wall with the overhang and push it back,” Thwing said. “There won’t be that whole overhang.” Since the news of the renovation, members of Central’s performing arts groups have been anticipating a space where they can showcase more elaborate performances. One way this is happening is through the use of sound clouds—acoustic panels that hang horizontally across a ceiling to help reduce sound reflections.

See Auditorium, pg. 11

Talent exposed

After a regional win, Central will be represented at the national level in a quiz-bowl style event

Shaine Kearney & Hayley Scollard

Staff Reporters

Exploring the embassies of Washington D.C., meeting ambassadors and experiencing a variety of global events and tours is an educational trip to most, but for the winners of the regional WorldQuest, it’s a chance to show off what they already know. Alex Endresen, Peter Andreasson, Angelo Vozza, all ‘15, and Dante Vozza ‘17, members of TCC Team 1, recently won the regional round of Academic WorldQuest. In late April, they will advance to the national competition. “We go to Washington, D.C. and we compete and basically do the exact same thing but on a bigger scale,” Andreasson said. “The categories change each year, but they stay roughly the same because it is all foreign policy stuff.” WorldQuest is a nationally held competition in which

teams answer questions over foreign affairs in a series of quiz-bowl style rounds. “The competition consists of a 100 question test that you can take with four people,” Andreasson ‘15 said. “Eight out of ten rounds are outlined before hand and the team who answers the most questions correct moves on to the next stage.” This is the second year the contest has been put on. Last year, three out of four students on TCC Team 1 competed for the regional title. “Last year we got second place,” Endresen ‘15 said. “The winning team got 75 questions correct and we got 74.” After last year’s defeat, the team, along with help from math teacher John Failor, hit the books to study subjects such as international affairs, geography, history and culture. “Our strongest categories were some of the more data based categories,” Angelo said. “Such as the numbers behind human trafficking and social

Photo: courtesy of K. Keenan

From left to right, Marc Schollett, Dante Vozza ‘17, Angelo Vozza, Peter Andreasson, Alex Endresen, all ‘15, and John Failor celebrate TCC Team 1’s victory in the regional round of Academic WorldQuest. “I felt fairly confident going into it,” Angelo Vozza ‘15 said. “I remembered most of the data.”

unrest.” Although they have won the local competition and the NMC University center will the majority of the cost of travel, part of the bill is still left up to the team to pay for. The sum of their share of the bill is close to $3,000 for the trip to D.C. “Mr. Failor has been really instrumental in the fundraising,” Andreasson said. “He gets us the materials and he trusted us with what we saw fit to set everything up.” Endresen, Andreasson, Vozza, and Vozza have been working with the International Affairs Forum, the organization that set up the local competition. “Jack Segal, a retired diplomat in the area, is going to do a special talk for us about Putin and all the proceeds from that will help fund our trip,” said Failor. “We’re going to an International Affairs Forum meeting, we will go to their speaker and just hold our hats out.” In addition to the competition, the team is allowed for time to explore the capital of our country. “Last year’s group from West got to visit the Singapore embassy,” Failor said. “They have a reception the night before the competition.” The format for the WorldQuest competition in D.C. will be similar if not the same to the local competition, with the same time limit for each question. “It is a cool thing,” Failor said. “It has been fun to be involved in.”

Briefs

Photo: E. Simon

1. From left to right, Teague Tompkins, Nick Hains, Wiley Fraiser, Thomas Pettinato, and Josh Barresi all ‘18, all a part of “Lil’ Something Something”, perform as a part of Central’s talent show. “We performed Soul Man by the Blues Brothers,” Barresi said. “I performed because I said, ‘whatever’” 2. Sarah Berry ‘17 had an especially meaningful performance. “I did the dance for my uncle because he was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer a couple months ago, and the song is all about how he taught me these amazing morals in life,” Berry said. 3. Colin Baldwin ‘16 performs “Thinking Out Loud” by Ed Sheeran. “I’ve been performing for almost two years,” Baldwin said. “I perform at open mics, and I do gigs sometimes in town.”

New Head Varsity Football coach

Robotics team wins competition

Eric Schugars was named the new Head Varsity Football coach for Central.

On Friday, March 13th, Central hosted the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition

Photo: E. Simon

“I prepared myself so that if that moment came I wouldn’t go back and say I should have done this or that,” Schugars said. “To be honest for the last three years you kind of prepare yourself to be a head coach.” With his new position Schugars carries on a legacy within his family. “My dad was a Hall of Fame head coach down in Muskegon Oakridge, and he still is coaching football at the college level now,” Schugars said. “I think my dad is very instrumental

in my life and to who I am. I believe he has shaped me into the man I am today.” As a former assistant coach for the team Schugars’ hopes to continue his relationships with players. “I think you have to have relationships with the players,” Schugars said. “It is about the relationship, and if you can build that with coach and players, then you are able to push them to go beyond the things they probably think they can’t do”

Photo: E. Simon

of Science and Technology) Robotics District Competition. “The objective this year was we had to make stacks of storage containers and recycling bins,” RJ Fenton ‘15 said. “The higher they went, the more points we got, essentially.” Central enjoyed the home advantage. “ It was nice to have the community support behind

us,” Fenton said. State competition will be held April 9 through 11 in Grand Rapids. Teams will compete in hopes of attending the world competitions in Missouri. “For the most recent competition we had no idea if we were going to do much better or much worse than our previous competition, so we were so happy with the outcome,” Alex Anderson ‘15 said.

2 Opinion

Traverse City Central High School Black & Gold Mar. 24, 2015

Obesity bill goes too far

All Graphics: H. Lancashire

The Puerto Rican legislature is considering an overreaching bill fining parents for having obese children

uerto Rican lawmakers have been debating a controversial bill that proposes fining parents of obese children. According to the bill, children will be identified by education administrators and public school teachers, then parents will be referred to officials within Puerto Rico’s health department. These officials will determine if the obesity is caused by bad eating habits or a medical condition, and recommend diet and exercise programs. Those who fail to follow a program could be fined $500 with the threat of higher fines later on. Once a program has been chosen, health officials will do monthly follow ups to see progress. If no significant improvement has been made after six months, parents could be fined $500 and be reported to child protective services. The fine can be raised to $800 if there is no considerable weight loss by the third progress report, taken after another six months. Puerto Rican Senator Jose Luis Dalmau is a strong supporter of the bill and believes it is “necessary for society” that parents are held accountable if their child becomes obese. “Here in ‘La Isla del Encanto’ there are no consequences,” Dalmau said. “The obese child is a health problem that can become a financial burden because the child can develop diabetes, heart ailments and other diseases.” Many health experts don’t agree with his proposal. “This is very unfair and inappropriately penalizes and stigmatizes parents,” Deputy Director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy

and Obesity at the University of Connecticut Rebecca Puhl said. “Childhood obesity is a highly complex issue, and while the home environment is important to address, much broader societal changes are required to effectively address obesity.” Nikhil Dhurandhar, from Texas Tech University’s department of nutritional sciences, said the bill assumes obese people have the option to lose the weight, but that isn’t always the case. Dhurandhar’s research shows obesity can be caused by many components including the environment of the mother’s womb, medications taken during pregnancy, or having too little or too much sleep. “What’s next?” Dhurandhar said. “Will they be fining parents of children suffering from other diseases? Maybe diabetes? Maybe cancer? Maybe something else?” We at the Black & Gold believe this bill is an incredibly intrusive step by the government. It

is unfair to assume the child’s obesity is solely the result of lazy parenting, and advocating for financial penalty for having diseased children is a distasteful overreach. Losing weight is about changing attitudes, not checkbooks. Placing a fine on overweight children is a perfect example of the government invading families’ personal lives. The government is simply not meant to monitor what a person eats, and forcing teachers to identify these

“It’s mostly the parents’ choice on what they feed their children, but it’s also the child’s choice, it’s their food and body. If being fat makes them happy, fine.” -Ben Baillie ‘18

“It’s a good idea for the government to try and legislate obesity, though the execution of this idea is going to cause problems with people’s self esteem.” -Brie Johnson ‘17

children is problematic as well. Educators are put in a horribly uncomfortable situation, one they certainly did not sign up for. Along with that, children will be embarrassed and harassed when they are called to the principal’s office for their monthly check-in. This legislation is heavy on everyone. The U.S. Center for Disease Control states childhood obesity is having a body mass index above the 95th percentile for children of the same age and sex. Childhood obesity rates in Puerto Rico are more than 28%, while the mainland United States is at 18%. With the obesity rate being so high, it’s questionable whether families are able to pay for healthier options at all. While trying to tame rapid weight gain is a good idea, fining parents is simply the wrong way to go about it. Puerto Rico is not in a position to fine citizens like this either. The families most affected by obesity tend to be the families most affected by poverty, and Puerto Rico’s poverty rate in 2012 was at a whopping 45%, in comparison to Mississippi’s US high of 24%. Eating healthy has an extensive impact on a family’s budget. If someone goes to the store they can buy a box of Hamburger Helper for $2.50. That’s not a healthy meal, but for a family struggling to make money, it provides food for multiple people. We can’t keep piling on to these people’s financial burden. Dalmau’s justification for this bill is also quite ironic. He begins his argument saying that obese children are a “financial burden,” yet he agrees with fining parents for obese children. By that logic, why don’t we just fine the poor for being poor? See Obesity, pg. 11

“I don’t think the government has the right to interfere that significantly in people’s lives. They need to leave it up to the individuals to seek help.” -Jack Cooney ‘16

“Puerto Rico is a perfect example of the government overreaching, losing their minds and hindering instead of helping. This is ridiculous.” -Emma Caldwell ‘15

Is the death penalty necessary?

States have been using capital punishment less and less over the years, with Pennslyvania Governor Tom Wolf recently suspending it there

Kirsten Berkey Staff Reporter

the Black & Gold

Declaring the biased and inhumane system of capital punishment “unjust and ineffective,” Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf has suspended the death penalty in his state. Wolf will continue to keep the death penalty suspended until he obtains a report that will guarantee to waive the potential of an innocent being executed. Wolf ’s decision matches the slow decline in states actively using the death penalty—and for good reason. Like many others who have lost opportunities because of death row, Claude Jones was wrongfully convicted of murdering Allen Hilzendager. During the trial, with two testimonies against him and a forensic expert determining the hair found in

the shooting scene belonged to Jones, he was convicted of murder and charged with the death penalty despite the fact that DNA testing was not available during the case. That testing was available before the execution however, and despite lawyers’ numerous pleas for a new trial, the execution continued as planned. Following Jones’ death, the Innocence Project and the Texas Observer filed a lawsuit in 2007 with DNA testing available, finding the hair used to implicate Jones belonged to the victim— not him. Death row silenced Jones’ voice, and by executing him, it executed his chance to rehabilitate and contribute positively to society. He was punished for a crime he didn’t even commit— there is no way to give Jones his freedom back. He is one of many who were innocent in the face of death.

Editors-in-Chief Erin Lipp John Minster

News Editor

George Madison

Opinion Editor John Minster

Feature Editor Maddi Miller

According to the Amercan Civil Liberties Union, since 1973 over 140 people have been released from death row in 26 states. “The death penalty is the ultimate denial of human rights,’” Amnesty International, a leading human rights organization stated. “It is the premeditated and coldblooded killing of a human being by the state in the name of justice. It violates the right to life...It is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. There can never be any justification for torture or for cruel treatment.” Although some see the death penalty as a way of protecting society from future criminals,

A&E Editor

Julia Vannatter

killing another human being is the ultimate disrespect for life. The phrase “an eye for an eye” should not be part of our legal system and is a juvenile way to get closure for a crime. Capital punishment is a barbaric abuse of our legal system that uses an inordinate amount of resources as well. The death pen-

alty is much more expensive than other options due to the added costs of judges, lawyers and other personnel involved in capital cases. These large, heavy costs clog our court systems for almost four calendar years longer in some states than regular murder cases and hamper

Focus Page Editors Hunter Kelly Hayley Rozema

Leek Editor

Carl Rasmussen

We look at the good and bad from the venerable and not so venerable public bigwigs

Erin Lipp

Editor-in-Chief and Sports Editor Unable to walk and unable to talk, a young girl’s dream was made true when she got out onto the ice at the Chicago Blackhawks’ practice center, Johnny’s Icehouse. Through the program “What’s your goal?” Chicago Blackhawks Defenseman Duncan Keith was able to change young Kami’s life when he took her out onto the ice harnessed around his waist with her own skates, helmet, and stick. With his help she scored her very first goal with her favorite player; a dream come true for a young girl. When Keith walked into the room, Kami’s face lit up with a full smile and giggles. She used her computerized wheelchair to communicate with Keith, including one programmed statement “I love the Blackhawks,” which of course Keith agreed with. A professional athlete has the power to impact the lives of young kids, either positively or negatively. I give props to Keith for his dedication to brightening the lives of children. As a person in the light of the media through his success in sports, Keith has demonstrated the positive impacts that can result from fame. Unfortunately, numerous celebrities could really use a lesson from Keith. The world is scattered with famous people who litter the news and TV shows with their idiotic decisions resulting in bad influences for society, particularly young kids. These are the low expectations society has set for its celebrities. Not all celebrities stoop to this low level of public attention. If more celebrities used their fame and attention in the media to brighten kids’ days and display good qualities in the way that Keith has, there would be fewer problems in society. I credit Keith for his humanitarianism and his actions as a good role model in society.

John Minster

Editor-in-Chief and Opinion Editor “I don’t write anything down, it could get subpoena’d!” Those are the words of former Secretary of State, New York Senator and First Lady Hillary Clinton in 1996. Evidently, she messed up. The prospective Democratic Presidential Nominee for 2016 has been under fire the last couple weeks regarding her email, oddly enough. Clinton used a private email on her privately owned server when conducting business as Secretary of State from 2009-2013 rather than using the State email she was supposed to use. While this was not a direct law violation, it is strongly advised for State Department officials to use State email accounts, and Clinton asked her staff to do as much. The big problem here is, her records and dealings as Secretary of State cannot be tracked. Her involvement in the attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi, Libya in 2012 is still unknown, and it’s been confirmed former US Ambassador to the UN and current National Security Advisor Susan Rice lied about the attack’s origins and the White House’s knowledge of this, but Clinton’s involvement in the situation is still unknown. House Select Committee on Benghazi Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-SC) has also questioned Clinton’s cooperation in turning over all the necessary emails. “There are gaps of months and months,” he said. Secondly, the Clinton Foundation and its finances are in question. It’s been confirmed they received millions of dollars from Middle Eastern governments such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Oman while Clinton was serving as Secretary of State, creating an obvious conflict of interest in policy. Was Clinton doing right by her donors as Secretary of State, or serving in the the US’ best interests?

See Death Penalty, pg. 11

Business Managers George Madison Julia Vannatter

Sports Editor Erin Lipp

Thumbs up thumbs down

Photo Editors Emma Simon Margo Hoagg

Illustration Editor Henry Lancashire

Staff Reporters

Noah Aulicino Andrea Bavikatty Kirsten Berkey Chris Brower Maggie Dupuie Abby Harnish Carly Hernden Shaine Kearney Kristin McLintock Mitchell Mosley Bethany Pataky Nicole Rogers Hayley Scollard Alex Stern

See Clinton, pg. 11

Baille Zipser Send us an email at TCBlackandGold.opinion@ gmail.com or drop off a letter to the editors in room F-158 Some Corrections: -In the brief “Students place in art competition” on the front page, we incorrectly identified the bottom photo’s artist. Spencer Schulte ‘15 was the actual creator. -In the corrections box, we misplaced the date December 16, 2014 and improperly punctuated Sons of Anarchy.

Traverse City Central High School Black & Gold Mar. 24, 2015

Ha Ha-lidays

Mark your calendars

Mark Your Calendars For These Unique

All Graphics: courtesy of H. Lancashire

All Graphics: H. Lancashire

Credit:and B. Pataky, N. Rogers Page Credit: B.Page Pataky N. Rogers

Jan. 3

Mar. 20

Extraterrestrial Abduction Day

Oct. 3

Virus Appreciation Day

Fruitcake Toss Day

Jan. 3 is a day to celebrate your hatred for the heavy, flavorless and overall disgusting dessert commonly Extraterrestrial Abductions Day, also known as known as fruitcake. People take their old fruitcakes Alien Abduction day, is celebrated on Mar. 20. Lov- to Manitou Springs where they will be inspected ers of aliens will be gazing at the sky on this day in by “Fruitcake Toss Tech Inspectors.” The inspechopes of being abducted by an alien in life-form. tors make sure everything everything in the cake is There is no research regarding who the creator is, edible and won’t injure anyone. There is a distance so the only reasonable explanation is that they were competition and a catching competition. abducted by aliens. “I would say that Extraterrestrial Abductions Day celebrates people who claim to have been abducted by aliens, then come back to earth to talk about their experiences. I think that the reason this is a holiday is because of the fact that people have been acting crazy lately when it comes to aliens, talking about supposed sightings. I really thought that this holiday, being a national holiday, was a joke at first. Since I don’t believe everything about aliens they’re saying on the news, I wouldn’t celebrate this holiday.” -Michael Stolarczyk ‘17

Aug. 8

Sneak a Zucchinni Onto Your Neighbors’ Porch Day

“I think this holiday is about tossing out your old fruit cake. It’s symbolism for tossing out the old, and bringing in the new. If I ever got a fruitcake, I wouldn’t like it, and would probably throw it out. I wouldn’t wait until Jan. 3 to toss it. I’m sure not everyone hates fruitcakes, some people, I’m not sure who, probably like them. The only reason people still get fruitcakes is because it’s a Christmas tradition.” -Sophie Bastian ‘18

“Virus Appreciation” Day gives people a chance to think about viruses from a philosophical perspective. The origins are unknown, but why pass up an opportunity to celebrate something?

Feb. 20

Sept. 19

Northern Hemisphere Hoodie-Hoo Day

“I think this is not relevant, no one has ever heard of this day. If it’s a national holiday, then why are we in school for it? If we didn’t have school on this day, I would throw a virus bash where I would decorate with printed pictures of different virus’. If there was a petition to get rid of this holiday, I would definitely sign it.” -Sam Petrosky ‘16

Intl. Talk Like a Pirate Day

Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbors’ Porch Day is celebrated on Aug. 8 and connects neighbors in an unusual way. This holiday began after a sudden increase in the growing of zucchini. Sneaking a zucchini, or even multiple zucchini, is also a Residents of the northern hemisphere come togethgreat activity to end the summer with. er on Feb. 20 to share their mutual exhaustion of the winter season. At noon, people step outside of their houses, throw their hands in the air over their “This is a great holiday because people need heads and yell, “Hoodie Hoo!” as loud as they can. to be aware of the nutrition and health that zucchinis can bring to the whole family. Zucchinis aren’t very popular, around this holi- “This holiday has so much to do with depression day, there is probably a boost in zucchini from not having any sunshine. Up in the north, sales around the country. There are so many people get so depressed from the lack of sunshine, health benefits to zucchini, they help they need something to distract them from the sad out with all spectrums of our bodies. area of the world where we get nothing but snow, Zucchinis probably help people live then more snow. I live here, I get it. I’ll probably longer. I really connect with this holiday celebrate it myself, next year. I’m going to call all because I’ve snuck things onto my neigh- of my friends and make them celebrate with me. bors porch. Not zucchinis, but other Winter doesn’t normally leave us until April, or things. Hopefully on this day, all sometimes May, so we need something to distract families will be brought together over a us from the cold, long winter. It can get people out nice zucchini dinner. Everyone should of the house into the fresh air.” endorse this great holiday.” -Emily O’Brien ‘15 -Sean O’Brien ‘17

International Talk Like a Pirate Day is where people fond of the dialogue spoken by pirates join and engage in riveting conversations. This holiday was first recognized by Dave Berry in a newspaper column in 2002. “Interational Talk Like a Pirate Day probably celebrates pirates and bringing the memories of pirates back to our minds. Although I don’t think this holiday is very important and I think we would get along fine without it, if I were to celebrate it, I would talk like a pirate all day and dress up like a pirate. I would wear a bandana on my head, a ripped skirt, a white puffy shirt, maybe a vest. I’d wear lots of red and black because that’s what I think of when I think of pirates. I would definitely say ‘Arrgh’. I might also say ‘matey’ or ‘walk the plank.’” -Kaitlin Konstanzer ‘18

Celebrating an important Chinese holiday

Chinese Exchange students and Chinese-American students both observe their New Year in ways that remind them of the culture and traditions of their home country Nicole Rogers Staff Reporter

The aroma of ethnic Chinese food overwhelms the restaurant as Chinese exchange students gather to celebrate the Chinese New Year, also known as the turning of the Chinese calendar. Traverse City Area Public Schools officials conducted a celebration for all Chinese Exchange students in the district, gathering as if they were back home. “The International Student Coordinators for the district rented out a local Chinese restaurant and all the Chinese Exchange students in TCAPS spent the evening there,” Spanish Teacher Lisa Dohm said. “They had Chinese food and celebrated with karaoke. It was a wonderful evening to celebrate their New Year.” The Chinese Exchange students celebrated for a couple of hours on the evening of the turning calendar. “We all went to China Fair,” Chuck (Yu Bin) Huang ‘15 said. “It was nice having a piece of home while away from home.” Although the visitors had an outstanding time celebrating, there are things that the student coordinators would like to do in the future to make this a greater experience. “We’re trying to take care of the students first and part of that is to support them in their culture,” Dohm said. “We are still working on developing that because it’s a new program.” To celebrate with those back in China, the exchange students sent them a piece of their party. “We made a little video at the party to send back to our friends and family,” Huang said. Even though the Chinese students missed being home in China, they were glad to celebrate with food that reminded them of home.

“The students really enjoyed the fact that they got to eat their native food,” Dohm said. Eating at the restaurant and getting to experience their native culture was most of the students’ favorite part of the day. “We had a huge feast at our party,” Huang said. “All of my friends were there. I enjoyed the efforts of everyone here.” Kaiqi Zhang ‘16, a Chinese-American student at Central High School, still celebrates the Chinese New Year because it is such a big deal in China. Zhang really enjoys the food her family makes for the holiday at their home. “My parents make us a really big dinner of dumplings each year just for the New Year,” Zhang said. “It’s one of the simpler meals to make because we don’t have all of the same ingredients here.” Celebrating in China is more exciting for Zhang, because it’s much bigger than in the United States. “Everybody in China celebrates the New Year the same way,” Zhang said. “Here, it’s just me and my family. America also doesn’t offer the same opportunities for celebration.” Back in China, a television show running from eight o’clock at night until one o’clock the next morning, is the central source of entertainment. “When celebrating in the United States, we eat around eight o’clock,” Zhang said. “Then we watch TV, which is important because that is how we celebrate back in China.” Zhang and her family try to incorporate as many aspects of the Chinese New Year from back home as they can. “All of our family members come together and stay up to watch the TV show because that is the Chinese tradition,” Zhang said.

Photo: courtesy of: L. Dohm Photo: courtesy of: L. Dohm

Photo: courtesy of: L. Dohm

At China Fair, the exchange students from China gathered to celebrate the New Year. “The tradition of the festival is to host a party and to have a big dinner,” Chuck (Yu Bin) Huang ‘15 said. “I had a great time with the owner of China Fair and celebrating with my friends. It really was an honor to celebrate in the United States. I plan on coming back for college.” On top of the food, karaoke was also a big hit amongst the students.

4 Feature

Traverse City Central High School Black & Gold Mar. 24, 2015

Graphic: H. Lancashire

Young entrepreneurs Garret Porter ‘16 and his brother, Dakota, started an athletic equipment LED lighting company, 45th Parallel Lighting, providing lights to adhere on sporting equipment about a year ago. Since then, it has provided them with many opportunities that have changed their lives

Andrea Bavikatty Staff Reporter

Mesmerized, onlookers watch as the snow becomes a fluorescent glow of colors. They catch the outline of two boys seemingly floating in the glow. Garret Porter ‘16 and his brother, (CHS Alumnus) Dakota, show off their company’s product as they snowboard down the hill. Porter started his company, 45th Parallel Lighting, when he was a freshman and has since produced lights they refer to as “Action Glow,” which are fluorescent LED lights that they adhere to various sporting items such as long boards and snowboards. “We got such a big reaction on the ski hill. We couldn’t even go anywhere without people wanting to touch the lights and know where we got them from,” Garret said. “It was outrageous. If we hadn’t gotten such a good reaction, we would have never started the business.” Starting a company has changed Garret’s perspective on business, manufacturing, and what he wants to do in the future. “Normally when you pick up a plastic fork, you just think it’s a plastic fork,” Garret said. “But I’ve been thinking differently about things like that. Such as what it takes to make that product, where the product is from, or how long it took to make. It’s changed my perspective a lot.” After testing the lights, the Porters and their one employee, NMC student TJ Darling, were ready to get the company started and put their product out for purchase on their company website, 45lights.com. “Right now, the kits are only for sale online, but some stores want to carry them,” Garret said. “Knowing that those stores want to carry our product makes us feel good because that means they like what we’ve done with the product. That was a huge accomplishment for us.” The Porters’ business is still climbing in popularity and making its way to the

next level. Two years ago, the brothers were contacted by producers from Shark Tank, offering them a place on the show, and since then they have had the chance to talk to Nick Woodman (CEO of GoPro), and have received attention from a number of TV shows such as The Ellen DeGeneres Show and Good Morning America. “We couldn’t believe it that we had gotten calls from two different producers,” Garret said. “We were stoked to think of the possibilities that could come out of being on the show. The amount of experience and connections we’ve gained is just remarkable. The business has opened a lot of doors and we’re making connections and going places fast.” Although the Porters’ business is taking off quickly, there are still some obstacles they will need to overcome. “You have to think about the patent, LLC, warranties, packaging, and a lot of other things that we wouldn’t have thought of,” Garret said. “For example, we are thinking about starting to ship internationally, but we never really thought about having to change the website into different languages. We’ve been through so many roadblocks, but we just have to keep persevering and overcome them.” Having his brother with him throughout the process has been an essential part of the business for Garret. “I’m so glad I have my brother with me,” Garret said. “We complement each other perfectly. Things I don’t know, he knows and things he doesn’t know, I know. He’s more of the technical whiz, and I am more of the business person. I never really thought we would get along as well as we do now.” The brothers are still unsure about where the company will take them, but are optimistic about the future for 45th Parallel Lighting. “I’ve gotten so much experience from having a company,” Garret said. “I’m hoping it goes somewhere, and it has already. I’ve just learned so much that you can’t really beat the experience.”

Photo: courtesy of: G. Porter

1. Making the lights waterproof for surfboards was a challenge for the Porters. “It took us approximately two years to design and manufacture the waterproof power supply,” Garret said. “That was what took us the longest.” 2. The original inspiration for the business came to the brothers while snowboarding. “We got started when we were snowboarding, and my brother thought to himself that everything on the hill looked too ordinary,” Garret said. “So we went home and started looking at how we could shake things up a little bit, and then we thought of LED lights.” 3. Putting the kits together is an extensive process. “We have to do soldering, heat shrinking, labeling, waterproofing, strengthening, and testing,” Garret said. “Once we get all of these parts together, we have have to assemble all of it. It takes about fifteen minutes to assemble each kit.” 4. The kits are available for a variety of sporting equipment. “We have a fender kit for bikes,” Garret said. “We also make a kit for wakeboards, skis, snowboards, longboards, surfboards, stand-up paddleboards, kayaks, canoes, and golf carts.”

Central Takes Art Prize 2015 Maddi Miller, Shaine Kearney & Baille Zipser Feature Editor, Staff Reporters

Spencer Schulte’s ‘15 third place piece—“Darkness” Photo: courtesy of: S. Schulte

Standing on the edge of a cliff, Spencer Schulte’s ‘15 human like aliens seem to have come from a dark, twisted dream of sorts. In reality, the idea came to Schulte while he was messing around with a new digital media form. “The most challenging part was learning to use the brushes in PhotoShop,” Schulte said. “It was a new experience for me and so I had fun just getting to mess around with the digital side of a concentration.” Schulte decided to enter Art Prize this year because his teacher wanted him to. “I did Art Prize last year as a Junior as well,” Schulte said. “I was hoping to go as far in Art Prize as I did, but I was not expecting to. It was really just a new experience for me because I hadn’t used the digital form for a concentration much before. It was a good experience and I’m happy with how I did.”

Teacher, student relationship pays off exponentially

Chris Brower’s ‘15 first place piece—“Insomnia”

Photo: E. Simon

Photo: courtesy of: C. Brower

Chris Brower’s ‘15 win was impactful not only for him but for his teachers as well—it was a win for the whole art department. “When people say oh your student did this congratulations, its not me they should be congratulating, it should be Chris,” Sandy said. “He spent all the time and effort, I just helped him get where he needs to be.” Brower’s interest and passion for photography got him to this place—where he is capable of putting forth the time and interest to have a payoff. “I’m happy for him, Sandy said. “I am proud because he spends so much time researching photographs, that’s his to take ownership of. I’m just happy all the work he has put into it has paid off. I don’t want to take any ownership of it, he had an interest and I encouraged him it’s not my work, its Chris’ work and as an artist you can’t take ownership for someone else’s time and talent.”

Inspired on emotions through the human body, Chris Brower’s ‘15 concentration piece “Insomnia” for AP Studio Art took first place out of thousands of entries at Art Prize this year. “The name is Insomnia because when I was laying in bed I couldn’t sleep and so I was staring at my ceiling wanting to sleep and I put my hands over my face and it symbolized that I wanted to go to sleep but couldn’t,” Brower said. “So you can see your hands being there but your eyes are wide open.” It took Brower a total of six—seven hours to complete his piece. He won a $200 cash prize for his win. “The hardest part was the editing,” Brower said. “It was more complex editing because it is two pictures in one—a picture of my face and then my hands being put over my face. I would be almost finished and then start over completely because I didn’t like it, but I finally got it right.”

Feature

Traverse City Central High School Black & Gold Mar.. 24, 2015

Teachers’ Classrooms Grant Baille Zipser & Maggi

e Dupuie

Staff Reporters

e d n o Lal Grant: The dimmed lights and framed french art con-

sumes you as you step into Jami Grant’s French class. The classroom is a calm and safe environment. “My favorite time of my room is during first hour when my students are all quiet and working,” Grant said. “I love walking in the first few minutes of the day when the sun is coming through the windows. It’s a very calm, serene time.” The room rarely has the fluorescent ceiling lights on and is adorned with many large plants leaving it feeling relaxed and comfortable. “I am not one who likes posters very much,” Grant said. “ I have a lot of framed artwork on the walls to make it seem more like a room in my house rather than a classroom. I like pictures of my family and my students because I feel like it is all of our room and not just mine.” Lalonde: Sitting in his room after school grading papers he is not alone; he is comforted by his wide collection of action figures around the room. You will find Hal Lalonde’s room filled with them. “I had the action figures when I taught physics,” Lalonde said. “They stand around more now that I teach math, but when I taught physics I could shoot them out of cannons and stuff like that. I brought them here for students to play with, but students brought probably about 90 percent of the action figures in my room. That’s how the room probably got 20-30 action figures.” The action figures, however, are there for more than just a decoration and something to play with after finishing your work. “If you fall asleep in my classroom you may wake up with action figures all over your desk, but that’s okay,” Lalonde said. “They come over to you when your asleep to protect you from my class.”

Turner

Turner: Stepping into Jeff

Turner’s Geometry class can easily turn any bad day into a good one. The classroom walls are lined with Motivational posters. “I had a lot of motivational posters from the locker room at another school I coached at,” Turner said. “I was going to leave them at my house but my wife and I were talking and she said I should put them in my classroom. She said they could be helpful to students.” The posters did come from a locker room, but the sayings apply to all students, not just the athletic ones. “My favorite part of my room is my signs,” Turner said. “My favorite quote is ‘commitment, you’re either in or you’re out, there is no such thing as life in between’ because it forces the kids to make decision. If they are going to work hard and get the desired outcome they want, or if they are going to slack off and not get good results.” All Photo Credits: E. Simon All Graphic Credits: H. Lancashire

What people don’t know about teachers

Teachers discuss what it’s like being a teacher at Central. They share their favorite secret hideouts, student pet peeves, favorite coworkers and more

Joelle Kolody

David Hendrix

Q. If you had to describe yourself in

Q. What kind of student were you

Q. What is the biggest benefit of be-

one word what would it be and why? “I would say I’m a pusher. I push kids to their limit, I don’t necessarily have one word for that. For my AP Lang class ultimately I want them to be able to walk into any class in college and be comfortable there, that they are able to do the work that is asked of them.”

when you were in high school?

“I was both a nerd and a jock, I was probably more academic in nature but I did play sports. I played three different sports throughout the year, so I was busy, but school was important to me. I liked school, I liked the social aspects of it but I also liked the academics of it.”

one word what would it be and why? “Understanding. I think I am pretty good at understanding my students and trying to figure out how to best help each one learn, but I also know that there are things I have to teach that it doesn’t help if you just cover it without really going in-depth.”

ing a teacher here at Central?

“That I can feel like I am making a difference—I am not just putting in my eight hours and selling this, that and another thing. I also learn a lot from my students. I am not this know-it-all expert that’s been there and done everything, its very much about my learning too. I learn something new every hour, every day.”

Missi Yeomans

Joel Dorgan

one word what would it be and why?

Q. If you had to describe yourself in A.

“Unconventional. I remember what it’s like to sit in the chair here all day long and I try to keep that in mind. I have fun with my students—I like to try and play with you guys a little bit. Yeah we are learning but I try to shake it up wherever I can. A lot of my students call me crazy but I would soften that a little bit and say unconventional.”

Q. What is your favorite place in the school, like a secret hideout?

“The pub office. I still haven’t moved out one file yet, like it lets me still have a piece of myself down there or something. That’s my favorite place in the universe because it’s where I spent most of my career here with kids, arguing with kids at 3:00 in the morning about the best way to conjugate a verb or something.”

Q. If you had to describe yourself in A.

“Passionate, because it implies that you care a lot about standards, the kids you teach and ultimately what you do. They’re investing in my class and investing in me and I hope they feel like, ‘wow, that class was worth it because there is an opportunity cost,’ and if you’re in my class, you could be somewhere else.”

Q. Who is your favorite Co-worker here at Central and why?

“I’m going to say Mrs. Bowen because she is just sort of a sounding board if you’re frustrated or if there is something you want to talk about, she’s pretty handy and she always listens to me, so I’m going to say she is my favorite.”www

6 A&E

Traverse City Central High School Black & Gold Mar. 24, 2015

Art excellence on display

Students enter artwork into the NMC Art Show, receiving both positive and negative professional critiques Chris Brower & Julia Vannatter

Focus: Painting Lyenna Kratky ‘16

Staff Reporters

Hannah Hagerty ‘16

Sydney Roberts ‘15 “This is my first year in AP Studio Art. My concentration is the conflict between manmade objects and nature. The nest is made of natural pieces, but the feathers in the nest are metal. Man bursting out of nature is represented here.”

Photo: E. Simon

Photo: C. Brower

Charlie Kesner ‘15 Photo: C. Brower

“I appreciate that people enjoy my artwork. It’s fun that we incorporate the larger community and our families into seeing something that’s so integral, it is a good experience and kind of interesting that people will enjoy looking at it.”

Anthony Galante ‘15

Photo: C. Brower

“I take the critiquing and use it to better my artwork. I submitted the two photographs I did because they were the photographs that I submitted into an art show downtown and people thought they were the best.”

Name of Piece: Purple Sky Materials used: paint brush, paint, tape Techniques: “I put the tape down first and then thought of a sky and mountain. I peeled the tape off when I was done so I had lines going through it.” Inspiration of Piece: “I was driving down Keystone in the morning and I thought the sky was really pretty. I got into painting and was confused on what to do so I painted that.” Why did you choose this piece to be published? “My other pieces that I’ve created in the past have a morphed feel to it, but this one is completely different.”

Jonas Brons-Piche ‘17 Photo: courtesy of J. Brons-Piche

Bryn Davis ‘16 Photo: C. Brower

“I was hoping to receive an award for my piece, I put more than 36 hours into the piece I entered. What took the longest in the creation was blending the colors so it looked as real as possible. I got told one of the pieces looked like a photo it was so realistic, but I didn’t get any awards for it.”

“You receive a critique on your artwork from teachers who you don’t know, which is helpful for the future of your art. I think it’s good to get your artwork out there; the more you do, the more you’ll improve at it.”

Photo: C. Brower

Art Club works on helping the Art Department

The club focuses on preparing the upcoming Art Prize gallery

Abby Harnish Staff Reporter

Aside from sculpting, painting, and drawing, Traverse City Central’s Art Club works to support the Art Department. Each school year the club holds regular meetings and events to help stay connected with the Art Department. “Our biggest responsibility is hosting, collecting, and organizing Art Prize, which is a fundraiser for the Art Department,” club co-president Abigail Waggoner ‘15 said. The club works on displaying the artwork for the show. “The members also supply the food for the event,” Waggoner said. “We bake all sorts of things because the food is what really makes a party.” On Apr. 23 from 5 to 7 pm, Art Prize will be held in the cafeteria, the library, and the area in between. Art Prize is an art gallery event; there will be various types of art, submitted Photo: E. Simon

Hunter Schliess ‘17 works on his drawing in Art Club. “You can be creative at any given moment in time,” Schleiss said. “You just have to find what sparks the fire in you, and Art Club helps you discover that.”

by students and staff, hung and displayed. Artists can show their artwork for three dollars a piece, or seven dollars for three pieces. “Every kind of art is accepted to be showcased,” Waggoner said. “2-D, 3-D, drawing, etc. You can submit a bobby pin taped to a saxaphone, it probably won’t win, but anything can be submitted.” Along with the artwork, different booths such as tie-dye and Henna tattoos, as well as silent auctions and live music are available to attendees. “The booths are interactive, so people can participate and create a piece of art for themselves to enjoy,” club co-president Kate Trubac ‘15 said. Throughout the event, the public votes on their favorite piece of artwork in the different categories. There is no admittance fee for the public to come in and view the artwork, but donations are appreciated. Art Club members have a huge role in putting on the fundraiser. “We are completely responsible for preparing, running, and cleaning up before and after Art Prize,” Trubac said. “Some members set up the artwork, some are in charge of a small food station. The whole event is created by us members.” While the members are kept busy during the event, they have much to do to prepare as well. “We have to organize where and when it will take place, reserve the space, and start promoting people to submit their work,” Trubac said. “Once we receive all of the artwork, we display it and label all of the pieces. We also hand out ballots to everyone who comes to vote on their favorite and we organize a few judges to come and give out awards in certain categories.” Each year, five awards are handed out to staff and students. One grand prize winner is selected by the public, and four awards are handed out by professional artists. “I think the awards are fun because it shows achievement,” Trubac said. “It’s like any other competition, you want to do your best.” Once Art Prize is over, the club continues with making what they love most. Within the club, the students also learn lessons that will extend far beyond art club. “I’ve learned a lot of leadership skills, organizational skills, and how to work with people I haven’t met before,” Waggoner said. “It’s also fun to branch out into new types and less stressful, serious artwork like in my AP art class.”

Name of Piece: Untitled Materials used: acrylic paints, paint brushes Techniques: “I used tape to make the shapes and then I smoothed the edges out by hand.” Inspiration of Piece: “There was an artist, Malevich, and he was really my inspiration. He has a very contemporary style of painting and uses shapes and colors as opposed to painting subjects.” Why did you choose this piece to be published? “It was the last piece I had made and I thought it was my best. It was completely different from anything else I’ve ever painted and I really liked the way it looked when I was done with it.”

Taylor Schneider ‘16 Photo: E. Simon

Name of Piece: Supernatural Materials used: pencil, pen, paints Techniques: “I made the face with hash marks and then the rest was in pencil. The rest of the piece was made by free-hand painting.” Inspiration of Piece: “I saw a painting from another artist that was similar to the face that I painted, so I took that idea and expanded it. I wanted it to be my painting and not someone else’s.” Why did you choose this piece to be published? “I think this is my favorite one that I’ve ever done. I definitely spent the most time creating and working on it. I’m proud of it because I put a lot of effort into it.”

Trends

Traverse City Central High School Black & Gold Mar. 24, 2015

Students capitalize on new trends

Food, fashion and photos: we have the latest trends

All Graphics: H. Lancashire

Hunter Kelly, Hayley Rozema & Nicole Rogers Focus Page Editors, Staff Reporter

Lunch

Photo: E. Simon

Photo: H. Kelly

Like many seniors, John Peters ‘15 and his friends go out to lunch downtown at Paesano’s because of the ever-famous lunch combo. “I go to Paesano’s two or three times a week with my friends,” Peters said. “I started going around the beginning of my junior year.”

With natural foods becoming very popular, local hangouts spots have been changing. Aiden Voss ‘16 and her friends frequently go to Oryana while eating off-campus. “I love their Spicy Peanut Tofu,” Voss said. “It keeps me coming back!”

Photo: E. Simon

For those looking for a deal on a bite to eat, like Jackie Macek ‘15, Jimmy John’s is the best option. “I go and eat at Jimmy John’s because it’s close to school, it’s inexpensive and I am not late when coming back to school,” Macek said.

Fashion

Photo: E. Simon

Photo courtesy of: E. Round

Going after the “Nick Barger” look, Logan Hayden ‘16 became an avid jogger wearer after the Barger themed hockey game. “Joggers are comfortable and remind me of sweatpants,” Hayden said. “I like that you can pull them up towards the bottom and show off your designed socks.”

Many teenage girls enjoy wearing the PINK clothing line from Victoria Secret, especially Emily Round ‘18. “I have been wearing the brand for a couple years and my older sister introduced it to me. I have a little obsession with them,” Round said. “I love their leggings and sweatshirts!”

Photo: E. Simon

Hanna Asiala ‘17 has been wearing fashionable flannel for years. “I mainly started wearing them because I think they’re cute and super comfortable” Asiala said. Her style has changed throughout the years. “I have like to style them with leggings or jeans and then a solid black shirt underneath,” Asiala said.

Photos

Photo courtesy of: S. Moore

Photo courtesy of: M. Adams

When striking a pose for the camera, most girls go to a typical pose with their hands on their hips. “It gives a more feminine or natural look with their hands on their hip,” Sierra Moore ‘17 said. Moore started to do the pose more and more often, and it has started to become more natural.

To show off confidence from a different angle, Maitland Adams ‘15 and many others enjoy taking mirror selfies. “I like taking mirror selfies when I look really good,” Adams said. “When I know I’m looking good I want to own it and what better way than taking a mirror selfie?”

Photo courtesy of: T. Blackhurst

Throwing up the ones is the Trojan hockey team. “My team throws up the ones, in a joking way, because it’s kinda like going to the NHL. Whenever the teams win the Stanley Cup, they always throw the ones to say that they’re are in first place or that they are the best,” Travis Blackhurst ‘17 said.

Staff members trying to crack the slang term code

We at the Black & Gold surveyed 100 students about the most used slang terms. We then asked staff members throughout the school to give definitions about the terms to the best of their abilities

Hunter Kelly & Hayley Rozema Focus Page Editors

“Oh my gosh, Crusty. I feel like Crusty would mean something is gross. It could also mean sick, awful or ucky.” -Main Office Receptionist Tamie Olshansky “A Savage is someone who is riled and outrageous.” -Ninth Grade Principal Jay Larner “A Steeze is when you tease someone in the midst of a sneeze.” -French Teacher Jami Grant

“I feel like That’s Gucci would be describing something that’s sick or in other words, meaning that’s cool.” -Head Principal Rick Vandermolen “Cream is what happens when you exercise for a long time and don’t change your clothes and creates rashes.” -Coach Mike Gle “On Fleek sounds like a person who is very stylish.” -Art Teacher Amy Harper

8 Round-up

Traverse City Central High School Black & Gold Mar. 24, 2015

Photo: H. Lancashire Page Credit: Erin Lipp and Noah Aulicino

Team Stats

“Our biggest strength this year was athleticism and youth, because sometimes youth can be a strength. If you’re young you don’t have pre-conceived notions about what we’re trying to do, they have really open minds and are accepting of the coaching. The biggest thing we had to work on was getting them to understand the seriousness of how we execute during the game.” -Heach Coach Jeff Turner Photo: M. Loveland

“Starting as a sophomore and being a leader on the team was really cool this year. Being on varsity helped me grow as a player and my character with all the tough situations and games we faced. It made me a better person. Going into next year we are returning almost all our players, so we’re going to be experienced and have an edge on other teams.”- Devante Walker ‘17 “We were definitely hoping to have a good season because we had a bunch of seniors graduating. We had five or six seniors, so we thought we’d have a pretty good year, and we did. We won our conference and it was a good season all in all for us. We always try to give 110%, and our goal is always to win the conference, which we did. I think our boys did really well. The season highlight was that we were bowling consistently. The best part of the year was seeing all the boys finish the year really strong.” -Head Coach Jim Orr

Team Stats

Record: 5-16

District: NA

State: NA

Photo: E. Simon

“The best part of the season was when J-Mitch buried in overtime against West and we won the McCullough Cup. It was crazy because we had been all over them both games and nothing had been going in and that happened to go in the net. This year we had a majoprity of returning players so we didn’t have a phase of getting to know each other. As a senior I’m sad that it’s over.” -John Peters ‘15

Record: NA “As a team we really just wanted to get better and be more consistent. From the first ball we threw to the last we definitely improved. The biggest challenge were baker games where a team of five people each bowl two frames. We some how couldn’t come together as a team. As a whole we dominated this year.” -Cayden Nichols ‘16

BNC: NA District: NA Regional: NA State: 1st Record: NA Photo: courtesy of N. Keyser

“After winning State Championships last year, I knew we were capable of competing for it again. We had some scoring spots to fill and we did it. Winning back-to-back State Championships in my last two years on the team is rewarding especially when it’s with the people I trained with all-year. It proved that consistent hard work will pay off. I’m going to miss the training and competing with these teammates.” -Erin Lipp ‘15

“Our first and foremost goal was athlete development, making sure everyone was improving throughout the year. Second was making the most of the little time we have. My last goal for the team was to work on being mentally prepared to ski your best on race day. I think the season high point was winning regionals. The guys proved that they can compete with the best the state has to offer and win.” -Head Coach Nick Stanek

State: 2nd

Record: NA

Regional: NA

District: 2nd State: NA Record: NA

Team Stats BNC: 2nd District: NA Regional: 2nd

Record: NA

“We had a really young team, compared to other teams we were all freshman, sophomores and one junior, so I think as a team we kinda wanted to build ourselves up and work really hard. We trained really hard to try to keep up with West. We didn’t really accomplish our goal in terms of beating West, but we did in terms of trying our hardest.” -Bailey Versluis ‘17 “Or goal was to compete with West, because we lost a lot of seniors, four varsity members. We are a very young team. The team highpoint was when we beat West at the BNC meet at Schuss. We knew that some of them had fallen and that we had a really good GS race, so when Jerry said we won we were really shocked. Overall I think we maybe even overachieved our goals.” -Maggie Dutmers ‘17

Team Stats BNC: 3rd

Photo: E. Simon

District: 1st rd.

“The season went well, but we definitely could’ve done better. I wish we would’ve had the mindset that we were going to win states all season. We seemed ok with settling, which shouldn’t be the case. The high point was was winning regionals. It was a pretty big deal because we beat Marquette. I feel optimistic about the team going forward, the freshmen are killer.” -Tyler Sepanik ‘15

Team Stats GNWBC: 2nd District: NA Regional: 10th State: NA Record: NA

“The goal was to be comparative with the rest of the division one schools. We were rebuilding this year, so that was something we were really looking at. We accomplished 50% of our goals this season. The coaches are learning the game better themselves. I feel that next year we will have a stronger girls team, but that this was a good year. They really learned a lot and we have young team members, so it is definitely looking good going forward.” -Head Coach Jim Orr

“We had a great season. When you set high goals, like state titles, any time you come up short there are still always good things to look back on. We had a lot of wins, and a very young team. We had a lot of freshman and first year wrestlers starting in our varsity lineup who made a lot of impact and won a lot of good matches. A lot of guys who weren’t having much success in the past came out to win a lot of big matches, and more wins than they ever thought they would have.” -Head Coach Donald Funk

BNC: 7th

“Winning the Regional Championship and playing in the State quarterfinals allowed this team to make history as only the fifth Trojan team to win a Regional. Before the season started when people realized we lost five of our top seven scorers from last year, there weren’t a lot of people who gave us a chance this year of being able to accomplish much.” -Head Coach Chris Givens

Photo: E. Simon

State: 2nd

“Our goal honestly was to go to regionals and not end up in last, because the girls team has always ended in last for the last five years. This year we were two places above last. That was our main goal, and we were all happy about that. To accomplish our goals we worked and cheered each other on. We had a problem with doing that because we’d get so frustrated if we were not doing that well, so we tried be being more positive. We stayed together and put up a good fight.” -Hope Eshleman ‘16

Team Stats

Record: 19-9-1

Photo: E. Simon

“The best part of this season was the year round team training that led to solid States performances. With the main core group of Erin Lipp ‘15, Niki Roxbury ‘16 and Kelly Peregrine ‘16 from the 2014 State Championship team returning. They used their experience and work ethic to repeat as State Champions. Going into States week I was worried that in spite of a good core of skiers, we still weren’t going to have enough competing to field a full team.” -Head Coach John Kostrzewa

District: NA

State: quarterfinals

District: 2nd rd. State: NA

Regional: 10th

Regional: 1st

BNC: 6th Regional: NA

GNWBC: 1st

BNC: 1st

District: NA

Team Stats: Boys Basketball

Team Stats

BNC: 1st

Photo: E. Simon

“Our goal as a team was try and rake in more players, try to get more people out on the team, and to try and get a bigger program. We started out this year with a brand new coach so we had to test the waters, and learn the new coach. We pulled off a lot more wins than we did last year, probably even doubled the amount.” -James Westenbarger ‘16

“The Noque 12k was the first race of the season where I felt like I was finally fast again after being sick at the beginning of the season. It was rough to start the season sick because the first races happened to be the most important regular season races. The team dynamic was different this year because there were not as many people on the team. It also differed because in past years there were peopleto look up to, but this year as a senior people looked up to us.” -Clay Darling ‘15

Regional: NA State: NA Record: 9-12

Photo: E. Simon

“The highlight of the season was when everyone finally recovered from their injuries and we had a full team. That was the point when we got back on our feet and proved to people that we weren’t a losing team and that we were capable of being awesome.” -Jennifer Rose ‘16

“With sickness and injury we had people until about the last six games of the season so we couldn’t really get into a flow. The teams we lost to had a combined record of 132-20 so we lost to good teams and we beat the teams that we were supposed to. When you’re building a program that’s a good sign.” -Head Coach Heather Simpson

“The best part of the season is that the boys team was able to move up from 4th place last year in the State Championships to 3rd place this year. The team is losing their one, two punch of Darling and Edwards and it has to be a team effort to fill that gap. The opportunity for the guys to excel is there knocking on the door, but they each personally need to open it.” -Head Coach John Kostrzewa

Team Stats BNC: NA Regional: NA

District: NA State: 3rd Photo: courtesy of N. Keyser

Record: NA

Traverse City Central High School Black & Gold Mar. 24, 2015

The ins and outs of Weights

Central students use Weights and Conditioning to improve in sports as well as create a healthy lifestyle Photo: E. Simon

Photo: E. Simon

Photo: M. Loveland

Left: Abbey Green ‘16 prepares for upcoming exams in weights. “You don’t really have to worry about homework or grades, it’s such a relief from the other classes,” Green said. Top: Daniel Youker ‘15 hops across the gym in as few jumps as possible. “Coach Gle has us do a lot of stuff like Plyometrics to help us get faster and be more explosive,” Youker said. Bottom: Caleb Muszynski ‘16 spots a friend while benching. “I’ve never really touched a bar until last year and I can definitely tell the difference it’s made ever since I’ve started taking weights,” Muszynski said.

Hayley Scollard Staff Reporter

Running at a faster rate, jumping higher, and throwing further: goals of Weights and Conditioning class are simple but significant, fabricating healthy lifestyles and future athletes. “I was really into art classes and then I started working out. I consider sports as a form of art,” Hannah Helton ‘16 said. “In weights you start seeing results and you start seeing all these changes, you start sculpting your body.” Helton is among about 40 percent of the weights students who do not participate in sports and would rather work on fitness uncompetitively. “I played a lot of sports but I never really felt like part of a team,” Helton said. “You don’t feel all this pressure and can just focus on yourself in weights.”

Those who are interested in increasing their stamina or strength from the class often want to work on sport specific techniques. However, Weights and Conditioning Coach Doug Gle, says perfecting the basic skills is the priority because they crossover to many sports. “The type of lifting that we do, a lot of people think it’s not what distance runners should do,” Gle said. “But the research is coming out consistently that the stuff we’re doing with them actually has direct benefit to distance runners by improving running economy. Meaning they’re running at a faster pace but not working as hard.” By mimicking running with one foot on the ground, ground base movements are geared towards creating more force off the ground, a key ability to have in just

about every sport. “You start working out and the 25-pounders don’t seem so heavy anymore and then the 45’s aren’t as hard to pick up,” Helton said. Most of the ground base movements done in weights are squats, lunges and step-ups. These exercises improve knee, ankle, and hip explosive movement also known as triple extension. By improving knee, ankle, and hip strength through ground base movements, any sport becomes easier. “Our goal is to make people run faster, jump higher, hit things farther, throw things farther,” Gle said. “We don’t train muscles, we train movement.” Although there are base fundamentals, Gle often changes up the workouts to keep students interested. He also uses phases

“”

I consider sports as a form of art. -Hannah Helton ‘16

each quarter. The first phase is hypertrophy or the enlargement of muscle, then they move into building strength, then explosive exercises are introduced which goes into the power phase. “We always work on explosions on the platforms with olympic variation and lifts, but we’re starting to do biometrics now and quick change of direction,” Gle said. Gle thinks what makes this class so successful is the fact that it is based on purely science to help students reach their peak in physical abilities. He uses the philosophy of his former boss at Northern Iowa, who trains movements not muscles and won national coach of the year in 1999 as the Division 1 college strength coach. “The basis of it is we’re doing sport specific things, but I’m really big in encouraging students to play more than one sport,” Gle said. ”People have been lying to student athletes for too long that you should play one sport.” Gle was a wide receiver at Hope College for football and ran the 100m, 200m, and 400m dashes in track. He was an intern at Eastern Michigan University then became an assistant strength and conditioning coach at Northern Iowa. Gle eventually went back to Hope to get his teaching endorsement, then attended Central Michigan University for his administration endorsement where he got his degree in biology and exercise science. Gle’s experience and inspiration from his former boss influenced the way weights class is taught today. “The only difference is it’s more modified and you kind of have to differentiate with certain people doing more advanced things then other’s” Gle said. The balance can be hard especially with quarters instead of trimesters, but student performance doesn’t seem to be affected. “I don’t like squatting because there’s too much weight on your back,” Jephte Jean-Claude ‘15 said. “but I know it’s helpful because the stronger your legs get, the more explosive they’re going to be.” Jean-Claude has come a long way since freshmen year when he was 140 pounds. He is now 180 pounds now and a lot faster. “I don’t want to develop bodybuilders or weight lifters, we want to develop athletes and help your sport, not hurt your sport,” Gle said. “It’s easy to make people sore but it’s harder to develop them as an athlete.”

Football duo moves on to be Huskies After three years playing at varsity level on the Trojan football team, Ethan Campbell and Seth Tice head up to Houghton Alex Stern

Staff Reporter A long, hard season of football has payed off for Seth Tice and Ethan Campbell, both ‘15, as they head off to Michigan Tech for football. “Hard work in the classroom and out of the classroom, being in the weight room and having my coaches help, especially Coach Sherwin, have really helped me push through to where I am now,” Tice said. Tice will be joined in Houghton by Campbell. “When it came down to all my options, the best education I could get was at Michigan Tech, and they also gave me the biggest scholarship I could get,” Campbell said. Tice chose Michigan Tech for his degree. “I really wanted to get my mechanical engineering degree,” he said. “I chose that to study because I work with engineers every day at work, and just seeing how they do things and what they do made me interested.” Along with getting their degrees, football is also a top priority for both Campbell and Tice. “This is my tenth year of playing football, so I really hope to be a starter in my freshman year,” Campbell said. “I also hope to set some good records. I have wanted to play at this level of football since I was eight years old.” As Central will miss the two, they will also miss the program as well. “I’m really going to miss playing for such great coaches and being part of such a great organization,” Campbell said. Transitioning from high school to college is like being back in sixth grade. “The biggest challenge is in high school they’re used to being the stars, but when you

get into college you are basically starting over,” former Head Coach Tom Passinault said. “They’re going to have to be very humble and realize they have to reestablish themselves to earn playing time.” Of course, signing over to college for football is the one thing on everybody’s mind, but if it doesn’t work, it’s important to have a backup plan. “They’re going to a great school,” Passinault said. “I told them that if football doesn’t work that they are at a very good school, they’re going to get a great education, and be very successful in whatever they choose.” As athletes, every player exceeds in their own way, whether it’s physically or mentally. “Seth is more of a verbal leader,” Passinault said. “He’s outgoing, very friendly, and I think kids really enjoyed being around him. He was a verbal example of a leader.” On the other hand, Campbell is perceived as being a leader with his talent. “I think kids really looked up to his ability and his work ethic in the weight room,” Passinault said. “He really became a model weight room guy. He increased his vertical jump tremendously and gained a lot of respect. Ethan is more of a physical leader.” Michigan Tech has a Division 2 football program. To have both Campbell and Tice sign there gives credit to the quality of the Trojan football program. “For me it’s a good feeling to know they’re going to school together, so when times get hard or they miss home a little bit, they’ll have someone right there with them that can share the same feelings,” Passinault said. When the two leave, they will have made a big impact on Trojan Football. “What I’ll always remember about those two

Photo: E. Simon

Top: Ethan Campbell and Seth Tice, both ‘15, sign their letters of committment to Michigan Tech University together for football. Bottom: Ethan Campbell runs the balls during a game his final season as a Trojan football player.

guys is they started for us since tenth grade, and both played key roles in our victory over West,” Passinault said. “We’ll miss their personalities and I loved coaching them.” As heroes on the field at Central, there is a lot to look forward to at Tech. “At Michigan Tech, I’m looking forward to having a lot of great competition and joining such a great program,” Campbell said.

Sports

Graphic: C. Hansen

Aside from Central’s tradition of being successful, each team has their own traditions that continue off the competitive field. Here coaches and players discuss their traditions

Erin Lipp

Editor-in-Chief and Sports Editor With the crowd cheering and the announcer saying his name over the loud-speaker at Howe Arena, nine-year-old Laiken Batcha waves from the Trojan team bench. “My favorite part was being with my brother (Noah Batcha) and the team in the locker room and seeing what it looked like inside,” Laiken said. “Also it was cool getting my picture taken with the team.” Laiken was the honorary captain of the Trojan Hockey team for this years McCullough Cup game against cross-town rival, West. “It was definitely a big deal to my little brother even though he would never let on to me or anyone on the team how much it meant,” Noah said. “The kids feel special and a part of the team. Like little kids do, they sit and watch and listen and just absorb everything the can.” Starting six of years ago, the Trojan Hockey has an honorary captain for every game. “I wanted to put together a program to keep the young players in our youth hockey association engaged and interested in Trojan Hockey,” Head Coach Chris Givens said. “Giving them a firsthand look at how things run on game day is a great way to create interest at the younger age levels. We are going to need these players at some time in the future and we want them to strive to be a Trojan

Photo: courtesy of D. DeTar

The Trojan hockey team gathers with their honoray captain. “You can tell they are always nervous at first,” Head Coach Chris Givens said, “but the minute they step into the locker room and are so well received by the Trojan players, everything changes. It’s something they’ll remember for a long time.”

hockey player as early as possible.” The staff works to reach out to as many players as they determine each honorary captain. “We have a coordinator on our end that communicates with the youth hockey coaches to arrange for a Squirt aged player to be the Honorary Captain for each home game,” Givens said. “Our coordinator tries to reach as many teams as possible during the season so we get as many players involved as we can.” While the others, like Laiken, don’t always show their excitement, the team can see it. “None of them say much,” Noah said, “but you can see the excitement in their faces and in their eyes.” Givens is proud of how the team interacts with the young kids. “They go out of their way to make these young players feel welcome and they give them a true sense that they are part of our team,” Givens said. The high school team is aware of the influence they have on these players. “It feels good to make a positive influence on the kids,” Noah said. “We all know they look up to us so we try to set an admirable impression.” They remember what is was like to be younger, looking up to the high school team. “When I was younger, the high school hockey players might as well have been the Red Wings, that’s how much I looked up to them. It’s heavy to know you’re under watchful eyes, but it makes it more than worth it if you can do good and be good and just hope that it’ll impact the kids who are watching for the better.”

Graphic: C. Hansen

1. State Performance D1

2015 Regional Champions, never won a State Championship

2. Number of Players 21 players on varsity team

3. Average Training Time 1.5-2.5 hours, 5-6 days a week, with games on week nights and weekends

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Traverse City Central High School Black & Gold Mar. 24,

Obesity Continued from pg. 2 There are plenty of alternatives that would be beneficial and not cost families copious amounts of money. Parents and health officials could work side by side to improve the child’s health and not fine them if they make a mistake. Parents could also go to support groups or meetings to help their child. There are tons of options where the government doesn’t have to regulate family life. We at the Black & Gold believe childhood obesity is a problem, but this is just not the right way to go about fixing it. More proper government actions would be to subsidize healthy foods, start awareness campaigns broad enough to reach even the most impoverished people, or raise taxes on the foods actually causing the obesity epidemic. If the government gave subsidies towards farms produc-

ing healthy foods, it would lower the prices of the goods and people would be able to afford them. Berkeley, California is an excellent example of this in action. It became the first US city to pass a law that would place a tax on sugary drinks in November. For each ounce of soft drink, one cent will be taxed. It is believed this law will curb the consumption of sodas, energy drinks and sweetened iced teas. Placing a tax on unhealthy foods and beverages, such as soda, makes people think about what they are consuming more carefully. The obesity epidemic in Puerto Rico is certainly a problem that should be monitored carefully. That being said, there are more important issues to focus on. Don’t micromanage citizens’ lives, macromanage the economy creating these lives. Puerto Rico should address the root cause and develop proactive solutions instead of implementing reactive bandaids.

Death Penalty Continued from pg. 2 taxpayers’ wallets. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, in Texas it would cost about $17,340 to house an inmate for a year and $693,500 for 40 years, far less than even part of the death penalty costs. The regional public defender’s office estimates that just the legal costs for a death penalty case from indictment to execution are about $1.2 million. Counties generally manage these high costs from capital cases by decreasing funding and increasing taxes. According to a report by the Death Penalty Information Center, it’s estimated that between 1982-1997 the extra cost of capital trials was $1.6 billion. The money spent on capital punishment cases should instead be put to preventative measures that could help increase the public’s safety. The death penalty infringes on our democratic rights and plays with potentially innocent lives. It has no place in our society.

Put your ad here (231) 933-3671 mcdonaldti@ tcaps.net

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Clinton Continued from pg. 2 It also raises questions about Clinton’s dedication to women’s rights. She has really been upping the ante lately, making many speeches on the subject, including one at the UN. If she is gearing up for a presidential run against a likely male Republican candidate, she will want to emphasize that issue in the general election, yet how can she do that when most of the countries she is is receiving millions from are known anti-women’s rights countries? These are countries who ask women to cover their faces in public, countries where genital mutilation is common. How can Clinton really be such a big women’s rights advocate if she accepts money from the biggest places of attacks on said rights? In a press conference addressing the issue after the UN speech, one that Clinton announced with just 18 hours notice, preventing journalists covering her story from getting credentials for the event, she called the issue a matter of convenience. “I opted for convenience to use my personal email account, which was allowed by the State Department, because I thought it would be easier to carry just one device for my work and for my personal emails instead of two,” she said. To most people, it probably seems odd Clinton says she would need two devices for two emails, but the State Department does ask employees to have emails on separate devices for security reasons. However, Clinton claiming that convenience was her primary concern, and that she didn’t want to use multiple devices comes at an odd time, given what she said just last month at an interview in Silicon Valley, California. When asked whether she preferred iPhone or Android, Clinton said this: “iPhone. Ok, but in full disclosure, and a Blackberry…. I’m like a hoarder. I have an iPad, an iPad Mini, an iPhone and a Blackberry.” Doesn’t sound like multiple devices is too big of an issue for her here. Another Clinton claim was that she “did not email any classified materials” while in office. Really? In four years as Secretary of State, she never, not once talked about or sent any classified materials through email? Not one time? I do have to give Clinton credit for one thing: she did hand over 55,000 pages worth of emails from her time as Secretary of State. But even this action has its holes. Clinton deleted another 30,000 emails instead of turning over everything to the State Department. She deleted what she deemed “personal,” things

Auditorium Continued from pg. 1 “I’m most excited about the acoustics improving in there,” choir teacher Tamara Grove said. “They will build acoustical clouds on the ceiling which will help the sound. Also, having reliable miking system and sound system and lights that actually work that we don’t have to rent every year. To have our own lighting system is a dream come true.” The backstage area will also be reworked in order to provide more space for choir and theatre programs. “Were looking at re-constructing some spaces that were taken away from the [performing arts] program years ago to provide office and classrooms that aren’t necessarily needed for those functions anymore,” Thwing said. “So, they will be getting back some of those spaces that they lost and with the number of students that are involved now and growing, the space has become more important to those programs than what they’re currently used for.” The renovation comes as a breath of fresh air for Central’s staff and students who have had cope with the poor facility for years. This is largely due to the failure to pass bond proposals in the fall of 2012 and 2013. “We were trying to build a new auditorium facility for a couple of years,” Thwing said. “It’s gotten to the point where if we don’t make some fixes to the auditorium it’s going to become basically nonfunctional and unsafe. So, rather than just throwing more band aids at it, we thought we would step forward and actually do a real renovation to this space.” TCAPS will be paying for the project with its general budget without any outside grants. “Our budget estimate is around 2.6 million and that’s for everything: architectural fees, engineering fees, all the construction, all the equipment, everything,” Thwing said. This investment is aimed not only towards improving the use of space for the performing arts programs, but is also aimed at

improving the safety of the facility. “Some of the electrical insulations are up to 50 years old,” Hannes Iven ‘15 said. “So, a lot of the things that are in there are not complying with modern safety rules. I think that’s probably the biggest issue.” The unsafe conditions and equipment are challenging to students who look over the auditorium. “We don’t have a staff person who is in charge of the auditorium, so it’s often run by students, mainly sound production students who are spending a lot of their own time sometimes unsupervised,”Grove said. “They’re trying to troubleshoot some of the issues and I think the biggest issue is the electrical system.” These students who maintain the auditorium often find themselves in questionable circumstances. “The actual bulbs need to be changed a lot as well as the gels that make colored lights,” Grove said. “We have this really tiny catwalk too, and students are going up there trying to do work on these lights and they’re dangling from mid-air. The lights on the stage also need to be changed, and we have to get to those with a big ladder and, again, it’s mostly students who do that work. They’re up on these high ladders trying to do manual labor, and that’s been a really big concern of mine.” Lack of appropriate equipment has also hindered Central’s students and staff who, every year, try and produce the best events possible with the facilities they are given. “This has been an issue since I’ve been here for nine years where we have to choose shows based on our limitations,” Grove said. “It’s frustrating because we have such incredibly talented students who could go above and beyond if we could do bigger shows and more challenging shows, shows that have more special effects, but we can’t. We’re limited to your regular, average high school musical shows. I know for students the number one piece of growth for them is having a facility that allows them to enhance their performance and flourish as musicians and as musical theatre students.” Due to the withered auditorium, programs at Central have suffered. They are unable to hold events at their own school, instead,

like correspondence with her husband and “yoga routines.” Thing is, Bill Clinton has sent just two emails in his life, both during his Presidency, and his Spokesman Matt McKenna recently confirmed this with the Wall Street Journal. “The former president, who does regularly use Twitter, has sent a grand total of two emails during his entire life, both as president,” he said. Once again, we have a lying Clinton. Hillary’s deleting of those “personal” emails herself, and not allowing them to be filtered by the State Department, is even more contentious. In a document released shortly after her press conference, Hillary outlined how she separated private from personal: “First, the lawyers searched all emails with a “.gov” email address in any address field, which yielded 27,500 emails—more than 90% of the total correspondence ultimately provided to State. “Next they searched for the first and last names of more than 100 State Department and other U.S. government officials. Finally, they performed a search for specific keywords, including “Benghazi” and “Libya.”” That’s it. Hillary did not read every email, her counsel did not read every email, they used keyword searches and deleted everything else. But the biggest problem here? Even bigger than their mediocre sorting procedures? It was Hillary and her team who decided which emails were professional, not the State Department. There is absolutely no possible way, aside from perhaps getting a subpoena on the Clintons’ server (and even that may not yield all the results), to verify if she is telling the truth. None. We’re just supposed to trust her. Yet this is coming from a woman who’s time in politics has been absolutely littered with scandals. Whitewater, Filegate, Travelgate. How can people possibly trust her with not only her history, but with blatant lies on this subject already? They can’t, and they shouldn’t. And what’s so bad about this, more than the lies, more than the secrecy, is Hillary being the frontrunner for President. While her poll numbers are on a decline, and even top Democrats have been criticizing her, she is still currently a favorite over every other potential candidate. After all this, she will just weather the storm, deflect, and survive. Clintonian through and through. Hillary has proven many times over, and now she’s just reminding us of it once again, she is everything we all despise about Washington. The lying, the backroom deal making, the utter lack of transparency. I know it sounds crazy, but I simply expect more from a longtime public servant and potential President.

they have been renting spaces, which takes money from their budget. “We have to pay other spaces to hold our choir concerts,” Shields ‘17 said. “We have to have them at churches and other places and that cuts a lot out of our budget. With our theatre program, we always had to rent microphones, and lights which also cut into our budget. This didn’t allow us to really undergo bigger musicals that we have the potential, acting-wise and talent-wise, to do. So, a new auditorium will benefit us to just put on better shows and be able to have concerts here.” Since the news of the renovation, members of Central’s performing arts groups have been anticipating a space where they can showcase more elaborate performances. “As far as the community goes I think it will benefit the community because maybe they will be able to see Central as a performing arts school now that we will have a better facility,” Grove said. “I think right now the mentality is ‘Oh, West is the performing arts school because they have the newer auditorium and the newer facilities and its actually comfortable to go and watch a show there and it feels more professional. Where as I go to Central, the seats squeak, it’s uncomfortable, it’s hot, and its crowded, not everybody can fit.’ So, I think thats kind of been the mentality, it hasn’t really been equal on either side of town.” The renovation is set to be finished in September, the start of Central’s annual fall musical, just in time to showcase the finished task to the public. “Musical will probably be the big, grand opener and hopefully with the combination of the show that we are doing plus the renovations, maybe we can get a larger audience if there thinking ‘oh, this space is new, I’ll go check it out and I’ll see the show.’” As anticipation builds for the project, Central’s community awaits the day they can begin using the newly updated facility. “It’s really exciting for everyone to be able to now get the opportunity to work with an updated space,” Shields ‘17 said, “ it is an amazing opportunity for the music program.”

12 The Leek News in Brief

Carl Rasmussen, Mitchell Mosley & Tanth Leek Editor, Staff Reporter & Guest Writer

It’s All About Me!

Traverse City Central High School Black & Gold Mar. 24, 2015 Real stories, real people

Disclaimer: Satire is advised to be read with a sense of humor and the absence of a stick in your butt

Fame goes straight to the hair An in-depth look at the archetypical hockey player and his strict moral code. The Leek considers the state of Trojan Hockey in the past, present and future. #SBG #FTB

Graphic: H. Lancashire

With AP classes, standardized entrance level examinations, and important college appointments bearing down on the lives of America’s youth, it is clear that a bulletproof curriculum is necessary to succeed. However, in the face of such stringent odds, many instructors have decided to take a more unconventional approach to teaching. These teachers believe the “state-wide curriculum” just doesn’t go far enough, and instead have forcibly encouraged students to invest less time in learning about “vital material” and more time learning about the instructor themself. These innovative teachers’ new curriculum focuses on the roots of existence, that is the teachers existence, composed of a multitude of childhood stories, family recipes and other nonsensical tangents that have nothing to do with the lesson at all. “After doing a true American shakedown on my students for notes, I like to woo them with a cute story about my dog Baxter or some other wargarble,” said Every Teacher Ever. “I mean I’m inevitably gonna end up making them read the entire textbook any ways so what’s the point of this whole “teaching” thing.” As far as the AP exams go, teachers have comforted their students by telling them that they can go out and buy a $200 study guide to make up for all the lost time in class talking about how “totally psyched they are for spring!” “We spend 7 hours a day at school, at least 1 of which had nothing to do with learning at all,” said local student Frustrated Guy 16’. “But hell! If all the AP questions are about Mrs. Blank’s famous “broccoli and love” casserole, I’m sure I’ll do great!”

A Kendemic

Graphic: H. Lancashire

In the aftermath of a technological revolution, a new product of pure badassery has risen. Three long inches of rich, superreinforced mahogany wood (that never chips, ever), armed with a twelve inch cats yarn string thing, and a somewhat rounded, wide, tama beveled ball sitting perfectly on top. Introducing Kendama; the new “cool thing” from “volunteer” Asian laborers. Perhaps the single dumbest thing since people raving about sliced bread. It is clear we are in the midst of a school-wide kendemic. Kendamas have staged a rebirth. What started out as a “fun way to waste away the ticking clock of your useless existence,” has transformed into a personal statement that says “yeah, I’m cool.” Stick Narger claims “I really like to explore nature with the comfort of my Ken around my neck. Usually I leave my trash on the ground, but it’s okay because I was kenning,” Narger said. “I’ll stay up later than my bed time kenning in my basement, but it’s hard to do that when so many people want to talk to me.” Narger, a true inspiration, has been rumored to keep an updated Snapchat of his “gnarly tricks bro.” Local Kenners also tend to play an overly competitive macho game called KEN, where Kenners challenge each other to a trick competition similar to SKATE or Yu-Gi-Oh. The game of serious mental challenge leaves participants panting out of anger and claiming to have a “wet tip.”

Generation Tan

Graphic: H. Lancashire

Tanth

Guest Writer After suffering a major loss to an obscure Upper Peninsula team, many theories have emerged to warrant the sudden conclusion of the boy’s hockey season. The predominant theory regarding the demise of the “sweet black and gold” correlates the unexpected loss to an overabundance of narcissism that led the team to implode on the ice. Interestingly, there is a rich lineage of self-absorbedness in the hockey program. Four-year starter Radle Bo-Badle, brashly stated, “Overconfidence is quintessential in our hockey program. We are all alphas, and sometimes the line between individual interests and team interests becomes blurred, so what? In fact, three years ago, a scuffle in the locker room ended in a player severing the goalie’s foot with a dull skate. That’s how serious we are. You’re going to mess with us? Yeah right, we’re going to mess with each other first, bro.” In recent years, the self-confidence among hockey players has proliferated on social media formats. Hockey players actively utilize strange “hashtags” to accompany their posts on both twitter and instagram-- chief among which are #SBG and #FTB. Using our investigative prowess here at the Leak, we have deduced the following about these peculiar acronyms: #SBG, or Softly Being Gleeful, is utilized by hockey players to express not only their jovial spirits, but a compassionate emotional side. This sensitivity, however, is only a facade to compensate for their ludicrous personalities in an attempt to ensnare the interest of girls. Hockey enthusiast Kubrey Arieger, said,

“I fell in love with one of the boys on the hockey team because of his meaningful “hashtag” usage. Apparently, though, that was not an accurate measure of his character because our relationship ended when I found out of his affair with his mirror.” #FTB, or From The Back, reflects their steadfast spirit when down in score, #theirhashtagsnotours.

a Vanilla Ice-Bengal tiger hybrid. The most troublesome aspect of hockey players is their delusion in post-secondary direction. No other sport requires players to jump through as many hoops as hockey does. In order to play at the collegiate level, most players must excel at varying levels of junior hockey to be recognized by college teams. For many, this takes multiple years, Graphic: H. Lancashire

The absurdness continues with their appearance. Players take pride in “flow,” a colloquial metaphor for the wave-like quality of hair riddled with product, or for some players, naturally-occurring grease. Junior player, Sack Jevenson, states, “The post-practice locker room scene is relatively the same for all. Everyone takes time to build their “flow,” some bring hair gel, but most harvest the gelatinous residue left from their helmets to craft the top of their heads.” In commemoration of the playoff season, many hockey players prompted to shave their hair into mullets accented with exuberant stripes on the sides. The collective hairstyle was not only intended to heighten morale, but to intimidate opponents with an appearance reminiscent of

and by the slight chance they are successful, their academic enrollment has already been stunted by such a significant duration, they are in no position to graduate with their peers. But once again, the overbearing self-confidence of many players blinds their ability to analyze the statistics of succeeding in hockey after high school, and thus exponentiates the number of troubled hockey alumni often found reliving former glory at Trojan games. Hockey players should adopt more rationality and immediately pursue a postsecondary education, because the ostentatiousness and selfcenteredness of their high school persona will likely not bode well in a workplace outside of the local landscaping business.

Headlines from around the world The Dominican Republic is “actually nice”

Graphic: H. Lancashire

With spring imminent, many teenage girls have resorted to drastic means of physically preparing themselves for sun exposure—fake tanning. To some, it is a means of preemptive sun exposure to prevent burning prior to a sun-filled vacation, but to others, it is an addictive lifestyle. The Leek was recently invited to sit-in on a newly formed support group for girls who habitually find themselves strung out on late-night UV rays. User Stacey Ganton said, “At first, I just wanted to look sun-kissed in my Prom dress, but it escalated so quickly... It became an omniscient traveler, constantly whispering, “tanner, tanner,” and ultimately, I found myself at rock bottom at the DMV, legally changing my race from caucasian to black.” Fellow rehab patient, Breeana Agree, similarly stated, “My skin becomes so plagued from months without sun exposure, I am self-diagnosed as albino, despite my brunette hair, so how else am I supposed to be socially acceptable?” Although both Ganton and Agree are considered addicts, their abuse is limited to ultraviolet tanning booths, and thus classified as “recreational.” The “hard core” usage is spearheaded by the abuse of experimental-grade spray tanning, the most extreme form of pigmentation alteration. Resident spraytanner Snabby Snibbs was unavailable for comment, pending the emergency removal of her third layer of bronze paint that had incited an advanced stage of skin asphyxia, a potentially fatal condition.

Missionary sent to Chernobyl to convert mutant squirrels to Christianity Blackhawk down... Again, sadly In search of new Leekers for the 2015-2016 school year due to the lack of any funny underclassmen. If interested, contact the Leek in room F158 (the Pub).

Local author Radle (pictured left) wins the Pulitzer Prize in the category of Literature and Loneliness for his book “Radle bo Badle and the Radeling Lairen”.