Volume 29, Edition 1 by The Communicator

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The Communicator Edition 1 October, 2013

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THE COMMUNICATOR

QSA

Queer-straight alliance provides a safe environment for students work it out

budget cuts

A look at the contrasts between the expectations and realities of budget cuts forum conundrum

VOLUME 29 EDITION 1

Students reap benefits from working part-time jobs

After another round of cuts to the forum program, what’s next?

cindy green

essential albums

Getting to know the new secretary at Community High

Michigan’s ranked football team provides an interesting scene on game days

the cats are back

pay to play

CHS jazz is going strong despite setbacks

The rise of pay to play fees for athletes changes the game

robbery on the road

pippin

Nicaraguan man and son drive from A2 to Nicaragua

Community High senior Max Bonilla practices guitar in Jazz I

10 ways to avoid stress

REDUCE

Tips on how to relieve anxiety in your life

humans of community

A look into the thoughts of the humans at CHS

davy rothbart

CHS grad finds success in creating Found Magazine

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Pioneer Theatre Guild’s PIPPIN is the start of an exciting year

“

the lunch room

Community to come over here and to see this in

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real action.

“

There are things worth fighting for... it’s some-

thing bigger than my own needs for job security.

CHEATERS

Maybe there’s potential for the students at

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Kerrytown’s vegan restaurant is a fresh lunch option flirting

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DEAN JEN

the radio rises

I did feel guilty... But it ended up getting easier to

continue doing things with him as time went on.

A look at the history of fliriting amongst teenagers

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From the classroom to the airways––a dream becomes reality

letter from the editors

Dear Readers,

Let us take a moment to think back to the end of last school year, when we left these halls in a frenzy of uncertainty. Debates about the future of our school– and educational system as a whole– still had not come to a conclusion and we departed for the summer without a sense of what would be waiting for us in the fall. We were confused, angry and curious about the changes the major budget cuts would bring. Now take a second to notice where we are today. It is no secret that some things have changed; several forums now appear to be bursting at the seams and familiar faces are missing from our classrooms and halls. Certain classes have become over-crowded, while others have disappeared. Our center spread (24) elaborates on these revisions. Yet these losses are subtler than the differences we had braced ourselves for. We still have block scheduling and 7th blocks with no price tag; CET and Jazz band both remain. We seemed to share a collective sigh of relief when we returned to our school and realized that its structure, atmosphere, and individuality hadn’t diminished one bit. We learned that as long as the essence of Community remains, we can face the adversities and adjust. We also can’t forget that sometimes, change is good. Change creates new ways of thinking, new opportunities, and new realities. In these pages, we discuss new staff members (4), restaurants (34-36) and businesses (31). We also examine how you can use change to your advantage, whether that means improving your eating habits (37) or breaking out of your shell (38). As you’ve probably noticed, The Communicator went through some major transformations of its own this year. While keeping our strong, journalistic core, we decided to convert to a magazine format. We hope to provide readers with a new, exciting aesthetic that is accessible and fulfilling. Abandoning all of our old templates, systems and designs was extremely scary but also incredibly liberating; it is rare that you get to truly create new. We encourage you to challenge yourself this year to abandon preconceived notions, feelings and boundaries. Take an aspect of your life and treat it as though it has just come into existence. In this time of transformation, it is important to remember that we can use change to propel us into a better future. Look at the falling leaves and the changing world and think about what you can create. Start something from scratch; break the mold. When you let go of all expectations and guidelines, your abilities become limitless.

change

Sincerely,

Editors-In-Chief Isabel Sandweiss & Alexander Wood

Isabel Sandweiss Alexander Wood

Managing Editors Kelly Arnold Madeline Halpert Jeffery Ohl Marcelo Salas

Adviser

Tracy Anderson

Cover Art

Ada Banks Alexander Wood Marcelo Salas

Staff Lachlan Angus John Douglass Cameron Fortune Hannon Hylkema Jacob Johnson Jett Jones John Kelley William Knight Jack MacConnel Gabriel Maguire Hazel O’Neil Caroline Phillips Nathaniel Porter Eva Rosenfeld Emily Ross

Hannah Shevrin Alona Shewach Sophia Simon Oren Steiner Dylan Stephens Hannah Tschirhart Milo Tucker-Meyer Obiageri Ugwuegbu Eliza Upton Abraham Weiner Cody Zeisler

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reduce NEW GARBAGE AGREEMENT WITH ZINGERMAN’S DELI WON’T BE A WASTE isabel sandweiss

I ZINGERMAN’S IS AIMING TO REDUCE ITS LANDFILL TRASH CONTRIBUTION BY 20% WITHIN THE NEXT YEAR.

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n 2005, Nancy Rucker shared an idea. Zingerman’s had just begun the plans for a major addition to their deli; there would be more space, more customers and more food. They had almost everything figured out. Except for one major detail: where to put all the garbage. There was simply no room. Garbage trucks had to drive through the deli’s outdoor patio, beeping right beside customers, to access the heavy bins of bagels, corned beef and sourdough bread. Rucker, the Zingerman’s Deli facilities manager and self-declared “ideas-person”, had a perfect solution; she suggested Zingerman’s move their dumpsters onto Community High School’s side of their shared property line and build a garbage corral there. In return, CHS would be allowed to dump its trash in the corral. Rucker had mentioned a similar idea years before but it had never come to fruition. But in 2005, Peter Ways, the dean of CHS at the time, was enthused by the idea. He was in a pursuit to make the backside of Community look nicer and had just put up the murals that still adorn the outside of the back-staircases. Rucker’s plan would add to the beautification; the current Community dumpsters, located next to the staircase on the south side of the property, were an eyesore. “[Ways] hated those dumpsters and so he said, or I suggested, let’s get rid of your dumpsters and you’ll put your garbage in our dumpsters, we’ll put our dumpsters on your property, and it’ll be a win-win situation,” Rucker said. They came up with contracts and a lease but the garbage rear-

rangement didn’t really come into action until Jennifer Hein became dean in 2009. “[When I started at Community] Nancy shared the information with me and I was like ‘well, gosh, of course we’re gonna keep doing this!’” Hein said. “To know that when you drive onto our property what you see are dumpsters – what message does that send about what we value and what we think is important?” During the addition the north side of the parking lot became a construction site, clogged up with trucks and materials. Rucker is thankful that Hein and the entire school system stayed supportive every step of the way. And to keep the diverted school bus drivers happy, Rucker appeased them with Zingerman’s brownies. The corral was finally built in the fall of 2012 and is located on the edge of Community’s parking lot, very close to Zingerman’s property. It is surrounded by a fresh, wooden fence and contains a six-cubic-yard trash compactor, a massive recycling bin and large containers of fryer oil. All Rucker wants to add is some signage so a passerby could know what’s going on within. She hopes to get some CHS art students to help. “In some ways it’s our future, garbage,” Rucker said. “People talk about mining our garbage dumps because they’re full of resources…If we don’t get our act together around some of these things we’re just creating problems for the future generations.” Both Hein and Rucker agree that this is more than just a new dumpster. It is an opportunity for education. “I think ‘we recycle, we compost’, and now we have a zero waste initiative for all the (Zingerman’s) businesses,” said Rucker. “May-

be there’s a potential for the students at Community to come over here and see all of this in real life action.” Additionally, Hein thinks that local middle and elementary schools would benefit from visiting the garbage corral and Rucker would love to see someone from the University of Michigan do a study on the waste savings. Consolidating the waste is sustainable since now garbage trucks only need to come to one location. The trucks come four to five times a week to collect the trash. They arrive before the buses and students. “It’s smooth,” said Hein.

Rucker is slightly worried about adding Community’s garbage to the already huge pile, but finds comfort in the fact that Community produces a relatively small amount of waste. Without a cafeteria, the school will add very little to the compost bin. Still, Hein would like to implement small compost bins in the school’s hallways to collect the occasional apple core. Today, Community’s old, “eyesore” dumpsters no longer block the art room’s windows. The old recycling receptical and the two dumpsters were taken away after Dean Jen authorized an order to the city.

The new garbage system is just the beginning of a major effort to be eco-friendly. Hein hopes the ecology club will continue what they started with the rain garden and incorporate more nature into the backlawn. Rucker could see students growing food on the lawn and creating their own cafeteria. “We’re just so lucky that right here, outside our door, we have what’s going to turn into an amazing example of trying to be as zero footprint as possible,” Hein said. “This is what can happen when people work together.” C

CURRENTLY, ZINGERMAN’S HAS A 60 : 40 RATIO OF TRASH TO RECYCLABLES.

The new trash compactor is six-cubic-yards wide. TOP a massive recycling receptical was installed to make recycling convenient. MIDDLE oil waste is given to a local resident who resuses it as biofuel. BOTTOM the final Community High dumpster has recently been removed.

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qsa CHS QUEER-STRAIGHT ALLIANCE PROVIDES A SAFE ENVIRONMENT FOR STUDENTS hannah shevrin

THE BIG QUEER BOWL “BQB” (PICTURED ABOVE) IS WHERE QSA IDEAS, QUESTIONS, AND PLANS ARE CONTAINED.

IN JANUARY 2012, SECRETARY OF EDUCATION ARNE DUNCAN ANNOUNCED THE FIRST NATIONAL QSA DAY.

ONCE A YEAR, QSA PARTICIPATES IN A DAY OF SILENCE TO CALL ATTENTION TO THE OPPESSION OF THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY.

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hen students walked into a recent Queer-Straight Alliance lunch meeting, they were handed a half-sheet of paper and asked to draw the dinosaur they would want to be if they had to be a dinosaur. Most of the students smiled, seeming excited to be doing this. They giggled with each other while debating who they thought their spirit dinosaur was. As the meeting progressed, it turned out the purpose of the activity was for the drawings to be scattered at various seats so participants would find their creation at a new location, and be sitting with different people. Within these new groups, they answered questions ranging from silly to serious: would you be a unicorn trainer, or a dragon trainer? Who do you like spending time with? What’s a place where you feel safe? These questions led up to the determination of the group’s safe space guidelines for the year. This alternative and funky style of meeting is not out of the ordinary for QSA. Started in the early 2000s, QSA has always provided a space for Community students to talk freely and openly about LGBTQ issues. By calling it the Queer-Straight Alliance, as opposed to other terms, was a way to include more people, and take part in reclaiming the word “queer.” QSA experienced a bit of a hibernation for a few years before it was rejuvenated in 2008. By 2010, the members of QSA were looking for a teacher advisor who was involved in the LGBTQ community and could provide the insight and resources they wanted. New Community teacher Chloe Root seemed like the perfect match for the group, and she was pleased to join. However, Root was quick to point out that she does not run the group; it’s more organic and productive to let the students lead. “It still really is student leadership – or student led,” Root said. “I’m usually there at the meetings and if they need me to help with any liaison stuff, I can do that too.” QSA seems to be one of the strongest groups at Community in terms of student leadership. The group is typically spearhead-

ed by upperclassmen facilitators. This year, seniors Sean Jacobi and Max Bonilla took on the positions of co-leaders. They want to create a space that is as inclusive as possible. At the recent meeting, they positively encouraged newer members to speak up, and emphasized the idea that QSA is a community in its own way. Each year, QSA has different focuses depending on the makeup of the group, and what type of experience they want to have. The group teeters between activism and support. “I think it’s tough because we’ve had a lot of conversations on whether we want to be more of an activist group or a support group,” Root said. “It goes back and forth depending on who the leadership is. So we’ve kind of dealt with that tension in terms of building what we want to do as far as activism, and what we want to do in informing ourselves, and keeping ourselves informed and discussing current events. I think the kids have done a really good job with the support group part. I think that we kind of want to look at in the next couple meetings, like is this going to be an activism year? Is this going to be something where we focus on, you know, actually bringing events, or doing activities in the school? Or is this going to be more of an in-our-group kind of thing. We’ll see how that goes.” Jacobi agrees that both support and activism are valid and solid aspects of QSA to possess and value. “I think that support and activism really go together,” Jacobi said. “When you have activism, it really empowers people to speak about their identity and feel good about themselves. So I think that while QSA could just be a support group, it’s also important to have the activist part in it that really makes people feel proud about themselves.” An example of past QSA activism was during the summer of 2012. A few QSA members joined forces and created a presentation on gender identity to show the staff of Community. The presentation included tips on how to make students who identify as genderqueer or transgender feel more welcome in the class, mainly educating about

pronoun usage. The students encouraged teachers to include pronoun introductions within their classes, to ensure that all students feel comfortable in their learning environment. The staff responded positively and appreciatively. Many approached Root to say how impressed they were by the students. While several members of QSA feel that the environment of Community is open and accepting, and now even more hospitable for students who identify as queer, it’s still not perfect. “I think one of the great things about Community is that there isn’t a lot of homophobia,” Jacobi said. “But there’s an idea that there’s no homophobia at Community – or transphobia, which is the oppression of trans people – and that can be really frustrating to tackle when everyone’s like ‘What do you mean? It’s Community! Nothing bad happens here!’ when it is really problematic stuff that does happen.” Members of QSA recognize that what will make Community an even more warm, and understanding atmosphere is re-exposure to concepts that may not be natural to them. By educating their teachers and peers about LGBTQ issues, they will enhance the accepting environment of Community. C “I think one of the great things about Community is that there isn’t a lot of homophobia,” Jacobi said. “But there’s an idea that there’s no homophobia at Community – or transphobia, which is the oppression of trans people – and that can be really frustrating to tackle when everyone’s like ‘What do you mean? It’s Community! Nothing bad happens here!’ when it is really problematic stuff that does happen.” Members of QSA recognize that what will make Community an even more warm, and understanding atmosphere is re-exposure to concepts that may not be natural to them. By educating their teachers and peers about LGBTQ issues, they will enhance the accepting environment of Community. C

hazel o’neil

ommunity High School sophomore Hans Schueler began working as a dishwasher at Dominick’s, a restaurant in downtown Ann Arbor, over the summer, following in the footsteps of his older sister who recently graduated. “When she left, I applied and I guess they liked my sister enough to let me in,” he said. Schueler, according to the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University, is one of the 32.25 percent of American teenagers who are employed part time. Though his job is difficult and physically demanding, he enjoys working, and says that he is saving his earnings for a rainy day. Since transitioning back to school, he hasn’t yet had trouble managing work with school, and is able to work 15 hours a week without it affecting his grades. But for older students, such as CHS senior Sagen Fuller, juggling work with other commitments can be a struggle. “I have to balance [my job], school work, retaking the ACT, college apps, and theater, so I have a lot going on,” she said. Fuller works four hour shifts three nights a week as a waitress at a retirement home. While Fuller says that getting out at a decent hour makes it easier to manage the workload, it is

still a challenge to juggle commitments. However, former CHS stress management teacher Robbie Stapleton, argues that having a lot going on is not necessarily a bad thing. “[Being busy] forces you to budget your time,” she said. “If you have hours and hours to do your homework, most people – not just teenagers – will wait ‘til the last minute, then do it. So being busy doesn’t necessarily mean you’re gonna sacrifice the quality of your work or somehow let something go.” However, she says that it is crucial that work not interfere with teenager’s health: “If you’re so busy that you are losing sleep, that is a really good sign that you need to rethink your schedule.” Though many teenagers can have a hard time finding work, particularly in a college town such as Ann Arbor, there are employers who hire minors. Bob Sparrow, owner of Sparrow Market in Kerrytown, employs several teenagers, including CHS sophomore Frances MacKercher, who began working over the summer. “I like to give everyone a chance who wants to work,” Sparrow said, “but they have to work. They have to make it to work, get out of bed in the morning, and all that stuff.” While understanding of students’ priorities out-

side of work, he does prefer to hire employees not involved with extracurricular activities. “We try to get people that aren’t too busy, because when we hire them we need them actually to work, so we can’t have them taking time off and missing a lot of days.” Sparrow says that most of his high school employees have quit because they could not balance school and work, but MacKercher plans to work for the remainder of the school year. There are only so many hours in a day, and when it comes down to it, teenagers who are considering finding a job must ask themselves what their priorities are, and if they are capable of managing another thing in their lives. Between schoolwork, college applications, ACTs, SATs, sports and clubs, some people simply don’t have time to work. “Some of us can pile stuff on our plates and thrive, and some of us are just sort of hardwired to get stressed out when there’s too many things on our plate,” Stapleton said. “So if you’re that kind of person, make sure you only have a few things on your plate.” While it can be difficult to pile a lot on your plate, a part time job is a great way to gain independence and maturity, and the payoff will definitely feel well earned. C

wage per hour:

hours worked per week:

30 STUDENTS WERE INTERVIEWED ON THEIR JOBS.

type of job:

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welcoming cindy green AFTER 35 YEARS IN THE DISTRICT CINDY GREEN FINDS A NEW HOME AT CHS gabriel maguire PIONEER AND HURON HAVE TWO COUNSELING SECRETARIES, UNLIKE COMMUNITY, WHICH HAS ONLY ONE.

CINDY GREEN LIKES TO WATCH CRIME TELEVISION SHOWS SUCH AS NCIS AND LAW AND ORDER.

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ommunity High School’s counseling office has a new secretary: Cindy Green. Despite starting at Community on Aug.13, about a month ago, she has had years of experience with other schools in the Ann Arbor Public School district. “In three days I will have been with the district for 35 years,” Green said.“To be honest with you, I never wanted to be a counseling secretary.” After her position at Balas was eliminated, she switched jobs, and became Pioneer’s counseling secretary, and had to learn the ropes. “Prior to coming to Community this year, I worked at Pioneer, and before Pioneer I worked down in the administration building.” “I have lots of friends at Pioneer, and I did enjoy working there.” Born and raised in Ann Arbor, MI, Green attended Huron High School growing up. When Green was going through high school, Community High School had not been

established yet. After Green graduated high school, she got married and had two children. Outside of her work, Green enjoys spending time with her dogs, “Well, right now, this week has been a little stressful, because one of my dogs was sick,” Green said. Along with her dogs, she likes watching football and baseball, and rooted for the Tigers throughout their season. Green is replacing Karen Schlech, who had been Community’s counseling secretary for almost eight years. Schlech was forced to leave due to budget cuts in the public schools. “She misses all of us, and wishes she could see you [all] graduate,” Community High School counselor John Boshoven said, recalling the last time that he spoke with Schlech. According to Boshoven, Community High School’s counseling secretary is asked to do a lot more than secretaries at

other high schools. “It’s a hard job,” he said. “The secretary here does a lot more than most secretaries do in any building, and so Cindy is painfully aware of how she is inheriting a thick job description. She smiles about it, but I’m sure she probably tosses and turns at night about it.” Green’s favorite part of her job is the people she works with. “You guys all seem to be really nice,” Green said. Schlech will be missed by many people, although Green will be a great addition to our Community. C

the cats are back CHS JAZZ IS GOING STRONG DESPITE POTENTIAL BUDGET-BASED SETBACKS jacob johnson

cross the city of Ann Arbor, school music programs have faced reality: the money for organizations to run as they have in the past simply isn’t there. While this is a common case, Community High’s jazz program tells a very different story. Despite budget cuts, fewer hours and the threat of being dropped altogether, participation in the Community High Jazz program has never been higher. The award-winning program prides itself on being among the very best in the state, and is continuing to improve. The reason behind all the success? For Jazz Director Jack Wagner, it starts with hard work and high expectations from an early level. The beginning classes in the jazz program – Jazz I and II – center around developing skills in musical theory, technique, and comprehension. The students are instructed, and then tested on anything from being able to quickly recall the chromatic scale to transcribing the solos of famous jazz musicians. While proven to be extremely good for musical growth, some students struggle with the challenge of the curriculum. Joel Appel-Kraut, a freshman in Jazz II, feels challenged by the program. “As a drummer,” he said, “I’m expected to learn music theory and chords on the piano. I don’t have any musical training in the piano, so it’s been a tough transition for me and I’ve really had to practice.”

Both Jazz I and II aim to bring beginning jazz musicians out of their musical “comfort zones.” Students pick up styles and adapt to the unique genre by learning new skills on their instruments. While the tests can be very challenging, the reward is well worth it. “I see a lot of great things happening,” said Wagner. “The kids are picking up on everything very fast.” It isn’t just the director managing everything, either. To cope with the larger class sizes, students from the more advanced jazz classes are volunteering to come in during their free blocks and help others better grasp the material. At the higher levels – Jazz III and IV – classes are more performance-oriented. Students utilize the skills they learn in the earlier jazz classes and perform in small “combos”, often at local venues. The higher bands also play at music festivals at places like Western Michigan University, University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University. Consistently, a Community combo has either received an honorable mention, or won the festival altogether. Wagner attributes this consistency of his program to the skills that every student must learn to do well. This, combined with performance experience and a supportive community, have kept CHS jazz as a standard for high school jazz, despite budget cuts and scheduling changes.

As for the future, Wagner sees it as “full steam ahead.” Thanks to support from students and the community, the program is going just as strong as ever. Yes, the expectations for students in the program are high, but without a dedicated and demanding instructor like Wagner, students would never be able to reach their fullest potential. There is something to be said for a program that accomplishes so much with so little money available. The hard work and dedication from students and staff is a real example of what Community is all about. “I’ve dedicated my adult life,” Wagner said, “to being able to figure out how to challenge these kids to do things that most people wouldn’t ask them to do. I think that’s what, in part, really makes this program great. We have a great tradition here, and I see that tradition carrying on long into the future.” And carry on, it will. C

IN TOTAL, 84 STUDENTS ARE ENROLLED IN THE CHS JAZZ PROGRAM, TYING THE RECORD FOR PARTICIPATION IN THE HISTORY OF THE PROGRAM.

THE CHS JAZZ PROGRAM HAS ATTRACTED VISITS FROM AWARDWINNING MUSICIANS LIKE MICHAEL WEISS, SEAN DOBBLING AND VICTOR WOOTEN.

CHS JAZZ BANDS

For more information, visit communityhighjazz.org

SUPERNOVA AND A2NU RELEASED THEIR CD “SUPERNU” OVER

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teaching stone STONE IS ONE OF THE ROCKS IN THE ILC

emily ross

llen Stone, one of the unsung heros at Community High, gives her students the opportunity to get everything they can out of high school. Her warm personality and enthusiasm for her students is infectious, filling the classroom with energy. Stone serves CHS as a teacher consultant, meaning that she works with students who would benefit with assistance in overcoming a variety of learning difficulties.

“

I think I’ll always teach in some capacity

”

Stone talks with students and their parents, as well as teachers, to devise a plan that will facilitate the students learning experience at CHS. This is all done to optimize the potential of each student in order for them to be successful. Part of a typical plan is to make sure that the student understands and completes all of their homework, so that their grades allow them to move forward and ultimately graduate from high school. In addition to these responsibilities, Stone also

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co-teaches English classes such as Intro to Literature and Pop Lit. Stone also co-taught the second semester of Geometry last year. “It all just depends on where the need is,” said Stone. Part of Stone’s effort can also involve teaching a small section of a class in order to help the teacher cover some of the necessary materials for the curriculum. Stone started attending Antioch College with the goal of becoming a theater major. After pursuing theater for awhile, she decided to start aiming for a career that would give her more job opportunities. That’s when she realized that she enjoyed working with children, in addition to being talented at it. So, as Stone shifted from theater to psychology and education, she began to get involved with internships and a work study program. These experiences ended up getting her a job as a preschool teacher in a day treatment program at a hospital in Kansas. As an effort to improve her career goals, Stone went back to college to get a Master’s degree, specializing in working with kids with emotional impairments. Following Stone’s graduation from college, she discovered her love of writing, particularly poetry. “That’s what I found myself wanting to do.” She was especially drawn to the poetry classes that she took in college, which exposed her to the world of contemporary poetry. She began to participate in poetry slams, poetry readings, and poetry workshops in Kansas. When she eventually moved to Ann Arbor, she continued to write. Stone found herself to be drawn to the poetry that was taught at Community, so she was a part of Intro to Lit and a class that used to be

taught at CHS called “Writer’s Way.” Stone eventually realized that CHS students didn’t have a place where they could write poetry-- not even around the time of the poetry slams in Ann Arbor. So, another teacher who has since retired, Brian Miller, decided to start a poetry club with Stone. Three years have passed since then, and Stone finds the club to be successful and well-attended. Stone found her way to CHS after a maternity leave. Not only did Stone hear great things about Community that made her curious, but there was a part-time job opening which worked with her schedule. While she had been doing the same thing at other schools, she wanted the opportunity to work with high school students. “Eventually, I realized that I loved high school students even more than elementary students because they’re more independent, they’re more sure of who they are, and they have more of a voice.” Stone has nearly thirty years of experience with teaching. “I think that I’ll always teach in some capacity. Ideally, I’d like to always do Poetry Club at Community. If I can, I’d love to teach a CR in poetry, I’d love to do something district-wide with poets in the high school or middle school level, but I’d really love to have at least half a day where I can write, because it’s very hard to do my own writing when I’m teaching, since it’s a 24-hour proposition.” Stone continues to work in her ILC class both passionately and enthusiastically, as well as helping young poets blossom with her undying love of poetry. C

robbery on the road

NICARAGUAN MAN AND SON ATTEMPT TO DRIVE A SCHOOL BUS FROM ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN TO NICARAGUA sophia werthmann communicator web

andy Iran Canales Munoz and his son are going to drive a school bus three thousand miles. The human capacity of the bus is 72 people. But that is not the kind of cargo Munoz and his son, Winston Isaac Canales Berrios are going to carry. The side of the bus which reads “Freeport School District,” will transport a mattress; a 1000 pound differential for a bus; a washer; multiple walkers and crutches; hiking boots; a lamp; drums; a weedwacker; a computer; a wheelchair; cardboard boxes full of random things; a ladder; a violin; and countless other items. Many of these objects are donations from people in the U.S. Munoz purchased the bus in Kankakee, Illinois from a company called “Midwest Transit” for 8,000 dollars. The 19,798 pound bus will depart from Ann Arbor, Mich., and end in Munoz and Berrios’ home town of Catarina, Nicaragua. Munoz, 53, and his son, 20, both currently live in Nicaragua. The main purpose of the trip is not to transport the objects on the bus. This part of his journey is more of a side operation. The primary reason of their trip is for Munoz to acquire another bus for his transport business, which takes things from one city to another. Getting permission to come to the United States is not an easy task. Two years ago, Munoz requested that two of his other sons receive visas in order to come to the U.S., but the U.S. Embassy denied it. However for this trip, it was different. Munoz received two invitations to come to the U.S. from two American citizens. As a result, the U.S. Embassy gave him and his son permission to come to the United States. Munoz always drives the same route. In the first leg of their expedition, they travel through the U.S. After that, they drive through México which takes

noz has slept on his bus on a mattress that he brings with him. When he is in México, he stays in hotels. However in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, he sleeps in the bus on the mattress. When he reaches his final destination, he often paints the bus. It goes from a uniform yellow school bus to a multicolored wonder. He sometimes builds shelves on the inside of the bus, as to improve its insides. Despite the possible dangers the trip brings, Munoz says that he enjoys the trip. “Es una aventura, una experiencia...” he said. (Translation: It is an adventure, an experience). three days. The road in México is a lonely one - the houses are far apart. Once they reach Guatemala, they drive on a freeway that contains many slopes. At the border of El Salvador, they pay a small fee of 17 dollars. When talking about Honduras, Munoz said, “Ahí es un dolor de cabeza porque por todo se paga.” (Translation: “There it’s a headache because you have to pay for everything.”). Finally, at the Nicaraguan border, officials inspect the bus, and they make Munoz and Berrios pay for things such as taxes on the goods he is bringing in. In total, the journey takes ten days. This is not the first time Munoz has driven from the United States to Central America. He has done this twenty times before. Even so, he describes his journey as “peligroso,” which means “dangerous.” His travels are not always easy. Two years ago, he was driving a truck in México, for he had been unable to find a bus that was for sale. An armed criminal group called “Cepa” stopped him on the road and demanded that he give them one hundred dollars. Munoz paid them the money, which resolved the dangerous encounter. On previous trips, when traveling in the U.S., Mu-

update Sandy Iran Canales Munoz and Winston Isaac Canales Berrios departed Michigan on September 21. The father and son made it safely through the United States, but, in Guatemala, something tragic happened. They were robbed. Everything was taken from them including the school bus and their clothes. Since the bus was stolen, they received rides with the police and people from the United States to their home country. Berrios and Munoz are in Nicaragua now, but their specific whereabouts in the country are unknown. C

If you are interested in donating to help this situaton, please visit nicaraguaproject.org.

october 2 0 13

under pressure

THE ORIGINS AND CRITISICMS OF HIGH SCHOOL’S MOST CRUCIAL TESTS abe weiner

isabel sandweiss photo

THE AVERAGE ACT COMPOSITE SCORE IN MICHIGAN IN 2012 WAS 20.1.

THE SAT COSTS $51 WHILE THE ACT WITHOUT WIRITING IS $36.50.

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hey say it’s not important, but it’s so important to the college process,” said Community senior Sofie Sylvester, describing the pressure of the ACT. The State of Michigan requires every high school junior to take the ACT as part of the Michigan Merit Exam (MME), and almost every college in the country requires applicants to submit either their ACT or SAT scores. The SAT is another standardized test students could take but is not required by the state. There are, however, 900 “test optional” colleges in the United States that don’t require the applicant to submit an ACT or SAT score. “These schools have come to determine that perhaps the score on one of these tests doesn’t indicate freshman success,” said John Boshoven, a counselor at Community. The ACT and SAT were first used by colleges because they thought it was a good way to indicate freshman success. The Ivy League schools especially bought into the idea that these tests indicate freshman success, but they also wanted to give students from diverse backgrounds and diverse areas all across the country a chance at getting into their schools. The Ivy League schools originally established a college board that created these tests. The tests were supposed to give students at non-prep schools a good

chance at getting into the Ivy League schools. “They wanted a test that might equate the kind of knowledge students in Montana were getting to the kind of knowledge students were receiving in New Jersey,” explained Boshoven. Even though the ACT and SAT were designed to give students from diverse backgrounds a chance at getting into good colleges, some believe wealthier students still have better chances at doing well on these tests. Community junior Yonatan Hodish points out that many students that are below the poverty line cannot afford many of the methods that some students use to prepare for these tests. “Some students who don’t have enough money to get private lessons or buy books can’t study for it as much and that makes these tests unfair,” said Hodish. The ACT is a memory-based content exam on curriculum. This is why Michigan uses it for the MMEs. “It’s really a test of what you learned in school,” said Boshoven. Originally ‘ACT’ stood for ‘American College Testing,’ but since 1996 it has been shortened to ACT. The ACT tends to be faster paced than the SAT. Boshoven likes to refer to it as the ‘piledriver’ test. “In big cities you can hear this piledriver pound and pound. That’s like the ACT -- it goes

tick tock, tick tock, 60 minutes, 60 questions, go,” said Boshoven. Students can also guess on the ACT and receive no penalty if their answer is incorrect (unlike the SAT). The SAT is more of a reasoning test. ‘SAT’ used to stand for Scholastic Aptitude Test; it was then changed to Scholastic Assessment Test and then finally, just like the ACT, it was shortened to just SAT. Boshoven believes that students who have a good vocabulary, are argumentative, and read for enjoyment tend to do better on the SAT because it is more of a reasoning test. “It’s a little bit more of how you solve problems and you do it in a little bit more thoughtful way,” explained Boshoven. The pace of the SAT is also slower. Besides the differences in pace and questioning, the ACT and SAT are about the same length and colleges will accept the better score from either test. The score students receive on either their ACT or SAT are vitally important to determining which college they get into. This is why students feel so much pressure to do well on them. Many colleges will even use these scores as a screening tool or a way to easily eliminate an applicant. Sylvester believes that students feel a lot of pressure when taking these tests because colleges will eliminate students from their appli-

cant pool if they don’t have a high enough score. “The colleges will say we are going to look at all kids with a 30 on their ACT, so let’s say you have a 29, it is easy for them to eliminate you even though 29 is a great score,” said Boshoven. The good news is that if you do poorly on your ACT or SAT the first time, you can take it as many more times as you would like. Boshoven believes that if you take the tests multiple times, you will become more comfortable with them, eliminating some of the stress many students feel and, as a consequence increasing your score. Boshoven encourages students to take the tests again and again if their score keeps going up until their score levels out. Personally, Boshoven believes that the test scores students receive on one of these tests should not be as important on the college resumes as they are. Sylvester agrees with Boshoven that there should not be as much emphasis on the test scores. “Some people test really well and that’s great for them but some people can’t handle that kind of pressure so they don’t do as well on the tests that test on a lot of information in a short period of time. That’s just not how some people’s brains

work and that’s not how they learn,” said Sylvester. She also points out that these tests have no representation to how college actually works. Boshoven believes that colleges should look more at a student’s GPA than one test score. Boshoven would much rather look at a student’s commitment to learning over 3-4 years than a 3-4 hour test. Isaac Shore, a junior at Community, believes the tests are overrated. He believes the ACT relies too much on speed and not enough on actual academic skill. He thinks the ACT caters too much to a fast worker and not enough to a student who actually takes time to comprehend the information. Some students disagree with Boshoven, Shore and Sylvester and do believe there should be an important emphasis on it. The ACT and SAT could be the most important tests of a student’s career. To Boshoven’s disappointment, he does not see the tests going away anytime in the near future. He does believe that some colleges may de-emphasize them more but believes they will still be an essential part in determining where a student will attend college. C

AVERAGE ACT COMPOSITE SCORES

University of Michigan: 28-32

Eastern Michigan: 18-24

Western Michigan: 19-25

University of Vermont: 24-29

Stanford University: 31-34

UCLA: 25-31

Harvard University: 32-35

University of Oregon: 21-27

Amherst College: 30-34

Williams College: 30-34

Michigan State: 23-28

Northwestern University: 31-33

Kalamazoo College: 26-30

University of Chicago: 31-34

Yale University: 31-35

Grinnell College: 28-32

Dartmouth: 30-34

Bowdoin College: 30-33

“I hope it’s not too hard.” Alex Schmidt

“I don’t know why people freak out about it.” Julia Jaquery

“There are still other parts of your application, not just test scores.” Abby Lauer october 2 0 1 3

should I stay or should I go? COMMUNITY HIGH SENIORS CHOOSE WHETHER TO STAY IN-STATE OR LEAVE FOR COLLEGE cody zeisler

reston Horvath, a senior at Community High School, plans to leave the state for his college education. The desire to leave Ann Arbor is not limited only to Horvath, as many Community students plan to leave Ann Arbor for their college experience. An adventure for some, a new start for others, and the genesis of life without a safety net for both. Every senior must choose to either stay local or leave their security zone for their journey to college. For some, the familiarity that in-state colleges provide is more suitable, with the guarantee that they can always go back home to visit, or in case of emergency. Others, however, yearn to attend a higher learning institution on the opposite side of the country that fulfills their requirements and passions, while learning to live on their own. For Horvath, the ideal college is North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina. “I’ve been pretty interested in piloting and aviation for a while,” said Horvath. “The subjects I enjoy most are math and science in school. So I kind of combined that together and arrived at aviation.” Horvath explained,“I visited there because my grandparents live an hour west of there, and I just kind of visited on a whim one day.” But what, exactly, makes a particular student want to stay in, or leave Ann Arbor? North Carolina State has one of the top engineering programs in the country, ranking number 17 amongst schools where a doctorate is the highest degree. The University of Michigan ranks number seven in the same poll. With one of the country’s best universities nearby, it’s questionable as to why some students want to leave. “The weather is a lot nicer there,” Preston said. “But also I just want to get out of Ann Arbor and explore new places and things.”

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It’s not through lack of credentials that Horvath won’t apply to U of M- with a GPA and ACT score well above Michigan’s 50th percentile, playing varsity tennis and baseball for Skyline High School, and as co-chair for the Youth Advisory Council (which he represents at a national level), it’s within his reach. Which drives the question home: why do certain students have such a strong desire to leave? Alistair Barrell, a former Community High School student and current freshman at the University of Michigan, has the opposite opinion of Horvath. Barrell’s test scores were remarkably similar to Preston’s. “My parents wanted me to go to U of M for money reasons,” said Barrell. “If I had chosen to go somewhere else they wouldn’t have really cared all that much.” Barrell, too, was not short in his selection of other universities to pursue his major in Computer Science, having been accepted to the University of Texas in Austin, Michigan State University, and the University of Washington in Seattle. “Going to college in Ann Arbor and living as a high school student in Ann Arbor are very different.” Barrell continues, “There’s a whole side of Ann Arbor that you won’t see unless you actually go to U of M and are part of the student life there and the groups on campus and all of that.” The difference, then, must be a matter of opinion and experience. Some, like Horvath, have lived their entire lives in Ann Arbor, and long to explore other places. Others, like Barrell, want to pursue their dreams at the best college, regardless of location. C

Charlotte Steele plans on staying in-state for college, on account of cheaper tuition costs. Emre Babbitt wants to travel out of state for college, expressing an interest to “see all the Seattle babes.”

Nick Partin plans on staying in Michigan for college, saying that he likes the familiarity.

Trey Sarmento wants to travel out of state for college, to return to his home-state of Colorado.

plan

Making a list of all that you need to accomplish helps to sort out mental clutter. This will ensure that nothing slips your mind, remind you that the tasks that lie ahead are finite, and help to focus your mind and bring order to chaos.

!0 ways to avoid

meditate

Rachel Portnoy, a yoga instructor at A2ISYoga and Nia THIS A SUBHEAD Studio, said that meditation helps to relieve stress through the “mind-body connection.” “By focusing on the breath, we begin to quiet or still the mind. Allowing the mind to become quiet or still has many benefits, one of which is stress relief,“ Portnoy said. “While a little more challenging to commit to, especially in our very active, constantly ‘connected’ culture, its benefits are countless.” alex wood isabel sandweiss photo

10 ways to stress avoid stress

WHICH IS USED IT TO DESCRIBE YOUR ARTICLE INeva ONE LINE, NO PERIOD rosenfeld ada banks photo

sleep

Lack of sleep increases blood pressure as well as stress hormones. A full night’s sleep is integral for retaining information for multiple reasons: first, it keeps you alert and second, during sleep your mind processes memories and makes connections, more deeply implanting information into your memory. Being stress-free also makes you sleep better, so the whole affair is a friendly cycle.

“

Pull-quote format. Don’t make this box shorter from the top, it’ll mess up the quote marks.

kiss

An unconventional outlet for stress is kissing. According to a study conducted at Lafayette College, the act releases chemicals that reduce hormones known to cause stress.

music

Make a great playlist to match your mood. Music triggers biochemical stress reducers, and all of your comfort songs compiled into one happy assemblage can’t help but soothe you. This can alter your mood as well as pump you up to get big things done.

yoga

Yoga employs the same mind-body connection as meditation as well as releases stress physically. “It releases the stress and tension we hold onto in our bodies,” Portnoy said. “This tension manifests as a tightness or stiffness in our muscles and tissues. By moving and opening the body through yoga’s physical postures, we begin to release october 2013 this built-up tension. It’s like a massage from the inside-out.”

”

perspective

Remember that life’s not black and white. Don’t think, “IF I FAIL THIS TEST I WON’T GET INTO COLLEGE I WILL BE EXILED AS A SOCIAL PARIAH AND I WILL NEVER ACHIEVE ENLIGHTENMENT, ETCETERA!!!” Life is not a onepath ordeal, and a poor test score will not deny you success just as a great one doesn’t guarantee it.

time out

“I have anxiety, so that is stress,” said Gloria Fall, Community High School Sophomore. “If you’re really stressed about something, just take a break for ten minutes and do something that relaxes you... read a book for ten minutes. Or play a game on your phone. Just do something to get your mind off of what is stressing you out, then go back to it without thinking, ‘Oh my god, there’s so much to do, I’m freaking out about it.’“

art

Make art. Play an instrument, draw, paint, take pictures. Don’t worry if it’s not incredible, just enjoy creating something. Studies have shown that art can increase your sense of control over your life.

exercise

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, “Exercise is considered vital for maintaining mental fitness, and it can reduce stress...This can be especially helpful when stress has depleted your energy or ability to concentrate.“ Just five minutes of aerobic exercise stimulates anti-anxiety effects.

october 2 0 1 3

201

A LOOK AT THE WOMAN RUNNING COMMUNITY BEHIND THE WALLS OF ROOM 201

caroline phillips

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ennifer Hein did not like math. She spent many of her ninth grade geometry periods across the street from her high school smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee. She didn’t know the material and was too far behind to catch up. She later failed the course. The last thing Jennifer Hein expected was to be a principal at Ann Arbor Community High School. Hein grew up in the small town of Lincoln, Nebraska with her mom, dad and brother. They later moved across the river to Omaha where Hein graduated high school. Hein found a close group of friends through being in the choir, being involved in theater and being editor of her school newspaper. Hein’s friends helped her keep her focus and stay grounded in school. All through high school, Hein was certain that she was going to be a veterinarian. She had taken all the advanced placement classes in zoology and completed all the tests. However, her dreams came to a sudden halt when she couldn’t pass organic chemistry in college. She had struggled with math her whole life. “It was definitely not my strong suit. Organic chemistry – just crushed me. Not only did I not pass the class, but also I could no longer be a veterinarian. And at that point, that was all I really wanted,” Hein said. Hein tried to find her purpose through something else. After considering English and music as possible career paths, she landed on political science and business. From there she went into urban planning. “It was the most boring thing ever. I couldn’t stand it.”

Not knowing what she would do for the rest of her life. Hein finished up school and earned her Ph. D. She took a job at a travel agency and ended up owning the business herself. Hein fell in love with the travel agency, and was proud to call it her own. However, Hein’s dreams were once again interrupted. Technology took over and travel agencies were no longer in demand. Hein sold her business and was back to square one. She was hired by the Ann Arbor school district to be director of special education and quickly transitioned to being Huron’s assistant principal. From there, Hein’s path to Community High School began. Hein knew she wanted the job of principal at Community. She had heard wonderful things from the former deans. They shared stories of forums going down the river, students taking classes at University of Michigan and the incredible staff at Community High. “I was really intrigued about kids really having choices and engaging in their education,” said Hein. She applied once for the chance to be dean and didn’t get it. Four years ago, the job was open and Hein applied again. This time she got the desk in room 201. Hein was the dean of CHS by Fall 2010. Finally, a job that Hein wanted, loved and one that stuck. “I love Community. I love that kids can play guitar on any ledge. I love that I can overhear riveting conversations about the morphology of Latin. I love that I can walk into Anne’s Calculus class and learn more in fifteen minutes than I ever did in college,” said Hein. “It’s something bigger. It’s remarkable.”

Recent budget cuts have created new, unexpected challenges for Hein. The high schools’ new budget is something that Hein has had to adapt to and something she must be aware of everyday. “The faculty hold themselves and each other to extremely high standards. It is my job to help them keep the high standard. successfully, with less. So they don’t feel it and neither do the students.” Even with the difficult circumstances, Hein never looks back. The school’s legacy and thriving philosophy is something she holds close to her during the hard times. “There are things worth fighting for and sometimes you have to fight really, really hard for them. It’s something much bigger than my own needs for job security,” said Hein. Through her job, Hein never forgets her own struggles with school as she watches over kids who are going through the same thing. “I don’t think everyone learns the same way,” said Hein. “I don’t think people need to learn the same way.” She also has a strong disbelief in the idea called the “deficit model,” a system where the administration waits for a student to fail, and then decides to take notice and help. “I had to retake a course. That wasn’t fun. Everyday I was reminded I failed. I don’t want kids to go through that here. They don’t have to,” said Hein. A principal can have endless administrative responsibilities, numerous goals and countless missions for a school to succeed. Dean Jen is committed and focused on taking the lessons she has learned through her years of education to strive for a better, stronger Community. C

october 2 0 1 3

humans of community GETTING TO KNOW THOSE FAMILIAR FACES eliza upton

joey hathaway

“My most prized possession is my mind.”

carson borbely

Q: When do you feel the most loved? A: I’m one of those people that really loves that relaxed kind of love. Love that’s been around for a really long time. So you know old friendships, or relationships that last a long time. When things are more simple, like just going for a walk with someone. Something that feels natural. There isn’t that weird buzz of nervousness. A lot of people call that excitement, but I just love when love is settled in. That’s when I feel most loved.

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ella ruderman

Q: What brings you the most comfort? A: Music and poetry. All artistic things. Music is just really satisfying and it makes you feel at home and special. With poetry you can express all of your thoughts.

attooed on the inside of Merideth Freiheit’s left foot is a small Latin quote saying “Ancient time was the youth of the world.” For Freiheit this is the most beautiful quote in the world, even though she may not always interpret it the same way. She loves the fact that the meaning of her tattoo can change with her. She can interpret its words in different ways, but it will always bring some form of meaning into her life. “Right now, to me the quote means that [humans] learned from our times, being there, we’ve learned to be moral. We’ve learned to be human beings,” Freiheit said. If her tattoo did not say this about her already, Freiheit is very unique. Though the CHS junior may be of average height and weight for a seventeen-year-old girl, average is not a word many would use to describe her. Words like charismatic, loud, outgoing, intelligent, caring, quirky, and eccentric do her more justice. Freiheit who fears the apocalypse, loves movies, values friendship, and cherishes learning, has always loved expressing herself through her physical appearance, especially through her hair. “In middle school I dyed [my hair] all different colors,” Freiheit said. “I shaved part of it, and I cut it all off, and I grew it all out. I suppose it’s just a part of me that I know I can always change and get back when I want to have it back.” Though many are able to recognize Freiheit due to her short, fire red, pixie haircut, others would be shocked to learn that she is not actually a natural red head. Contrary popular to belief, Freiheit is naturally a blonde. “I am bleach blonde, but I look in the mirror and I see myself as a red head,” Freiheit said. “I don’t see

myself as a blonde anymore.” By example of her hair, Freiheit stays true to how she feels, and her physical expression is just one example of this. Perhaps one of Freiheit’s strongest values would be her appreciation of her education and her school. “I like learning,” Freiheit said. “I like knowing things, and I like understanding things, and I would like to think that most people think of me that way.” Freiheit appreciates the education she is able to receive here at CHS and she wishes all of her classmates would take advantage of it too.

merideth freiheit

“Right now school might not seem important, but in four or five years this school could have changed your entire path,” Freiheit said. “It could have changed not only who you are, but where you’re going in life. I think that sometimes people don’t realize how lucky they are to be here. I just want everyone who goes here to get everything they can out of this school.” Freiheit wishes to carry on the strong values she holds now, in the future. “I don’t want to get bitter, or get stupidly optimistic, I want to be at the same level of thought that I am now,” Freiheit said. “I want to be able to say I care

about people and the world, and what happens to it. I don’t want something terribly tragic to happen to my life where I don’t care about myself, or my future, or other people.” Stubborn, and determined, Freiheit dreams of studying medical sciences and becoming a doctor, or researcher, but above all she would like to be able to help people in whatever career path she ends up taking. On weekends Freiheit can be found at the hair salon, Metamorphosis, where she volunteers her time, or watching movies with her friends. “Saturday’s are just sort of my cleansing time, sort of my refreshing time. Getting out of the shell of this week,” said Freiheit. Though Freiheit has varied tastes in music and movies, she stays true to her favorite genre in reading; magical realism. Freiheit’s love of magical realism is similar to her love of Ken’s World Lit class. She has a passion for all different cultures, and for all different points of view from across the world. Freiheit has been able to share her own views based on some help from CHS teacher, Jason McKnight. Freiheit feels McKnight has taught her the most in life. “I’ve sort of had inner beliefs, not just about politics, but about life and how I feel and how to react to things. But for me, he [Jason] sort of put it into words for me. He just helped me realize what I was thinking and how to say it. Getting my emotions out of me and into the open,” said Freiheit. When speaking on the life lessons she has learned, Freiheit feels she’s learned the “obvious” ones. “Live while you can and enjoy the memories you have now.” C

faces of community

october 2 0 1 3

cheaters

STUDENTS LEARN FROM THE EXPERIENCES AND REGRETS OF CHEATING IN HIGH SCHOOL RELATIONSHIPS madeline halpert

54 PERCENT OF WOMEN ADMITTING TO CHEATING IN AT LEAST ONE RELATIONSHIP THEY’VE HAD ACCORDING TO STATISTICBRAIN.COM

*Lauren Jones knew what was going to happen when she invited the boy over. She knew that she was bored with her current relationship, and that this was something exciting — something different. She knew that they would not just be “watching a movie” at her house that September night. Jones was going to hook up with him. She tried not to think about her boyfriend of five months that evening. Afterwards, she told herself she wouldn’t do it again. She attempted to erase it from her mind, and move forward. But it wasn’t so easy. “It was in the back of my head [when he came over],” says Jones, an Ann Arbor high school student. “I thought, ‘oh this is probably going to happen.’ But [after], I was sort of in denial. I tried to forget it.”

the reasoning

INFIDELITY IS BECOMING MORE COMMON AMONG PEOPLE UNDER 30 ACCORDING TO TRUTHABOUTDECEPTION .COM

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Jones is one of many teenagers who cheat in their high school relationships. Reena Liberman, a psychotherapist, explains why cheating might be more common in high school. “[Teenagers] are just starting out exploring relationships and there’s a lot of curiosity,” she says. “There’s trial and error that’s going on [along with] figuring out who is a good fit for you in a relationship.” She says that a lack of communication in the relationship could also be a reason for this behavior. *Brian Anderson, a junior, believes there was a key component missing from his relationship that pulled him towards somebody else. “Relationships have multiple necessities in them, and there is that physical necessity,” he says. “I just needed more than that relationship could give me.” For others, a long term relationship can become dull, and the excitement of someone new is a motivation. This was the case for Jones.

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“I think at first it was just needing someone there,” she says. “He couldn’t be there for me, so I was just lonely and needed somebody. Later on, when I did it, it was more because I was bored with the relationship and I wanted something different.”

the regret Some argue that the consequences for getting caught are certainly not worth the risk. Jones says that the idea of hurting another person is what caused the most regret. “The worst thing is, he trusted me when a lot of people didn’t,” she says. “I was disappointed in myself because I abused that trust. Seeing someone that you love and care about so much going through that pain and being so sad because of you is the worst thing in the world. I’m still dealing with the guilt.” Liberman argues that most people who cheat do feel guilty. She said that whether or not they let themselves feel guilty is a separate issue. “Some people may justify it as if they have a right,” she says. “Other people will let themselves feel guilty. This is important to evaluate future relationships, if they can be honest with themselves about it.”

school junior, explains that the worst part is remembering the hurt of being cheated on. “I’m still kind of dealing with it,” he says. “It’s hard, I try to not think about it, but I see the person all the time at school and it just reminds me. It was difficult.” He says that the betrayal has shaken his confidence, and he now finds it difficult to talk to women, whereas before, it did not cause him much trouble. Liberman explains that the emotional damage is frequently what causes these issues with confidence. “Often it’s demoralizing,” she said. “It’s a terrible sense of rejection, and if you don’t feel secure about who you are, it can make you even less secure than you already are because you’ve been rejected. It can be emotionally devastating.” Lieberman adds that it even discourages some from future relationships, out of fear that it could happen again. She says that’s not necessarily the worst part, though. “[What hurts the most is] that someone’s been dishonest, and that other people know and you don’t,” she says. “That you’ve been lied to. The hiding, dishonesty, that’s the most devastating part of it. That you think you’re in a trusting relationship and you find out that that trust has been broken.”

the other person It isn’t just the cheater and their partner who is affected by the disloyalty, though. The third person also has to deal with the guilt. *Katie Roberts, an Ann Arbor high school sophomore, says she felt all around used and scummy when she hooked up with a boy who was in a committed relationship. “The next day it sort of hit me what a shitty thing I’d done. I searched the girlfriend on Facebook and realized that she was a real person and I had done a really awful thing to her,” she says. Others are able to put the guilt behind them, as they continue the affair. *Julia Williams, a junior, never intended to hurt anyone when she participated in an affair. “I did feel guilty,” she says. “I felt like a whore. But it ended up getting easier and easier for me to continue doing things with him as time went on. At the same time, it was kind of exciting. But because I know [the girlfriend] and she’s really nice, I do feel badly about it.” She says that the fling is uncharacteristic for her, and that many would be surprised to find out. “I really don’t think that people who know me think I’m capable of doing such a thing.”

the effect *David Brown, an Ann Arbor high

“

The worst thing is, he trusted me when a lot of people didn’t. I was dissapointed in myself because I abused that.

she says. “I think it depends on why they’re cheating to begin with. It’s one thing if it’s about trust. It could be the beginning of problems trusting somebody else.” Roberts argues that this type of behavior is not likely to repeat itself, because the infidelity doesn’t always define the type of person they are. “The cheater is not necessarily a bad person,” she says. “When someone cheats on somebody, it’s because they’re unhappy in their relationship; it’s not just them.” She adds that there is often excessive blame put on the cheater, when the unhealthy relationship is what contributes to the behavior in the first place. “I think it’s definitely a two way street,” says Roberts. “Anybody under the right circumstances could end up being unfaithful.”

74 PERCENT OF MEN AND 64 PERCENT OF WOMEN SAY THEY WOULD HAVE AN AFFIAR IF THEY DIDN’T GET CAUGHT ACCORDING TO STATISTICBRAIN-.COM.

moving forward Some wonder whether it is possible to move past the hurt and betrayal that cheating leaves in its path. Liberman believes it is. “Sometimes forgiveness is just being able to talk through what happened, and why the other person did what they did,” she said. For some, this has been easier than expected. Roberts believes that it was best for her to ignore the situation and move forward with her life. “I’ve tried to put the whole ordeal behind me,” she says. “I think we’re both more or less pretending it never happened.” But for Jones, her mistake has had a lasting effect. She believes that love and trust are not to be taken lightly, and that one exciting night is not worth the wreckage that faithlessness leaves behind. “When someone puts their trust in you, don’t take advantage of that,” she says. “Because it’s a rare thing for someone to trust you completely. And it’s a rare thing for someone to love you for who you are. I think I had that, and I let it go.” C

ACCORDING TO A POLL OVER OVER 1,100 WOMEN CONDUCTED BY WOMANSAVERS. COM, OVER 62 PERCENT OF WOMEN THOUGHT THAT MEN CHEAT MORE THAN WOMEN.

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once a cheater, always a cheater? Many question whether this type of behavior is one that will follow cheaters later on in life, or if it’s purely impulsive. Lieberman thinks it’s circumstantial. “It may be the beginning of a pattern that will last or endure into adulthood,” october 2 0 1 3

davy rothbart: found

beautiful photo DAVY ROTHBART FINDS THAT HIS HEART IS AN IDIOT eva rosenfeld dan busta photo

Davy Rothbart was approaching his car outside of his Chicago apartment one evening when he spotted a note on his windshield addressed to a Mario. “Mario,” it read, “I f**king hate you. You said you were going to work, then why is your car here, at her place? You’re a f**king liar, I hate you I hate you, signed Amber. P.S. Page me later?” The note struck Rothbart so funny - the idea that a person could be so angry but still so hopeful in love - that he felt compelled to share it with his friends. As it turned out, many of them had items they had found to show to him in return: a kid’s drawing, a Polaroid found in the gutter, an old to-do list. A magazine seemed a natural way for everyone to share their findings. Rothbart had no grand ambitions initially; he only planned to make to make 50 copies. He worked for several months collecting finds and then assembled a magazine over three nights with his two cousins. It was a compilation of notes, lists, letters, photos, and any other objects that he found or others found and gave to him; and Found Magazine was born. When they took it over to Kinko’s, an employee there loved the idea and offered to make 800 copies for a cheap price. Rothbart held a release party and sold about 100 copies, leaving 700 magazines strewn about his apartment. Rothbart left town shortly after, leaving his roommate to deal with the mess. When Rothbart returned, all the magazines were gone, so Rothbart concluded that his roommate had trashed them or stuck them in storage. Actually, people had been coming in day and night to buy one copy, three copies, even five for their friends. The neighbors called the police thinking he was selling drugs out of the apartment. Rothbart was shocked that so many people shared his fas-

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cination with his personal hobby, these little slips of paper that serve as a direct window into a stranger’s life. “Now it’s ten years later and we’ve got eight issues of the magazine, three Found books, and we get finds, ten or twenty a day, mailed in from around the country, across the world,” Rothbart said. “Some are really beautiful, heartbreaking, sweet, soulful, they’re just all captivating… I get to know these strangers I share the world with... through little pieces of paper we find.” Growing up the way Rothbart did, living in Ann Arbor and attending CHS, has contributed greatly to his life and career today. “[Community] was self-directed. You can really do as much or as little work as you want - everything is kind of on you. And that’s a good lesson… I’m a pretty self-directed person now, I have a ton of creative interests and I work really hard to try to put creative stuff in the world and that sense of initiative about doing creative work and taking it seriously, I learned that at Community.” In addition, Rothbart has made lifelong friends at Community, one of whom he’s currently touring with. “Once you get to college and start hearing about other people’s experiences in high school you just realize wow, we had it really good,” Rothbart said. “I think it’s one of the coolest schools in the country.” “I live in LA now, but I come back to Ann Arbor every couple of months and I think it’s the perfect place to grow up, honestly,” Rothbart said. “It’s really vibrant, it’s diverse, it’s beautiful. It’s a community of people… who really value the things that I think of as the right things, which are community, nature and art. There’s music and film… Sports stuff, biking, hiking. I rep it hard around the country, I’m always shouting out to the Deuce and Michigan in general. In my book, “My Heart is an Idiot”, there are a ton

of essays about Ann Arbor and stories that take place in Ann Arbor, so I like writing about it too.” Rothbart’s new book reveals a lot about himself, even in its title: “My heart has proven to be an idiot,” Rothbart said. “I seem to fall in love pretty easily, you just see somebody at a bar or a bookstore or a bus and you just have this weird powerful feeling that this is somebody that you’re meant to be with in this really soulful way… It’s not even a physical attraction- it’s some sort of deeper connection that you feel with somebody. I take that instinct and pursue those opportunities with such reckless abandon even when it might mean putting a square peg into a round hole... I also think it doesn’t have to be a pathetic statement, it can be worn as a badge of pride. Maybe someone’s heart has never been an idiot. Maybe they haven’t taken any chances in love, or allowed themselves to fail spectacularly.” Taking chances like this is a major part of why Rothbart has been successful in his many endeavors. “I really believe in not having to ask permission. If you have an idea, making a film or recording an album or making a magazine, not [needing] an investor or a business plan or you might not ever actually get to make it happen. Just going out and doing it on your own.” Now Rothbart is on tour, 20 cities in 30 days with his three close friends: Brett Loudermilk, sword swallower; Hakim Selby, or DJ Mikah the Vipa; and Brandy Wix, a close friend Rothbart made when he attended Community High School. The tour is entitled “Unfinished Business,” and is celebrating Rothbart’s new book, “My Heart is an Idiot,” as well as a new CD of some of Rothbart’s public radio shows, including This American Life. “I was hoping to have an issue of Found finished to take on the road, it’s still not quite done, so I guess that’s the unfinished business,” said Rothbart. “It’s really an adventure being on the road, seeing cool places, meeting cool people, and just sharing your art with people, it’s really a rewarding experience, everyone should try it.” From his days at Community to his tour today, Rothbart has embarked on each effort with an idiosyncratic mind and an idiotic heart.

october 2 0 1 3

budget cut blues

THE CONTRAST BETWEEN THE EXPECTATIONS AND REALITIES OF BUDGET CUTS jeff ohl

hazel o’neil illustration

lock scheduling, busing, forum, 7th block, teachers, theater, jazz, Community High School; students like Mari Milkie thought that any or all of these might be cut due to the Ann Arbor Public Schools’ fund shortage . In September, however, she came back to a relatively unchanged situation. Except for one crucial aspect. Mari Milkie is a junior at Community High School whose forum was dissolved because of the budget cuts. Milkie was signed up to be in Liz Stern’s forum, but would find herself somewhere else entirely come September 3. She was not completely blindsided on the first day though; there were rumors of Stern’s forum being cut as early as June. “I ended up thinking that a couple forums would be cut, because I talked with Liz and she said her forum might get cut, any of the forums might get cut, forum might get cut completely,” Milkie said. Thus, she went into the summer of 2013 not entirely sure which forum she would be in. In August, however, Milkie received an email stating that Stern’s forum had been disbanded and that she would be placed in Marci Tuzinsky’s forum for the next school year. Milkie was disappointed about getting switched out of Stern’s forum, but also felt slightly uplifted when she finally met the other members of her new forum. She did have a few complaints about the process though. “I don’t think it’s really fair for somebody to be in a forum, then be randomly placed in another forum because of budget cuts,” Milkie said. In addition to what she had heard from Stern about Forum, Milkie had formed her own predictions about what would be cut. “I didn’t think block scheduling would change. I didn’t think that seventh

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block would have been cut,” Milkie said. “I was concerned maybe jazz or the art department, or theater or something like that would be cut.” The cuts Milkie noticed in September weren’t nearly as dramatic as she’d predicted. “There really weren’t that many changes. Quinn’s part-time now, a couple of forums got shut and a couple of people switched forum leaders. But there really weren’t that many changes.” Milkie said. Other changes include the cutting of certain classes, resulting in larger class sizes, reduced transportation between schools, and the reduction of math teacher Mohamed El-Hussieny to part-time. Adrian Stoll, a junior at Community, was put in a similar situation to Milkie. “In the summer I got an email saying ‘you’re not in Craig’s forum anymore. Craig’s forum got cut.’ Then I found out that I was in a new forum.” Stoll said. Stoll wasn’t crushed by the change though, realizing that many people whose forums weren’t even cut were put in the same position as him. “It would be preferable if it hadn’t happened,” Stoll said, “but some people who just got into Community would be in the same boat as me, so it’s not the end of the world.” Stoll has chosen to look on the bright side of the situation. “I still see the people from my old forum and I get to meet some new people, too. I adjusted to forum freshman year, so I can do it again,” he said. Regarding the budget cuts, Stoll was fairly certain about a few things. “I didn’t really think they’d cut block scheduling, but bussing, I was pretty sure that they’d cut that,” Stoll said. About the cuts that had actually been implemented, Stoll noticed one change especially. “I feel like a sardine in some classes,” Stoll said.

Stoll accepted that certain things would have to be cut, though, and that not everything could survive the budget cuts. “Something has to give,” Stoll said regarding larger class sizes. John Boshoven is the chair of Ann Arbor Public Schools’ counseling department. Based on what he had heard, Boshoven was fairly certain about at least one thing regarding the budget cuts. “I was pretty sure that they would cut three counselors, and they did,” Boshoven said. In fact, an additional counselor was cut as well, bringing the total to four. “So that’s been a pretty depressing thing, especially since they’ve hired people to do some of the work the counselor’s did.” Boshoven understood why the board had to do what it did but was also critical of their decision to cut counselors. “I lost colleagues who have been busting their hump for years, working on behalf of students and families.” Boshoven said. “It’s probably a money thing, but it doesn’t show very much loyalty to the counselors.” On the other hand, Boshoven thought that certain proposals were exaggerated and that the board wouldn’t go through with them. “I think everybody knew that the original big layoff notice of two hundred and however many teachers was a legal move,” Boshoven said. “They had to give that to the teacher’s union in case they didn’t get enough retirements and in case the board decided to make different cuts. They had to pretty much warn everybody: ‘you’re laid off until you’re not.’ So I wasn’t assuming that there was going to be 200 layoffs.” The final budget reflected a cut of 36 teachers or 43 FTE (full-time equivalent). Boshoven also thought that Community carried an unfair amount of the burden regarding the budget cuts. “I think we are disproportionately hurt by layoffs because we have such a small building.” Boshoven said. “The way that I’m feeling is the class sizes are enormous.” Boshoven noticed a way of thinking that students and faculty at Community were having to embrace more than those at other schools. “The philosophy is, if Community can do so well with so little, maybe they can do better with even less.” Boshoven said, “and that’s a philosophy that Community High seems to be feeling more than other buildings.” Boshoven acknowledged that he doesn’t have first-hand experience with the classrooms of other schools. He does, however, have some information that most people don’t. “I’m looking at class sizes in other buildings and they don’t look quite as jammed as we do. This morning I put a student in an AP class at Huron that had 11 students in it.” After everything, one english course, one art class, one jazz section, two forums, and two physical education courses were cut. However,

Boshoven noticed that despite all this, Community students continued to persist. “We basically say, ‘roll up your sleeves guys, there’s not room very much room in here, so tuck it in,’ and the students do it without complaining.” Boshoven said. “The students already know how to be flexible, I think our students treat their school with respect. They respect the adults that have to do harder things and treat them well as a result of that. So my hat’s off to the students who are enduring all these changes.” Boshoven also acknowledged the sacrifices the faculty has made. “The faculty feels great pain, but I don’t think the faculty is exerting their pain on you guys. I think they’re absorbing the pain because the important thing to them is you guys.” said Boshoven. Thus, while no one really knew what to expect from the budget cuts, people adapted to the changing situation and made the best of their new environment. As Boshoven said, “Until they tell us we can no longer be a school, we’re going to do the darndest we can with you guys because we’re on the ship together.” C

october 2 0 1 3

the forum conundrum

AFTER ANOTHER ROUND OF CUTS TO THE FORUM PROGRAM, WHAT’S NEXT? alex wood

hazel o’neil illustration

hen Community High senior Nick Partin came to school in the middle of August to fix his schedule, it turned out that there were more changes to his scheduled than he had originally intended. For his first three years at CHS, Partin was a member of the Stern Forum. Upon talking to his counselor, Partin learned that the Stern Forum had been dissolved and that he would be reporting to Cindy Haidu-Banks’ room on the first day of school. “I had no clue [my forum was being cut],” said Partin. “I was devastated.” The Stern Forum, along with the Levin Forum, was cut completely, while Elena Flores’ forum and Laurel Landrum’s forum became Diane Grant and Jack Wagner’s forums respectively. After a Board of Education budget approval in late June, CHS Dean Jen Hein was asked to reevaluate the current CHS faculty and find where the cuts could be made. “[Cuts to forum] were something we discussed during the late spring,” said Hein. “As a school none of us wanted to see this happen, but we have to use the resources that we have.”

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Because of all the cuts being made, CHS math teacher Moe El-Hussieny now splits his time between Tappan Middle School and CHS. To ensure that all students would be able to take the necessary math class, the other teachers took his vacated blocks. To do this, Craig Levin was forced to drop his forum. At first, Levin was hesitant about giving up his forum. “When I talked to Jen on the phone, and she asked me, my first instinct was no way,” he said. “There’s no way I’m giving up my forum. They’re so important to me.” Levin ultimately understood that the decision that was necessary to ensure the continued success of CHS students. “None of the forum leaders wanted to make the change,” said Hein. “We need to make sure that we are doing, first and foremost, what’s important to kids, so we have to make sure that we have all of the pieces there to work.” In the science department, similar decisions were made. Liz Stern took another FOS 2 and gave up her forum to allow Courtney Kiley to teach another FOS 4 class.

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We have to make sure that we have all of the pieces there to work.

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“

You can have a conversation with 15 people. I don’t think you can have a conversation with 27 people.

the bigger, the badder?

With less forums, the size of each forum increased. As it was originally intended, the forum program was meant to be a small and close-knit group of diverse students. However, Levin expressed concerns that the increased number of kids in each forum will hurt the program’s efficacy and that teachers won’t be able to meet the needs of all their students. “[The larger group] is only terrible for forum,” said Levin. “The strength of the forum program, which is one of the strengths of Community High, lies in the fact that, in a perfect situation, there are 15 to 18 kids who come together, they have one adult who is their mentor… you can have a conversation with 15 people. I don’t think you can have a conversation with 27 people.” While Hein understands that forum leaders will be busier with more kids, she also believes that the school is designed to make sure that CHS students can get what they need. “We have different tiers of interaction,” said Hein. “We have forum leaders. Maybe you have a favorite teacher here in the building who’s not your forum leader. You have a positive relationship with that person and we can help address needs there. We have guidance counselors, there’s my office... if we all understand that… as Steve Coron likes to say, it doesn’t take a village, it takes a village and two cousins.” Partin thinks that there are some advantages to having larger forums. “There are more people that the freshmn can get help from,” he said. “There are more upperclassmen they can talk to.”

something new

Less than 20 days before school resumed in the fall, CHS jazz teacher Jack Wagner learned that he would be assuming control of Laurel Landrum’s forum to allow Landrum the opportunity to offer a section of Spanish IV. This is not Wagner’s first time being in charge of a forum. In 2008, Wagner co-led a forum with Peter Ways, the dean at that time. Wagner, however, was forced to give up the forum because of the large size of the jazz program. “That didn’t last too long just because the

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jazz program was, again, so large,” said Wagner. “[Dean Ways] felt like it wasn’t right having me do all that, so they were able to change that for me.” His stint as a forum leader lasted only for about two months. Wagner admits that he felt out of his depth during that time. “The first time I did, I had no idea what we were even trying to do,” he said. Wagner believes that because of that experience, and his experience in aiding other forums, he is ready to be a successful forum leader. “I’ve gone to Multi-Culti, I’ve gone to field days, I’ve accompanied people on forum trips, I’ve gone out and pulled garlic mustard,” Wagner said. “So I’ve had quite a bit of exposure to things that they’re trying to cover. I feel much more equipped now.” While he has certainly had to adjust to his new schedule, Wagner has enjoyed meeting his new forum. “They’re a nice bunch of kids, they’re respectful, they try hard to do the right thing and they seem to respect me and each other which is all I ask right now.” Wagner said. “I’m looking forward to getting to know them better and having some fun.” For Levin, losing his forum has been tough. While he believes that teaching an extra math class is easier than teaching forum because he can prepare and teach one lesson rather than trying to meet all of the varied needs of students in forum, Levin cannot help but feel that he’s missing out on something. “I really feel left out,” he said. “I feel left out of some of the conversations we’ve had as staff. I feel left out of those activities that we do in forum together that are silly and stupid, like dumb name games.” Many have expressed worries that the forum program’s importance to CHS will continue to diminish as budget cuts continue to threaten the existence of the school’s array of unique offerings. At one point in time, every staff member in the school was in charge of a relatively small forum. However, as time has passed, forums have gotten bigger and bigger, leading many to think that it will soon be cut completely. With all the changes to forum, Hein believes that forum is still the cornerstone of Community’s specialized learning system. “What we do at Community High School

is not easy to quantify,” she said. “A lot of the benefits and the reasons that students are successful are qualitative... in relationships and helping kids stick to it when they’re in a class and they would just like to give up. All of that soft data is just as important as a test score… and this school does a really phenomenal job of acknowledging that there are things that we do in school that impact kids being successful. That’s forum.” C

LAST YEAR, FORUMS WERE CAPPED AT 24. THIS YEAR, FORUMS RANGE FROM 26 TO 29.

Use this QR code to take part in the Communicator poll about forum size.

then

now

Met during lunch

Most forums meet during block 8

Averaged only ten people

Averaged 26-27 people

Every faculty member had a

There are 19 forums

forum

Graded as a pass/fail class

Graded with letter grades

Had “town council” that in-

Forum council with forum

volved the entire school

representives

Used an interview process to

Incoming students paired

determine forum

with familiar classmates

october 2 0 1 3

essential albums “graceland” by paul simon graehm fazio

“vampire weekend” carson borbely Vampire Weekend’s breakout album evokes an unmistakably preppy vibe. Its cheerful, polyphonic sound leans heavily on influence from African pop and 70s folk, creating a new, almost comically light sound. Vampire Weekend, lead by frontman Ezra Koenig, is hooked on detail. “Then I see you / You’re walking ‘cross the campus / Cruel professor / Studying romances” Vampire Weekend demands your attention. With the wide use of synth, twangy guitars, sharp singing, this is an album that belongs to all that listen to it.

The array of musical instruments in Graceland creates a mosaic that catches the ear on the first track, “The Boy in the Bubble”. Released in 1986, the sounds of Graceland stay one-of-a-kind even today. Graceland manages to combine pop, a capella, isicathamiya, rock and mbaqanga. After Simon’s album “Heart and Bones” of 1983 was poorly rated by the public, Graceland came as a shock, especially coming out in Simon’s low point in his career. In an interview, Simon described “Boyoyo Boys” as instrumental which reminds Simon of some certain 1950s rock ‘n’ roll. Graceland is and will stay an old classic that every- “alive 2007” by daft punk jacob melchi body should familiarize themselves with. The French House duo Daft Punk always bring their A-game to the live stage, bring“yeezus” by kanye west ing out the best of aina kelsaw-fletcher their most popular Kanye West songs. “Alive 2007” walks into a is no exception. Daft darker place Punk’s unique musiwith his newest cal style is highlighted album, “Yeeby the genius ways zus”. Touching they choose to mix their music, all on the spot. This on subjects live album is like nothing else they’ve put out - comsuch as conpared to their much simpler studio releases, “Alive troversies sur2007” is full of more complex ideas and sounds that rounding his they rarely express through other albums. child and fiancé, Kim Kardashian, childhood struggles, and racial hierarchy, this album brings to the table a mixture of elec- “i love you” tronica, hip-hop and soulful rhythm and poetry. by the neigh“My mama was raised in the era when/clean wa- bourhood ter was only served to the fairest skin” he states in lucy fuller “New Slaves”, his song on the depths of racism The synth is suptowards blacks in the present day. “Yeezus” con- posed to be loud. tains plenty of aggressive lyrics, mainly relating to The beats are suphis struggles as a successful black artist coming posed to be strong. from a poor background. West portrays a very The words are supstartling message about present-day racism with posed to be listened to and mean somethis album, and he really proves that he is a God. thing. “I Love You” is supposed to be listened to. The alternative rock of The Neighbourhood has a purpose for every song and every lyric. The honesty about life is sung about in “Afraid”, and wishes about life are put to words in “Alleyways”. “I Love You” is The Neighbourhood’s first album.

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“abbey road” by the beatles janie burns The Beatles left their mark with this album. “Abbey Road” was the last album they recorded in the studio. However, “Let It Be” was the last album to be released. Even though most of their songs, are said to be, written when they were high are very well written. Most of the songs aren’t understood nor make sense to most people. “Abbey Road” spent their first 11 weeks as number 1 on the UK charts. In total they held 92 weeks on the UK Top 75.

“cage the elephant” angel rich Cage the Elephants upbeat, alternative rock style makes you want to come back for more. They definitely don’t hold back. This album came out in 2007 and is quite possibly their best album yet. Matthew and Brad Shultz who are brothers first created the band. They were inspired by Iggy and the Stooges and their style is similar to Arctic Monkeys, The Black Keys and many others. This is their first album they experimented with unusual instruments such as slide guitars. Nonetheless they are a great band who sprung up and went into the world of music and became pretty good at what they chose to do. “paper armour” by pilot touhill victoria laurette Just a simple alternative, rock, reggae band in Los Angeles, California that will get you tapping your feet. Pilot Touhill’s album “Paper Armour” is really the type of music to start off your day the right way with relaxing lyrics and singing, but also gives you a hit of energy with the beat. This album started getting people to sing along and dance when it was released in 2011.

“flight of the conchords album” jonah ahuvia The comedy duo hailing from New Zealand tackle love, loss, and the deep issues plaguing society in their first album. Their songs vary is musical style as they blend the tastes of the music they parody with the harmonies and instruments of their folk-rock. Songs like “Hiphopapotamus vs Rhymenocerous” feature rhymes polite and obscene; “Most Beautiful Girl in the Room” uses gentle accompaniment to tell a story of love. Immensely quotable and consistently entertaining, Flight of the

“sgnt. peppers and the lonely heart’s club” by the beatles grace stamos “Hey, how about disguising ourselves and getting an alter ego, because we're The Beatles and we're fed up.”-Paul McCartney. Just by glancing at The Beatles’ 1967 album cover, “Sgnt. Peppers and The Lonely Heart’s Club,” this is not the same four guys in classic blacks suites everyone is use to seeing. Sgnt. Peppers is intertwined with humor (“St Conchords is absolutely worth hearing and rehearing. Peppers and The Lonely Heart's Club”), new technology (auto change) and a classic symphony mashup (“A Day in The Life”). This album created a new way “hot fuss” by the killers to produce and make music forever. Sgnt. Pepper’s maya gurfinkel Ranked 43 by the Rolling Stone’s on their list of the and The Lonely Heart’s Club exposed a new face of “100 Best Albums of the Decade” the Killers have The Beatles and showed a funny, initiative, new way done it. This album hit home in the United Kingdom, to go about creating music Ireland and Aus“from here to now to you” by jack johnson tralia where it was lexi schnitzer number one on Jack Johnson doesn’t all of their charts. disappoint in his newThe album has est album “From Here alternative rock, to Now to You,” reindie rock, postleased in 2013, as he punk revival and once again brings back new wave genres his mellow guitar skills that create huge and bubbly voice. variety between From reminiscing each song, but because of the unique lyrics written almost entirely back to his punk band in high school to love songs by Brandon Flowers they were all distinctly the Kill- for his wife, the music gives off good vibes that liners.“Hot Fuss” spoke to many when it was released on ger with you throughout the day. The rhythm of hisJune 7, 2004 and is still popular today. “hip hop is good.” by e-dubble dario zullo In his most recent album “Hip Hop is good” e-dubble reaches into a near exemplary state bringing out the true intensity of hip hop. In every note, he provides a mind-boggling experience leaving whoever’s listening to cling on his deep lyrics. The albums sluggish beats compliment his style of rapping, leaving every word and syllable with his trademark sound. It’s no surprise that his fanbase has more than doubled in the last two years. Although he is still considered a small artist of the large spectrum, it’s just a matter of time before he blows up for good.

songs are soothing and bring on many emotions. “girls’ generation” jasmine chang As the debut album of the world famous K-pop group Girls’ Generation, the album, “Girls’ Generation”, features a variety of songs. With the strong beat and intense power of “Into the New World” to the cute rhythm of “Kissing You” to the sweeter and smoother lines of songs like “Honey”, “Baby Baby” and “Merry-Go-Round”, the songs feature the different voices of the nine girls. With different singing techniques and ranges, some girls go for the high notes while others stay on the lower ones. The melodies are brainwashing, but cheerful. The album gives energy to all who listen to it.

“thriller” by michael jackson william welch Thriller is one of the popular albums of all time. Michael captures his interesting personality in the album. The music video of the song “Thriller,” starts of as a normal night with his girlfriend and quickly turns to Michael dancing with the dead. There were nine songs that were on the album, and seven were released as singles, and all of which reached the Top 10 on the Billboard Top 100. The album continues to live on in time despite Jackson’s recent death in 2009. “the blessed unrest" by sara bareilles ariana gould-tasoojy The way Sara Bareilles’s album sounds is daring and comes off as music that shines confidence and helps you let go. Bareilles is fairly new to the pop world but her new album “The Blessed Unrest” has took her into the top 100 on iTunes and in the top 200 billboard. Bareilles has a serious sounding voice that makes her sound strong and brave, just like the title of her hit song. Her most popular song, “Brave,” makes listeners feel free and good after hearing it. “night visions” by imagine dragons myel ristenbatt “Night Visions” produced by Imagine Dragons was number two on the Billboard 200 in the U.S. It was in the top 10 albums in over 10 countries around the world. They went on tour in the United States and in Europe. “It’s Time” is the song originally released for the lead single, and it was their first commercially successful single. During some of their songs for example “Radioactive” there is an electronic feel with a constant and steady beat throughout the song. There is a strong chorus and their lyrical ability is amazing. Imagine Dragons keeps on surprising us with their music.

october 2 0 1 3

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the price to play AAPS IS ONE OF THE FEW SCHOOL DISTRICTS THAT CONTINUES TO OFFER SECOND AND THIRD SPORTS FREE OF CHARGE.

Athletics Budget Statistics

$30,000 Loss in equipment funding

1.5%

percent of budget allocated to athletics

$600

price of ice hockey rentals per student athlete O

W T

W O R K S 30

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District works with athletics to establish a budget

the U of M Seat Cushion Project keep a portion of the money they raise, so the players could use this towards their playing fees,” said St. Pierre. Unfortunately, none of this information was apparent to Ayisha Bhavani, a freshman at Community High School. Bhavani, who had hoped to join field hockey and crew at her home school, Skyline, but was unable to participate due to the numerous expenses involved with each sport. Besides the initial participation cost, her family would have had to cover equipment and boat rental. This isn’t even taking into account transportation, food and other payments made by team members during the season. “I think it’s kind of ridiculous that you have to pay for something that should be counted in your [high school experience],” said Bhavani. Bhavani does admit that although her family wasn’t able to cover the monstrous payments totaling at least 1,000 dollars this year, she didn’t seek out any financial aid. For Lorin Cartwright, the former Athletic Director at Pioneer High School, this is the most disturbing part of the pay to participate format. “One of the hardest things to do is walk into somebody’s office and say ‘I can’t pay this fee. Can you give it to me for free?’” said Cartwright.

District asks how much revenue athletics will generate from ticket sales

While Cartwright notes that Pioneer’s boosters club addresses some of the issues involved with athletic expenses, she explains that there are other options for those who are struggling financially and wish to remain anonymous in their search for assistance. One of these alternatives is run through Rec and Ed. The district sends students to the Rec and Ed department to figure out payment alternatives and the athletic department is never notified of whatever approach results from these efforts. However, Cartwright explains that this program works best with the little attention that it’s receiving. She fears that if these payment plans are overused, administrators will begin to readdress the cutting of certain athletic programming to make up for the money that is lost. In addition, the former AD explains that it is easier for parents to tell their kids that they can’t play sports in order to avoid the additional stress associated with different payment methods. Even so, the Rec and Ed program provides Bhavani with the opportunity she’s been waiting for. “I want to play, but I didn’t get a chance to this year because we’re kind of tight on money... I’m hoping to play sports next year though,” said Bhavani.C

Tix

nn Arbor Public Schools’ district wide “pay to play” fee for high schools sports increased by 100 dollars from the 2013-2014 fiscal year. However, this hike failed to fly under the radar, as did many of this year’s other budget adjustments. Many issues have arisen with the increasing price to join a high school athletics team. Although the grand total of 250 bucks per student to participate in school sports may seem feasible on paper, this cost has been felt by student athletes and administrators alike. According to Lichee St. Pierre, a former fundraising co-chair and current executive board Member of the Pioneer High School Boosters Club, the initial introduction of pay to participate fees, and now the increase of that cost, has resulted in several volunteering efforts aimed at raising money for the school’s athletic teams. Among these fundraisers are selling concessions at Pioneer football games, working a concessions booth on University of Michigan football game days, and installing seat cushions at Michigan Stadium. The money that is raised is then distributed into team accounts and, in some cases, is even awarded to individual participants. “It is not common for the money from the boosters club to go towards individual players, but I do know that Women’s Ice Hockey lets the players that participate in

Adjusted budget, including revenue from ticket sales, is implemented

District asks for a certain amount of money back from athletics

Pay to participate fee is configured based on the amount of money asked for from the district

a new place to break a sweat JASON SZMANSKY OPENS HIS NEW GYM IN DOWNTOWN ANN ARBOR jack kelley

here’s always something new to look “Starting a business financially, you know not a common occurrence to have a gym built into in Ann Arbor. Whether it’s a hobby, you’re automatically in the red,” stated Szmanout of the residence. It lightens the atmosphere a new food, or a popular band playing sky. When trying to convert yourself from and it leaves a different feel in the air. at the Ark, it’s Szmansky doesn’t usually train strange to find yourself people for specific sports. He trains with nothing to do. In people in ways that are beneficial in this particular case it’s whatever it is that particular person athletics and sports, or focused on, but his real goal is to It’s really to help people in different avenues, different isteach more specifically, health people the safe and proper and fitness. Welcome to way of training themselves for their varieties of fitness. Anything from your general population a new gym in downown line of athletics so that they town Ann Arbor run can grow to accomplish what they person to a sports specific person. by cross-trainer Jason are aiming to achieve on their own. Szmansky. He wants to be able to teach people It all started during how to work out without hurting the time when Szmansky worked as a personal cross-trainer to business person, there really isn’t themselves and help them to find the way of trainer at the YMCA. anything that comes easily. You have to know working themselves that suits them best. He “I think working there really got me a good what you’re dealing with, you can’t just let go and doesn’t want people to injure themselves because network of clientele and it introduced me to a lot hope it comes out well. they don’t know what they’re doing. He wants to of different people, and at that point I realized There’s one thing that makes this personal show them the correct way to work so that they that this could be something that was feasible.” fitness gym different than just about any other can learn to do it safely. C said Szmansky. His work at the YMCA gave him gym in Ann Arbor: the fact that Jason Szmansky CONTACT JASON SZMANSKY a chance to build his popularity, gain requests chose to build the gym out of the back of his EMAIL: AT209FITNESS@GMAIL.COM and start to take a look at bigger possibilities. new residence. “[I did it] to make more personal, ADDRESS: 209 NORTH MAIN ST. ANN ARBOR, MI. The transformation from personal trainer to so I take more ownership in it considering I businessman wasn’t a simple task. Management do live here,” explained Szmansky. There aren’t of the estate, the funds, the clientele and the many people who choose to work out of their opening of the doors doesn’t come easy to houses in Ann Arbor, with the exception of anyone. tutors and musical instructors, and it’s definitely

“

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october 2 0 1 3

pioneer does pippin oren steiner

he auditions are over, the cast list is up, and a brand new company of students is beginning the rehearsal process. Pioneer Theatre Guild (PTG) is kicking off its season with a spectacle of the stage: PIPPIN. PIPPIN is a musical that takes place in the middle ages and tells the story of a boy named Pippin, the son of King Charlemagne. After graduating from the university, Pippin goes on a journey to find his “Corner of the Sky.” Along the way he is faced with war, love, friendship, and a heaping dose of humor and historical inaccuracy. “Often times high schools can fall into the trap of doing easier, more commonly done shows. I’m excited to do something a little meatier,” said Michael Hartung, director of PTG’s upcoming fall production. “PIPPIN is a really well written show. I think it’s always good to have young students work with good material.” The enthusiastic University of Michigan musical theatre major embarks on this production alongside a team of choreography and music directors. Hartung has worked with PTG before as a choreographer and now returns to direct. “It’s a great resource for us as students at the university,” said Hartung. “To start directing and start choreographing, it’s a really awesome first gig.” The experience of working with high school students has been

Director Michael Hartung blocks musical number “Glory”, during a daily after-school rehearsal. Over 40 students from all over the Ann Arbor School District meet at Schreiber Auditorium at Pioneer High School.

“Everyone’s so friendly and it’s a great atmosphere and theatre is fun.” -Rebecca Lister 32

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“I’m excited for it to be complete and to see how amazing it is.” -Nani Wolf

beneficial for Hartung, especially with a group like PTG. “Everyone’s really committed,” he said. “It is taken really seriously.” PTG’s past seasons have consisted of five productions: two musicals, FutureStars, a competition play, and Student Productions. “This year will be different,” said Josh Lash, President of PTG, and a cast member of PIPPIN. “We were hit particularly hard by the budget cuts this summer, so we’ve had to pull back our season.” As last school year came to an end, Lash, executive board members, and other participants of PTG attempted to fight the cuts. They spoke at board meetings and wrote letters signed by hundreds of PTG parents and students. Ultimately, the budget cuts were made. Nevertheless, Lash was enthusiastic about Theatre Guild’s upcoming plans. “Moving forward, the big plans are PIPPIN, which is going to be a massive production and RENT with Community Ensemble Theatre (CET) in the spring, which we’re really looking forward to.” Theatre Guild is teaming up with Community Ensemble Theatre, not only for the spring musical, but also for the season’s final show, traditionally called Student Productions. This show has consisted of student-written plays, which students direct and in which they act . This year PTG will work together with Community

“There’s a number where someone throws me a bowler hat and a cane from offstage. I’m excited.” -Emma McGlashen

Ensemble Theatre to continue CET’s sweet tradition, “Just Desserts.” The show will be a collaborative effort and will include student-written work, along with skits, songs and monologues. Although PTG is working through massive cuts and adjustments, its members continue to stay positive. “It’s a little bit scary going into the process,” said Lash, “But if Theatre Guild is good at one thing, it’s making order out of chaos.” For now, the organization focuses on the project at hand, PIPPIN. “We’re really lucky to be putting on this show,” said Lash. “We’re gonna give it all we’ve got!” For director Hartung, theatre is much more than the final product. “Experiencing and participating in theatre really builds community,” he said. “You have to have a good community to create something of quality and with heart behind it. Creating those relationships, and learning how to work as a group, to have one common goal, to put on a show for people. It’s really about us learning together and hopefully the audience will get that too and learn something when they come.” C Pippin will be performed at Pioneer High School’s Schreiber Auditorium Assigned Seating Tickets will be available at showtix4u. com

“You can build sets, you can act, there’s so much you can do here, it’s great.” -Caleb Horvath october 2 0 1 3

the lunch room KERRYTOWN’S VEGAN RESTAURANT OFFERS FRESH FARE AND WELCOMING ENVIRONMENT kelly arnold

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he elderly woman wandered into the restaurant and soon enough was perplexed. Her eyes slowly scanned the menu of seemingly foreign fare, such as tempeh and cashew cheese. She finished studying it and, while slightly hesitant, made her way up to the counter. Restaurant owner Phillis Engelbert had been watching the woman, and was ready to take her order. Despite a fear of both tofu and spicy food, the woman eventually settled on macaroni and cheese, with guidance from Engelbert. She ended up savoring every bite. Engelbert cherishes these moments— where the curiosity surrounding her restaurant brings an individual to try vegan food for the very first time. “I think of the people who eat here regularly, a very small percentage are vegan or even vegetarian, which means we’re getting a lot of people who eat anything, who have a lot of choices, and for some reason they’re choosing to eat here,” said Engelbert. Her vegan diet began to take root when she was 16 years old. A self-described idealistic, she decided to pick up a copy of “Diet for a Small Planet” by Frances Moore Lappé. “It made a lot of sense, about how many acres of corn and soybean we need to grow in order to feed animals throughout their life to fatten them up to the point of slaughter. If that acreage was just put into growing food for people, it could feed exponentially greater numbers of people,” said Engelbert. “That argument made a lot of sense to me, so I stopped eating meat.” Starting as neighbors, Phillis Engelbert and business partner Joe Panozzo

started off their dream of opening a vegan restaurant three years ago by holding informal, private food events called pop-up meals, where they would bring food into a retail space and serve it to family and friends. From pop-up meals, the two transitioned into bringing their unique cuisine to Mark’s Carts. After reaping the rewards of a successful two seasons with their cart, the duo craved growth. “We decided we wanted to be able to expand our menu, our offering,” said Engelbert. “We were ready for a bigger challenge.” Panozzo and Engelbert are now the owners of The Lunch Room, a recently opened restaurant in Kerrytown. She works hard to make eating her food a pleasurable experience. While creating delicious vegan recipes requires cutting out items used heavily in many recipes, such as butter and cheese, Engelbert has found that less is more in terms of ingredients. “I think if you are committed to cooking vegan, you develop a sense of creativity about the ingredients you have, and then look to new ingredients that most people don’t use when they’re cooking... you wouldn’t know there’s butternut squash in the macaroni and cheese. You wouldn’t know there’s red bell peppers in the nacho cheese. You learn how to blend the flavors of vegetables, herbs and spices in ways that create new flavors, flavors that you wouldn’t expect,” she said. Community High students who have made their way over to check out The Lunch Room recognize Engelbert’s commitment to cooking in the items they’ve ordered. Junior Jenni Clancy, despite being originally thrown off by the idea of every dish being vegan, has made one of their baked goods her go-to

treat. “The chocolate chip cookies are really really good, so I’m always going there thinking ‘Oh, let me have 1000 cookies’,” said Clancy. Sophomore Gloria Fall, like Clancy, was also unsure about how to feel about the restaurant, until one day when she went in to try one of their snack deals. “I split some pie fries with with my friend Elle. They came with jam, and they were crispy with sugar on them. And they were really good.” Fall found The Lunch Room’s brick-and-mortar walls splashed with color to be an inviting, modern atmosphere, saying that it was not only cute, but filled with friendly staff. Senior Graehm Fazio described the restaurant as “a very Ann Arbor-ish place. They spent a lot on design and decorative stuff to make people feel at home. The kitchen is visible from where you would sit, so you can see what they are cooking in the back.” “I got the bagel sandwich, which had a pistachio paste instead of the meat on it as a substitute for protein. It was a bit sloppy to eat, but still a good sandwich,” said Fazio. Offering specials specifically for Community High students, Engelbert welcomes Rainbow Zebras to her restaurant. The lunch special is The Lunch Room’s version of a burger and fries: a barbeque tofu slider with curry roasted potatoes, for $5. The after school snack deals, all $3, can vary. “Sometimes we have pie fries, sometimes we have pretzel tots, sometimes we have a pocket pie, which is kind of like a personal fruit pie kind of thing,” said Engelbert. “We welcome Community students to come in, come have a snack, do some homework.”

With restricted space available in Kerrytown, facing small kitchen size with big dreams is a tough matter for Engelbert. She has created many adapted vegan recipes that, while she would love to have them on the everyday menu, cannot due to limited resources. That doesn’t mean the new recipes won’t be coming soon. Engelbert plans on interchanging menu items to give fresh options to diners. “We have a number of soups that we’ll just rotate, because we only have room for one soup kettle,” she said. “We have some new sandwiches that will come out eventually; one we’d like to put out is an Asian Tempeh Edamame Hummus sandwich. And we have a sandwich we call the Nola, which is like a New Orleans muffaletta, with tapenade and grilled vegetables. We have a whole array of Indian food recipes that we’d like to get on there. We have a basic standard menu now, but new things will come off and on.” C

Scan this QR code to visit The Lunch Room’s tumblr page.

october 2 0 1 3

NeoPapalicious

neopapalis serves up delicious JOE SHEENA’S NEOPAPALIS OFFERS OVEN-BAKED PIZZAS TO THE ANN ARBOR COMMUNITY lachlan angus

resh. Flavorful. Fulfilling. These are words to keep in your back pocket when you stroll through the doors of NeoPapalis, and are greeted by the owner, Joe Sheena, who is kneading away at the dough— the most essential, and in this case, the best part of a pizza. Sheena has been in the pizza business for 27 years. “I opened my first restaurant in 1986, PizzaPapalis, which is located right in the downtown Detroit area. And in 2003, I took a trip to Italy and I fell in love with this style of pizza, and it’s been something I’ve wanted to do for quite a while.” Like many who venture to Ann Arbor, Joe was drawn to its divergent culture, at least, the intelligent and tech-savvy side. “For Ann Arbor, we wanted to develop something in general that would work on college campuses, hence the emphasis on speed, price and quality. We thought that college students are becoming more sophisticated in what they’re eating,” he said. Sheena clearly has the knack for success, because business is booming after only one year up and running. He said that they would give the restaurant a couple years of circulation, “and if it has standing power, then [they] will ...expand to

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other college campuses in the Midwest.” He celebrates the excitement of the restau-

most of downtown, it will be packed on Saturdays. For the best experience, go here during lunch hours or shortly after. I would recommend NeoPapalis to any group of friends who are looking to plunder the fresh tastes of Ann Arbor. I got something that was tasty, wicked quick and affordable— a promise that NeoPapalis will always fulfill. As people’s lives become busier and busier, they will find that NeoPapalis is a perfect place for people on borrowed time. And for those who want a quick break from our trusty go-to— Zingerman’s, Sweetwaters, Teriyaki Time— this should be high on the to-do list. C

“I fell in love with this style of pizza, and it’s been something I’ve wanted to do for quite a while.” rant’s success, especially in the heart of football season, because everyone loves to share their wild stories while feasting on their own personal pizza, of course. People spread many high praises of the rising restaurant, and mouth-watering photos of their signature sandwiches, spectacular sweet potato fries, and Neapolitan-style pizzas. Personally, I could barely contain myself by the time I finally had a chance to get my hands on some of the tempting eats. On a first visit, customers may be shocked at the very size of NeoPapalis; it has a prime spot on E. William and Thompson, right next to Cottage Inn. The official website hints at a more small business-type of place. But be forewarned; phenomenal as it is, NeoPapalis is a parlor that is geared towards grads and undergrads. As with

Hours of Operation: Sun-Wed 11am to 11pm, Thu-Sat 11am to 12:30am Address: 500 E. William St.

what kids eat

UNHEALTHY FOODS CAN AFFECT US LATER ON dylan stephens

oe Riesterer and Stephen Brandell sit in Anne Thomas’ room at lunch time. Brandell purchased food from the downstairs lunchroom that day, where they were serving chicken tenders, soft pretzels, tater tots and a salad bar. From the buffet, Brandell chooses chicken tenders, a miniature soft pretzel and five slices of cucumber. He says he enjoys the food from the cafeteria on the first floor of Community. He knows some of it is unhealthy, but “for the price, you get a lot of food,” said Brandell. The food from the cafeteria comes from Chartwells, a company that supplies all AAPS cafeterias. Brandell admitted that he was eating “. . .like ten pounds of breaded chicken.” According to the website myfitnesspal.com, there are more carbs in the chicken tenders than protein or actual meat, so the companies are mostly serving bread. There is almost as much fat as there is meat - 17 grams of fat for 20 grams of actual protein. Moreover, there are 332 calories in three small peices of chicken. Elizabeth Jackson is a University of Michigan cardiologist is involved with Project Healthy Schools. (PHS) is an organization that works with 6th graders in a program that tries to educate them on not only how to eat healthy foods, but also how to exercise every day and avoid too much computer/television time. Jackson recommends all students to learn how to make their own healthy choices if they bring lunch, buy the school lunch or eat out. Elizabeth explores

homemade lunches and how to find the balance between what you want to eat and what is good for you. She also weighs in on nutritional values and the importance of proteins, fibers, and dairy. “Even a little bit of healthy can help, but it’s about balancing,” said Jackson. Riesterer said that he believes he has a healthy diet, as he often eats a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch, which has a good source of protein from the peanut butter and dairy. From the yoghurt the protein and dairy balance out with the chips in his lunch, but the simple addition of an apple can make a difference. “You’re not going to think about having a heart attack tomorrow, but if you look at coronary artery disease, the plaque in the arteries really starts when you are a kid,” Jackson said. She said that victims of motorcycle and car accidents have allowed cardiologists to study young people’s hearts and discover that plaque starts building up in one’s late teens. It takes a while to build up, so even though these people won’t have a heart attack tomorrow, prevention for future medical problems can start by changing your diet in simple ways, “Really high salt foods is not good for you at any age,” said Jackson. “Saturated fats, kind of solid fats like margarin and butter, things that stay in your refrigerator versus olive oil or canola oil. Another thing is that Americans don’t typically pay attention to fiber they aren’t getting enough of.”

Avoiding foods that are highly saturated as well as eating more fiber can really affect one’s heart in a positive way later on in life. This doesn’t mean never eat breaded chicken again, but the amount is what you have to watch. Community students have the opportunity to learn how to make healthy choices when they’re buying their food in Kerrytown, which can act as a preventive measure for later on.. “Community kids - if they are thinking carefully and they are supporting each other, can really learn to eat as an adult,” said Jackson. C

facts about american eating habits

1. In 2011, the average American consumed nearly a ton a food. 2. Over 10 billion donuts are eaten in the U.S. every year. 3. 1 in 4 Americans eats fast food each day.

october 2 0 1 3

flirt with me sophia simon and hannah tschirhart

A LOOK AT FLIRTING AND THE HISTORY OF FLIRTING AMONGST TEENS

loria Fall can recognize flirting. “If a guy were to flirt with me, he’d be touchy,” she said. “He would be nicer and he’d be looking at me and making eye contact and smiling.” Mysterious eye contact, provocative smiling, and physical contact make continuous appearances in people’s descriptions of how they flirt. “It’s a lot of nonverbal signs,” said CHS senior Ben Lawton. Mystery plays a huge role in flirting, which is understandable, given its effectiveness in gauging interest. That playful downcast glance shot across the classroom at the attractive upperclassman is a sizeable dose of mysterious flirtatiousness, and is no doubt effective. However, if perceptions of flirting differ between genders, then the message being sent and received aren’t perfectly correlated. Community High student Renee Hanna described her take. “Friendly is simply asking someone how their day was.” With a raised voice and more intense eye contact she continued, “flirting is ‘hey how was your day? Is there anything I can help you with?’ and it’s all in the eyes.” Flirting is a universal word with more than 3 million definitions, one within almost every person. “[When I’m flirting] I’m trying to convey….‘let’s [hook up]’ and she is receiving ‘Oh this is a really nice guy we should become friends’. When she flirts she’s like ‘let’s get into a really attached relationship for like three years that will end in heartbreak and sadness’ and I’m receiving… ‘let’s [hook up],’” Isamu Inuzaka said. He made the point that women and men flirt differently. This perspective summarizes the widely accepted stereotypes of a complex topic in 3-4 sentences, but can something so intricate and common really be boiled down to one generalization?

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What really is this high school pastime that some partake in? Flirting is described in the Webster dictionary as: behaving as though attracted to or trying to attract someone, but for amusement rather than with serious intentions. Within this definition comes many specifications and individualized opinions of what this everyday high school pastime is. Recreational flirting itself originated in 16th century Europe and went so far as to develop a common flirtatious language spoken with a fan. Although now people don’t walk around in beaded dresses, batting eyelashes under voluptuous velvet hats, humans have developed our own unique language of flirting. Flirting can have all sorts of intentions. “You can flirt with a good friend or someone just for the fun of it, but if you’re flirting with someone you have romantic intentions for, you want to get that message across.” Emre Babbitt said. “Flirting is when you are talking to someone you’re attracted to and you want to either impress them or flatter them and get their attention,” said Aleyah Austin, a sophomore split-enrolling at CHS. To some it’s just a smile allowing the rest to be left up to imagination and for others it’s acting bolder, maybe using bigger gestures. Whether taking a more straight forward approach or subtly seducing someone, it’s up to your judgment; but whatever which way you define it, make sure you portray it clearly. Flirting is a harmless and innocent high school pass time, and never fails to entertain. Although methods of flirting may differ in terms of intensity and straightforwardness, there was definitely another method of conveying interest in someone described as “seduction.” Scherdt sums up the correlation between the two methods as such:

“Seducing is such a strong word compared to flirting to me. Seducing is when your intention is to bring them home. Everyone flirts, not everyone seduces.” Intentions may fall on a spectrum ranging from friends merely teasing each other to flirting or even seduction. Fortunately, so do the methods of flirting. However, feelings can cover a much larger spectrum, and one may only have a handful of flirting techniques to convey those feelings. This creates a frequent disconnect between the intentions of the flirter and the message received. “[When flirting] whether both parties are involved doesn’t really matter,” said Hanna, addressing the disconnect between intentions and what is perceived. Scherdt jokingly said, “I’ve found that when it’s not mutual it turns into more of a stalking so...” Of course ‘stalking’ is a humorous overstatement but the need for mutuality in a flirting interaction remains a matter of opinion. Flirting will always remain an entertaining method of conveying romantic interest or tension and a natural way to interact with others. “I think it’s mostly a positive message you’re telling them like you think they’re cute or you like being around them...I’ve found that flirting can be totally innocent but then I can also lead into a year long relationship,” said Scherdt. Flattering or complimenting someone through flirting is, as Tracy articulated, sending a positive and encouraging message. The playful teasing and fleeting, sweet smiles will remain an everyday part of our interactions as one of the most purely innocent and positive forms of flattery. C

music reviews hazel o’neil

for your parents

for you

Honey Cone. Popular in the early 1970s era of R&B and soul, Honey Cone is one of the most overlooked girl groups of their time.The band was discovered by Motown lyricist Eddie Holland in 1969, though they never became officially linked to the Motown label, they are frequently compared to groups such as Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, and The Supremes because of their similar sounding styles of soul inspired pop, and female harmonies over a danceable bass beat. Honey Cone had several chart topping hits in the early 1970s, including one number one hit, “Want Ads.” While their success was short lived, as lead singer Edna Wright went solo only several years into the band’s career, Honey Cone had a myriad of catchy and soulful hits, such as “Girls It Ain’t Easy,” “Stick Up,” “Take Me With You,” and “The Day I Found Myself.” Their music is a great example of feel good 70s soul- the “ooh la la” style choruses and basslines will have you tapping your feet and singing along in no time. Feather your hair, put on some bell bottoms, and check out Honey Cone’s greatest hits collection, which is available on iTunes.

Los Campesinos! Los Campesinos! have been around since 2006, when they were formed in Cardiff, Wales. Their first record, “Hold On Now, Youngster…” debuted in 2008, and the band took the indie music scene by storm. They were labelled as “twee pop,” a term referring to their overly joyous and lively sound; but throughout the years, and through three succeeding albums, the band has managed to shake this image for a darker one. Their music style has been likened to that of Blur, Modest Mouse, and The Smiths. Heavy guitar hooks, sarcastic and clever yet sometimes unintelligible lyrics, and fast and angry choruses are all staples to Los Campesinos! songs. The band’s most celebrated record by fans and critics alike is “Romance Is Boring,” their third album, released in 2010. The title track is one of their catchiest songs. The album marks the band’s transition into darker thematic material. The band has a new album, titled “No Blues,” coming out at the end of the end of October. Two singles, “What Death Leaves Behind” and “Avocado, Baby” have already been released, and show immense amounts of promise for the upcoming album. Don’t miss the new album, out Oct. 29.

hannon hylkema

emily ross

milo tucker-meyer

for you of the future Described on their website as “a triumphant synth rock band from Boston, MA,” the five piece band Magic Man is indeed triumphant. First introduced to the world through a collection of three songs titled “The Fox Den Demos,” the band quickly gained a fanbase. Their style of music is heavily influenced by 80s synth pop, and is an incredibly catchy mix of electronica and pop. Their most popular song, “Paris,” opens with a nostalgic piano melody that has listeners tapping their feet from the first notes, while another song, “Texas,” is summery and reminiscent of 60s surf music, while still featuring their signature synth sound. They released their first official EP, titled “You Are Here” on Sept. 10. The EP features the three songs on the Fox Den Demos, plus two new songs. Magic Man recently finished touring with popular band Walk The Moon as their opening act. Having seen them when they played at Saint Andrew’s Hall in Detroit, I can vouch for this band’s ability to not only sound fantastic on recording, but play an energetic and musically on point live as well. Judging by the magnitude of the crowd’s positive reaction to the band, I predict we will hear a lot more from Magic Man in the future.

The group Slum Village, featuring Detroit City natives Baatin, T3, and Jay Dilla make up the musical stylings of J Dilla’s first project: “Fan-Tas-Tic vol.1.” For those who have not witnessed this release, it’s time to move Fan-Tas-Tic vol. 1 to the top of the listening list. This record puts a new impression on the world of hip-hop because of the way the group demonstrates a completely dominant harmony with the essential grooves of the music. Released on the independent label: Barak Records, in 2005, the 22 song album illuminates what hip-hop is and should be. When it was recorded in 1996-97 the “SV” crew was still enrolled in the Davis Aerospace Technical High School in Detroit and searching for an expressive outlet for their talents- they found it. If it’s a solid groove you’re looking for, it is certain to be on this tape. It is nearly impossible to resist the bobbing of the head or the tapping of a foot. The popular American nu-metal band KoRn released their fourth studio album “Issues” through Immortal Records on Nov. 16, 1999. The album has sold over 11,000,000 copies worldwide between its release date and today. KoRn emerged in the early 90s, forming their rap-like vocal tone and their bass-oriented sound into a new genre. In this album, the band’s original sound is evident in songs such as “Beg For Me” and “Let’s Get This Party Started.” However, there are many memorable melodies in songs such as “Make Me Bad”, “No Way”, and “Hey Daddy”. If you enjoy listening to 90s bands, metal/rock, or if you just have a general interest in listening to unfamiliar music, KoRn is the band to research, and “Issues” is the first album to listen to. Late Registration is Kanye West’s sophomore album, having five hit singles and selling over 860,000 copies in the first week alone, this album was certainly a commercial success - but it’s so much more than that. Covering an immense range of topics with a whopping 21 tracks and backed by a full orchestra on multiple songs, this album is a masterpiece to say the least. The album starts out with the beautifully composed, heartfelt track “Heard Em Say” (Featuring Adam Levine on vocals) which is about being honest and staying true to your virtues in a world where everything around you is telling you to do otherwise. From there West covers topics from his grandmother’s death to girls who have relations with you only for your money, from the crack epidemic to praising the woman who brought him into this world, his mom. Throughout this album Kanye West poetically focuses in on certain aspects from his old life, his new life, and to the perspective of someone else’s life. This album truly has it all.

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the radio rises FROM THE CLASSROOM TO THE AIRWAVES––A DREAM BECOMES REALITY

A Radio Club meeting on a Tuesday at lunch. From bottom left: Erez Dessel, Alex Wood, Ausitn Bruner, Natalie Delph, Steve Coron, Kanako Fujioka, Hazel O’Neil, Oren Levin, and Jeff Ohl

liam knight & alona shewach

to see what people like and to see what draws new listeners. As a producer, O’Neil understands this. “I love music,” she said. “I’ve always been really snobby about how if someone is putting on their iPod, I want mine to be on, so I figured the best way to do that without being kind of a brat about it is to have a radio station. I thought it’d be a cool thing. Community has lots of very talented people who are also good at music, like the whole jazz band, so I figured there would be other people interested in it.” And people have proven to be interested in it. Jacob Johnson listens to CHS radio about once a week. “It’s really cool to hear the voice of kids you see at school coming over the radio,” he said. “It’s kind of weird, but really cool. The playlists they make are all very interesting. It’s not your typical big time radio station. It’s a nice variety they have.” When Senior Byron Lau saw a post in the forum bulletin about CHS Radio last year, he knew he had to join. Lau’s show differs from some of the other radio members’––he broadcasts electronic dance music (EDM), a genre comprised of several sub-genres–– whereas most of the other broadcasters play rap, hip hop, jazz or folk music. “[EDM] goes from house, to dubstep, to drum and bass, to drumstep, to whatever kinds of house and stuff you want to call it,” said Lau. Lau pre-records his broadcasts in the form of a mix: a number of songs, or tracks, put together with a smooth transition from one track to the next. Not all broadcasters will play a mix; those who play music will often just

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It’s ic is ju a ex st big pr an es ot par t h s yo er of ur wa ou r se y lf. to

e need a radio station!” Steve Coron said to his advanced art class. He didn’t expect it to happen—it was more of an offhanded comment. But it stuck with Hazel O’Neil, one of his students, so she decided to approach him about it later. “Do you actually want a radio station?” she asked. Coron looked at her with shock and enthusiasm. “Yeah! Let’s do it!” So O’Neil began researching how to start a radio station. Now, a year later, O’Neil is not only a DJ, but also the president and founder of CHS Radio. CHS Radio is a student-run online radio station. It is streamed through the Internet, so it can be played through a computer or a phone, but not through a car radio or an AM/FM radio. Broadcasters mostly stream music, though they could feasibly have guest speakers or broadcast a talk show. It is managed primarily by President Hazel O’Neil, Vice President Tracy Scherdt, and Faculty Advisor Steve Coron. The goal of CHS Radio is “to showcase our students in terms of what their interests are,” said Coron. “Music is a big part of our lives. It could become a public service thing where we talk about school or issues, there could be interviews, or it could just be a cool time to play our favorite tunes. It’s just another way to express yourself.” A successful radio station allows the producers to share what they love with an audience that is open to listening to music different than their own personal taste. With Community’s new radio station, the producers are experimenting

play one track after the other without creating a transition in between, others might not play music at all. Mixing can be a complicated process. First, Lau chooses his introductory song, which is played in the background while he says a few words to start his show off. Then, he adds another track and creates a transition into it from the track before it. He may have to adjust the tempo or key to match the next track, or sample parts of the track and play them during the next one to match the “feel” of the two tracks. Transitions are meant to be fluid, “like they could go unnoticed,” said Lau. “What I do is… I try and find songs that would probably mix well together, so I’m actually on my computer checking the beats per minute, and syncing up everything and making sure it sounds all good and well,” he said. When it’s time to broadcast, Lau uses Winamp and a plugin called Shoutcast to stream his mix using his PC. Though he prefers to mix his music beforehand, some broadcasters stream live, using input directly from their microphones. Mac users follow a different process for streaming. Instead of Winamp, they use a program called Nicecast. When streaming live, a playlist can be made in iTunes and broadcasted to the station. During the broadcast, the music fades out while the DJ talks and fades back in when they’re done. When a broadcaster’s time is up, they log out of the program and the next person comes on. At 8:00 PM, when his broadcast ends, Lau puts the list of tracks he used in the mix on the CHS Radio website and uploads the night’s mix on Mixcloud, a website that allows users to upload their mixes so the general public can stream the mix from their browsers. A link to each mix on Mixcloud is included in his section on the CHS Radio website. Lau has high hopes for CHS Radio. “After my year, I’m pretty sure there’ll be enough youngins interested in playing their music or doing their own kind of show,” he said. “I think it has a good chance of living on if we build it up.” To tune in to CHS Radio, you can access their website at http://sites.google.com/site/ radiochs to download a small file which will run in iTunes or your default media player. Playing the file will allow you to hear whomever is broadcasting at the time. Broadcasts are from 7-9 every night, including weekends. The Twitter handle for CHS Radio is @radiochs, and their Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/ChsRainbowRadio. Students interested in participating in CHS Radio should come to the photo room, Room 113, during lunch on a Tuesday, when the radio members meet. New members are encouraged, and should contact CHS radio at radiochs@gmail. com. C

Monday 7-8: Byron Lau 8-9: Natalie Delph Tuesday 7-8: Steve Coron 8-9: Alexa Jones Wednesday 7-8: Erez Dessel 8-9: Tracy Scherdt Thursday 7-8: Alex “Woody” Wood 8-9: Jack MacConnel Friday 7-8: Jeff Ohl 8-9 Austin Bruner Saturday 7-8: Oren Levin 8-9: N/A Sunday 7-8: Kanako Fujioka 8-9: Hazel O’Neil Byron: Electronic Dance Music (EDM) Natalie: Variety Steve: Variety Alexa: “Hype Music”/Variety Erez: Freeform Tracy: Indie Pop/Variety Woody: Variety Jack: Freeform Jeff: Variety Austin: Metal, Progressive Rock, Hardcore Punk Oren: Variety Kanako: Indie, Electronic Hazel: Indie, Alternative, Oldies Right: Senior Byron Lau has played deep house, electro house, progressive house, liquid drum and bass, jungle drum and bass, moombahton, dubstep, brostep, trance, glitch hop and trap on his show so far.

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their stories

PHILLIPS SITS WITH DAUGHTER ON 2002 CHRISTMAS EVE.

“

”

I couldn’t believe it for a while. I still needed him.

caroline phillips

om Phillips was used to the weight of his backpack that sank onto his shoulders everyday when he would walk to school, and the was used to the heavy football pads he wore everyday at practice. Phillips was not prepared for the enormous weight that dropped on his shoulders after his father suddenly died. The Phillips family lived in a small, white house on Lucern Ave. just outside of Detroit. It had a dark red door. Three bedrooms. One bathroom. Seven people. “We were all crammed, but it didn’t really feel like it – it was just the way it always was,” said Phillips. With five boys and two dogs running around the house, a chaotic state was the norm. Phillips’s mother, Florence stayed at home and kept things together, while Tom Sr. went to work at the Chrysler factory in the city. “My parents always expected good grades, a solid job, and a clean room,” Phillips said smiling. “We never questioned my dad.” When Phillips was 17, he was captain of the football team, had straight As and a 4:30 a.m. paper route. It was when Phillips woke up to deliver the massive amounts of newspaper on April 18, that he saw his dad for

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the last time. Later that day, Tom Phillips Sr. had a fatal heart attack while taking his afternoon break. “Everyone was shocked. I couldn’t really believe it for a while. I still needed him,” said Phillips. Reality slowly sunk in for the family. “All of a sudden there was tons of responsibility on my mom, responsibility she never had.” Phillips took his hand off his chin and slowly crossed his arms. “Me and my brothers were on their own there for a little bit.” Phillips began pushing himself to new extremes. He took more paper routes at earlier times, pushed harder in football practice, and expected even more of himself in school. “My dad had expectations for us. Just because he was gone didn’t mean they were,” said Phillips. By the end of senior year, Phillips was exhausted. He had run himself down. He remembers falling asleep at a red light one night while picking up cigarettes for his mom. The next obvious step was college; his two older brothers were in school, with jobs and scholarships. One brother had just gotten a

job at a movie theater and moved out. Any money that had been saved for Phillips’s education was gone. “It didn’t really frustrate me. I knew everyone in my family was working really hard,” said Phillips. Instead of just giving up and getting a job without a degree, Phillips used his small paper route fund, some scholarship money, a 150 dollar check from his uncle, and lots of student loans to enroll in Community college. From then on, Phillips took every other year off to save enough money for the next. He moved colleges six times always in search of lower cost and more credits. Today, Phillips and all of his brothers have college degrees and stable jobs. Phillips is the executive corporate manager for Bed Bath and Beyond. He has three daughters, two of which are in college - with the help of their parents. Just to help take a little of that weight off. Phillips smiled and leaned back in his chair, “Yeah, it was tough. I struggled for long time. But knowing my dad, he wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.” C

games

v rsus

homework A LOOK AT THE BATTLE OF ATTENTION BETWEEN VIDEO GAMES AND HOMEWORK

cameron fortune

aced with the choice between video games and homework which would you pick? Would the option to play games absorb you, or would it be easy for you to decide that it is not the time for them? People struggle with finding a middle ground between games and homework daily, letting games take time that would otherwise be used for studying or homework. New games are coming out left and right, making it harder than ever to stay on task at home. A few notable titles coming out soon are Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Battlefield 4, Call of Duty Ghost, and FIFA 14. Right now the hot new game is the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto V that was recently released . Just how popular is it? Tyler Schmader, an experienced gamer and sophomore at Community High School said, “GTA already made their money back on Xbox pre orders alone and is the most expensive game ever made.” GTA is obviously very popular, but why? Schmader said, “What makes [GTA] great is that it is so immersive and they basically fixed everything that was wrong with all of the other GTA games, also the GTA V map

is so huge. You could explore it for days.” Games are not evil but can sabotage your grades or social/sport life if you play them when they interfere with more important responsibilities. The key is to play them at the right time,Schmader said, “Some days I don’t play at all and other days

I go on a gaming binge.” He also admitted that getting GTA V is going to cause him to miss out on an opportunity or two to study. “I am only human. You give me one of the greatest recentyly made games and expect me to be just as productive as I am now?” CHS sophomore Dominic DiFranco, a self-labeled game enthusiast described his gaming schedule, “I don’t usually play during the week, I normally play on the weekends. It depends on what the weather’s like, if I’m busy, and how I’m feeling.” Adding to video games grade wrecking arsenal

are the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One which are scheduled to be released just before Christmas. There is heated debate surrounding the two new consoles arguing which is better overall, explaining his opinion on the topic Schmader said, “The Xbox one doesn’t have any edge over the PS4 now, because the real advantages the Xbox had was the Xbox live being the better online experience, and the fact that games were easier to develop for the Xbox. Now Microsoft has had lots of issues with public relations, and their console cost 100 dollars more. There is nothing keeping me from buying a PlayStation, as I have had all three other PlayStations.” Everyone has a different opinion on which console will reign superior but both are sure to create a unique gaming experience. Schmader thinks it’s worth getting one of the new consoles right away i f you have the money but said, “I’m not getting a new console right away because I personally have no money. Unless I get it for Christmas or get a job, which are both unlikely. After all, why apply for a job when you can play GTA V.” C

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falling into fashion oby ugwuegbu & eva rosenfeld ada banks photo

fashion page w/ und

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october 2013

sarah oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;connor

manasseh mcclair

frances mackercher

Around Community, fall fashion can be interpreted in many different ways. Students take on the season in various ways. Rich red, burn olive, or honey gold are the color bases for versatile outfits that are both expressive and comfortable.

ndecided title!!!

october 2013

sophie steinberg

becky kechner

jenni clancy

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opinion

the double standard oby ugwuegbu

hazel o’neil illustration

On Sunday August 25, 2013, a whopping 10.1 million people tuned in to watch the MTV Video Music Awards. Out of the many performances, Miley Cyrus and Robin Thicke’s was the most shocking. Cyrus started off singing “We Can’t Stop,” her summer hit song. Cyrus came out of a giant robotic teddy bear, sticking her tongue out while wearing a one-piece teddy bear leotard. She performed while many giant teddy bears danced around her. She stunned the audience even more by stripping down to a nude color two-piece as Thicke came out to sing his hit song “Blurred Lines”. Thicke wore a black and white striped suit; the only other thing Cryus wore was a foam finger. Cyrus flaunted off her famous twerking skills and grinded on Thicke and continually used the foam finger to point at inappropriate places. Miley Cyrus’s attempt to get rid of her Hannah Montana reputation worked. According to Forbes.com, the 20-year-old singer generated about 300,000 tweets per minute after her controversial

performance. The internet buzzed about Cyrus for the next few days, but why only Cyrus? Thicke’s performance was just as controversial, yet didn’t get nearly as much attention or criticism as Cyrus’. Community High student Alice Held had a lot to say about this topic. “There has always just been a sort of double standard. I think it’s just because of being a woman. How often we are given a minority role. We are not considered dominant in society so it makes us easier to be targeted,” she said. Thicke does has a wife and one child, but nobody mentioned how unacceptable it was to let a 20-year-old girl grind on him. Most people found Cyrus’s performance to be ‘disgusting’ and ‘outrageous’. This is because in our society, men are considered the dominant gender. A lot of people don’t like the ‘new’ Cyrus and don’t get why she is trying so hard to become famous again. But nobody is really focusing on Thicke because in the world it is commonly accepted for men to act inappropriately towards women. Most people look past his actions when perhaps they shouldn’t. C

letter to the editor Dear Editors, As a student of Community High School for the past four years, I have been exposed to many different examples of journalism as demonstrated by The Communicator. Although many of the editions of the magazine have been well designed and written, I feel that overall the periodical has not reached its full potential. For example, last year, many different articles would be written on incredibly similar topics. Although it does provide a nice backbone to an issue, it felt to me as though the articles were written for a “wow factor” as opposed to trying to get to the bottom of the issue. In other words, the “what” of the article was clearly addressed; however, the “why” was overlooked. In order to have a stronger impact on its readership, The Communicator needs to attempt to analyze the issues presented it its articles. The Communicator has established itself as a high-quality periodical. Now, the articles need to mature. Present us with an issue and try to provoke a quality debate in the student body. Build off of a taboo issue, and let students form opinions off of well-articulated journalism. I have no doubt that the staff of The Communicator will be able to astonish its readers. Sincerely, Katie Taub

staff editorial: after the storm In June of this year, Ann Arbor Public Schools faced a budget crisis that affected departments from athletics to teacher layoffs. The final cuts reflected a slashing of over seven million dollars. Every high school was affected by the budget cuts, although Community was especially hurt by them. Three of Community’s teachers were reduced to part-time. This resulted in the cutting of at least one class in the english, mathematics, jazz and art departments. This in turn has resulted in larger class sizes at Community. In contrast, there’s an AP class at Huron that has a measly eleven students in it, meaning if a student went from Huron to Community he would find his class size had increased by about 200%. It is irrational to burden Community with more than its fair share of the budget cuts. Community students are more likely than students at any other school to take college classes. Community also has a nationally renowned jazz program, a Mock Trial team that has won three state championships in the last five years and a critically acclaimed theater guild. Thus, Ann Arbor Public Schools should be in-

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vesting more of its resources into Community, not less. However, exactly the opposite is happening. Not only was Community deeply scarred by the budget cuts, but the entire school was on the chopping block during August. This would mean that not only Community’s academic resources would be gone from the district, but the relationships that the students formed at Community would be lost when the students were forced to go to their district schools. The staff that had produced so many productive members of society would be moved to another school, or worse, let go. Without Community High School being factored in, the average ACT of the Ann Arbor Public High Schools (Huron, Pioneer, Skyline) would drop over half a point, from 24.3 to just under 23.7. If Ann Arbor Public Schools wants to continue being on the forefront of Michigan, and even national, education, then the AAPS school board should continue funding Community as it has done with every other high school, not put the stress of elimination on its students and faculty each year. C

communicator policy The Communicator, being committed to the free exchange of ideas, is an open forum for expression of opinions. It is student-run; students make all content decisions. Letters to the editor are encouraged and can be sent to thecommunicator2012@ gmail.com. Signed articles will be accepted with no prior administrative review as space is available. The Communicator reserves the right to edit submissions. Furthermore, opinions expressed therein are those of the authors and not of this newspaper, Community High School, or Ann Arbor Public Schools. For our complete policy, please see www.chscommunicator.com.

picture this

isabel sandweiss

RECALLING INFLUENTIAL LOVED ONES THROUGH PHOTOGRAPHS

dorothy levin

Dorothy Levin knew how to ask good questions. More importantly, she truly listened to the answers. Her inquiries were genuine, specific, and had the power to make anyone feel special, including her grandson, math teacher Craig Levin. Even as she grew older and her mind began to deteriorate, Dorothy kept her strong conversation skills. When Craig was growing up, Dorothy filled in the gaps in his life. His parents weren’t around as much as he would have liked, but Dorothy was always there to pick him up from school, take him swimming, and ask him questions. She regularly drove the 15 miles between their suburban Chicago towns to spend time with her grandson. Although she was terrified of water, she often took him to the pool because she knew he loved to swim. At her frequently used card table, she taught Craig games like crazy eights and king’s corners; she even taught him how to gamble. Sometimes, Craig and his grandmother just liked to sit and do crossword puzzles together. Craig believes that children can withstand any hardship as long as they have just one significant adult to stand behind them; Dorothy played that role. He has no idea how his life would have turned out without her. Dorothy was one of the biggest reasons that Craig frequently revisited Chicago as an adult; he knew that time was fleeting. In her late eighties, Dorothy slowly broke down both physically and mentally. When she died at the age of 92, Craig understood it was time. He enjoys this photograph because it captures a happy, simple day with the amazing grandmother he knew and loved.

jake & rafe scobey-thal

When Community junior Isaac Scobey-Thal was born, his two brothers, Jake and Rafe, were already seven and ten years old. He hasn’t lived in a house with either of them since Rafe left for college six years ago. Despite the age gap, Isaac feels very close to and influenced by his interesting brothers. Rafe is smart. He is focused and driven and is currently trying to do independent videography in New York. Isaac sees more of himself in Jake. Also living in New York, Jake enjoys writing and is interested in urban and foreign policy issues. Both brothers are competitive, just like Isaac, and the three of them enjoy challenging each other to games of ping-pong and basketball. However, their age gap keeps them from picking real fights with each other. Isaac’s brothers expose him to places he’s never been and to ideas he’s never had. Since they are older and have experienced more than their little brother, they like to share with him what they’ve learned. They take him to events like Michigan hockey games and, just last month, Isaac went and visited them in Brooklyn, New York. Isaac enjoys this snapshot because it reminds him that, before they were his role models, his brothers were just silly little kids.

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art throb

phoenix patterson photo community high junior â&#x20AC;&#x153;My favorite medium is photography. I like that you are able to capture a moment with a photo. This is my first art class since 7th grade.â&#x20AC;?