letter from the editor Dear readers, You’re probably thinking it’s predictable that we chose to do a political issue for the election. Perhaps it is. But the presidential election only happens every four years, and this is our chance to consider the role politics play in our lives and in our school. We can’t pass it up. Why are elections so exciting? Of course, the media focus and the money funneled into campaign ads mean that we never forget an election is happening. But we also get to watch history pass before our eyes, and we’ll likely remember the details in the future—the CHS teachers featured on page 16 easily recall details of memorable elections of past years. The 2008 election was historic, leading to our first AfricanAmerican president. It’s interesting to imagine how will we remember this election in the future. Maybe you’ll always think of this election as the first time you followed politics on your own and formed your own opinions. Maybe 2012 is the first time you’ll have an informed discussion of the election with your classmates and teachers (p. 18). Maybe you’ll volunteer, like the students from Team High School for Obama (p. 14), and you’ll remember how you did your best for your preferred candidate. And a lucky few of you will get to say 2012 was the first time you cast your vote in a presidential election (p. 13). No matter what, don’t let your age keep you from getting involved in the election. Politics can seem irrelevant, but the chosen candidate’s policies will affect you or someone you know. So read the newspaper and watch the debates and speeches. Challenge yourself to have a civilized conversation with someone who disagrees with you so that you can learn a new perspective. Vote if you can. If you can’t, volunteer. It’s easy to take our democracy for granted, especially when the race becomes this partisan and bitter. But we’re lucky to have the right to choose our politicians at all. It’s our responsibility to exercise that right.
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CONTENTS
Jetty rae
mock trial nationals 06 5funding woes 06 MODEL UN Chloe Root takes over Model UN.
Sincerely,
13 YOUNG VOTERS Eligible seniors get ready to vote.
Mari Cohen Editor-in-Chief
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Shuttle buses
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NEW TEACHERS Marcy and Mr. Jackson join the CHS staff.
14 CAMPAIGN VOLUNTEERS Ann Arbor’s Team High School gets teens involved in volunteering for Obama.
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Seamus Cares Cameron Fortune David Gissiner Ruthilah Graff
Madeline Halpert Hannah King Casey MacDonald Sarah O’Connor Jeffrey Ohl Aidan Patterson Merrick Perpich Leon Pescador Caroline Phillips Nate Porter Artem Saakov Daniel Sagher Marcelo Salas Isabel Sandweiss Tyler Schmader Isaac Shore Lukas Trierweiler Hannah Tschirhart
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Editor-In-Chief Mari Cohen
Managing Editors Cooper DePriest Abby Kleinheksel Brienne O’ Donnell Eliza Stein
Copy Editor Kelly Arnold
Staff
Eliza Upton Joris Von Moltke Alexander Wood Julie Yanar Sarah Zimmerman
Adviser Tracy Anderson
Cover Art Colleen O’Brien
18 POLITICAL OPINIONS An election year means students and staff must decide how to present their politial opinions.
Back Cover Illustration James Mackin
table of contents
20 FAMILY Not all families fit into the traditional struture.
news briefs masters of jazz Jack Wagner expects five to eight master classes to come visit his Jazz Band students this year. One of these mentors, a CHS graduate, is a guitarist for Michael Buble. Other visitors include Paul Keller from Ann Arbor and the Western Jazz Quartet from Kalamazoo. Each special guest will perform. Students can receive criticism, observe, and ask questions.
volunteer of the year After the all-school picture on Oct. 4, Natural Area Preservation (NAP) representative David Borneman announced that Community High has been awarded volunteer of the year. Every year, Community High has volunteered for the NAP as part of Not School As Usual day. Traditionally, NAP has chosen one person for this award, but this year they decided to choose CHS. Select students from CHS were invited to a NAP volunteer appreciation dinner on Oct. 24. Borneman also said that there will be a mayoral proclamation on Oct. 29th about Community’s new award.
the library change The media center at CHS is now closed during and after lunch on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays until further notice. Media Specialist Nat Powell is working at Eberwhite Elementary as well as here at Community, spending one and a half days of the week at Eberwhite and three and a half days of the week here. Due to the travel time being during his lunch hour, he will be spending much less time here at Community than in the past. Computers in the Boneyard are recommended for those who need computer access while the library is closed.
new presidents Forum Council 2012-2013 elected co-presidents Cooper DePriest and Eliza Stein, both seniors, in September. The presidents plan to accomplish more this year, starting with fund raising for Food Gatherers before the colder months arrive. Forum Council 2012-2013 worked with advisor Steve Coron, on organizing spirit week and the Multicultural Feast.
light the night On the night of Saturday Sept. 29 the Ann Arbor Downtown was filled with flickering red, white and gold balloons. These balloons were in memory and support of leukemia and lymphoma survivors and patients. Light the Night is an annual fundraiser and walk for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. This year Team Emma, walking in memory of Emma Rubenstein for the fourth year, was the top fundraising family team, raising a total of $8,027. The Thomas forum walked and helped fundraise. During the weeks prior to the walk they went around to the forums asking for any spare money they had. They raised over $400 with this method.
smells like school spirit Forum council voted to make this year’s spirit week the week of October 29. Monday is Pajama Day, Tuesday students will show their forum spirit, Wednesday is Halloween, Thursday is Twin Day and Friday is Wacky Hair Day. Throughout the week, students will compete to win pies for their forum. The culminating activity for the week will be a schoolwide scavenger hunt.
news briefs
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proust questionnaire Hank Miller
isabel Sandweiss photo
Hank is a senior at Community. He enjoys singing and acting. Look for him at Jimmy Johns. Where would you like to live? Scotland.
What is your most treasured possession? My iPhone.
What is your most marked characteristic? My laugh. Who is your favorite musician? For muisical theatre, Stephen Sondheim. For regular music, maybe Ry Cooder. What is your greatest fear? Wasting my life.
What is your idea of perfect happiness? Being in a situation where you don’t have to worry about anything bad.
What words or phrases do you overuse most? Wow, stop it, OMG, shut up.
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Who or what is the greatest love of your life? Music.
What do you dislike most about your appearance? I think I have a wide face.
Who are your favorite heroes of fiction? Inigo Montoya. What is your favorite name? Shelgy. proust questionnaire
If you were to come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be? Some hamster creature in a cage.
How would you like to die? Kill myself when I’m old. What is your favorite cereal? Fruit Loops.
What is your current state of mind? Zen.
What do you consider your greatest achievement? Making it to age 17.
What is your motto? Have a good time all the time.
What living person do you most despise? Dominique Strausskhan.
the end of an era Chloe root takes over model un from cindy haidu-banks jeff ohl jeff ohl photo
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t’s 6 pm on a Wednesday night and a group of students are crowded into Chloe Root’s classroom debating the “Innocence of Muslims” video. After a few minutes, the debate gets out of hand and Root has to step in to quiet some students down. Eventually the students settle down and order is restored. This scene took place during Root’s second week teaching Model UN, a club where students research, discuss world issues, and prepare for the late November conference. Root inherited the leadership position from Cindy Haidu-Banks, who held it for over five years Root said that the decision to make her the teacher for Model UN wasn’t her own decision, or even HaiduBanks’. Haidu-Banks said that the transfer of leadership had nothing to do with her wanting to stop teaching Model UN, but was the result of a combination of budget cuts, the addition of a new class, and the graduation requirements that social studies teachers have to teach. Haidu-Banks said that due to the budget cuts that occurred in the last few years, there can only be a certain amount of paid teachers working at Community, and that each of those teachers can only teach for a certain number of hours. The result is most social studies teachers teaching four classes per semester plus forum. This has been the standard number since the budget cuts. Most of the classes that the social
studies teachers teach are graduation requirements, (Real World Civics and Economics, U.S. History, World History), leaving only one elective per social studies teacher per semester. Before the
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the class. She also was afraid that she wouldn’t be able to fill her predecessor’s shoes. However, after getting her first meeting under her belt and getting to know some of the people that she
It’s just that there’s gonna be a steep learning curve.
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budget cuts it might have been possible for a social studies teacher to teach two electives, Haidu-Banks said. Haidu-Banks couldn’t keep teaching Model UN because she was asked to co-teach Leadership for Social Justice, a class she helped develop with Janelle Johnson. This was her one elective. This meant that someone else would have to teach Model UN, and that someone was Root. Although Root just began teaching Model UN, she is no stranger to the club. Root was a member of the club during her junior and senior years (‘00-’02) at Community High School over a decade ago, and she was even a member of the Security Council, which is reserved for the most serious members of the club. There are only fifteen members of the Council at the entire Great Lakes International Model United Nations (GLIMUN) conference, out of over five hundred that attend the conference. Even though Root has experience as a student in Model UN, she was nervous about her first time teaching
would be teaching for the next semester, Root said that she was excited about the idea of teaching Model UN. Although Root was energized about the idea of teaching Model UN, Root also knew that she had a lot to learn. “It’s just that there’s gonna be a steep learning curve, I think it’s just that I have to be humble and realize that I don’t know how things are gonna work and take direction from my students more than I normally do in my class,” she said Root plans to learn a lot from students, but she also received advice from Haidu-Banks. Root and Haidu-Banks had lunch together a few times, where Haidu-Banks shared some of her methods of teaching class with Root. While Root hasn’t mastered the art of teaching Model UN yet, but she went through a similar experience last year when she took over Mock Trial from its former coach, Cheryl Grace. Root felt the same way when she started teaching Mock Trial. “I felt like I learned more from you guys [Mock Trial students] than you school news
guys all learned from me,” she said. Root said that she didn’t plan to change Model UN that much from how Cindy taught it. She said that she mainly just wants to make sure everyone gets to speak in front of people early on, so that they don’t avoid speaking during the conference due to anxiety. Root actually had an experience with this when she was a member of the club. “I remember one conference I went and I barely spoke at all because I was so nervous,” she said. Sara León, a senior and Model UN student, has experienced both Haidu Banks’ and Root’s leadership. She noticed one main difference between the two. “Cindy spent her time mainly trying to get decorum down, and we [Model UN students under Root’s leadership] were talking about the [world] issues,” she said. Since Root has only been the teacher for Model UN for a little while, León was not certain about how different the two would be. “It’s difficult to say right now, because we’ve only had two meetings,” León said. Regardless of how Root plans to change Model UN, she is enthusiastic about teaching the club. “I’m looking forward to it a lot, I’m excited,” Root said. C
Model Un has been a class at community for over 15 years
Model UN meets on Wednesdays from 5-7 pm at CHS. the communicator
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shuttle buses Cancelled shuttle buses mean students must find alternative transportation madeline halpert julie yanar illustration
55.9 PERCENT OF THE 45,625,458 CHILDREN ENROLLED IN PUBLIC K-12 SCHOOLS WERE BUSED TO SCHOOL AT PUBLIC EXPENSE IN 200405, THE MOST RECENT YEAR FOR WHICH STATISTICS ARE COMPILED, ACCORDING TO SAFEROUTESPARTNERSHIP.ORG
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t 12:15 PM on a Tuesday, six students wait for the number eight bus to roll up in the empty lot as a musty scent wafts through the air. The city bus piles on more students than ever, hauling them back and forth from the various Ann Arbor Public high schools. The city bus is now one of the only options for high school students who split enroll between Community High School and the other Ann Arbor public high schools. On June 14, the Ann Arbor school board eliminated the midday shuttle buses between Community High School and the other public high schools to shave off $230,184 from the existing $188.5 million budget. This amount was part of the approved budget to cut nearly $3.4 million from the school system altogether. For students who already have the challenge of making their schedules work for split enrolling, this adds one more obstacle to their day. Sarah McCurrach, a sophomore based at Huron High School, is one of those students. “I didn’t know if I was going to be able to dual [enroll] or even come at all, if I couldn’t get rides,” said McCurrach. The daughter of two working the communicator
parents, McCurrach has had to make adjustments to include Community as a part of her learning experience. But according to McCurrach, who struggles with learning as a result of dyslexia,
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Others point out that cutting the shuttle buses has made split enrollment difficult for students, and could have been a factor in the smaller number. Liz Margolis, the spokeswoman for the
I didn’t know if I was going to be able to dual [enroll] or even come at all, if I couldn’t get rides.
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those adjustments are worth it. “I get a better connection with my teachers, I feel more comfortable asking for help and it is a more intimate learning environment,” said McCurrach. McCurrach is not the only student who has had to reconsider split enrolling. John Boshoven, a counselor at Community High School, estimates that this year, around 50 students are split enrolling compared to around 100 students that split enrolled last year. But he is not sure how much of that is related to the cancellation of the shuttle buses. “I think it’s been a factor this year, but lack of available classes at the big schools are more of a factor,” he said. school news
Ann Arbor Public schools, feels that the city bus does not provide the best alternative to the shuttle buses that the Ann Arbor Public schools provided last year. “It is very hard to make the timing work,” she said. “Some split enrollment can be timed at Pioneer because service is more often, but it is almost impossible to use AATA for mid day service at Huron and Skyline.” Costing 75 cents a ride, or a $29 value pass for students, the city bus has also been a more expensive alternative. Julia Jaquery is a sophomore at CHS who needs to split enroll at Huron to take choir. She says that last year’s shuttle buses were a more convenient and cheaper way to get around.
“The timing worked out nicely and the shuttle buses did save gas and effort,” she said. “Paying for gas is unfortunate and it would be expensive to pay for the city bus all year too.” Although the shuttle bus cuts have caused difficulty to students who split enroll, some conclude that it may be the best option instead of stripping funds from educational programs. Jaquery realizes that it has made transportation difficult, but when it comes to the bigger picture, she sees it as one of the better alternatives. “It cuts down options, but I’d much rather they cut the buses than the music or art department or sports. It’s harder to get around, but we still have pretty good options for education and extracurriculars,” she said. Margolis emphasized that these cuts have been difficult to make. She stresses that there are no good places to cut from anymore, and the “fat” from the budget has already been trimmed. “Programs that we and the community value are being impacted,” she said. “The district has been attempting to keep the cuts from the classroom, or impacting students, but that isn’t possible any longer.” C
the new norm the effects of budget cuts through the eyes of a chs teacher marcelo salas marcelo salas illustration
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aurel Landrum, a full-time Spanish teacher at Community High School, starts off every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday with a first block Spanish 3 class, lecturing and leading activities. Although it may appear to be an ordinary world language class, it is in many ways a reminder of the combined Spanish 2 and 3 class Landrum taught last year. Due to the education budget cuts in 2011, the Spanish department had
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some, this separation may have been fine, but for others it was quite troublesome. Isabel Todoroff, a sophomore at Community, found these circumstances were tough. “It was just harder to learn, and I didn’t like that we had to be separated,” said Todoroff. Landrum also noted that she had nobody to help monitor the students in the computer lab, which meant less support for those who needed it.
It was difficult to keep everybody doing the same thing and challenged at the same time.
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to be creative, as there were only four sections to teach the entire program at Community. What they came up with was the split Spanish 2-3 course that Laurel describes as a failed experiment. “I kind of underestimated the distance in knowledge between the lower-level [Spanish] 2 kids and the higher-level [Spanish] 3 kids, so it was difficult to keep everybody doing the same thing and challenged at the same time,” said Landrum. Last year, Landrum’s Spanish 2-3 classes were often hectic, and she had to send groups to the computer lab to complete work so she could better teach the other half of the class. For
Although there are no split-level classes this year, budget cuts are still evident in the form of increasing class sizes, fewer classroom materials, and even little to no transportation options, but they are also noticeable in the overall feel of classes. Landrum acknowledges that she is giving out less daily homework, and focusing more on preparation. Due to these changes, assessments and projects become even more important for her classes than they were before. There is now an educational budget of $14.3 billion for K-12 schools, a figure down almost $1 billion from last year. Landrum explains that in order to gain money for the education budget,
Michigan has to tie funding to student achievement and teacher performance. Now, 20 percent of her evaluation is linked to how her students do in class. The next year, 30 percent of her evaluation will be based off these results. “It’s just data, everyone wants data, and I don’t think that there is a ton of consideration as to how the data is being collected and what measures are being used,” said Landrum. Although she has the summer off, Landrum has no time for a social life during the school year. Five extra kids can add an hour of work to a day according to Laurel, and that’s not all. Recently, teachers have been publicly scrutinized. Landrum finds that, in general, students have become far more critical towards what they’re learning, and she often has to defend herself. In some cases it’s to students, sometimes to friends, or even to family members. Many teachers have taken action against unfair treatment or lack thereof; most notably the teachers of the Chicago public school district. When asked about their cause, Landrum explained that such a large group had to strike before anyone else could. “I’m a strong believer in public education, and that a good education should be free to everyone, “ said Landrum. “I don’t think it’s free and equal now, but I think the more that it gets cut, it’s going to be free and bad for everybody, instead of trying to raise the bar and make it free and good for
everybody.” Along with lack of funding, state alignment of education has also arisen as a debatable topic. Landrum believes there are pros and cons to this strategy. She agrees that a state-wide educational system would mean less work for teachers and administrators, but she also believes it would require trust. Will her colleagues have the same views on assessments and testing? Landrum highly doubts they would. One big issue with the budget cuts is benefits for teachers. Landrum initially had great insurance and went to several doctors and offices for free, but that was switched out with subpar options. In addition, Landrum now has to pick between several pension options, none of which she understands. Teachers are learning to adapt to an ever-changing budget, and Landrum has experienced these changes firsthand. She has persevered, and continues to single-handedly run the entire Spanish program at Community High School, but she simply states that the budget is broken. Most importantly, Laurel is grateful she is even employed. “I’m happy to have a job, and I do feel like my job is more secure than a lot of people’s jobs... despite the fact that I am sick of being vilified,” said Landrum. At least for now, Laurel Landrum is mentoring her students, with several limitations, to the best of her ability. C
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THE PROPOSED AND PASSED EDUCATION BUDGET FOR MICHIGAN IN 2013 IS $12.9 BILLION, AROUND $1.4 BILLION DOLLARS LESS THAN THE CURRENT BUDGET OF 2012
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finding greatness mr. jackson, NEw world history teacher, encourages students to reach potential molly kraus-steinmetz communicator web staff eliza stein photo
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uring June of last year, students at Community High School signed up to take first semester World History and Geography with Sarah Roldan. On the first day of school, they found Marcia Schaffer teaching the class instead. Now, several weeks into the school year, they have finally begun settling into class with their permanent teacher, Mr. Brandon Jackson. “Community High School had an opening for a history position,” explained CHS Dean Jen Hein, “because Ms. Roldan was returned back to Huron High School by the district. And Mr. Jackson still needed a partial assignment, so the district is having him fill that here.” Because of lack of seniority, Roldan went from teaching part time at both Huron and Community last year to teaching only at Huron this year, and Jackson now faces a daily commute between the two schools. “The folks who have the least amount of seniority have the most vulnerability to being moved in the district,” Hein said. At Huron, Jackson coordinates the school’s Rising Scholars program, which works to close the achievement gap in Ann Arbor Public Schools. “What we find is that African American students and Hispanic students traditionally aren’t taking the higher level, rigorous courses that are offered in Ann Arbor Public Schools,” explained Jackson. “Those courses reduce [future 08
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college] tuition for students, and they also provide opportunities in life to go to more advanced colleges of highereducation and learning.” In addition to getting students into
two sections of World History,” stated Hein.“We are interested in the achievement of all kids here in the building... Everybody has the same goal: all kids achieving at the highest level they pos-
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Everybody has the same goal: all kids achieving at the highest level they possibly can. So we welcome him; he’s a great addition to the Community staff
AP or AC courses, Rising Scholars also encourages students to explore what Jackson calls their “areas of greatness.” He believes that all students have the potential to excel at something, and encourages students to embrace their own greatness in academics, sports, arts, or other activities. “The great thing about Ann Arbor Public Schools is that they provide those opportunities,” he said. “I just think that sometimes, the staff don’t connect the students with the opportunities.” So far, the Rising Scholars program has been implemented in the district’s main three high schools: the program at Pioneer services 50 students, Skyline 90, and Huron a whopping 110. However, both Jackson and Hein deny that Jackson has been sent to Community to set up a fourth branch of the program. “[Mr. Jackson] is really here to teach school news
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sibly can. So we welcome him; he’s a great addition to the Community staff.” Because CHS doesn’t offer AP classes, a potential Rising Scholars program at the school would have to be implemented differently. Still, there are always possibilities. “I would like to work with the administration to make sure we service all of our students,” said Jackson. “We can always work with students to help them accelerate, and let them know that taking the AP exam is an option for them, if they’re interested in doing it,” he said. Transitioning between the very different environments of Huron and Community has been a bit of a culture shock for Jackson. One obvious difference between the schools is the form of address: At Huron and the other mainstream schools, students refer to teachers by their last names, but at
Community, it’s considered normal for teachers to be called by their first names. Still, Jackson will continue to be called by his title, Mr. Jackson, rather than his given name, Brandon. “We had a class vote [on what to call me],” explained Jackson. “I like to work with the students, and what I found was that most of the students wanted Mr. Jackson.” Jackson is still working part time at Huron, so being Mr. Jackson at Community will also make his life more consistent. “I’d like for everybody to sort of be on one accord,” he explained. Jackson’s interest in history, especially in teaching the subject, stemmed from the experiences of his adopted father, who despite his love of history, nearly failed the course because of conflict with a social studies teacher. Jackson said that this story has had a big impact on his teaching career. “It allowed me to understand that relationships with teachers are vital.” Now that he is teaching at CHS, Jackson is optimistic about the year. “I have been impressed with the intelligence and support and the overwhelming morale of the Community students,” he said. “I think they’ve made this an excellent transition, so I just want to come and do my best with the students of Community.” C
coming home new fos teacher marcy mckormic brings scientific and artistic talent to chs eva hattie schueler communicator web staff cooper depriest photo
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oom 317 was associated last year with former Community teacher Tod Tharp, best known for his role as Charles the Wrestler in the CET production of “As You Like It.” The new occupant of room 317, new science teacher Marcy McKormic, isn’t without her own creative talents. Before discovering that her heart lay in teaching, McKormic planned to pursue a future in medical illustration. Although that normally entails illustrating science and medical textbooks, McKormic had something different in mind. “I wanted to work at the Smithsonian, and set up all the presentations and exhibits, and things like that,” she said. McKormic, who has always been fascinated with science, said that being a medical illustrator is a good way to combine both the arts and the sciences. “Well, it was interesting in high school. A lot of people, teachers and counselors, were like, ‘Oh no, you have to choose one or the other, you’re either a scientist or an artist, you can’t be both.,” she said. “And I was like, ‘I don’t know about that.’ So, I was lucky to find a program at U of M that combined the two things.” Still, the amount of people willing to combine the two subjects seems to be a small amount; there were only six students in McKormic’s graduating class, herself included. A firm believer that life will take its own path, McKormic later went back to school to become a teacher, and first
came to Community for the 2003-2004 school year to be a student teacher. As she worked alongside Liz Stern and Kathy Heder, two of the science teachers of that time, McKormic fell in love with the science program at Community.
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classes of FOS III and one class of FOS II. McKormic said that she has always wanted to teach in Ann Arbor. She’s spent more time in Ann Arbor than she’s ever spent in any one place. The daughter of an Air Force veteran,
My heart was always at Community. I really wanted to be here, and it felt like coming home. So when the job opened up, I had to go for it...
“I was really excited. I wanted to do student-teaching here, because it had the integrated science program,” she said Before landing her current job at Community, McKormic spent eight years teaching science at Saline Middle High, applying much of what she had learned as a student teacher at Community to the curriculum in Saline. “I took a lot of the principles of integrating the science and what I learned here to over there,” she said. “So it’s been a nice transition. We cover physical science in the middle school, chemistry, a little bit of physics and energy, energy and the environment.” McKormic described teaching middle school science as fun, but a “whole different level of challenges.” Now employed full-time at Community, she has taken the job position formerly held by Tod Tharp and now teaches two classes of FOS I, two
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McKormic spent most of her childhood moving from place to place. However, she’s lived and worked around the Ann Arbor area since age 18, when she moved here for undergraduate studies. “My heart was always at Community,” she said. “I really wanted to be here, and it felt like coming home. So when the job opened up, I had to go for it.” Now that she’s back at Community, McKormic has her work cut out for her with the FOS II program, something that the science department is looking to rework. But McKormic said she’s looking forward to that. “We’re developing, or rather, redeveloping the FOS II curriculum, adding to it, updating it,” she said “So I’m really looking forward to all that work in FOS II.” Although she’s only been here for a short while, McKormic already has plenty of stories about mishaps in the school news
classroom, adventures outside and how quickly the expected can become the unexpected. In the first quarter of FOS I, students spent a lot of time down at Traver Creek, looking for bugs and testing the cleanliness of the water. The first week of school, McKormic took her class down for their introduction to the creek, hoping for good weather. The radar had only a ten or 20 percent chance of rain, not enough to change the plans. “So we get down there, I can see a few clouds, the clouds seem to start building, we get down to the river, we’re actually looking at it, and it starts to sprinkle,” McKormic said. “So I was like, okay guys, we’re going to pack it up, we’re gonna head back,we don’t want to be in the rain. And as we’re walking back, crossing the Broadway bridge, there’s no cover anywhere, and it just started to downpour. I mean, the biggest raindrops you’ve ever seen, and there was nothing we could do. So we just decided to book it, just run, and we came back to school literally drenched. So second full day of school, and I am sopping wet in front of my students.” Still, her students were good sports about it, and that is one of the things that McKormic loves about Community. “I love, like I said, the independence of the students, the willingness to learn, not just within the classroom but, you know, to tap into community resources. And just the level of maturity of students here, I really admire and really enjoy.” C the communicator
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bike benefits
cross country biker ian klepetar started a company to encourage biking brienne o’donnell, isabel sandweiss & sarah zimmerman brienne o’donnell illlustration
H BIKE BENEFITS HAS LOCATIONS IN OVER 25 STATES
THERE ARE 29 LOCATIONS IN ANN AROBR WHERE BIKE BENEFITS ARE OFFERED
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e slowly opened the dirt-encrusted plastic milk carton filled with dried green leaves, poured some into a small ceramic cup, and added water. He stirred it with a reusable metal straw, and began to sip his exotic drink. The steaming liquid let out a strange aroma. “Want some?” he asked. Ian Klepetar’s lifestyle is as unique as his yerba mate tea. He has been biking for most of his life, but in 2008 he started biking for a cause. While out “galavanting the world,” Klepetar witnessed a biker get hit by a car, and saw the scene of an accident that involved a walking pedestrian. Meanwhile, two pedestrians were hit in his hometown of Saratoga Springs, New York. He decided it was time to take action. “The two deaths in a two month period were the catalysts that made me think ‘this stuff can’t be happening!’” said Klepetar. That catalyst kept things moving. To begin, Klepetar put up posters around town advertising a meeting. After people showed up, Klepetar realized he knew little about the next steps. “Everyone in the room would look to me, like ‘What do we do next?’ and I didn’t know anything but I was just like, ‘I know we’ve got to change this!’” said Klepetar. He believed that these instances were not merely accidents, but were a direct result of poor city planning that created an unsafe biking
environment. Hoping to alleviate these dangers, he began formulating ways to incorporate “bike infrastructure” into the structure of basic cities. Starting at home in Saratoga, he worked at building his dreams into reality. He created a bike plan for the city, introduced a bike or walk to school day for children, and installed bike racks. “I took two years of my life and committed it to changing the way things were happening,” said Klepetar. Finally, he built Bike Benefits. Bike Benefits starts with a customer purchasing a sticker that they place on the back of their helmet. Once the sticker is obtained, the customer can go to participating stores and receive discounts for biking. Stickers cost five dollars and provide a wide variety of “benefits” for customers. After his two years building up different bike programs and introducing Bike Benefits, Klepetar decided he had to leave Saratoga. So, he went to Argentina and taught English. While Klepetar was away, with the help of a friend, he was able to create a website and expand the Bike Benefits program. After this year abroad, Klepetar came back to the U.S. and hit the road. He has been biking for four years. Saratoga, Pittsburgh, Burlington, Rochester, Buffalo. Klepetar has been biking through these towns and others, aiming to plant the seed of the Bike Benefit program and to spread his mes-
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sage throughout the country. On his quest to spread this message, Klepetar has had to give up certain luxuries. Currently, he is living in the backyard of a woman he met at the Ypsilanti Food Co-op. For Klepetar, a basic tent is just as good as a house and a lake serves as the perfect bathtub. He enjoys the solitude and freedom of his minimalistic life. As for clothing, he has boardshorts—they are easier to wash—and two or three t-shirts. But for his program, no sacrifice is too big. Klepetar’s Bike Benefits program has been successful in many cities across the country and he hopes the same for Ann Arbor. In order to make a difference, he wants to get 60 high caliber businesses involved. Until his goals are met, he won’t leave Ann Arbor to raise bike awareness elsewhere. It is important to set a strong foundation before he leaves the program to flourish on its own. Klepetar believes he can reach his goals here in about a month or two. “[My goal is that] people are really using the program and that it has the ability to create awareness and change transportation choices for individuals,” he said. So far, Klepetar has gotten Bivouac, Silvios, and Banditos involved in Ann Arbor and about 3 or 4 businesses in Ypsilanti. Although it may sometimes be tedious work, he has gotten multiple positive responses. In the near future Klepetar plans on
heading back to Wisconsin to see how his program there has grown. For winter, he plans on spending his time skiing and waiting tables in Utah, while taking a break from “elevating bike culture.” But, he will continue to work where his passion lies. “Making a living is like essentially doing, maybe doing work you’re not invested in. Life’s work I see as investing your energy in something you really believe in,” he said. Klepetar is not completely devoted to just the Bike Benefit’s program. Although he finds it very valuable, he is starting to feel ready to pursue other passions and ideas that have blossomed in his active mind. However, he will always encourage others to transition away from “over utilized tools” (vehicles) to “underutilized tools” (bikes). Family life isn’t currently a concern. When he feels ready to settle down, he will. But for now he is committed to doing his “life’s work.” He would like to see someone else take over Bike Benefits, so he can start some other bikefriendly programs he has envisioned. Klepetar has many goals for bikers and is striving to create the bike-friendly world he sees in his mind. “Bicycle travel has become popular, people biking cross country, so I guess the idea, you know, you show up in the next town or city and there are these bike friendly businesses,” he said. Ann Arbor is becoming that next city. C
late to chs all over the district, students are waiting for their number to be called to join cHS merrick perpich isabel sandweiss photo
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s Dean Jen goes down the list, she sees that, for whatever reason, there are empty slots on her school roster. She notifies Chris, and Chris calls the next student on the waiting list. “I would like to invite you to join our junior class here at Community,” Karen says to the unexpecting parent. That parent then has a conversation with their child, and they make that decision. The decision to enter a new high school for a second time. This is the case for all students that got into Community High School late. Every year, each applicant is assigned a number through a “double blind” process. There is a bowl with each applicant’s name on a piece of paper, and a bowl with numbers on a piece of paper. One name and one number and picked at random, and that number is assigned to that applicant. If the number they are assigned is above 120, they are put on the waiting list. Their number could be next on the waiting list at any time, but this could mean choosing between
two high schools. It can be one of the most difficult decisions of their high school career. For Sydney McGee, the decision was easy. Her number, 160, came up over the summer. She had no ties to cut at Pioneer, nothing keeping her there. Pioneer had nothing that CHS did not. Coming into CHS this year, she did not know what to expect. The biggest difference for her was the people. “The people here are a lot less selfcentered,” McGee said. It’s easier to communicate, not have the conversation be centered around them. She feels more welcome here. However the transition can also be odd, almost difficult. Joining the forum as a sophomore, she is entering an already bonded group. The science programs are also different, so even as a sophomore, she entered at FOS 1. “It was weird, everyone asks if I failed last year,” Mcgee said. Alex Wood, a junior, also made the late switch. He got into CHS just be-
fore this year. For him, the atmosphere was the biggest difference. “Just the fact that you can leave class after a test, hang out in the halls, stuff like that,” Wood said. “At Skyline you would never see kids in the halls. I do think it’s possible for kids to abuse it, but I like it. It makes me want to come to school.” But, of course, the decision was not simple. There are some things a big school can offer that CHS could not. AP classes to come to mind when the discussion of traditional high school versus CHS takes place. “There is also a lot going on [at Skyline], more opportunities,” Wood said. “Maybe not more, but certainly different.” For Wood however, the experience with the alternative learning style he gained from his time at Ann Arbor Open helped him decide. He adapted quickly to the traditional learning style once he entered high school, but when he was given the opportunity to switch back to the alternative style, he chose
that. Senior Adina Nadler got in her sophomore year. Her older sister had gone to CHS, so she already had an idea of what it was like. The decision was, of course, difficult. With most of her closest friends at her home school of Pioneer, she was torn. However, she reasoned that if she did not like it, she could always go back. But she did like it. She took advantage of all the things CHS had to offer. She is part of the dance body program, takes CRs and classes at the University of Michigan. She loves the teachers at CHS, the freedom, and her favorite part is the smaller student body. Like Wood and McGee, the smaller class size is always a plus. While the choice to leave their high schools was not easy for Mcgee, Wood, or Nadler, none of them regret it. They miss their friends and the AP classes, but they were happy to trade that in for the block scheduling, more relaxed atmosphere, and fifty minute lunches. C
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BETWEEN ALL FOUR GRADES, THERE ARE CURRENTLY 862 STUDENTS ON THE WAIT LIST FOR CHS
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addressing inequalities Cindy Haidu-Banks And Janelle Johson Bring Social Justice course To Community leon pescador cooper depriest photo
The university of michgian offers opportunities for students to work with The Center for Economic and Social Justice (CESJ) through volunteering
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wo giant sheets stick to the chalkboard of Room 212 during 7th block. These are rules sheets: one for general class guidelines, another for discussions. But these rules are different. They weren’t created by the classes teachers, Janelle Johnson or Cindy Haidu-Banks. They weren’t created by AAPS administrators. They were made by the students of CHS’s new Social Justice class. Pioneer High School senior Donley Nash, who is in the class said being able to create the rules was “really good.” But social justice is about more than making up your own rules. HaiduBanks hopes the class will eventually have students “creating social justice in the local community; our school or the greater community. That’s the end objective.” The roots of the Leadership in Social Justice class go far. According to Haidu-Banks, the idea came from the school’s equity team, a group committed to closing the achievement gap and overseeing programs that relate to diversity. Johnson, who also serves on the equity team, said that one goal is exposure to “different cultures and different ethnicities.” Since SEED (Students Educating Each other about Diversity) left Community and moved to the Neutral
Zone, the equity team brainstormed and searched for a class or activity that could fill the space left by SEED. “We talked about U.S. History, we talked about Harlem Renaissance, we talked about Hyphenated American Literature and the places where students would know and hear about diversity,” Haidu-Banks said. “And we thought, in a brainstorming with the equity team, about creating a class that addressed inequities.” The equity team wanted to send a message to the student body at CHS as well as other student bodies that those inequities were an issue that was clearly cared for. “We try to set up some things that will bring exposure that has not otherwise been brought to the school,” Johnson said. The equity team began to look far and wide for similar programs. One was found in Massachusetts. A second was found closer in Farmington. Talks were had with the University of Michigan, that had a social justice program of its own. More brainstorming occurred and the two already existing programs were incorporated into the planned social justice curriculum. Putting together a curriculum that would be good for the AAPS and putting together a diverse group of students that were committed to social
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justice work was one the primary goals when assembling the social justice class. This led to an application process to insure commitment among students, so that this would not just be another class that will look good on a college resume. Student input is a strong element of the class now, and was also present when the class was being created. CHS junior Rachel Jacobi, who is currently part of the social justice class, was involved in the planning. “It was really interesting having student input build a class,” they said. “We put up ideas and I thought it was really cool.” The class had to be approved by the district. Hard decisions had to be made for Johnson and Haidu-Banks to teach the same class together. There were sacrifices. “You would not find two teachers teaching 26 students anywhere else in Community or the district,” she said. “Because of choices we all made, this is happening.” Those sacrifices included many days of rigorous planning and preparation. “We actually take a couple days off of work where we sat down and wrote the curriculum,” Johnsaid said. “It may not sound like a lot, but we were also really working on writing this curriculum and making sure got it approved from the
district. Quite a bit of sacrifice.” With the task of creating a new curriculum came a lot more work for Johnson and Haidu-Banks. So far, reaction among some students has been positive. For Jacobi, some of the discussions so far have been “really interesting,” and Nash says he’s enjoying himself. “I really hope that this class goes well,” said Jacobi, “I really want to hear a diverse perspective of everyone.” It’s exciting for both Janelle and I to teach the class. We’re very excited,” said Haidu-Banks. “We’re really pleased with the conversations we’ve had so far and students are working hard to communicate with each other.” She hopes that this will also be a learning opportunity for both students and teachers. The oppportunity to teach a class not found elsewhere in CHS, or even the Ann Arbor Public Schools district, has been great for both teachers. Johnson hopes that students will have more understanding and improve their crosscultural communication skills. She likes what she sees so far, but hopes to gain something from this class herself. “Teachers like to learn and grow,” said Haidu-Banks. “We’re excited by what we see so far in the class.” C
coming of age young voters are informed and running to the polls now more than ever before kelly arnold isabel sandweiss photo
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eading to lunch, Community students pass by the table clad in motivational voting handouts with the occasional glance, point and comment. William V. Hampton, along with other members from Ann Arbor’s branch of the NAACP, have set up a table in front of the second floor ledge to offer eligible voters registration forms and encouragement to vote in the upcoming presidential election. Hampton, the president of the local association, feels that young voters need to participate in the government. “The reason why I am here at Community is because, as the sign says, we want your first time [voting] to be special, and all of the people that we are registering to vote today, in all likelihood, if they vote in the general election, this is their first time voting,” said Hampton. “If you don’t vote, you can’t criticize what happens in the government.” Pioneer senior Mitch Fehrle, who will be voting for the first time this year, agrees with Hampton. “I think it’s extremely important [for young people to vote], because the habits you form now, in terms of understanding politics and understanding voting, is what you’re going to build on for the future,” said Fehrle. You can’t have a whole generation that just doesn’t vote.” The U.S. Census Bureau found that
the Millennial Generation, those who are ages 12-21, are calculated to be one third of the U.S. Electorate by 2015. From the 2000 to 2004 elections, there was a nine percent increase in the number of 18-29 year olds
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“I think Ann Arbor does lean more liberal, but I feel like it also causes you to have your own opinions, so that even kids who aren’t necessarily liberal or Democratic do still have strong opinions.”
You can’t have a whole generation that just doesn’t vote.
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voting, from 15.9 million in 2000 to 20.1 million in 2004. During the 2008 primaries, turnout among 18-29 year olds increased more than 100 percent over the 2000 and 2004 primaries. As one of the many first time voters around the country this year, CHS senior Cal Kirchen is ready to fill out his ballot come November. Despite having lived in Ann Arbor his whole life, Kirchen is positive that his liberal views would sbe intact even if he wasn’t here. “Definitely living in Ann Arbor, obviously, has influenced my political decisions, but I’d like to think that I would have come up with this myself because I like to think that I’m a pretty liberal thinking fellow, regardless of where I live,” said Kirchen. As for local influence, Fehrle also understands that Ann Arbor has inspired his political stance. “I definitely feel that I’ve received a more open view of politics rather than just one side or the other,” Fehrle said.
Fehrle has done research for the election using his remote control. “I’ve used mostly television, which isn’t always the best, because [the news channels] tend to be skewed. I’ve watched Republican and Democratic stations, trying to get the whole feel for what each one has to say. I’ve done a little bit of internet research, but mainly just television,” said Fehrle. Kirchen takes pride in being politically well-informed through one of the most popular ways of gaining knowledge for a young adult. “I would say I follow social media. I follow the Huffington Post quite a bit, and also some other websites. I stay informed; I listen to NPR and the radio, and avoid Fox News as much as I can. I would like to think that I am the reason that I have stayed informed,” said Kirchen. One organization has recognized fresh voters like Kirchen’s love of social media. Motivating young people to be apart of the upcoming elections, the political edition
Rock the Vote describes themselves in the following: “Rock the Vote’s mission is to engage and build the political power of young people in order to achieve progressive change in our country. Rock the Vote uses music, popular culture and new technologies to engage young people to register and vote in every election.” And they have. Joining up with popular companies like Pringles, Spotify, MTV and XBOX, Rock the Vote is getting a boatload of attention. They’ve also teamed up with artists like Switchfoot, Far East Movement, Sheryl Crow, and The Black Keys, and made commercials with such names as Miranda Cosgrove, Miley Cyrus and Darren Criss. Kirchen understands that, while things like friends and social media will try and influence the opinions of vulnerable voters, each individual still has reign over their views. “I think it’s impossible to say that people around you don’t influence your day-to-day life,” he said. “It’s important to stay opinionated, and to make your opinion your own. You can’t let people influence you too much, and you have to really think about how you feel, and not how others feel around you.” C
in a study conducted by Anzalone Liszt Research, Inc of 18-24 year olds, 49 percent said they feel that our country is headed in the wrong direction.
For information on all the candidates that will appear on the November ballot, voters should check out http://vote411.org the communicator
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team high school
ann arbor high schoolers get out and volunteer for obama’s re-election campaign mari cohen cooper depriest photo
U one assignment for young campaign volunteers is called ‘Get out the vote’ (GOTV), which the process of going door-to-door to get voters educated.
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nderneath twinkling, colorful Christmas lights one Friday night at the newly opened and brightly decorated Obama office in Kerrytown, Pioneer High School senior Rachel Tucker flipped opened her cell phone and prepared to make a call. She was ready to introduce herself as a volunteer for President Obama’s reelection campaign. This wasn’t a routine call, however. Tucker only pretended that the phone was ringing, and the person on the other end of the line, fellow Pioneer senior Ola Kulaga, was seated just a few feet away, giggling as she answered the fake call. Kulaga and Tucker, two of the four leaders of Ann Arbor’s Team High School for Obama, were demonstrating a volunteer call for the benefit of the 12 other high schoolers seated in a circle of folding chairs that filled the small office. The event was the Fall Kickoff Party for Team High School, and these Ann Arbor high school students gathered in the office that September night to socialize and munch on snacks, but primarily to learn about how to vol-
unteer for Obama’s campaign through student-run Team High School. The fact that a volunteer team specifically for high school students exists demonstrates Ann Arbor teens’ willingness to get involved in the presidential campaigns, even if most of them won’t be able to vote this November. The 14 students present at the meeting were just a fraction of the over 85 students who have expressed interest in Team High School by joining the Facebook group. “When students are there helping out, and have important ideas to add to the conversation, most people recognize how important it is to have the next generation involved,” said Community High School alumna Melanie Langa, the original coordinator of Team High School and now a student at Stanford University, in an email. “We’re the ones who are going to be making decisions very soon, and I think we should have a say in how we want things to turn out as early as possible.” Langa, who began volunteering for Obama when the first Ann Arbor office opened in January 2012, was in charge of recruiting members for Team High School and organizing events in
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the spring. About 40 people came to Team High School volunteering events last spring, Langa said, 10 of them regulars. The Obama campaign is generally organized into neighborhood teams, where volunteers work with people who live in the same area. Team High School, however, combines people of the same age group rather than the same geographical location. “It’s a group of friends, so people might be more inclined to go,” said CHS senior Annabel Weiner, another of the four leaders that took over after Langa left for Stanford. “People want to go to events if their friends are going. It’s exciting.” The combination of social and political aspects was evident at the meeting. At one point, students toyed with the idea of having a sleepover in the office on the night of one of the debates. The four current Team High School leaders—Tucker, Kulaga, Weiner, and Greenhills School senior Liz Baker— run the team with minimal supervision from adult campaign workers. Weiner said that they sometimes ask adult supervisors for advice, but usually are left
to their own organizing. For the kickoff party, Tucker and Kulaga had to ask to use the office, but otherwise were allowed to plan the event on their own. “They want whatever we want to do... so the more we want, the better it is for them,” Tucker said. Team High School isn’t funded by the campaign, so when it comes to things like ordering T-shirts, participants have to pay on their own. Team High School’s volunteering events include phone banks, voter registration, canvassing, and data entries. Kulaga and Tucker are are especially experienced in organizing volunteers because both did an internship with the campaign this summer, which totaled about 20 hours a week. Tucker was an organizer for Chelsea and Kulaga for Dexter. The two were the only high schoolers in the program. They described it as a gratifying experience, but said they are ready for the more relaxed hours of running Team High School. Kulaga estimated that being a leader of Team High School is about a four to six hours per week commitment. This includes the Team High School’s weekly phone bank, other volunteering events, and administratin of the Facebook
OPPOSITE From left: Rachel Tucker, Ola Kulaga, and Azba Gurm call voters and potential Obama volunteers. LEFT Members of Team High School at volunteer headquarters. RIGHT Dylan Summers calls potential voters. BELOW Obama volunteer headquarters in Kerrytown
group and other commmunication. Tucker said she’s excited about the prospects for Team High School in the fall, due to an impressive showing of interest online. “The Facebook group has exploded,” she said. “We added a bunch of people, but then I get requests almost every day to join it.” The students who attended the kickoff meeting were committed to volunteering for Obama for a wide variety of reasons. At the beginning, Tucker asked everyone to go around the circle and share their “story,” or personal reason for supporting Obama. Students mentioned different issues that were important to them. Several brought up affordable higher education, which reflected the group’s composition: mostly high school seniors. Students also discussed health care, women’s rights, LGBT rights, foreign policy and the economy. Volunteers agreed that their youth isn’t usually a disadvantage when it comes to working for the campaign. Tucker said that usually, people don’t know they’re talking to a high school volunteer, especially over the phone.
Weiner said that although “there’s a low percentage of people who actually will answer or talk to you,” she doesn’t think this has anything to do with being a high schooler. “I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback, especially from the older volunteers, who are just really glad to see another wave of young Americans coming out and being politically active,” said CHS senior Julia Karr, who has participated in volunteering events for Team High School, the University of Michigan Democrats, and her neighborhood volunteering team. “I think it’s extremely important...to have this knowledge of what’s going on in your country and community from an early age, to make educated and informed decisions for the people who are ultimately going to run our country.” Langa said that it can be frustrating in some situations when adults don’t give a lot of weight to the opinions of high schoolers, but she added that being a younger volunteer can be an advantage in many ways. People sometimes find it more difficult to turn down a younger person, she said. Also, Team High School’s younger demographic allows
students to network within the high schools and give information about volunteering and voting to students who may not have known otherwise. “I think it also made people more comfortable committing to events knowing that they were organized specifically for high school students, or that there would be other young people attending,” Langa said. Volunteering has also allowed students to build organizational and people skills. Students sometimes find themselves in awkward or even comic situations. Weiner has had several of her teachers on a list of people to call at phone banks, and was once even assigned to call the mayor of Ann Arbor. Volunteers also often have to experience rejection while canvassing or making calls. “I’ve learned about getting refused a lot,” said Weiner. ‘I’ve learned how to try to talk to people who I don’t know on the phone and get them them to talk to me.” Karr recalled that once, while canvassing, she knocked at a door and saw a dog come up on the other side of the screen and bark “hysterically.” Karr ex-
pected the dog’s owner to call it off, but instead the women began yelling at her. “She goes, ‘What are you doing? Can’t you tell we don’t want you here? Don’t even try,’” said Karr. However, Karr said that’s the only really negative reaction she’s gotten. People tend to be friendly, and some have even offered her water. The positive feedback she gets helps her feel that she’s making a difference, she said. Weiner also said she feels that her actions are making an impact. “Every person you talk to counts, even if you just talk to two people on one night it helps, even if you just register one voter, then that’s one more person who will vote,” Weiner said. Kulaga said that volunteering helped her feel a part of a larger effort. “You really feel like it’s bigger than yourself because you’re some high school student and the only thing you do is like homework assignments and sure, that’s a big deal to you, and whatever, if you’re good at it that’s great,” she said. “But when you change somebody’s mind about voting, you’re like, ‘Wow, I just helped elect a president.’ It’s really amazing.” C
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r a c e s chs teachers share memories of past elections
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colleen o’brien photo illustration
cindy haidu-banks Before the 2000 presidential election of George W. Bush and Al Gore, students at CHS voted in a mock election. Despite complaints from other teachers and students, Cindy Haidu-Banks, CHS history teacher, insisted on creating an electoral college. She decided that each senior in every forum would weigh the vote of that particular forum. This would simulate a true representation of how we vote in the United States. Little did she know, the mock electoral college would be exceptionally fitting for the 2000 election, as it turned out to be the electoral vote in question. “It’s not popular vote that elects the president, it’s the states, and the electoral votes from the states that actually elect the president... the civics lesson was very valid in the way that we did it in our school,” she said. On the night of the election, Haidu-Banks fell asleep on her couch, feeling confident that Al Gore would win. It was not until 2am that she woke up to find that George Bush had taken 2000 election. “I can say that I was depressed.
robbie stapleton People were sad and felt downhearted about it,” she said. Haidu-Banks followed the voting procedure news with her civics class. “They had punch cards in Florida and some of them were not clearly punched so people were holding these punch cards up to the light to see,” she said. “There were recounts and there were votes lost in transportation. There was a whole box that came up missing, and people actually turned violent over the issue of counting votes in several places in Florida.” In the end, it was the Supreme Court that made the decision. Soon after the 2000 election, a movement to abolish the electoral college was revived. “I would support the abolishment of the electoral college,” said Haidu-Banks. I think it would be a more fair and just system if it was a vote from all citizens. Some folks felt it was stolen and some folks felt it was a legitimate election. But here wasn’t a hands down good feeling about it all the way around.”
In 1976, Robbie Stapleton, CHS teacher and history major, shook Jimmy Carter’s hand. As a junior in high school, she traveled with her family to Atlanta for a Martin Luther King Jr. celebration. Stapleton was among a small group of people that Carter talked to about why he wanted to be president. As Stapleton was not 18 for this election, she had to wait until the 1980 election of Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan to vote. Ronald Reagan won. “I saw this election as kind of a metaphor for the way that the country was going. I felt like it was a jump back to the 50s or something, just that we were going backwards,” she said. In the 1984 election of Ronald Reagan and Walter Mondale, Ronald Reagan was elected for another four years of service. “It was the last election that I can
by the numbers 112 68.8% .2% the 2000 election was the first one in over 112 years where the winner of the popular vote did not win with the electoral college
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in the 1984 election walter mondale won only one state, minnesota. he won by a .2 percent margin
in the 1992 election. bill clinton won 68.8 percent of the electoral vote and 43 percent of the popular vote
center spread: the political edition
m e m b e r e d jason mcknight remember where we were told the truth about what we were going to have to sacrifice, and Mondale told us he was going to have to raise taxes,” she said. “I feel like we repaid him for telling the truth by electing Ronald Reagan in a landslide. We don’t really want our politicians to tell us the truth, I believe that.” After both Reagan elections, Stapleton was most passionate about the 2008 election of Barack Obama. Although she supported Hilary Clinton during the primaries, Stapleton was convinced that Obama makes “rational, practical decisions.” “I was so taken in by the sort of coolness, and I was just taken by the opportunity for America to make a statement,” she said. “I’ll never forget seeing that beautiful family walk out in Chicago, and I’m still inspired by that.”
During Bill Clinton’s campaign for the election of 1992, Jason McKnight, CHS civics teacher, watched him speak in the diag downtown Ann Arbor. It was his freshman year in college and McKnight was taken aback by the political activeness in the city. “I could not wait to vote for this guy,” he said. To his disappointment, McKnight was not aware that he had to have a absentee ballot to cast his vote in Ann Arbor. “Part of the reason why I do government the way I do now is because I never learned in my government class that your ability to vote is tied to where you live,” he said. Like Stapleton, McKnight also feels the most passionate about the 2008 election. “I had such a tremendous feeling of pride casting a vote for Obama because country had come so far in my lifetime that casting a vote for a mixed race president was so not a big deal, when I grew up in a time where it was still a big deal,” he said. As the first mixed-race president, Obama was also a figurehead. He was widely accepted
98% 1789
george washington ran unopposed in the election of 1789. washington was not inclined to run and served out of obligation
when he made a tour outside of the US to gage support. “I remember being really taken aback watching Obama on the news. That sort of made me want the world to like us again. I wanted other countries to admire our president,” he said. Though the presidential elections are important, McKnight feels that the smaller elections are more important, and encourages people to get involved in these. The congressional votes and senate races are among the most important. “People get so caught up in that presidential vote, they feel like they are part of something bigger because they are voting in a national race, and it has sort of blown things out of proportion across the nation,” he said. Fortunately, as a government teacher, McKnight is able to teach students about the importance of the smaller elections. “I tet to combine my job with service to my country. I work very hard to educate the next generation to help clean up the mistakes that my generation and older generations have made.”
the election of 1984 has the largest margin in the electoral college in any presidential election: reagan won with 98 percent of the electoral vote.
center spread: the political edition
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willing to share CHS STUDENTS AND TEACHERS DISCUSS VOICING POLITICAL opinions cooper depriest, eliza upton & alex wood isabel sandweiss photos alex wood photo illustration
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57 percent of michigan voters voted for President obama in 2008.
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very four years, the presidential election offers civics teachers such as Jason McKnight the opportunity to educate their students about current events and the importance of being politically aware. McKnight, who is openly liberal himself, knows that it can be challenging to fairly teach both sides of the election in Ann Arbor, a town famous for its liberal views. “I make no bones about it– I admit that I’m a Democrat,” said McKnight. “I admit that I tend to vote Democrat. It helps to point out problems with the Democratic platform and to highlight some of the things that I agree with in some of the Republican views because it allows you to see that while you mostly agree with one side, the other side isn’t evil.” Similarly, Chloe Root, the other CHS civics teacher, believes it is important to be diverse in teaching politics. “I think, especially with civics, it’s really important to make sure you are showing all sides… because there are so many different opinions on most issues,” she said, “Regardless of the kids’ political views, it’s always going to be better if you have multiple viewpoints on an issue, especially really controversial issues.” Even though the majority of his students won’t be filling out ballots, McKnight hopes that he can educate them with his “comprehensive approach to politics,” so that they can find their political voices. “I don’t claim to be any sort of eye opener,” said McKnight. “But I do ask
my students, just like I ask all the adults I talk about politics with, to really think about the issue and to think about it from multiple points of view. When you do that, you find that no side is ever 100 percent right.” During election years, McKnight’s classroom discussions about the election take up approximately a quarter of the semester long class. McKnight notes that his politically active students get excited during the run-up to the election. “For a lot of students, this is the first time to really voice their opinions.” McKnight often shares his opinion to begin discussions in class. “I’m very careful to preface everything that is opinion based in that class with: ‘this is my opinion. You don’t have to feel this way, but this is how you should express your opinion,’” says McKnight. “This is what’s lacking in our political discourse right now. People just throw things out there with no proof, you know, with very little evidence to back anything up.” While McKnight is very careful when sharing his personal views, he genuinely believes that disagreements with students can help teach his class how to respect others’ opinions and discuss important topics such as politics. Anastacia Stacey, one of Community’s seniors who will be voting this November, is in McKnight’s 4th block civics class. While Stacey considers herself to be well versed in politics, she believes that the civics class will help her be more confident when she walks into the ballot box. “[McKnight’s class] gives you more
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the political edition
information so you can back up your beliefs,” she said. Stacey also believes that McKnight is entitled to share his opinion in class. “I like when teachers have opinions. It shows that they are also very much aware,” said Stacey. Not all of the students at Community share the same political beliefs as McKnight and Root. Charlotte Steele, a CHS junior, is one of the more prominent non-Democrats at Community. Steele’s father ran for the U.S Congress, as a Republican, in 2010, when Steele was a freshmen. Steele recalls multiple incidents in class when other students, who had different political beliefs from her own, were disrespectful. “People have booed before,” said Steele. Root tries hard to make sure that students in her class are respectful of others opinions. “You do have to work really hard to make it clear that it’s not okay to make fun of people because of their political opinions,” said Root. “That it’s okay to speak out in class and have a different opinion than other people have.” Both students and civics teachers at CHS think that it is important to share opinions during class. However they feel it should be done in an appropriate and respectful manner. “I think people really need to focus on expressing their views in a positive way, and try to avoid bringing down the other side,” said Steele. “It’s more effective to convince others of why your view is “good” than to convince them that the other side is bad.” C
Ben Lawton
“Teachers should not teach government or anything that involves political decisions with their own views.”
Christian Koch
“I don’t like to [share my beliefs] in school that much, or in public because I find that people become biased based on your political views.”
Annie White “[Students sharing their opinions] is fine, to a certain point, as long as [they’re] not being offensive.”
speak out!
110 CHS students shared opinions on election-related issues in a survey given to forums
ruthilah graff research brienne o’donnell, eliza upton & alex wood illustrations
85%
BALLOT BOX
66%
55%
of CHS students think that politics should be discussed in school.
BALLOT BOX
29%
of CHS students don’t identify themselves with either major political party.
of CHS students identify themselves as Democrats.
BALLOT BOX
5%
of CHS students identify themselves as Republicans.
BALLOT BOX
BALLOTBOX BOX BALLOT
50%
55%
of CHS stundents watched the political conventions.
of CHS students consider themselves well educated about politics and current events.
BALLOT BOX
of CHS students feel it is innapropriate for teachers to share their political beliefs.
BALLOT BOX
the political edition
the communicator
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defining family nontraditional families share their stories about the differences they encounter
LEFT From left, Shelle Almquist, Zoe Almquist, Zane Almquist and Lauren Hall.
RIGHT CHS student Lashay Ellis with siblings Darius Harrius and Alexa Beast.
eliza stein lauren hall & lashay ellis photo courtesy
A According to the child welfare league of america, up to 1 million children are living with gay or lesbian parents
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kindergarten classroom is plastered with posters of counting numbers, the ABCs, and in the middle, stick figures of a mom, dad, sister, brother, dog and cat titled, “My Family.” This may be our traditional family image, but the simple drawing wouldn’t be enough to represent the families of Lauren Hall, Ann Arbor resident for 25 plus years, or Community High School sophomore Lashay Ellis. In the early 80s, Hall and partner Shellee Almquist knew that they were ready to have a family. Initially they started by contacting every adoption agency in Michigan, just like many other couples they knew. The difference was they wanted to be completely open as a gay couple. Besides being open with each agency, both Hall and Almquist felt they needed to be open with their families too. Hall had struggled in the past with coming out to her family in fear of losing her relationship with her little brother and being disowned by her parents. Finally, Hall wrote a letter to her mother and father. Hall was very straightforward. “We are going to have a family and you can choose to be a part of it and be grandparents or not, but this is who I am, this is what I am going to do—so take it or leave it,” said Hall. Hall’s father’s reaction was much like she expected. “My father said that if you would have told me eight years ago, I would have disowned you and never allowed you back in the house but I sort of thought this was who you are and I searched in my soul and decided you are still my kid. I love you and I want to be the grandparent to your chil-
dren.” Hall believes they are not really supportive but tolerant. Even without the full support of Hall’s parents, the honesty of their relationship status was still very important to the couple when adopting. “We wanted to be very open about who we were because we wanted our kids to feel like this was their normal and it was okay, so we didn’t want to have any negativity to it at all,” said Hall. The laws were not in their favor and they were unable to adopt at that time due to custody rules. Hall and Almquist wouldn’t give up so easily. After discussing different options, like using friend donors and lying about their sexual preference, the couple decided on artificial insemination. “It was fairly difficult to find a doctor who was on board and who would let us go on with the process being a lesbian couple,” said Hall. “At that time, it was an uncharted territory.” Almquist, in this way, delivered two baby girls, Zoe and Zane, four years apart. Even though Hall was beside Almquist through the whole pregnancy, she had no legal status as a parent to Zoe and Zane. Hall wanted to be a an adoptive parent. Hall and Almquist made many trips to the courthouse to fight for their right. The couple had safe houses for their children just in case the courts decided to take them away due to custody laws. Luckily, it never came down to that. Continuing to fight, Hall and Almquist went through with the adoption process so they could both legally be parents. Once they finally got to the last steps, the state refused to change the birth certificate from mother, father to parent one and parent two. “I re-
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fused to be listed as the father so there was a whole bunch of us [other gay couples] who were able to do the whole second party adoption,” said Hall. The father label wasn’t going away. “Pretty much everything was great until they [Zoe and Zane] started school. Once you are in the school setting it is so very heterosexual and heterosexist,” said Hall. Zane said every year in elementary school she was forced into making a father’s day card. The family felt they were challenged by the education system but still continued to be very out and affirming. Many parents were fine with their status but some weren’t. A few of their classmates weren’t allowed at their house for playdates and one mother took her child out of Zoe’s elementary class. There was also times in early elementary school that “fatherly homework,” was assigned. If the kids felt left out, Hall would give them an option to call their grandpa or uncle to participate. “There was no boohoo. That is a fact. There is no dad involved,” said Hall. It wasn’t till Zoe and Zane got older that they realized all their peers weren’t in support of their homelife. “It took till middle school to get harassed and hear the language, ‘Fag’ and ‘that’s so gay’. I know that was the point at which they became closed up and weren’t as open about their family and having two moms,” said Hall. Zane and Zoe believe that having two moms shaped them as having any loving parents would. Lashay Ellis, the CHS sophomore, is also mostly unfamiliar with the traditional mother-father dynamic. She only experienced that for a year of her life. At age one, her parents got divorced
and her father moved out. “I was really young so I never really remember getting the chance to live with my dad,” said Ellis. But he didn’t move too far. He now has a seven year old son. Ellis said they talk to each other on the phone every single night and she spends her weekend with him. Soon after, Ellis’s mother remarried to a new man. Four years later, Ellis had a new baby brother. Ellis’s new family lived together for only five years before Ellis experienced another change. Ellis’s stepfather and half-brother packed their bags and moved to North Carolina. Her stepfather left with a new fiance. “My mother believed it was the right decision for my brother to follow as well,” said Ellis. Ellis still tries to spend her Thanksgiving, Cshristmas and a handful of her summer with her half-brother. This summer, Ellis spent a chunk of her summer relaxing in North Caroline beside him. From then on Ellis was raised by a just a single mother. “We are really, really close. I seem to tell her everything, I mean not everything because we know each other’s limits,” said Ellis. Until three years ago, Ellis was used to a quiet household where her only chore was doing the dishes. Now Ellis has a lot of babysitting to do; she has a three year old baby sister. Transitions seems to be a normal thing for Ellis. “But the hardest thing though is not having everyone together at one time,” she said. “I have to follow a schedule to make sure I see family members. I just wish all my siblings could be in one house together.” For both Ellis and Hall, the poster on the kindergarten wall fails to capture the reality of family. C
school of rock Alex johnson shares the story of how he started the ann arbor music center david gissiner david gissiner photo
E
very day, students enter the doors of the big brick Al Nali building on Ashley. Here they are surrounded by a growing number of musicians of varying skill levels, backgrounds, and instruments. These students learn about music, note reading, theory, and various instruments. It is here at the Ann Arbor Music Center (AAMC) where these students learn to be musicians. In 1998, Alex Johnson, the owner of the AAMC rented a small 11 by 11 room in an old warehouse where the YMCA stands today. “When I started the music center, I had no business plan of any kind,” said Johnson. “All I thought was that if I could teach full time, and keep my overhead low, I could afford to live on teaching guitar.” Fourteen years later, he is now in his third, and so far largest, building, and has over 500 students coming in every week. “When I started the Music Center, the thing I imagined is nothing like the thing it is today,” he said. Johnson started the Music center in 1998 with a start-up cost of only $320. Prior to the music center, he was working in the computer industry just before the dot-com bubble burst in the late 90’s. “The computer industry at the time was much like the game Jenga; companies in the computer industry were being built on top of each other to serve each other,” said Johnson. “As a result of this, if one company had a problem, this affected all of the other ones as well,” At this point, he realized that the computer industry
was becoming so competitive that it was no guarantee for success. He had already been teaching guitar at Herb David Guitar Studio for six years, so he had already acquired students in guitar and bass. It was then that he left Herb David and began teaching in the Ann Arbor Technology Center at 400 West Washington, which has since been taken down and replaced with the YMCA. As Johnson’s number of students continued to grow, he realized that he couldn’t be there every day, so he would need to hire more teachers. “I would give them students, and get a cut for the studio. That became my business plan,” he said. As he did this, his phone continued to ring with more students, and as the number of his students grew, he began to realize that many of his students didn’t have a use for what they were learning. “I realized I had greater potential than I had acted upon. I realized that my students didn’t have an outlet for the skills that I’d been teaching them, and that I could get more student loyalty if I gave them a way to use what they had learned in their private lessons,” he said. At this point, the Rock Band classes were born. Johson’s first band consisted of a handful of his students that wanted to get more out of playing. Johnson took note of this and placed them in a band, having them play instrumentals that he wrote in order to represent what rock songs consist of. “This didn’t last long before I realized that we need to perform songs that people would recognize, but everything I have done has been trial and error,”
said Johnson. “No business plan, no degree in marketing, and nobody to write it out for me.” After the Music Cener began to pick up some momentum, the Ann Arbor News did an article on the program, increasing the flow of new students. As a result, Johnson needed to move out of his first location into a bigger space. That, paired with having his doors kicked in and having all of his gear stolen, prompted him to move out of the West Washington location, and into the house on North Main that would become the AAMC’s second building. Momentum was such that the North Main building did not have sufficient room after a few years of use. “Since I then had more rooms to fill, I needed more teachers,” said Johnson. So I hired three teachers, and then three more, and then three more, because the business was really growing. Pretty soon we had a couple hundred students, lots of variety of instruction, and after several years, it was time for a bigger building.” The music center was then moved into the Al Nali building on South Ashley, where it remains today. Having a bigger building allowed Johnson to expand his programs along with what the music center has to offer. Along with more teachers, bands, and instruments, the music center now features a pro-shop, guitar repairs, custom instruments, and even workshops to build your own guitars. The most recent expansion to the music center is the Ann Arbor Modern Conservatory. “For years I have wanted to offer an feature
alternative to students of violin, viola and cello,” said Johnson. “ You see a lot of kids who will start those instruments in 5th grade, and they’ve usually quit by about 7th grade. The reason is often they didn’t like the music, they didn’t get private lessons, they didn’t like orchestra, they didn’t like their teacher, whatever. So my thinking was if we could offer classes to kids where they could then take their violin skill, their cello skill to a rock band, or a string ensemble playing rock music, they might stick with it longer. They might enjoy it more, they might get more out of it. So far that has proven to be true. “ Community High School reshman and Jazz IV pianist Erez Dessel is a current student of the AAMC, where he studies piano with Mick Dobday. “I like the whole vibe, I like the whole rock n roll thing that they’ve got going on, it’s a really great place, the people there are really cool,” said Dessel. “You should definitely check it out, the people there are really helpful and they’re really big on getting you started on an instrument. They also have bands which are really fun if you want to rock out.” He also said that the AAMC helped him join Jazz IV at CHS as a freshman. The Ann Arbor Music Center is a constantly growing, evolving, and changing the way for students of all ages to grow and develop as musicians. Currently, instruction in guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, strings, saxophone, and voice are offered everyday morning noon and night. C the communicator
According to a 2003 survey conducted by The Gallup Organization, there are approximately 84 million individuals that play a musical instrument in the United States.
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a rockin’ dynamic: community students and friends form new cover band joey stride forth joris von moltke oren levin photo courtesy
The band’s favorite song to play is “bonzo goes to bitburg” By the ramones
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They take the stage: two guitars, a bass and a drum. The intimate crowd gets even quieter in silent anticipation of the rock that is about to blast from the stage. This is what they came to hear and whom they came to see. On stage the musicians of Joey Stride Forth (JS4) make the final adjustments to their levels and, after a short introduction, are ready to begin. The drummer, Community High School senior, Daniel Sagher counts them off and they start into their first song of the night. Joey Stride Forth is a local cover band playing its third show, their second at the Neutral Zone’s concert venue, the B-Side. “They sound like they’ve been playing together for longer than that,” said CHS junior Olof Carlson, who heard them play for the first time that night. In a sense they have. The band’s members, David Gissiner, Drew Polovick, Daniel Sagher and Erez Levin have been playing together since early 2012. They come from a variety of schools: Sagher and Levin both attend Community while Gissiner is a senior at Huron and Polovick a junior at Pioneer. They met through the Ann Arbor Music center where they were in a Pink Floyd Tribute Band. In the middle of the summer Gissiner had the idea to start the new band. “I was just thinking, ‘I’m so tired of just playing music that people don’t like,’” he said. “I wanted to just play Green Day and the Ramones and just stuff like that, just fun stuff that people can get into and make a band based on just having a lot of fun.” Gissiner immediately thought of Levin, Polovick and Sagher.
“It felt like a really good dynamic, the four of us,” he said. “We all love hanging out together.” With this mentality the group started meeting almost every day during the summer to start to build up a repertoire of covers, including songs by The Arctic Monkeys, the Black Keys and Green Day. On their Facebook page they list other influences such as The Darkness, The Ramones, The Raconteurs, Spin Doctors and Periphery. Gissiner, Sagher and Levin are all part of the jazz program here at Community where Gissiner plays trombone, Sagher plays guitar and Levin plays drums. In JS4, however, Sagher plays drums, Gissiner plays guitar and Levin sings the lead vocals. Sagher said that the band members chose to play different instruments in JS4 as a nod to the bands that influence them. “The Black Keys and the Arctic Monkeys, they’re awesome bands, they have songwriting down, but they aren’t very technically proficient. And we feel if we want to accurately emulate those two bands we should play instruments that we are not very good at.” “It’s also just more fun.” added Gissiner. Before every concert the band likes to rehearse in a slightly eccentric way; they sing the entire set list before the show. It’s not just the lyrics that they sing. “We sing our instrument parts,” said Sagher. “Well, I beat box because I’m the drummer. It helps us to really make sure we know the music even without our instruments.” JS4 played their first concert in Au-
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arts & entertainment
gust at Europaloza, a concert to raise money for kids who wanted to go to the Ann Arbor Music Center, and the rest have been at the B-side. The band had high praise for the B-side. “[It’s] a really great thing. Its a venue where people our age can come and play and that’s not something you come across very often,” said Gissner. Their love for the music and their repertoire of songs is only growing. Their Facebook page is also growing. The number of likes on their page is approaching fifty since it was created in August. Their joy is not only evident in their music but also in their interaction with the audience. At their last concert they threw out candy into the audience. Polovick joked, “We will up the ante each time so eventually we will give out free McDonald’s!” Looking towards the future, the band plans to add to their repertoire of songs with artists such as Paramore and Fall Out Boy. They’re also toying with some more harmonic tunes such as the Chords song Shaboom. As for now, they will continue to have fun covering the rock songs they love. C Be sure to check out JS4’s Soundcloud account at: soundcloud.com/joey-stride-forth
TOP RIGHT CHS senior Erez Levin sings lead vocals while Huron senior David Gissiner plays guitar MIDDLE Pioneer junior Drew Polovick sings backup vocals and plays bass BOTTOM CHS senior Dan Sagher plays drums
artist profile: sam collins
student poetry amelia diehl senior
erez levin communicator web staff cooper depriest photo
Funk has returned to the halls of Community High in the form of sophomore Sam Collins, a new bassist moving his way up in the ranks of the Ann Arbor music scene. A former student of Theo Katzman (singer-songwriter and ex-My Dear Disco guitarist), Collins is groovin’ hard and keeping busy. He first became inspired to pick up the bass as he was watching Katzman play a gig at his church. (Collins would later learn that at that time, Katzman had only recently started playing bass himself.) With the sort of electric bass-heavy music Collins was listening to (Jackson 5, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye), it was inevitable that he would eventually recognize the instrument, if not conquer it. “I bought a used bass with some money I’d made from mowing lawns, and started from there,” said Collins. “I was just learning out of a book that I bought,when I first got the bass, and was learning really basic things like scales and some songs. Then a few months after I bought it, I talked to Theo again, and started taking private lessons with him, and that was when things really started taking off. He’s such a great teacher, and I learned so much from him.”
Collins would go to Katzman’s house, where he lived with his bandmates and other musicians, and they would study all aspects of the bass, from scales and music theory to grooving and playing with a band. “Theo was teaching me how to learn songs by ear, so I’d listen to something on the radio and I’d just go home and play along, figuring it out,” he said. Collins recently started playing jazz at Community High; it is a completely new experience for him. “I’d never been in a jazz band before,” he said. “I went in to visit Jack [Wagner, CHS Jazz Director] earlier in the summer, but when I learned that I wouldn’t get to play much electric bass, I decided not to [join the jazz program]. But I talked to some more bass players, and I saw Victor Wooten at the Ark, and I realized that learning acoustic bass is a great stepping stone to getting better at electric, even if you’re not a huge fan of acoustic, which I sort of am now.” Learning acoustic bass has been helpful to his electric playing already. “It really helps with your intonation, and it makes your fingers a whole lot stronger,” he said. And what strong fingers they have become. Look out. C
The Bull After Picasso’s Lithograph Series “To find is the thing.” - Picasso
quick questions for sam collins Q: Favorite Musical Note? A: B flat. Q: Favorite time of the day to play bass? A: Right when I wake up. Q: N-Sync or Backstreet Boys? A: N-Sync because of Justin Timberlake. Q: Preppy Tuesday or Classy Wednesday? A: Classy Wednesday. Q: What’s your thinking noise? A: It’s like a train, kind of like chhchkchkkchck. Q: Why aren’t you wearing moon boots? A: They’re in the wash and getting shined.
I. Picasso came to a rubbish heap, saw the lines of the city shedding apart. Did they know they’d be found again? Ia. To seek is to love one’s hands and hate time. To find is to love time and solder as one goes along. II. A bicycle seat and a handlebar form the head and the horns. He found the heart could pump mechanically, or not at all. The truth is in depictions, since that is what we saw. IIa. The truth will never be in images. How can you create truth? III. These lines are not exact. Art is a decision, not a map. Art is a mathematic of impulse. Crave distortion; it is your disposition. Find the circle, don’t ask for it.
you must listen to this
DAVID GISSINER
The Masterplan Oasis 1998
Singles are often released with two tracks: the single itself, and a B-side. B-sides are usually overshadowed by the singles they accompany, and usually are not listened to nearly as much as they should be. In 1998, the English rock band Oasis released an album titled “The Masterplan,” consisting of B-sides that were never previously released on a studio album. My top three song pics for this album are “Acquiesce,” “Fade Away,” and there is even a live cover of The Beatles song “I Am The Walrus.” Oasis utilizes a catchy song structure that still sounds unique and interesting, employing multiple guitar parts, vocal harmonies, and cool chord progressions. Oasis also does an excellent job of writing material that is diverse, with greatly varying energy and emotion, yet retains a distinct sound. If you enjoy bands such as The Arctic Monkeys, The Black Keys, and other similar alternative rock bands, then you would probably also enjoy Oasis.
DANIEL SAGHER
Funk Blaster Koan Sound Funk Blaster EP 2011
Koan Sound, the Bristol based electronic duo, incorporates unique and diverse elements into their music that make it so anyone can get down. They are classified as dubstep due to the presence of “wubbity wubs,” but don’t let that turn you off. It’s not your run of the mill dubstep, which many people find to be an abrasive and off-putting orgy of low frequencies. I think my Grammy put it best when she said it sounded like an epileptic transformer eating a moist dinner, and I completely understand. But I definitely wouldn’t classify Koan Sound as just Dubstep, it’s more like funky bass music. If you’re looking for a head-banging-mosh-pit-funkstep-hybrid, I would recommend listening to “Funk Blaster” off the “Funk Blaster” EP. This group is also diverse. Their music ranges from hardcore bass music to mellow, spine-chilling space music. Koan Sound also does a splendid remix of teen heartthrob Ed Sheeran’s hit song “The A-Team.” arts & entertainment
IIIa. Here are the bulls. They are not pacing. They all face the same way: dissipation. Their lines belong to each of them alone. Watch their cheekbones bulge until they sizzle and ruck. IV. The secret revelation that happens after leaving a room. The page will let you come without your intentions; that is the way the limbs are four. All muscles are triangles it is such until you see this. He will have already found the ground on which to let the bulls stand.
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sports fall athlete profiles
Sophomore Skyline JV Volleyball
What motivates you? Knowing that my teammates appreciate me.
What is one of your goals? Making varsity next year.
What is the hardest thing about volleyball? When you know you messed up and you feel like you are letting your team down.
What do you like about the Pioneer program? My coaches and captains. My captains are such good role models in the school and sport aspect. They are just cool.
What are you looking forward to? Finally getting the chance to beat Bedford.
PhoenixPatterson How long have you been playing soccer? 14 years.
Senior Pioneer Varsity Soccer
What is the hardest thing about Pioneer’s preseason? It has a history for being very, very difficult. We have to run a mile in under 5:30. Who is your favorite team to watch? Barcelona.
Freshman What is your hype music? Pioneer JV Water Polo Pandora. Sometimes rap and sometimes calm music.
ChaseDudley
Freshman Pioneer JV Field Hckey
CalKirchen
What’s your goofiest memery? Last year at a meet I was going around a turn and I saw this guy slam right into a metal bar. He fell down, got back up and kept running. When did you start running? 6th grade
JacobJohnson
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sports
Why did you start playing? My neighbor showed it to me! Why do you enjoy playing? I love being part of being part of team and a community.
SophiaWerthman What is your greatest accomplishment? I ran a 16 minute 5k.
What is your favorite thing about running? I love the challenge. When you are in a race, it is much more of a physical race than mental. Sophomore Pioneer Varsity Cross Country
What is your pregame meal? Yogurt, fruit and a smoothie.
Senior Pioneer Varsity Cross Country
Do you plan on running in college? I hope so! I would like to run at either MIchigan or Oberlin. What do you love most about your team? After each race we all relax together, mess with each other and eat bagels.
GalenBurrell
Senior Gymnastics
Where do you practice? A lot of different gyms but mostly the YMCA.
How did you choose water polo? I didn’t like sweating with running and other sports.
What is your favorite event? Floor because you get to dance and it the event I am least nervous for.
Do you mind wearing speedos? They are fine but they were kind of awkward at first.
What do you do before every meet? Listen to my floor music and stay in my own zone.
Freshman Pioneer JV Water Polo
DanMetzler
MichelleWander
Senior Huron Varsirty Field Hockey
How long have you been playing? Since fourth grade.
When was the first time you ran a 5k? Third grade.
What do you like about the game? I like how it is contact related, a team sport, and just really fun.
What is the hardest part about running? Gving up time on weekends to go to meets. They are anywhere from four to ten hours including travel time.
What is your favorite sport to watch? Notre Dame football.
Freshman Pioneer JV Cross Country
DevinO’Donnell
Junior Skyline Varsity Soccer
What is your best 5k time? 19 minutes, 18 seconds.
AveryFarmer
Why do you love soccer? I live to beat Huron.
What is your greatest sports moment? Freshman year I rode in the JV boat and we won states!
What is your favorite team to watch? Gryffindor.
What is the hardest thing about practice? Urge tests because they are more mentally difficult than rowing. I work myself up about them.
What is your pregame ritual? I buy a pack of Skittles, eat all but six and then eat the last six before the game starts.
Junior Pioneer Varsity Crew
CaseyMacDonald
What position do you play? Safety and reciever. Who is your favorite team to watch? The Lions!
DylanParton
Who inspires you? My teammates because I see how hard they work and it makes me work harder.
SofiaFall
What is one of your pregame riturals? I don’t tie my shoes until I get on the bus.
Freshman Pioneer Football
What do you like about the sport? I like how it is physical especially because you don’t get that with other aquatic sports.
Do you have aspirations to go farther than high school? I want to play beach vollleyball in the summers. Sophomore Pioneer Varsity Volleyball
What do you like about the sport? I like how it is team oriented and it ia all about working together. You can’t just have one star on the team. How is your Pioneer team? We have great team chemistry this year!
LydiaKrienke sports
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letter to the editors To the Editors:
opinion staff editorial: obama best represents community high’s interests
the white house website says “the president has demonstrated that his vision for a brighter future includes greater equality for lgbt americans.”
It’s no secret that Community High School has a liberal-leaning student body. Therefore, it’s no surprise that when 110 students recently filled out a Communicator-administered survey, approximately two-thirds said they identified as Democrats. We should remember that there are students and staff with other perspectives (five percent self-identified as Republicans and the remaining 30 percent chose to affiliate with neither party) but it’s a safe assumption that an endorsement of Barack Obama represents a majority of Community High School. However, these facts only tell us whom the school supports. It’s just as important to consider why Community chooses Obama. As high school students, saying, “I’m liberal” shouldn’t justify a choice of candidates. We’re old enough to consider how and why Obama would best represent us through specific policy and positions. Obama deserves re-election because his aims align with issues that are critically relevant to Community High School students, including protection of public schools, accessibility of higher education, and LGBT acceptance. This is not to say that high school students cannot choose a candidate based on issues that are currently more applicable to working adults, like the economy and health care, or on foreign policy issues. These decisions still affect us and we should get informed. However, the government should represent our current interests, and for these interests Obama is a clear choice.
HIGHER EDUCATION
In the last few years, CHS has been hit hard by steep budget cuts, and the ensuing struggles and sacrifices have shown us the value of protecting public education. We know the difference that great teachers can make. Obama has shown a clear commitment to preserving and promoting funding for education. His stimulus package gave about $100 million to education, with a large portion focused
Affordability of higher education is especially relevant to the many Community High School students preparing for college. The government should support students in affording college so that students from families with modest income can have a fair shot. As the Communicator Web reported in January when Obama spoke at the University of Michigan, the President wants to keep interest on student loans low. In June, he pushed Congress to extend the low rates for a year, which
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PUBLIC EDUCATION FUNDING
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on keeping teachers’ jobs. A Center on Education Policy at George Washington University study in July found that the stimulus “largely met the goal of saving or creating jobs for K-12 teachers.” Obama wants to invest $25 million this year into keeping teachers employed, says the White House website And his 2013 budget appropriates $69.8 billion to the Department of Education, a 2.5 percent increase from 2012. Mitt Romney’s commitment to education is murkier. In the Oct. 3 presidential debate, Romney said “I’m not going to cut education funding.” But in an April 15 speech to donors, he said that he would either consolidate the Department of Education or “make it a heck of a lot smaller.” And the Romney-Ryan campaign has been sharply criticized for supposed cuts to education in Paul Ryan’s budget. The Washington Post reported that compared to Obama’s budget, Ryan’s would provide $33 million less for the areas of “Education, training, employment, and social services.” In addition, The Center on Budget Policy and Priorities found Romney’s own budget could potentially cut, in 2016, $133 billion from nondefense discretionary spending, a big public services category that includes elementary and secondary education. We need to look at what Romney does, not just what he says. Though he may claim he won’t cut education, his budget and choice of a running mate send a different message.
it did. He helped reshape the student loan industry in 2010 and, according to the Washington Post, saved about $61 billion by cutting out middlemen, such as banks, that were distributing student loans. A little over half of those savings went to federal Pell Grants, grants the government provides to students in need to help them afford college. Romney, however, seems less concerned. In March, a student asked him about affordability of higher education, and Romney said that his best advice was to “shop around.” Romney wants to reintroduce the private sector into student loans, reversing Obama’s restructuring of the industry. Obama contends this would raise loan rates. LGBT RIGHTS
Finally, Community prides itself on being an accepting school. Though we still have areas in which to improve, the community is committed to supporting LGBT students. These students deserve that support as they move through their lives, and that should include the full rights that straight people are entitled to, including marriage. Obama made waves on May 9 when he became the first president to announce support for gay marriage while in office. Obama also ended the ban on service by openly gay members of the military, and his administration decided not to protect the Defense of Marriage Act. He also supports samesex adoption. It took Obama several years to express his support for gay marriage, but the proclamation, despite being belated, is huge. His support tells members of the LGBT community the government understands that they are entitled to equal rights. Romney, though, continues to oppose gay marriage, and wants to enshrine a “defense” of traditional marriage into a federal constitutional amendment. Romney has said he doesn’t support discrimination against gay people, so he must not understand that depriving members of the population of marriage rights is also discrimination. C
It has been just over a month since school started up again here at Community High, and already I have been doing some reflecting. Twice so far I have been prompted to, “describe Community in five words.” Needless to say, I was not only caught offguard, but how could I express everything that Community is in just five words? It’s true, school has just started, and for some students it has been their very first month ever at Community. Even so, I found that I didn’t want to be at a loss for words, I wanted to be at an excess. The stereotypical first thought in my mind was educational, since we do have the same basic experiences as other high school students. But, there’s so much more to being a student here. “Lucky” is a thought I have. Even this early in the year, I think it’s important to realize how lucky we are here at Community. Not only are we able to attend school at all when so many kids in the world cannot, but every day when we walk in the doors, we are presented with “opportunity” and “support”. From things like the Community Ensemble Theater to math support at lunch to the CR program and clubs, now is the time to branch out and take advantage of the many unique programs we have at our fingertips. “Appreciation” is also something that comes to mind. In October, it may seem like the rest of the year is still in front of us, but this is my third year at CHS and I have no idea where the past two school years have gone. Before we all decide what we will get out of this school year, we should take a long look around us and remember that we only have four years to benefit from our high school. Although I don’t remember which five words I used those other times to describe Community, I do notice that my answers keep “changing”. So now, I will turn the prompt to you. How would you describe Community High School in five words? Hopefully, all of our answers are different, and all of them will keep evolving. Sincerely, Franny MeLampy
literal arts: community students should keep open minds about different views daniel sagher
Before I came to Community, I had a pretty fixed view of what it was going to be like. Community has the reputation of being hippy, dippy, and even hippy dippy. So naturally, I thought it was going to be as weird and strange as its reputation precedes it to be. The Single Story, as defined by author Chimamanda Adichie, is the all too common syndrome where a human makes a snap-judgement about a group. Without thinking or knowing any better, one might associate Arab people with terrorism and Americans with obesity. Being in the double bubble that is Community High School in Ann Arbor, the mostly Democratic student body is only exposed to the Republicans they see on TV, i.e. Mitt Romney and Todd Akin . The Single Story is dangerous concept because it leads to harsh assumptions that are more prejudicial than productive. There are two connotations of the word “liberal.” When used colloquially, liberal is synonymous with Democratic, just as the word “conservative” is another word for Republican. But what do these words actually mean?
Liberal is literally defined as “open to new behavior or opinions and willing to discard traditional values,” which is the virtue that Democrats pride themselves upon. But ever since I started at Community as a sophomore, I’ve witnessed numerous accounts of (Democratic) students painting pictures of Republicans as being “the bad guys,” because of the whack-jobs they hate in office. This bugs me. I find it as much of an untrue stereotype as saying that African Americans can’t swim or that Hispanics are lazy. The Democratic view (at Community) of Republicans seems to be set in stone. Anti-gay. Pro-life. Pro-Romney. Just to name a few. But student and Republican, Charlotte Steele, is just one of the many examples of someone who breaks the stereotypical mold. Steele goes against the grain when it comes to the aforementioned issues. Steele is pro-gay rights, pro-choice and thinks that Romney is a lunatic. The fact that there is a rational Republican that has found her way into our secluded double bubble should be a good enough reason for people to open up their minds
to Republicans. But this is not the case. Steele still feels the invisible barrier because of her Republican background. “I think that maybe I’m just more used to it.” Steele said when asked how things are now compared to when she first came to Community. She felt that she was known as “that Republican,” and that people made judgements about her without actually knowing her. I myself, am Democratic and I do think that most of the Republicans in office are coocoo for cocoa-puffs, but I have an open enough mind to not shut out Republican views just because they are Republican views. That is what liberal means to me and I strongly believe that this is a quality that Democrats and Republicans should both have. The issues that face our country as a whole are too pressing for people to blindly vote for the party that say, their parents vote for, or their friends vote for. Bad voting habits in generations past have led to the most divided and dirty election yet, and I don’t foresee it changing anytime soon if no one takes the initiative and stops going “la-la-lala” just to drown out the opinions of
the opposing party. This polarization of parties began to peak over the horizon at the beginning of this election and it has skyrocketed exponentially ever since. According to a CNN poll, 56.1 percent of Americans believe that this has been the dirtiest election yet (negative ads, mud-slinging, etc...) I believe after this election, the polarization of the two parties will only continue to increase and the country will continue to bicker. Until people open up, put their pride aside and relearn the seemingly foreign concept of compromise, America can not move forward together. Compromise is that crazy idea that people can work on something together and come to a conclusion that both parties can agree on. It starts here, in high school, when students are learning how to think critically, and be a valuable asset to society. That is why I think learning in an environment that is liberal, in the sense of being openminded to all opinions, is an important step to creating a government that works together instead of against each other. C
in a july 2012 survey of 15,000 adults, 35.4 percent affiliated themselves with the Republican party, while 34.4 percent affiliated themslelves with the democratic party. 30.5 percent were unaffiliated
editorial cartoon: tattletale romney julie yanar
communicator policy
“But Mommy! He made a lot of mistakes in the last four years!”
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 thecommunicator@googlegroups.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.thecommunicator.org.
opinion
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columns sexist or not?
sarah’s view
sarah zimmerman & cooper depriest
With this column, we (Sarah Zimmerman and Cooper DePriest) will explore everyday occurances and decide whether or not they are sexist. We’ll each present our own views on the matter.
This edition’s topic: Is it sexist for guys to open the door for girls?
With my feminist hat on, yes, it is sexist. That’s not to say I don’t respect the gentlemen view on this issue of holding open doors. Cooper says he has always been taught to hold open doors because that is what men do. Yes, men have been taught to hold open doors for girls, but that is only because it has been socially constructed that way. The act of opening a door seems simple and uncontroversial. But, in fact it is the exact opposite. It is the fact that it is seen as okay that allows us to continually construct our society with men being superior to women. Why might opening a door seem sexist? The act of holding open a door for a women implies that she is incapable of doing it herself. Maybe with my feminist hat I am looking into this issue too deeply, but hear me out. For example, if I was walking towards a door completely capable of opening it, and Cooper was behind me with
bundles of books in his arms, and made a point of opening the door for me, I would find that sexist. Although0 he had been taught it was gentlemanlike to hold open the door, in that situation I was more able to open the door than he was. Therefore, I felt inferior to him because he thought I was incapable of opening the door. Our society has been socially constructed to view opening the door as common courtesy but this has been constructed from the view that men are superior to women. So, our simple situation of opening a door becomes omplicated.
cooper’s view Absolutely not! Opening the door for a woman is by no means sexist; it is common courtesy. Growing up, my parents ingrained into me the importance of being polite. When I approach the entrance to a building, my first instinct is to grab the door handle and hold it
open while others enter. Occasionally this proves to be difficult, and in some instances awkward. All of that aside, it is not sexist. I’m not asserting my dominance over the female race, or implying that women are incapable of holding open the door on their own. The mere idea that this could be considered sexist is absurd! Sexism is discrimination based on gender; holding open the door is not discriminatory. I think opening the door is a sign of respect. When I’m with parents, teachers, or really any adult, I like to open the door. Sex plays no role in my decision making process. If we are at the point where holding open doors is an issue, I think we are living in a society that places too much importance on preventing “isms.”The situation of opening the door is not complicated at all; it is simple. Guys holding open the door for girls is not sexist. C
in the neighborhood: no thai Thai!, of which one location so hap-
in the neighborhood: no thai pened to be close-by to my soon-to-be
he summer before my freshman year was extremely enjoyable. I vacationed in San Francisco, took many a trip to the lake and attended a camp or two. But what possibly was the most valuable piece of information I received that summer wasn’t about cable cars, freshwater fish or insect repellant. That golden nugget of advice came from my cousin-in-law, who also lives here in Ann Arbor. He wasn’t hesitant in spreading the word on this “cool and super delicious” restaurant called No
high school. Now, as a sophomore, I must shamefully admit that I have spent much of my weekly food money at No Thai! ever since my cousin-in-law kindly shared with me this new gustatory adventure. On the corner of N. Fourth Avenue, the No Thai! location closest to Community is right behind a small outdoor eating area, is neighbors with Smoothie King and is a few doors down from People’s Food Coop. Upon entering, depending on which time of day, you won’t be shocked about attendance per say, unless it’s a Friday at lunch hour. With a basic, modern layout, the reason to head over to No Thai! isn’t for it’s interior design. The savory, rich aroma wafting throughout the place is reason enough to just walk in their door. No, the reason you’ll be going to No Thai! is because of its oriental delicacies. Its menu starts out with giving you the choice of 17 main entrees,
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and letting you personalize your meal with a choice of protein (chicken, beef, tofu, or shrimp for a dollar more) and a choice of spice level (from no spice all the way up to what they call The Death Touch). The price of your meal can range from $7.50 to $9.50. While the cost is a little on the high side for what a high schooler tends to pay for lunch, the reason behind it —the portion size—makes the extra cash easier to dish out. Not only do you get hot, freshly made Thai food, but the sheer amount of rice, noodles, or stir fry they give you is enough to fill up two people, which is fairly equivalent to a high school student having not eaten since seven in the morning. My personal favorite dish is the No Thai Fried Rice with chicken and weak spice. I’m sort of a wuss when it comes to heat, and weak spice adds just enough flavor while still being bareable. Very few people (that I know) have tried anything past the weak spice. At $7.50, No Thai Fried Rice is also one of the cheapest things on the menu.
After listing all of these positives about No Thai!, the surprise here is that not many Community students actually eat there very often. The distance from Community to No Thai! is only one more block away than Teriyaki Time, and the quantity is equal to the quality. As I said earlier, the majority of people you’ll find in No Thai! during the Friday lunch rush are local workers, stay-at-home moms with their young children and the occasional Community student. It’s the type of food that, once you open it inside the school, the scent sticks into the walls and drifts by everyone who passes. As you eat it, people will look at your food longingly, occasionally voicing their jealousy, using phrases like, “Oh my gosh, that looks so good,” and “Wow, where’d you get that?”. If not for the yummy food and short distance, get No Thai! for the instant popularity. Either way, you’ll be relishing every bite. C
ralph lauren, liz clai born & courtney kiley
Wouldn’t be caught wearing...
Goto outfit...
american eagle, hollister or abercrombie and fitch
levi jeans, fitted hat, and “really nice, new” socks
thelist spend the night in a tree
Wouldn’t be caught wearing... anything with frills, ruffles or shoulder pads
FALL
FAVES I like going on walks in woods by my house because I love the smell of the leaves.
Take a trip to the cider mill swing on the swings
play mind games with the squirrels
I like gettting lost in corn mazes.
go to a haunted house
Stuff yourself at Multi-Culti go see the CET production of Evita
I like going to the Dexter Cider Mill and getting the donut/cider combo!
Meet a farmer at the Farmers’ Market
get sassy with Kevin shorts
the communicator
nicholas lang
play in the leaves
elie tahari black wool long coat
nesreen mattar
carve a pumpkin
go buck-wild at the halloween
prepare to hibernate play frisbee on the back lawn
hipperhugger pants
best article of clothing
hannah lehker
things to do in and around school this fall
What has been the best trend in your lifetime?
LIZ STERN
Who inspires your style?
ERIC BAYLESS-HALL
commiestyle
shorts
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www.the-communicator.org • a student voice COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL [ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN] NEWS FEATURES A&E SPORTS OP-ED LIFE STUDENT ARTS 1000 WORDS CALENDAR
CET prepares for upcoming production, Evita — A new teacher comes to CHS — Local farmers suffer major apple loss— 1000 words —-Singer Eric Hutchinson is coming to Ann Arbor — CHS jazz band gets critiques — Changes in the Media Center
The communicator c/o community high school 401 N. Division ST. Ann Arbor, MI 48104