See TEENS

VERENA WU STAFF WRITER

Senior Samantha Chan has been working in Huron to make the community more eco-friendly. Along with being co-president of Huron Green Team, she researched compostable utensils for her IB Personal Project and wrote a proposal for these to be implemented in Huron and AAPS. She also noted how Huron tried to implement a new recycling program last year, but it had never started.

“AAPS as a whole to become more sustainable if there was just a greater push for it from people like Jeanine Swift and the rest of administration,” Chan said.

Despite being exempt from more dramatic natural disasters, Ann Arbor has felt the impact of climate change.

“It already precipitation falling on our community compared to previous years,” Mayor Christopher Taylor told MLive. “We feel it in increasing temperatures and greater weather volatility.”

There have been some responsive actions on behalf of the city to counteract this.

“[Ann Arbor city council]

passed a resolution in November of 2019 declaring a Climate Emergency and setting a communitywide goal of being carbon neutral by 2030,” Ann Arbor Sustainability and Innovations manager Missy Stults said. Stults is helping lead the A2Zero initiative, which lays out the plan that will be followed to power the city with no fossil fuels and 100 percent renewable energy to reach carbon neutrality within the next 10 years. The plan is estimated to cost more than $1 billion, but the city will likely not have to pay the entire cost themselves. Funding from state and federal governments and private philanthropy will be sought from city leaders, and they will enlist University of Michigan, AAATA, and local businesses to reduce their emissions.

“The science is clear,” Stults said. “We must immediately and aggressively reduce greenhouse gas emissions to avoid the most catastrophic impacts associated with a changing climate.”

In order to reduce emissions, Stults believes that are going to be institutional changes that would alter the landscape for everyone. Stults meets with AAPS, one of the major institutions in Ann Arbor, once a month to discuss various projects and opportunities for collaboration between the school district and city government.

AAPS appears in A2Zero’s timeline to launch emergency preparedness sessions that will be tailored to students and caregivers. The sessions will include education on what to do during an emergency and what resources are available for them. These emergencies would happen because of climate change.

AAPS’s carbon footprint varies yearly depending on a number of factors like weather patterns, building and vehicle use and equipment/facility upgrades, according to

Construction Projects

Auditor Jason Bing who is moving AAPS toward carbon neutrality. In an average year, AAPS buildings contribute around 25,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions, not including transportation fuel. For the past few years, AAPS h a s looked f o r ways t o

reduce operating costs Bing also agrees that through energy conservation, better building controls how urgent climate change and automation, replacing action is needed. outdated equipment with “Our recent focus on public health and the safety alternatives such as LED lighting conversions, a n d “ hopefully help to illuminate the urgency to switch to a clear, safer, enhancing I see no path ahead other healthier, the recycling program. than carbon neutrality. and more equitable The stakes are simply clean energy In July 2020, solar too high to not go at this economy locally and panels were installed goal with every ounce of nationally,” B i n g onto the roof our being.” said. of Pattengill Elementary Missy Stults Stults claimed that school by Ann Arbor Sustainability + Homeland Innovations manager generation Solar. This to fully year, the understand the impacts of climate change the installation of four new and the last generation to be rooftop solar installations on able to take action to stop this Haisley Elementary School, calamity, it’s imperative that A2STEAM, Forsythe Middle we do everything in our power School and Huron High now to reduce our greenhouse School. These solar projects gas emissions, prepare are anticipated to generate for the impacts of climate energy for approximately change that are already here 100 typical Ann Arbor homes as well as those coming and on an annual basis. ground all of our work in

“The pandemic has equity and justice. laid bare the disproportionate “I see no path ahead vulnerabilities low income and other than carbon neutrality,” minority populations face in Stults said. “The stakes regards to disruptions,” Stults are simply too high to not said. “These are the exact same go at this goal with every communities who already ounce of our being.” are being disproportionately burdened by climate change. We won’t have a vaccine for climate change.”

Freshman advisors adapt: club fair goes virtual

AMY XIU STAFF WRITER

In a school of over 1,500 students Huron usually runs over 50 clubs. They facilitate friendship, passion and service. From Origami Club to Exec Board, clubs build the Huron community, which has been deemed essential for students during the pandemic.

In previous years, most incoming freshmen were exposed to clubs at registration in August. They walked through a crowded of club booths all trying to advertise themselves. Interest forms were readily available, and by the end, most students had their eye on at least one club they could join. This year, freshmen were not able to have this experience due to Covid-19. However, the ninth grade dean,

STUDENT COUNCIL

|FROM PAGE ONE

“Student-teacher relationships are two way streets,” Huron principal Janet Schwamb said during the meeting. “Every teacher at Huron cares about kids, and wants to be supportive.”

While students can be a bit tentative in terms of taking the initiative to reach out, it’s something Linzmeier thinks they should try and get comfortable with.

“The administration is on the student’s side about talking to the teachers and letting them know [things] like ‘I’ve spent four hours on Salvador Barrientes, and the class of 2024 advisor, Sara Badalamente, wanted to give them the next best thing: an all virtual “Club Symposium”.

“Mr. Barrientes and I know how important it is for kids to feel connected at Huron,” Badalamente said. The Club Symposium will be a completely virtual event set for late November. During an advisory session, freshmen will be shared a spreadsheet with short introduction videos from every club. Students will be able to tour all the clubs and express interests in the ones they like, much like the in-person event.”

While the event is geared towards freshmen, everyone at Huron can participate. Every student will have access to the videos. However, planning an event this large is not without obstacles.

“Gathering the videos was the toughest this assignment, and I can’t get it done,’” Linzmeier said. “Teachers should be receptive to that conversation and should be receptive to those kids and their needs. Currently, I hope that we prioritize working on a better format and address issues individually with teachers.”

Another issue raised by senior student council member Shania Ahmed was that she couldn’t see her grades in Powerschool, and check how she was doing in classes. Because of this, she emailed her teachers.

“I feel like, at least in my experience, not every single teacher is nice,” Ahmed

part,” Badalamente said. “Sometimes clubs aren’t meeting, advisors get busy or maybe the advisor is someone that’s outside of Huron that leads the group. Working virtually is so students in the halls before and after classes.”

Barrientes and Badalamente are both very excited for

Avani Guduri

President of BPA

emailed students in business classes at word-of-mouth”

said. “I get that they might have good intentions, but not every single teacher seems to be nice to some students, or it could just be the student. Just like students [being] scared of reaching out, that’s [on] them, not really the teacher. But I think the student shouldn’t be scared to reach out because [it’s] the teacher’s job to help.” Recently, student council’s work delivered on a couple nohomework weekends and advisory changes.

“Student council voices,” Schwamb said. “I think student voice is really powerful and I know our teachers care about the students deeply.”

As the aftermath meeting, student council is now kickstarting a sock fundraiser, and will plan other safe events to give kids stress relievers.

“Ultimately our goal is to get to the edge of an open dialogue and hopefully see some change,” Linzmeier said. “We just want to genuinely listen to people, and then bring those concerns up.”

GRAPHIC BY MAYA KOGULAN this event to go live.

“We want students to be actively engaged in school,” Barrientes said. “We want all our students, especially our freshman, to know that there is more to school besides all the academic rigor; we have clubs, sports, events and more. We want our students to know that we hear them, we love them, and we are

Salome Mouliere President of French Club

“We have an Instagram, a mailing list and asked French teachers to spread the news” FIND MORE INDEPTH CLUB COVERAGE ON THEHURONEMERY.COM

“We’ve increased our use of social media, Huron and relied on

here to support them.”

Arya Kamat President of Biology Club

“Social Media, emailing, ninth grade club symposium video and reaching out to people we know”

PLAY | FROM PAGE ONE

about students in a high school theater group who are cast in roles they are not suited for.

“It’s about friendship and fun, and all the ins and outs of a theater production,” Huron Players advisor Claire Federhofer said.

For rehearsal, camera if they’re not “onstage,” change their names to their character names and have props from the camera. Actors have to be mindful of their background and objects that are in the background, lighting, their camera when they are going “onstage” or

Federhofer recorded each scene with Zoom’s record feature, which she then put together for the performance.

“I’m very happy with how the show turned out,” performer Marisa Redding said. “Of course, it’s not like anything we’ve done before, but it was still a really fun experience. It was nice to be able to be able to still have theater, even as everything else

In less than a few months, student council has doubled its members and attendence. All clubs have been approved to

meet virtually. COURTESY OF DEMOSS

THE EMERY STAFF

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF:

Clara Bowman 2021bowmanclaram@aaps.k12.mi.us Maya Kogulan 2021kogulanumaiyal@aaps.k12.mi.us

ADVISER:

Sara-Beth Badalamente

Mishal Charania Managing Editor Vish Gondesi Online Editor-In-Chief Lydia Hargett News Editor Ridhima Kodali Opinion Editor Kaitlyn Sabb Feature Editor Quinn Newhouse Sports Editor Julie Park Design Editor Kiana Hemati Social Media Editor Allison Mi Copy Editor

Shania Ahmed Uthman Al Andulusi Ruqayyiah Al-Saady

Jaden Boster

Zach Brewer

Neeko Cho

Gabriela Dimova

Anita Gaenko

Eric Heng