The Huron Emery Volume 9 Issue 4 February 2024

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HURON EMERY

@THEHURONEMERY

HURON HIGH SCHOOL, 2727 FULLER RD., ANN ARBOR MI 48105

VOL. 9 ISSUE 4

NATIONAL CHAMPIONS: PAINTING PAINT ING ANN ARBOR MAIZE AND BLUE After winning the College Football National Championship, University of Michigan’s football team returned back home to the streets of Ann Arbor, shutting down the city for a celebratory parade. STORY ON PAGE 2 PHOTO CREDIT ZAIN CHARANIA

THE HURON EMERY | ISSUE 4: FEBRUARY NATIONALS | FROM PAGE ONE

ANNA ESPER, ASHLEY KIM AND ZAIN CHARANIA EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, NEWS EDITOR AND PHOTO EDITOR The school morning started with the speakers filling the halls of Huron with one song, “The Victors.”

On Jan. 8, 2024, the University of Michigan Football team competed against the University of Washington in the national championship. After a season of interruptions, coaching changes and records, the team had made it to the finish line. With a 13-34 win, the Wolverines brought home the national title for the first time since 1997, with Ann Arbor shouting the words to “Go Blue” with them.

Sophomore Max Samaha’s cousin Adam

Samaha is a freshman Kicker on the team, making Adam a national champion his first year on the team.

“It was really exciting, especially finally being able to see the success of the team after years of work,” said Max Samaha, who attended the game in Atlanta. “One special aspect was being able to see my cousin. Just being able to talk to him and see how much he’s loving the experience as well.”

According to NBC Sports Chicago, Michigan comes in fifth place for the biggest college football fan bases, having around 6.26 million fans. “[The atmosphere] was incredible. Michigan fans really took it over,” Max Samaha said. “I’d say it’s probably 65 percent Michigan fans, 35 percent Washington [fans], with the cheers and the chants everyone was hyped and excited to watch the game.”

Besides attending the game, many fans watched from the Ann Arbor area, filling bars, restaurants and the comfort of their couches.

“I stayed at home with my parents because my dad and I were too stressed to go anywhere else,” senior Anna Wyman said.

Wyman has been a fan “since birth,” living in Michigan her whole life, her family all attending the University. Her family being season ticket holders, she was able to see the growth throughout the season.

“Because of all of the scandals throughout the season and people trying to come out with any reason why the team was winning without pure talent, it was really nice to see that after all of that, they still looked just as good if not better,” Wyman said.

During the game, the city went quiet, with everyone

Blake Corum and Jim Harbaugh celebrating together, the hard fought championship. PHOTO

BY ZAIN CHARANIA

2 | NEWS

Now Head Coach, Sherrone Moore, shows his gratitude to all of the Michigan fans. PHOTO BY ZAIN CHARANIA inside watching the game.

Some of Ann Arbor’s busiest streets like Washtenaw Ave. and State St. were empty with a few cars speeding home to join the city in front of their TV. Both of senior Jackson Keefer’s parents played for Michigan, his mom playing volleyball and his dad playing football, and winning the last Championship in 1997.

“We are really big Michigan fans,” senior Jackson Keefer said. “We are super into the games, and we just really want to see them succeed.”

“It was great [experiencing the game with his dad], he kept saying ‘I can’t believe it.” Keefer said.

After the game, running back Blake Corum promised the city a championship parade, just like in 1997. The parade was held Saturday Jan. 13 at 4 p.m.

Even though it was snowing, 27 degrees and 20.8 mph wind speed, fans filled the parade route starting at the President’s House in maize in blue hats, scarves and coats, all chanting “It’s great

to be a Michigan Wolverine.”

“It ended up starting like 30 minutes after I got there so it was perfect. I enjoyed seeing the players and band,” said Wyman, who attended the parade with her parents, grandparents, and a friend.

Many different kinds of trucks drove through the crowds surrounding the university’s campus including “Froot Loops,” “CocaCola” and trucks filled with Michigan’s team, all behind the sound of the marching band, playing “The Victors,” two red fire trucks followed.

The fire trucks held Sherrone Moore, the teams interim coach through the 2023 season and defensive coordinator Jesse Minter. In addition, the last truck held the team’s stars including Blake Corum and JJ Mcarthy all high fiving the fans, all surrounding coach Jim Harbaugh, a Michigan hero.

When asked to describe how people feel about the team, there was one phrase that came to mind for Keefer. “ C h a m p i o n s .

Champions.

Champions.”

Solar panels: Powering AAPS’s future SAMUEL KEREKES STAFF WRITER Though students may not know it, they are already using solar power throughout their school day. When Huron and other AAPS schools installed solar panels on their roofs back in 2021, hopes were high for a greener future in the district.

Now, with several years of monitoring and steadfast construction, the results of our ambitious plans are here.

“The emissions offset in the 2022-23 school year were estimated at 1,413,258 lbs CO2-eq,” said Jason Bing, the AAPS director of capital programs.

“With several systems coming online, we effectively doubled the prior year’s (2021-22) emissions offset.”

The trend seems to be continuing beyond this too.

“As we add more systems, we will be adding to the total offset figure ­— so the trend is quite good,” Bing said, “For example, a single rooftop solar array in the district, such as Huron High School, rated at 167kW DC, (or direct current output) offset an estimated 238,200 lbs CO2-eq last year.”

Along with their increased usage, solar panels don’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.

An April 2023 report by the Pioneer Solar Club estimated that around 5,600,000 lbs of carbon emissions are to be offset by 2030, given current numbers and planned increases in construction. It might seem far-fetched, but there is nothing fantastical about it.

“We should be on track to meet or exceed this goal, based on last

year’s estimates,” Bing said.

The new constructions are trending well too.

“The systems most recently energized are Tappan Middle School and Scarlett Middle School,” Bing said, “We have been fortunate to work with great contractors on these efforts. In today’s market, the delivery of electrical equipment can often be delayed due to supply chain challenges, and we have been working hard to plan wisely to prevent these delays from impacting our work.”

But delays won’t stop the district easily.

“When the systems are completed, there is a step that involves our utility to interconnect our system to the utility grid, and this can sometimes delay a project’s completion,” Bing said, “We continue to try to work with

AAPS solar panel installations are saving energy, money, and the environment. CREATIVE COMMONS the utility to streamline expand, AAPS looks our interconnection towards its sunny future. process and timeline.”

As solar operations

THE HURON EMERY | ISSUE 4: FEBRUARY

3 | FEATURE

Breaking barriers: finding hope in a new home Reflections of immigration from countries around the world to Ann Arbor SATVIKA RAMANATHAN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF America is seen as the land of opportunity across the world.

According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, approximately 2.5 million migrants came to the southern border in 2023. Some people come for education and job opportunities, some people come here for love, some people come here for safety and some come for entirely different reasons.

Washtenaw County itself is made up of 12.4 “foreign born persons,” according to census.gov. Much of the community is made of immigrants, and everyone has a different story for what made them move here.

Writer and Wayne State professor Sylvia Taschka immigrated from Germany to the U.S. in 2002 for love.

Taschka grew up when Germany was still divided into two countries.

Her father had lived in Czechoslovakia under a communist dictatorship that he hated. He fled from there to West Germany in 1968 where Taschka was born and grew up.

“At [age] 18, he had this rosy picture of the West,” Taschka said. “He thought communism was the most horrific system.”

While there was a definite positive association with America and all that came with it, the German culture that Taschka grew up in had mixed feelings towards America.

“There was also an anti-American part of society,” she said. “People had an idea that American culture was not as impressive as German culture.”

Regardless, Taschka didn’t have any plans of coming to the U.S., until she met her now-husband. They moved first to Connecticut, and then came to Michigan for work. They moved back to Germany after having their first daughter and continued to switch between living in Germany and America.

Sylvia Taschka moved from Germany in 2002.

The transition to living here was more natural on the east coast.

“People there were very cosmopolitan,” Taschka said. “It was an academic setting [that we lived in] and the people felt very similar.”

Migrationpolicy.org says that immigrants make up the largest percentages of state populations in California (27 percent), New Jersey (23 percent) and New York (22 percent). So for Taschka and her family, moving to the midwest proved to be more of a challenge.

“People [in Michigan] are more deeply rooted,” she said. “There are less people from various backgrounds, so you feel it much more as an immigrant.”

Although Taschka moved here to be with someone she loved, coming here also meant leaving many loved ones behind in Germany.

“There are every day challenges,” she said.

“You can’t just go to the grocery store and buy a food ingredient to bake that special dish that reminds you of your grandmother. You want to take care of your parents, but you’re an ocean away, so it’s not possible.”

Junior Rebecca Cheng shares that experience with Taschka. She was born in New York, but moved back to China at age seven and definitely moved back to the U.S. in the summer of 2022 when she came to Huron. She lived here with her mother for a year, but now stays with a local host family.

“It’s definitely different,” Cheng said. “They have four other kids, so it’s a lot of noise and chaos, which is not like what I’ve experienced because I’m an only child.”

Although she lives 7,000 miles away from her family, she is able to deal with it pretty well.

“I’m the kind of person who doesn’t miss her family that much,” Cheng said. “So sometimes

America is a salad bowl of people and cultures all around the world. Regardless of the different reasons people immigrate, they can find a home in this country. GRAPHIC BY ELLA YIP FaceTime is good enough.”

Indian immigrants Arpana and Abhay Rai felt more of a separation from their family when they moved to the U.S. in 2007. They had moved to Malaysia in 2005 for Abhay Rai’s job, and moved to the U.S. two years later for the same reason.

“Initially, I used to go when [our daughter] was little, so I used to go for longer times,” Arpana Rai said. “But it got worse slowly later.”

Through living in these three countries, they saw how unique the workforce of each of these places was.

The American Immigration Council says that immigrant workers made up 17 percent of the country’s l a b o r force in 2019.

Abhay Rai worked in the semiconductor industry, which is a specialized field.

“Work is very different in India,” Abhay Rai said. “I started with a government job in India, and it was secondarytype work, so it was not very satisfactory, and that’s why we moved to Malaysia. I would say it was great work. And then when we moved to the U.S., it

Rebecca Cheng moved from China in 2022.

was very good work. Most of my development and growth happened here because of that high-quality work.”

They originally moved to Colorado in 2007, then moved to California in 2011, finally coming to Ann Arbor in 2019. Even within the U.S., they noticed many differences between these states.

“When we moved to the Bay Area, that was a big culture shock because in Colorado, we didn’t see many Indians,” Abhay Rai said. “We saw women in saris even in Sunnyvale, to us it looked like we were walking in India.”

They also love the college-town, diverse feel of Ann Arbor.

They loved seeing the “welcome” s i g n s in many languages outside of Clague Middle School, where their daughter started going to school.

“It’s very diverse,” Arpana Rai said.

“So that gave us comfort that it was very diverse.”

But that experience isn’t necessarily shared by all people who immigrate to Ann Arbor. Sophomore Thylicia Babumba moved to the U.S. when she was around six Abhay and Arpana Rai moved from India in 2007.

years old to escape the poor economic conditions of her home country, Uganda, and she has conflicting feelings on how inviting Ann Arbor is.

“I think it’s welcoming,” Babumba said.

“But there are times where there are microaggressions.

A liberal activism where people say, ‘You’re welcome, but don’t act out too much.’”

She also feels a disconnect when it comes to African-American cultures and her own culture.

“Africans don’t really communicate enough with African-Americans,” Babumba said. “There’s so much history there.

But because of how much w h i t e supremacy has really m a d e these two communities [separated].

It’s really sad. We actually have so much to talk about, and there are so many connections to be made.”

America has made so many promises to the world.

Regardless of the reason that people have immigrated, this country has become a melting pot of so many different cultures. It has become a place that people from all across the globe now call home.

Thylicia Babumba moved from Uganda in 2014.

THE HURON EMERY | ISSUE 4: FEBRUARY

4 | NEWS

Ann Arbor bicentennial:“Beyond the boundless arc of a Midwest sky” MAYA FU WEBSITE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Ann’s Arbor.

Dedicated in 1824 to the wives of founders John Allen and Elishia W. Rumsey (both named Ann), the small settlement filled with beautiful natural groves (or arbors) quickly grew into a bustling city, its name shortened to simply Ann Arbor.

Originally a center for agricultural training, the moving of the University of Michigan from Detroit in 1837, along with the arrival of the Michigan Central Railroad in 1839, helped transition the city into a period of rapid growth. World War II marked another population boom, with the nearby Ford Willow Run plant producing B-24 Liberator bombers. But before being claimed by settlers of European descent, the major roadways of today’s Ann Arbor w e r e frequently traveled by many indigenous tribes, such as the Ojibwe, Ottawa, Potawatomi and the Wyandot tribes. The City of Ann Arbor pays respect to these tribes, who were forcefully removed from their land in the Treaty of Detroit in 1807, by keeping public land acknowledgements on its website. Luckily, the cultures, languages, and legacies of these indigenous tribes live on through their descendants, many of whom still reside in Ann Arbor today.

Now, 200 years later, Ann Arbor is home to over 100,000 residents and countless landmarks we’ve come to know and love. The

bicentennial celebrations were started by a kickoff event on Jan. 19 at the Michigan Theatre featuring a silent auction and a poem reading, with Community High School’s jazz program and Ann Arbor artist DJ Myint providing music. At the conclusion of the evening, a bicentennial tile created

by Motawi Tileworks was unveiled, featuring colorful depictions of various famous Ann Arbor sites and Shakey Jake, an Ann Arbor street musician beloved among everyone.

Other

discussing topics pertinent to Ann Arbor’s history.

“I grew up attending programs and summer camps at the university, exploring downtown, and visiting the libraries and local museums or centers,” said senior Aria Burton-Weisman, who was born and raised in Ann Arbor.

“I’d also say that one of the most central aspects to me has been its diversity. It’s largely embraced here, which I think is an

celebrations to honor the city’s 200th birthday include Ann Arbor District Library’s Ann Arbor 200 project, which will include 200 digital content releases over the course of 2024

Timeline of Ann Arbor history

GRAPHIC BY PHUONG-ANH DO

incredibly important facet of any community, especially to me as a biracial person.”

Despite not being a large-scale city, BurtonWeisman thinks that it’s a bustling college town with lots to do, and has always felt like the perfect sized community to grow up in.

“Especially with the University of Michigan

essentially built into it, Ann Arbor also heralds education and the arts in a highly unique and profound way that I don’t think could really be replicated anywhere else,” she said. “It’s always growing, modernizing, and becoming increasingly accessible.”

She recalls that her grandfather – who was not raised in Ann Arbor – constantly talked about how it would top lists online of the best places to live in the U.S. “I don’t think that the merit of a place can necessarily be deduced through a review or survey, but Ann Arbor, to me, has always been its own little world, and has always been home.”

This city has infinite charm and character beyond the prestigious University of Michigan and impressive statistics above average education levels; my childhood memories are full of piano recitals in Kerrytown’s concert hall, S u n d a y excursions to the downtown F a r m e r ’ s M a r k e t , afternoons curled up reading in the many public libraries and school field trips to the Hands-On Museum.

Having a conversation with any local reveals the fierce pride that we all hold for our city, and this arrival of its 200th birthday marks a new opportunity for us to remember and appreciate Ann Arbor’s rich history and what it provides for us on a daily basis.

GRAPHIC BY ELLA YIP AND BRODY TURNER

THE HURON EMERY | ISSUE 4: FEBRUARY

5 | NEWS

School Board vote passes to support ceasefire in Gaza and Isreal ISHA SAVI STAFF WRITER On Jan. 17, the Ann Arbor Public Schools School Board voted on and adopted a resolution that expresses AAPS’ support for a ceasefire within the Israel-Hamas war.

The resolution, which was drafted by board member Ernesto Querijero, states that the BOE “expresses support for a bilateral ceasefire in Gaza and Israel” as well as understands its limited role in global issues.

The resolution also condemns anti-Arab, anti-Jewish, and anti-Palestinian hate speech and racism as well as Islamophobia and antisemitism.

Some AAPS parents, such as Abby Rosenbaum, have come forward against the resolution.

“My speaking tonight has nothing to do with my personal convictions regarding this issue,” Rosenbaum said at the Dec. 20 board meeting.

“This proposed resolution is performative at best, does nothing to further dialogue, and risks alienating Jewish and Israeli members of our community.”

Board member Susan Ward Schmidt shared similar sentiments at this meeting.

“I was not asked to come here on this board and weigh in on world events and to use this as a platform for my opinion on world events,” Schmidt said. “I came here to serve the people of the school district.”

The board passed the resolution with a majority of the board in favor of the resolution as well as with support from students and educators in AAPS. “[The] resolution is the majority of the board’s attempt to make a statement in this crisis to set an example for our students,” said pro-resolution board member Torchio Feaster. “That they’re hoping that our community can come together after this very difficult and emotional time and that we can move forward united in our district.”

AAPS currently has an anti-discrimination policy that states “No person shall be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination in any educational program or activity available in any school on the basis of race, color, sex, religion.” While some think that this policy is doing its job, others feel as though more action is needed to support

At their Jan. 17, 2024 meeting, the Ann Arbor Public Schools School Board voted to support a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. A Photo courtesy of Amanda Pirani/The Michigan Daily

Palestinian students; the resolution “encourages educators within the Ann Arbor School District to facilitate informed and respectful dialogue about the conflict”.

Former AAPS student Malak Samaha shared her experience as a Palestinian student in the district, expressing why this commitment is important to current AAPS students.

“In seventh-grade geography, we were asked to memorize every country,” Samaha said. “Palestine was not included. Bringing this up to

my teacher, she said, ‘Palestine isn’t a real country, and this is the way the district teaches it.’

My entire culture and identity, erased for a pop quiz.”

Samaha also said that this was not an isolated incident and that similar issues had occurred throughout her time in the district.

“Given that this was the norm surrounding Palestinian education at AAPS, my peers often corrected me about my heritage,” Samaha said, “and in a few cases, told me that Palestinians with my face, with my name, deserve

their death.”

She said the district should improve its policies.

“The district must create an educational environment that fosters acceptance, and understanding towards all cultures and histories including Palestine,” Samaha said in the meeting.

The resolution passed with trustees Gaynor, Dupree, Mohammad, and Querijero voting “aye” and trustee Baskett voting “nay.” Trustees Schmit and Feaster abstained from voting based on policy conflict of interest.

ASU banquet creates place to celebrate African culture: The start of a new club JAMIE TANG MANAGING EDITOR The African Student Union (ASU) Banquet, held on Thursday, Feb. 1, 2023, celebrated the rich diversity of African cuisine. ASU students contributed home-cooked dishes that represented the multiplicity of voices within African culinary traditions.

ASU became an official club this school year.

Last month, ASU presented its first performance — a runaway and dance — at Huron High School’s MultiCulti Night. The ASU Banquet is the club’s second event.

Senior Lamarana Diakite said the event was a meaningful way to celebrate ASU. “(The event) was a great way to taste something

from different cultures,” Diakite said. “The closing speech was the best part, where we got to hear the new board members and could express how we felt about being in the club.”

Her favorite dish from the event was rice with chicken yassa, a spicy marinated dish with caramelized onions, lemons, and mustard, originated from the Casamance region in southern Senegal.

“I like it spicy,” Diakite said. “The chicken tasted good, great flavor.”

Students enjoyed the many sides with homemade injera, a fermented flatbread used in Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine.

Senior Maury Toure also said the food was the event’s highlight, bringing firni — deep-fried round doughnuts

with a crispy exterior and Clyne said in French. African,” Clyne said. “Engaging pillowy interior — to share.

For Clyne, ASU is with the languages, having These doughnuts are known an opportunity to connect some of the foods, listening to by different names in African with students outside the the music, keeps me connected countries, such as bofrot in traditional classroom setting. to Africa in a way that’s hard Ghana and puff puff in Nigeria.

“I appreciate being to do in the classroom.”

“The food was around students that are good. It was nice interacting with people,” Toure said.

His favorite part of ASU goes beyond the culinary delights. ”Representing the continent, showing our culture and practicing the drums. (In the runaway), it was together but different countries and cultures.”

French teacher Andrea Clyne volunteered as an Environmental Education Volunteer in the Peace Corps between 2001 to 2004.

“My experience in Madagascar impacted me very much. I recommend (the Students at ASU Banquet celebrating their culture through experience) to everyone,” traditional cuisine. Photo courtesy of Lamrana Diakite.

Huron Ethics Bowl competes at regionals ANNA REID STAFF WRITER Huron High Ethics Bowl Club competed at the regional tournament in Greenhills School the weekend of Feb. 3. Huron sent two teams to the Ethics regionals, the Kantscientious

Objectors and the Locke-d In teams. Both teams performed admirably during the tournament bringing Huron High lots of River Rat ride!

The Locked In team of students brought forth a vast variety of cases they had been preparing throughout the year. The cases they used to

battle were: the ethics of true crime reporting, lying to a terminally ill spouse, debanking members of a protest movement and most importantly — who’s responsible for the violent mistreatment of the Koroks of The Legend of Zelda. Congratulations Locke-d In for two wins and an un-

doubtable amount of pride.

The Kantscientious Objectors team of students also presented on a different case variety.

Throughout the school year this team had also worked on and studied for their cases: their questions related to children’s

Students partake in Ethics Regionals. Photo courtesy of Huron Ethics Bowl

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THE HURON EMERY | ISSUE 4: FEBRUARY 6 | ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Percy

Jackson

ANITA GAENKO COVERAGE EDITOR Executive producer of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” Jonathan E. Steinberg once said that the showrunners were making four shows at once: a show for readers of the books the show is based on, a show for new fans, a show for adults, and a show for children. And on all four counts, they have succeeded.

“Percy Jackson” is a delightful show — the young main cast members have great chemistry on and off screen, and the adults in the show genuinely enjoy their roles.

Everyone involved with the show speaks with infectious enthusiasm, and on screen, they’re casted perfectly, matching the spirit of the characters they’re supposed to represent. To a book-reader, the central themes of the show match perfectly with those of the books: it’s a story about coming of age, friendship, and above all the relationship between children and their parents.

“Percy Jackson” heavily incorporates Greek mythology, following the titular character on his journey navigating the world of being a demigod: his mother is a human (“mortal”) woman, while his father is the Greek god of the sea, Poseidon. The

and

the

first season fits with a typical hero’s journey framework: Percy and his two friends Annabeth and Grover embark on a quest to retrieve Zeus’s master lightning bolt, which Percy is accused of stealing. Along the way, the three travelers have to confront monsters, gods and their own personal prejudices.

Even before the show released its first episode, it immediately came under fire for its casting. While almost every young actor did not match their character’s description in the books, most of the animosity was directed towards Leah Sava Jeffries, who plays Annabeth Chase.

Annabeth in the books is described as blonde, white, and gray-eyed, while Jeffries is Black. Rick Riordan, an executive producer on the show and the author of the original books, took to his personal website to defend Jeffries’s casting.

“This post is specifically for those who have a problem with the casting of Leah Jeffries as Annabeth Chase,” it reads. “You have decided that I couldn’t possibly mean what I have always said: That the true nature of the character lies in their personality. You feel I must have been coerced, brainwashed, bribed, threatened, whatever, or I as a white male author never would have cho-

sen a Black actor for the part of this canonically white girl… friends, that is racism.”

not being musicals at all.

aspect of the film. There are

involved with theater should be looked down on, musicals are getting a bad rap.

Instead of focusing on the talent that these movies hold, stereotypes are taking away from their potential, when in reality, some of the most famous actors all attended theater and acting schools, getting their start on the stage.

By not advertising movies like “Mean Girls” as a musical, producers are setting up the movie to fail.

It creates a surprise, something that changes the whole

review

Now that the show is out, there is no doubt that Jeffries is an incredible actress, and perfectly embodies the personality of Annabeth from the books. In All episodes of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” are available on Disney+. the show, GRAPHIC BY IRIS GONG she’s given an even greatcharacters have with various to retell his own story, over er emotional role, matching monsters. While many action a decade later. The audience well with her co-star Walker sequences from the book has to trust that he’s making Scobell, who plays Percy. haven’t been translated on the right choices for the show, Scobell (“The Adam Project”) screen, this is actually a good just like they should trust him plays the central role beauchoice that supports the show. with the casting. tifully, and Aryan Simhadri The most important part of “Percy Jackson and completes the trio with his the show — and the books — the Olympians” is definitely portrayal of Grover. Often is the emotional connections worth a watch for a wide audireduced to comic relief in the between characters and the ence, if book-readers are willbooks, Simhadri offers more relationships that form. The ing to look past story changes. depth to Grover’s character, audience has to remember It’s not a perfect translation bringing both lightness and that the showrunners are from book to screen: it’s a complexity to the journey. setting up a five-season arc masterful reworking of a A common complaint against to match the five books in the beloved story that manages to the show, especially by people original series. Additionally, preserve every part that’s imwho are fans of the books, Riordan himself is a writer on portant, while creating new, is that a lot of scenes from the show, and every change in stronger storylines. As of Jan. “The Lightning Thief” have the script goes through him: 30, all eight episodes of the been cut or shortened — he’s taking the opportunity first season are now streaming mostly fights that the main

“Mean Girls” and “Wonka” big differences between a Freshly have been surprising viewers story told through dialogue being musicals, creating a and a story told through Popped: No bydis-popularity around musimusic. If audiences are not cals. prepared for the structure of longer “Singing One thing to blame the movie, they are going to for this is theater kid stereobe turned away.

By social media creIn addition to this, in the rain” types. ating the narrative that kids by not promoting a movie

ANNA ESPER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Olympians

as a musical, it is forcing the audience to do research before going to the movies, creating unrealistic expectations for the audience. If the viewers are forced to do research beforehand, the magic is taken away from the screen.

When the popcorn runs out and the “ICEE” melts, musicals have ran the box office for years. Instead of hating on the the talent that is the backbone of the industry, we should promote movies for what they are.

According to the U.S. Library of Congress, in history, “The Wizard of Oz” is the most seen movie of all time. Transforming the way movies are made, transitioning from black and white to a screen full of color and creating iconic sayings like “There’s no place like home” and “We’re not in Kansas anymore.” Besides creating iconic characters, the movie was supported with music that would influence culture forever, forcing generations to wish for “Somewhere over the rainbow.”

Musicals have shaped the movie business forever, creating classics like “The Sound of Music,” “West Side Story” and “Grease,” that everyone knows at least one of the words to the many songs that fill their soundtracks.

But recently, musicals have been marketed and advertised as regular movies, The love for musicals has gone away. BY JOSEPH ESPER

Student perspectives on Ariana Grande’s “Yes, and?”

BREYANA JACKSON STAFF WRITER Friday, Jan. 12, 2024 was the day that Ariana Grande broke her 3-year music hiatus and released a new single called “Yes, and?”

The three-minute and thirty-four-second song debuted as her sixth number-one and twenty-first top ten on the chart. Social media was scrambling over it, but so were some students of Huron.

Mayte Pereira and I, sophomores at Huron High School, gave a glimpse of our opinion on the song.

“I liked this song a lot. 8/10,” Pereira said when asked how she would rate the song between 1 and 10, “It’s good, but not perfect. I would recommend it to other people, but only if they fit the song’s personality because it’s either a hit or a miss.”

I agree with Mayte, but I would give the song a 7/10 because it was catchy but it didn’t serve enough substance. I usually like when songs can be deciphered and I can notice the good lyrics.

Ariana’s voice and music are vibrant and contain pop beats you can move and dance

Grande’s “Yes, and?” was released on Friday, Jan. 12, 2024. to. It carries a vibe that has a positive outcome. She contributes happy songs that are loved by her millions of fans, the average ages being from 13-21 years old.

“It reminds me of some-

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THE HURON EMERY | ISSUE 1: FEBRUARY

7 | NEWS

Behind the rose: Huron Players puts on Beauty and the Beast ANNA ESPER, ZAIN CHARANIA, RYAN BEZAS AND BRODY TURNER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, PHOTO EDITOR AND GUEST WRITERS

1.

1. Senior Lilly Pinsky (Belle) in despair as Junior LaMar Ashford (The Beast) lets her leave the castle and rescue her dad.

2. Pinsky moving the story as the orchestra plays in the pit.

3. Junior Audrey Hargett (Lumiere) being disciplined by best friend Senior Danielle Sackett (Cowsworth) as he lets Belle adventure through the castle.

4. Junior Lamar Ashford singing “If I Can’t Love Her.” 5. Senior Alex Harris (Gaston) surrounded by the ensemble as they sing the showstopping song “Gaston.” PHOTOS BY BRODY TURNER AND RYAN BEZAS

2.

3.

4.

5.

THE HURON EMERY | ISSUE 4: FEBRUARY

8 | BEAUTY

The Sephora kid saga: unmasking the tween takeover ANJALI NADARAJAH EDITOR-IN-CHIEF We’ve all seen it: the chaotic, sticky skincare section at Sephora and the squeakyvoiced “GRWM” (get ready with me)s on our Tiktok For You page. Who are the bandits behind this misconduct? Sephora kids, who National Post defines as “kids and tweens taking over Sephora, buying anti-aging creams and makeup and leaving a mess in their wake.”

In recent months, shoppers who have been met with graceless encounters with the tweens have taken to Tiktok to express their concerns. From s e l l i n g out antiaging creams a n d retinols f r o m brands l i k e

Drunk Elephant and Glow Recipe, to creating “skincare smoothies” — mixing different cream and serum testers to form a smoothie and leaving it all for employees to clean. All the upset raised the question: are these viral products safe for tween-age skin?

T h i r d - y e a r dermatology resident at Henry Ford Hospital Dr. Taylor Novice thinks it depends on the kid and product.

“The thing is, it’s not that those things aren’t good for young skin,” Novice said. “It’s just that there’s this craze around getting a ton of different products, and they don’t necessarily need to be used for younger children’s skin, and anything that you use can have side effects.”

Novice has prescribed retinols for tweens, but not for their anti-aging properties.

Retinols are a form of vitamin A and are typically used for treating anti-aging or acne.

If they have acne, specific types of retinols like Tretinoin would be a good treatment.

For her, making sure they understand the use of each product is of utmost importance.

Overusing products with acids can have harmful effects, like rashes or allergic reactions.

“They all can be really irritating,” Novice said.

“You can get what we call retinoid dermatitis, or like [an] irritated red rash.

And I’ve seen reactions to those kinds of things.

That is why I think it’s really important to talk with your dermatologist about what you’re using.”

In a world where social media is a big influence on kids, it’s hard to differentiate what products they should and should not be using.

According to Dr. Novice, keeping it simple is key to a balanced skincare regimen.

“A normal tween [can use] a gentle cleanser and then using a sunscreen with moisturizer.”

And sunscreen.

Lots of sunscreen.

“When you’re talking about a healthy young tween who doesn’t have acne pigmentation problems, the number one thing that you want to do is use sunscreen,” she said. “We’re preventing damage to your skin. All of these anti-aging things aren’t needed when you’re young.

Sunscreen is one that I feel is what’s being lost in some of these products.”

At the end of the day, the Sephora kids aren’t going anywhere. But their abundance of serums, eye creams, a n d

to the basics will save not only their skin from damage, but their local Sephora’s Drunk Elephant section and their parent’s credit card.

watermelonscented toners might. While It’s good to be learning to take care of your skin at a young age, sticking

What happened to kids these days?: A reflection on preserving childhood JULYA MAE JONES SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Over the years, society has advanced in many different ways such as technology, science, and social norms. These advancements influence how we act and grow up. It’s a generational thing. Growing up in the early 2010s, I was always outside.

As a kid I had a very active imagination. I would spend my time making perfumes, potions, or soups out of plants.

The only form of technology I could call mine was my 3Ds. I got it on my seventh birthday and I felt on top of the world.

Well, that was until my brother and I got our first phone to share. We received it when we were eight to better communicate with our parents. This iPhone was the holy grail to me. I downloaded so many Apps. Post-covid we use computers for almost all

assignments instead of the classic, paper and pencil. We are exposed to new ideas all of the time on the internet and because of this, I see kids in elementary school wearing crop tops and makeup when I was wearing Justice and Twinkle Toes at that age. This is something that we should fix. Parents should provide more guidance and monitor their kid’s online behavior. We can incorporate digital literacy education in schools at an early age, teaching critical thinking skills. Kids should not grow up so fast because they see older people on the internet using certain products. Childhood is a precious time for kids to focus on their social, emotional and intellectual development, because it’s essential to make their wellbeing and health a priority.

GRAPHIC BY ANNA LEE

THE HURON EMERY | ISSUE 4: FEBRUARY

9 | BEAUTY

The relentless pursuit of eternal youth EMILY HU AND GRACE HENELEY SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR-IN-CHIEF AND STAFF WRITER

#antiaging #glowingskin # s k i n c a r e bombards screens with promises of eternal youth the second a phone is opened. From serums to creams and lotions to masks, there seems to be no escape to the

relentless pursuit of ageless beauty. As influencers share their secrets to their glowing skin and advertisements vividly depict the effects of their products, the ideal of what a beautiful face looks like all point towards one trait — looking younger.

Just in the past year, the hashtag #antiageing reached a high of 7.4 billion views on T i k t o k according to The Business of Fashion.

However, this time antiaging has been redefined.

No longer is the idea o f

antiaging confined to those seeking the magic potion to turn back time, but instead, it has extended its reach t o w a r d s the younger g e n e r a t i o n .

The question remains - What fuels the relentless pursuit of Eternal Youth?

Jayani Tavane, a current 7th grader, said “I think kids want to grow up faster and in doing so, they want to use anti-aging cream and makeup because they want to enhance their beauty with skincare even though it’s ruining their skin.”

On a daily basis, kids from across the world are getting blasted with messages of beauty standards and perfection. The world has been engineered into a society where flawless skin is celebrated above all else.

The new generation of kids are those who have grown up with easy access to

t h e internet, getting phones and social media at young ages. When ads use vibrant colors and intriguing images to catch the attention of consumers, young people are just, as if not more prone to falling into the rabbit hole of buying endless products in hopes for the perfect face.

Businesses know this and continue to capitalize on it.

With apps such as Tiktok fueling the rise of “Tiktok Viral Products”, consumers are pressured to follow the trend of what’s popular and buying what their favorite influencers use.

“I’m pressured,” Tavane said “I see a lot of kids in my school talking about makeup brands and telling me to buy them even when they might not be for me.”

Kids are maturing at a rate never seen before. From early on, they are exposed to a world of consumerism.

Constantly being under the influence of people’s perfect lives on social media, kids want to grow up as fast as possible.

Photoshop and filters are used by many big influencers to create a unrealistic standard.

Many usually see these photos without understanding it’s altered and will go on to either criticize themselves or other people for not looking like that.

This results in many kids wanting to chase a certain social status and the act of obtaining a certain object becomes the way to validate their belonging to that group of people.

As products become viral, kids at schools are

buying the same ones as well, creating a chain effect of everyone ending up buying the product.

As anti-aging now becomes the trend, kids who are in one of the best stages in their life in terms of skin complexity, hops on to the trend as well.

Sometimes, it could even be more detrimental to their skin.

On the other spectrum, we have the adults.

People who also strive for the beauty standard of looking younger, however this time, it’s to turn back time.

Lip fillers, slim waists, and botched faces are the new craze of this century. People spend millions of dollars just to look 5 years younger and put the safety of their body into doctors’ hands. Getting foreign objects like silicone implanted into your body can’t be that appealing or comfortable, so why is everyone getting plastic surgery?

It’s not uncommon to notice that many people, whether it being celebrities or even own family members, get plastic surgery voluntarily.

The rise in plastic surgery is not a new concept, what makes this case different is that people, especially women are getting cosmetic procedures to look younger. Women for many centuries have always wanted the youthful look because many are raised in a society that believes the younger you look the more you are deemed valuable.

The rate of people getting plastic surgery has risen to 19% after the covid epidemic in America.

READ THE FULL STORY ON THEHURONEMERY.COM

THE HURON EMERY | ISSUE 4: FEBRUARY

10 | OPINION

Redefining modern love: going beyond materialism ISHA SAVI STAFF WRITER

In contrast, the dating scene now is a bit more complicated. From “situationships” to relationships built on love “If they wanted to, they bombing, we just can’t seem would.” This is a phrase I’ve to get it right. We all want is to heard more and more over the love and to have another peryears in reference to relation- son love us, but the hard parts ships. Videos of girls showing of the relationship scare us. To their extravagant gifts from compensate for this, we make their partners, and stating our own rules— if your partner that this is the bare minimum; doesn’t do XYZ they’re toxic stating and you that their should partners’ l e a v e love for t h e m . them is A lot of While gifts give instant measurt h e s e gratification, relationable by self-imthe fanp o s e d ships based on mutual cy bourules have love and respect define quets and to do with things giving the depth of our relationthey reand reships. ceive. But ceiving we know things, that that which is ISHA SAVI isn’t true, normal if STAFF WRITER right? you want Materito feel alism is ruining our relation- wanted, but why do we need to ships — let’s talk about it. get things to feel wanted? The As time goes on, how answer is materialism. we as a common culture see Our generation has been love and romance changes. duped into the myth of quanFor example, in the 1950s, tity over quality–you can see it courtship was a ritual— a set in our overconsumption of deof strict rules that one must vices, clothes, shoes and many follow before “going steady.” other everyday things to keep

“

up with what’s popular; we seem to find a way to apply the trend cycle to everything that can be consumed, even love.

Unsurprisingly, we have allowed ourselves to believe that the gifting of material things is a good metric for measuring love. As love becomes a commodity, it ends up depending on material things more and more.

The bare minimum is not grand gestures — respect, kindness and a genuine bond between people is what it should be. Somewhere in the haze, we lost what really matters about relationships and got stuck on the little things.

This isn’t to say that gift-giving is shallow and unimportant — in fact, I don’t think that at all. Getting heartfelt gifts from the people we love is one of the most beautiful expressions of love that there is. The important thing is that we don’t put too much significance on the more materialistic parts of relationships, because love is much more than that.

As we navigate through the self-imposed rules, it’s im-

The obsession with youth Staff Editorial: Aging needs to be normalized In life, people of all ages strive to attain a certain appearance, to appear as if they fall within a certain age range: old enough to be mature, yet young enough to be associated with beauty and desirability. Young children want to seem older, resorting to makeup and unnecessary eye creams, storming Sephoras for the latest “Glow Recipe” collection – just like they see their favorite TikTokers do. However, it’s important to foster an environment where children can flourish without the pressure of needing to grow up quickly. Childhood is a time for learning and innocence, where they can express their creativity and curiosity without the unrealistic societal expectations.

Similarly, older women aspire to look younger through procedures like botox to erase smile lines and furrowed

brows, influenced by the same social media. In doing so, they erase years filled with laughter among friends, of raising their kids. It’s not just women, either. Men obsess over the same things, to the same extent.

Why is aging such a negative to us? Growing old is

GRAPHIC BY ANJALI NADARAJAH

a natural process, and should be embraced at each stage of a person’s life. Kids should be allowed to revel in their youth, and women shouldn’t have to resort to plastic surgery, but at the same time, we must not treat those older than us as any different. Instead, let’s embrace our smile lines and the occasional silver hair that we find. Let these marks of time be worn proudly, symbolizing the rich years we’ve had the privilege of living.

After all, they’re not signs of decline, but rather evidence of a life well-lived. As we age, we collect experiences and wisdom that shape our character and enrich our lives.

Let’s appreciate the journey we’ve taken, and more importantly, the person we’ve become.

porta n t that we figu r e o u t what’s actually important to us.

While gifts give instant gratification, relationships based on mutual love and respect define the depth of our relationships. When we get over materialism, we can finally reclaim romantic love in its purest form.

GRAPHIC BY MAYA FU

THE EMERY STAFF EDITORIAL BOARD: Anjali Nadarajah 424587@ aaps.k12.mi.us Anna Esper 310650@aaps.k12. mi.us Satvika Ramanathan 405293@ aaps.k12.mi.us Jamie Tang 311245@aaps.k12. mi.us

Grace Henley Staff Writer Ishaan Kamat Staff Writer Samuel Kerekes Staff Writer Justin Latham Staff Writer Yuta Miyazawa Staff Writer Israel Parks Staff Writer Kasia Phan Staff Writer Anna Reid Staff Writer Jaden Shelton Staff Writer Jacob Smith-Kelly Staff Writer ADVISER Avery Streeter Staff Writer Sara-Beth Badalamente Maxine Wilkins Staff Writer Jibril Abernathy Staff Writer Maya Fu & Melinda Mei Sydney Aldrich Staff Writer Website Editors-in-Chief Samuel Butler Staff Writer Emily Hu & Julya Mae Jones Mikaela Carter Staff Writer Social Media Editor-in-Chief GRAPHIC David Dannemiller Staff Writer

BY ANITA GAENKO Kiki Choi & Kayla Fu Copy Joseph Esper Staff Writer Editor Iris Gong Staff Writer Zain Charania Photo Editor Jay Hatch Staff Writer Anita Gaenko Coverage Editor Maya Haynes Staff Writer Rowan Grenier Sports Editor Daniel Hemati Staff Writer Ashley Kim News Editor Breyanna Jackson Staff Writer Ella Yip & Bea Harss Opinion Alondra Jurado Staff Writer Editor Kaimi Larkin Staff Writer Jules Heskia Design Editor Mori Marquez Escobar Staff Fayeza Muizz Feature Editor Writer Anna Lee Design Manager Kerstin Mejia Martinez Staff Jamison Back Bear Staff Writer Writer Aiden Burmann Staff Writer Nadia Ochoa Peterson Staff Jayden Bush Staff Writer Writer Zain Charania Staff Writer Ruthann Petersen Staff Writer Sory Cisse Staff Writer Sadie Plumb Staff Writer Zion Clinkscale Staff Writer Jayvon Robinson Staff Writer Ethan Demps Staff Writer Anthea Sakamoto Staff Writer Phuong-Anh Do Staff Writer Isha Savi Staff Writer Finley Enneking Staff Writer Kegin Trejo-Galindo Staff Writer Maria Farah Staff Writer Dennis Vega Staff Writer Diego Flores Monroy Staff Berenice Venegas Gonzalez Writer Staff Writer

THE HURON EMERY | ISSUE 4: FEBRUARY

11 | OPINION

The failure of female characters in movies KAYLA FU OPINION EDITOR

With the emergence of new films, a common pattern has been seen in portraying characters and their identities. Sexualization.

In all its forms, it is equally shocking and often used to be jarring and intrusive, a way of sticking out. Sexuality can be beautiful and even powerful if portrayed correctly, but it can also be for sexualization and horror, especially in female characters. Even when when the entire character is just about their sexuality.

Recent examples have shown that instead of being used as a form to express art, film creators have been weaponizing it for “improper” use. However, this raises the question, “What is ‘improper’ use of sexuality in film?”

Where do we decide to draw the line?

Hollywood is known for their obsession with sexualizing teenage girls, a problem that often occurs in films. It’s not hard to pull up a recent movie and find a sexualized image of a girl, let alone a teenage girl. It’s shocking, and it’s unbelievably unrealistic. Girls whose personalities revolve around their sexuality rather than their person, girls whose bodies are weaponized and objectified, eye candy for specifically male viewers.

Hollywood fails its female characters in ways it does not fail its male characters.

In a study taken on the sexualization of female characters, the differences between male and female characters were obvious.

According to Los Angeles Daily News, “the four categories of what’s called

hypersexualization in 2008 movies broke down this way, gender-wise, according to The Report: In sexy clothing, female 39.8 percent, male 6.7 percent. Partially naked, female 30.1 percent, male 10.3 percent. With a small waist, female 35.1 percent, male 13.6 percent. And attractive, female 29.2 percent, male 11.1 percent.”

Despite sexuality being a relevant topic in film and a very normal aspect of femininity, it should not consume the entirety of a

character. For example, Mikaela Banes, played by Megan Fox in Transformers 2, a movie that partially launched her career. Mikaela, the daughter of a mechanic.

Beautiful as she is skilled.

Brave, adventurous, and not to mention, sexy. Effortless, the beauty you don’t need to try for, but she has makeup on in every scene. She’s toned and fit, the main character gawks at her looks. The camera pans to the way her hips move when she walks, it highlights her chest and toned

stomach, objects of attraction to the viewers. It’s undeniable that Mikaela is stunning.

However, her entire character is perfection. She has little to no character growth; the only standout moment is when she gets with the main character.

A beautiful female lead, one with almost no flaws, created for the raw purpose of being a romantic prospect and a sexual object to add to the film. A girl whose sexuality adds nothing to the film.

While being beautiful does not define a character as

being sexualized and the addition of casting a goodlooking actor does not in any way lower their value in a movie, beauty should not be the only idea that makes up a character. Characters in film are beautiful because they are real. They have growth and development, they are human in all ways and flawed as we all are. Objects of attraction for their depth and genuine imperfections. Good female characters are stronger because they are full of flaws and human in all forms.

Yet again played by Megan Fox, a better use of sexuality would be her performance in “Jennifer’s Body.” Jennifer, like Mikaela, is confident.

She knows how to use her beauty to her advantage, she knows how to use it for her power. Her sexuality is crucial to the plot of the movie, with much of the film revolving around how she weaponizes it for her use.

She’s a character with obvious flaws and imperfections, as well as character development and growth. While the movie still performs poorly in some aspects of this, it is much better drawn out than Mikaela.

Sadly, failing female characters by exaggerating their sexuality and bodies is increasingly common in the media we consume but covered with the facade of empowerment. Rather than a girl made for the point of sexualization, she’s a girl who has the power to control what she does with her sexuality, empowering herself. Despite this new trait, sexualization is still sexualization, drawn out to the point where it gives the girl no control at all.

The analysis of expensive beauty products in makeup: What’s behind the brand KERSTIN MEJIA STAFF WRITERS

An array of makeup products from a variety of different brands, including “Maybelline,” “Nyx”, and “Fenty Beauty” PHOTO CREDIT KERSTIN MEJIA, ALONDRA JURADO AND BERNICE VENGAS-GONZALEZ

There are a lot of makeup brands, but what’s the difference between all of them?

There are many factors to tell the difference.

For example, ingredients, quality, pigment, lasting, and consistency “Elf” is one of the most famous low cost makeup brands on the market, it’s recognized for manufacturing the best high-end makeup dupes.

There are a lot of different low cost makeup brands including “NYX,” “Covergirl,” “Wet n wild,” “Revlon,” and “Maybelline.”

But what is a dupe? Dupes are cheaper alternative to

premium or luxury consumer products.

Now let’s talk about the differences and similarities on these products.

Let’s begin with the “Elf” hydrating camo concealer vs the ”Tarte” shape tape concealer. These are one of the most famous “Elf” dupes, because the formula is really similar to the tarte concealer. Both are really hydrating, but the “Elf” price is better than the “Tarte” concealer. The “Elf” costs seven dollars and the “Tarte” concealer costs $32.

This makes a big difference between these products.

Another example is the “Elf” liquid blush vs the “Rare” beauty liquid blush, “Elf” has a lot of shades like

rare beauty does but the pigment is not like the rare beauty one, the rare beauty liquid blush has a really pretty color and is also very pigmented than the elf one but the difference in the price is very noticeable, the elf liquid blush is 7 $ and the rare beauty is 25 $ but if you ask me about which one i do prefer? I’ll say “Rare Beauty” for sure, because yeah it is a little bit more expensive but the pigment of the rare beauty liquid blush is really good and has a lot of product so it’s gonna be longer than the elf one.

Which one will you buy ? Would you be willing to pay that much?

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13 | FEATURE

Does the truth correlate to death?: What different journalists think of today’s dangers from journalism FAYEZA MUIZZ E. PANIOROTAN COPY EDITOR In every conflict, there is someone who reports.

For every report, there is a journalist who takes risks.

In every risk taken, there is a journalist, aiming to uncover the truth, who could be killed for doing their job. In every possible death report, there are numerous pairs of eyes, aiming to be servants of the truth, who flinch at its sight before getting back to holding their pens and cameras shakily…

For The Sultan Turret Editor-in-Chief Maleja Sahod and Editorial Cartoonist Mohana Sanayatin, two Filipino high school campus journalists from the Philippines, journalism has always been a safe space for them. So, seeing the high rise of journalists being killed in wars and other conflicts nowadays was very alarming.

“The thought of the need to go through a heavy consequence of risking your safety in the field of delivering news has always terrified me,” Sahod said.

“It is an undeniable fact that the risk of this field of work is quite terrifying. For student-journalists like me and my co-youth, it is an intimidating matter to battle with the need to sacrifice most of what’s important to you, even your life, to be able to deliver truth and justice in pursuit of journalism.”

In fact, according to the International Federation of Journalists, 120 journalists and media workers were killed in 2023, 75 in the Middle East, 12 in Asia-Pacific, 10 in North and South America, nine in Africa and three in Europe, which is much higher compared to previous years.

“It can indeed be intimidating to studentsjournalists because if they settle themselves in that field, it will be their life for the coming years,” Sanayatin said. “And if they come to conclude things that may happen in the near future, it will be very hard for them to keep on being journalists.”

College freshman Ridhima Kodali, a Michigan State University Social Justice Reporter, has also been affected by this issue.

“As an aspiring journalist, I think that it is unfortunate that many journalists are being killed for sharing the truth,” Kodali said.

“We are living in a post-truth world, and there’s no doubt about it. I just hope that in a couple of years, when I work in the journalism industry, I can transform and advocate the community of storytellers and truth-seekers.”

For Jodie Ginsberg, a veteran journalist and CEO of Committee to Protect Journalists, in an

Journalists covering violent challenges in their search for the truth. Creative Commons

unfortunately, “something we’re seeing more and more”.

“The reason people go after journalists is because they want to silence and they want to stop the story getting out,” Ginsberg said. “When you think about it, the killings and the imprisonments of journalists are just the tip of the iceberg.

They’re indicative of a much broader pattern of a decline in press freedom more generally.”

Ginsberg also put extra emphasis on the general public’s growing distrust of journalism and its safety.

“That narrative [‘journalists are the enemy, and they should not be trusted’], unfortunately, seeps through into the JODIE GINSBERG general population, who increasingly grow to distrust journalists, see exclusive interview with PBS them as representatives of News Hour, she believes one political side or other,” that this conflict is “just Ginsberg said. “And so, that the tip of the iceberg” and general narrative helps to

“

That general narrative helps to undermine the credibility of journalism, and that’s what helps contribute to this increasing lack of safety for journalists worldwide.”

undermine the credibility of journalism, and that’s what helps contribute to this increasing lack of safety for journalists worldwide.”

Sahod shares the same sentiment. “ H a p p e n i n g s like these heavily impact the image and how the younger generation perceive ‘journalism’ as a work—from the innocent depiction of simply being on TV, blurting out words confidently out loud now transformed to a fearful work to be involved in,” Sahod said. “This strongly suggests that we should put more emphasis on the safety of our pioneering servants in journalism in order to rebuild the vision of the youth about the mentioned work and media.”

With this idea, Sanayatin stressed her thoughts on the importance of the journalists’ safety being guaranteed, firmly believing that “journalists are heroes and their safety

should be prioritized globally”.

“Aside from journalists being provided with safety training, resources and equipment to navigate dangerous situations, we also have to collaborate and deal with other organizations, whether they’re government or non-government, to ensure the safety of the journalists,” Sanayatin said.

Though a little shaken and terrified, Sahod and Sanayatin, along the first steps of their path, try to take this issue as a challenge meant to test their passion for serving the field of truth as they continue to do their best in pursuing journalism in the future, even after the recent traumatic news of deaths of journalists last year.

“It attempts to strengthen the integrity of writers and newscasters to READ THE FULL STORY ON THEHURONEMERY.COM

Teenagers clocking the hours at work: upping youth labor JAMIE TANG MANAGING EDITOR Senior Kevin TregoGalindo works the maximum number of hours a week to earn additional income for himself and his family.

He first started working parttime two years ago. Now over 18 and no longer a legal minor, he works long hours as a cook at Olga’s Kitchen.

His responsibilities include preparing dishes, cleaning silverware, dishwashing and closing the shop.

“I feel [young people] should start working from a young age so they know the hustle,” Trego-Galindo said.

He said the money that

comes with working parttime has taught him the value of hard work.

“It’s great to see you work hard and earn money,” Trego-Galindo said. “You can buy whatever you want: new clothes, new games.”

But he is not the only teenager clocking hours at work.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 55 percent of young people ages 16 to 24 were employed in July 2023.

The youth labor force has experienced a slight increase since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Money remains a motivator for young people working part-time.

According to the U.S.

Department of Labor website, “The federal minimum wage for covered nonexempt employees is $7.25 per hour.”

Michigan sets one of the highest minimum wage rates in the country.

According to the Michigan Labor and Economic Opportunity website, effective Jan. 1, 2024, Michigan’s minimum wage increased from $10.10 to $10.33 per hour, and the 85 percent rate for minors aged 16 and 17 increased to $8.78 per hour.

Huron High School’s work-based learning coordinator Allison Andres said working part-time offers valuable benefits for students.

“If students have the

opportunity to work parttime, I definitely believe that it is valuable to them,” Andres said. “Working part-time teaches students valuable time management skills and helps them budget their money. When they pay taxes, they know how the money is applied. If they haven’t worked or taken personal finance, they won’t learn that until they get their first job in college.”

In a 2019 Rutgers Education and Employment Research Center paper on the impact of student work during college, co-authors Daniel Douglas and Paul Attewell observed a positive

correlation between paid work during college and higher post-graduate earnings.

Regardless, Andres reminds students to stay informed on child labor READ THE FULL STORY ON THEHURONEMERY.COM

THE HURON EMERY | ISSUE 4: FEBRUARY

14 | SPORTS

Men’s varsity basketball team’s begins state run in good shape JUSTIN LATHAM AND KAIMI LARKIN STAFF WRITERS

The Ann Arbor Huron Men’s varsity basketball team has shined across the state and midwest 20 for years. The Rats are known for their reign over the Southeastern Conference (SEC) district, stunning playbook and suffocating defense.

But the only thing missing, is a state championshp The River Rats have been to two final fours, and have two state runnerups within the past 14 years. This season Huron is hunting, to check off that last box and add something new to the trophy case.

Team captain and senior Graham Baker, a four year member of the Huron basketball team and a three-year varsity player, said he looks forward to a strong season.

“Being a top ten team, you can just attribute the hard work in the offseason from everyone on the team as well as really coming together as a team to make progress toward our ultimate goal: a state championship,” Baker said. “So I think we

deserve that ranking but we still have a lot of work to do.”

The team has a record of 8-1 in the conference.

Assistant coach Zach Desprez has been with the Rats for many years and, is also an alumni basketball player of Huron High School.

“I don’t think too much about rankings, obviously it is cool to be recognized for our hard work but I love the grind and showing up to the gym every day to see the guys we have on this team,” Desprez said.

“This is a special group and the sky is the limit for them.

For facts sake, this season so far we are 15-2 [overall].”

Desprez said he hopes to see growth out of this group on a day to day basis on the way to our team goals as they get closer to the month of March.

I’m looking forward to giving our seniors an incredible experience this week as we play our last two home games of the regular season,” Desprez said. “Heading into the playoffs my goal is for us to be playing our most competitive, and connected basketball.”

One notable aspect of the team is their commitment to teamwork. The players work together seamlessly, utilizing their individual strengths to

GRAPHIC BY JULES HESKIA

achieve collective success. This unity and collaboration are key factors in their achievements.

The Ann Arbor Huron High School men’s varsity basketball team has been performing exceptionally well this season. They have shown great skill and determination on the court, leading to many victories. The team’s hard work and dedication have paid off, and they have been able to maintain a strong position in their league.

The team has faced some tough competition, but they’ve shown great resilience and determination in their games. For example, in their recent matchup against Northview, they went headto-head and ended up having to go into overtime, but they came out on top with a thrilling 72-71 victory. It’s always exciting to see them go headto-head with their rivals and give it their all on the court.

It’s been an exciting season for the team and their fans.

Head coach Mo Kasham has been a part of the Huron Basketball program for 20 years as both player and coach. He was an assistant coach on both teams that have appeared in the state championships and have fallen (2010 and 2021).

“The only goal of ours is to be ranked #1 at the end of the season,” Kasham said. “In season rankings are rewarding but challenging at the same time. We know we’re going to get other teams’ best and keeping our players hungry and humble is very important.

We set our schedule against some of the best teams in the state so we can measure up,

Senior captain Justin Latham going in for a layup in their win against Monroe High School PHOTO BY RYAN BEZAS face adversity and prepare for the postseason. We found out a lot about our team and put ourselves in a position to win our conference.”

Superstar junior guard Macari Moore has been a part of the Huron Men’s Varsity Basketball program for three years he is a year capitan.

“It feels good to be a top ten team but that’s not what we are looking for, that’s not why we do what we do,” Moore said “We’re chasing a state championship, not a ranking.”

Moore was a key contributor to last year’s outstanding playoff run where the River Rats made it to the quarterfinals and fell short to Cass Tech.

“The first half was a little shaky but we’re getting it together.

Justin Latham, Jackson Keefer, Jaydon Keefer, Kaleb Brown, Macari Moore huddling together in their game against Monroe High School.

PHOTO BY RYAN BEZAS

We weren’t all on the same page but everyday in practice we grow tighter and tighter,” Moore said. “My goals are to get better, get my team better and be able to be the last team standing and hoist that trophy up in March.”

Unveiling determination: Blood, sweat, and tears in women’s sports ELLA YIP OPINION EDITOR

Blood sweat and tears will always be found in sports, from intense mental pressure to injuries and even joy. However, the blood, sweat and tears that some athletes face are not as obvious.

“In general…I think that conversations surrounding women’s health and pain need to be taken more seriously,” said Elizabeth Thomspon, senior field hockey player.

Both pain and the weight of managing a period all amount to complications within sports.

“I have to skip practices because of period cramps,” sophomore swimmer Catherine Huang said.

Period pain is notoriously un-acknowledged within high school sports.

Huang talks about their experience with that pain.

“We would sometimes

have Saturday practices from 6 to 8 a.m. because it was the least busy time for the coaches to be there for us,” Huang said. “I would tell my dad that I wouldn’t want to go to practice because I was in pain from period cramps.”

In Huang’s case, a season is a minimum of 4 weeks long. A person who menstruates regularly is due to at least one period in a season. Though this varies from person to person, that’s about a week of bleeding per season, possibly more.

“During high school swim season, every practice counts because the season is only 12 weeks,” Huang said.

Students have there different ways dealing with a period while in a season, “There are usually some supplies at bathrooms in Huron, but they aren’t consistently stocked, so I always keep some extra in my bag for teammates or myself,” Thompson said.

Quality of quality feminine hygiene products is one of many period problems on the table, too.

“The tampons have cardboard applicators, but no one uses them because they are uncomfortable,” Huang said.

“There is one variety to the tampons; they’re all regular sized when most women I know have heavy flows and need super ultra size tampons.”

Thompson says that someone’s experience with periods overall at Huron truly depends on the sport they are in.

“Besides occasionally wasting some time going back and forth trying to find something, it generally isn’t a big deal,” she said.

Regardless of experiences, periods will always be there, they will not be changing anytime soon.

What does have the ability to change is the way that athletes with periods are alleviated.

GRAPHIC BY ELLA YIP

THE HURON EMERY | ISSUE 4: FEBRUARY

15 | SPORTS

Epic plunge: diving deeper into men’s water sports Off the blocks: Joiya Keith GUEST WRITER

1. Senior Victor Heskia dives into the pool. “I jump in, and just go for it,” Heskia said.

2. Senior John Gao checks his set for practice. “I was reading what we had to workout and seeing the time intervals,” Gao said. “So I know when to tell everyone to go off the wall.” This is one of the many responsibilities Gao has to take care of, for his afternoon practices.

3. Senior Kal Bunnell swims for the wall. “Butterfly is my worst stroke, but I persevered through practice,” Bunnell said.

4. Senior Kyle Smith warms up for after school practice.

5. Freshman Matisse Fields focuses on the next thing his coach told him to work on.

“I kept thinking about how my coach wanted to see me tighter,” Fields said.

6. Junior James Hutmatcher felt good during this inward dive pike. “I had to stand backward on the board,” Hutmatcher said. “Then I had to go back and forwards, touch my toes, and straighten out” He doesn’t think it’s an easy dive but also not too hard. “It’s my best dive and I’ve been practicing it,” Hutmatcher said.

Freshman Matisse Field 1 1/2 at Pioneer for 5.5,6, and 6.5 Senior Dean Molnar for his inward dive pike at Pioneer for 6,6, and 6.Junior James Hutmacher for his back dive at Pioneer for 5.5,5.5, and 6.

Senior Omar Abdul-Hak for his Inward Dive 5,5.5,5.5.

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A positive life-changing injury: Omar Abdul-Hak joining water polo Rowan Grenier SPORTS EDITOR It has been a wild journey for Senior Omar Abdul-Hak finding his main sport, water polo. He started off with soccer and football when he was younger. He played soccer for a club in Michigan called the Dearborn Heights Hype on offense as a striker. He played wide receiver for the Dearborn Heights Raiders football team.

During this time, he also learned how to swim but was not a competitve swimmer.

While playing in a football game with the Raiders, he suffered a broken wrist and had to put both of those sports on halt. The broken wrist had him feeling down in his long recovery and allowed him to

think hard about the sports he plays.

Once he had fully healed, he made the decision to stop playing football and soccer. He decided this because he still felt nervous to pick back up on those sports due to them involving high contact and large risks of injuries. Shortly after his recovery, he started swimming for a club team and quickly built up his skills.

After a while of him practicing and getting comfortable with swimming, he heard and liked the idea of trying out water polo. From becoming a very strong swimmer, he picked up on water polo very quickly and became quite good.

“Swimming is what helped me the most out of any sport and water polo includes a lot of swimming,” Abdul-Hak

said. “So if it wasn’t for that, I wouldn’t have the endurance and speed that is needed to be good at water polo.”

Abdul-Hak plays the flex position in water polo which allows him to play pretty much any position. He likes playing flex because he feels that it keeps it interesting for him because he never knows what exactly he will play in a game.

Adul-Hak feels that football was the most physical of the sports he has played with water polo coming after.

Water polo is very physically tolling to him because there is the physical strength you need to be able to swim the whole time that you need to have.

And on top of that you need to have the strength to defend and move the ball around and

shoot during play.

He enjoyed waterpolo a lot and liked the idea of continuing playing. He now plays water polo for a club team but discontinued his club swimming. He played water polo for the River Rats the past 4 years and had just finished his final season with Huron in the late fall after a very impressive season going to the state playoffs.

“My favorite memory from Huron water polo, was probably either the team bonding events during the seasons or making it to 5th in states,” Abdul-Hak said.

Adul-Hak encourages other kids to try out water polo because they may be able to find something they really enjoy from it and also they will be able to make create great

new relationships with your teammates on Huron water polo.

Omar Abdul-Hak took a chance on waterpolo, which turned out to be a highlight of high school. PHOTO COURTESY OF OMAR ABDUL-HAK

THE THE HURON HURON EMERY EMERY | ISSUE | ISSUE 2: OCTOBER 4: FEBRUARY

16 | BLACK16 HISTORY | NEWSMONTH