March 2016

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The Bloomfield

Bloomfield Hills High School

March 2016

Volume III-Issue IV

Graduation

Photo credit: Bloomfield.org

rebels against separation

Administration and teachers discuss the changes to graduation gowns

T

Betsy Stubbs Staff Writer

his year as the Class of 2016 graduates, something new will accompany the students during the ceremony.

“We had a meeting with our Global Champions Education team, which is a team of parents, teachers and administrators, where we discussed this change and we wanted to make that we portrayed a message in a way that shared that our decision was based on inclusion and equity for

all students,” said assistant principal Margaret Schultz of the fact that every graduating senior will be all wearing the same color of gown verses alternating colors as in years past. Schultz explained the main reason behind the decision to change the dress policy was from the GCE Team. “We got a lot of positive feedback from that meeting.

We were able to have conversations with people that understood that this is truly about equity; it’s about our kids feeling included and not about changing tradition.”

District debating implementing weighted GPA system BHS Administration weighs the pros and cons of the system

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Finding the answer to Rigor vs. Grades Counselors and admissions directors discuss the importance of balancing both for college admissions

Julia Eisenshtadt Advertising Manager ccording to Director of Learning Services Christine DiPilato, BHHS district’s administration is considering implementing a weighted GPA scale for students in order to maximize academic and collegiate opportunities.

“Last year we had a task force on grading in the district,” said DiPilato, who has been a part of the district for eight years. “We spent a lot of time researching different schools in not only in Michigan but all around the country that have different kinds of credits.”

According to School Board member and parent Mark Bank, the district is concerned that students are disadvantaged for some scholarships with the current GPA scale.

“These things are real,” said Bank who explains that the district is considering using a scale where Honors, AP, and IB classes have a five point scale rather than four, as well as a scale where an A- is a 3.7 rather than a 4.0. “I don’t know if it is going to be rolled out for next year or the year after, but it would be good for students to know about this and if they have an opinion, voice their opinion as soon as possible.”

According to School Board President Ingrid Day, one reason for the conversation regarding weighing grades is because academic rigor is not always wholly reflected in the current GPA. “We know there are school districts around us

that do weight their grades depending on courses students take. So when we send in a GPA for our kids, it doesn’t always compare. If a higher-education institution does not dissect how grades compare, our kids are at a disadvantage,” she said.

According to DiPilato, in order to get rid of the disadvantages, the school district is considering using a similar system as the International Academy because they have “a weighted GPA. All of their IB Classes are weighted and they have a weighted scale,” she said. “When they print their transcripts they show a weighted GPA and a non-weighted GPA. So we have had conversations about adopting that process.”

In addition to possibly implementing a weighted GPA, Bank says that another idea on the table is making changes within the current approach to letter grades themselves. Currently an A and an A- are equal; however, at some institutions an A is a 4.0 while an A- is a 3.7.

“One, when you get to the universities, that’s the way they do it, so you might as well learn to do it their way,” said Bank. “ Let’s say you’re a person who gets an 89% in a class. Is it fair to get a 3.0 the same way as someone who got an 81% in the class, or should you get a 3.0?”

DiPilato and Bank explain that changing the

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W

ith scheduling on the horizon, many students are picking their classes with college in mind. However, one question continues to be asked: should they take an AP class and get a B, or take a standard level class and get an A? The question may finally have an answer.

“There are so many factors that people take into account when choosing their classes,” said Guidance Counselor Carla Westerby. “Most of the time, it centers around the best classes for college, and with that comes a focus on one’s GPA.” Ultimately, according to Westerby, the decision between GPA and rigor in relation to college admission is what students struggle with when picking their classes.

The National Association for College Admissions Counseling’s (NACAC) 2011 State of College Admissions Report offers additional insight; a student’s grades in all classes, or their GPA, is considered by 46.2% of American universities to be one of the most important factors in their admissions decisions.

The same NACAC report, however, states that 83.4% of American universities consider a stu-

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building and moving forward, we wanted to establish new traditions and this is one of the new traditions; presenting our graduates as one graduating class instead of ‘here are our graduating boys and here are our graduating girls’. We would never want any gender to feel more or less based on a cap or gown.

There is just no reason to distinguish them by gender. At the college level, everyone wears the same color so why should it matter?”

NATIONAL

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Along with Schultz, BHHS Language Arts teacher Rachel Matz, a member of the Global Champions Education Team helped reach the final decision.

“The driving force behind the change was that we felt really strongly that our graduates should be presented as one graduating class.

We didn’t find it necessary to distinguish them by gender,” said Matz, “We really felt that the change was a better example of the equality amongst our students. Making all the gowns one color comes from the fact that we are now one school and we’re in our new

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Jack Wroldsen Staff Writer dent’s grades in college prep courses, and 65.7% consider the rigor of their curriculum, as a major, driving factor in an admissions decision.

So, which is better?

“Your GPA, obviously, stands for grade point average,” said Westerby. “We are on a 4.0 unweighted scale, so an A is worth four points, a B is worth three points, C is two points, D is one point, and an E is zero points. You add up all your grade points and then average them. That number is your grade point average. Ultimately, the closer you get to a 4.0, the closer your academic record is to perfect, so your GPA is a numerical determination of where you are academically.”

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2 Culture day held at Way

What in the World?

U.S.A-Cuba

Student Leadership will host culture day for elementary John Ballouz Staff Writer The BHHS Student Leadership Culture day will take place at Way Elementary on April 27.

Student Leadership will travel to Way Elementary to educate kids about different cultures. According to sophomore Joe Shoemaker, the student in charge of organizing the event, plans include organized games, making crafts, and participating in other activities for the students to learn from.

“We get to Way, we go to our assigned room and we present our culture and do an activity with the kids” said Shoemaker. “Then, we all rotate throughout the classrooms to different grades so that everybody sees [our presentations]. At the end, we all come together in the media center and do one large group activity.

Culture day was made to, not only educate kids about cultures, but to make them more open-minded about the world.

“I want the kids to understand that it is a big world; I want them to say that even though it is a big world, we probably share more things in common than we do as far as differences,” said Way Elementary principal Adam Scher, “I want them to have some confidence moving forward but especially taking away the idea that we’re all people and we share a lot of things in common. The things that are not so much in common become interesting pieces of tension for kids to have to start working out in their world.”

This year, culture day will include

U.S.A

U.S. works with Cuba

Restrictions have been lowered to help American businesses and NGOs to spur business Cuba will now be included in exchange programs for students and some professions President Obama visited the island nation on March 24, speaking to President Raul Castro.

Both countries agreed on the importance of stopping human

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Who is currently winning in the Republican Primaries

“I want the kids to understand that it is a big world; I want them to say that even though it is a big world, we probably share more things in common than we do as far as differences.”

Cruz Trump Rubio

Adam Scher Way Principal more cultures than it ever has before along with numerous volunteers that have the chance to learn about culture.

“This year, we have added in more obscure cultures to the agenda.” said sophomore and member of student leadership Simona Zhu, “It is also good for the volunteers. They are going to have a chance to be even more knowledgeable about different cultures that might not have known much about.”

Not only does culture day benefit the students at Way but is also helpful to BHHS Student Leadership.

“It connects us outside of the school with Way Elementary and we’re hoping to get it on the Bloomfield Website so that all the parents know about it and maybe we can expand it to other elementary or middle schools.” said Shoemaker, “This way we can bring the community together and expand Student Leadership’s name and purpose.”

News

Kasich

Trump

Cruz

Kasich

Possibilities of brokered convention To receive the Republican nomination, any of the three remaining candidates must receive 1,237 delegates. But if no candidate is able to reach that number of delegates by the Republican convention, the convention will be brokered. According to the International Business Times, a brokered convention is when the delegates that were previously pledged to a certain candidate in the state primary election are no longer committed.

These delegates can then vote for whichever candidate they like.

Then the delegates will vote in an election for the party’s nominee. If no candidate is able to reach the necessary number of votes, the process will be repeated until a candidate is selected.

Belgium

U.S. responds to attack in Brussels With the recent ISIS attack in Brussels, the United States has taken more security precautions nationwide. According to CNN, the New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo, has directed state law enforcement to step up security at high profile locations like airports, bridges, and other mass transit areas. Airports in cities like Atlanta, Boston, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, and Philadelphia have also taken extra measures for security. Washington D.C. now has luggage checks and dogs sniffing the tracks for bombs. In his initial response, President Obama has stated his support for Belgium and that he is willing to help in whatever form is needed.

What do you think?

Does the Brussels attack make you more fearful of one in the U.S.?

“Yes it does. An attack like that always makes us weary of the fact that it could have been us.”

“No, we cannot predict where or when the next attack will occur. But it is important to always maintain a clear mindset.”

-Josh Mukherjee, Junior

-Michael-Armen Kadian, Junior

“No, it doesn’t because after attacks such as this, security is heightened in the U.S and around the world.”

-Isabelle Gibbs, Junior

MUN students participate in a committee. Photo from bloomfield.org

Model UN attends MSUMUN at Michigan State The team won the “Best Delegation” award at the competition Sadhna Ramanathan Op/Ed Editor After months of preparation, the Model United Nations team traveled to Michigan State University.

According to Matthew MacLeod, advisor of the MUN Club. There were delegates on all 19 committees, and were recognized in 14 of them. With 20 awards, of which seven individuals were given the highest recognition for a delegate; the Best Delegate Award, the team of Bloomfield Hills was also awarded the Best Delegation-- the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a school.

“It was much more competitive this year,” said MacLeod. “We’ve never faced off against 40 teams before. The level of skill that we went up against was really impressive. However, our kids went up against fierce competition and more than held their own.”

we can rebuild the after graduating our upperSpanning over the course of three days with classmen,” he said. “But five sessions, the overall, our senior memteam worked to solve “We’ve never faced off against 40 bers were terrific and our problems unique to their individual com- teams before. The level of skill that we younger members really mittees at the MSU- went up against was really impres- stepped their game up.”

Senior Emily MarchiMUN Conference. sive....” ando explained that the According to Malegacy of teams before cLeod, the current do carry some weight. team is actually quite Matt Macleod “It feels like we have young compared MUN Advisor to uphold what they to previous years. helped build. It’s re“I was hoping to get ally intense because quality exposure to you’re not just representing yourself, but the how a true Model UN conference goes so that

school too,” said Marchiando. “We are known for being a strong and tight-knit team and we definitely showed that this weekend.”

“We’ve been Bloomfield Hills High School for three years,” said MacLeod. “We’ve won the Best Delegation at MSUMUN three times.

I’m extremely proud of how we performed.”

“It’s my first year as part of the club and I now realize that I should have started way earlier,” said junior Betsy Stubbs. “I didn’t win anything personally at the conference, but just being a part of the team, gaining experience, and just having fun makes me so much more excited to attend the conference next year.”

NEWS

3 Students win thespian scholarships BHHS Thespian Society students win scholarships at the Thespian Festival Kyrstin Schimdt Staff Writer

Junior Myles Johnson utilizes the follow-me printing system in one of Bloomfield Hills High School’s new learning communities; this technology will be implemented into the new card access system to be installed soon.

Card access system to be installed at BHHS Security measures at the new campus will be heightened with the upcoming installation of a card access system after various legal struggles have been resolved.

Evan Stern Staff Writer After months of legal struggles concerning the installation of a card access system into BHHS, the technology is now ready to be implemented.

“We were originally hoping to have the system in place at the beginning of the year, but unfortunately, that contractor that was scheduled to do the work filed bankruptcy,” said BHHS Principal Charlie Hollerith of the court case that delayed the installation of the card access system. “We then had to rebid the project to get it installed.”

Prior to the beginning of the 2015-2016 school year, Hollerith and Director of Physical Plant Services for Bloomfield Hills Schools Brian Goby said that the Integrated Safety and Security Group (ISSG), the initial project contractor filed bankruptcy, and consequently, the work was not able to be completed. However, following a resolution, the system will now be installed within the next few weeks.

“When you have a company in a construction project go bankrupt, there is a bonding company involved. That’s a guarantee, in case that contractor defaults, the money is still available to have another vendor complete the work,” Hollerith said. “Unfortunately, anytime the contractor defaults, you have to go through the bonding company. There’s lawyers involved, and the job has to rebid. We certainly would have loved to have this job done by the start of school, but now, our goal is to get it done by April.”

Goby explained the major elements of the card access system.

“Many doors throughout the building, including some exterior doors, will have a reader.

Students and staff will have certain permissions on their ID that they can swipe and access those areas,” he said. “It’s going to allow

us to leave all of the exterior doors locked, and students can still gain entry with their ID if they need to come in and out of the building.”

According to Director of Information Services for Bloomfield Hills Schools David Shulkin, the system contains simple technological elements that are designed to add “a layer of security” to Bloomfield Hills High School,

“We were originally hoping to have the system in place at the beginning of the year, but unfortunately, that contractor that was scheduled to do the work filed bankruptcy” Charlie Hollerith Principal “All of the students have an ID that allows them access to follow-me printing, as well as access control to the building, once that’s installed,” Shulkin said. “Ultimately, [the system] says, ‘Okay, I’ve got the code, I’m going to send it to the system,’ and then tell the system to unlock that door or keep that door locked.”

Although the card access system would decrease the risk of security breaches on the campus, Shulkin said it would not completely eliminate them.

“Access control is a layer of security, it doesn’t stop things. All you have to do is look at [Sandy Hook Elementary School] in [Newtown, Connecticut] -- a horrible situa-

tion. That had all of the normal [security systems] in place to prevent someone from coming in and start shooting in the building, and every single one of those didn’t work,” he said.

“There’s a piece that will be very nice around [the card access system] for students and staff, being able to access doors in and out. It will also reduce [the need of ] having staff at doors, watching and supervising. A very important piece is now, our campus will be closed down, to where we know who’s coming in every single door. It will allow us to take both access control and surveillance and marry them together.”

Goby elaborated on how the elements of security will be distinct following the installation of the card access system.

“Once the system is in place, [exterior doors] will be locked, and there will be a door camera buzzer system that visitors can use,” he said.

“Students will be able to swipe [their ID cards].”

Bloomfield Hills High School Social Studies Teacher Matt Macleod said, “Whenever you have a facility [over 300,000 square feet], one of the biggest issues is point of access.

[The card access system] is one more deterrent that will help us get one step closer to being a little safer. It’s one more step of security.”

Now that the court case been resolved, Shulkin said that the installation is currently nearing completion.

“If everything goes well, I think within [weeks], we’ll be done with it, he said. “The key piece of this is to make sure we have access control during the rest of the school year, so we know who comes in and goes.”

Several students from Bloomfield Hills High’s Thespian Society competed for acting scholarships within the Thespian Festival in December, 2015.

“There were two types of scholarships that were available,” said senior Isabel Smith who was one of the 21 BHHS students winning scholarships. “We had the choice of competing for a thespian scholarship or a college scholarship.

The Thespian scholarship could only be attained if you are in the school’s theatre program.”

According to Smith, one had to compete for a scholarship by performing in front of large audiences. The students from BHHS who had won received one to several scholarships from a variety of schools.

“For the thespian scholarship it was based on your acting, and I believe and there were about four people in a room that would watch us perform,” said Smith.

“For the college scholarship you walked into a room with 30-50 people who were given an opportunity to watch you perform and then they would call you back and possibly offer you a college scholarship.”

According to Alade, she had to prepare a couple of pieces to perform for college representatives, that of which include well-known Michigan colleges.

“Getting a scholarship depends on if the college is interested in your ability to perform,” said Alade whose piece was a monologue from Tyler Perry’s Diary of a Mad Black Woman. “Each contestant had to prepare two contrasting monologues (dramatic and comedic) and perform both monologues in the span of about two minutes. One by one, we went into a room with all the college representatives and performed. Schools around Michigan sent representatives to the competition, such as Hope College, Western Michigan University, Michigan State University, and a few more were from New York.”

After performing her pieces, Smith felt uneasy about the competition for she was in front of so many viewers and explained that the process was difficult.

“It was more difficult than other auditions and competitions I have done because there were so many people in the room. Normally there are four judges in each room but in the one for the college scholarships there were around 30-50,” said Smith.

“I felt grateful to receive the scholarships but at the same time it’s not towards a college I plan on attending so I felt a little awkward. It was also disappointing because it wasn’t one of the best performances I had done so I knew I could have done better.”

The festival had been very beneficial for the students, each receiving several calls from colleges.

Alade talked about the offers she received, but is unsure where she would like to attend in the fall.

“I got four callbacks in which one university gave me a $5,000 scholarship from Siena Heights University,” said Alade. “I feel so blessed that I had the opportunity to do it, and am grateful for my friend Isabel Smith who helped me practice for the competition.”

Phillips, president of the Thespian society, had also won a scholarship but from Rochester College. She talked about her experience and what the college offered her.

“It was very scary and nerve wrecking standing in front of all those people judging you and trying to decide if you are right for their program,” said Phillips.

“I performed two Monologues for them and won a $56,000 scholarship to Rochester College but I am attending the University of Michigan in the fall.”

Smith said her success within this festival has opened many doors and talked about her goals for the future and what she wants to do with acting.

“Theater/acting in general is my major,” said Smith. “It’s what I plan to do in my future because it’s something that’s grown to be a part of me. I think that the idea of having the capability of creating an emotional connection with an audience you may never see again is beyond incredible and it’s a feeling that you get from performing. It’s an experience that I cannot imagine myself not doing.”

School implements ‘Boot’ to prevent intruders BHHS classrooms now have a new safety feature to prevent unwanted guests from entering making the building safer Shibi Sanjeev Staff Writer After Winter Break, Brian Goby shared that BHHS students and staff had a special surprise waiting for them.

“You have probably noticed the little metal box next to the door,” said the head of Student Safety Officer Cory Donberger of the new door fortification system, one of the new safety measures for the high school. “The boot is inside of that. If there is a lockdown situation, you pull it out of the box, drop it in the floor, and you are good to go. There’s no lock on this, but it provides that extra layer of security. I can still open the door somewhat, but it’s not gonna get through. The boot is basically an extra layer of protection to the existing door and lock. I think the two most important things I like about it are that anyone can use it, whether you’re a student, whether you’re a young student, it doesn’t really matter. It doesn’t really matter because it doesn’t require a key. The second thing is, if, for example, the lock is broke, or unlocked, or the teacher doesn’t have a key, it doesn’t matter.”

Goby explains some of the advantages of having this new fortification system.

“The Boot is a barricading device and it provides a way to lock a door without fumbling with keys,” he said. “It also provides 16,000 pounds of resistant force if someone is trying to bash a door

in which is much safer than a traditional lock set.”

Despite these benefits, Donberger said that even with the device everyone in the school needs to still remain vigilant.

“One of the negative things, and it kind of came out initially when the idea was, was that I didn’t want us to get too comfortable with this in the sense that, ‘we deployed it and now we are good. We just sit here and wait for the police, all things will be fine.’ I didn’t want us to get complacent,” he said. “I don’t want us to get into the place where we use the boot and just stop thinking and we don’t react if something else is happening.”

Students have also raised serious questions regarding the boot.

“I am very concerned with the fact that there aren’t some boots on certain doors. If people are in those rooms, they might not be able to protect themselves”, said Junior Michael-Armen Kadian. “ And there are some rooms with multiple doors but only one of the doors has the boot on it. That leaves a simple way around the boot for any potential attackers. And couldn’t students misuse the boot? They could lock themselves in a room and no one would have any way to get them out from the outside.”

In response to Kadian’s concerns, Donberger explained why some doors do not have the boot.

“Not every door in the high school will have the boot,” he said. “We located rooms where the boot would serve us best and those are the traditional classrooms. Areas like the library don’t have them, some rooms in the main office don’t have them, and some of the learning communities don’t have them.”

In terms of the potential misuse of the boot by students, Goby explained that “There is a key [for the boot]. So the police can get into the room from the outside. So if a student was trying to deploy it and trying to do something with another student in the classroom, we can get in.

The office staff is trained on how to use that.”

Goby reminds students that along with the boot, there are several other forms of protection for the school. “We are trying to give multiple layers. We know that we are right across the street from the police station, we have counselors, we have social workers, we have excellent teachers, we have liaison officers, a security officer”, he said. “So hopefully you never get to a situation where the bad thing’s happening.

But if it does, we will have instant notification with the bluepoint alert system, we will have options to barricade yourself if you want to, you won’t have to worry about fumbling with the keys to make sure your door is locked. You have options to flee. You have lots and lots of layers, it’s not just one thing.”

Junior Michael Armen tests “The Boot” system.

NEWS

4

show

Black Student Alliance holds first annual Talent Show Students from schools across the area come together to perform in new BHHS auditorium Top: 1: The BHHS Dance Club prepares backstage for their act at the talent show. The group rehearsed every Tuesday leading up to the event.

From Left: 2: BHHS Junior Timothy Jewell and North Farmington Senior Lorenzo Seldon perform a choreographed duet for the act DELANEY. The two were thrilled to get to perform in front of such a large crowd. “It was really nice to get to perform my dance in front of such a supportive crowd,” said Jewell.

3: Church singer Kevin Stewart performs a powerful gospel song that received a standing ovation from the audience.

Stewart spent countless hours preparing for his performance on his piano prior to the show. 3: BHHS Sophomore Kristin Davis dances a solo in her performance with the BHHS Dance Club. She expressed that she felt relieved after her performance had concluded.

Students compete in MIST at Wayne State Muslim students take part in Muslim Interscholastic Tournament

Counselor Melanie Brooks who is also member of the Global Champions Education Team adds that, “We hope this change doesn’t allow any student to feel different or to feel not accepted because everyone will essentially look the same from the outside.

Shahada Altaii Staff Writer

From March 18-20, Muslim students competed in MIST, the Muslim Interscholastic Tournament, at Wayne State University.

“MIST was first created in 2002 at the University of Houston, as college students wanted to create a platform where Muslim high school students could showcase their talents,” said MIST Coordinator and BHHS Alum, Ameen Khaleel. “MIST Detroit started in 2008 at Wayne State University, starting with close to 50 students. Now, the tournament has over 650 competitors from schools all over the region.”

At Bloomfield Hills High School, the Muslim Student Association meets every Friday in the media cen-

Photography competition. I put tons of thought and time into preparing. It gets really hype, there’s tons of chanting and we all get so close.”

This year at MIST, the Black Hawks left with several awards. In boys Soccer, the students took home 2nd place. Participating in Quran Memorization, Junior Basil Al-Subee took home 3rd place and lastly, in Photography, 1st place was awarded to Senior Shahada Altaii.

In the Detroit region of MIST, over 30 schools competed against each other. It was the 8th annual tournament held at Wayne State University this year, and 653 competitors were gathered to participate.

to help organize and be a part of the process of setting up the tournament every year.”

Since this platform was created, the tournament has spread across as many as 15 regions ranging from Toronto to Flint. Detroit joining on in 2008 with close to 50 students. Now, the tournament has more competitors than ever before.

Teams compete against each other in more than just competitions; points are awarded to the teams as a whole for categories such as spirit, etiquette, dress, and more. At the end of the weekend, there is an award ceremony in which family and friends are invited to see which in-

“I love being able to interact with other teams and MSA’s in our region. It makes for so many new connections and friendships” Tamer El-Gamal, Junior ter to discuss, socialize, and unite over shared interests.

Lately at these meetings, preparation for a tournament was in the works. The time used on Fridays to gather is vital for students to strive in the Muslim Interscholastic Tournament (MIST), an exciting and equally competitive weekend according to students.

“MIST is basically a time when our school’s MSA has the chance to become a family. We all come together to compete and support each other,” said senior Judd Koujane. “All of these schools come to participate in a bunch of different categories like writing, public speaking, arts, sports, quiz bowl, short film, and more. This year I was really focused on my

“I love being able to interact with other teams and MSA’s in our region. It makes for so many new connections and friendships,” said 3rd year competitor junior Tamer El-Gamal.“ I participate in competitions like Debate, Improvisation, Basketball, Soccer, and Short film. Since the topics Taking on all of these can be time consuming, but it is definitely necessary to be prepared.”

According to Khaleel, “My job is to reach out to schools around metro Detroit and encourage them to join MIST, I am one of the marketing coordinators for MIST. After being a MIST competitor in high school, I wanted

Graduation Gowns from 1

dividuals placed from 1st to 3rd, decided by the judges of competitions man behind the mask, Imran Naahin-- the Administrator of MIST. The event did not only attract current Bloomfield Hills students, but alumni as well.

Coach of the BHHS MIST team and Andover Alum, Zienab Fahs, explained her interest and background in the event.

“The tournament was widely talked about and the more info I got on it, the more I wanted to be part of it. And becoming a coach for my old high school was great motivation to see the students do well and assist them through their competitions.”

“We hope that it will allow students to feel more unified and this will build more fairness among the students.”

Melanie Brooks, counselor There is no reason for a person who may not be at a place to identify themselves as one gender or another, to feel uncomfortable, because everyone is looking the same,” she said. “We hope that it will allow students to feel more unified and this will build more fairness among the students.”

NEWS

5 NEW GPA SCALE FROM 1 way the district evaluates grades and GPAs comes with advantages as well as disadvantages.

“From the positive perspective, I think that weighting grades or honors level courses gives kind of a sense of opportunity for students to take a risk without feeling like they are really taking a huge risk,” said DiPilato. “I think some students don’t take AP classes because they think they might get a B in the AP class but they know they could the A in the not AP class. So if you’re weighting grades for those classes, it would encourage those students who might not take the course otherwise.”

Bank agrees that weighing more rigorous classes an extra point has many advantages; however, he expresses concern for the current conversation regarding the percentages attached to letter grades themselves.

“I am one of the few board members who is not too excited about that one. I certainly understand the argument that if you get an 89% why should you get a 3.0, but on the other hand, if you get a 91%, why shouldn’t you get a 4.0? Some students who keep getting 88% and 89% are gonna love it, but the students who get 91% and 92% are going to hate it,” he said.

According to Day, no matter what the district will decide to do, the committee will keep the student’s best interests in mind.

“We are trying to implement our mission statement for each one of our students. Everybody has a value, wherever that might be,” said Day. “We owe it to our students to promote them the best way we know how.”

New courses added for next year The changes will influence scheduling for 2016-17 Sadie Kirschner Guest Writer

As college admissions have become increasingly more competitive, students have had problems related to balancing their GPA. Photo from Tribune Content Agency.

RIGOR AND GRADES FROM 1 Westerby explained that, despite its benefits, the GPA system isn’t perfect.

“One of the issues with GPA is that if a GPA isn’t necessarily ‘strong’ there could be tons of reasons why,” said Westerby. “It’s objective; when you are assigned a number based on how you have performed, you are looking at a piece of paper and there is no description. It doesn’t detail personal, social, or emotional issues. It especially doesn’t consider rigor. And rigor is incredibly important to colleges as well.”

Choosing between grades and rigor, Westerby explained, is the biggest struggle students have when picking their classes. And when it comes to college admissions, there isn’t a straight answer as to which one is better.

“My rule of thumb is that you want to continually challenge yourself. It’s a mixture of both grades and rigor,” said Guidance Counselor Anthony Midea. “The answer is that taking honors, AP, or IB classes is better because it strengthens the transcript--if you can handle it.”

And colleges concur with Midea’s statement; Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admissions at the University of Michigan Julie Simon, on a University of Michigan Admissions website, states that students should “determine what kind of academic load you can handle, succeed in, and still participate

in the extracurricular activities you’ve chosen.”

A University of Georgia Admissions Office blog post from 2014 echoes the sentiments of Simon, explaining that they “do not want a student to take 5 AP courses in one year, and come out having 3

“It’s objective; when you are assigned a number based on how you have performed, you are looking at a piece of paper and there is no description. It doesn’t detail personal, social, or emotional issues.”

Carla Westerby Counselor C’s and 2 D’s.” Instead, “a student needs to be successful in their classes. But a 4.00 GPA while taking some of the most basic courses offered at the high

school is not a good option either, as the strong grades would indicate that the student could challenge themselves with more advanced classes.”

Director of Admissions at Michigan State University James Cotter further stressed the importance of balance, saying that it is important to maintain a high GPA while still challenging oneself with a rigorous course load.

At Sophomore-Junior College Night, Cotter said that “the straight answer is ‘take an AP/ IB class and get an A.’ Colleges want to see you push and challenge yourself. But we also want to see you succeed. Take what challenging courses you can handle, and everything will work out.”

Ultimately, while one’s grades are important, Cotter also stated that high school is more than just a student’s GPA and getting into college.

“Don’t take courses just because you think that’s what [colleges] want to see,” said Cotter. “The high school pursuit is not about where a student can get into college; that’s heresy to some. The high school process is about how you can set up a foundation to be a contributor to this world, and how you can set up a foundation that will help you succeed at the next step.”

WBFH attends the IBS awards Radio station wins 21 national broadcasting awards at conference in New York City Foster Stubbs Managing Editor It was an eventful weekend for the Biff to say the least.

“IBS has offered college awards for several years and last year they decided to open up awards for high school students for all the categories that they offer for college awards,” said WBFH station manager Pete Bowers, “So I asked my staff if they wanted to enter and they said they did.”

From March 4th to the 6th, 7 representatives from WBFH traveled to New York City for the 77th annual Intercollegiate Broadcasting Systems awards. Winning a total of 21 total national awards combined, the Biff was proud to be represented on the national stage.

Senior Harrison Parker was ecstatic upon learning that he was an award winner in 5 different categories.

“It’s pretty cool because that’s something you can hold onto for life,” said Parker. “You can go to college and you can always put that on your resumé and it looks good because you’ve committed to something and you’ve done well at that thing and you’ve excelled.

It was an honor to be selected for multiple awards.”

While the Biff has won many broadcasting awards in the past, traveling to the IBS Awards was a first for the station, according to staff member Greg Margosian.

“We’ve traveled to other national awards like the

Drury awards in Chicago but we have never made the trip to New York for IBS,” said Margosian, “While the drive may have been very long,

“You can go to college and you can always put that on your resumé and it looks good because you’ve committed to something and you’ve done well at that thing and you’ve excelled. It was an honor to be selected for multiple awards.”

Harrison Parker Senior it was definitely worth it, we had a great time.”

Winners of the numerous awards included Dylan Wittenberg, Harrison Parker, Evan Sack-

sner, Greg Margosian, Jason Silverstone, Foster Stubbs, and Andrew Brown. In addition to all of the broadcasting awards won, Pete Bowers was named a finalist for Best Faculty Advisor, station manager Andrew Brown was named a finalist for Best Student Manager, and the station was named a finalist for Best High School Station of the Year. According to Bowers, this will not be the last time the Biff participates in these awards.

“It’s just another feather in the Biff radio program’s hat. To be recognized at the national level is quite an accomplishment and I never get tired of that,” said Bowers, “I see and hear great things coming from our students and obviously now there are judges in this national competition that agree with me. Being named a finalist for Best High School Radio Station along with stations in Illinois, Indiana, and St. Louis, Missouri was definitely a first and most likely, this is a competition we’ll enter every year.”

New classes have been added to the curriculum causing changes to the schedule.

“I am absolutely ready for these changes to the schedule,” said English teacher Amanda Zang. “I think this part of the teaching dynamic is that we are constantly looking at new ways to improve and new classes to teach.”

According to the administration, there are going to be multiple changes to the classes offered next school year. Though many of the classes that occur now will still be in place next year, there will be new classes that the students will notice when reading the course description book.

“There are going to be a couple changes for the classes that we are going to offer next year. With that said, it will not be very likely that you will be able to switch out of a class, so make sure when you are filling out your scheduling sheets that you select exactly what you want to have for next year. Also, make sure that your three backup choices are what you want to take next year because you could wind up getting one of those instead,” said assistant principal, Tracy Hall.

One of the changes will have a big impact on the classes offered in the physical education department, according to Hall.

“We are now taking the swim component out of P.E., there will be 2 new classes devoted solely to swimming,” said Hall. “We will have a basic swimming class, where students who have no aquatic swimming experience can actually learn the red cross level for certification. Meaning, they can swim safely and not drown. Then, we will also have a new P.E. class for seasoned or experienced swimmers that maybe want to perfect a certain stroke or want to work on diving, which is another aspect of swimming.”

In addition, the district will incorporate two other changes. According to assistant principal Margaret Schultz, the Drawing and Painting course is now divided into two separate classes. One dedicated towards drawing and another for painting. The other change involved the history department as it has added a completed new course.

“Mr. MacLeod will be running a new World Religions class for 11th and 12th graders. There will also be a new music technology class offered for non-music students. There is going to be a new AP Computer Science Principles Class and Intro To Art is going away,” said Schultz.

Because of all of these new course opportunities, the counseling office is now offering the freshman more course options, according to Hall.

“In the past, we have limited the number of arts classes 9th graders can take,” she said. “We are now allowing them to take all of those courses, meaning drawing, painting, ceramics, photography, etc.”

With all of these changes, it is still imperative students turn in their scheduling sheets on time in order for the district to see which classes fill up, according to counselor Laura Hollyer- Madis.

“It is crucial that students get their course selection sheets turned in by a certain time.

This is because we have to make staffing decisions,” said Hall. “Once students submit their course selection, we’re able to run a report through mystar and say, alright so, I’ve got enough for 15 sections of english and then we know that for those 15 sections of english, I need 3 teachers. So, it drives us making staffing decisions. Sometimes it means that we may need to layoff teachers, sometimes it means we may need to hire teachers so, that’s the reason for the specific deadline.”

1 HILLARY

The expecteds:

Former Secretary of State, Former New York Senator, Former First Lady of the United States

AKA “The Hillary Bracket”

HILLARY

(Announced candidacy April 12, 2015-Official announcement on June 13)

4 HILLARY States Won: IA, NV, SC, AL, AR, GA, MA, TN, TX, VA, LA, MS, FL, IL, MO, NC, OH, AZ

Election M

2 HILLARY HILLARY

3 HILLARY Democratic

National Convention JULY 25-28

1 SANDERS

DEMOCRATS

Former member of the House of Representatives, Former Chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Former Vermont Senator

The 2016 Pr Election

SANDERS

Termin

Dropped out October 23, 2015

4 CHAFEE

Former Rhode Island Governor

States Won: NH, CO, MN, OK, VT, KS, NE, ME, MI, ID, UT, AK, WA, HI

2 O’MALLEY

(Announced candidacy April 30, 2015-Official announcement on May 26)

*Stats as of Ma

Former Maryland Governor

O’MALLEY Dropped out October 20, 2015

3 WEBB

Brokered Conven candidate wins a majo time for their part causing a series of switching to deci

Former Virginia Senator, Former Asst. Sec. of Defense for Reserve Affairs

Dropped out after Iowa Caucuses

The CHALLENGERS: Those taking on expected nominee Clinton

TRUMP CASUALTIES:

Businessman, Former reality TV star

Those targeted and later taken out by “The Donald”

TRUMP

1

TRUMP Fourth GOP nominee to drop out South Carolina Senator

GRAHAM 4

States Won: NH, SC, NV, AL, AR, GA, MA, TN, VT, VA, KY, LA, HI, MI, MS, FL, IL, MO, NC, AZ

TRUMP

Madness

Dropped out February 20, 2016

BUSH

Former Governor of Florida

2

RUBIO Dropped out after losing home state of FL

REPUBLICANS

residential Bracket

nology:

Florida Senator

RUBIO 3

Texas Senator, Former Solicitor General of Texas

CRUZ

Republican

National Convention JULY 18-21

CRUZ Dropped out on March 4, 2016 Neurosurgeon

ntion: When no ority of delegates in ty’s convention, vote trading and ide a nominee

arch 28, 2016

THE REST: The other GOP nominees

1

Author

CARSON 4

States Won: IA, AK, OK, TX, KS, ME, ID, WY, UT Won Ohio Primary Governor of Ohio

KASICH

2

KASICH Dropped out February 10, 2016 Governor of New Jersey

CHRISTIE 3

works cited: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/Trump_2016.png, https://www.google.com/search?q=ted+cruz+logo&tbm=isch&imgil=6XSxAEPb5vz8UM%253A%253BR-Dr_Rc9VCbuBM%2 53Bhttps%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.tedcruz.org%25252F&source=iu&pf=m&fir=6XSxAEPb5vz8UM%253A%252CR-Dr_Rc9VCbuBM%252C_&usg=__w8FUtjhgQlLVTg2DMRDUrXF5iMk%3D&biw=8 91&bih=779&ved=0ahUKEwjPq4SPptrLAhWK5SYKHRxACSMQyjcIMg&ei=Q2D0Vo_-KorLmwGcgKWYAg#imgrc=6XSxAEPb5vz8UM%3A, http://assets.fontsinuse.com/static/use-media-items/33/32846/full702x221/56a5b852/Bernie_Sanders_2016_logo., http://www.slate.com/content/dam/slate/blogs/the_slatest/2015/04/12/hillary%20logo.jpg.CROP.promovar-mediumlarge.jpg png?resolution=0, , https://www.google.com/ search?q=hillary+clinton&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwickrKpptrLAhWJ5CYKHf1lCkwQ_AUICCgC&biw=891&bih=779#q=hillary+clinton&tbm=isch&tbs=ic:trans&imgrc=Ijm4Mr5iwzLmWM%3A, https://www.google.com/search?q=donald+trump&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj4poq2ptrLAhUF6SYKHauaB80Q_AUICCgC&biw=891&bih=779#q=donald+trump&tbm=isch&tbs=ic:trans&imgrc=kC bZsIdX6MgnCM%3A, http://www.clipartbest.com/cliparts/ace/ozy/aceozyqpi.png, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9b/Republicanlogo.svg/1179px-Republicanlogo.svg.png, http://global.fncstatic. com/static/p/elections/2016/img/230x230/bernie-sanders.png, http://mediaassets.ktnv.com/photo/2015/10/21/ted_cruz_AP_1445465935839_25544471_ver1,.0_640_480.png, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party_ presidential_primaries,_2016, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Results_of_the_Republican_Party_presidential_primaries,_2016, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brokered_convention

OP/ED

8 COLUMN

Finding strength in kickboxing Writer discusses her inner metamorphosis after beginning to kickbox Nuha Raziuddin Staff Writer Being a girl in this society can be quite frustrating at times.

“Girls can’t defend themselves.”

“You can’t fight, you’re a girl.”

So what if I am a girl?

I noticed that for years girls have always been facing this stereotype: that they are incapable of taking care of themselves, just because we may seem smaller and more fragile than the male population.

I figured it is time to end those stereotypes. So I decided I wanted to take on the responsibility of doing so, and decided to try a new form of self defense: kickboxing.

Kickboxing is a type of martial art that includes boxing with a hint of karate. According to listverse.com, kickboxing has been named as one of the top 10 Martial Arts for self defense. Not only is kickboxing a technique for personal safety, but it is also a great way to get in shape.

After speaking with some of my peers and doing my own research from webmd.org, I came to a conclusion that right now it was best if I trained myself rather than going to an actual kickboxing studio. I began by simply watching YouTube videos daily and practicing in my basement.

In the first few months, I took it slow. I began with low kicks and just a few punches daily for about 30 minutes each day. Then, I slowly began to pick it up, this time 45 minutes to an hour each day. Over these past couple months I started to improve on my kickboxing skills and I felt better about myself. I felt

“I felt better about myself. I felt more healthy and fit. My arm and leg muscles felt stronger. But more importantly I felt proud...” more healthy and fit. My arm and leg muscles felt stronger. But more importantly I felt proud that I had learned this new form of defense.

Even though these past couple months weren’t easy and I was sore everyday, I eventually overcame the pain. It feels good to know that I am able to defend myself and, in the process, get in shape too.

Not taking an actual kickboxing class and just teaching myself made this experience more gratifying.

It felt as if I had achieved a challenge and I can prove it to others.

Not only did I work to erase the stereotype of girls in this society but I also made myself stronger.

Living in Bloomfield Hills, I thought I would never need to protect myself since this is a very safe city. However, recently I found out I was wrong.

I received a text from a friend telling me to be careful when I go out due to recent reportings of women being abducted.

I was terrified. In that moment I realized how important it was to be able to fight for myself.

If I was attacked tomorrow, I know that I am capable of protecting myself and that is one feeling I never want to fade away. It is a sense of empowerment and confidence that I think everyone deserves to have.

It’s scary imagining myself in a situation where I am helpless. It is important is for everyone, especially girls like me, to know how to defend themselves, no matter how safe you think you are.

Just like kickboxing, there are many other options for you to learn self defense, not only for women but everyone else too! The world is a dangerous place; it’s important to stay safe out there!

COLUMN PRO

College is a time to start fresh A new college in a new state offers a place to change reputations Foster Stubbs Managing Editor A wise man once said “home is where the heart is.”

Well, home is also the place where your mom nags you for not taking out the trash, where pictures of you when you wore braces and Harry Potter glasses grace the walls, and where you get your stuff stolen from you by your siblings.

Michigan, I love you; you are my home and always will be, but I need to take a four year vacation. Like Mark Wahlberg said in The Other Guys, “I’m a peacock Captain!

You gotta let me fly!”

College is the time where one truly discovers who he/she is as a person. It’s the first time in life where one is truly independentnobody has their parents holding your hand anymore. This is the time to start fresh. When studying in another state, it is easier to shed all the reputations developed over one’s school career. Not knowing anyone on campus is actually more of a blessing than a disadvantage.

High school classmates won’t be there to tell any embarrassing stories about our awkward, adolescent selves. There will be more opportunity to make friends from a more diverse variety of backgrounds. Want to switch from being the calculus nerd in high school to being the campus party animal? Then going out of state for college is the golden ticket.

While going out-of-state for school would likely be more life-changing than staying in state, there is still one big concern: price. Contrary to what most believe, it is possible for out-of-state students to pay a reasonable price for tuition.

For instance, a 2015 U.S News and World Report study compiled a list of 10 schools with out-of-state tuitions of under $10,000. Additionally, another U.S News study found 62 American colleges that claim to cover all of their students’ financial needs. With the wide variety of scholarship opportunities out there, it is certainly possible to make an out-of-state university a more feasible, educational option.

Now one’s college decision, whether it be made in the next few months or in the next few years, should ultimately be made with his/her goals and desires in mind. Not the goals of his/her overzealous parents who desperately try to live vicariously through their child. It’s great if someone wants to go to a school in-state. But don’t discount schools just because they are out-of-state. Going out-of-state offers more opportunity for personal growth. If someone wants to stay at home, that’s fine. They should just be prepared for the possibility of mom showing up at frat parties.

Pro/Con: Out-of-state Colleges

CON

College is always better closer to home We may want to live far way, but nothing can provide the benefits of the home Ally Jaksen Managing Editor

Let me paint a picture. A college freshman wakes up one morning in her suffocatingly small dorm room with the chills, a runny nose, a sore throat, a pounding headache and all she wants is the only human being on planet Earth that could make her feel better: mom. The catch is that mom is three thousand miles away wishing her baby had stayed close to home for college, and now that sick college freshman is wishing the same thing. Hey, I didn’t say it was a pretty picture.

There’s a grand misconception that prospective college students need to find a university as far away from home as possible in order to get a wholesome secondary education experience but the truth is there’s no cause to go to the ends of the earth to make the most of the process. There are a surprising amount of opportunities to leave the dreaded comfort zone right in Bloomfield’s own backyard.

The University of Michigan has over 40,000 students enrolled in its graduate and undergraduate programs from all fifty states and an additional one hundred fourteen countries. It would be hard not to find a plethora of new perspectives and it’s only an hour away from home.

Roby Blust, dean of admissions and enrollment planning at Marquette University, also notes in an article from U.S. News the danger in overlooking in state colleges. He says that students often think that they know their hometown schools well enough already without giving them proper consideration when choosing universities to apply to. He urges students to consider in state schools just as they do

out of state schools to ensure that their local universities are not being ruled out in the application process. This way, students may find that on a level playing field that their in state choices come out on top.

Don’t forget about one of the most critical aspects of the college selection process: tuition cost. Parents, listen up.

Consider this: A student from Bloomfield Hills applies to both the University of Michigan and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Both have similar acceptance rates (26.2% and 28.5% respectively) as well as comparable academic and student profiles. However, the difference in the tuition this student will have to pay at each school differs greatly. Living on campus at U of M for an in state student rounds out to approximately $27,812.

Living on campus at UNC Chapel Hill for an out of state student is approximately $51,466. If this student chooses UNC, that’s a $23,654 hole in mom and dad’s checkbook for a similar education they could’ve gotten at home for much cheaper.

There will be sick days. There will be days when a homecooked meal with the family is far more desireable than the confines of cafeteria cuisine. There will be days when the guilt of that $23,654 mom and dad could’ve used to buy that sailboat they’ve alway wanted consumes the psyche.

There will be days when the reality of adulthood and the struggles of life away from home become very, very real.

What is the antidote? Home.

Coffee is the one constant in life Opinion editor praises the virtues of the drink Sadhna Ramanathan Op/Ed Editor As I conclude my final years of high school, I have learned a lot: how to procrastinate, how to stress myself out, how I continue procrastinating even though I know how much it stresses me out--all vital factors of the high school experience.

However, one experience that I cannot and from now on will not live without, is coffee. This beautiful caffeinated elixir has carried me through these painful years. From the all-nighters, to the push that gets me through my midday slump, coffee is the one constant that has kept me sane through these tedious times.

However, as I praise this beauteous blend, I am constantly told “You’re too young to be drinking coffee!” or, “It’s so unhealthy.

Why would you put your body through that?” These people need to understand that this glorious potion is what keeps me going through my school days. And I’m not the only one who feels this way.

“...one experience that I cannot and from now on will not live without, is coffee. This beautiful caffeinated elixir has carried me through these painful years.”

Many of my peers agree that coffee is their daily fix--the one thing that keeps them functioning after a long day (or night) of studying.

However, it is true that my initial need for staying awake has turned into something more: a desperate need for it. But worry not, guilt is something that I am most definitely not plagued by. I am thankful for the daily supplement I get from that heavenly mug of godliness.

Sure you can say that I could be exaggerating, but until people can say they are as obsessed with coffee as I am if not more, then please refrain from passing judgement until achieving the dependence on coffee that I have acquired.

Until then, I’ll keep sippin’ on that strong java.

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OP/ED Embracing the Madness

9 EDITORIAL

Inclusion:

Discussing the chaos which March Madness exemplifies Jack Silberman Design Editor March is almost over. Most people’s brackets are probably busted beyond repair at this point, so if I’m bringing back bad memories for you, I apologize and I give you permission to stop reading this and go read something else right now.

If your bracket is dominating your pool, I’m sure there’s nothing you’d like to read about more than the greatest playoff system in all of sports.

March Madness does the best job of getting the people to participate and watch of any other playoff system. The cultural phenomenon of filling out brackets brings together the most diehard college basketball fans and people who haven’t watched a single bas-

why we must be involved with decisions which shape our school

the

Cartoon by Betsy Stubbs

C

gown change - it matches our school’s four cornerstones iting the creation and exemplification of as well as those of the school district itself. By workequality, fairness, unification, and incluing together we are fostering relationships and by being siveness in the school environment, Bloomfield Hills part of the decision we are taking ownership. FurtherHigh School has recently announced that they are more, Goal 2 of the Bloomfield Hills Schools Board changing graduation gowns. Instead of each genof Education Strategic Plan is to “nurture constructive der being designated a specific color gown (men partnerships that strengthen our entire community,” wearing purple and women wearing white), all wouldn’t a partnership between administration and the graduating seniors will be wearing the same color. students do just that? In addition, Objective 2D of the And that’s great. Power to them. Regardless of whether Strategic Plan is to “foster two-way, mutually beneficial one agrees or disagrees with what they decided, it’s communication with all stakeholder groups.” Students the administration’s job to make decisions like these. are a stakeholder group, and two-way, mutually benefiAccording to Assistant Principal Margaret Schultz, cial communication can’t be foschanging the gowns was ultitered when we aren’t being commately the decision of the Global municated to in the first place.

Champions Education Team.

This concept of student input But the Global Champions in administrative decisionEducation Team isn’t walkmaking isn’t radical or unprecing across the stage in those edented, either. Numerous carbon copy gowns, are they? schools and districts across the No. we, the students, are. country are involving their And we, the students, were students when making decinot asked for our opinion. sions. In 2007, Durham PubAs the people that are being affectlic Schools (DPS) in North ed by the change, the Hawkeye be- 34 out of 34 staff members Carolina created the Student lieves that we need to be able to voice agree that we need more Advisory Council. Working our opinions on issues that directly inclusion into key decisions with both the high school sturelate to us. As a student body, we dent councils and the district work together with administration board, the council reports on to make an inclusive environment. board and committee meetIt can’t be dictated or created for ings to their schools and voice us. We have to do it ourselves, and their concerns to the board. the best way to do that is by having Districts and schools in San Francisco, California, some sort of ownership in decisions that relate to us.

Boston, Massachusetts, and Anne Arundel CounWhile administration made consistent graduation ty, Maryland have similar policies and councils. gowns to be inclusive, the decision was exclusive.

Ultimately, in some form or another, students need to Schultz told the Hawkeye that the objective of the be more involved. More often than not, we are the ones change was “about our kids feeling included,” yet a being affected by these changes, and our opinions, views, Case Western Reserve University report from 2012 and beliefs aren’t being heard in any formal capacity. states that “people feel included when they… have the It’s time we become involved in our futures. It’s imporchance to influence decisions.” Involving students in tant that we not only express our opinions, but conadministrative decisions that affect the students themtribute them in meaningful ways. It doesn’t take makselves will create the equity the administration wants. ing graduation gowns the same color to create a unified, Student involvement in administrative decision-makinclusive school community. All it takes is our voice. ing doesn’t just align with the goals of the graduation

Hawkeye 2015-16 Staff

What the Hawkeye Thinks:

Advisor Christina Hammitt

Multimedia Editor Greg Margosian

Editor-in-Chief Aidan Menchaca

Public Relations CJ Drogosch

Design Editor Jack Silberman Managing Editors Merrick Weingarten Foster Stubbs Ally Jaksen

Advertising Julia Eisenshtadt Section Editors Uzair Bandagi Sadhna Ramanathan

Mallory Weiner Hannah Stein Jason Moonka Cartoonist Betsy Stubbs Illustrator Kevin Zheng Distribution Manager Shibi Sanjeev

There is a necessity in teaching difficult and controversial topics Aidan Menchaca Editor-in-Chief The first day of class is often a time of necessary superfluities. The instructor gives out syllabi and an awkward icebreaker is played. But one of those days last year, I was confronted with a question that I did not expect.

The sage former teacher Vivian Johnston asked one question: “are you guys okay with ambiguity?”

Youth is the era of certainties.

With an entire life awaiting, we are imbued with a sense of strong morality, unshakable faith in life and an idealism which permeates all aspects of our lives. This is not a negative thing. It is what makes poets, musicians and innovators. But on that formative day, Mrs. Johnston, a first-rate teacher of both life and theory, explained an important concept--one that me and my peers must realize.

“It truly is madness, so it’s best to have a little fun with your selections.” ketball game in their entire life.

And those people who aren’t diehards can win their groups, which is what makes this so special. It is the most inclusive tournament out there, as you don’t need to be an avid basketball fan to take part in the madness. Sometimes, it actually helps your bracket not to be.

I watch an insane amount of basketball. In the past few years, I’ve experimented with every advanced statistic you could possibly think of to predict my bracket. I’d try things like calculating a team’s starting lineup’s average VORP (Value over Replacement Player), thinking it would guarantee me a correct pick. That turned out to be wrong. Horribly wrong. For years, I’d finish last in my family bracket group. I lost to my sister one year, who thought March Madness was a football tournament.

That was the last straw for me.

So last year, I tried something different. I decided to do a mix of my old strategies, and the strategies that I had previously thought to be ridiculous. I picked some of the games with my knowledge of the teams (like picking Arizona over Texas Southern), and then some of the games, I forced myself to pick in a ridiculous fashion. I picked a few based on who had a funnier looking mascot. Others I picked based on who had cooler uniforms. I was still pretty skeptical of this process, especially because it led me to pick some pretty farfetched upsets. I didn’t think it would improve my lackluster bracket-selecting ability.

I was wrong. I was so wrong.

I somehow picked the correct national championship game (Duke vs. Wisconsin). I also picked the correct champion in Duke. When my friends saw my bracket before the tournament, they laughed at me for not picking the previously undefeated Kentucky Wildcats. Good thing I didn’t talk myself into switching. I ended up finishing in the 99th percentile of the world on ESPN and winning my 35 person group.

The point I’m trying to make is when next year’s tournament comes around, don’t use it as an opportunity to show off your basketball knowledge.

I have learned that it does not work. It truly is madness, so it’s best to have a little fun with your selections. It’s very possible that when someone finally picks a perfect bracket, they might have made their selections by flipping a coin.

A liberal education means conflict

Staff Writers Amanda Howard Krystin Schmidt Brandon Kowalski Emelia Irmscher Jack Wroldsen John Ballouz Nuha Raziuddin Lia Forman Evan Stern Raya Naschef Shahada Altaii

“The triumph of pluralism is the hallmark of a liberal society and this is precisely why this has gone too far.”

If you have read any news articles on academia in the last few years, you’ll notice the intense conflict going on in American universities and high schools. My peers, emboldened by a sense of moral certainty, have tried to put warning labels on literature, decried ideas that go against their beliefs in college courses and have created safe-rooms for those who feel threatened by these ideas.

The triumph of pluralism is the hallmark of a liberal society and this is precisely why this has gone too far. In our unrealistic goal of political correctness and championing of inflexible morality, we are destroying what we try to protect.

Both high school and college are to be a place of learning and they must inherently challenge beliefs.

The collective wisdom of the world does not confirm one worldview. If it did, we’d all be the same. Thus, we read to learn about other perspectives and we challenge them in academic debate if we disagree.

We do not teach Voltaire to disrespect religious belief, but instead to find another perspective on religion. We can pick apart his works and stand in respectful opposition or agree to it, but we shouldn’t run away. This gives no one a fair shot and deepens our ignorance.

What about after college? The world is a place of different ideologies and personalities (even amoral people) and, unlike college, there are can be no protections from it. Exposure to cool disagreement primes us for the world where debates are not moderated and, instead of fiery rhetoric, we can focus on compromise.

The philosopher George Berkeley once explained that “to be is to be perceived.” In this he confirms the idea that truth changes with perspective. Perhaps even the truth itself is ambiguous and that’s O.K. Let’s revel in that and embrace our diversity so that we stay different; we continue the spirit that has made this country great.

So disagree with me--I want you to. Just give me a fair shot.

Guest Writers Tim Jewell Anna Cao Sadie Kirschner Rebbeca Grippo Hira Ali Max Wittenberg

Letters

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Letters to the Editor: Dear Editor,

Dear Editor,

Dear Editor,

I was recently reading the February Issue of the Hawkeye and I wanted to write a letter to feature editor, Hannah Stein. Hannah wrote an article on how a freshman has used acupuncture to help her headaches. To be honest, the large graphic on feature page 21 really captured my attention as it pointed out diseases and body parts in an intriguing way. The basis of the article was the most interesting.

I enjoyed how the article explained acupuncture. The author used easy-to-follow descriptive language to describe what acupuncture is.

However, I wish I was able to hear more about Rachel Beltowski’s first-hand experience with acupuncture and how it has helped her overtime. Additionally, I was not very interested in the acupuncturist’s take on the topic because obviously they are going to promote the idea.

I also liked the factual information the author provided such as the price of the an acupuncture treatment. Ultimately, Stein wrote the article well. Write a follow-up article on Rachel’s experience.

I recently read the February edition of the Hawkeye News. My favorite article was the opinion piece titled “What a Time to Be Alive” written by Grant Ellis...I thoroughly enjoyed reading this article because “What a Time to Be Alive” put my thoughts onto paper. The author, Grant Ellis, enjoyed this album by Drake and Future very much. I thought “the artists worked together to create magic,” just as Mr. Ellis said. To continue, I liked how the author described some of his favorite songs in the album. Not only are the descriptions very detailed, but I like how Mr. Ellis wrote his favorite songs, because it shows his opinion on what the best songs of the album were. His favorite songs may be different to what my favorite songs were. That’s why I was very entertained by this article.

I recently read the Homeless in Bloomfield by Emelia Irmscher on page 18 in the February issue of the Hawkeye newspaper. This article compared, to the other articles in the Hawkeye newspaper, is a real eye catcher in my opinion with the bolded title, colors, fonts and the large picture on the front as many other articles in the newspaper are very bland with no color and [don’t] pop out like this article does. Even though the other articles could be a great story but I know for me I am more likely to take an interest in the article if it catches my eye. Those few minor details are what really grabbed my attention to want to read the article and be interested. I was very impressed with the bolded titles, color, several different types of font and large picture on the front of the article are what I think other authors should add to their articles to make the articles more eye catching.

Overall I loved this article and how great of an eye catcher it was.

-Jonah Stone

-Jillian Abbo

-McKenna Stachel

Dear Editor,

Dear Editor,

Dear Editor,

I’m a sophomore at BHHS, and I recently read the “Thank you Calvin” article on page 16, and I really enjoyed it. I’m writing this because this really connected to me and pretty much sums up how I feel about Calvin’s retirement. Even if I wasn’t a Lions fan, after reading all of the great words that Jack Silberman chose to use, I would really know how much Calvin meant to the city of Detroit. He really was all the Lions had for a pretty large amount of time. The whole situation reminded me of when Barry Sanders retired back in 1999. I wasn’t alive at the time, but from what I know about it, it was very sudden and unexpected, and he was also one of the only hopes for the Lions at that point. All in all, the article was very well-written and also had an emotional aspect to it for Lions fans.

I am writing this because I have realized that there are limited amounts of things in our school to get people to recycle. Recycling is a huge aspect in today’s society recycling allows us to reuse what we already have which can save trees. Saving trees [is] beneficial to us because without trees we would not have any carbon dioxide which is what we need to survive. A simple thing that we could do is provide more recycling bins so that we wouldn’t need to harm as many trees. In our school there are recycling bins but they are not big enough and everywhere to get people to recycle. If we were able to bring more recycling bins to our school we would be able to make a [positive] impact on the environment. With the help of the community and the school we could make the greatest impact.

-Ben Cooper

-Samantha Trepeck

I recently read a feature story, Erasing the Stigma, on page 20 of issue three of the Hawkeye Newspaper. I really enjoyed this article because it was informative and intriguing. In addition, I loved the fact that the editor used a great amount of actual quotes from students in the BHHS transgender community. The quotes allowed me to understand the feelings and thoughts that occur during a transgender’s ordinary day. I learned that pronouns are a big issue because other students don’t know if they should address a transgender as “him” or “her.”

I also liked how the editor interviewed the parents of these students and shared their feelings and thoughts about their transgender children. This article is very well written and informational because it spreads awareness about erasing the transgender stigma.

-Ashley Fraiberg

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Email The Hawkeye at: bloomfieldhawkeye@gmail.com

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The Bloomfield

Bloomfield Hills High School

December 2015

Volume III-Issue II

REUNITED

Father of two students returns home from military service Merrick Weingarten Managing Editor

see more page 15

INTERNATIONAL

NEWS

Discovery Channel to film segment on BHHS

New school hosts tours for interested visitors The BHHS building is attracting international attention

School set to be featured in show about approaches to education

T

he Discovery Channel has chosen to incorporate Bloomfield Hills High School into an upcoming documentary. “[Our segment would be] part of a larger show called the Profile Series that focuses on education innovation and things that are happening in education that are unique,” explained Director of Communications and Community Relations Shira Good. “[The Discovery Channel] approached us and we thought it sounded like a great chance to feature our district and our new building. We have always had a goal of showcasing our district and our educational philosophies on a national scale, and this is certainly a fantastic opportunity to do so.”

Focusing on stories that “offer solutions and make a positive impact” in fields like science, business, and education, Good said that the series has profiled the likes of Yale University, Microsoft, international non-governmental organizations, and now Bloomfield Hills High School.

According to the minutes of the September 17 BHSD Board Meeting, production has already been approved as a Production Authorization

Find us @

Jack Wroldsen Staff Writer Contract amounting to $27,900 was authorized. Funds for the eight minute segment and a thirty second promotional video will come from the existing communications budget.

“A gentleman from the show contacted the superintendent’s office and asked if they could set up a conference call with the Superintendent and the President of the Board,” said President of the Bloomfield Hills Board of Education Ingrid Day on how the Discovery Channel approached the district regarding the possibility.

“He explained that [Discovery Channel] does

see more page 3

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The Bloomfield Hawkeye @TheBloomfieldHawkeye

Jack Wroldsen Staff Writer

F

rom Indiana to Israel, people from across the globe are scheduling times to tour Bloomfield Hills High School.

“We’ve already had around thirty tours take place within the building thus far,” said Shira Good, Bloomfield Hills School District Director of Communications and Community Relations. “We’ve held tours for school districts from Colorado, such as Centaurus School District, Whitley County School District in Indiana, and numerous institutions from Michigan, like Selene, Grosse Pointe North, and Gibraltar. Our architectural firms, Fielding-Nair International and Spantec, have come from Arizona, Colorado, and Florida to take tours.”

Principal Charlie Hollerith explained the reason these groups are touring the building. “There is a lot of excitement, not only within our community but outside of it as well,” he said. “We are one of the first high schools in the country to have this model be incorporated comprehensively through education practices and architecture. This design is on the cutting edge, from security to instruction to technology, and a lot of different people want to come and check it out.”

Looking toward the future, Good shared that “we have requests as far as Israel for individuals that want to come see the building. And of course, prospective families; it’s really a wide variety of people from across the globe.”

Editorial Policy The Bloomfield Hills Hawkeye is a student publication distributed free of charge to over 1800 students, faculty, community members, and businesses. We strive to inform, entertain, and continue a tradition of journalistic excellence. We take our integrity seriously and strive to report the news as accurately as possible.

@TheHawkeyeNews

*Letters may be edited for content or grammar

More on page 12

Visit www.TheHawkeyeNews.com for exclusive video content, additional coverage, and more

According to Hollerith, what the groups want to see is just as disparate as the groups themselves. “The two main things that folks want to see are the actual ‘bricks and mortar’, or the design of the building, and the instructional practices we’ve implemented,” he said. “From there, they’ll explain in their correspondence with the Communications Department what they want to look at specifically. This can range from the flooring to learning communities, the networked printers to the grand staircase, the courtyard to the eateries. Some schools passed technology bonds, and want to see the Chromebooks, or how the network works, or the two displays in classrooms and the common areas. Companies want to look at the different places of gathering we have or the flow of the building; it’s all very definitive and there’s a wide range of interest between groups.”

Concurring with Hollerith, Dr. Christina DiPilato, whose Learning Services team directs curriculum leads many of the instructional tours, explained that “the tours are very tailored to what the groups specifically want to see. Grosse Pointe North High School came to talk about how furniture impacts teaching.

Whitley County, Indiana is building a brand new high school, and they wanted to learn about learningcommunities and the setup of space in our building.”

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ENTERTAINMENT

1 Where did that dog go?

1

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2 Are we there yet?

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A preview of

Team USA CARLY LLOYD

Meet the Athletes Mich

LeBron James

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STEPH CURRY

help

s

Serena Williams TEAMUSA

BREAKDOWN 2016 OLYMPIC GAMES IN RIO athletes on the 2012 team (269 females and 261 males)

Most Decorated Female: Natalie Coughlin (11 medals)

AUGUST 5-21

Most Decorated Male: Michael Phelps (16 medals)

Paralympic Games

September 7-18

Team USA by the numbers

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number of olympic sports Team USA participates in

46 103

GOLD MEDALS WON BY TEAM USA IN 2012

TOTAL MEDALS WON BY TEAM USA IN 2012

works cited: https://cdn.colorlib.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2014/02/Olympic-logo.png, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1a/US_flag_48_stars.svg/220px-US_flag_48_stars.svg.png, http://lebronjames.blob. core.windows.net/resource/Image/lj_team_usa.png, https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Hk2vk-UNAl8/hqdefault.jpg, http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/images/newsgraphics/2012/0809-soccer-final/lloyd-silo.png, eWZ4AW.png, Serena-williams1psd89664.png, http://www.officialpsds.com/images/thumbs/Nadador-Olmpico-psd85051.png, http://www.teamusa.org/athlete-resources, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_at_the_2012_Summer_Olympics, http://www.dailyinfo.co.uk/ boxadfolder/jul2012/olympic-torch.gif, http://nebula.wsimg.com/4cf36b819227ed93ec5462c75513b324?AccessKeyId=5AE57BB6E32F9B2C00A0&disposition=0&alloworigin=1

Lifestyle graduating

the ice Hawkeye Editor looks back upon his hockey career Merrick Weingarten Managing Editor It has been fourteen years. Fourteen years ago I bought my first pair of hockey skates.

Fourteen years ago I had the opportunity to play in my first game. Fourteen years ago I found my first true love.

There’s not a day that goes by, where I do not think about and recollect these magical fourteen years. From winning the house championship at the Detroit Skating club when I was a mere six years old, to traveling across the country to play in major AA hockey tournaments, to winning the annual high school hockey Birmingham Thanksgiving Classic. From the team dinners at The Moose Preserve to getting bumped and bounced around in bubble soccer; every memory both on and off the ice has been unforgettable. All of these memories are what made this ride so special, and one I never thought would come to such an abrupt ending.

Just a few years ago, I made the decision to transition my career from AA to high school hockey, and I’ve never looked back. Sure, I loved my travel team and the ladders and sideboards we had to do in practice were equally unpleasant on both teams. And sure, there were some tough moments throughout each of my seasons with the Black Hawks, but the bonds that I formed with this tight-knit group of guys is unfathomable and unbreakable.

Sitting in the locker room after our regional playoff loss to Brother Rice was disappointing, frustrating, and definitely not the way I am going to define my time with the Black Hawks.

I never thought I would be lucky enough to play with such a passionate, hardworking, and strong-willed group of guys who could push me to be the best player and individual I could be in life.

We were able to grow from a struggling OAA division team, to one that beat, battled and triumphed over some of the top teams in the state. From the “shocking” upset we had over Farmington, an upset that we knew was always possible, to playing in thrillers against top ranked Division 1 and 2 programs in Troy Unified and Royal Oak, all the way to spoiling West Bloomfield’s Senior Night.

We became a team that worried teams when they saw us on their schedule. We became a team that was lucky enough to be pushed, motivated and backed by an awesome and growing student section. We became a team that I know made all of our coaches, parents, and fans proud.

Ultimately, we created a family. A family that not only competed together, but wanted to spend time together. From the volunteer opportunities with the Friendship Circle and the Adopt-A-Family drive, to paintball, to hosting a Chanukah party for a team that was definitely not dominated by jews; every single moment was a blast. Even singing “Sweet Caroline” after our wins was always special. But it wasn’t because of the activity or the venue or even because of Neil Diamond’s greatness; it was because of us.

I am so thrilled to have had the opportunity to spend the last four years of my life with this program, and I cannot wait to see what the future of Black Hawk hockey has in store. With 15 seniors graduating this year, there is a changing of the guard that will begin an exciting new period in Black Hawk Hockey history. Every single game, shift, practice, and moment has been a pleasure.

These last few weeks have been difficult. Saying goodbye to a competitive sport I played for so long is definitely not easy.

DiVito motivates his team in between innings (Photo Credits: Susan Adams Photography) Hockey has been the sport that taught me how to compete every single day both on and off the ice. It was the sport that pushed me to show and take leadership. It was the sport that allowed me DiVito prepares for first full year as varsity baseball coach to become the team player I am today.

I cannot believe just fourteen years ago I CJ Drogosch Public Relations Manager was buying my first pair of skates, playing in my first game, and growing into close relationships with every player.” the player and individual I am today. trict Coach of The Year, Divito is lookBaseball season is back, Biermann added on, “That will to These memories are the ones that I am ing forward to continue on his success. and so is Coach DiVito. win is what brings the team together.

“Our expectation every year is to get grateful to never have to say goodbye to, “Playing for DiVito is absolutely The way DiVito cares about his playbetter every day, progress throughout the as they have made a lifetime impact on amazing. He is one of the most reers is something you won’t find at season and to compete for a league chamwho I am today and who I will become laxed skippers I have played for, but a lot of different places. He has bepionship,” DiVito said.

“I’m ecstatic for in the future. he will always get on your butt when come a friend and a role model to me what this season holds. This year, the Right now I’m emotional, distraught, you need it,” said senior captain and and I am going to miss that a lot. He team has a great amount of potential.” and depressed that my days as a catcher Matt Biermann. “He makes is a great coach and even a better guy Players, like Senior Cam Greer, were competitive hockey player have skated the guys on the field respect the game.” and knows the game of baseball well.” able to adjust well to the change in by me. But, most importantly, I feel Coach Frank DiVito took over the His knowledge of the game is what coaching and what DiVito brings to the thankful. The moments I have had on head coaching position for the varsity brought him into coaching. A matable.

“At the beginning, everything felt the ice are as powerful and valuable as baseball team in the middle of last seajor reason why DiVito is so into the different. He has brought a hard-headed any lesson I have ever learned in the son. This year is his first full year running game is because he has experienced mentality, while also being there to supclassroom. the team. Finishing with a 25-8 overall what the players have been through port every player.

He has definitely built record last season and taking home Dis-

Head Coach Frank DiVito Starts A New Chapter

photo credit: Bailey McClelland

on the field. He was a player himself.

“I got into coaching when I realized I wasn’t good enough to make it professionally as a player. I wanted to stay in the game and sports in some capacity so I thought coaching would be a good avenue,” DiVito said. “I wanted to take the knowledge and experiences I had playing sports and give back to the next generation of young athletes.”

One of the special and unique aspects about DiVito’s coaching style is that he lets his players go out and play their game.

He doesn’t hold them back in any way.

“He lets the guys showcase their own skills and trusts his players. He doesn’t try and micromanage every single part of the game and that is definitely the best part,” said Biermann. “He lets me call my own game and he lets other guys steal when they want to. His passion overflows and fills every guy that plays for him and it makes baseball extremely fun and exciting to play.”

Others take notice of DiVito. The fun and excitement has pushed other coaches to want to be around him.

“I bugged him (DiVito) constantly about being the head JV Coach,” Coach Penn says. “I was lucky enough to get pulled up to the varsity staff. Needless to say I’m pretty thrilled about it.”

DiVito is optimistic about what the future holds.

“I tell our teams every year -it’s not where you start, it’s where you finish. We are hosting regionals at the state tournament this year, so ultimately we would like to make it to the regional round.”

Want more? Visit us online at www.thehawkeyenews.com

SPORTS

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Junior Rebecca Grippo glides through obstacles trying to get her first sports story approved Grippo experiences an up and down process as she worked to publish her first article for The Hawkeye Rebecca Grippo Guest Writer

My first story for The Hawkeye.

I was excited and a little nervous. It was my first story on my own. I just hoped it would turn out decent.

After I interviewed, wrote a draft, interviewed some more, rewrote my draft, edited and then wrote some more. I was ready for the final approval.

I thought my story was awesome.

But my advisor didn’t.

Crushed and confused. I knew I didn’t want to give up. I had a story to tell.

Instead of writing my first News Feature story, I was writing my first personal narrative story.

Do you know what a personal narrative story is? Well, I didn’t at first, but I soon learned that my story was actually going to be MY story.

The reason why writing a traditional sports feature didn’t work wasn’t because I didn’t have the content, but it was because this simple topic of the skating team winning states wasn’t so simple to tell.

First, there is the complexity of comprehending that there is more than one skating team. The Bloomfield Hills High School Figure Skating team doesn’t just have a Varsity, JV, and freshman team, but it actually consists of an A, B, and

Captain Caroline Allen hits a volley during a match against Troy High School. Allen went on the to the win the match in two sets with a score of 6-1, 6-3.

Girl’s varsity tennis team to start season without their captain

“Quickly I learned that my story was actually going to be MY story.”

Sophomore and All-State tennis player Caroline Allen suffered a back injury that will sideline her for over half the spring season John Ballouz Staff Writer As tryouts were underway, BHHS girls tennis coach Chris Dobson was without his Sophomore captain and number one singles player Caroline Allen, who is out with a severe back injury.

Allen was in a tennis tournament in Grand Blanc when she had to withdraw after three matches because of severe back pain. Upon visiting a doctor, Allen found that she had a severe back injury that has prevented her from playing tennis since and will likely last through over half of the BHHS spring season.

“When I first injured my back I was terrified. Tennis is such a meaningful thing in my life, the last thing that I wanted to hear was that it would take four to six months to heal,” said Allen, “Fortunately, I am slowly recovering, getting better each week. I for sure won’t be able to tryout for the team so that will definitely have a dent in the lineup but I’m hoping that I’ll be able to play half of the matches in order to qualify for states. The injury has to heal fast for that.”

“There was no good time for the injury to happen, and the severity of the injury was even worse. When you’re dealing with a back issue, the importance is not in tennis, you just want to make sure that she is going to be healthy and that she recovers fully so that she can be functioning normally. She has been very

restricted in her movement, not only on the tennis court, but in life, it is a serious injury but tennis is secondary,” said BHHS tennis coach Chris Dobson, “But in terms of how it relates to the tennis season, it was not the best time for the injury. If the injury affects whether she plays this year or not then the timing will have been unfortunate, but again, tennis is secondary.”

Allen’s absence will leave a big hole in the tennis team this spring.

“She is very prone to injury. We were very mad about her being injured because she wouldn’t be able to play. But I was also very sad because injury is never fun. We’ve accepted it now, hopefully she can play,” said junior and varsity tennis player Alexa Bernard, “Caroline’s injury affects the team’s future plans a lot. If she doesn’t play then we need to take someone from doubles and put them in singles, where Caroline would have played, it makes the team a lot weaker, especially because she was our best player.”

While Allen recovers, she meets new changes that come along with her injury.

“Life has been a lot different because last year I would normally do my school work and homework around my tennis schedule and now I can do what-

ever I want. Definitely a lot different,” said Allen, “At first walking and sitting was hard, sitting through class was not an easy task but throughout the past couple months I’ve been getting better and everyday activities are not as difficult.”

While Allen recovers from injury, the tennis team will not only miss her on the court but off it as well.

“She is very involved in the team, she brings a lot to the energy of the team and her presence is always felt of the court just as strong as it is on the court. She is always very supportive of her teammates, she is very positive and she brings a lot to the matches, she cheers her teammates on,” said Dobson, “In practices, she is very important, being the strongest player on the team gives an opportunity to the other girls to hit with someone of her calibre everyday in practice. And being able to practice with someone of her calibre really helps the other girls. So she is very helpful in the development of the other girls on the team just being able to practice with her.”

C team. A is the most advanced level, B is intermediate, and C is the beginner level.

Another thing I learned is that each level competes in three areas, which are called elements, moves, spins, and jumps. Then, there is the scoring process. All three teams are scored separately, so if A team qualifies for states, that doesn’t mean B and C teams also qualify.

The reason why this is such an awesome story is because the A, B, and C teams all scored in either first or second place at districts (regionals).

Did you know that high school skating competitions are nothing like the Olympics?

Neither did I, but it’s true.

I thought the skaters perform just like the characters in Disney’s 2005 sports drama Ice Princess. But, that’s not it at all.

Skaters skate onto the ice, bow to the judges, but instead of famous classical music playing, the skater does a jump, move, or a spin, and then bows to the judges again, and goes off the ice.

Sounds totally different, but seeing that Team A has won three consecutive state championships, I think it’s a pretty cool accomplishment.

So all in all, I may not have written the perfect sports feature article but I did learn a lot about some pretty awesome athletes who have perfected their craft.

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Troy 4:30

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12 Girl’s Softball vs.

Royal Oak 4:30

19 Girl’s Tennis vs.

N. Farmington 3:30

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Boy’s Baseball Seaholm Tournament 11:30

Girl’s Softball @ Avondale 4:00

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Troy 7:00 (Lahser)

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Troy High School 4:30

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Boy’s Baseball Seaholm Tournament 4:30

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Troy Athens 4:30

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Whitmore Lake HS 5:30 (Lahser)

Track and Field @ Groves 9:00

Girl’s Lacrosse vs.

Hartland 7:00 (Lahser)

Girl’s Tennis @ Eisenhower TBA

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Franklin Road Christian HS 4:30

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Utica 4:30

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you’re invited to hawkscars Wednesday, June 1 7:00 pm BHHS Auditorium Hosted by BHHS Student Leadership

SPORTS

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Spring SPORTs PREVIEWS a preview of this season’s varsity teams

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The boy’s varsity golf team is looking forward to another successful season as they bring back a number of returning players. The team has its first tournament the weekend of April 15th in Dayton, and are excited for what the future has in store according to senior and varsity captain Daniel Settecerri. The team is coming off its first appearance in the Michigan High School golf state championship, has moved up a division this year, but believes they can do even better this year said Settecerri. “It is our full intention as a team to return to the state finals this year. We are returning 6 varsity members this year and hope that the experience of these players will help us throughout the season. As a captain, along with Otis Ferguson, it is our goal to bond as a team, make a title run, and enjoy each round we have the chance to play.”

The softball team is preparing for another season with new expectations as they have strong players both returning and making their Black Hawk debut. The softball team will take on Berkley High School on March 30th for their first game.

Senior leader, Gillian Isaacson, is one of four seniors that are on the team and she is ready for a successful season. “My expectations are that we will be pretty good. We have very talented freshman joining this year’s team and we have a new coach who was a big college softball player. This season will be a big improvement.”

After the team’s first fall season came to an end, the frisbee team plans to return again this spring. According to team captain Brandon Kowalski, the team is trying to grow in skill rather than size. “While the fall season was all about growing in number to have enough kids to play, we are trying to move to a point where we can really compete,” says Kowalski. The team sports their orange and black jerseys at practices and games at Cranbrook and Bloomfield Hills fields. They have about 20 regular members and will start up play as soon as the weather permits.

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The boy’s lacrosse team is looking forward to another great season led by coach Jerry Meter and team captain Nick Lucci. Last year, the team made it to the second round of playoffs and is looking forward to making it even further this year. The team has had only two informal scrimmages against Notre Dame Prep and Troy Adams, both wins.

And they recently knocked off Farmington in a league game. According to midfielder Trevor Woods, the team is expected to do well this year. “I think we have a very good shot at getting far in the play-offs.

We’re ready to work hard and have what is needed to be successful. We definiltey believe this group has the talent to compete with anyone in the league.”

The track and field team sprints into another season full of competition. This large team, filled with over one hundred students combined, will travel to Troy Athens on Wednesday, the 13th of April for their next meet. The girls will be led by girls head coach Nick Stration and girl captains: Erin Walker, Giovanna Leone, and Amanda Sape. The boys team is coached by Joe Alfano, and the team’s captains include Jeremy Tyus, Nick Bellinson, and Ezra Schwarzbaum.

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The baseball team is looking to build upon their triumphs from last season after finishing 25-8. There are many returning players and veteran leadership. Eight seniors lead the team, with captains being Cameron Greer, Matthew Biermann, Aaron Schreur, and Troy Saruna. Biermann has high hopes for the team saying, “We have the pitching, defense, and offense to make a run. The first game couldn’t come soon enough.” DiVito expects a lot out of his guys as well. “We are hosting regional’s at the state tournament this year, so ultimately we would like to make it to the regional round.”

The BlackHawks baseball team next game is on April 6th in a spring break tournament at Seaholm.

The girls soccer season is in full swing. The program held tryouts during the second week of March and kicked off the season with the Lakes Area Showcase the following weekend.

The varsity team played three games, tieing the first against Canton High School 0-0 and winning both the second and the third 5-0 against Divine Child High School and 1-0 against Heartland High School respectively. The team’s next game is on April 12th verses Dakota High School.

“We’re looking forward to starting off strong in the first meet,” said Sape. “It’s imperative for having a great season in all events for both the boys and the girls team.”

8

The girls tennis team will be looking for another successful season this spring. Head coach Chris Dobson is seeking to start the season with a win as the team travels to Stony Creek on the 14th of April for their first match. As tryouts were held during the week of March 14th, the team was without sophomore captain Caroline Allen. However, and she is expected to continue recovery and possibly play some matches in the second half of the season. “I believe that we have a very strong team,” said Allen. “This is going to be a great season for the team overall, and I can’t wait to get back out there with them.”

9

The girls lacrosse team is excited for the the upcoming season according to senior Katie Adams. The team, led by captains Olivia D’Angelo and Susie Pilibosian, is revamping this year after losing almost their entire defense last year, but the underclassmen are quickly stepping up to the task. The team is coming off a big win over DCD, and their next game is on Wednesday April 13th verses Hartland High School. Senior Katie Adams believes the team has the skills to perform well this year. “Our overall goal for the team is make it to the State Championship and to win. However, a whole season goal is to work as hard as possible and to have fun together. I hope we have a season that meets all of our expectations and I hope we all Kick the Tires and Light the Fires,” said Adams.

FEATURE

17

Community considers the importance of vaccines Bloomfield community discusses the vital nature of taking care of yourself and getting vaccinated Amanda Howard Staff Writer It was supposed to be a preventable disease.

“I was told to get to the hospital right away. The entire ride from West Bloomfield to Kalamazoo, I begged the hospital to double check the diagnosis. I knew [she] had been vaccinated – so I didn’t think it was possible that this is what she had,” said Alicia Stillman of her middle daughter Emily, a 2011 BHSD graduate. “By the time I got to the hospital, [she] was already in a coma. She was taken into surgery for a craniotomy to try to relieve the swelling on her brain. The swelling never went down. I never got to talk to her again – I never got to see her beautiful smile or her beautiful eyes again. [She] was declared brain dead within 36 hours of the onset of a simple headache.”

Emily Stillman is one of the many who die each year from a disease that could’ve been prevented by getting vaccinated. Unfortunately in Emily’s case, even though she had been given the Meningitis vaccine available in the US, it was not the strain of which she had been infected with.

“Vaccinations are a huge medical breakthrough [within the last fifty years],” said Dr. Schnaar, a pediatric and adolescent specialist with a special interest in infectious disease prevention.

“Teenagers should start thinking about protecting themselves.

When you’re younger, parents really make all the decisions; I think it’s essential when transitioning from being a young child to being a young adult and out on your own, whether it’s at college or wherever, to watch over your own health. A part of that is knowing what scientific advances have been made and making a good decision about protecting yourself from them.”

When narrowing the scope to Spring break, BHHS 2014 alumni, Ashley Schnaar, talks about what medical steps she took in preparation for her Spring break trip.

“Before going to Belize for an alternative spring break trip

To stay safe during Spring Break outside of the US, my senior year I went to my doctor to make sure I was proDr. Schnaar suggests that all travelers “...go to www. tected from anything I could contract down there,” she CDC.gov/travel. Every teenager who’s going on Spring said. “The doctor felt getting a malaria vaccine was not Break trip go to this website. Look up ‘Destinations’, necessary after he researched the prevalence of the disease put in where you’re going and read the general advice.” in Central America during the time of year I was going.”

According to Emily’s mother, her youngest daughter had Even though Ashley’s doctor advised against Malaria been diagnosed with Meningitis B, a strain of Meningitis, vaccination, Dr. Schnaar believes that student travfor which the vaccine was only legalized after Emily’s death. elers should be aware of certain other vaccinations.

“I lobbied at Congress, and worked with the FDA to fa“Hepatitis A is now a part of the strongly recommended cilitate this approval,” said Alicia. “Two different pharvaccines for every person. It’s [a disease] you can catch from a maceutical companies make this MenB vaccine – and food handler. There’s kids that go on Spring Break to Mexico, they are now approved in the United States Punticano and the Dofor ages 10-25, although the vaccines are beminican Republic-- and ing used much more broadly in other countries.” you just have to remem“Emily Stillman is one of Whether traveling to another country or getting ready ber that those places are the 1.5 million who die each for life in a dorm, Dr. Dan Schnaar says that vaccinot the United States. nations are the only preventable nature of the illness.

They’re not Michigan; year from a disease that “For some reason, this illness targets older teens, as far as cleanliness and how strict the health could’ve been prevented by younger 20s. Especially those that are going to be living in close quarters with each other, like at a department is about getting vaccinated.” college dorm. Your chances of picking up a menwho’s serving who. Not ingitis germ at a college dormitory are four times to scare anybody, but if Amanda Howard Staff Writer higher. It’s not common, but it can kill you.” there’s something you Stillman sums up the urgency felt tocan protect yourself wards making sure that all precauagainst, you should. Two tions are taken when assuring one’s health. meningitis shots, two Hepatitis A shots, will help in terms of go“I advocate for vaccines because my daughter died from a ing to Mexico, Central America, or any of the islands,” he said. vaccine preventable disease because this vaccine was not availAgreeing with Dr. Schnaar, Ashley said that she “did have to able to us. It is now, and people need to protect themselves and take a series oral pills to prevent Typhoid. “Of course if you are their families. The bottom line is, you get in the car, and you going to travel somewhere out of the country it is smart to make buckle your seatbelt – because if god forbid you were to get hit, sure you do your research and are protected from exotic diseases it would help protect you. I look at vaccinations the same way.” that could be contracted there and brought back to the U.S.”

Student fills out form to get her flu shot after learning about the importance of getting vaccinated.

What vaccines should you get?

-HPV Vaccine -Flu Vaccine -Meningococal Vaccine -Hepatitis A and B Vaccines -Tetanus Vaccine -Whooping Cough Vaccine -Chicken Pox Vaccine

A student expresses a coughing symptom. Health procedures have been important due to Whooping Caugh

Bloomfield student affected by Whooping Cough Students and faculty discuss procedure when disease strikes school Amanda Howard Staff Writer For weeks the doctors couldn’t her what was wrong.

“I couldn’t breathe. I was coughing so much, I was gasping for air,” said junior Shacoi Baptiste, who was recently diagnosed with whooping cough.

“They told me it wasn’t bacterial, so there were no antibiotics they could give me. I stayed home all of Tuesday, I was throwing up. Wednesday, that night, I couldn’t even hold water down.”

After her step dad called her out of school, Baptiste said she spent the next week going to doctors who kept ditell

agnosing her with various illnesses.

“I was rushed to Urgent Care. There they said that it was bronchitis. So on top of the inhaler that I got, they gave me a breathing machine, to help clear my lungs, because at that point, every time they would go to listen to my lungs, I would start coughing,” she said. “They gave me steroids as well, to help pump up my lungs. Wednesday to Saturday, I was throwing up three or four times a day. I couldn’t hold anything down. My mom just said ‘This is not bronchitis.’

So we went to the emergency room.”

Once at what hospital, Baptiste said the doctors [tested] me for Pertussis (whooping cough) which came back back positive.

“Pertussis is a highly contagious, bacterial, respiratory infection that if left undetected or untreated could lead to pneumonia,” said Kesha Reed, Shacoi’s Mom. “ [Shacoi’s] symptoms were challenging because one minute she was her normal self then the next moment she would have coughing spells that resulted in her gasping for air; she had a loss of appetite, she was dehydrated.”

Once diagnosed, Reed said she con-

tacted Principal Charlie Hollerith who by law reported the situation to the Oakland County Health Department.

“Our protocol is we immediately inform our parents, our families in the district, not only here, but at all the schools in our district,” said Hollerith.

“We notify all the people that the families might be in contact with. In particular, the families of those in, for example, a learning community-- where there’s the students teachers and classmates.”

Looking back at her daughter’s situation, Reed explains that her family is still a little confused on how it all occurred.

“Shacoi and our two youngest daughters had all been immunized and were up to date on all vaccines. With the whooping cough on the rise in teens, physicians are urging their patients to ask for a DTap booster shot, versus just relying on a shot

that is received only once every 10 years.

[Our family felt] disbelief of how she could have possibly caught the whooping cough. No one smokes in our household and we hadn’t traveled outside the U.S. in more than 5 months,” she said.

The CDC reports that, “...during 2014, 32,971 cases of pertussis...” were reported to them. Even though Baptiste said she is no longer contagious, she explains how the side effects are still present.

“When that cough hits you, it feels like you’re not breathing for a good ten minutes.

It’s awful because people hear me cough, and they lean away-- but I just say, ‘No! I’m fine!’ There’s no way you can get what I have, there’s no virus in me,” said Baptiste. “It’s just a cough that [sticks around].

They call it the ‘Cough of 100 Days’, because it stays with you. It lingers.”

FEATURE

18

Junior places well in FFA contest Khloe Underwood discusses the recent Future Farmers of Agriculture Leadership contest Evan Stern Staff Writer

BHHS Junior Khloe Underwood competed at the 88th annual Future Farmers of Agriculture (FFA) Leadership Contest, a competition composed of various business related categories. Competing in the job-interview competition, designed to introduce interviewing and communication skills to students, Khloe placed 1st at districts and 5th at regionals.

“I did not think [I would get 1st at districts], since it was my first time, and I was going against seniors that have been doing this a year longer than me,” said Underwood, a student dual-enrolled at Bloomfield Hills High School and Oakland Schools Technical Campus Southeast. “I did not think I would get that far [in the competition]. It was astonishing to me.”

According to Tracey Groom, Underwood’s teacher at Oakland Schools Technical Campus Southeast the competition not only provides students with the opportunity to practice and compete business related skills but also pushes students out of their comfort zone.

Agreeing with Groom, Kelly Longest, Underwood’s mother observed her daughter’s work ethic in preparation for the competition.

“She did a lot of research, took a lot of notes, researched a lot of different aspects of writing a resumé, and things like that,” Longest said.

“She talked to her teachers and instructors at [Oakland Schools Technical Campus], and of course, when writing a resumé, there’s a lot of different things you need to do -- the formatting, your open letters, and so forth. She studied a few of those, and she took it upon herself and put an excellent resumé together.”

Groom explained Underwood’s choice of the job interview was unique because “the job interview is one of the toughest contests because it is the category with the most competitors.”

“When she was there, she had fifteen minutes to fill out an application. She went into interview with two interviewers for a mock position in agriculture and natural resources,”

“I did not think I would get that far [in the competition].

It was astonishing to me.”

Khloe Underwood Junior Groom said. “I liked the fact that her hard work paid off. Khloe took all that time to do the extra practicing and really took the whole contest to heart and really put effort into it.

When you get that result, that’s just awesome.”

Underwood explained that for her category she had to “create the perfect interview” which meant that she had to complete the application, have a cover letter, resumé, and references.

“She was doing everything on her own.

She didn’t get discouraged. A lot of times, when you’re creating your resumé and cover letter, we keep making sure everything is absolutely spectacular,” Groom said. “A lot of times, students will get discouraged. She just kept going and doing it. It just showed her dedication, that she was willing to do it, and that she could take constructive criticism.”

Having the success at the district level, Underwood said that going into regionals provided her with mixed emotions.

“I was excited and scared at the same time.

I knew what to expect, I knew it would be a higher level, but I knew my interview and my personality [were satisfactory], since I did well on the [district] interview, not thinking I was doing very well,” she said. “I got a higher boost of confidence than I did before, and so that was basically what motivated me throughout regionals.”

Underwood explained that the regional competitions were similar to the districts; however, the mock position she was applying for was to be a veterinarian’s assistant.

Reviewing Khloe’s work, Groom said that it was so professional that Khloe could take the resumé and cover letter from the competition and go in and apply for a veterinarian assistant position. Along with being prepared, Groom believes the best take-away for Khloe is that the experience and Khloe agrees.

“I’m somewhat of a shy person, and when it came up to it, I knew I couldn’t be shy,” Khloe said. “ I had to bring my own personality out there, and I couldn’t be shy in order to do that. I definitely feel like I have built self-confidence in myself and I feel like I was underestimating myself before. I didn’t really think I could do as much as I put my mind to at the end of the day. It definitely helped me get out of my comfort zone, because I’m not necessarily shy anymore.”

Katie Adams gets ready for her senior experience with the lawyer she works with. Photo provided by Katie Adams.

A look into senior experience Students and teachers discuss senior experience as well as the introduction of the new senior seminars Brandon Kowalski Staff Writer ed to pursue her interest in law, is takIn an effort to increase the quality of seing part in the senior experience program. nior experiences, BHHS has adopted a new “I am able to shadow a family friend of mine system offering a more diverse set of options. who is a lawyer and works for clients who are “The way we have it set up right now, seniors have currently in jail. These clients are people who are essentially two options. One is to design their own charged with anything from stalking another perunique experience where they go out into the workson to simply missing their court date” said Ading world, do community service, or participate in a ams. “The experience is both super interesting and job shadowing program” says senior advisory coorone of a kind. In order to have access to inside the dinator Matt Macleod. “In school, we talk so much jail, I had to receive a court order from a judge.” to kids about what the real world is like, well this Expanding on what her experiences with the is a chance to go have a meaningful experience that judicial system Katie exfurthers your learning.” plains why she felt her this program “In school, we talk so much to has While experience was special. been in use for the “Being a part of the kids about what the real world past few years, the main judicial process is very change in the system is like...this is a chance to go lies in the new senior complicated and can’t be experienced unless have a meaningful experience seminars introduced this you are in law school year. As to which opporthat furthers your learning.” tunity students prefer or you are charged with a crime and sitting on to work in, is still up the other side of the for debate as Macleod table. This exclusiveness weighs in on the topic.

Matthew MacLeod is an awesome feeling “It really depends on Advisory Coordinator that I can’t really comthe student. I know pare to anything else.” some kids who are deAlong with many other members of NHS, sesigning really outstanding senior projects. But I nior Maddy Mackie explained that she volunteers also know of a hand full of kids who really enjoy as a tutor to help out her fellow Black Hawks. staying behind and getting the opportunity to “I am a NHS Tutor. What that means is that work one on one or in small groups and really help I sit in the library once a week during advisory the relationships in our building” says Macleod. form 1:00 to 1:45 and wait for students to come Senior Experience in who need help with any subject” said Mackie.

First off, Macleod said the old system of selecting “From World History to AP Lang, I am ready to senior experiences went through a more thorough help out any way I can. On Thursday’s where adchecking process to ensure that each senior would visory lands on it, I tutor a junior advisory and take their jobs seriously. Being said Macleod and help prepare them for the upcoming SAT in April.” other seniors elaborate on their view on the topic.

She continued on to explain “Students have a lot of flexibility when it comes to her favorite part of the process. designing their projects. We have students helping “My favorite parts about being a NHS tuin tutoring programs, teaching math and science in tor are having the opportunity to help oththe school library during advisory. I know of other ers and I like communicating with my classkids working with their parents at work and getting mates” said Mackie. “My senior experience to see what work goes into putting food to the table is a great way to fulfil both of these things.” every night” said Macleod. “Another student is While these ideas worked for some seniors working with an entrepreneur. He is sitting in on all Macleod believes that they are not for anybody. of his meetings and learning a lot about the behind He gave his advice on choosing a topic saying. the scenes at his company. One student was inter“Start thinking early. So many kids are racing to ested in law and is now shadowing an attorney.” come up with something and trying to get all of Senior Katie Adams,who decid-

their signatures in time. Maybe your personal project sparked interest in a certain topic for you. Don’t be afraid to explore down the same avenue and put what you learned to use. In the end, try to come up with something meaningful instead of taking the easy route in a topic you are comfortable with.”

Senior Seminars Instead of wasting this time, Macleod tells why they chose to implement this new system. Some students want a more individual learning experience and don’t have the ability to leave school early.

“The other option is for kids who choose not to do that experience, is we offer what we call senior seminars” said Macleod. “We have 12 different seminars put together where teachers by themselves or in teams have designed unique learning experiences for students to help further their academic abilities and also allow them to explore something of interest” said Macleod.

Macleod went on to explain the seminars in more detail, highlighting the favorites among senior students.

“There is a wide range of seminar topics covering close to all subjects. A more popular one, run by physics teacher Mr. Mikolajczak involves students studying home flipping” said Macleod.

“By looking at home prices and architecture they are able to understand the topic at a much higher level. We also have a wellness seminar where kids are learning zumba and yoga while learning tips to maintaining a healthy diet.”

One student, senior Rhys Lee, explains what he does in his seminar and what it involves.

“My senior seminar is very different from the other options available to me which was one of the main reasons for choosing it. Mr. Beauchamp is an art teacher here at the high school and gives seniors who don’t take his class the ability to create art” said Lee. “We are supposed to design a creature using whatever materials we like, be it clay or on paper. We also play a game to help stoke our inspiration and help create new ideas every few periods.”

Lee concluded that there are both pros and cons that come with taking the senior seminars.

“While I am envious of seeing the other seniors leave every other day, my favorite part about the seminars is that they don’t require an assessment at the end,” said Lee. “I can just be done and not have to worry about another assessment before I graduate.”

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FEATURE

20 NHS student tutors available during school hours NHS advisors and advisory coordinators explain opportunities to get tutored during school hours.

Anna Cao Guest Writer

She smiled gently while she watched the student in front of her as he seemed to finally have a grasp on the solution.

“I feel accomplished when the person I’m tutoring solves the problem on their own after I work with them,” said junior Hannah Wolfe who has been tutoring throughout the year. “I enjoy tutoring because it gives me a feeling of achievement. I love seeing people learn.”

According to National Honor Society Advisor Julie Honkala, Wolfe is one of the 148 students who have been giving back to the BHHS community through offering tutoring services during school; however, this is the first year students have been provided the opportunity to use advisory time for tutoring and test preparation.

“As an advisory coordinator one of the things we think is really important is giving kids the chance to serve and assist other kids,” said senior advisory coordinator Matthew MacLeod who discusses the original concept of the student tutoring program. “Kids who sign up to be a NHS tutor have two responsibilities, the first is they’re assigned to the media center once a week during advisory where for the first forty-five minutes they serve as a tutor, who assist kids that come in who need help with any subjects they might have, in addition every Thursday advisory, they go work with a [junior] advisory teacher as a test prep assistant. This is specifically seniors helping juniors but NHS has a program

“Students have first hand knowledge as to how the material was originally presented to you, whereas a hired tutor, will have to ask you how it was taught.

I would absolutely encourage students to seek out a NHS tutor if they are struggling with a class or even just a certain concept” Hannah Wolfe Junior that provides help to any students, freshman, sophomore, or senior, where they can schedule a tutor and meet with them outside of school to get assistance.”

Senior Robert Koerner and President of the National Honor Society agrees with MacLeod that having students helping other students has numerous advantages.

“Students have first hand knowledge as to how the material was originally presented to you, whereas a hired tutor, will have to ask you how it was taught. I would absolutely encourage students to seek out a NHS tutor if they are struggling with a class or even just a certain concept,” he said.

“I see drastic growth in students who use tutors when they need them.”

Overseeing the program during advisory Paraeducator Diane Kondek said that “It’s a really great program. It’s free, and a way for you to come in and get help. These tutors really know what they’re doing. I have kids who come in here [the media center] all the time to get help, and a lot of kids come back seeking for more help from the tutors.”

For more information on the tutoring program or how to get a tutor, go to the National Honor Society site: http:// bhhsnhs.weebly.com

Students seek outside study support Local tutors, professionals, and student discuss utilizing tutors for outside help in school.

Hannah Stein Feature Editor

She walked out of the school passing the students who were off to basketball practice, a track meet, or a musical rehearsal. But she had a different extracurricular, one she dedicated at least one hour each week to- tutoring.

“Class sizes have gotten bigger which definitely makes it harder,” said Junior Chloe Linkner, who currently has two different tutors. “I have been going to a math tutor since freshman year. It’s difficult to focus when you’re in a classroom full of 30 kids rather than when you’re one-on-one with a teacher or tutor, so it’s helpful for that.”

In recent years tutoring has gained popularity among BHHS and beyond. According to The World Bank, “Private tutoring is now a widespread educational phenomenon, and one that is on the rise.”

In a survey of 22 countries, “between a quarter and 90 percent of students at certain levels of education are taking or have recently taken private tutoring.”

Oakland School’s Social Studies Educational Consultant Amy Bloom concurs that local students are seeking ACT and SAT help as well as outside help for standard school subjects; which they denote to a variety of reasons.

“It’s hard not to want to do your best. It is not just a high school degree anymore that people expect, you have to get into college to be successful,” said Bloom.

“Tutoring has gone through the roof because we have gotten singular minded. We have taken our definition of success and narrowed it considerably to a test score.”

English and ACT/SAT tutor Amy Berkovic Edelheit adds that the increase in tutoring is “ all about our society as a whole. Standards have increased, competition has increased, people think the ‘end-

Junior Drew Leshman works with his tutor

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all-be-all’ is to go to college. In order to do so, you have to have that edge. So test prep, helping to write college essays, helping write papersanything that tutors can do, they try to do in order to help alleviate somewhat of that stress.”

Along with the competition, Bloom adds that tutoring is beneficial as a designated time concentrated on studying one area.

“Sometimes, having a tutor provides the space and time for a student to focus on some work they might not otherwise do. So some parents might use a tutor not because the kids couldn’t figure it out, but to avoid the power struggle over homework; it provides structured time,” she said. “It is time set aside that is guaranteed that you are going to focus on that [subject].”

Math teacher David Brazle explains why tutoring, especially in math, has gained in popularity.

“I think math is very much seen as a procedural thing. If you don’t get it, somebody else can help you work through the procedural piece of it,” said Brazle. “Students are realizing that their teacher is not the only source of knowledge; which I think is good, because I’ve been trying to convince my students of that for years- realizing that I’m not the only way that they can learn something.”

Although tutoring seems to be the norm, Edelheit says it wasn’t always that way.

“I think the original purpose would be for the low achiever; the student who was falling behind. But now, that’s not the norm, I would say it’s being used to get ahead,” she said.

Adding to Edelheit’s sentiments, Bloom said, “In some districts, kids that are college bound are getting tutored just as much as the kids that

are struggling in a class. It is not just for the kids that are barely passing or having a really hard time,” she said. “If a student has a B and they want to get an A, that means they might have to work a little harder. Tutoring might help.”

Linkner recognizes this opportunity, and uses tutoring as a way to help herself get further in the classroom.

“I think teachers and society have put more pressure on us as students. It’s definitely been more competitive to try to get into college, to try to have the grades and grade point average you want,” said Linker. “So tutoring really helps to put you a little further ahead than other kids.”

Although she understands the increase Bloom believes that “we need to think about what message we’re sending to our kids. We value education, but have limited measures of success,” said Bloom. “But it’s also important to look at the kind of pressure we’re putting on kids. I don’t pretend to know whether or not it’s correlated but we have a lot of suicides among teenagers. And we probably should ask ourselves: ‘Are we putting unrealistic pressures on every kid by limiting our definition of success?’”

She continued saying that, “Kids need to start explaining how it makes them feel. I would like to see students have a voice and choice in demonstrating their learning,” said Bloom. “We all can learn the same thing, but we may learn it differently. Learning something new is fun, but not when there’s a whole bunch of pressure. And that’s what we’re talking about with the tutoring- there’s just one more thing you have to do to stay on top of it.”

Entertainment

21

THE HAWKEYE reviews MOVIES

T.V.

T.V.

(The Peabody Awards)

“Deadpool” surpasses expectations

Sadhna Ramanathan Op/Ed Editor Let me start out by saying whatever you do, do not see this with your parents or any family member. For your own sanity. That being said, Deadpool is one of the greatest movies I have seen in awhile.

I had skyscraper-level high expectations for this R- rated movie.

So when I saw that it had passed Star Wars and Iron Man, hitting $320 million in the domestic box office, I wasn’t surprised.

“Deadpool” follows the story of Wade W. Wilson (Ryan Reynolds, The Proposal) , a man with an affliction that ends up with him becoming a super not-so-hero, on a quest to fix his terrifying visage which can only be repaired by one man; Francis (Ed Skrein, The Transporter Refueled). The humorous journey is accompanied by cameos from X-Men and the universally loved Stan Lee. As the first scene began, I was wheezing. I’m not easily impressed, but this movie had me cackling. I mean full on, witch-during-halloween cackling. Mr. Pool is a wise-cracking smart word-that-rhymes-with-

“As the first scene began, I was wheezing. I’m not easily impressed, but this movie had me cackling. I mean full on, witch-during-halloween cackling.” grass. And it wasn’t the typical kind of brazenness that made the movie and the character himself so lovable, it was the uncaring, nonchalant, and unmoved disposition that made his disposition that great.

The general uncaring nature of an immortal guy with amazing superpowers made the movie an instant hit in my mind. The foulmouthedness, gore, and general obscenity made it far from dull. Filled with scathing remarks about The Green Lantern, cynical jokes, and a general distaste for most things X-Men, Reynolds creates a misanthropic and snarky character that has a tongue sharper than his swords.

The movie avoids the cliches and instead, fills the movie up with endless amounts of jokes, along with an equally interesting plot line. As Deadpool endeavours to find Francis, we learn about his interesting new life living with an elderly cocaine addict, and his friend who doesn’t fail to tell him just how ugly he is.

I can say with certainty, that Deadpool kept me laughing to the point of tears (no, I really cried. It was that funny.)

Check theatres near you to watch this masterpiece today.

“Fuller House” is a poor revival

Mallory Weiner Feature Editor

“House of Cards” stands strong

Jack Wroldsen Staff Writer

I was excited.

And when I say excited, I mean really excited. I counted down the days. I texted my friends about it more often than I am proud to admit.

Finally, the day came; I would finally, after many days of anticipation, get to watch Fuller House.

I opened my computer and excitedly logged into my Netflix account. Fuller House was, rightfully so, at the top of the home page. I clicked play and the show started.

My heart rate was going a thousand beats per minute. The theme song played and I happily sang along. Then, the song abruptly ended. On the screen appeared the words, “29 years later”. I screamed with excitement. The same house with the same door and the same furniture came into view.

The first episode was okay. It had the same jokes from Full House and ended with a split screen of Danny, Jesse, Joey, DJ, and Stephanie all singing to the baby. It was classic.

Then the next episode started. And while my excitement level was still running high, I was disappointed. Minute by minute my excitement level dropped and by the fourth episode it took everything in me to not press escape.

To tell the truth, I didn’t make it all the way through the season. I couldn’t subject myself to the torture anymore. And when I found out that Fuller House was coming back for season two, I was thoroughly shocked.

Let me tell you what is wrong with the show. Stephanie, played by Jodie Sweetin (season 22 of Dancing with the Stars), does not know how to act. It was cute when she was little, but now to hide the fact that her acting is subpar, she is put in promiscuous clothes to accentuate her body. Kimmy’s daughter, Ramona, played by Soni Bringas (Jane the Virgin), makes the show unbearable. Her voice accompanied by her overacting make me cringe every time she is on stage.

And don’t even get me started on the new theme song. It’s the same wonderful song that I loved growing up, but now it is sung by Carly Rae Jepsen and she ruined it for me. And the plot line? I would tell you all the horrible things about it, except that there was no plot. The only plot is that Kimmy and Stephanie move in with DJ to raise her three boys, an identical scenario to what happened in the original.

With each episode lasting thirty minutes, I wasted over an hour of my life watching this horror show.

The saddest part is that Full House was so good. My expectations were high. But just like Mean Girls 2, I was disappointed.

Don’t watch it. If you don’t want to ruin perfect memories of the beautiful show with it’s terrible successors, avoid Fuller House like the plague.

Attacked from all sides, his legacy falling around him, Frank Underwood remains cool, calm and collected in the face of certain doom in the events concluding Season 4 of Netflix’s House of Cards.

“We don’t submit to terror,” he said. “We make the terror.”

I remember sitting through my six hour binge, mouth stuffed with popcorn, when I heard those final words of Season 4. I remember thinking, “what just happened.” I remember having to rewind and rewatch that scene out of pure awe. But above all, I remember wanting more, wanting it so badly, only to realize that my favorite season of House of Cards had ended.

Going into Season 4, I wasn’t totally sure what to expect. An award winning, nationally recognized political drama, focusing on a backstabbed Congressman’s elaborate plot to put himself in a position of power with the help of his wife, House of Cards has always been good, nay, great. Twists and turns at every plot point, dynamic and deep characters, inspirational quotes: I was always satisfied after sitting down to watch twelve hours of a season.

But I never walked away from my binge-watching completely overwhelmed and craving more. I wasn’t inspired, or motivated, or moved. I finished every episode, every season happy and content, but not with a burning desire. Not with a passion to find out what happens. Sure, I always wanted to watch the next episode, and couldn’t wait for the next season, but it wasn’t necessary. It didn’t feel like my life depended on it.

House of Cards, throughout Seasons 1-3, fits the mold of an above-average political drama. Season 4 broke that mold in every way possible. It was daring, risky, and ultimately, so well-done that I finished the season ready to press the “Next Episode” button, only to see that there wasn’t one. I needed to find out what happens to my favorite characters. To the series regulars. To the supporting cast. To everyone. It left me craving another episode, another five minutes, even another second just to see more.

I’ve never felt that way about a TV show before.

Season 4 became an addiction, and I am still suffering from withdrawal, around a month later.

If you are a fan of risky moves, watching people manipulate others, conniving, scheming, plotting, and maybe a little bit of murder, then Season 4 of House of Cards is your cup of tea. So get to it. Watch it. Enjoy it. “Power doesn’t sleep in,” as Frank says. And the moment you begin Season 4, you’ll wish you started sooner.

“American Crime Story” surpasses everyday crime and cop shows

Uzair Bandagi Sports Editor

Sarah Paulson in “American Crime Story” (Tribune Content Agency)

Be prepared to be taken back to the ‘90s.

In February American Crime Story: The People vs OJ Simpson premiered on FX. This show is a spin-off series of FX’s hit series American Horror Story. Every season will follow a different famous crime from American history, and what better way to start than with the infamous trial of OJ Simpson.

The People vs OJ Simpson has a brilliant cast starring Cuba Gooding Jr. (The Butler) as retired NFL star OJ Simpson, John Travolta (Pulp Fiction) as lawyer Robert Shapiro, David Schwimmer (Friends) as OJ’s best friend and lawyer Robert Kardashian (yes, that Kardashian), Sarah Paulson (American Horror Story) as prosecutor Marcia Clark, Selma Blair (Legally Blonde) and Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights) as Nicole Simpson’s friends Kris Jenner and Faye Resnick, and Courtney Vance (Law & Order) as OJ’s lead attorney Johnnie Cochran.

The show starts off strong by jumping right into OJ’s wife found dead in her home. Immediately there is speculation as to whether

OJ had something to do with his wife’s death. OJ hires a dream team of lawyers to defend his innocence while prosecutor Marcia Clark works to prove that OJ is indeed guilty. With every episode the trial becomes more and more intriguing.

The most intriguing aspect of this show is

“This is easily the greatest crime/law show I have ever watched. Unlike other law shows it is based on a completely real trial so it is much more factual than shows such as Law and Order...I knew I would love this show.” the plot twists and suspense. Even those who are familiar with the trial of OJ will be left shocked by quite a few scenes. Along with

a great story, the acting is incredible. Cuba Gooding Jr. makes you empathize with a man who allegedly committed double homicide, meanwhile Sarah Paulson makes you hate OJ Simpson and his legal team.

This is easily the greatest crime/ law show I have ever watched. Unlike other law shows it is based on a completely real trial so it is much more factual than shows such as Law and Order.

From the first scene of the first episode I knew I would love this show. Every episode after left me speechless and craving the next one to see how the story escalates.

I was constantly on the edge of my seat.

This show had me questioning everything I know. The People vs OJ Simpson makes one of the most intriguing trials even more intriguing than I had previously thought.

I would recommend this show for fans of Narcos, House of Cards, Daredevil, and any other show that involves a lot of

Entertainment

22

THE HAWKEYE reviews MOVIES

MOVIES

MOVIES

“Zootopia” fulfils a love of animation and good film

J.J. Abrams shocks with his next film

London falls on the bad side on the film spectrum

Anna Cao Guest Writer Zootopia is perfect for all the lovers of animated pictures, and, as a bonus, there’s tons of surprises throughout.

The movie follows the first ever rabbit police officer, Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin, Something Borrowed) who moves into the city of Zootopia hoping to fight crime against the worst criminals. However, being the tiny creature she is, right from the beginning she is given a position that disappoints her greatly. As the story moves on she is given a chance to prove her ability, and meets an unexpected ally, Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman, Horrible Bosses) a fox, who helps her along the way as they work together to solve the crime of the century.

Going into the theater my only knowledge of the movie was from the high praise and reviews on IMDb and the trailers released by Disney. With Pixar movies my hopes are often unfulfilled, there could have been more to the story or a more active pace, but this time around I was quite happy with the outcome.

As I watched Judy and Nick work to chase after the bad guys I found that there was never a major lull in the storyline and it was easily relatable which kept me engaged, shocked, and laughing throughout the movie. There were moments where I was brought to tears as the relationship between the characters grow, or when Judy was continuously underestimated and disappointed by society around her.

On the other hand, while I enjoyed the movie overall I had some minor complaints. One point I thought the plot was a bit cringeworthy was when Judy made an accusation that hurt Nick yet Judy was completely ignorant of why it did until later. Another scene that I could not help but sigh was when the sloths make an appearance and five minutes are spent watching them working at a ridiculously, dramatically slow pace.

What I really appreciated was the fact that although Zootopia is a child-friendly movie, it covers mature and universal themes such as bullying and ownership. It made the story about animals a lot more realistic and applicable to the real world.

I have to say I also really liked the antagonist Pixar chose for the movie, rather than the typical big bad wolf, it was a less obvious animal hiding in the shadows. I was hooked onto the witty humor as the characters bantered back and forth, and I enjoyed their casual interactions despite being so different.

Overall I would have to say it is definitely a movie I would go watch and enjoy given the chance to see it again. And I would have to say I’m not the only one, as Zootopia has received a 99% on Rotten Tomatoes along with a score of 8.1/10 from overall reviews.

Indeed Zootopia is an emotional rollercoaster that has exceeded my expectations and conquered my heart.

Morgan Montgomery Staff Writer

Hira Ali Guest Writer

I walked into the theater and scoped out the perfect seat in the back row. I noticed the large IMAX speaker directly to the right of me and thought nothing of it, but little did I know, my whole world was about to take a U-turn.

To say the least, J. J. Abrams’ 10 Cloverfield Lane scared the soul out of my body and had me on the very edge of my seat.

The overwhelming jumpscares and intense music score put the film on a level rivaling this decade’s most popular thrillers.

Being the producer of both Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Star Trek Into Darkness, I knew that Abrams would not disappoint, and he surely did not.

Released March 11th, 10 Cloverfield Lane is a story about a young woman named Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Scott Pilgrim vs.

The World) who finds herself locked inside an underground bunker with two men after surviving a car accident. Howard (John Goodman, Argo), the conspiracy theorist that designed and built the bunker, tells her that America has suffered a massive chemical attack and the air above is toxic and their only way to survive is to stay in the bunker.

From the very first scene, the movie maintains an eerie, suspenseful tone---enough to cause me to do periodic checks for creatures that may have been creeping around my seat.

Acting as a “spiritual successor” to the 2007 sci-fi thriller Cloverfield, 10 Cloverfield Lane took a completely different turn and illustrated a vaguely similar storyline, but with a grand total of four characters (one being a vocal cameo by Oscar-nominated actor Bradley Cooper) and within the confines of a small underground bunker.

Abrams depicts the bunker in a way that made me feel like I had lived there my whole life. From the claustrophobic feeling the bunker creates to Howard’s threatening and creepy persona, I found myself trying to find an escape plan of my own.

The film adds more and more tension and ropes the audience in using exceptional character development. I watched as the protagonist Michelle went from a whiny damsel in distress to a certified badass determined to get back to some sort of civilization.

Now, is a massive chemical attack that apparently deems Earth’s air unbreathable and the land uninhabitable unrealistic? Obviously. The plot had a few holes that, although present, did not detract from the film’s quality.

Nevertheless, this psychological thriller certainly continues the franchise’s legacy by making the most of its amazing cast and story.

So, if you want to spice up your night and possibly have nightmares for the next three days, take a drive and visit 10 Cloverfield Lane.

This movie had me checking my phone every ten to twenty minutes. Almost anything in the world seemed more interesting. I was bored out of mind and was simply waiting for the movie to end.

Directed by Babak Najafi, London Has Fallen , sequel to Olympus Has Fallen, follows the story behind the death of some of the world’s prominent political leaders and the quest of one American Secret Service Agent, Mike Banning (Gerard Butler), to save his President.

The script seemed poorly written. I lost interest in a matter of moments. There was no suspense in the movie and in my opinion, everything was really easy to predict. This was evident in scenes like when Mike and the President were in the car and Mike said that they made it through and right after that the people start shooting at the car.

Every bang of the gun became boring after a “The script seemed poorly while. With repetitious scenes, the movie had no written. I lost interest in plot. I appreciated the at- a matter of moments. tempt at humor, but it There was no suspense still wasn’t enough to salvage the movie in the end. in the movie and in my The acting, itself, opinion, everything was was a disaster of its really easy to predict. “ own. The President’s overconfidence, given the situation he was in, seemed bizarre. An average person would probably be a little scared when he/she is being chased by thousands of armed men but the President didn’t even have one moment of weakness. Connecting to the movie was almost impossible.

The graphics weren’t much of a delight either. A lot of the scenes, such as almost all of the bomb blasts, seemed fake.

As I struggled to stay awake, the movie disappointed me more and more.

Overall, I think the movie was a waste of my time and money. I would definitely not recommend this movie to anyone and I think a lot of other people would also agree with me like The New York Times who described this movie as “formulaic and moronic”,and The Guardian who described it as “well worth avoiding”. In a mix of over-dramatization and unnecessary action, London Has Fallen left me wishing that I stayed home instead.

Mandaloun Bistro presents a masterful interpretation of classic Lebanese

Evan Stern Staff Writer

The facade of the bistro. Photo by Evan Stern

Satisfy your taste buds with the best Lebanese eats imaginable at Mandaloun Bistro, dubbed one of the “10 of 2015’s best new Metro Detroit Restaurants” by the Detroit News. This oneyear-old restaurant, family operated and owned locally, has successfully won over my tastebuds.

Mandaloun Bistro boasts a variety of amenities, including everything from charming decor and a relaxing atmosphere to top-notch service and cordial help and fresh, nutritious, and carefully chosen ingredients -- for the taste of the food effectively reveals this. In fact, an awe-inspiring freshness is strongly evident in its delicious fare.

I was stunned as I entered the Mandaloun Bistro, incorporating modern 21st-century decor. A comfortable and relaxing ambiance occupied the dining room enhanced with intricate furniture and an assortment of light fixtures. In addition, intriguing works of art, mirrors, and flowers dotted the elegant layout.

Soon after I was seated, a steaming tray of pita (complementary) and fresh platter of

hummus ($10) adorned with radishes and garbanzo beans were laid out on the table, brought by a friendly server, who quickly revealed to me my food and the 5-star qual-

“I was stunned as I entered the Mandaloun Bistro, incorporating modern 21stcentury decor. A comfortable...ambiance occupied the dining room enhanced with intricate furniture and an assortment of light fixtures.” ity of the service; both proved to be delectable. Before long, a heavenly bowl of complimentary crushed lentil soup quickly became the epitome of it’s Lebanese parallels.

Now thoroughly impressed with Mandaloun Bistro, the restaurant solidified my belief with a mammoth order of shish tawook ($23), which can easily be split amongst 2, accompanied by a satisfying portion of rice sprinkled with almonds, and grilled vegetables. Its price was too low, I believed, as Mandaloun Bistro was entitled to more for its stunning taste and quality.

Mandaloun Bistro facilitated a stunning experience. With appetizing Lebanese eats -- hearty meats, chicken, steaming soups, healthy salads, and more -- superb decor, and hospitable help, the restaurant shocked me; in fact, the prices proved to be extremely affordable.

Visit Mandaloun Bistro on Telegraph Road just south of 13 Mile for its jaw-dropping cuisine!

AD

23

50 SHADES OF

FOOD

Feel better than ever by fueling your body with colorful meals

you need at least

9 servings

of multi colored fruits and veggies every day ONE THIRD OF AMERICANS GET HALF OF THEIR CALORIES FROM

JUNK FOOD!

RED

purple

promotes heart health lowers risk of cancer protects against uv rays

lowers bad cholesterol helps long term memory

lowers risk of prostate cancer by 30-40%!

lowers risk of mouth disease

ORANGE high in antioxidants

promotes eye and skin health

VITAMIN C BOOSTS IMMUNE SYSTEM

purple potatoes and other purple foods

have 4x as many

ORANGES ARE HIGH IN SUGAR, SO DON'T DRINK TOO MUCH!

antioxidants than regular potatoes

blue

helps digestion

healthy bones lowers wrinkles fight inflammation

yellow

heals wounds faster

why are blue foods rare? since our planet has chlorophyll, blue and yellow, the most common foods are the opposite, red.

green

stronger bones

whiter teeth

low in sugar, calories, carbs packed with avocados: nutrients good fatty acids lower heart disease helps prevent you never see absorbs nutrients tissue damage blue by itself, only mixed.

npr.org http://www.latimes.com

eatright.org webmd.com en.wikipedia.org http://www.eatingwell.com/

super high in vitamin c

mosquito bite & Sore throat remedy