December 2016

Hawkeye The Bloomfield

Bloomfield Hills High School

December 2016

OPINION

FEATURE

Theatre brings a sense of community Senior reflects on the production of the school musical, Les Miserables David Tener Guest Writer

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ommunity. Something that binds us all together, and strengthens us as we move through life. For some, finding a community is as simple as waking up in the morning. For others, it’s a struggle to feel as though they belong. BHHS recently put on a production of Les Miserables, and I was lucky enough to be a part of the cast. From the first day of auditions to the final curtain, I felt a pervasive sense of community. I first felt this sense of community when the cast list was released, and my friend, who tried out for the same part as I did, happily told me that I got the part. His joy in telling me truly made me feel at home. For those of you who have never been around theater kids outside of class, they are some of the goofiest people that walk the halls.

When you’re surrounded by these people, seeing both their talent for theater and for jokes, it’s hard to feel as though you don’t belong. It’s that feeling of belonging that helped make Les Mis an exceptional show from start to finish.

Seeing the show, and how everything came together, it’s not hard to see how impactful the sense of community felt by the whole cast trickled into the performances.

The way that the two lead actors, Panayiotis Stavropoulos and Miles Eichenhorn, played off of each other during their scenes See page 3 were charged with so much emotion, for more coverage of thanks in part to their shared the BHHS history of acting school together. I myself musical, had so much fun in my own numLes bers, particularly Miserables the song Master of the House. In the number, I swindled many patrons of my bar as I sang a merry tune about how I swindle my patrons, and it was fun to bounce around and mess with all these different actors on stage that had become like family to me. What’s more fun than doing what you love with good friends who love what they do?

Reflecting on the experience I had performing in Les Mis, I realize just how powerful theater is at bringing people together. What begins as a ragtag group of 50 high school kids becomes a family, sharing inside jokes and enjoying each other’s’ company each day, in the span of a few months. Even further, all of the people who came together to help produce the show, the tech crew and the pit orchestra, created their own families within the theater. The interactions between these three different families of theater range from stressful to hilarious at times, and it’s all for the most important community: the audience. Those brought together to marvel at the production, the people who truly make theater special.

Next year I leave for college, and among the many things I’ll have to pack, I’ll be bringing the memories of my time with Les Mis. A marvelous show made memorable by the bonds I forged with my castmates. I couldn’t be happier to say I’ll miss you.

INSIDE

How to deal with College Deferrals Counselors, parents, and students discuss how to approach a deferral

MICHAEL

Nicole Grace Guest Writer

BANERIAN

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fter reading the email that she had been so anxiously waiting for, she was crushed.

“I got angry and cried,” said Mallory Weiner, a 2016 BHHS graduate who, prior to her enrollment as a freshman at Michigan State University this past fall, received a deferral from a different college during her senior year. “I asked myself and my family how I didn’t get in and other students did.”

Recalling a similar experience, 2013

THE THREATENED ELECTOR

“It just means that you’re going to have to wait a little bit longer for a response.

Everything will work out in the end. When one door closes, another one opens.”

Lahser graduate and Presidential Elector receiving death threats over his vote

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Foster Stubbs BHHS graduate and Northwestern Freshman

Michael-Armen Kadian Staff Writer

ahser alumnus Michael Banerian, one of Michigan’s sixteen presidential electors, has been overwhelmed by death threats urging him to not vote for President Elect Donald Trump.

“I have been inundated with hundreds and hundreds of emails, Facebook messages, and letters to my house. I have been getting like thirty a day and unfortunately some of those have been death threats, death wishes, and just generally angry and aggressive emails,” said Michael, who currently is the Youth Vice Chair of the Michigan Republican Party.

Graduating from Lahser High School in 2013, Michael is now the youngest Michigan Republican elector in history at the age of 22.

Pamela Williams, Chairman of the 9th Congressional District, explains that in Michigan the only qualifications to be an elector are that individuals need to be at least 18, a registered voter in their Congressional district, a citizen for at least ten years, and not an elected representative or senator.

BHSD alumna Anna Margosian said she remembers sitting in her jewelry class when the first wave of University of Michigan acceptance emails came out.

“I just sat there refreshing my screen over and over hoping to see the words ‘congratulations.’ A few days later I got a deferral letter and I was devastated,” she said.

“When I was deferred I felt like everything I had worked so hard for over the past four years was for nothing.

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DISTRICT NEWS

“Some have said things like ‘I’m going to put a bullet in the back of your mouth’ and people sent me pictures of nooses saying if I don’t do the right thing they are going to get me.”

Glass wins Michigan Superintendent of the Year

As an elector, Michael explained that he and Michigan’s fifteen other electors will meet at the state capitol on December 19th to cast his ballot, ultimately submitting the final vote in the electoral college process.

“We [Michigan electors] will formally cast our ballot for Donald Trump for President and Mike Pence for Vice President,” Michael said. “Those votes are then certified by the Governor and then the Governor takes those votes and sends them to Washington D.C. for the Vice President to then officially tally the votes in front of a joint session of Congress.”

However, this year especially, Michael said that being an elector is not as simple as casting a vote. Opposers of Trump have flooded GOP electors with hateful threats demanding that electors refrain from casting their ballots for Trump.

“Some have said things like ‘I’m going to put a bullet in the back of your mouth’ and people sent me pictures of nooses saying if I don’t do the right thing they are going to get me,” Michael said. “I also got death wishes that said, ‘I hope you die’ or ‘go do society a favor and throw yourself in front of a bus’. So it’s some pretty nasty emails and facebook messages.”

Glass now enters running for National Superintendent of the Year

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Pictured: Banerian’s story being featured on major television networks (CNN, Fox Business, Fox News, and WXYZ Detroit) Pictured: Tener performs in the role of Monsieur Thenardier (photo credits: Kaylie Brooks)

SOPHOMORE WORKS WITH MAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION

see news page 4

Volume IV-Issue III

VARSITY GOLF PREPARES FOR SEASON UNDER NEW HEAD COACH see sports page 8

Evan Stern Section Editor

fter serving as BHSD Superintendent for six years, Rob Glass has been named the Michigan Association of School Administrators (MASA) 2017 Superintendent of the Year.

I am very honored and humbled to have been selected for this prestigious award. There are a lot of very talented colleagues in school districts throughout Michigan who are equally deserving,” Glass said. “I am overwhelmed with gratitude.”

According to Bloomfield Hills Schools, Glass has had an extensive career in education.

“Dr. Glass joined Bloomfield Hills Schools on July 1, 2010, following nearly two years as superintendent in Dexter Community Schools.

He began his teaching career as principal and teacher at Calvary Christian School and director of the Royal Oak Child Care Center in Royal Oak,” they said.

Glass said that BHS is “an amazing district here with outstanding students, staff, parents and community members-- I’m excited that this award also gives Bloomfield Hills Schools some well deserved recognition.”

According to an Oakland Press report, “as the MASA honoree, Glass is now in the running for the National Superintendent of the Year, [which] will be announced in March.”

JUNIOR MAKES PITCH FOR SAILING TO BECOME SCHOOL SPORT see sports page 9

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NovembER News

Lahser supplies sold in auctions

Party Breakdown

The clowns have been sighted in and around local communities

How does the newly elected Senate breakdown

51 Republican

49 Democrat

Giancarlo Tucci-Berube Staff Writer

The desks students used to sit in, computers they used, smart boards they learned from, you name it, it’s all up for grabs in the auctions of Lahser’s supplies.

“The auctions are all online and public through Biddergy.com,” said the coordinator of Physical Plant Services for Bloomfield Hills School District, Ken Vavruska. “A team from biddergy comes in and labels and photographs all the items they want to include in the auction and the potential buyers are able to view the items online, so they can physically see them before they bid.”

The auctions have been a first step in clearing out Lahser and simultaneously helping to raise money for the district.

“The money goes into the general funds for the district. Final totals aren’t out there yet, but, by the end of the first auction we’d raised tens of thousands of dollars,” said Vavruska. “The other part of the auction is just to clear out contents from the building. There is some level of confidence that Lahser won’t be used as an academic institution by our district anymore. So obviously you don’t have a need for tons of desks or supplies like that. So it was kind of a clear out for possibilities of what might happen for the building.”

The technological aims of the new building required new appliances as well, rendering the use of Promethean boards and computer labs unnecessary.

“Unfortunately, technology changes quickly and our Promethean boards were becoming outdated. We have new interactive displays here that have a lot more functionality than what the Promethean boards used to have,” said Hollerith. “Another example are computer labs. We want our spaces to be flexible, so students are able to use technology in any space. This means the technology is mobile, so desktop computers are really became obsolete.

There were areas where, quite honestly, to fit our instructional goals, some furniture wasn’t going to fit.”

The first two auctions were held November 17th and December 8th and a third one may be coming.

“There could possibly be a third auction for Lahser, depending on what they make as a final decision for the building use. There is a possibility but it has not been scheduled yet.

It hasn’t been dismissed but it hasn’t been scheduled either,” said Vavruska.

While two public auctions have already been held, other schools in the district had first grabs at Lahser’s supplies.

“Originally we were trying to figure out what items we had at that school [Lahser] that could be utilized by other schools, so there was an internal bidding process where schools were able to look at all the items online and then we brought in a moving company and they delivered all these items from Lahser to other schools across the district,” said Vavruska. “I call it a bidding process, but there was no money exchanged. It was just buildings requested items from Lahser that could help them out and we delivered them.”

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Usa

Gender

80 Men

20 Women

Military History

13 Veterans

He has the experience.

If he was director of the CIA, he should have experience handling global issues.

It’s definitely fair to have him in the conversation

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- Kushal Sanjeev Freshman

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He’s definitely qualified for the job.

There was a scandal with him, a couple years ago though. He was director of the CIA, so I think it’s fair for him to at least be considered.

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87 Civilians

- Samir Hasan Junior

Cuba

Q

Korea

Should David Patraeus be considered for Secretary of State?

Former Cuban President dies

Korean President undergoes impeachment

Fidel Castro, the Cuban president from 1959 - 2008, died on November 25th. Florida Senator noted on Twitter that Castro will be known as an “evil, murderous dictator”.

While Canadian Prime Minister, called him a “leader who served his people for almost half a century”.

The President of South Korea, Park Geun-hye, has been asked to step down over accusations of corruption.

According to the New York Times, thousands of protesters took to the streets of Seoul in support of the impeachment process that has begun.

USA

Syria

Trump begins to form cabinet

Syria regains control Syrian forces were able to take back full control of the Northeast Aleppo on November 21st. According to the Washington Post, this is a huge step in retaking the former commercial capital of the country.

On the 15th, Syrians made a final push to take back the region with support of Russian warplanes and

Presidentelect Trump has nominated Nikki Haley for UN Ambassador. Nikki Haley is currently the governor of South Carolina.

She is the child of Indian immigrants In his statement, Trump called her a proven deal maker who has a history of bringing people together.

What’s happening next?

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Presidential campaign recount is approved in Wisconsin

Trump is elected President for 2016-2020

Nov. 8th

Nov. 25th

UN Ambassador is appointed

Oct. 7th

He seems like a smart guy. I remember that he was caught having an affair a couple years ago.

If everything has been cleared up and he didn’t break any laws, he should be considered.

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- Michael Lynch Senior

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Well there was an issue of handling classified documents. If Trump was so against Hillary being in the White House because of her emails, he shouldn’t change his mind for Patraeus.

Transportation Secretary is appointed

Nov. 29th

-Tom Guims Junior

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Trump will be inaugurated as President

Jan. 20th

How to deal with college deferrals from (from 1) I questioned why I worked so hard if I couldn’t even get into the school I wanted. I was ashamed of myself, but then I realized this wasn’t the end of the world and I wasn’t rejected, just deferred.

For the approximate 410 members of the Class of 2017, the possibility of receiving a deferral as Mallory and Margosian experienced is one in three possibility.

Using his 17 years of working with high school seniors, Bloomfield Hills High School’s guidance counselor, Tony Midea said that college applicants can expect to receive either an acceptance, a denial or a deferral response from the colleges they applied to. The latter of the three tends to cause some extreme emotion for applicants and their parents.

As a mother of three Bloomfield Hills Districts graduates, Judy Weiner advised both parents and seniors that a deferment means that “you are a good candidate. They didn’t deny you. Don’t be embarrassed. The college or university is trying to tell you something. Look at it as helpful information.”

Adding on to Judy’s thoughts, Midea said that deferrals are “just the result of colleges needing more information. They might want to see a student’s’ first semester grades or other supplemental materials,” he said. “It means that they want to let the students into the school, but they just aren’t positive yet.”

Margosian said that after getting her deferral notice she used the time to focus on her academics some more. “So when I submitted my grades at the end of the semester I was proud. I was deferred again from U of M and I realized that just because that is where my older brother went to college and that is where a majority of my friends would be the next year, it maybe wasn’t the right place for me. I really looked into the universities and their programs and when it came down to it, Michi-

gan State was a much better option for me.”

BHHS counselor Jim Fogle, who has been assisting seniors with applications for the past eleven years, uses Margosian’s story to prove the point that “Deferrals are an opportunity to improve your standing with the university and still get admission. I would say it’s good news actually, because the other option is denial. This is not a denial. This is a wait and see that could turn into an acceptance.”

Looking back at his application process, 2016 BHHS graduate and Northwestern University freshman, Foster Stubbs said that while initially “getting deferred felt like the end of the world for me it ultimately proved to be a blessing.

“Keep in mind that it is not a rejection,” he said. “It just means that you’re going to have to wait a little bit longer for a response. Everything will work out in the end.

When one door closes, another one opens.”

Michigan State University senior and 2013 Andover High School alumna, Christina Connolly explained that looking back at her college acceptance experience, she felt extremely anxious.

“I remember that time in my life being a time full of worry. My dream was to study special education at Michigan State University in the fall of 2013, so when I got my deferral notice, I was devastated. I was told they wanted to see my first semester senior year grades and I knew I needed to have all A’s and B’s. I was so determined to get the grades I needed, and eventually did. I was accepted into MSU for the fall and it felt like the biggest weight was lifted off of my shoulders.”

Because technological advancements have made applying easier, Fogle said that this

has resulted in college application rates being higher than ever before, which means the deferral responses may go up as well.

“Compared to a generation or two ago, it’s so much easier today to apply to schools because of the online applications,” he said. “Now you’re not filling out little boxes with pen and paper and putting it in an envelope and a stamp.

You’re applying with clicks of the button.”

Other theories about high deferral rates have emerged. According to Jan Frank, BHHS community member and mother of two BHSD alum, “the speculation is that because of the massive number of applicants they get, the university uses deferrals to control its yield.”

Although deferrals may seem like a bad message to most students, according to Mallory and Margosian this response might actually be a blessing in disguise.

“I am thankful for my deferral because it helped me take a step back and realize what I wanted out of my college experience. If I hadn’t been deferred I honestly think I would have made a mistake and wouldn’t be who I am today,” Margosian said.

Mallory agreed and said, “To be quite honest, getting deferred from a school has not impacted my life at all. I think in the long run everyone finds their place and deferrals don’t seem like such a big deal anymore.”

Fogle believes even though application rates appear to be going up, which can increase competition for spots and potentially increase the amount of deferrals issued, there can be good news talked about. There are a large amount of post-secondary schools in the country. “The good news is, there’s so many schools in the country. Last I counted

was over 4,000 colleges and universities nationwide. So there’s always a college for everyone.”

Midea and Fogle both agreed by reiterating the point that “where you will go is not who you will be.”

“Now I am past the acceptance experience and graduation this spring from the Special Education Program in the College of Ed. at MSU. I realize that the anxiety I was feeling from the acceptance experience should not have been as nerve-racking,” said Connelly. “Looking back now, and as my younger brother goes through this process, I see that if you want something to happen it will, and that everything works out in the end. Had I not been accepted to MSU right off the bat, I still would have gone here just at a later date.

If I am being honest that period of my life has not really impacted my life aside from making me realize that if you really want something you have to work hard for it and you will achieve it.”

“To be quite honest, getting deferred from a school has not impacted my life at all,” said Mallory “I am at a school I know I would attend from the beginning of the process and I am loving it. I never stop and thinking about how things might be different if I had gotten in because i probably wouldn’t have ended up at that school anyway. I think in the long run everyone finds their place and deferrals don’t seem like such a big deal anymore.”

Fogle encourages students to never give up hope, to keep doing your best, and to follow the instructions of the deferment letter. “You are more than a college admissions decision,” he said. “Whether that’s accepted, denied, deferred, or wait-listed, you are more than whatever that letter says.”

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DECEMBER PACKAGE

Opinion Who am I? 1

Writer discusses how musical theatre and faith have shaped his life

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Les Miserables December 8-10, 2016

Pan Stavropolous Staff Writer If you know me, you know that I have participated in our school’s musicals and recently I’ve had the honor to portray the role of Jean Valjean in our production of Les Miserablés. The story is that of Valjean’s life, where he encounters trials and tribulations.

However, he eventually finds the light of life by staying true to his character and following the message of God. Valjean has a song near the beginning of the show where he contemplates his being. The song gave me thoughts to evaluate my own life. Who am I? In my eighteen years of living I have come across a plethora of meaningful and rich experiences. I have felt the wind rush past my face while on horseback, I have experienced the euphoria of music, and I have learned from my failures and profited from my successes. The greatest of all, however is that through all these things, I have been able to give and receive love. Ultimately, my faith and the entity of love have shaped both my identity and life.

I was once asked, “If you could live by a motto, what would it be and why?”. I took some time to think as I wanted to give a well thought and sincere answer, and my mind instantly raced towards my Orthodox Christian faith and its perception of love. I responded with, “Love the Lord your God

“I have experienced the euphoria of music, and I have learned from my failures and profited from my successes.” with all your heart, mind, and soul. And love your neighbor as yourself.” While this passage is often regarded as one of the most important commandments of the Christian faith, I also find it to be the most important lesson in my life, for it preaches the importance of love. If I love I am able to give thanks, shine with happiness, become humbled, and flourish with new knowledge.

I have found that love has a unique power of healing: healing from hatred, violence, laziness, greed, and lust. A passage from 1 Corinthians 13:4 in the Bible states: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not selfseeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

This passage further explains to me the idea that love is present through everything due to God’s will. Moreover the passage shows the identity and essence of love, thus painting a beautiful guide of how I should direct my life. Because of this, I have done my best, throughout my life, to bring love into every situation and experience possible.

For instance, when I went horseback riding, I experienced true joy and amazement.

Riding a horse brought joy to my life because I was able to see how two beings were able to interact. It was this small moment in life that brought me love. This experience further concretized the idea that God is truly found in everything. Another example of this type of experience is when I encountered the euphoric feeling of music. I had the opportunity to sing with my high school choir alongside the Detroit Symphony Orchestra during the Christmas season. While singing a medley of, “Joy to the World,” tears came to my eyes due to the sheer, thrilling power of music. At that moment, my heart opened up, and my thoughts instantly went to God, thanking him for giving me the opportunity to do what I love as well as share my passion with others.

Throughout my academic career, I have done my best to master information with optimism and love. Studying new subjects proves to be difficult at times, however, by keeping an open mind and placing love at the center of it all, it becomes easier to appreciate the information and enjoy it. Through my challenging academics I remained happy and indebted because I had the opportunity to learn, regardless of failure and success.

These are only but a few examples of how love and my faith have affected my identity.

Due to these teachings, I do my best to show unadulterated love. No matter the impact someone or something has made on my life, I try to be thankful for each experience. Because I was created in love, love is therefore my being, and I believe I am responsible to show love every day of my life.

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Photo credits: Kaylie Brooks

Pictured- 1: Senior David Tener performs “Master of the House”, 2: Freshman Efi Stavropolous adjusts her makeup for the performance, 3: Crew helps Junior Mycah Butler adjust her wig, 4: The cast gathers around the French flag 5: Efi Stavropolous posing after a scene

Opinion: The arts in education should continue to be at the forefront In today’s highly-intensive learning environment, promoting the arts remains a vital action in respect to the U.S. educational system.

Evan Stern Section Editor n today’s highly-regulated and intensive educational landscape, the promotion and implementation of the arts and classes immersing students in its teachings continue to be decimated.

In fact, in schools across the country, a number of other elements have migrated to the forefront -core knowledge taught in mathematics, English, social studies, and science, which essentially to date composes of a student’s education.

And with the looming prospect of college on the horizon for nearly every pupil in school currently, to a great degree, the arts have been neglected and even omitted from course selection lists.

But in every situation pertinent to this description, one that is unknowingly robbing society of its preeminent creativity and ingenuity, it is no wonder that the arts should indeed be one of the leading elements in education at each and every setting of learning.

In fact, the arts should be revered as one of the principal drivers of

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Arts learning can also improve education, in its entirety. motivation, concentration, con“Years of research show [art fidence, and teamwork.” education is] closely linked to According to a PBS report, almost everything that we as further, “in recent years, school a nation say we want for our curricula in the United States children and demand from our have shifted schools: heavily toward academic “But in every situation common core achievement, pertinent to this description, subjects of social and emotional one that is unknowingly reading and math, but developrobbing society of its what about the ment, civic engagement, preeminent creativity and arts? Although and equiingenuity, it is no wonder some may table opthat the arts should indeed regard art education as a portunity,” be one of the leading luxury, simple an Edutopia elements in education at creative activiaccount of the benefits each and every setting of ties are some of the buildof the arts learning.” ing blocks of in education development,” said, in Why citing motor Arts Educaskills, language development, tion Is Crucial, and Who’s Dodecision making, visual learning It Best. Involvement in the ing, inventiveness, cultural arts is associated with gains in awareness, and even improved math, reading, cognitive ability, academic performance in The critical thinking, and verbal skill.

Importance of Art in Child Development as some of the major benefits of art, one of its components being education in school-settings.

Given this, it is not to the extent worthy of debate in whether or not arts education ought to be implemented in each and every school in the nation, in the face of decreasing promotion and offering of the initiative.

With budget cuts nationwide continuing to threaten from above, our state being no exception, the time has never been more urgent to reconsider and immediately begin reintroducing this crucial portion of education.

In fact, with arts education, it remains a steady fact that we can handily prepare our students for employment as the creators, inventors, and geniuses of the future.

Michigan elector receiving death threats (from 1)

Pictured: Banerian at the GOP debate in March (Photo credits: Michael Banerian- Twitter) Despite the vulgar messages, Michael says he will still confidently cast his vote for Trump.

“In Michigan we actually have laws that prevent faithless electors, and what the law essentially says is that if I attempt to change my vote different from how the popular vote voted in Michigan, then my vote will be voided and I’ll be kicked out and replaced by another elector. So even if I wanted to, which I don’t, I couldn’t change my vote.”

While he says the threats are alarming, Michael has decided to not let them interfere with his position.

“Honestly [the threats] have not impacted me all that much. You can’t let these people get

to you and because if you do, they win. So I have just chosen not to get worked up about it. People are going to say what they are going to say and I’ll report them to the police if they’re legitimate,” said Michael.

Michael’s family has supported him through the gravity of the situation and Michael’s older brother, Bradley Banerian, a 2010 International Academy graduate said that “we just wanted Michael to know that he had a lot of people that supported him.

We tried to encourage him as much as we could, and commended him for taking the high road throughout the whole situation.”

To ease the tensions, Michael is striving

to convey the message to those who sent him death threats that hateful letters are by no means the proper or acceptable way to portray anger.

“I would say first that the results are legitimate, so they need to accept it and understand that this is the will of the American people. I would encourage people to calm down on the rhetoric and be careful of what they are saying. This is how politics works and how our government has always worked,” said Michael . “If you lose, you accept the results and you unite behind your president. You don’t have to agree with everything he says or does, but unite around the fact that this is your new leader.”

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DecembER Feature

Something different plays at noel night Senior LeAnna Toles plays with chamber group at Detroit’s noel night Jack Silberman Editor-in-Chief

Sophomore Matthew Chayat and his mom were featured on Fox News to discuss fundraising for Make-A-Wish foundation

Student works with charity BHHS sophomore accepts offer from Make-A-Wish after fundraising for the organizaJustin Yaker Staff Writer

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ophomore Matthew Chayet explains that being admitted to the hospital 30 times and having eight surgeries in his battle with a heart defect and respiratory issues has been tough for him and his family; however, he says that although sick opportunities have presented themselves.

The first came from the Make-AWish Foundation which strives to grant children diagnosed with lifethreatening conditions a wish of their choice. Due to his illness, Matthew said he was afforded the opportunity to have a wish granted several times.

The first offer came when he was three years old; however, he and his family declined it. Then, the foundation made the offer when he was in fourth grade which they declined.

Last year, when Matthew got extremely sick he had to miss several weeks of school, spending them in the hospital instead. During this time, the family was asked a third time if Matthew wanted his wish and in April of this year they accepted it.

“We’re actually still figuring it out and we don’t know what it’s going to be yet. Once it’s final and set up though, we are happy to share what it

is, but the organization is still working on it,” said Fawn. “It’s exciting!

It is nice for him to be able to pick something to be excited about and look forward to.”

In addition to being granted a wish of his own, Matthew says that his family is using this opportunity with Make-A-Wish to help to make wishes possible for other children.

and ran a fundraiser which centered around exercise classes and shopping boutiques.

“Lots of people I know helped contribute. It was really successful,” said Matthew. “We raised over ten thousand dollars for Make-A-Wish.

It was so successful because of word of mouth. We told our friends and they told more of “We raised over ten thousand “Maketheirs, A-Wish dollars for Make-A-Wish. It was many of is a great so successful because of word of whom organizadonated mouth.

We told our friends and tion and to help the we have they told more of theirs, many of cause.” always whom donated to help the cause.”

His donated mother to it, but adds we never Matthew Chayat that even thought Sophomore though we their funwould draising efforts were difficult, but be on the receiving end of it,” said certainly worth the time.

Fawn. “Once we accepted [our “It was a lot of work,” added wish], and the more we learned Fawn. “We had to get all of the about the organization, we decided tables, linens, vendors, and t-shirts. as a family we wanted to do someWe had to promote it and set it all thing to give back and to help other up. We had to make all of the confamilies.” nections and we were on the news In October, the Chayets organized to promote it.”

When the story was broadcast on the news, it caught the eye of former Detroit Red Wings forward Darren McCarty. Fawn explains that McCarty thought it was amazing that Matthew had organized this fundraiser, and decided to invite him to a Red Wings practice.

“It felt great. I was on the news at 7:30 a.m., and I thought that nobody was watching. But it turned out that a famous person was watching, so that was very cool,” said Matthew. “He also knew more about me, so he thought he should do something nice.”

Matthew is incredibly grateful for the opportunity given to him by the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and hopes to make the most of it. He is equally grateful for the chance to make a difference in the lives of other children in the program.

“My parents take me to Tigers games, Pistons games, and on vacations;however, some families cannot go on vacations and cannot go to sports games,” he said. “I want them to have memories, so it is important for me to help them with my fundraising for Make-AWish.”

BHHS Senior LeAnna Toles and her chamber orchestra group landed their biggest gig yet, performing at one of Midtown’s Detroit largest holiday events.

On December 3rd, Detroit hosted its 44th annual Noel Night, where institutions such as the Michigan Science Center, the Detroit Historical Museum, and the Detroit Institute of Arts open their doors to the public for a holiday open house.

This year’s Noel Night featured Toles, playing violin with her chamber orchestra group on the steps of the Michigan Science Center.

“We don’t technically have a name, but when we go places we call ourselves ‘Something Different’.

Our motive is to basically do just that,” Toles said.

“The violin is mainly known for being a classical instrument.

We don’t play very much classical, instead we play jazz or pop songs.

D u r i n g Noel Night, we played Christmas music for the h o l i d a y s .”

Alex Jones Toles was o r i g i n a l l y Band member interested in violin from a very young age. “I was in second grade and I knew at my private school that we would start playing the violin in third grade, and I wanted to be ahead of everyone else, which is when I told my mom I wanted to play,” she said.

Her ambition continued throughout her career and eventually culminated in her creation of Something Different. “We’ve all played together in different groups for seven to eight years, and so one day I said ‘Hey, do you want to create a group?’ and they were enthusiastic about it. We’ve been playing gigs for about two years, usually within sororities.

They’ll ask us to play for them and they’ll give us scholarship money. Or I’ll go out and

“Being able to perform with my friends while others get to witness our talent always puts me in a great mood, especially if I can put a smile on someone’s face.”

School clubs and organizations sponsor families Adopt a Family program gives an opportunity to make a difference during the holiday Ali Randel Staff Writer This holiday season brings more clubs and organizations to BHHS’s annual family-sponsoring project.

“We usually do hands-on activities,” said sophomore Student Leadership representative Makena Torrey. “But I think this year we just wanted to do something that was different and festive and working towards something that we could see more often.”

According to Torrey, Student Leadership is adopting a family through the Lighthouse organization.

According to Key Club President Kaitlyn Kramer, the organization has been doing a similar project through Volunteers of America.

“Key Club has adopted a family every year and we do it during this time because the need is so high as it starts to get colder,” said Kramer. “There are so many families that don’t have comforters for their beds. They’re in need of blankets, coats, mittens, hats-- everything.”

Volunteers for America contacted the club to explain which items they were in need of most.

“They sent a general list, but they also contacted us directly and said they were really in need of a comforter. It was number one on their list,” she said.

“In order to be able to buy that, we are using money

that we raised at our Cold Stone fundraiser earlier last month. I think this fundraiser is unique because when the gifts are delivered you get to see on their faces how thankful they really are, so it’s just a different experience.”

Be the Change Club has also been giving gifts to children in need. According to math teacher and sponsor Steven Thomas, any amount that people can give is worth it.

“I believe it was Anne Frank who had a saying, ‘no one ever became poor by giving,’” said Thomas. “And that’s a very touching line because it tells you that even if you may not have all the money in the world, giving to somebody empowers you and makes you feel good because you’re helping other people, and it makes you be appreciative of what you have.

Torrey explains that she wants to make life easier for the families they are donating to.

“I think it will help them stop worrying about the little things that usually people don’t have to worry about because they already have them,” she said. “Let them focus on other things instead of worrying about money.”

Students and faculty help to distribute supplies and items to various locations

5

DECEMBER FEATURE

Transgender student is patiently waiting Michael Powers is in gender therapy, now awaiting testosterone Caitlin Finerty Staff Writer Even before high school, he knew there was something not right.

“There was a time period around eighth grade where I realized I was trans[gender], but I put off transitioning because I didn’t think that people would like me,” said sophomore Michael Powers, a transgender-male who explained that even though he didn’t officially begin transitioning he got his hair cut short before high school because he didn’t want people to think of him as a girl. “After I felt more comfortable and loved myself more. There was, overall, more of a feeling of content and happiness.”

While taking this small step, Michael shared that there was another hurdle before him.

“I had to come out to [my dad] in order to get my hair cut. His reaction was that he was kind of relieved because he knew that there was something we could do about my depression at the time and this was it. He was really supportive and still is,” Michael said; however, the conversation with his mother six months later wasn’t as easy. “My mom wasn’t so much supportive when I came out to her . I already had my hair cut short, was wearing a chest binder, presenting male, and using the male restroom. She started crying and said, ‘I just want you to be my little girl again.’But, the most recent time I saw her me and my stepdad and her had a huge talk about gender and what it is and what my gender identity is. She started to understand and started to use my pronouns and my name.

She is coming around now and she supports me.”

To show further support for his son, John Powers said that he has begun educating himself about the LGBTQ community. “My job as being a father is to make life easier for my child and when Michael told me he was trans, it was hard for me because I knew his life would be harder than [life] is for a cisgendered person. It saddens me to see people that don’t accept people that are LGBTQ,” John said.

Adding to his father’s observations, Michael agrees that not everyone is as open.

“People can be rude and say transphobic things to me, but I don’t really care about that as much,” he said. “I mean, it affects me but they are still acknowledging the fact that I’m trans. I think that if they were to call me a girl it would hurt more.

[Another] hardship for me is when I get misgendered in public. After I got my hair cut really short, I got called Ma’am at a restaurant and I got frustrated. For me, being called something that I am not is the main hardship of being trans.”

However, learning how to adjust to the hardships of being trans, Michael said, is one of the parts of the process. Participating in gender therapy is another way.

“In gender therapy, you talk about getting testosterone injections and the side effects and pros and cons. During therapy, I talk one on one with the therapist, but sometimes, my dad is there. We talk about his fears and concerns,” said Michael who has been in therapy since May 2016. “The process of gender therapy starts with getting diagnosed with gender dysphoria. It is considered a mental illness. Then, you can get testosterone. Getting testosterone is my main concern at the moment.”

According to Michael, a third component of the the transition is finding support outside his family and the LGBTQ community.

Agreeing with Michael English teacher Vanessa Rose said that providing opportunities for all of her students to be their authentic selves within her classroom is her goal for “every class. We are trying to do different things pertaining to the course, but also in the school and even on a larger scale,” she said. “ Michael is courageous. I learn from him every day.

Whether he is speaking in front of the class or just walking into the class period and just being himself, I always feel very inspired just to know him.”

Cancer free Christmas BHHS Senior is cancer free for the first time since the 7th grade Vivian Harber Staff Writer Cali Drouillard gets to spend her last year of schooling cancer free.

“It’s the first year that I’ve been healthy and we can be thankful for that because before that we were always praying and hoping that it would be next year, or the year after. Constantly hoping that I would be okay and that I wouldn’t have to do radiation, or surgery, or anything anymore,” said the senior who has been battling thyroid cancer for the past five years. “Not having to worry about going to the next doctor’s appointment, constantly having to think about cancer and how it would affect me for the rest of my life. So now I’m lucky to just be able to focus on the holidays and my family.”

Now that her cancer is in in remission, Cali recalls when it all first began.

“It was the end of the summer and I had swollen lymph nodes which my doctor thought was an infection.

From the time I had them, I already knew that it was cancer even though my doctor kept telling me it was an infection. Then, they did a diagnostic on one of the lymph nodes,” she said.

“The doctor came in, sat me down, and told me that I have cancer and I just literally started bawling. My mom started crying and everybody was just sobbing, even the doctor was sad.

You’re telling a twelve year old kid that they have cancer it’s not something light.”

Diagnosed in the seventh grade, Cali said she was a “twelve-year- old going through all this stuff that most

adults can’t even go through. It was really scary, the day I got it. I went to school after I found out because I didn’t want to be at home because my parents were crying.

I got to school and I just started crying when I told my best friend,” she said. “The first thing you think about when you hear cancer, is that you’re going to die.

Watching his daughter suffer from a disease like this, Cali’s father, Chris Drouillard compared the experience to “being handcuffed and not being able to do anything about it.”

The sudden change took a drastic toll on Cali’s middle school and high school experiences.

“The first month that I had it, it was hard to get used to because I felt like I was different than everybody,” said Cali. “When I went to school, some people were nice and some people were still jerks. It was hard dealing with middle school stuff and cancer, feeling like you were on the outside of everyone else.”

With the additional burden of starting high school, Cali’s first year at BHHS was a difficult one.

“It really impacted her her freshman year,” said Cali’s mom, Andrea Drouillard. “She has had to fight for the rest of her high school career to get her GPA up. It has been a struggle semester after semester just because she had such a rough start.”

But Cali’s education wasn’t the only aspect of her life that was

drastically changed. The treatments influenced her daily life.

“You’re in and out of the hospital every month, you’re getting tests every two weeks, you have to learn to take pills, you have to learn to deal with scars, you have to learn to adapt to all this stuff without getting down on yourself.” said Cali. “I went through really bad depression because I couldn’t go out with friends and I was sitting in my room for weeks at a time because people couldn’t come near me because I was radioactive.”

In addition to radiation, Cali had to get several operations to help treat the cancer.

“They thought that my tumor wasn’t that bad but then they went in and it ended up being an eight and a half hour surgery.” said Cali.

“They had to pry the tumor off my vocal chords so after the surgery I couldn’t talk for three months, literally couldn’t physically talk.”

Despite the harsh circumstances and the adverse change, Cali was able to make the most out of her disease. She described her journey as “empowering once you get over it especially because a lot of my friends and family helped and stepped up.”

Finding a new perspective, she said she “became thankful for what I had. Yeah, I had cancer and it sucked but looking at people who have it worse than I did, I was still

somewhat healthy, still had a family, I was gonna live.”

According to her mother, Cali was able to make a difference for other cancer patients as well.

She described her daughter as “a mouthpiece for what she was going through and let other kids know that they weren’t going through it alone.”

At the end of her junior year Cali was put into remission “When May came, it was like a huge weight had been lifted off our shoulders. Instead of crying from being sad, we were crying because it was the first time I didn’t have to worry about being sick anymore,” she explained.

Looking forward Cali says she has new challenge ahead of her. “I have to think about the fact that once I go to college, I still have to come back and get checked because it doesn’t just go away,” she said.

With college, Cali will also “have to leave all the people I have formed a relationship with as my doctors.”

Cali ultimately reflected on her experience, and said she learned that she shouldn’t “underestimate my strength because if I can go through cancer and get over cancer and get through depression, nothing can really get to me. Cancer is one of the worst things you can deal with. It’s made me a lot stronger and have a lot more faith in myself.”

Three BHSD alumni create online company

Three alumni from Lahser high school have built the online clothing company, Mount Co. Habib Bello Staff Writer Braden Cleary, Austin Smith, and Preston Smith together create a company centered around the everyday outdoorsman Love. Life. Outdoors. A mantra that three Bloomfield Hills and Seaholm high school alumni prided themselves on as they together created TheMountCo, a international online clothing company centered around the needs of the everyday outdoorsman.

“We originally started as ‘The Mountaineering Company’, but chose to shorten it up since it was a mouthful,” said Braden Cleary, one of the three cofounders and 2014 BHHS graduate. “The first two years we were really trying to find who we were as a company and find our niche. This past year is when we have really started to see growth and these past few months have been spectacular for us.”

With products spanning from beanies to longsleeve T-shirts, TheMountCo has provided a company that caters to an modern individual outdoorsman style.

TheMountCo has learned to take advantage of social media, utilizing it as a potential business outlet.

“The beautiful part of our business is that we can market almost entirely through a variety of social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook (@themountco)”, said Preston Smith, who is another one of the co-founders and 2014 BHHS graduate. “This allows us to reach a high volume of

customers all over the world at virtually no cost.”

A crucial component in the expansion of their brand falls on the backs of their peers.

“Another major part of our expansion has been our Ambassador Program. We have over 50 college ambassadors [which consist of students and peers] all around the world promoting our products and spreading word about our business,” explained Austin Smith, the final of the three co-founders and 2006 Seaholm High School graduate. “We believe that word of mouth is the most efficient way to spread the word, so the Ambassador Program was a no brainer.”

TheMountCo sports three co-founders, making communication and teamwork imperative to the company’s success.

“We do have some separate roles within the company based on various strengths[such as technology and design]” said Austin. “However, most aspects of our business are collaborative efforts and we are just here to share our passion for the outdoors with other likeminded people.

With online features such as a conversational tone-styled webpage, and the phenomenon of the “The Bearded Man”, their human logo who travels around the country with the pursuit to visit all 59 national parks, TheMountCo is able to stay true to their outdoorsman foundation and also remain modernistic with the upcoming wave of new internet users.

“The Bearded Man came about when our logo was born. It started with our signature Classic Black/White TheMountCo Long Sleeve, which is the first shirt that we placed that logo on”, said Preston. “He quickly became the face of our brand and really took on his own persona.”

Although popularity comes with the blossoming of the brand, these three individuals are able to stay humble and ambitious.

“Success is something that’s hard to define, especially for young men like us. I will say though that I don’t believe success has anything to do with how much money you are making, which is what a lot of people think”, said Preston. “I view it more as how happy you are with what you are doing and the effect you have on other people.

That’s how I personally measure success.”

These three men also attempt to showcase their trials and tribulations of making such a successful company in hopes to inspire the next generation to follow in their footsteps in regards to innovation.

“The best advice I could give to aspiring entrepreneurs is to ‘fail forward fast’”. The idea is that failure is inevitable when trying to start up a company, said Cleary. “The key to success is how quickly you can learn from that failure and bounce back even stronger. If you have a great idea that you are passionate about, go for it and share it with the world.”

Customer wears hat with Mount Co. logo

The Syria Situation A look into the lives of those affected by the crisis

Aleppo

Palmyra

Illustration by Ember Stuart

Why we need to protect the culture of Syria John Ballouz Section Editor

P

almyra, an impressive ancient city northeast of Damascus, Syria, first documented in the second millennium B.C. and standing through the peak of the Roman empire in the third century A.D., several different empires, speaking several different languages, with several different ethnic groups and religions, all the way to present day Syria. Its temples and theatre competed with the ancient monuments of Rome itself. It’s one of, if not the most, popular tourist destination in Syria. My parents even spent part of their honeymoon there. They would always tell me about how beautiful and amazing it is. After seeing most of Europe’s best monuments, you’d think my parents wouldn’t care much for an ancient city that most kids haven’t even heard of. But they are both still awed by the tremendous historical insight the city provides and the amazing shape it was kept in until a few years ago. Containing enormous Egyptian columns at the entrance, the ancient Palmyran religious center Temple of Bel, the amazing Roman theatre of Palmyra, and more.

That was the monument five years ago. Now, it’s just rubble, completely destroyed. It will never match the beauty it had before.

In 2015, ISIL raided and killed residents of nearby towns before entering into Palmyra. After being preserved for thousands of years, jewelry and arti-

facts from Palmyra were found in the international market in order to fund ISIL. What was one of the largest cultural centers of ancient world, the place where multiple ancient civilizations intersected now

While I understand why a powerful western nations prefers not to intervene in the constant battle for land and power in Syria, doesn’t the situation call for outside help when it comes to destruction

“What meant nothing to ISIL meant a lot to not only Syrians, but to the rest of the world.

What my parents and grandparents and great ancestors were able to enjoy will never be the same because the rest of the world didn’t step in. Whether Syrian or not, losing Palmyra is losing history and value of the world. belongs to ISIL. The ancient Roman theatre that my dad always compared to the Colosseum is now being used to execute opponents of ISIL. So why didn’t anyone step in?

of this magnitude. History that has been cherished and appreciated for millennium cannot be given up so easily.

Imagine if a similar civil war were to break out in

the United States tomorrow.

Imagine one side of this war doing anything it needed for funds, including destroying some of the country’s most significant monuments. Imagine the Statue of Liberty submerged in the New York Harbor. Imagine the Empire State Building in rubbles.

Imagine Comerica Park being used to execute people who disagreed with this group.

How would you react to the places you’ve loved your whole life, the places that show your history and culture, being destroyed because a silly group of people was able to do it without being stopped.

Would you still expect the rest of the world to just stand back and watch?

What meant nothing to ISIL meant a lot to not only Syrians, but to the rest of the world. What my parents and grandparents and great ancestors were able to enjoy will never be the same because the rest of the world didn’t step in. Whether Syrian or not, losing Palmyra is losing history and value of the world.

Immigrating to America after a missile strike Mohammad Hamo details his journey to America after an attack that killed his mother and sister

Forest Zhang Guest Writer

“

Everything was going alright. Before the war all the people liked each other for the most part,” he said. “Everyone got along. There was no fear. You could go anywhere you wanted to at any time; there was no fear of getting killed or anything like that. Just like how in America how a variety of people live together, like Mexicans, whites, blacks, it was the same thing in Syria. There was no problems with variety or religion or anything like that. Everyone got along.”

Sophomore Mohammad Hamo’s life in Aleppo was just like any other child’s-- until one day it changed forever. A missile attack struck the city, destroying the home his father built for their family.

The attack killed 16 people, 7 of which were in the Hamo family, including Mohammad’s mother and one of his sisters.

“Everything ended for us that day. That was our destiny. That was our share in life,” said Mohammad’s father, Refaai Hamo, PhD.

Refaai explains that his family lived a very happy and peaceful life before the attack.

“We built a family together. We were a very modern family. We had good days and bad days and rich days and poor days but we were always together. We ate every meal together and educated our children well,” he said. “My daughter was studying to be a doctor.

My son was the smartest in his school. We were well known in the community. Nobody had a problem with us. We had no affiliation with any party or regime.”

After the attack, his family immediately moved to a small, nearby village before going to Turkey to escape the war.

“I wasn’t happy, obviously,” said Mohammad. “Picture yourself in this situation. If you have some bombs landing somewhere near you, killing someone you love, it’s never going to be nice.”

Turkey did not treat the family well, Mohammad explained. His father, despite being a very qualified engineer, could not make a living there. Even universities that were using the books Refaai Hamo had written himself did not accept him as a teacher.

Due to the lack of a substantial education in Turkey, the Hamo family left to come to the United States. “(we left) so we could study over here [United States]. You can’t really get an education like you can here,” said Mohammad. “The schools are nicer.”

18 year-old Mohammad now lives with his other three sisters, 16 year-old Sophomore Rama Hamo, 19 year-old Riham, and 22 year-old Runahi Hamo, along with their father, Refaai. Upon the family’s move to America, Refaai was diagnosed with stomach cancer. According to Mohammad, things looked bleak. But in December of 2015, the popular online blog Humans of New York,

posted about the family. The post told Refaai’s story, and he became known as “The Scientist”.

The story brought attention to the family’s situation and prompted Oscar nominated actor, Edward Norton, to start a fundraiser that raised more than $450,000 to help the family move to Troy, Michigan.

The story did not end there. On December 9th, 2015, President Obama commented on the story on Facebook: “As a husband and a father, I cannot even begin to imagine the loss you’ve endured. You and your family are an inspiration. I know that the great people of Michigan will embrace you with the compassion and support you deserve,” said President Obama in his post. “Yes, you can still make a difference in the world, and we’re proud that you’ll pursue your dreams here. Welcome to your new home. You’re part of what makes America great.”

Refaai was even invited to the State of the Union to meet the Obamas. The family is very grateful for how things turned out for them in the United States.

Refaai’s stomach cancer has been treated, and he is now working on opening an office and continuing his research, while Mohammad Hamo now attends BHHS along with his sister, Rama. The family is grateful for how things turned out for them in America.

“It(leaving Syria) was hard. At first, it was very hard, but after a while I got used to life here, and now it feels normal,” Mohammad said. “I came here when I was still young, so I was able to adjust. I might go back to Syria and might not even be able to live there, so I feel at home now here.”

“Picture yourself in this situation. If you have some bombs landing somewhere near you, killing someone you love, it’s never going to be nice.”

Mohammad Hamo

The Syrian War: By the Numbers According the United Nations High Commisioner for Refugees

11.4

million people have either fled to Turkey, Lebanon,Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, or been internally displaced

10+

thousand children have been killed thus far in the Syrian War

1.3

trillion dollars is the expected cost of the war if it were to end in 2020

The difficulties of having to leave home due to danger A BHHS senior’s experience after moving to the United States from Syria Jessica Kim Guest Writer

I

Michigan has seen some of the highest numbers in Syrian refugees than any other state in the United States. According to the Detroit News, more than 1,400 Syrian refugees have settled down in Michigan alone--mostly in Detroit, Troy, and Dearborn.

Senior Mohamad Tanbal’s family is one of the many thousands that have arrived in the US, who was 18 years old when he and his family immigrated to America. “[Immigrating] was a very long process,” Tanbal said. “In my case, it was 2 years, and I remember we had to go to a meeting every three months or so, where they asked us the same questions, like ‘were you guys involved in any political parties or armies.’ For 2 years, we were just waiting like that, for the papers to come in.”

According to Tanbal, his family was forced to immigrate not just because of the war, but specifically because of ISIS’s attacks, which were often directed at the Kurdish people. The Kurds are the 4thlargest ethnic group in the Middle East, who are at the forefront of the attacks against ISIS. Mohamad Tanbal is one such Kurdish.

“The biggest reason [for moving] was ISIS, because they don’t like Kurdish people,” Tanbal said. “Most of the time they were attacking our village, and people were always dying. There were a lot of people I couldn’t trust enough to tell them I was Kurdish, because that might have led me to be jailed by the government. We also didn’t have that much money, so we decided to leave and go to Turkey first.”

He stated that “the papers weren’t available in Syria. It wasn’t safe to wait for the papers there, so we went to Turkey.”

“Most of [the Syrian refugees] are from Jordan, actually, but we were living in the Northern Syria where the Kurdish people live, so the nearest place was Turkey,” Tanbal added. “That’s why we chose Turkey over Jordan. But most Syrians are from Jordan.”

Tanbal and his family had the assistance of the International Organization for Immigration to help with their move to America.

“They brought us money for the plane ticket and they were the people who were in charge of visas for refugees,” Tanbal said. “[They send refugees] to Denmark, Germany. Canada too, but mostly in Europe. It wasn’t our choice to to choose the country we wanted to go to, but the organization asked countries to accept refugees, and we were the luckiest family to have America.”

He explained that the move was still difficult, however. “When you move to a different country with a different language and a different culture, it’s like you’re a new baby to this world,” he said. “You have to learn the language, the culture, the history, how people react to other people. It was tough, adjusting to a new life here, not to mention having to redo my senior year.”

Fortunately, he stated that was only the major challenge he faces now, thanks to the help he received from the Syrian community.

“There are Syrian people who have been living in Michigan for more than 36 years, and they helped us adjust, like helping us find a house and giving us free furniture,” Tanbal said. “They also helped us with our papers, like our social security, things with the government. Here, being Kurdish matters less than in Syria. The people I know try not to make it such a big deal. I know 20 families and more who live here, mostly located in Fox Hills, Dearborn too.”

He added that he often uses his skill in technology to return the favor.

“To them, I’m known as the IT guy. Everyone who has a problem with computers or phones, they come to me and text me or ask me.

I really like to help other people--I am so happy that I have this gift from God, that I’m good at fixing technology, so I can help others.”

He states that although it has been years since he has settled down in Michigan, he has yet to get comfortable. “I never had a home because I’m a Kurdish,” Tanbal said. “Even Syria wasn’t my home.

Here it is safe, but I’m not used to it yet, because all I had here is one year. I haven’t really gotten really familiar with it yet.”

Junior Mohammad Hamo, however, had a different perspective.

“Before the war, from the beginning mostly everyone got along,” Hamo said. “There was no fear. You could go anywhere you wanted to at any time; there was no fear of getting killed or anything like that. Just like in America how a variety of people live together, like Mexicans, whites, blacks, it was the same thing in Syria. There was no problems with variety or religion or anything like that.”

Hamo added that in his time in Michigan he has met many other Syrian families.

“There were a lot of people like me,” Hamo said. “People came to America for college and education and work before the war, but now there’s plenty of refugees just like me, people who escaped from the war to survive here.”

Speaking of his treatment by other Syrians, he stated that “no one really helped for me personally, but I think for other people they must have been helped. To me, at least, the other members of the community were not particularly welcoming, but they’re not bad.

They’re just normal.”

On his thoughts regarding what he missed back in Syria, he said he missed his home city and the people the most. “My city, Aleppo, I was born there,” he said. “There was one castle in Aleppo specifically that I loved visiting, but everything about the city I love.

More than that castle, though, I miss the people and the freedom it gave me. In Syria, as opposed to Michigan, you could walk around anywhere you wanted in the street. You could stay up as long as you wanted--there was no fear of being out late there, but once you get in Michigan, you gotta be home at 10, and it’s not as much freedom as Syria.”

“American schools are nicer and there are more materials accessible to us regarding education,” Hamo added. “I think I would’ve loved to come here for visits and maybe even college, but I would have never considered moving here permanently. I wanted to stay there in Syria.”

He states that Syria is still dear to him, even now.

“Of course, going back is so hard, especially with the events that is happening now,” Hamo said. “Almost half of the country is destroyed, so it’s a really big challenge to go back. Maybe in the far future.”

8

DECEMBER SPORTS

Q&A Men’s Varsity Basketball Head Coach Mike Maryanski Justin Yaker Guest Writer Q: Explain your expectations for the 20162017 varsity team.

A: “We are expecting better, if not the same we accomplished last year, so we want to be battling for a league championship and advance at least to the district finals, like we did last year. But more or less, just improving as a program from the freshman, JV, and varsity level. Last year was our first year, we took over the program, so we just want to continue to improve the program to what we want to build it. We want the kids to learn new philosophies, new defenses and offenses. We have two mottos we go by: “Proving it. Proving it to ourselves everyday,” through practice and in academics. And “One love,” that we’re bringing each other as a team together, as well as the school community together and then the outside community together. So we’re just trying to promote a whole program philosophy and not just worrying about season to season.”

Q: Compare this year’s team to the 20152016 team.

A: “It is very similar. The biggest difference is they’ve been a year with me so far. We are returning seven seniors and two juniors, so we have nine guys that played varsity last year.

In that regard, we do have experience. The other aspects, they continue to improve and just learn what is expected out of them when they become a varsity basketball player.”

Q: Describe the keys to the team’s win in their opening game against Notre Dame prep.

A: “Most importantly, coming together and playing as a team. I actually wished we would have finished the game off a little better. We built up a big lead and then we kind of let Notre Dame Prep come back. Still, I was very proud of the way they came out for the first game of the year. The kids were very excited, there’s jitters, they’re emotional, and your adrenaline is running, and they played a great first game. We played 13 kids in the first game, that’s pretty fun to do, and we do that; we are a very deep team. Every day the kids can come in and earn playing time, which is different to most varsity teams. A lot of teams only play eight to maybe ten guys. But I was very proud of the way the kids handled some adversity throughout the game. After building a lead, and Notre Dame Prep coming back, we still fought and finished it off.”

Q: Describe what you believe will be the biggest elements for the team’s success this season.

A: “The biggest elements will be coming together, learning everyday in practice, believing in each other. These kids earn everything. We are in a really tough league this year; we moved up to the OAA red. We’re going to be battling Southfield, Clarkston, A&T, North Farmington. So it’s just going to be that the kids come together and believe in themselves and each other because they’re hungry day in and day out.”

Q: Explain the importance of having a majority of your team returning from last year.

A: “They become coaches on the floor. They are on the floor and they know what is expected of them and they can guide the underclassmen that were on the JV team last year. You can only coach them so much.

Once the games start and they’re on the floor, it’s key to have guy that have experience because they have been through it.”

Q: Being in your second full year as head varsity coach, explain what you believe you have done to help this team and the program succeed.

A: “It’s teaching them a lot. We go to school everyday and it’s teaching them life skills through basketball. I’m proud of the way they go out there and they earn stuff. We’re getting better, where we know we have to go out there everyday and prove it to ourselves that we can achieve our goals throughout the season and during a game; We have a lot of different game goals. Overall, it’s just them going out there and taking it to heart and proving it to themselves that they can earn stuff.”

Q: Define the team’s goals.

A: “We want to be competitive in the OAA red and we know it’s going to be tough. We want to advance at least to the district finals.

More importantly, it’s just continuing to build the program, and the seniors leaving a mark for the juniors, and the juniors leaving a mark for the sophomores and so on all the way down to the kindergartners. It’s great to see the kids in my class coming to the games as well as former students. It’s just building that program the community and that is not just focused on being a basketball program; it’s a community program.”

Photo credits: South Florida Winter League

Local baseball coach helps find a home for former player Upon discovering one of his players was homeless, Chris Newell found him a job in coaching and helped him find a home CJ Drogosch Section Editor

I

t takes one act of kindness to turn someone’s entire life around.

Chris Newell is the founder and head instructor at The Player’s Edge, a baseball training facility in Rochester Hills. He has been a part of professional baseball since 1997, whether it be as a player, scout, or manager. His extensive résumé includes having a .346 career batting average at Northwest Missouri State University, receiving a Gold Glove in the minor leagues in 1998, receiving a degree in Kinesiology from the University of Michigan in 1998, being a Tampa Devil Rays scout from 1999-2005, and leading Oakland University as the Associate Head Coach from 2001-2005.

He gives individual hitting lessons at his facility and helps players of all ages with the game of baseball. More than 184 players who he has trained have gone on to play in college and 44 have been drafted or signed to play professionally.

Newell is the manager of the BirminghamBloomfield Beavers of the United Shore Professional Baseball League who play their games at Jimmy John’s Field in Utica, Michigan. This winter he took the time to coach in the South Florida Winter League where players are trying to receive a pro contract, making position changes, or rehabbing an injury. It was there where Newell met a player whom he will never forget.

“Bottom line is a life has been saved and a life has been changed,” Chris Newell says.

“A dream has been turned to reality for a young kid.”

Rob Brown, 28 years old, has dealt with more before age 30 than anyone should have to in a lifetime. When he was younger, he lost both his mom and his dad. He was then raised by his grandmother; she died, as well, and he lost the house.

“Before she, Rob’s grandmother, passed away, she had indicated to him, and told him, go chase your dream,” Newell says. “Go chase your dream, you only live one time. And that’s exactly what Rob did was chase his dream.”

Brown caught the eye of Newell because of his ability to play the game and make others around him better. Unfortunately, the South Florida Winter League enforces a rule that put a damper on Brown getting signed.

“I didn’t know he was homeless and I didn’t know his age,” Newell says. “I liked him as a player. I was going to offer him a contract as a player and then I found out that with our league we have age restrictions; he was too old to participate.”

When Newell found out that Rob Brown was homeless, he took it upon himself to make a difference in Brown’s life. While most coaches in professional baseball would just be focusing on what the team needs, Newell simply could not let this young man walk away.

“With how I was raised, in my fine school of Our Lady of the Lakes, we always try to lend a helping hand when we can,” Newell says. “To me, it was a no brainer. I wanted to talk to him about maybe coaching and putting a roof over his head and giving him some meals and putting money in his pocket and start that career.”

After the league ended, Newell took Brown for a walk down the foul line.

He explained to him how nobody was going to sign him because of his age, and Rob understood that. Then he offered him the coaching job. Brown could not contain his emotions.

“Well he started crying,” Newell says.

“He gave me one of the biggest hugs I’ve ever had. It was a pretty defining moment in my life. It was pretty special to say the least.”

“He gave me one of the biggest hugs I’ve ever had. It was a pretty defining moment in my life. It was pretty special to say the least.”

Chris Newell Founder of The Player’s Edge baseball and softball training facility

Sadly, the situation wasn’t able to work out for Rob Brown to join Newell’s staff. The team already had the amount of coaches it was allowed to have.

However, Newell was able to pull some strings and find Brown a job elsewhere.

“We were able to get him an opportunity to coach and be a part of a professional team,” Newell says. “Looks like he’s going to be going to the Lake Erie Crushers of the Frontier League.”

There have always been people around Chris Newell to help him out in tough situations. Rob Brown didn’t have that kind of luxury. Newell wanted to be that guy who was there for him.

“The reality of it is, seeing Rob’s situation, it made me realize how lucky I am and I couldn’t even imagine going through what Rob has had to endure,” Newell says. “Again, I was in a position to help and people that are in positions to help, they better help. This is about Rob one hundred percent. It’s about doing the right thing and I think that’s a testament to my mom and dad for raising me the right way.”

For Brown, his dream finally came true.

He would now be a part of professional baseball, and more importantly have a home.

“Baseball is his life,” Newell says. “He told me ‘baseball is everything, in fact it’s the only thing I have.’ I felt I was in a position to help him out and I did it. If I die tomorrow, I’m going to die a happy man knowing that he’s taken care of, that he was provided an opportunity. Now he’s going to have to make the most of it.”

New Varsity Golf head coach named Bloomfield Hills substitute teacher Scott Hayes will take over the position Riya Doshi Staff Writer The boys’ Varsity Golf team will be getting a new coach this upcoming season after the previous coach retired at the end of the season last year.

Scott Hayes, the new golf coach, is a substitute teacher in Bloomfield Hills, Birmingham and Troy.

“I was approached by the Physical Education teachers over at Bloomfield Hills High, Mrs. Scott and Locklear, saying there was an opening for the golf coach,” said Hayes. “I came home and talked to my wife about it and she said, ‘I think you’d be perfect at it.’ I started to work it out in my mind and think, ‘This would be fun to work with young people in a game that I love.’”

Hayes will only be coaching the Varsity team, which has many vacated spots from last year’s graduates.

Carson Kenum, a senior on the golf team, says, “Last year we lost six seniors and our coach retired, but we now have a new evolution of players stepping up to play. I think with a new coach, we are building a new foundation for a team. Hopefully, over time, we can build

on that and maybe have a shot at states.”

While there are definite positive aspects to a new coach, challenges may surface during this first season.

“I think with a new coach, we are building a new foundation for a team.

Hopefully, over time, we can build on that and maybe have a shot at states.”

Carson Kenum Senior

“Especially for the first year, for someone who has never coached a team, ever, it might be a little rusty getting practices square and

understanding the rules of the matches,” said Kenum. “Obviously he won’t be the best starting coach, he’ll have to work up to that. I’m still excited about the new year and getting to know this new guy and hopefully having a really good season with him.”

Hayes himself is looking forward to the start of the upcoming season. “[My goal for this season is] to have myself and the team smiling at the end and just be the best we can,” said Hayes. “I don’t know the team yet, I don’t know who I am going to be golfing with. I think the biggest objective we have right now is to make sure that every player on the team improves their game, their scoring in the game and their interest and passion in the game. The objective is to love the sport, enjoy the sport and hopefully win at the sport.”

9

DECEMBER SPORTS

The Cup of Berlin Pictured: Healy leaps into the air at skating practice (Photo credits- Shoshie Bitker, Yearbook Staff

BHHS Junior will travel overseas to compete in International Skating Competitions Anish Tamhaney Staff Writer

J

unior Gabrielle Healy, a member of the nationally ranked Crystallettes Senior Synchronized Skating team, will be performing at international competitions in Germany and France in January and February.

“The journey of making the senior team was so challenging for me, and finding out I was finally on it was one of the most amazing feelings in the world. Going to Berlin is not only a chance to travel to a new country but an enriching experience because I’ll be able to interact with teams from all over the world and showcase my skills with my close friends on the team.”

“We were assigned to the Berlin competition by a panel of Team USA Judges,” said Healy, whose team will leave on January 2nd and stay in the city for six days. “This year, we’ll be going to a competition called the Cup of Berlin.”

“Teams that place in the top six at nationals the previous competitive season are visited by three US international judges,” said the team’s Senior Coach, Shannon Peterson. “The team had to demonstrate readiness. We are one of six teams selected to compete overseas.”

Preparation for the season began in April of 2015, according to Healy.

and it’s a tribute to our coach who “We’ve had a lot of really intense overcame breast cancer. I love the training the whole season. We work emotion in it, and that I’m able to out three times during the week, tell the audience my personal story and that prepares us for all the as well. I find the skating technique lifting things we have to do and challenging in this program because the strengthening. We also do a lot we are using a slightof conditioning,” ly different style than Gabrielle said.

“The journey of in the past. All of Lisa Healy, Gabrielle’s mother, said making the senior our skating has to be softer and come that “each skater team was so from much more so is required to train the knees than individually with challenging for me, from we’re used to.” her freestyle, dance and finding out I ”Our second and moves coaches program is called the a minimum of four was finally on it freeskate, or the long hours per week and program, which is was one of the perform individual five minutes long. workouts. As a remost amazing The long program sult of all this comis a sorcerer’s theme bined, Gabrielle’s feelings and includes two skills have greatly in the world.” lift elements where improved since last three girls are lifting season.” girl in various The team will Gabrielle Healy one positions. The main have two perforchallenge is length. I mances in Berlin, Junior find it hard especially Gabrielle said. “Our after a long day of practice to keep first [performance] is called the up my energy through the whole short program, and that’s two and performance. But, at competition, a half minutes long. This year, the usually the adrenaline and environshort program is to the song ‘Lean ment distract from the exhaustion on Me’ by J2. The message behind it is overcoming personal struggle

and we all work hard to maintain my endurance. Actually, I think that my endurance has improved greatly this year.”

Gabrielle’s coaches and teammates have also noticed improvements in her performance as a skater.

“Gabrielle has always been a dedicated teammate. This year, she is performing even better. She is stronger and faster. She has even mastered the lifts,” said Peterson.

“Gabrielle is a quiet leader. She advocates for herself when needed and always strives to be better.”

Emma Pillsbury, a teammate of Gabrielle’s, said that “in the past Gabrielle has always been a star on the ice, especially during competitions. This year however, there’s been a slight change in her. I think before she didn’t quite realize how much potential she truly had. But this year I think she’s finding ways to bring herself to that potential.

She’s opening up to teammates and coaches more, everything she does she gives one hundred percent effort, and overall she’s just finding herself.”

Pitch made for sailing to become school sport Junior Adrianna Lee is working with administration to turn sailing from a club to a full sport Camyrn Brent Guest Writer Junior Adrianna Lee is working with BHHS administration and the district athletic board to make sailing a school sport.

“West Bloomfield, our rivals, has a team and we don’t. I think that says something. Detroit Country Day has a sailing team, Cranbrook Kingswood has one, Brother rice has one, Grosse Pointe North, Grosse Pointe South. St. Mary’s has one,” said Lee. “That’s just naming a few. There are more in the entire state of Michigan who all compete in sailing. It’s a need and there are people who want to do it. There are teams who want more competitors, and I really want to sail.”

According to Lee, since sailing has been a club for the past three years it limits participation in multiple different regattas (sailing races). One of the reasons why she hopes to make it a sport is they can sail in more competitions and for a longer portion of the year.

“When we consolidated four years ago, we talked about trying to make more opportunities for the students. When you take Lahser and Andover and you combine them, a lot of students that would have played on the team, lost their team,” said BHHS Athletic Director RJ Guizzetti who loved Lee’s proposal, and feels that by making sailing a sport, students will have a wider opportunity to get

involved. “So, we added some sports, and now to add something like this is another opportunity for our students to get involved.”

In addition to providing more athletic opportunity for BHHS students, Guizzetti feels that the addition of a sailing team will make our athletic department more well-rounded and untraditional.

“Most schools have your traditional football, basketball, soccer, softball, baseball volleyball teams, those kinds of things,” said Guizzetti.

“To have something like sailing as an outlet for other students that may not be as interested in some of those traditional sports, I thought would be a really cool thing.”

Science teacher Dennis Kwasny, an avid sailor since college, has volunteered to be on the coaching staff of the team.

“It could definitely be for everyone. A lot of people are not familiar with it and I think a lot of people get turned off with the terminology,” said Kwasny who feels that while the sport may seem challenging, it is actually fairly easy to pick up and could be appealing to a large amount of students. “When you use all these words that people are not familiar with it seems kind of intimidating at first. But actually

the basics of it are pretty straight forward and people can pick it up quickly if they give it a chance.”

Lee echoes Kwasny’s sentiment, as she feels that the sport could be appealing to a wide variety of students if they give it a chance.

“The first week of practice would be teaching everybody how to sail. Anyone can learn: a lot of different people, different body types, people with learning disabilities,” she said. “It’s really open and you can do it for the rest of your life.

It’s a sport that anyone can do and then as a team we can progress.”

Guizzetti is ready to go forward with the establishment of the new team and hopes to be as successful as possible in it.

“We are not going in just to be a intramural team. We might not have the results that some of the established programs have, but we are going to take it seriously because that’s what the students want,” he said. “That’s what we owe as a district, we would owe it to them and the community to say ‘we’re sponsoring this team, were giving it everything, we’re committed, and we’re going to go forward and make a successful program’.”

10

NovembeR SPORTS

Photo credits: Susan Adams Photography

Poms

The BHHS Poms team is dancing their way back onto the court for the 2016-2017 basketball season. Every Monday to Thursday, the Poms team has practice to prepare for their next performance.

The Poms first performance was on December 16th, at the girls basketball game at BHHS. Shortly after, the team and has a performance for a boys varsity home game. Sophomore Jade Neumann, explains how she is extremely excited to start her second season on Poms. “We really try to get everybody excited to watch the games, especially during halftime when we perform. All 19 girls on the team work extremely hard at every practice, and we love to see it always pay off during games.”

Girl’s Hockey The girls Varsity Hockey team has not had the start they would like, losing their first three games against Plymouth Canton Salem, University of Liggett, and Cranbrook.

Last year, the varsity team went to the first round of Division one finals, but were defeated in the first round

by Mercy High school. According to senior and captain, Carly Hittler, the team has an optimistic look on the upcoming year. “Our team is very young. By the time playoffs come around we are going to be a completely different team shaped by the experience gained in the season.” said Hittler. “Everyone is going to do a lot of growing this year.”

The girls’ next game is December 17th

Photo credits: Susan Adams Photography

Boy’s Basketball

Winter Sports

Updates

After two wins against Notre Dame Prep and Detroit Country Day, the Blackhawks basketball team has a perfect 2-0 record. Coach Maryanski was very proud of his team after winning their first game of the season. “We built up a big lead and then we kind of let Notre Dame Prep come back. Still, I was very proud of the way they came out for the first game of the year. The kids were very excited, there’s jitters, they’re emotional, and your adrenaline is running, and they played a great first game,” said Coach Maryanski. The team looks to maintain momentum as they play Groves on Friday Dec. 16th.

Groves beat Bloomfield Hills last year in the District Finals, but this year Coach Maryanski hopes his team to advance to at least past Districts and to

Boy’s Skiing The BHHS Ski team will have its first varsity race on January 9th and its first junior varsity race on January 5th. The boys and girls varsity team will have seven members each, as will the boys and girls JV teams. The team has had dryland practices every Monday to Thursday as a way of conditioning. Now that it’s starting to snow, the team will have practices from Monday to Thursday at the Pine Knob Ski and Snowboard Resort. Junior Lennert Krueger, believes that the team “will do really well, seeing as we have a good competitive roster. Hopefully, we’ll do better than last year, but the other teams are also very good this year.”

catching up with the varsity teams of BHHS Bowling

Boy’s Hockey The boys hockey team has started out with a bang, winning four of their first seven games. Last year, the varsity team went to the second round in playoffs, and then lost to Brother Rice. The team looks to repeat their success this year or go farther according to senior and captain Cooper Myers. Myers also believes the team could be the best it has ever been. “I think this is one of the greatest starts we have had in the past few seasons.” said Myers. “I’m excited to see how the rest of the season plays out.” The boys next game is Wednesday, December 21st against Farmington United.

Both the boys and girls varsity bowling teams have started strong with wins against Ferndale high school. Coming off of a mid table finish last season, both teams will feed off this win throughout the entire season, according to senior Sara Greig. Greig also explained how their next match, December 16th at Hazel Park was a close one. “We have a very senior heavy team this year, so we are all really looking to finish off strong. My goal for our team is to qualify for states, but states are really tough to qualify for,” said Greig.

“For the most part, having a winning record is on most people’s’ minds, and getting higher averages than the year before.”

Girl’s Basketball Boy’s Swimming Practice, practice, practice is the motto for the swim team this year.

After the team’s recent try-outs, the team is hoping for more successful and prosperous performance. The team is fired up and ready to go in their second season in their swimming facility. Team swimmer and BHHS junior Jake Nagel said, “Progression is what will put us over the top this year. I am excited for my new teammates and improvement will be necessary. We are getting better and making it up towards the level of high competitors of the likes of Seaholm.”

Led by senior captain, Amanda Sape, the girls basketball team has started out winning three of their first four games. Last year, the team lost in the second round of districts to Marian high school, and this years start has foreshadowed the team having larger success. According to Sape, “We have a ton of potential and we are all on the same page with all wanting to be as successful as possible. Right now, our goal is to win our league which one hundred percent possible.” The girls next varsity game will take place at BHHS, next Tuesday against Rochester Adams.

11

DECEMBER EDITORIAL

Becoming myself by becoming Writer details her experience with cosplay Ember Stuart Guest Writer “LEXA!” the voice screamed behind me.

Surprised, I turned around to see two people sprinting as fast as they can toward my friend and I. “Oh my god, I love Lexa so much-can I get a photo with you?!”

I laughed and nodded in agreement.

As part of the 11th largest anime convention in the US, I had the opportunity to share my passion with others just like me; however, I wasn’t me.

Oddly enough, dressed and acting like someone else I felt more like myself in that moment. More than I ever have before.

That’s the beauty of cosplay, which is “the practice of dressing up as a character from a movie, book, or video game.” Individuals, like myself, who cosplay often, attend anime or comic conventions as they are places that encourage cosplay. Some even host competitions, rewarding the creativity and hard work people put into their costumes. In 2015, 19,200 people attended Youmacon, the 11th largest convention in North America, located at the Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan.

I was lucky to be one of those attendees.

Embrace your culture Don’t be ashamed of your heritage Jessica Kim Staff Writer

Look at 2016 as an opportunity to

IM P R O VE

Cartoon by Betsy Stubbs

“Playing a character is so natural. Having people recognise who I am, asking to take photos, and talking in character is an experience like no other.”

The overall culture is one of my most favorite parts about the cosplay and the entire convention scene.

Thousands of people find refuge and fun in a world where cosplay is still considered taboo. People can act like themselves without the fear of judgement; I know I can attest to this first hand.

In my normal day to day life, I’m a quiet artist who generally keeps to herself, but at cons I’m nearly the complete opposite. I become extroverted, talkative, outgoing and someone who doesn’t care about how any one sees me.

In costume, I feel right. Playing a character is so natural. Having people recognise who I am, asking to take photos, and talking in character is an experience like no other.

These conventions are proof that so many other people feel the same way. It is a space where LGBT couples can freely express themselves without being yelled to keep “that” away from everyone. It is a space where people who feel outcast and alone can meet with other people who will accept them for simply who they are.

Being a cosplayer changed my life.

It opened me up to a world where I can be unapologetically me, free from judgement and accepted by the people surrounding me.

STAFF

This year was the strangest in recent memory, but there are lessons we can learn from it

A

s the great philosopher Kylie Jenner once said, “2016 was the year of just like realizing stuff.”

Truth be told, she was right. We learned a lot in 2016. Sure, some things this past year went pretty well, like how pandas are no longer endangered, the wild tiger population has increased for the first time in a century, and Netflix has added offline downloads! But beyond these triumphs of 2016, many mistakes were made; mistakes that we can and should learn from in order to make 2017 a great year.

It’s time to take everything we “realized” in 2016, and make them better for the new year.

We realized that artists like Prince and David Bowie would not live forever, but their work and legacies would never be forgotten.

We realized that the Chicago Cubs could actually break the curse.

Adviser Christina Hammitt Editor-in-Chief Shibi Sanjeev Jack Silberman Managing Editors Jack Wroldsen (Print) Julia Eisenshtadt (Web)

We realized that we can’t help ourselves when it comes to making inappropriate memes about a dead gorilla.

We realized that it is possible for the Kardashians to get even more famous, but it’s also possible for their perfect world to crumble after an attack on Kim in a Paris hotel room.

And, of course, we realized that even the most surprising of people can become the most powerful person in the world.

2017 will be here before we know it. Let’s start off on the right foot.

These realizations mean nothing unless we act upon them. Reflect on your own personal year.

Learn lessons from your mistakes, as will we from ours. The only way for 2017 to be a better year is for everyone to grow individually, so collectively, we can make 2017 a year to remember in the good way.

“It’s time to take

everything we ‘realized’ in 2016, and make them better for the new year.”

Business Manager Jason Moonka Section Editors CJ Drogosch Evan Stern John Ballouz Max Wittenberg Max Helfman Cartoonist Betsy Stubbs

Staff Writers Anna Cao Hira Ali Nuha Razuiddin Sadie Kirschner Giancarlo Tucci

Michael-Armen Kadian

Riya Doshi Alexis Rillema Caitlin Finerty Ember Stuart

Vivian Harber Jillian Abbo Justin Yaker Nicole Grace Habib Bello Brynn Elder Jessica Kim Ally Heath

I remember walking into the first parent-teacher conference I ever went to. Feeling at home with the green-painted walls, I had strolled into the classroom, chin high, shoulders thrown back.

All of my grades were at their peak. I was expecting nothing but praise and pride.

Sure enough, the moment we sat down, my teacher gave us all a smile. “Your daughter has really been making a lot of progress,” he said.

My parents looked to me, then to my teacher.

“Sorry?” my mom asked, her r’s stiff and unpracticed.

That was when it hit me: I was wrong. Instead of a conversation of praise, honor, and pride, it would be one of humiliation, embarrassment, and shame.

I watched as my teacher’s smile faded. “Progress,” he said, slower this time. I sunk down into my seat. My mom couldn’t understand him. She had no idea what he was saying; she probably didn’t even know what the word “progress” was.

She looked at me again. All I could see was her confusion.

In Korea, my dad was a brilliant engineer with a master’s degree and a Ph.D. to boot. My mom had an IQ of nearly 150 and she was more charismatic than anyone I knew.

In the U.S., they were dumb immigrants.

And in the U.S., I was their pitiable immigrant daughter who wanted nothing to do with them.

In the back of my mind, I knew my parents were smart, more intelligent than anyone I knew. But in the face of my teacher’s pitying eyes and my parents’ slow, accented words, any trace of pride I had, vanished. Gone. In its place was only a deep-rooted shame.

The conference itself was only a few minutes long, but to me it stretched out forever. Every word that was spoken, I had to translate. Each word felt like it was pried out of me, one embarrassing sentence after another.

As soon as it was over, I snatched my parents by the hand and dragged them out, face flushing. I felt mortified. At a time I should’ve kept my chin held high, my shoulders were hunched instead, tears pricking at my eyes. An endless stream of curses rushed through my head.

Stupid. Useless. Slow.

Immigrant.

I never brought them back again.

Trying to distance myself as much as I could, I seized upon every opportunity I found. I absorbed books faster than I could pick them up.

Practiced my English until it was flawless, better than anyone in the class. Erased every part of my Korean identity--the food, the holidays, the language--until nothing but ashes remained. I am not my parents, I remember thinking. I am smarter. I am better. I am not my parents.

I did this for years, trying to erase that part of me. The part of me that connected me to my family. To be completely honest, I didn’t realize the magnitude of what I was doing. Didn’t understand the ties I was breaking.

Then she called me. It was the same call that came every month, but this time, everything was different.

“How is my grandaughter doing? How is school?” my grandmother asked in Korean. A year ago, thousands of greetings and questions and stories could filter through my head in the blink of an eye. Korean could give me hours and hours of conversation, but this time, I couldn’t muster the choppy syllables of my native language.

I could barely make a sound.

I wanted to talk to her, but the words wouldn’t come, not the way they used to. So I tried English. I wanted to say something.

“I can’t understand you. You know I don’t know English, Jungwon-ah.”

That’s when it hit me. I understood what I had done, the terrible mistake I had made. I’d only learned English for six years, but it was enough to burn away any remnants of the Korean I’d known.

There was nothing I could offer her.

My throat closed up, tears pricking at my eyes.

“Sorry,” I muttered, and passed the phone to my mom.

A single conversation wasn’t enough to reverse a decade of ingrained shame and willful ignorance. But for the first time, it was enough to make me want to try.

Small steps, I told myself. I started listening to Korean songs and movies. Took time to appreciate the food more. Scratched out Korean letters in the margins of my homework.

And slowly, the more I dipped back into my Korean culture, the more I realized that there was nothing about my parents I should’ve felt embarrassed about. Not their clothes. Not their jobs. Not any part of Korea they had brought with them.

Their accents were not evidence of their incompetence, I finally understood. Instead, their accents was proof of their efforts to learn another language. The food my mom had made was years of experience and centuries of history. Being immigrants didn’t change the fact that they were still some of the smartest people I knew.

I had no reason to be ashamed.

If I could travel back in time, I would go to that first moment I felt humiliation instead of pride for my culture and my family. I would go to that little first-grader, hug her, and tell her, “You are not worth less because of your ‘weird’ lunch or the color of your hair or even the accent your parents carry. That accent is proof of their efforts to learn another language. Don’t belittle that work. They are brilliant in any tongue, in any country. So are you.”

There are still people out there who have that first-grader inside of them, who tells them, “Hide who you are so you won’t be embarrassed.

Hide, hide, hide.”

In the game of cultures and immigration, I learned that you can either choose to listen to that first-grader and hide, or to look at them and ask, “Why should you be embarrassed?”

And I think that’s a game we all know how to win.

Guest Writers Ali Randel Anish Tamhaney Ben Cooper Brendan Lynn Camryn Brent Forest Zhang Hanna Halstead Kaitlin Bronstein Kylie Buckfire Maddie Wein

Maddy Moskus Pan Stavropoulos Sammi Trepeck Sarah Kenkel Sarah Qureshi Skylar Raitt

Your guide to STAR WARS:

ROGUE ONE When does Rogue One take place?

Rogue One takes place after the prequels, but before the orignial trilogy and the Force Awakens

I II III IV V VI VII ROGUE ONE

WHAT IS THE PLOT? This film centers around the rebel forces attempting to intercept the blueprints for the Death Star

By the Numbers

$7 Billion

220,781

Disney’s projected ticket sales for the film

cubic miles-- the approximate volume of the Death Star

$200M

137 cm

The budget for the film was a whopping $200 million

The original model of the Death Star used for Episode IV was only 137 centimeters

James Earl Jones will return to play the voice of Darth Vader

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