February issue 2016

THE

TALON

ROCHESTER HILLS, MI // FEBRUARY 2016 // VOL. 78 ISSUE 5

FLINT WATER crisis

The use of lead pipes in the water systems of Flint, Mich. have proved to be detrimental to the health of the population in the city. As citizens await feedback from Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, multiple relief efforts and protests are taking place. For more on the issue, see pages 8-9. Photo Courtesy of Virginia Tech University

PAGE 2 // NEWS

NEWS BRIEFS:

THE TALON // FEBRUARY 2016

5.

1.

ns

Photos Courtesy of Bre Weaver

Photos Courtesy of Creative Commons

1. RHS

2. RCS

3. STATE

4. COUNTRY

5. WORLD

On Saturday, Feb. 23, RHS hosted its annual Sadie Hawkins dance. Senior and student council member Bre Weaver explains the preperations made by student council.

“We have to make sure we get a DJ first, because that’s the most important thing.” Weaver said. “Other people on the committee work on decoration ideas and make sure we get all of the right supplies to make the mall look how we want it.”

Though many enjoyed this year’s Sadies, it was apparent that the turnout was less than what was expected.

“Around 300 bought tickets, which is a lot smaller than usual, but the people who went enjoyed it,” Weaver said. “I’ve noticed a decline in school dances overall.

People just don’t like to go to them and us as a council, there’s nothing we can do.”

Though Rochester dances have seen a decline in turn out, students who attend are still able to have a good time.

“The DJ was actually really good this year and I just enjoyed it because it’s my senior year and my friends were there and we were just having a really good time,” Weaver said.

Breif by Lauren Alison

An amendment to the Rochester Education Association contract was negotiated between the union and the district at the end of January, changing the way compensatory time can be earned and used. “[The change was implemented because of an] ongoing sub shortage within the district,” math teacher and REA high school union representative Mr. Rob Byrd said.

Staff members earn comp. time by subbing for other teachers on their conference hour. Once they sub five times, they are eligible to use a comp. day. Now staff members can only use two comp. days in a school year and these days can not be on days that fall before or after a break.

“In our building it is a change from how we have normally earned comp. time and in other buildings it has been a relaxation on how they have earned comp. time,” Mr. Byrd said.

Mr. Byrd explains how long these changes will be implemented for.

“These changes will run through the rest of our contract, which runs through 2019,” Bryd said.

Brief by Hannah Chilcote

With election season in full swing, the candidates are set to debate in Michigan early March.

Sophomore Allie Coutilish is excited for the Democratic debate in Flint.

“I feel like it’d be really interesting to get to know more about the candidates and see their mannerisms in person as opposed to through the screen where things can be hidden or edited,” Coutilish said.

In contrast, sophomore Amanda LeBel would love to see the Republican candidates she supports, Trump and Rubio, debate in Detroit.

“I support Rubio because he’s a Christian and I think that his values stem from that,” LeBel said. “I also like Trump because he’s not afraid to speak his mind and stick up for his own beliefs.”

Coutilish supports Bernie Sanders and looks up to his ideals.

“I just really like the prospects of what he could do with the country,” Coutilish said.

LeBel disagrees.

“I think Trump will win the debate and the entire presidency, honestly,” LeBel said. “He is able to really stick up for his beliefs and people admire that.”

Brief by Angela Mammel

A deal between Russia and the United States was announced earlier this month to have a ceasefire in Syria. The conflict started by Syria’s civil war has been going on for years and the deal would supposedly put an end to much of the death and injury caused by it. Junior Jigar Patel believes the deal would be a good step towards ending Syrian conflict.

“Anything that can protect civilians is good,” Patel said. “We (the United States) could play a bigger role in bringing over Syrian refugees. Helping Syrian refugees could help the economy here, bring more jobs and save families.”

Patel also says that he thinks Russia’s role in the Syrian conflict is disgraceful due to their lack of true effort in “fighting ISIS.” “It’s a pretty shameful act,” Patel said. “Putin hasn’t been doing anything to save civilians, they’re not really fighting ISIS.” The deal was also recently approved by Syrian officials, but some doubt that the peace will remain after the deal is under way. Whatever the case, the world will be watching Syria on Saturday to see what unfolds.

Brief by Julia Labban

On Saturday, Feb. 20, Jason Dalton, an Uber driver, killed six people in a shooting rampage.

Dalton is thought to have picked up and dropped off numerous customers during this time. This seven-hour event has aroused much concern. Sophomore Rachel Rettie believes the jeopardy of the public’s safety was the most significant issue, especially because students at Western Michigan University were not warned of the threat.

“The system currently used to warn students about shootings is too ineffective right now,” Rettie said. “They should have that on hand with a push of a button.”

Rettie believes that the method used to make the public aware of such threats has room for improvement.

“They should give the authority to send that information out to multiple people so that if someone hears about it, they can [notify the public] right away instead of having to drive to some place or put it in a computer and have a single person send out a notification,” Rettie said.

Brief by Zahra Ahmed

1 THE TALON // FEBUARY 2016

PAGE 3 // NEWS

RCS administrators Dan Mooney, Carrie Lawler, Dr. Robert Shaner, and Michael Behrmann meet with administrators from Chinese Schools. Photo Courtesy of Debi Fragomeni

RCS SPONSORS A TRIP TO CHINA LAUREN KARMO STAFF WRITER

On Jan. 20-28, RCS superintendent Dr. Robert Shaner, Executive Director of Elementary Education Michael Behrmann, Executive Director of Secondary Education Carrie Lawler and Principal of Van Hoosen middle school Dan Mooney went to China to gain global awareness in hopes to bring back knowledge that will benefit the RCS program as well as better prepare themselves for a trip that middle school Chinese language students will be taking over spring break. Global awareness is one of the key components of the RCS strategic plan initiated in 2013 that hopes to continue to emphasize cultural awareness.

“The world today is much smaller than we think, and it’s necessary for people when they enter adult life and the workplace to have global competence,” Mr. Behrmann said. “The rest of world is just a stone’s throw away, and we’re dealing more and more with people from all over the world.”

RCS has also added language classes at the elementary level, in addition to the Chinese classes they

partnerships from seven different offer at the middle school level. countries,” Mr. Behrmann said.

“We are doing a service to our “Expanding their horizons beyond kids,” Mrs. Lawler said. “The early Rochester and Michigan and elementary schools have added Chinese to the education in first extending those horizons to the through fourth grades, and we’ve rest if the world. It will take time never had a language at that level to build on these skills, but I’m before. We’ve also added a class confident that we can.” of Chinese at one of our middle The district decided to take a trip to China schools when we to give its “The rest of world is just a had enough students a stone’s throw away, and we’re students unique and interested new experience dealing more and more with to run the that has never people from all over the world.” class.” been offered An before.

Michael Behrmann, Executive exchange “We picked program China so our Director of Elementary has been students can Education created at gain global //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// perspective RCS as well of a country in hopes of that we don’t expanding the cultural awareness and exposure typically think of when we think of Western culture,” Mr. Behrmann for not only their students but for said. “It’s a bit different than a trip the students who are visiting their to Germany or France.” schools. One of the exchange The initial trip in January that the pragrams, Educatius, is paying for administrators attended served as a part of the China experience for test run for the middle school trip.

RCS staff and students. The rest of There, they were met with a lot of the trip will be funded by a grant and parents. new things and ideas, as none of “We’ve added exchange them have visited China before.

“We wanted to better prepare ourselves to help the kids going because we’ve never been to China,” Mr. Behrmann said.

“There, we made changes to the itinerary for the middle school trip.

Everything is different there, from food to transportation to public bathrooms.”

In the past, students have gone on numerous trips to multiple counties such as Spain, France, Germany, Canada and Costa Rica; however students have never been offered an opportunity to go to an Asian country.

“There are several trips going to Spain over spring break and France over the summer, but these trips are not RCS sponsored,” French teacher Elizabeth Arcangeli said.

“The RCS strategic plan has a Global Awareness strand, part of which entails building relationships and exchanges between our students and students in other countries to enhance global citizenship.”

The students will embark on a 10-day trip, visiting multiple cities, such as Shanghai, Hangzhou and Beijing, and engaging with the culture outside of their travel group.

Mrs. Arcangeli is also the World Language Curriculum Coordinator

for the district and will be accompanying students on the trip as a chaperone. They will be gone from April 1-10, and a majority of the 13 kids attending are eighth graders.

“We will visit several schools while in China and the students will participate in a home-stay during which they will live with Chinese families and attend classes with their ‘brothers’ and ‘sisters,’” Mrs. Arcangeli said. “We will be touring historic sites such as the Great Wall, in addition to experiencing local delicacies such as Peking duck.”

Overall, the importance of the trip is multifaceted. Administrators wish to further the partnerships between our district and those around the world to increase cultural awareness for students, staff, and families. China is just the first step toward experiencing new ideas and values.

“It’s important for our students to know how the Chinese value things like education compared to how we do here, particularly an American education,” Mrs. Lawler said. “An American education is valued highly there and we want our students to see that.”

PAGES 4-5 // NEWS

THE TALON // FEBRUARY 2016

THE PERIOD STIGMA:

Analyzing the severity and societal view of menstruation have acne problems before their period. She also explains that swimming and menstruation can be both a beneficial and difficult combination to deal with.

“I usually start to break out on my face a week before my period, so that’s how I know it’s coming,” Sriram said. “Periods are really inconvenient for me because I’m a swimmer and it’s really annoying to swim with a tampon, but on the other hand, whenever I do experience a slight bit of pain, swimming actually relieves it.”

Junior Zackeriah Krueger says that his knowledge of period symptoms includes pain, emotional extremes, and other issues.

“Periods are a nightmare,” Krueger said.

“There’s cramps, bleeding, soreness, headaches, unexplainable mood swings and often cravings, but everybody handles and reacts differently. No two periods are the same usually.”

Freshman Olivia Labban walks down the feminine health aisle. Photo by Julia Labban

JULIA LABBAN NEWS EDITOR

without complaint. Dr. Jessica Ridgway explains Menstrual cycles or “periods” are often the symptoms and problems associated with treated as jokes, especially in a high school menstrual cycles. setting. The pains and difficulties of these cycles “Many women experience abdominal have gradually formed a cramping and pain stigma regarding periods.

“Periods are definitely a legitimate with their periods,” People are willing to Dr. Ridgway said. reason to take time off of school. “This is called joke about an individual I know people who have it so bad, ‘dysmenorrhea.’ Their experiencing their period until the specifics of it that they can’t even get out of bed symptoms may start are brought up. It is then 1-2 days before their some mornings.” regarded as a disgusting period and gradually function that should not be get better over several Mrudula Sriram, 11 talked about. days. Some women /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// have heavy bleeding The Effects of associated with their Menstruation periods.”

One misconception about periods is that Junior Mrudula Sriram says she and other they are not that serious and should be handled individuals who have a monthly cycle may also

The Severity and Annoyances of Periods The severity of menstrual cycles is often misinterpreted among the public as trivial and manageable, but periods can often hinder an individual from doing her normal activities.

“The pain can be intense,” Dr. Ridgway said.

“In a study among women in Canada, 60 percent of women reported having abdominal pain or cramps with their periods. Of those, 60 percent described the pain as moderate to severe, 51 percent said that the pain limited their activities and 17 percent reported having to miss work or school because of the pain. Other women experience heavy bleeding with menstruation, and sometimes there is a medical reason for the increased bleeding, like fibroids (growths within the uterus). Women who experience heavy bleeding with their periods should be evaluated by a doctor.”

Sriram says that her personal experience with periods is fairly mild, but occasionally she gets intense cramps at awkward times.

“Compared to the period symptoms of a lot of other girls, mine definitely aren’t as severe,” Sriram said. “It could be because I’m relatively new to the whole period thing and it can take a while to feel the symptoms on a higher scale. I do experience sharp cramps every once in awhile.

What’s funny is that when they do happen, it’s

during the most inconvenient times ever, like when I’m at a swim meet, or a camping trip and it even happened during my APUSH exam.”

Most people know about the normal symptoms that come with periods, but few

Percent of Lifetime Spent on Period

Sriram says that leaking is one of the common inconveniences people can experience on their period.

“The chance of leaking on your pants when you’re in school or any other place is always a known risk during your period,” Sriram said. “It is also very risky to be careless when on your period because keeping a tampon in for over eight hours can lead to toxic shock syndrome, which can be life-threatening.”

Days experiencing period, 13 percent Other days, 87 percent

people are aware of the extreme situations that menstrual cycles can cause. Dr. Ridgway explains that anemia (a deficiency of red blood cells or of hemoglobin in the blood, resulting in weariness) and toxic shock syndrome (acute blood poisoning, typically caused by bacterial infection from a retained tampon or IUD) are some of the more rare but serious symptoms associated with periods.

“The majority of women with periods don’t have any problems other than the cramping and pain associated with them,” Dr. Ridgway said.

“However, some women with heavy bleeding might become anemic due to loss of blood. In women who use tampons, there is a very small risk of toxic shock syndrome if they use highly absorbent tampons or leave them in for long periods of time. Toxic shock syndrome was more common in the 1980s, but it is quite rare now, since the tampons that were more likely to cause toxic shock syndrome were removed from the market.”

and headaches. I know people who have it so bad, that they can’t even get out of bed some mornings and have even gotten to the point of puking because the cramps were so severe.

School is already tiring enough and nobody should have to sit through a lesson or take a test while they feel uncomfortable.”

Krueger thinks that time off of school is okay under some circumstances but believes that since periods happen for a good portion of an individual’s life, they should be able to figure out how to deal with them. “[Time off is acceptable] but only to a degree because you’re going to be on your period for [a good portion] of your life, so you need to learn how to handle it,” Krueger said. “But sometimes I think a day can be justified.”

The Use of Birth Control People who experience periods are often Sources: judged for using birth control, but many individuals don’t know that these options can joshuakennon.com and alleviate the struggle associated with periods. facts.randomhistory.com “There are several options to treat dysmenorrhea, and I would recommend that Periods and School women with it discuss potential treatment

It is often debated whether women options with their doctors,” Dr. Ridgway said. with periods should be allowed to take time off “One option is to take to pain medications like of school or work if their period symptoms are ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) or naproxen (Aleve). too severe. Dr. Ridgway says that intense periods Hormonal methods of birth control, like the should be treated just like any other hindering birth control pill, vaginal ring or patch, can also medical condition and that taking time off of be used to decrease the pain, cramping and heavy school should be allowed in some cases. bleeding associated with periods. Hormonal “Not all women need to take time off contraception is quite safe but there can be rare school during their periods,” Dr. Ridgway said. side effects, particularly for women who smoke.”

“However, a minority of women who experience Smoking increases the risk of serious severe pain that is not responding to pain cardiovascular side effects, according to Mayo medication or heavy bleeding may need to stay Clinic. home for a day or two. They should be allowed Sriram says that she wouldn’t use birth to do so, just as anyone else with a medical control for her period because of the many risks condition that makes it difficult for them to fully associated with the pill. participate at school should be allowed to stay “I personally don’t like the idea of taking home.” birth control on my period because since the Sriram agrees that people who have to deal pill prevents your body from making hormones with periods should be allowed to take time off involved in menstruation, it can disrupt the of school because of the problems they cause. hormone making process,” Sriram said. “I “Periods are definitely a legitimate reason wouldn’t risk taking birth control for my to take time off of school,” Sriram said. “For period primarily because I don’t like relying on some girls, the pain goes beyond just cramps medication or pills for relief unless I absolutely have to.”

Krueger believes that birth control is perfectly fine to use for periods and other issues like acne.

“I think birth control is a great option for period regulation,” Krueger said. “It also can help clear acne, depression and, of course, it prevents pregnancy.”

The Stigma There are many questions about periods and their effects, but one of the most complex aspects is the debate over why there is a stigma associated with menstruation. Dr. Ridgway sees the stigma that comes with periods as systemic and cultural.

“I would imagine [the stigma] is a cultural issue. Some cultures view menstruation as embarrassing or think it makes women unclean,” Dr. Ridgway said. “There are some cultures where the taboo is much worse than in the U.S.” Sriram believes that the judgmental attitude people have towards periods has to do with generalizations and immaturity.

“I think people make jokes about periods because sometimes girls have a tendency to be more moody and irritable on [them], so whenever a girl gets mad or snappy, the instant reaction is ‘wow, she must be on her period,’ which is pretty immature,” Sriram said. “There’s so much misconception and faulty reasoning associated with periods, so I think that’s why people who have them are sometimes treated disrespectfully.”

Scan the QR code to learn more about the strides being made in menstrual hygiene innovation

PAGE 6 // FEATURE

WINTER PEP ASSEMBLY

THE TALON // FEBRUARY 2016

THE TALON 2013-2014

Junior Class Congress prepares spirited event CARLY CRAIG

CIRCULATION MANGAER It’s 7 a.m. on a Tuesday morning and while most kids haven’t even arrived at school yet, the members of Class Congress are planning the winter pep assembly. When it comes to preparation, Class Congress doesn’t take it lightly. It has a set schedule to follow to make sure that things flow smoothly.

Junior Class Congress advisor Mr. Chad Zwolinski explained how the winter pep assembly began.

“I’ve been running the winter pep assembly for three years,” Mr. Zwolinski said. “I asked Mr. Rowland if it would be okay to have another assembly, so I became in charge of running it, because I really thought we needed to have more than one spirit assembly the whole year.”

Mr. Zwolinski talks about his role.

“I give the responsibility of pretty much everything to Class Congress, so I set up the structure and tell them what won’t work and what will,” Mr. Zwolinski said. “They’re in charge of speaking to teachers, planning what games they want, creating logos, speaking to other Class Congresses, meeting and organizing together, making sure each one of them is in charge of their own jobs. Really it’s their assembly.”

Junior Tziporah Tiller talks about her position as head of Junior Class Congress and what that entails.

“I’m president of Junior Class Congress,” Tiller said. “ [I’m in charge of] delegating people, their positions, making sure everything’s on track and making sure everybody’s doing their job.”

Junior Camiah Tutstone describes her position on Congress and what she’s doing to prepare for the assembly.

“My job is to basically make sure everything is in order as far as helping out our president, Zippy.

Just trying to get people excited about our events that we’re having,” Tutstone said. “For the pep assembly, I’m making a playlist and I’m also MCing with Madison Vanderhoof, so it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Mr. Zwolinski discusses the difficulties of putting the pep assembly together.

“The most difficult part of putting the assembly together is the fact that Class Congress became in charge of it, [and] we don’t have a class,” Mr. Zwolinski said. “So, to be able to do this all before school and have kids meet you before school and after school and put this together has been a challenge, but it has also been unbelievably rewarding to know that they can put this on on their free time on top of their classes.”

Tutstone finds lack of practice time to be difficult.

“Planning for the pep assembly is hard just because we have to figure out times without having a set runthrough,” Tutstone said.

Junior Class Congress discusses events for the pep assembly at a meeting. Photo by Carly Craig that,” Tutstone said. “Because that’s basically the Mr. Zwolinski talks about how he does the theme.” best he can to make sure that the assembly goes Mr. Zwolinski talks about how Class Congress as planned. is teaming up with STUGO to spread the word.

“The process we go through to make sure “The goal is to start getting that out within the everything runs smoothly would be first looking next couple weeks, we’re going to use STUGO back at previous years. I always keep a list of more than anybody, because really the charity exact times, exact things that happened, I write week is a STUGO event,” Mr. Zwolinski said. down and I keep a little tally of things that went “We’re teaming up right, things that went with them to make it a wrong, and we always “[Getting the crowd pumped is] really school wide spirit. So, go back and try to adjust what worked well, tough just because a lot of people are kind hopefully we’ll be getof preoccupied, but we’re trying to get ting some announcewhat didn’t and plan ments out, but just accordingly for next more games started, so we’ll be able to spreading it during year,” Mr. Zwolinski have them have a lot of fun.” that entire week.” said. “So having an Student Council organized schedule is Camiah Tutstone, 11 teacher Mrs. Kelly the most important ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Cusmano discusses part.” the charity that STUTiller talks about GO kids have chosen how vital spreading for charity week. the word is to getting people excited about the “We tried to do a tri-high charity, however assembly.

Stoney was really passionate about their charity “I’ve been telling some of my friends about [the pep assembly],” Tiller said. “Soon we’ll start and Adams was really passionate about theirs. It kind of put Rochester in the middle, which made tweeting about it, and just letting people know it a little tense,” Mrs. Cusmano said. “We decided just by talking to them personally.” all three schools to go their own way, so then we Tutstone is also working on spreading the went back to the drawing board and we decide word to get more people involved. things sometimes by doing NCAA bracket style.

“For the pep assembly we’ve had to figure We got down to the final four and presented on out how to get teachers involved as well as make those, and Project 561 was the last one standing.” our charity known, and get people involved with

Tutstone talks about the difficulties of getting the crowd excited. “[Getting the crowd pumped is] really tough just because a lot of people are kind of preoccupied,” Tutstone said. “But we’re trying to get more games started, so we’ll be able to have them have a lot of fun.”

Tiller talks about what Class Congress has planned to get the crowd pumped up.

“We have the cheerleaders, and we have the dance team,” Tiller said. ‘They’re going to help pump everybody up to get the energy vibing and flowing.”

Mr. Zwolinski talks about what he hopes to achieve during this year’s assembly.

“For the assembly this year, I hope to improve upon a little bit of the energy throughout the entire thing because we’ve centered it around a sport specifically the past two years,” Mr. Zwolinski said. “We’ve had an introduction in the middle, and it seems that that kind of sometimes has thrown off a little bit of the vibe, to where now it’s gonna be completely centered around charity week, and every single thing will be directly tied back to that charity week.”

PAGE 7 // FEATURE

THE TALON // FEBRUARY 2016 It’s almost submission day, and the AP art students here at Rochester High are preparing their pieces for entry as they frantically take photos to send to Scholastic.

The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards are just around the corner, and most artists are waiting anxiously to hear whether or not their art has made it to finals.

The competition is a pivotal moment for any high school artist, and is crucial for the winners, as Rochester High’s art and photography teacher, Mrs. Jessica Huvaere, explains.

“It’s a great accomplishment for a student to win a Scholastics Art award,” Mrs. Huvaere said.

“Their work is selected from over six-thousand entries. I always give my student the analogy of it being very similar to like if you go to states for a sport.”

It is an incredible accomplishment to be chosen at the national level according to junior Rachel Maldonado.

“It means that they should feel proud because they’re competing against a ton of other students’ works,” Maldonado said. “Throughout them all, theirs [was] chosen to be recognized.”

Senior Alaine Apostol’s journey with art has led her to this competition, and her hard work and dedication paid off when she received her awards. “[The awards are] Silver Key, honorable mention, and Gold Key,” Apostol said. “I entered two pieces. One won a Gold Key and the other won an honorable mention. To win a Gold Key is a national recognition to the piece of work, and to the artist. Instinctively I first felt very shocked. I’ve won awards before, but never of such a high recognition. I felt proud, and relieved of all the hard work and stress I’ve put into each piece.”

The categories fit almost any style of artist, and there is a large range of categories for students to enter in, including video, animation, digital art, drawing, painting, mixed media, photography, sculpture, jewelry, ceramics, glass blowing, fashion, comic art, and 3D printing.

“They do have to pay too, there is a fee that is attached, they have to pay five dollars per entry, twenty dollars per portfolio,” Mrs. Huvaere said. “So I know that does hinder a lot of our really talented artists at this school, and it definitely limits some of the students from applying or submitting work because it’s expensive. If you submit ten pieces, it’s a lot of money that you’re spending to enter the competition. How they would submit their work is that they photograph their work if it’s not already a digital image, and then they upload it onto the website, and then they submit it that way. Once it gets selected to be in the show, then they prepare their work. basically they mat it, and then they drop it off at the “If their work is accepted College for Creative Studies where it will be displayed.” into this competition, this Senior Zach Wendt explains that the awards are not to be taken lightly, is basically saying they’re as many of the students spend so much of their time and pay so much one of the top artists in attention to their pieces. our area.”

“I worked hard all year on my concentration, so I think the hard work -Mrs. Jessica Huvaere paid off,” Wendt said. “I’ve always been interested [in art], but I began to take it seriously sophomore year.” /////////////////////////////////// The national attention brought upon the artists and their work comes with endless opportunities including scholarships and prizes, as Mrs. Huvaere said. “[Winning involves] more exposure than anything, but there are absolutely scholarships that are attached,” Mrs. Huvaere said. “CCS, the College for Creative Studies, works very closely with the Scholastics Art and Writing program, and they host it, so they definitely gives away a lot of scholarship money. There are some other schools too, and some private individuals that give away small, monetary scholarships to students who are pursuing a degree in the arts. There are also some gift cards, DickBlick, (an art store located in Dearborn), gives away a number of gift cards, and then Birmingham Bloomfield art center gives away scholarships for classes, Oakland University gives away scholarships for classes, and Paint Creek center for the Arts.”

For those who receive scholarships, the recognition is the catalyst for opportunities for camps, schools, and other programs, Maldonado explains.

“So far, I have received one gold key, two silver keys, an honorable mention, and a scholarship for a summer art program, which I went to and [it] was amazing,” Maldonado said. “I have been accepted into College for Creative Studies and plan on going there for graphic design.”

Maldonado also explains the exposure process for winners, and how others can view the top pieces.

“They expose the artwork through galleries which thousands of people can walk by and see,” Maldonado said. “The awards you receive look incredible on college applications, and when applying to a job that involves art.”

The awards are given to the most qualified artist at the high school level, and are a rewarding experience for those who are recognized.

“This is the largest most publicly recognized art competition there is for high school art students,” Mrs. Huvaere said. “So to be the equivalency of that, if their work is accepted into this competition, this is basically saying they’re one of the top artists in our area.”

Students win prestigious Scholastic Art and Writing Awards MAKENZIE SHUBNELL ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

Senior Alaine Apostol’s work won a Gold Key in the Scholastic Art and Writing Competition.

Photo by Mrs. Jessica Huvaere

PAGES 8-9 // SPREAD

THE TALON // FEBRUARY 2016

FLINT WATER: THE CRISIS CONTINUES

Flint’s water supply was contaminated causing lead poisoning.

Julia Labban

NEWS EDITOR On Jan. 5, a state of emergency was declared for the city of Flint due to the lead contamination in the population’s water. This area of southeast Michigan is still suffering from the negative health effects that the metal brings and is looking for answers to why and how this crisis came to fruition, since it has been found that many officials knew that the water supply was dangerous. Civil engineer Jim Ridgway believes that poor decision making was a significant factor in the generation of the crisis.

“It was almost a perfect storm of bad public service,” Mr. Ridgway said. “It was such a failure of

our government at every level. If you had told me that this could happen, I would have said it couldn’t — not with this many people making this many bad decisions, but I was wrong.”

Junior Tziporah Tiller finds the situation discouraging because she believes it was ultimately avoidable.

“What’s happening in Flint is honestly frustrating to me,” Tiller said. “It’s sad and it could’ve been completely prevented. The government officials knew what was going on for almost two years and I think they could’ve gotten away with it for much longer if it wasn’t for outside forces that called attention to it.

Also, the fact that the city continues to bill residents for that toxic water is the most infuriating thing about it.”

Junior Kane Phillips agrees and has a few ideas about how the situation should be handled.

“The people responsible for the crisis should be held accountable,” Phillips said. “The people of Flint should be given clean water at no charge and everyone affected by the lead should be treated.”

Due to the juxtaposition of race and wealth

between of a majority of Flint residents versus its governmental leaders, many believe that socioeconomics played a role in the formation of the crisis. Mr. Ridgway thinks that this is a possibility when it comes to the delay that occurred between the discovery of the possible danger and the actions that took place.

“Maybe the delay was [a result of socio economics],” Mr. Ridgway said. “Some of the lack of response was unbelievable. But I think more than that it was a number of people that were not fully engaged in their decisions. There were a number of small decisions where people were thinking ‘well that can’t be right’ and they just kept moving on.”

Tiller sees the crisis as very race and class-oriented due to the lack of power that Flint residents have when it comes to their government.

“I definitely think race and class played a major role in this issue because nobody could even imagine something this horrible and dangerous happening [in Rochester] or in Grosse Pointe,” Tiller said. “The people in Flint have no economic power or power in general. It sucks and it shouldn’t be that way but

unfortunately that’s how it works and this crisis proves something needs to change in how government officials view their citizens and how we view each other.”

Phillips agrees that race is a highly influential component when analyzing the reasons for the crisis.

“I think race was a pretty big factor in the Flint Water Crisis,” Phillips said. “There are a lot of African Americans and people in the lower class there, and the lack of consideration from the governor shows how he didn’t really care what happened to the residents.

If the people had been primarily white and were a bit more wealthy, I think Snyder would’ve been more careful when he switched the water systems.”

The lead contamination in Flint’s water systems poses a number of health risks. Mr. Ridgway explains that lead consumption leads to many issues in the body, especially with children.

“Among many things, [lead] causes developmental problems,” Mr. Ridgway said. “It is a metal and your brain is like a little electrochemical computer, so if you put any kind of metal into your brain, it sort of short circuits. There are some children who have been affected forever, so first and foremost they need to limit that. There are some things that we can do to minimize the impact of lead over time, but there are some children that have toxic levels of lead, you’re not going to undo that. ” Mr. Ridgway also says that there are financial problems that have surfaced as a result of the contamination.

“There is old infrastructure that needs to be replaced,” Mr. Ridgway said. “The problem was that the inside of pipes were leaking lead. Had they stayed on Detroit water, that would have not happened. So those pipes need to be replaced and that is going to be a very costly fix.”

One area of controversy associated with the crisis is the reparations that city officials should face. Some say that the contamination wasn’t really the fault of the officials, others believe that there should be a great deal of blame placed on individuals like Rick Snyder.

Mr. Ridgway thinks that there is a more complex system of liability than just “guilty” and “not guilty.”

“There are different levels of responsibility,” Mr. Ridgway said. “I’d like to believe that [city officials] could have prevented this from happening but that’s probably not the case. I also know that there will be a large number of third party lawsuits that are going to make a handful of the counties very rich, and the people that were wronged will only get a fraction of the winnings, that’s just the way it’s going to work. But with that said, there were people in the bureaucracy that made colossal mistakes and I think a majority of them were just mistakes of incompetence but I also think there were some decisions made that may have been manipulated to prevent them from having to do things they didn’t want to do, and that is probably criminal. So the courts will decide what needs to happen.”

Tiller believes that Flint officials need to take responsibility for the crisis and resign due to their part in the widespread neglect.

“First, I think Governor Snyder needs to resign,” Tiller said. “He was mainly responsible for the decision to switch from Detroit’s water system, and

that, every other older urban area’s going to request that was made earlier than the 1940’s, you have old he didn’t take any of Flint’s concerns seriously, so he the same thing. So the equity of which taxpayers are plumbing and you probably have a lead line. I drink should be held accountable for his blatant disregard Detroit water and I was working for the city when they and laziness. As governor it’s his responsibility and job paying for what is going to come up again. As a state and a country, we have defunded public health and started adding the corrosion inhibitor which prevents to make sure every person in the state of Michigan is environmental protection, lead from leaking into taken care of and safe. As for the emergency manager just by budgets.” the water. Using a reverse and others involved, they need to resign as well.”

“First and foremost I would attack Mr. Ridgway says that he osmosis system makes the Phillips agrees that those who took part in the would deal with the Flint water as pure as it can be.” oversight of the crisis need to give up their positions the problem like it was my house and Water Crisis as if he were According to Mr. as public officials. my children, Mr. Ridgway said. “First dealing with his own family.

Ridgway, the Flint Water “I feel that the governor should step down,” thing I would do is get some doctors “First and foremost I Crisis has roots in the overall Phillips said. “Anyone involved in the water crisis that would attack the problem plummet in focus for public even had the slightest idea that the people could be and public health folks to tell me like it was my house and my health. harmed should also be removed from their position.” what’s the best thing I can do now… to children,” Mr. Ridgway said.

“We as a country want In addition to proper punishment, the city’s “First thing I would do is services, but we hate paying involvement in the remedying of the crisis is also help these children and myself.” get some doctors and public taxes,” Mr. Ridgway said. being hotly debated. Mr. Ridgway believes that Flint Jim Ridgway, Civil Engineer health folks to tell me what’s “But if you starve the public officials should at least provide clean water for the //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// the best thing I can do now health system, do not expect population and help in replacing the ruined pipes that … to help these children and good public health ... I resulted from corrosion. myself. Step two is I would encourage people to demand “At least get [the population] some clean drinking want some widget at my sink that will at least get me certain services from our government, like protecting water,” Mr. Ridgway said. “Right now they’re putting clean drinking water … Then I would ask and demand drinking water, and recognize it’s going to cost money in some filters but they need something more that the pipes from the curb to my house weren’t made and not go nuts when people want to raise your taxes sophisticated installed at the tap so you could at least of or contaminated with lead. Then I would hope or fund it. Right now, every year, our legislature cuts have clean drinking water, and then if you choose to that they would replace all the plumbing in the streets, money out of the DEQ, and there’s not really anyone bathe your child in it you could collect it over a few else who can [test our water].” days as opposed to bathing with bottles. So step one is most of which is beyond its useful life and should be replaced anyway.”

Residents of Rochester experience a great deal of get safe water at the tap as soon as possible. Step two Many Flint residents are no longer trusting of their privilege in situations like these, and many students would be to begin the line replacements to people’s city officials and are wondering who they can turn feel it is important to recognize that privilege and homes. There are pipes that need to be replaced. It support those who aren’t as fortunate. Tiller says will be difficult to make happen in a timely manner but to. Mr. Ridgway recommends finding organization completely independent of the government who can that her final message to Flint is that people are very one has to think about doing these things.” help provide education and resources for the city of concerned about its residents.

Mr. Ridgway explains that fixing this issue is Flint.

“I would like the people of Flint to know that going to be a complicated process that requires many “One of the most difficult things for them now is people do care about what is happening to them and officials and a great deal of money. that they don’t trust anybody, and I’m sure I wouldn’t their children,” Tiller said. “Hopefully justice will “A number of public health officials would need to either,” Mr. Ridgway said. “They’re not educated in any be served so that this never happens again and the be involved and they would be working with children part of this. If you’re getting your technical knowledge government provides services and healthcare for their that have been contaminated with lead,” Mr. Ridgway from a government you no longer trust, from a DEQ children.” said. “Some part of that is dietary, some is medical Phillips believes that in the end, the residents procedures. Between public health and medical people, you no longer trust, it’s just really hard. So I think they would do well to find some folks that they can trust, of Flint should be completely taken care of by the working with children has to happen.” and that have to be not involved in anything in the government that failed them.

Mr. Ridgway explains how finances will pose a past. ” “The people of Flint should be assured that the problem.

Many people responsible will be punished and they will get “Financing individuals proper care,’ Phillips said. “The people in Flint have it is going are now been poisoned by the water and are not being taken to be a trick worried that care of properly. They had no control over what was because their homes in their water and they were reassured that it was safe. someone’s could be Children will now be suffering from permanent brain gonna have contaminated damage because of this catastrophe. Residents of to give them with lead.

Flint should be able to feel safe knowing that their the money,” Mr. Ridgway government will take care of them for their own Mr. Ridgway recommends terrible mistake.” said. “Maybe that if anyone the federal suspects that government their water will step isn’t safe, they forward, should see if but if the they can get it state decides tested. they’re going “You can to replace the plumbing always get it in the city tested,” Mr. of Flint, Ridgway Percent of contaminated water samples recieved by I suspect said. “If http://flintwaterstudy.org/ right on the you live heels of in a house

PAGE 10 // LIFESTYLES

THE TALON // FEBRUARY 2016

EYEBROW HYPE

Esthetician and students examine their favorite eyebrow trends VICTORIA WENDT STAFF WRITER

Soon after Viner Peaches Monroe released a vine introducing the popular saying “Eyebrows on fleek”, the eyebrow hype took off. Eyebrows give the face its shape and make you stand out. An esthetician and students of RHS share some secrets to the hype that’s got everyone talking.

Brow trends are always changing, so keeping up with others who are into this hype is something to pay attention to. Licensed esthetician Angelica Zadafshar works with clients to groom their brow to the shape that they desire.

“The latest eyebrow trend is to keep them full but defined and shaped,” Zadafshar said.

“Some people even like the natural look that a lot of models are rocking now and days.

Think the Kardashians, the Jenner girls and models Gigi Hadid and Cara Delevingne!

They are all great examples. Thin and over tweezing is definitely out! That goes for taking too much from the middle also.”

Although many people get their brows done by a specialist like Zadafshar, others like to take things into their own hands. Junior Kim Kardashian-West gets her eyebrows done. Photo Courtesy of allure.com Hannah Kalil is one of those people that do them themselves.

“I pluck them myself, probably every there from creams, pencils, powders, etc. I another and another, etc. Before you know it, day,” Kalil said. “I’ll first pluck them and then you’ve taken half your brow away!” personally prefer a powder because you can I’ll take the little spooly thingy and brush define but also keep it looking natural. Don’t Not everyone is blessed with naturally them up and cut them with some scissors. use too dark of a color! By highlighting along thick eyebrows. Luckily there’s makeup to I use an eyebrow pencil the under shape of your brow especially at help out with to enhance my brows the peak, you can really make them stand out that. Like Kalil, shape.” and accentuate your shape.” sophomore “The latest eyebrow trend is Alexa Ligon also Junior Anthony Babbi When choosing your brow shape, looking confesses the shapes he to keep them full but defined to others for inspiration is common. Ligon uses makeup to likes the most and the talks about her brow crush. enhance her brow and shaped.” least on girls and guys.

“There’s this one girl, lemme show you her shape.

“I prefer thinner Angelia Zadafshar, Esthetician eyebrows, they’re SO gorgeous!” Alexa Ligon “Yes, [I do eyebrows because it’s a said. “Her instagram is ‘alxcext’, look at the use makeup to better look and I think ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// picture of her with no makeup on, oh they’re enhance the girls prefer thinner so beautiful.” shape] I use the brows,” Babbi said. “If Changing your brow shape is fun, but you Anastasia Dipbrow they’re too thick they look should know where to stop in order to keep it Pomade,” Ligon said. “It stays on all day, it bushy and if they’re too thin it looks like you natural but still know how to rock it. even stays on in water, that’s legit.” don’t have any.”

“One of the biggest misconceptions is Makeup is a game changer for sharp, bold To avoid that horrible nonexistent that you can make yourself have a specific eyebrows. You have to remember not to get eyebrow, Zadafshar has a few tips. eyebrow shape that you just don’t have, which carried away and keep them natural for an “Typical eyebrow maintenance is to isn’t always the case,” Zadafshar said. everyday look. Zadafshar explains how to do either wax or thread every three-six weeks “Whatever natural shape, arch or no arch this. depending on how fast your growth rate your eyebrow naturally wants to take, is “Makeup can be amazing for eyebrows,” is,” Zadafshar said. “For in between, your beautiful. Just because you can’t have this Zadafshar said. “A simple fill in with some occasional tweezing helps to clean them up. incredible arch, doesn’t mean you can’t and color can completely change your look!

However we always recommend not going still don’t have incredible brows. Different You want to find the right color match and into your shape... That can be disastrous! brows are made for different faces. Find your definitely have a professional show you how We’ve all been there, take one hair, then shape, accentuate it and love it!” to fill them in. There are many products out

Thin, straight & bold

Natrual, arched & bushy

Sharp, clean & dark

Thick, defined & broad

PAGE 11 // ENTERTAINMENT

DJ KHALED: Why Snapchat is key to his success OLLIE NAJAR STAFF WRITER

In an era dominated with the constant connection through social media, everyday people crave reports from their favorite celebrities about their lavish lives. However, one celebrity in particular has utilized the personal and casual feel of Snapchat, an app that allows users to video and photograph their lives to show to friends.

Marketing products, sampling new music, but primarily showing his fabulous everyday life through video, DJ Khaled speaks to his fans with motivational preaching while displaying his luxurious house and possessions in short videos.

Students at RHS discuss the motive of DJ Khaled’s Snapchat. Sophomore Lu Vergara believes that the main intention is to inspire others.

“He is showing that if you work hard this is what you could achieve in life,” Vergara said. “He is motivating by example.”

Others who have watched his Snapchat have other opinions about the purpose. People such as senior Victoria Berishaj believe he is sponsoring products such as Apple Ciroq, which he frequently advertises, and his WE THE BEST online store. The motivating clips are simply for attention.

“He is just truly trying to show off his life and advertise to acquire more fans which equals more money,” Berishaj said. “He wants attention, making more money since he doesn’t make enough money from his music to support his lifestyle.”

While many agree with the idea that he is doing it for attention, some also believe that inspiring others is a “major key” as well as being popular among fans.

“He is effective in making himself look god-like,” junior Louis Rolland said.

“People are listening to what he says, and he always gives off positive vibes.”

Regardless of his intentions, DJ Khaled is the most viewed Snapchat account ever. When you think he is done making videos for the day, he puts out “another one.”

With his copious amounts of viewers, many question the influence he has on the younger generation. Consistently he videos his trips through Miami on his jet-ski, and almost as consistently, he is pulled over by police and receives a ticket for speeding.

“It’s not necessarily a bad influence, his jet-ski is his property. He’s just having fun,” Berishaj said. “He can’t help what his fans take in or take out of his lifestyle.”

He promotes alcohol such as Apple Ciroq and although he advocates good habits such as drinking water and exercise, he is also a routine smoker of cigars.

“He’s not a good influence, because young people want to do the same thing as him,” Vergara said. “So he is encouraging abusing the law and drinking alcohol with Apple Ciroq and anything else he does.”

The man that Ryan Seacrest refers to as “The King of Snapchat” has altered the identity of the app forever. Whether for fame, for money or for inspiring others, DJ Khaled is the face of Snapchat.

DJ Khaled’s Snapchat continues to attract users.

Photo Courtesy of Creative Commons

THE TALON // FEBRUARY 2016

PAGE 12 // OPINION

THE TALON STAFF Editor-in-Chief: Ninotchka Valdez News Editor: Julia Labban Lifestyles Editor: Amanda Capaldi Feature Editor: Bailey Boerman Entertainment Editors: Angela Mammel & Makenzie Shubnell Opinion Editor: Maria Broecker Sports Editor: Luke Deel Website Editor: Joel Fickel Copy Editor: Lauren Alison Staff Writers: Zahra Ahmed Fadi Bodagh Connor Bulka Hannah Chilcote Carly Craig Christian Fend Morgan Gallagher Ed Grijalva Bilal Ibrahim Lauren Karmo

Hussein Murray Ollie Najar Joe Schultz Taylor Simmons Maya Subramanian Audrey Weber Tori Wendt

Adviser: Mrs. Julia Satterthwaite

THE TALON POLICY The Talon is the official student publication of Rochester High School. We are now available both in print and online editions. Check out rochestertalon.com, @rhstalon on Twitter, @falconsofrhs on Instagram and like The Talon on Facebook for more great content.

The print edition of The Talon is issued monthly during the school year and is devoted to the interest of the student body, parents and alumni of RHS. The Talon strives to create a publication that is informative, entertaining, accurate and professional.

The mission of The Talon is to accurately, truthfully and professionally report on events and issues that are of interest to the student body, entertain readers and serve as a valuable archive of the happenings of the school.

The views expressed in The Talon are those of the staff or individual staff writers and do not necessarily represent the views of the administration.

The editors encourage communications and reactions from students, alumni, parents and friends of the school. All communications must be signed, but signatures may be withheld from publication upon request. The Talon values feedback from the community on its articles and other media. However, we maintain the right to censor inappropriate dialogue in comments.

Community draws attention to Flint Water Crisis On April 25, 2014 the city of Flint switched its water supply from Detroit water to the Flint River in an attempt to save money. It was not until Fall of 2015 that Governor Rick Snyder announced the contamination to the public and in December declared an emergency. On Jan. 16, 2016 President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency in the city and surrounding areas in order to allow for federal funds to assist in the remediation. The Talon staff feels it is essential for Michigan government officials to take immediate steps to help the city of Flint, investigate who is responsible and make policies to prevent this from happening again in the future.

A major cause in why this has not yet been fixed is because Flint is a city of multigenerational poverty and is in isolation where people have little education. Cities like Lansing are already replacing lead service lines, and Flint will obviously need to do this as well. The likely reason that this situation came to fruition is because of the socioeconomic conditions in Flint.

Many news outlets have made the analogy that, if this happened in Ann Arbor, it would have been fixed immediately. A city with widespread poverty and large qualities of minorities has few political officials looking out for it.

In the short run, Flint needs practical solutions such as using bottled water and filters temporarily, replacing lead pipes in a systematic way, and treating those, especially young children, who have been exposed to high levels of lead. There will need to be continued donations of water while Flint officials and specialists determine the best course of action for replacing the lead pipes. There will need to be investigations into how a crisis of this scale happened, and those who were involved need to be punished. And finally, this community will need a lot of education about what to do once exposed to lead. The school staffs will need training in how to help those with developmental issues continue to experience success.

In the long-run, Michigan’s government officials need to write policies that prevent this from happening in the future. Part of addressing how this situation came to be is evaluating Gov. Snyder’s implementation of emergency financial manager, specifically in this case Darnell Early. He was the one who suggested and followed through with the switch in water supply, even though there were skepticism about if the decision would be beneficial. In the future, it should be in the hands of Flint City officials and those in similar circumstances to decide what is best for the people of their city. Overall the emergency financial manager should have made better choices concerning the water supply, but there also should have been a local voice represented. Moving forward the government officials need to write policies that ensure this will never happening again, such as required tests to make sure water is safe to drink and making sure that something like switching water sources will actually save the city money.

Overall, the Flint Water Crisis has created a huge humanitarian disaster in the city of Flint and neighboring areas, threatening people’s health. It is essential that people are held accountable, money is granted to do a major overhaul of the city’s water pipes, and officials never allow poor minority populations to slip through the cracks again.

Who is responsible for the Flint water crisis?

What steps should the govermnment take?

“The Flint Water Crisis is caused by the negligence of the Flint government. Therefore, it should be the government’s responsibility to compensate the people this affects and to do as much as possible to replace the pipes.”

Bilal Ibrahim , 10

“The Flint Water Crisis was a silly mistake trying to save money.

It would be less serious if there were no human lives being compromised.”

Bailey Boerman, 12

“The fact that the citizens of Flint have had their health threatened due to the government’s unwillinngness to admit its fault and support its citizens is even more appalling.”

Julia Labban, 11

Heal those Exposed

Take Responsibilty

Clean Water

Replace lead lines

State Department

Federal Gov.

Flint Officials

Snyder

MEMBERSHIPS

STAFF EDITORIAL

THE TALON // FEBRUARY 2016

PAGE 13 // OPINION

THE TALON // FEBRUARY 2016

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

Should not be required in schools NINOTCHKA VALDEZ

The youth of America should be more aware of what is going on in the world.

MARIA BROECKER

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Day after day, students hear the same monotonous voice recite the Pledge of Allegiance over the intercom. There are typically a small handful who choose to take a moment to say the pledge. Likewise, some teachers sit through the pledge, while some teachers stop to recite the pledge along with the voice on the speakers. More often than not, students choose to stay seated, going about what they were doing without even acknowledging the words playing through the speakers, and they should have the right to do so without being judged or intimidated by authority or their peers.

In the state of Michigan, students are not required to say the Pledge of Allegiance, but beginning with the 2013-2014 school year, a bill was passed requiring schools to at least give students the opportunity to say the Pledge of Allegiance if they choose to do so, hence the reason that it has become a part of the daily morning announcements. However, in some classrooms, teachers don’t always treat the pledge as optional. Some strongly encourage their students to say it, even going as far as outright ordering their students to stand up.

Most students have an adequate understanding of their rights, and know they are still allowed to politely opt out of this ritual, despite intimidation from peers or teachers. However, from a student’s perspective, it may be difficult to stand your ground when a teacher is raising their voice or showing contempt in regards to your choice, and despite not agreeing with the pledge, a student may go ahead and participate in order to please their teacher or their peers.

Some people argue that standing during the Pledge of Allegiance is a way to show respect for Veterans, and others currently serving armed forces, and that not standing would imply the opposite. However, when it was first written in 1982 by Francis Bellamy, a socialist minister, it had yet to specify that it was the flag of the United States people would be pledging to. He reasoned that it could be a pledge anyone would be able to say in any country.

There are a myriad of other reasons why some students choose not to participate, and it’s highly unlikely that they’re silently protesting against those

TEENS STAYING INFORMED

IOPINION EDITOR

fast facts

ABOUT THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The original pledge did not have the words ‘under God included.

The words ‘under God’ were added in 1954.

The first name of the pledge was “The Youths Companion Flag Pledge”.

Originally when reciting the pledge people placed their hand in the Bellamy Salute, a position where the right arm is raised and outstretched towards the flag.

The original pledge was intended for any person in any country to recite.

Since 1943, Americans cannot be required to recite the pledge.

The original pledge was published on September 8, 1892.

who serve the country. They may not agree with some lines of the Pledge, including the phrase “under God,” added to the pledge in 1948, which has long been debated. Eisenhower pushed for Congress to add those words in the pledge during times threatened by Communism. It’s safe to say that we no longer stand for the same reason.

Not all students believe in God or have beliefs that coincide with the phrase.

As long as this line remains in the pledge, some students may feel that the Establishment clause of the First Amendment is being violated, specially when the pledge seems to clearly favor theism.

Recently, a bipartisan legislation, HB 1403, earned its first approval in a state house committee in Florida requiring a notice stating students’ rights not to

Source: NewsMax.com say the Pledge of Allegiance provided that the student is excused. The notice must be placed in noticeable areas, which may include the space beneath the American flag. This legislation was prompted by a parent complaint after their child recited the pledge of allegiance involuntarily after being asked by a teacher.

Although a written notice may not be necessary, it should be stated clearly that students have a right to refuse to say the pledge, despite teachers’ or other students’ attempts at persuading them to stand up. Instead of a disclaimer, what precedes the pledge every morning is a request to “please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.” It’s clear to see why some students may feel intimidated to recite the pledge even if it goes against their beliefs.

Being informed can be interpreted in many different ways. To an adult, it’s knowing what candidate is running for elections. To a mom, it’s the new safety protocols for kids. To a model, it’s the new fashion trends. To most high schoolers, it’s the newest couple, who kissed who at the last party or which Kardashian is now dating Justin Bieber.

In the last month, the Iowa and New Hampshire caucuses kicked off the primaries. But all that most teenagers can think of that happened over the last month is Kylie Jenner and Tyga’s up and down relationship. It is evident that high school students and young adults should be more aware of the community and world events going on around them.

Knowing and understanding the world makes one an overall more intelligent person. Being able to have prior knowledge going into a situation can give someone an advantage. As young adults go to college and experience the real world, it will be really obvious to spot the people who know nothing about how the world works compared to those who are aware of current events. A simple example is that more intelligent people will know what situations to be sympathetic towards and will be able to form reasonable opinions based on actual facts. For instance not all Muslims are are terrorists, not even half, perhaps not any. Not all African Americans are the ones committing crimes, it’s all races, it’s anybody.

Being more aware of what’s going on in one’s community, country, and world contributes to making one more culturally literate. As young adults grow up, they are forced to meet new people, make connections and find jobs. Knowing more about current events can spark conversation amongst different groups of people. Not only does it make interactions with new people easier, but it presents young adults as very culturally aware at a young age. Knowing events like who Obama might nominate to the Supreme Court or how the Republican Congress plans to respond can make for interesting conversation and debate.

Whether one hears about news scrolling through Twitter, listening to the news in the morning or a discussion in class, the information is so easily accessible. There should be no excuse for being uninformed. According to Fair Vote, only about 60 percent of the eligible population votes during presidential election years, and about 40 percent votes during midterm elections. The new generation of young adults should be informed and willing to make a difference, and this doesn’t just have to be with national news, but even in one’s own community, like the fracking debate in Rochester or the updating of Rochester High school’s track and turf field.

News is buzzing around all day, in conversation, on the news channels and on teenagers’ favorite social media sites.

To many young people, staying informed seems like a chore. It’s too time consuming, especially when one considers staying informed as spending free time watching the news, keeping up with the polls and researching all terrorists attacks in the last 10 years. But as young adults move forward into careers and families, all these current events become relevant in their life.

Becoming involved in the local, national and global discussion has a direct result in the future.

It is essential for young adults to start to become more involved in what is going on around them because it makes them more intelligent overall, more culturally literate and it’s easy because all news is very simply accessed. As younger generations grow up and move into the real world, it’s a necessity that they become more informed about the problems the world faces like concerns on global warming world, and the fact that if Americans fail to act, there will not be a planet to live on.

THE TALON // FEBRUARY 2016

PAGE 14 // ADVERTISEMENTS

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PAGE 15 // SPORTS

THE TALON // FEBRUARY 2016

Senior Nate Kustasz coaches a RARA high school basketball team called Daylily Wildfire. Photo by Ed Grijalva

STUDENTS COACH RARA BASKETBALL ED GRIJALVA STAFF WRITER

Senior Nate Kustasz hits the sidelines.

From playing on the hardwood himself to managing the sidelines, senior Nate Kustasz is one of few high schoolers to translate his passion for the game from playing to coaching RARA basketball. The thing is that Kustasz is coaching players that are his own age, and some of his players are his best friends. However, he doesn’t let that affect his coaching.

“When we’re one court I don’t think of them as my friends,” Kustasz said. “I think of them as the players and they’re my responsibility and I’m trying to bring home the dub.”

Kustasz is the coach of the RARA team named the Daylily Wildfire. “Daylily” is the name of a park that all of the players have played at before. The team is made up of RHS seniors Daniel Villalpando, Jake Grueling, Kevin Cremonesi, Andrew Schaefer, Michael Busse, Michael Kelley,

Izzo because my players call me ‘Baby Izzo’ Gian Anovert, Jeffery Ip and Daniel Kalaj. When you have a senior laden team and his passion is amazing.” in recreational basketball, keeping them Coaches in any sport always want respect motivated can sometimes be an issue. from their players and hope they listen to “I keep bringing up the phrase ‘Palace what they say, and Kustasz is no different.

Bound’ because that’s the goal, to make the Luckily, his players respect what he has to say. playoffs and play “I respect at the Palace [of several things that Auburn Hills],” Coach Kustasz “When we’re on court, I don’t think of Kustasz said. “So has to say,” them as my friends. I think of them as the senior Daniel every time after a timeout we break players and they’re my responsibility and Villalpando the huddle on a said. “I like the I’m trying to bring home the dub.” count of three line ups he puts yelling Palace out there and Nate Kustasz, 12 the schemes Bound.” ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// he has to score Coaches at any and to stop the level sometimes other team from have another scoring.” coach that No coach is perfect, and each coach inspires or influence their style of coaching. has strong and weak characteristics about Coach Kustasz, also known as “Baby Izzo” themselves. (referring to Michigan State Basketball coach “You know, I think he’s doing all right but Tom Izzo), is no different.

“My coaching inspiration is definitely Luke he could show a little more emotion,” senior Walton of the Golden State Warriors because Andrew Schaefer said. “I’d like to see some chairs thrown, maybe a few more technicals he stepped in and did a great job as interim head coach,” Kustasz said. “Also coach [Tom] fouls here and there to show he’s into the

game.”

The Daylily Wildfire are underachieving currently in their season, sporting a 2-3 record as of February 24th. In some cases, people might blame the coach for that.

“Yeah coach Kustasz does a really good jobs during timeouts and formulating plays to help us win,” senior Jake Grueling said. “But nah I’d probably fire him. He’s been getting better but he has had real hard time managing playing time and putting out good line ups but hopefully he keeps getting better so they don’t have to replace him.”

At the end of the day, however, it’s players that win games and the coach can only do so much to help them out.

“Despite the 2-3 record right now, I think he’s doing a good job,” senior Michael Busse said. “We’ve had a few misfortunate happenings in the last few games, a few missed clutch free throws in the last game, blowing large leads and the refs might play a role in that as well. But he’s not doing too bad, he’s doing the best he can with the talent he he has.”

1 PAGE 16 // TALON LOVE QUIZ

THE TALON // FEBRUARY 2016

WANT A MANLY MAN? WANT A CLASSY LASSY?

TAKE THIS QUIZ! TAKE THIS QUIZ! gh.

di Boda ove is Fa L n lo a T your t all A’s, If you go

If you got all B’s, your Talon

Love is Ed Grijalva.

is Luke alon Love T r u o y , t all C’s If you go

Deel.

WHICH DESSERT WOULD YOU BE?

A) FRAPPE- IT HAS A LOT OF ENERGY B) A CHOCOLATE PRETZEL- I’M SWEET AND SALTY C) A S’MORE- YOU HAVE TO WORK FOR IT IN ORDER TO EAT IT D) A VANILLA MILKSHAKE- AVERAGE BUT SMOOTH E) $14 MILLLAR STRAWBERRIES DIPPED IN DIAMONDS

A) CUPCAKE- I’M CUTE AND SWEET B) OREO CHEESECAKE- SWEET AND SIMPLE C) CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES- I’M SIMPLE BUT STILL A LOT OF FUN D) A CONVENIENCE STORE TREAT- I’M ALWAYS THERE E) ICE CREAM- IT’S COLD LIKE MY HEART

WHAT CARTOON WOULD YOU BE A PART OF?

WHAT CARTOON WOULD YOU BE A PART OF?

A) TOM AND JERRY- I’M AS FAST AS JERRY B) SOUTH PARK- IT’S FUNNY LIKE ME C) AVATAR- I HAVE A STRONG EFFECT ON PEOPLE D) SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS- GOOFY AND ADVENTUROUS E) SPONGEBOB- HE DOESN’T HAVE HIS LICENSE EITHER

A) JIMMY NEUTRON- GOTTA BLAST B) BARBIE- I’M BLONDE C) TWEETY BIRD- I’M CRAZY AND CUTE D) SPONGEBOB- HE IS SO HAPPY E) POWERPUFF GIRLS- I’M BUTTERCUP

FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT A POTENTIAL MATE?

FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT A POTENTIAL MATE?

A) IF IT’S LUZ- I LOVE YOU BABY :) B) THEIR FACE/EYES AND IF THEY CAN TAKE A JOKE C) THEIR SENSE OF HUMOUR AND FACE D) THEIR LIPS AND WALK E) HOW THEY PRESENT THEMSELVES

WHAT WOULD BE THE THEME SONG OF YOUR LIFE?

A) “LAST BREATH” BY FUTURE B) “EVERYTHING I AM” BY KANYE WEST C) “COURTESY OF THE RED, WHITE, AND BLUE” BY TOBY KEITH D) “HEART OF A LION” BY KID CUDI E) “SCHOLARSHIPS” BY DRAKE/FUTURE If you got all D’s, your Talon

WHICH DESSERT WOULD YOU BE?

A) SMILE- I WANT SOMEONE WHO CAN LAUGH AND YOU CAN ALWAYS TELL BY THEIR SMILE B) IF THEY’RE OVER 6 FT C) THEIR TEETH AND SMILE D) SMILE E) NOSTRILS- THE WINDOW TO THE SOUL

Joe Shult

all A’s, yo u

r Talon Lo ve is Mari a

Broecker.

iley Boerman. ur Talon Love is Ba

If you got all B’s, yo

If you got all C’s,

your Talon Love is

Hannah Chilcote.

WHAT WOULD BE THE THEME SONG OF YOUR LIFE?

A) “SHOULD’VE SAID NO” BY TAYLOR SWIFT B) “FERGALICIOUS” BY FERGIE C) “GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN” BY CYNDI LAUPER D) “AMERICAN GIRL” BY TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS E) “O CANADA”

ldi. on Love is Amanda Capa If you got all D’s, your Tal

Love is Oliver Najar.

is lon Love , your Ta ’s E ll a t If you go

If you got

WHAT FAMOUS PERSON WOULD YOU BE?

WHAT FAMOUS PERSON WOULD YOU BE?

A) CRISTIANO RONALDO- I PLAY SOCCER JUST LIKE HIM B) DRAKE- WE BOTH KNOW HOW IT IS C) DONALD TRUMP- HE’S A STUD LIKE ME D) STEVE IRWIN- I AM ADVENTUROUS, BUT ALSO INTELLIGENT E) DRAKE OR OLD GREG- I RELATE TO THEM

A) SELENA GOMEZ- SHE’S HOT AND SHE KNOWS HOW TO TELL JUSTIN BIEBER OFF B) JENNIFER ANISTON- SHE’S HOT C) JENNIFER LOPEZ- SHE’S AN AWESOME DANCER D) JENNIFER LAWRENCE- SHE SEEMS SO DOWN TO EARTH E) SHAQUILLE O’NEAL- I FEEL LIKE WE HAVE A LOT IN COMMON

WHAT WOULD YOUR BABY’S NAME BE?

WHAT WOULD YOUR BABY’S NAME BE?

z.

A) CRISTIANO B) ANDRES C) RONALD D) JEFFERSON STEELFLEX E) JOHN

A) BLAIR, BROOKE, CARTER AND CARSON B) ALEXANDRA C) CARTER D) CHRIS E) LEAF

If you got all E’s,

your Talon Love

is Julia Labban.