The Talon- November 2018

THE

TALON ROCHESTER HILLS, MI // NOVEMBER 2018 // VOL. 81 ISSUE 2

Travel back to a time of kings, knights and princesses with the Rochester Alliance of Theatrical Students’ production of “Once Upon A Mattress.” Read more on pages 12 and 13.

PAGE 2 || NEWS

THE TALON || NOVEMBER 2018

NEWS BRIEFS: 1.

4.

Photo by Kari Eickholdt.

Photo by Maggie Rhymstett.

1. RHS

Three RHS students were accepted to the Regional Honor Choir this year. About 1,000 students per region audition every year, and only 100 are chosen.

“Zoe Olson, Abigail Kosnik and Mima Higashi were accepted to Regional Honor Choir this year,” choir director Mrs. Catherine Lykins said. “All three prepared outstanding auditions and will now go on to perform at the event in December.”

For Kosnik, being accepted into the choir provides unique benefits.

“The only choir that fits in my schedule is concert choir, which is the lowest choir and the same one I was in freshman year,” Kosnik said. “I do not get the same challenging, fun music the other choirs do, but with Honor Choir, I am able to get that challenge and advanced choir experience.”

Regional Honor Choir offers an opportunity for students to gain more experience with their vocal skills and meet new people who also love music.

“It is an honor to be accepted because you have the chance to learn with exceptional choir students, and a chance to perhaps go to state honor choir,” Higashi said.

Brief by Maggie Rhymstett

3.

2. RCS

This Thanksgiving Break, RCS, the PTA and the Rochester Education Association worked together to plan the district’s second Wellness Weekend event, giving students and staff time off from schoolwork to relax.

Last year’s Wellness Weekend took place during the wintery days of second semester.

“The event went very well.

I feel that people were able to have a weekend to compose themselves from the stress of the year” said, junior Theadora Turner. “They were able to decompress from any pressure they may have been feeling.”

This year, the event moved to first semester in hopes that it would not conflict with other events. REA representative Mr. Doug Hill explains Wellness Weekend’s goal. “[The purpose is] to intentionally give everyone in our school community– students, staff, administration, parents, etc. – permission to take a break,” Mr. Hill said.

“This stretch we’re about to finish, from the start of school to the Thanksgiving recess, is the longest one we have all year. We feel it’s important for everyone to take a moment and press the pause button to reset ourselves.”

Brief by Summer Rawashdeh

3. STATE

Democrat Gretchen Whitmer was elected as Michigan’s governor in the Nov. 6 midterm elections.

Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow won reelection, and locally, Democrat Elissa Slotkin beat Republican incumbent Mike Bishop in the 8th Congressional District. Democrat Haley Stevens won in the 11th Congressional District.

In addition, proposals for legalizing recreational marijuana, forming a redistricting commission and establishing automatic voter registration all passed.

Senior Sailor Mayes shares what she learned as an intern for Slotkin.

“I’ve...found that further involving myself into the community and involving myself in political candidates, on either side, it’s a civic duty,” Mayes said.

Senior Ian Green interned for Bishop during the campaign.

“It was a good race and I learned a lot from working on the campaign,” Green said.

“But, it was also a very hard loss considering the time and effort we put into it.”

Government teacher Mrs. Laura Matthews is interested in how the election will affect education.

“It will be interesting to see how [Whitmer] addresses public education,” Mrs. Matthews said. “Because the entire public education has been defunded, and every year students receive less money, which has impacted the classroom in more ways than you know of.”

Brief by Kari Eickholdt

4. COUNTRY

Last month, a slew of Democratic donors and politicians, such as Barack Obama, George Soros, Maxine Waters, Corey Booker, Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton, along with news station CNN, received suspicious packages containing bombs.

“Any acts or threats of political violence are an attack on our democracy itself,” President Trump said at a rally in Wisconsin. “No nation can succeed that tolerates violence or the threat of violence as a method of political intimidation, corrosion or control, we all know that.”

The bomber, who was swiftly identified as Cesar Sayoc, had a past criminal history and is a registered Republican, according to The New York Times.

“I was a surprised that they caught him so fast,” senior Tej Seth said. “I also was angry that he would send these destructive devices to people because their political beliefs were different than his.”

No one was injured as a result of the packages, and the packages were intercepted before they could reach their targets.

“In a country like America with a two party system, disagreements are going to happen all the time, but there is no point in killing anyone over it,” Seth said.

Brief by Wyatt Anness

5. WORLD

One hundred years ago, World War I ended after 37 million people lost their lives in the conflict. On Sunday, Nov. 11, global leaders met in Paris to commemorate the anniversary of the war and pay respect to the people who sacrificed their lives in one of the planet’s biggest global conflicts.

“Armistice day signaled the end of World War I,” said history teacher Mr. Chad Zwolinski. “It was considered The Great War, the war to end all wars. It was a different war unlike anyone ever fought”.

The United States entered the war in 1917 after years of unrestricted submarine warfare by the German Kaiserreich and the release of the Zimmerman telegram, in which the Central Powers promised Mexico American territory if they invaded the U.S. “It was the first time America got involved with the rest of the world,” Mr. Zwolinski said.

After the armistice was called, the two sides signed the treaty of Paris, forcing Germany to pay massive war reparations. The treaty is considered by many today to be one of the factors that led the world to World War II. “It set the stage for for how Europe would handle wars following,” Mr. Zwolinski said.

“It led to World War II with the treatment of Germany, but at the same time it signaled the end of the devastation and the fighting”.

Brief by Noah Peterson

PAGE 3 || NEWS

THE TALON || NOVEMBER 2018

Junior Aryn Gallacher works on her AP Capstone Seminar project during class on Wednesday, Nov. 14. Photo courtesy of Aryn Gallacher.

Mrs. Kara Sears’ fourth hour of AP Capstone Seminar discusses class information during the hour. Photo courtesy of Jesika Abolins.

NEW AP CLASS COMES TO RHS

RHS introduces AP Capstone Seminar into the curriculum ALEX GLASPIE STAFF WRITER

During the 2016-2017 school year, Rochester High School made the decision to introduce a new Advanced Placement class into the school’s curriculum: AP Capstone, a presentation and writing based course for sophomores, juniors and seniors.

Multiple teachers were up for the position of teaching the class but, ultimately, Mrs. Kara Sears and Ms. Erin Burke were given the positions by the school’s administrators.

“I’m very excited to teach AP Capstone Seminar,” Mrs. Sears said. “I very much enjoy how different it is from the typical AP course and this class is an awesome prep for college.”

In a typical AP class, students spend the entire school year preparing for their course’s College Board AP test, which is in May. However, AP Capstone Seminar does this process differently.

“This AP class is very different because some of the assessments are done while the students are in school,” Mrs. Sears said. “We begin testing in November, which is very different than just taking the test in May.” Sophomore Maddie Lawson is one of few in her grade who enrolled in the course, leaving her to work closely with juniors and seniors on classwork.

“I am really enjoying getting to work with people from other grades,” Lawson said. “It’s fun to get to know new people, especially ones who are older than me and who I can

learn from.” somewhat overwhelming and stressful, but In addition to learning from once the year got going I got used to it, and upperclassmen, Lawson also enjoys working now I’m enjoying the class.” on projects that she and her classmates find AP Capstone isn’t just a year long class, personally interesting. like other AP courses. The class has a second “This is probably one of my favorite part, taken the year after AP Capstone. This classes because second course of the people I’ve is called AP “This is probably one of my gotten to know Seminar, which and collaborate favorite classes because of the continues what with on projects, Capstone people I’ve gotten to know and AP and because we started, collaborate with on projects, get to focus on although it topics that really covers different and because we get to focus interest us, which material. on topics that really interest us, makes the projects “I am a lot more fun,” planning on which makes the projects a lot Lawson said. taking the more fun.”

“Because everyone second part else is choosing of this class,” their own topics junior Teddie Maddie Lawson, sophomore for things too, it’s Turner said. also interesting “I want to to hear others’ finish out AP presentations because you know they actually Capstone to the end. I’m excited for the care about what they’re talking about.” second part and very grateful that I have the AP classes have the reputation of being opportunity to take this class.” stressful for students. Lawson stated that the According to both Turner and Lawson, class work has been especially stressful for presenting and language skills are important her, since she is only a sophomore. to succeeding in AP Capstone.

“Our test starts in November, so it can “I think that writing and presenting skills be difficult to keep up and manage the are the most important things,” Lawson said. workload,” Lawson said. “At first it was “With the practice you get in both of these

areas at the beginning of the year, you can gain some of [these skills] as you take it.”

According to Turner, the class is a collaborative course and the material often takes time to understand, which is why group projects are useful.

“There is a lot of things being taught to us that we have to take the time to understand,” Turner said. “We have to reread and work together a lot so we understand what’s actually going on.”

Many students report their AP classes being time-consuming, especially when it comes to the after school-commitment that goes along with completing large projects and long research papers.

“Time management skills are more important than writing and presenting skills in this class,” Lawson said. “[These skills] will help you keep up with the pace [of the class] and balance the workload in order to be successful.”

According to Mrs. Sears, her students are performing exponentially well in the class and are showing a great deal of dedication to their studies.

“Capstone is an amazing program with lots of real college writing and research exposure,” Mrs. Sears said. “I am very proud of all the hard work and dedication our Capstone Seminar students have put forth thus far. I am very impressed with all of them.”

PAGE 4 || NEWS

THE TALON || NOVEMBER 2018

AMITY SCHOLAR TO VISIT RHS

Swiss student Katia Behn joins RHS French classes in January AVA BIORDI

STAFF WRITER The RHS community will be welcoming a new French Amity Scholar, Katia Behn, in January. She is from Switzerland, making her different from past French Amity Scholars, who originated from France.

“Usually when we say French culture, we refer to France specifically, but French is spoken all over the world,” French teacher Madame Elizabeth Arcangeli said. “So I think it’s absolutely imperative to hear from people like Katia who live in different parts of the world where French is spoken every single day as a native language.”

Since Behn comes from Switzerland, Madame Arcangeli says she will be bringing new and exciting information along with her. “[I’m excited] to learn about Switzerland because personally all of my points of reference are from France or Canada. I don’t know as much as I’d like to about Switzerland,” Madame Arcangeli said. “I’m excited to learn about the food, the culture.

I’ve talked to Katia several times and I haven’t really detected an accent, but many times we say that Swiss, as well as everyone around the world, they have different accents, so I’m excited to discover things like that.”

Even though Behn is from a French speaking part of Switzerland, her adoption into the school community is not just for the benefit of strictly French students.

“I’m hoping that Katia can give my students, our students really, not just uniquely our French students, but really all of our students at Rochester High School, a global experience, a real life experience,” said Madame Arcangeli. “Not every student can travel for example, so we’re bringing the world to RHS.” Amity Scholars can bring new teaching styles to classrooms, along with new experiences to share with students.

“With listening exercises, speaking exercises, they can give a real world context to language learning right in our classrooms,” said Madame Arcangeli. “Of course they share different perspective with all of our students, so it’s not just our teachers giving the information, you know it’s nice to have a variety of sources.”

Many of the people in the Amity Scholar program are studying to become teachers.

They come to America to get a better feel for the contrasting teaching styles in America compared to their home countries.

“So really they are like teaching

assistants,” Madame Arcangeli said.

“They’re different from student teachers, but what they do have in common with student teachers is their learning. They’ve already been to university, or they’re going to university to become teachers.

So they can come and assist just like teaching assistants would in colleges and universities.”

Behn is planning to pusue a career in teaching, like many other Amity Scholars.

After her visit to the U.S., she will spend one year attending a pedagogical school called HEP in Lausanne, a city in the French speaking part of Switzerland.

“I am looking to teach French and English at the high school level here in Switzerland,” said Behn. “In order to teach English, I am required to spend 6 months in an English speaking country. I could have gone anywhere to travel, but I wanted to go to the U.S. since my studies centered on American Literature and Culture. I thought that the Amity Program would be a good opportunity to learn teaching skills while improving my English.”

Behn is going to be attending many major events that happen at RHS to learn more about the school culture and to experience the school’s spirit and character first-hand.

“She’ll be really fully integrated into life at Rochester High School whether it’s Charity Week and Crosstown Showdown,” Madame Arcangeli said. “And [she’ll participate in] activities we do through French club or French National Honors Society. Of course she’ll be integrated into class every single day in all of our class periods.”

Behn is excited to utilize the opportunities she has at RHS to expand her teaching abilities and experience.

“After my studies in American Cultural Studies, I am really looking forward to gaining a first-hand experience in the U.S. and meeting new people,” Behn said.

“I am also looking forward to improve my teaching skills as well as improve my English. Periodically, I substitute as a teacher at the primary level, but I am happy to gain experience with older students and see the American school system. I am sure that I will learn a lot from this exchange.”

Just as Behn will learn from the students a RHS, she will in return teach them about Switzerland’s culture and lifestyle.

“I think that an interesting aspect of Switzerland is its cultural diversity,” Behn said. “It is a small country divided in four parts, each having its own traditions and

Katia and her father skiing in her home country, Switzerland Photo courtesy of Katia Behn. language. Coming from Romandie, which is the French speaking part of the country, I think it will be fun to teach [the students] some of our Swiss-French idioms.”

Madame Arcangeli and French teacher Monsuier David Arcangeli are welcoming Behn into their classrooms next semster.

She will be learning all about teaching in America, and they will be learning new things about the Swiss culture.

“First and foremost, I’m very excited [to learn] all about Switzerland, [and] just about different cultures,” Madame Arcangeli said.

“Even though I’ve lived in France, our past Amity scholars have come from different regions. [Our past Amity scholars] were also different ages so it was very interesting how that influenced what they brought to the classroom as well as their experience.”

According to Madame Arcangeli, having a person who grew up in a Francophone country can be helpful in teaching the students about current events and relevant information, rather than reading it online or in textbook.

“From a cultural standpoint it’s just super exciting because they keep it current,” Madame Arcangeli said. “They give their opinions on what’s going on in the world or what songs are relevant right now. They

really help refresh the curriculum, and I think the magic of it comes down to the fact that the students, well, and me too, we all form relationships with this person coming to be with us for a whole semester.

So I’m just excited to learn all about her as a person, too.”

Madame Arcangeli feels the Amity program is a great opportunity for RCS to enhance students’ learning about other countries around the world.

“It’s a super exciting opportunity when I think about our district and the direction that we’re moving in terms of global awareness and the different opportunities we can provide to our students,” Madame Arcangeli said. “This one I think is so important. Not everyone always has the means or the opportunity to travel abroad.

Just the fact that we’re able to bring the world to us is so exciting.”

Behn is excited to experience American culture and learn more about it through the Amity program.

“I prefer not to come with too much expectations,” Behn said. “I simply hope that all of us will feel enriched from this experience and that we will all come out of it with good memories and having learned something from one another.”

THE TALON || NOVEMBER 2018

PAGE 5 || FEATURE

BODY LANGUAGE CUES

What body language reveals about people’s hidden emotions ELIZABETH BULAT

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Body language is the way people’s physical traits and actions convey information, rather than their words.

Kinestics is the study of nonverbal cues, and the application of these cues can lead to greater understanding of the emotions at play during interactions with others. While today’s society tends to not be familiar or proficient in the field of body language, people can easily learn.

“As humans, we express body language constantly throughout the day and in multiple environments,” sociology teacher Mr. Luea said. “Based on the environment in which we exhibit these non-verbal cues, [they] can indicate a variety of emotions that we are not willing or cannot express with our voice.”

Today, society revolves around digital communication.

People often text, email or Google-search to find out information. Therefore, the study and application of body language cues has decreased, since the theory requires faceto-face communication.

“In regards to teenagers and body language, this process is especially important since this is the age where adolescents begin to interact with others much more on a daily basis and on a more mature level,” Mr. Luea said. “With the replacement of face-to-face conversations in favor of technology, we see teenagers who are less likely to pick up on social cues expressed by people they are conversing with.”

However, when given the opportunity, obtaining knowledge about body language cues can be very helpful in

revealing people’s true feelings, intentions and thoughts.

“You can learn so much about someone and their personality just by recognizing their body language,” senior Ashley Adiwidjaja said. “It is also a useful form of nonverbal communication, so you can send messages to certain people with gestures.”

A popular body language tactic is using it to know if someone is telling the truth. Psychologists Charles Bond, PhD, of Texas Christian University, and Bella DePaulo, PhD, of the University of California, Santa Barbara, did a study with over 700 individuals that proved body language accurately revealed deception among the study’s subjects.

“I can tell what people are really feeling or thinking by observing their body language. Many people say one thing but mean another,” Adiwidjaja said. “Being able to recognize certain body languages has helped me connect and relate to certain people.”

Although opportunities to analyze body language is limited in today’s society, it still reveals information about personal interactions. With the limited face-to-face interactions today, people are not as aware of their body language, and not as frequently required to disguise it.

“Unfortunately, technology has replaced in many circumstances the face-to-face communications that we engage in on a daily basis,” said Mr. Luea. “We are omitting from many of those conversations the usual facets of body language that would be a common part of interpersonal communication.”

UNDERSTANDING CUES Open Posture

Reveals relaxation

Reveals anger

Hands On Hips

Crossed Arms

Shows agression, power and superiority

Shows defensiveness, insecurity, and acceptance

Shows willingness, interest, and open mindeness

The study of body language can also be found in pop culture. The more psychologists are finding about about this inexact science, the more press it seems to be getting. For instance, in TV shows like “Brain Games” and “Lie to Me” capture cognitive links to physical mannerisms through the study of Kinestics.

“I have watched ‘Brain Games,’” senior Alex Kuron said.

“However, I do think that teens are aware of body language [despite pop culture].”

In spite of the numerous studies proving body language to be an accurate way to read human emotions, the study of it is still relatively new. Bond and DePaulo warn individuals that body language is an inexact science, and although it often produces accurate readings, it shouldn’t be the sole factor in deciding someone’s thoughts, feelings or intentions.

The study of body language may not be familiar to all high school students, but it can add depth to interactions with others by revealing more than what the individual may verbally express. Additionally, the modern findings psychologists continue to make are an encouraging reason to further study body language and apply the knowledge to daily life.

“The advantages of learning what our physical body tells other in immensely important,” Mr. Luea said. “Without the progressive learning of these signs of body language, we become over time less likely to understand others emotional state of mind and more likely to continue to use technology as our main form of interpersonal communication.”

Petruted lips indicate thinking or uncertainty Biting one’s lip often indicates stress or anxiety

Eye contact shows interest, trust and honesty Graphics by Elizabeth Bulat.

Editor’s Note: Body language cues are not always accurate and are based off an inexact science.

THE TALON || NOVEMBER 2018

PAGE 6 || FEATURE

HOLIDAY TRADITIONS

RHS Falcons share their family and cultural holiday traditions MARIAM HANNA LIFESTYLES & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

Every Christmas morning, sophomore Eliza Farrell and her family open presents before making the four hour drive to Petoskey, despite the snowy weather. There, they have Christmas dinner with Farrell’s maternal grandparents and enjoy what northern Michigan has to offer, such as snow hiking, skiing and watching movies at the local theatre.

Families all around the world, and, more locally, at Rochester High School, celebrate a variety of fall and winter holidays.

Among these holidays are Thanksgiving and Christmas, and there is an abundance of both family and cultural traditions to celebrate these occasions.

“On Christmas Eve, we go around and sing carols,” junior Regina Cabrera said.

“Half of the people are outside and the other half are inside, and we sing to them.

[On Christmas], we have dinner, then we sing to the nativity, and on the morning after christmas, we put the baby Jesus around a blanket.”

Cabrera has a Mexican background, so many of her family’s holiday traditions come from her roots. Although her family does not participate in all Mexican traditions over the holiday season, she does know of a couple that others in her community do participating in.

“Sometimes, this is something some people do, you grab a suitcase and you run around the house with the suitcase,” Cabrera said.

For Farrell’s family, Christmas festivities begin on Christmas Eve, not Christmas day.

She starts the holiday off by celebrating mass at St. Phillips Episcopal Church and partaking in the annual play. “[On Christmas Eve,] I go to church, and normally, my church puts on a Christmas pageant,” Farrell said. “Normally, me and some of the other members of my youth

group do it and take on more of the main Savaya said. “Patcha is a Chaldean food that roles, and then we help the younger kids is usually made for holidays. It consists of fill in with small roles, like extra angels and rice and meat, and you put lemon on it and it shepherds, and things like that. Everyone tastes so much better.” dresses up really nicely for the Christmas Eve For Savaya, being with her loved ones service, so everyone looks really cool and over the holidays is significant and special. pretty. It’s pretty at my church, too, because “I love my family and I feel it’s important we have a huge tree.” to spend as much time with them as possible Notwithstanding the long, snowy drive because you could possibly regret not to Petoskey that Farrell’s family takes every [spending time with them] in the future,” Christmas morning, Farrell is fond of the Savaya said. city, especially during the holiday season.

Although many individuals and families “It’s always celebrate winter really magical and fall holidays, “It’s always really magical when when you’re up not everyone does, you’re [in Petoskey]. It seems like there,” Farrell and, according to something you’d see in a movie said. “It seems sophomore Zoya because the whole town is lit up. like something Bangash, people do you’d see in a not need a holiday [It’s] like those ones you see in movie because to enjoy the season.

Hallmark movies.” the whole town is “We spend most lit up, but not like our holiday break Eliza Farrell, sophomore the downtown with our cousins Rochester lights, nearby,” Bangash but like those said. “We don’t ones you see usually see them in Hallmark often, so it’s fun movies.” and full of joy when we do. We [also] don’t Compared to Farrell’s Christmas have much family around, so we try to keep traditions, her family’s Thanksgiving in touch with them as often as we can.” celebrations are less busy and structured.

Bangash’s family is orginally from “For Thanksgiving, most years I end Pakistan, and their culture is embodied in the up going to my aunt’s house,” Farrell said. food Bangash shares with her family over the “Me and all my cousins on my dad’s side... break. all go over to their house and have a good “We usually make a huge dinner and time. It’s always fun to have turkey, stuffing, lunch for all of us to eat,” Bangash said. “It green bean casserole, and stuff like that, just usually consists of rice some kind of meat. heartwarming food.”

This tradition started when my family and Like, Farrell, junior Nicole Savaya my uncle moved to the USA after they’ve celebrates Thanksgiving and Christmas, lived in Pakistan for their whole life.” and her family’s festivities usually include Students are not the only ones who have spending quality time together and eating special traditions for the holidays. Many cultural food. teachers at RHS, like English teacher Ms. “[We typically eat] patcha on Christmas,” Jessica Sherburn, have different ways to

celebrate the season.

“On Thanksgiving, my siblings all gather at my mom’s house for a big, delicious dinner,” Ms. Sherburn said. “My mom spends most of the day cooking with some help from ‘the kids’. It’s weird to think that we are all adults now.”

Ms. Sherburn’s family has both new and old traditions, and one they have had in recent years is what they do during Thanksgiving dinner.

“Dinner is a time for us to reflect on things we are thankful for and to stuff our faces,” Sherburn said. “In recent years, we have been more reflective about the origins of Thanksgiving and how important it is to spread an awareness of both Native American history and the lives of contemporary Native Americans.”

Similar to many other families, food is a big part of Ms. Sherburn’s family’s holiday celebration. Some of the dishes her family makes comes from their German ancestry.

“On Christmas morning, we open presents, then spend the rest of the afternoon cooking,” Sherburn said. “My mom always makes three dishes: almond puff, a sort of breakfast pastry, and kuga and pear bread, both of which are German dishes that my grandmother used to make.”

Bangash, Cabrera, Farrell, Savaya and Ms. Sherburn’s traditions all encompass their families, and family is significant to each one of them. “[These traditions are] nice because I get to see my grandparents in Petoskey because they are two of the funniest people I’ve ever met in my life,” said Farrell. “Basically, they just help me remember how important family is to me and give me more memories with them.”

1. Bangash and her younger cousins are enjoying their time together over last year’s winter break. Photo courtesy of Zoya Bangash.

2. Savaya and her family are celebrating someone’s birthday. Photo courtesy of Nicole Savaya.

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3. Ms. Sherburn and her dog posing in front of the Christmas tree last year. Photo courtesy of Ms. Sherburn.

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*All other photos courtesy of Creative Commons.

THE TALON || NOVEMBER 2018

PAGE 7 || FEATURE

STUDENT INTERNSHIPS

RHS students pursue internships to gain new career perspectives ELIZABETH BULAT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

At 12:20 p.m., senior Avneet Aulakh is finished with her school day. When she leaves RHS, however, she goes to the Rochester Law Center where she has her internship. This opportunity is one she obtained through a program called Practicum at RHS. Offered to junior and senior students, this work-based learning program helps students find internships or jobs in the community with 92 willing businesses to help them gain real-life experiences in the work environment.

“It has shown me what I want to do in the future,” Aulakh said. “I always knew I wanted to go into law, but this specific law center specializes in business law and that’s what I now want to go into.”

Junior and senior year is often when students begin to explore future career options. By taking advantage of the Practicum program, high schoolers can sort out which aspects of jobs they like and dislike and better understand which careers they want to pursue in the future.

For instance, senior Julia Payne is passionate about leadership and business and plans on studying it in college, so she started an internship at the Rochester Regional Chamber of Commerce, which gave her many opportunities to pursue these fields.

After the first quarter of her internship, her aspirations for the future were solidified.

“I’ve learned that I enjoy moving around and talking to new people everyday, not sitting in a cubicle all day everyday,” Payne said. “I love event planning and business management.”

Although interns often don’t always complete the most desirable jobs, it is still a valuable experience in Payne’s opinion.

Internships are typically unpaid, especially for high school students. In spite of workng without payment, however, Payne and others recognize that many benefits of having an internship will emerge in the future.

“I’ve learned that you must work your way up in the business world,” said Payne.

“I’ve been doing a lot of basic things at my internship like putting together papers into an envelope, but it will help me in the future.”

Although many students find confirmation of which career field they want to go into through internships, some students find that they really don’t want to pursue their initial choice. For instance, senior Kaitlyn Arnold worked at the Rochester Regional Chamber of Commerce for a one-day career experience. Although she enjoyed some aspects of the job, she realized that a job that included sitting in an office all day wasn’t for her. However, Arnold explained that she still viewed her experience as a valuable one because it ruled out some careers she is no longer considers pursuing.

“I love it when a student tells me after an internship or job shadow that that was not the place for them,” business teacher Mrs. Malsbury said. “I would rather they figure it out now rather than later when they’ve committed to a 4 year degree program.”

In addition to opportunities within RHS, students can pursue internships outside of the school day or during the summer. Senior Noah Peterson obtained an internship during the summer of 2017 at the Mayor of Rochester Hills’s office.

Peterson completed a variety of tasks during his internship experience. His responsibilies varied from introducing people to the Mayor to organizing welcome packets for new Rochester Hills residents. This internship taught Peterson about government and inspired his future career goals.

“In the future I want to work in the State department,” said Peterson. “I learned that in order to create a functioning government, you have to work with people you may not see eye-to-eye with.”

Mrs. Malsbury also organized an event outside of Practicum for students to explore the workplace called the Authentic Career Experience. This opportunity not only gave students a chance to explore careers, but also inspired some students to pursue internships in order to gain further understanding of their respective career interests.

“I found this experience very valuable.

It would push me to get an internship in the future,” Arnold said. “I think that it is important to get a taste for the you are looking for before having to get an actual job, or even just deciding what you want to study in college.”

THE TALON || NOVEMBER 2018

PAGES 8-9 || FEATURE

UP IN SMOKE

Schools across the country combat vaping epidemic

WHAT IS THE FDA DOING?

VIOLET RESH AND WYATT ANNESS

COPY EDITOR AND STAFF WRITER

A recent National Youth Tobacco Survey showed roughly twelve percent of high school students use an e-cigarette product known as a Juul, which translates to roughly twomillion high school students.

Juuls and other e-cigarettes have swept through high schools across the country in recent years, which has caused concern among many adults. Federal law also bans the sale of e-cigarettes to people under the age of eighteen.

“It’s huge, it’s in every school,” RHS Police Liaison Deputy Steve Curtis said. “It is a national school epidemic now. It’s gotten to that point.”

Deputy Curtis and administrators are trying to combat the use of Juul and other e-cigarette products within the school as best as they can.

“We can only do as much as we can do in an eight hour day,” Curtis said. “We can monitor our halls, we can monitor our restrooms, the curtilage of the building at special events and try to keep that from coming inside our building.”

Catching students using these devices can often be challenging because of how they are constructed.

Their shape and small size makes them easy to hide, which helps students sneak them in and out of schools.

“The ease of use as well as how discreet it can be is one of the main reasons they are so popular with minors,” senior Mason Gallagher said. “Many students are known to pass them off as other things, such as USB sticks and flash drives.”

However, because of the school’s responsibility to keep the student body safe, the administration has privileges that enable them to search and seize upon reasonable suspicion.

“Even when your car is out there in the parking lot, that’s the school’s parking lot, your car just happens to be on it, so it can be searched under certain circumstances of the administration,” Deputy Curtis said.

If a student is caught with an e-cigarette device, the student has the potential to not only get in trouble with the administration, but also with the police. A minor in possession of vaping devices can result in legal consequences.

“If it falls on my side of the street, where it’s now a police matter, you can be cited for it,” Deputy Curtis said. “It’s kind of like a Minor in Possession citation.”

Despite efforts from adults and legal consequences, e-cigarettes are still popular among minors. In some cases, it is suspected that these devices are used as a way to fit in socially.

“I fully believe that people vape to be accepted because it is part of mainstream culture,” senior Saloni Gupta said. “If you’re not doing it, there’s a chance you might be taken as a prude.”

E-cigarettes and Juul devices seem to have become a status symbol for adolescents as well as an object of possible social pressure or peer influence.

“Most students are easily peer pressured because they don’t know the negatives of vaping,” Gallagher said.

centuries.

“The most dangerous aspect of e-cigarettes is that up until last year, they were completely unregulated and even today we still don’t know exactly what’s being inhaled,” Doctor Wendt said. “You are still getting nicotine, which is a potent and addictive substance.”

With nicotine being a strong chemical in e-cigarettes, similar to regular cigarettes, users are likely to develop an addiction to them.

“Once you start smoking this stuff, you are hooked,” Deputy Curtis said. “And most people who do start up a habit like that continue on with addiction because it’s hard to quit.”

In addition to nicotine, there are various other chemicals in e-cigarettes that are just as harmful to a person’s health and well-being.

“Poison Control has gotten calls about young adults and children ingesting the chemicals in the cartridges,” Doctor Wendt said. “These poisonings can lead to seizures.”

These health issues, which appear to coincide with the use of vaping, give insight and help predict what the long term consequences could “Almost every kid that I speak with knows be, even though information isn’t available just somebody that’s vaping or has heard of yet.

“The FDA will find there findings in somebody who’s vaping and that’s alarming about a few more years. They usually wait that’s inexcusable for us as a society to have for a ten year window to come across with studies, and they’re already starting to see that with kids now.” the determinants of this vape that goes into your lungs,” Deputy Curtis said.

Deputy Curtis, RHS Police Liaison “So give it another generation down the road and you’ll start seeing kids having symptomatic effects such as irreversible lung damage, brain damage, who knows, what’s going to come up.”

Dr. Wendt also agrees that there could be harmful long term effects that haven’t been discovered yet.

“We don’t know what the long-term effects of vaping body, will be,” Dr. Wendt said. “But I would worry about cancer, the and when it increased risk of smoking for years to come and the effect it enters your system, it binds to them, has on brain development.” the long-term risk for addiction and a negative impact on brain As more information is gathered, society will better development, specifically, your working memory and attention understand e-cigarettes and other vaping devices, but until then, span,” Doctor Beth Wendt said. “One of the chemicals in it’s advised that individuals proceed with caution. From what is e-cigarettes is diacetyl, which can affect lung capacity and known so far, these devices do much harm to adolescents and eventually lead to a disease called ‘popcorn lung.” could threaten what lies ahead of them in the future.

One of the most prevalent reasons young people are not “Almost every kid that I speak with knows somebody that’s deterred from vaping is due to their lack of knowledge about vaping or has heard of somebody who’s vaping and that’s its effects, as well as common misconceptions about vaping’s alarming,” Deputy Curtis said.

“That’s inexcusable for us as a repercussions. society to have that with kids now.”

“I think they’re appealing [to some people] because they are more accessible than hard drugs,” Gupta said. “They appear to be ‘safer’ than most other drugs.”

These misunderstandings are most likely due to the fact that Vaping Statistics from left to right: Center for Disease information about e-cigarettes is continuously being updated, Control, Forbes, and Truth Initiative. unlike the effects of tobacco, which have been proven to be harmful from countless studies in the twentieth and twenty-first Vaping has become a widely practiced trend among minors, and social media can be partially attributed to its commonplace position in society.

“Meme culture has changed the stigma because it is more accepted to vape now,” Gupta said. “Because memes are influential on all ages, it has resulted in lower classmen thinking it’s normal and okay to vape at the age of fourteen.”

To a select number of teens, being a part of this trend can be a way to fit in with the crowd and connect with the vape culture that has emerged. While kids are focused on the social media culture surrounding vaping and e-cigarettes, the vast array of potential health consequences are often unknown or forgotten.

“There are nicotine receptors in the brain and others in the

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the government department largely responsible for regulating e-cigarettes, and have responded to the increased use of vapes among teens by strengthening regulations.

The FDA has banned the sale of fruit flavored Juul Pods in convenience stores. Juul Pods are the cartridges used in Juuls that contain the liquid used to make the vapor.

Launched in 2014, the FDA’s “The Real Cost” advertising campaign plays across most TV channels and webstites, including Hulu, Spotify, and Yotube. These advertisments highlight the dangers of using e-cigarettes .

The FDA is implementing stricter ways to verifty the age of people who are buying e-cigarettes online, if people who can buy online are buying for a minor or if they’re buying too much of an e-cigarette.

BY THE NUMBERS: Teens who vape are up to

1 in 5 high school students currently uses e-cigarettes according to the CDC

more likely to smoke later in life

One JUUL cartridge is equivalent to about a pack of cigarettes or 200 cirgarette puffs

200 Cigarette Puffs

THE TALON || NOVEMBER 2018

PAGE 10 || FEATURE

RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS

Students and teachers share experiences of generosity from strangers HOLLY MCDONALD STAFF WRITER

A man sits alone at a cafe in Rochester. Freshman Isabella Olivares and her mom go up to sit with him and offer their company. Olivares thought that she was showing kindness by sitting with a lonely stranger, but this man’s words of kindness returned the favor and changed her life forever.

Random acts of kindness can be found all around, whether it’s a small compliment from a passing student, finding a sticky note left on one’s locker or a large gesture from a stranger.

“My mom and I expected to be the ones performing the act of kindness,” Olivares said. “This, however, was not what happened.”

This stranger offered Olivares help with a situation she was facing at the time.

“He is a holy man who strengthened our relationship with God by reading a few Bible passages and even going as far as recommending passages for me to read,” Olivares said. “At the time, I was on the waitlist for the International Academy.

He explained that God has a plan for me and that everything will work out in the end.”

As college student, media specialist Ms. Julie Harris experienced a random act of kindness that she will never forget.

“My car was broken into and my purse and bookbag were stolen,” Ms. Harris said. “About two weeks later, I received a package in the mail with a lot of my personal papers, ID cards and other things. Someone had found them in an alley behind their apartment building and assumed they were taken, got my address off my cards and sent them back to me.”

Sophomore Moira Yee believes that simple acts of kindness, such as holding a door or giving a compliment, can make someone’s day.

“I would do something like this for someone else because a lot of people just need the extra bit of kindness in their day,” Yee said. “Everyone has their own problems and maybe someone being nice to them could help a little.”

Random acts of kindness can come when they are least expected. Special Education teacher Ms. Kathryn Houghtaling experienced an act of kindness that came to her when she didn’t see it coming.

“About a year ago, someone in front of me in line at Starbucks purchased my breakfast and coffee, just for being a teacher,” Ms. Houghtaling said. “After this happened, it restored my faith that there still are still good and kind people out in the world.”

After experiencing a random act of kindness, people are often left with a happy and reassuring feeling.

“I was shocked but then experienced a wave of happiness,” Olivares said. “No one had ever done that for me before and those random acts of kindness aren’t too common in the chaotic world we live in.”

Providing an act of kindness can make someone’s day.

Special Education teacher Ms. Amy Cosentino’s kindness helped a stranger go from having a bad day to a great day.

“The older woman in front of me was checking out

and she realized that she forgot her wallet at home,” Ms. Cosentino said. “I looked at the cashier and quietly told her that I would purchase the women’s groceries for her. She ran my credit card before the older woman could say no. When she found out, she was so happy and thankful.”

Science teacher Mrs. Jaclyn Smith believes that showing kindness can improve someone’s day, and she feels it’s very important within the community.

“Having a pleasant conversation with someone can completely make their day,” Mrs. Smith said. “I have had multiple students comment on the fact that often times my positive attitude helps improve their day and since then I try to make sure to be positive as often as possible.”

In an act of kindness, often times people don’t have a chance to thank the person for what they’ve done.

“If I met the person, I’d probably tell them thank you,” Yee said. “I’d tell them to keep being kind to people because you never know what they’re going through.”

Everyone has a different opinion about the importance of kindness. As a teacher, Ms. Cosentino believes that educating students on the significance of kindness will have a positive effect on their lives.

“Kindness is contagious and the best thing a person can do each day,” said Ms. Cosentino. “I try and challenge my students to show simple steps of kindness each day at RHS or out in the community, with the hopes that it becomes a good habit each day.”

Olivares believes that every act of kindness has a special value. In Olivares’s experience, each random act of kindness benefits the world in a positive way.

“After this experience, I had a different outlook on life,” Olivares said. “I understood that true acts of kindness come from the heart and that every situation isn’t as it may seem.”

Moira Yee thinks that random acts of kindness seem more important as people get older. They bring a sense of positivity that can lift someone up on the worst of days.

“As we get older we start to have more issues and worries, and most people I know are always stressed out,” Yee said.

“When someone shows kindness, it brings a person up.

Sometimes, it can even make them step back from their problems and see that everything will be okay. They might even pass the kindness on to someone else, which is the best thing we can do in the society we’re living in.”

Mrs. Smith feels random acts of kindness can lead to a successful community.

“Kindness is so important. It can even save a life for those who do not experience kindness regularly and those who are looking for a sense of belonging, or feel as though they are not cared for,” Mrs. Smith said. “Life is already hard, so why make it harder by being unkind to one another?

When we build each other up, we all succeed.”

Olivares feels confident that taking the time to stop and show kindness to someone else has a great value within society.

“These acts of kindness are what make life special,” Olivares said. “Without them, the world would be a sad place.”

Random acts of kindness can be seen in the hallways throughout RHS. Photos by Holly McDonald.

PAGE 11 || LIFESTYLES

THE TALON || NOVEMBER 2018

OVERCOMING CELL PHONE ADDICTION Advice and apps to cut down on phone use BIANCA MOW AND DEVIN TOMA

The pros and cons of this form of communication

RAGHDA ROMAYA STAFF WRITER

SPORTS EDITOR AND STAFF WRITER

The American Society of Addiction Medicine says, “Addiction is characterized by inability to consistently abstain, impairment in behavioral control, craving, diminished recognition of significant problems with one’s behaviors and interpersonal relationships, and a dysfunctional emotional response.” With the rise of technology, one new disorder that is showing up more frequently in today’s society is cell phone addiction. Though they may not be be addicted, many students struggle to put their phones down, and they rely on them in every situation. RHS counselor Mr. Chris Green says that to combat cell phone addicton, a person first needs to be aware of the problem and committed to making change. Below, Mr. Green offers his tips for combating this addiction.

MR. GREEN’S ADVICE FOR CURBING CELL PHONE USE When you don’t need your phone, leave it at home, in your car, or on mute in your pocket.

DOWNFALLS OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Turn off notifications.

Replace the habit to check your phone with a different healthy behavior.

Take distracting apps off your home screen.

Create “No Phone” times of your day.

Have a friend who will also stay off their phone when you are together.

FOUR APPS THAT COMBAT CELL PHONE ADDICTION Moment

Moment allows users to track all of their family’s screen time. It allows users to track the apps they use most and helps train them to meet their goals.

Space

Space creates a personalized program based off of users’ habits over 60 days. There are different methods this app uses to make people aware of their phone usage. Space is also available in a pro version costing $2.99. This version has even more to offer those who are serious about combating their addiction.

Forest

When users begin to put their phones away, a seed is planted. As time goes by, the seed that was planted grows into a tree, but every time users leave the app to check another app, the tree dies. This app partners with Trees for the Future to plant actual trees. They try to motivate users to stay on longer so they can plant trees across the U.S.

Eggzy

This apps provides the choice to take focus sessions or take a 28-day digital detox challenge. Set a time and once the time is up, an animal will hatch. Each time frame users complete will earn them resources to take care of this animal.

Scan this QR code to find out if you are addicted to your cell phone.

Quiz by Dr. David Greenfield.

Photos courtesy of Devin Toma and Creative Commons.

Senior Abigail Kosnik scrolls through social media daily, taking advantage of how easily she can interact with friends across the world and celebrities she may never be able to meet.

Social media has recently grown in popularity, especially among teenagers. This raises questions about the effects of social media on relationships and communication. The main debate revolving around all the different social networks is whether they bring people together or create a never ending distraction from the real world. Counselor Mrs. Laura Zotos compares social media platforms to magazines.

“People used to buy a People magazine and would read through it, get to the end and that's about all the distraction you have, there's nothing else left,” Mrs. Zotos said.

“However, Pinterest and Facebook are just like a constant magazine, so I think people can waste a lot of time doing that.”

Although there are some drawbacks to social media, Mrs. Zotos believes it is an amazing way to communicate with people who live far away.

“I definitely do think [social media] has improved communication and ability to talk to people,” Mrs. Zotos said. “If you have family that lives out of state or friends that moved away, I love that you can stay in touch.”

Mrs. Zotos noted that social media can cause problems in friendships and creates platforms that make it easier to spread negativity. People may look at another person’s post and feel insecure about themselves. This can create issues, especially with teenagers’ confidence.

“People bully or make fun of and laugh at people, and I think that can tear friends apart,” Mrs. Zotos said. “I think people can also see other friendships and maybe get jealous.”

Kosnik believes that when communicating to people through social media, it's hard to be certain they are who they say. Although there can be barriers in developing relationships online, she believes it's an incredible opportunity to get to know people from across the world.

“I think it's safe to talk with people, because there are people you will never be able to meet face to face, especially from different countries, but you should not completely trust a person on social media,” Kosnik said. “I do think it depends on the social media platform, too. I know there are riskier ones out there.”

Social networks, when used too much, can interfere with a students focus on their education. Junior Alexis Floyd thinks it’s easy to get addicted to scrolling through social media, and this can cause people to get side tracked.

“In school people are always taking pictures and scrolling through social media,” junior Alexis Floyd said. “Students are more focused on their phones and social media than they are on their actual learning, and I've noticed that I get distracted by my phone during school sometimes too.”

Social media, like everything else, has it's pros and cons.

Some people believe it can be beneficial in many ways, but it could also cause some problems that can be avoided if it is used correctly and not overused.

“I think social media is best when used in moderation,” Kosnik said. “If you let it consume you, then obviously it will be a problem, but I do think it has more benefits than drawbacks.”

THE TALON || NOVEMBER 2018

PAGE 12 || ENTERTAINMENT

ONCE UPON A MATTRESS

RATS puts a comic twist on a classic fairytale ZOE SAWDON

FEATURE EDITOR

RATS cast members rehearse their scenes in the RHS auditorium. Photo courtesy of Kent McCormick.

Senior Jane Bailey nervously pops in her earbuds and tunes in to the soundtrack from the musical “Pippin Revival,” as she does before every theater production.

Taking a final sip of water to help ease her nerves, Bailey reflects on all the passion and dedication that has gone into the performance and can’t wait to see it come alive in front of the audience.

This month, the Rochester Alliance of Theatrical Students, or RATS, performed “Once Upon a Mattress.” The musical is based on the popular fairytale of “The Princess and the Pea,” but with a comic twist. Bailey has been involved in RATS for almost four years and was excited for another opportunity to be on stage this fall.

“I just love musicals, and RATS makes every show a wonderful experience,” Bailey said. “It’s something I love to do. There is no place where I feel more at home.”

When looking into potential fall musicals, “Mamma Mia” was originally the first choice and “Once Upon a Mattress” the second, but “Mamma Mia” is currently restricted. However, according to theater director Mr. Frank Gollon, this was ultimately beneficial for RATS. “Because we have a lot of very talented girls to work with,

we wanted to show that we could feature a lot of the men,” Mr. Gollon said. “[Once Upon a Mattress] just lends itself to that.”

“Once Upon a Mattress” was also very different compared to recent theater shows such as “Chicago,” “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” and “Nice Work If You Can Get It.” “The last couple shows we’ve done were set in the 1920s, so the costuming is very similar [and] the music is very similar,” Mr. Gollon said. “Now we’re going way back to the 1400s in terms of when it’s set. Musical styles are a little bit different [and] with the period costumes and whatnot, it’s visually going to be really nice to see.”

The audition process for the musical consisted of three parts: singing, acting, and dancing. Mr. Gollon evaluated each student on these elements in order to decide who was best fit for each role.

“We provide them the audition music beforehand, and they really don’t need to come with it totally prepared,” Mr. Gollon said. “It’s a cold read for the acting portion where they’re simply given a section of the script, are put into a group . . . and they just have to simply act it out for us. And then for the dancing portion, the choreographer shows them some

basic steps and whatnot, and she evaluates them on how well they can adapt.”

Bailey was given the part of princess Winnifred. Although she originally hoped to be considered for this role, it came as somewhat of a surprise to her.

“It’s been a bit more of a challenge to play Winnifred,” Bailey said. “Usually I can draw inspiration from real people for the characters I play, but I’ve never met anyone like her. It’s been really fun to see all the ways I can become somebody who is almost the opposite of me.”

Freshman Liam Clymer was cast as one of the knights in the musical. He was involved in theater in middle school and felt that joining RATS was the natural program to participate in once he began high school.

“I decided to audition for “Once Upon a Mattress” because of my love of acting and because I watched my brother Donovan on stage for the last two years and wanted to see if I could do it too,” Clymer said. “I feel I’m similar to my character in the sense that we both try to be honorable and confident people.”

Junior Aidan Phillips went into auditions open to any role he could get and ended up having a lot in common with his character.

“I believe I’m very similar to the Minstrel in the way that he loves to sing and tell stories,” Phillips said.

“If I had to pick two things I love the most, it would most definitely be those things.”

To prepare for “Once Upon a Mattress,” RATS members had to commit time after school every day for rehearsal, plus additional time at home for cast members to practice their lines. Clymer also tried to devote time to practicing his dances, which took a little while for him to learn.

“The most difficult part [of preparing for the show], in my opinion, is dancing,” Clymer said.

“This is my first time ever having to do any major dance numbers and they are hard and complex

to learn at first, but over time get slightly easier.”

Similarly, leading up to the performance of “Once Upon a Mattress,” Bailey found that the high-energy dance numbers were challenging to master.

“I’d probably say the hardest part has been the amount of exercise I’ve had to do,” Bailey said.

“I’m not very athletic, and there are two crazy dances I have to do with only about five minutes to catch my breath. I love it though, and I wouldn’t trade that experience for the world.”

According to Mr. Gollon, the biggest challenge RATS faced while preparing for the musical was being caught in a time crunch.

“This year, our first Saturday that would normally be our build day, the auditorium was rented out to an outside group, so we lost the Saturday,” Mr. Gollon said. “We also moved the Collage Concert from the mall area to the auditorium, so we lost a couple more days there.”

After all the hard work and time invested into the musical, Mr. Gollon was most excited to see the big production numbers come together on stage.

“All the big production numbers are always what audiences love to see,” Mr. Gollon said.

“We have 60-70 people on stage, and they’re all moving in sync and whatnot. And just the collective voices, too.”

When it comes to the actual performance days, RATS has several traditions in place to help ease the nerves of cast members before they head on stage.

“Probably our most common

one is the Hokey Pokey,” Mr. Gollon said. “We always do the Hokey Pokey before all of our shows. There’s [also] some director traditions where student directors always share and just acknowledge the cast for how proud they are of them.”

In addition to the wholegroup pre-performance routines, many cast members, including Phillips, have developed their own individual strategies for combating nerves.

“It’s tough to calm myself down sometimes with my nerves, but I think I found something that helps me is just reminding myself that I’ve been working so hard to make this show an amazing one,” said Phillips. “This is my chance, so I’m going to take it.”

Overall, Clymer feels that joining RATS this year has helped him become more confident in himself. Phillips has also been able to take away some important lessons from his experience in theater.

“Theater has taught me things specific to theater and things that help in life,” Phillips said.

“Something I’ve learned about theater is that there are no small roles, just small actors. Something theater has taught me about life is that sometimes you don’t get what you want, but you still make the most of it.”

Bailey’s favorite part of being involved in RATS is the sense of community she feels from fellow members.

“The most important thing I’ve learned is the meaning of family,” Bailey said. “It sounds really corny, but it’s true.

I’ve found a home within the members of RATS, and I wouldn’t change a thing if I could.”

Senior Jane Bailey practices her lines for her role as Princess Winnifred.

Photo courtesy of Kent McCormick.

THE TALON || NOVEMBER 2018

PAGE 13 || ENTERTAINMENT

BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE MUSICAL Get an inside look at what goes on backstage RAHI SHAH

STAFF WRITER

The fight songs starts playing, signaling the end of the school day for RHS students.

Junior Mackenzie Lovell rushes out of her 6th hour class, but not to the bus. She is headed to the auditorium, where she will meet with the lights crew, complete her duties as the head and get back to designing the effects for each scene.

Lovell spent weeks preparing for the opening of this year’s fall musical, “Once Upon A Mattress.” Just like her, many other students from RHS worked for hours as a part of the musical’s crew. Rehearsals for the musical started the second week of September. From then until opening night, each crew put in hours of dedication and time.

According to junior Andrew Sheldrick, the head of sound crew, the number of hours the crew worked on the musical every week depended on how much work there was to be done. It could be two hours.

It could be 50 hours. The time always fluctuates.

Junior Liam Womack summed up his feelings on how many hours the crew works with a simple: “Too many.”

Most crews met for one to two hours in a week. As the show date came closer, all the crews were working most days, if not every day, after school for four to five hours. Mr.

Gollon, who has directed RHS musicals for hats, which took so much time,” Resh said. the past 35 years, explained that they didn’t “There is just a lot of layers and feathers and have access to the theater until three weeks sequins and beads. But in the end, it’s always before the show. This meant that many crews fun to see.” had little to do before that, but once they Just like the costumes and house crew, were allowed inside the theater, they were the other crews also had to face challenging working nonstop. The time and amount of situations. But, in the end, it all worked out. effort is not the only challenge the crews “Opening night went really good,” had to face. The head of house crew, junior sophomore Winter Mastrella said.

Anuysha Iyer, explains one of the difficulties “Everything went literally perfect.” the crew faced According to this year. many of crew “If we didn’t have a cast, there members, their “We are wouldn’t be a show and if they time spent working making some of the stuff in didn’t have a crew, then there on the musical the lobby on the always pays off wouldn’t be a show.” windows out in the end. Being of wood,” Iyer a part of theater said. “Some of creates many Mackenzie Lovell, junior the challenges friendships and that we had bonds. were actually “We are all drilling into the wood and making sure it stressed so we all just bond over that,” Lovell looks perfect.” said. “You get closer with other people. It’s The costumes crew also had to work not just exclusively you know the people in through some difficulties. the crew. You know everybody.”

“The hardest challenge has been that it’s Junior Evan Hayen, an assistant stage in medieval times,” senior Violet Resh, the director, notes that while it’s easy for the costumes crew head, said. audience to see the cast’s hard work on stage, “The fashion of that time period is very some might be surprised by how much is dramatic, and we had to make 70 different going on behind the stage.

“The fact that everyone is like, ‘Oh wow, all the cast is doing so good,’” said Hayen.

“And then if they were to go behind the stage, they would see a totally different thing.

They are like ‘Oh, the cast runs everything.’

That’s not like that. A lot of the stuff is crew-run and student-run as well. But it works like a well-oiled machine. By the time it actually comes to show week, everyone knows what they should be doing and they do it practically perfect every single time.”

Mr. Gollon shares the difference between being a part of the cast and crew.

“In the cast, you’re learning lines, dances and songs,” Mr. Gollon said. “You get all the glory because you’re out there in front of the audience, where the crew is basically never seen and if they do their jobs right they are never heard. They don’t get the glory at the end where they come out and take a bow, but their work is just as important. Without them we wouldn’t have lights to see them [the cast], microphones to hear them, scenery for them to act upon.

The crew is just as vital as everyone else.”

Lovell shares her perspective on the importance of the cast and crew.

“If we didn’t have a cast, there wouldn’t be a show,” Lovell said, “and if they didn’t have a crew, then there wouldn’t be a show.”

Once Upon A Mattress

The crew works hard to prepare for opening night. Photos courtesy of Kent McCormick and Adriana Grillo.

PAGE 14 || OPINION

THE TALON STAFF Adviser: Mrs. Facca Editor-in-Chief: Elizabeth Bulat Copy and News Editor: Violet Resh Feature Editor: Zoe Sawdon Entertainment and Lifestyles Editor: Mariam Hanna Sports Editor: Bianca Mow Business Manager: Noah Peterson Staff Staff Staff Staff Staff Staff Staff Staff Staff Staff Staff Staff Staff Staff Staff Staff Staff Staff Staff Staff Staff Staff Staff Staff

Writer: Colin Alison Writer: Wyatt Anness Writer: M. Conner Arsenault Writer: Megan Belz Writer: Ava Biordi Writer: Kate Breitschuh Writer: Javionna Davis Writer: Chad Dazo Writer: Kari Eickholdt Writer: Aryn Gallacher Writer: Alex Glaspie Writer: Sanya Gupta Writer: Fazil Hussain Writer: Collin Kilpatrick Writer: Holly McDonald Writer: Pooja Patel Writer: Summer Rawashdeh Writer: Maggie Rhymstett Writer: Raghda Romaya Writer: Preston Schroyer Writer: Rahi Shah Writer: Sharan Shibu Writer: Megan Splan Writer: Devin Toma

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.

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THE TALON || NOVEMBER 2018

STAFF EDITORIAL:

Should students be more informed about vaping?

Since the creation of the first vaporizer device, many people have become concerned about its effects on the human body. As more research has come out, it has only proven just how dangerous this cigarette alternative is. However, due to its widespread use, it seems that teens are not well-informed enough on the risks of using this device. In order to overcome the peer pressure and bombardment of advertising teens face when it comes to vaporizers, they need to be more aware of their harmful effects.

The features of the vaporizers themselves seem to be targeting teenagers. A popular vaporizer brand is Juul, a sleek and covert vaporizer pen with interchangeable pods that have a whole host of different flavors.

Teens see these new devices and their appealing-sounding flavors, and want to use them.

Many teens also use vaporizers to better fit in with the crowd and to seem cooler. This stigma pushes those who would not normally want to try nicotine to do so. This has made vaporizers widespread among students in schools across the country and has led to many young people dealing with the health and legal consequences of this choice.

Meme culture and advertising also influences teens to try vaporizers.

Truth Initiative, an organization that works to spread awareness on smoking and vaping says, “Youth and young adults are widely exposed to e-cigarette marketing and have high awareness of e-cigarettes, which are the most popular tobacco product among youth. By 2016, nearly 4 out of 5 middle and high school students, or more than 20 million youth, saw at least one e-cigarette advertisement.”

Though teens are facing pressures to use vaporizers, there are real dangers associated with them. The F.D.A has introduced new restrictions on flavored products due to their appeal to teens. The F.D.A will allow stores to continue selling flavored e-cigarette products, but they must be kept in an area that is closed-off to those who are underage. This only highlights the concern for teens using this device. Doctors have also shown that the device has very harmful effects on minors, such as hampering brain development.

Another drawback to vaporizers is the chemical diacetyl, which has been known to cause a condition known as “popcorn lung”. The condition causes little growths to form all around a person’s lungs, blocking air flow.

While parents and potential users may be worried about these effects, there really isn’t that much research available on the dangers of vaping.

Though cigarettes have decades of research about the carcinogens and medical illnesses caused by smoking, vaporizers are relatively new, and more studies need to be completed. Due to the unknown effects of using a vaporizer, the market for vaporizers has been left unchecked and has little to no regulation. Only recently has some regulation come into place, like the those for certain flavorings for cartridges.

The Talon staff voted unanimously that students should be more aware of the dangers and risks that come with using a vaporizer. Even though minors should not use them in the first place, teens should be more informed about just what the vaporizer does to their brain and lungs. The dangers of using this product are too serious to even consider trying.

“I think that kids being informed is a good idea since kids can be educated about the effects on people.”

Megan Splan, freshman

“It’s good [to be more informed on the risks] because it might discourage some kids from vaping.”

Sharan Shibu, sophomore

“It’s important that students understand the harm that can result from using vaping devices.”

Violet Resh, senior

THE TALON || NOVEMBER 2018

PAGE 15 || SPORTS

GIRLS BASKETBALL PRESEASON

The girls varsity basketball team prepares for winter season ARYN GALLACHER STAFF WRITER

As the clock strikes 2:30, senior Payton Johnson’s afternoon is just getting started. While other students get ready to head home for the day, she stays at RHS and meets up with the girls varsity basketball team to head to the gym for a few hours.

With the first game less than one month away, the players are busy getting in shape and improving their skills.

“In order to prepare for the season, we have been doing a lot of strength training, conditioning and open gyms,” Johnson said. “[We have also been doing] off season league work to prepare the more inexperienced players to play as a real varsity team.”

During preseason workouts, the girls basketball team switches back and forth from practicing drills to working on their physical strength. According to girls varsity basketball coach Jeff Haney, the team utilizes the RHS school workout room when they are not playing basketball in the gym.

“We’ve been in the gym doing four-player workouts and open gyms for the past month and a half,” Coach Haney said. “We are currently doing strength training and conditioning drills each day after school to get ready for the start of our season on Nov. 12.”

Heading into the season, returning varsity players have set personal goals in order to have something to work toward as the winter months approach.

“My goal this season is to strengthen the program,” junior Laura Kucera said. “The last couple of years was hard for the girls basketball program. My hope is that we will once again unite as a team.”

However, Johnson stresses that basketball is a team sport in which players only succeed by working as a whole. With this, there are many achievements the team hopes to aim for together as they work on strengthening their weaknesses.

“Our main goals for the season have got to be just learning to work together and play like a varsity team,” Johnson said. “With only four returning players, it’s going to be a big adjustment, but we’ve already been trying our hardest to work out the rough patches in the off season so we’ll be prepared for the first game.”

The girls basketball team will face some obstacles in this upcoming season, especially after finishing last year with an overall losing record.

“Our biggest challenge will be acclimating to the varsity level and the challenges that come with that,” Coach Haney said. “I believe this is something we can overcome.”

Although the team is working on building up each player so they are able to perform at a varsity level, Kucera believes they will succeed this season with their mental strengths and abilities.

“This year, our team will show a strong mindset,” Kucera said. “We have been working on being mentally tough. It doesn’t matter how strong your players are, because if you don’t have the right state of mind, you won’t succeed.”

The RHS girls varsity basketball team members feel excitement for the upcoming season, especially with the first game being just weeks away.

“I’m very excited for the upcoming season,” Johnson said. “I definitely think that the younger players will step up to the plate and do a great job.”

Above: Senior Payton Johnson works to help her team defeat Milford during a 20172018 season game.With only four returning players, Johnson says the team has been working hard in the off-season to prepare for this year’s first game. Photo courtesy of Payton Johnson.

Left: The 2017-2018 girls varisty basketball team lines up for the Pledge of Allegiance.

Junior Laura Kucera believes the team’s strong mindset will help them succeed this season. Photo courtesy of Emily Morrow.

DECEMBER SPORTS PREVIEW Upcoming RHS athletic events BASKETBALL (GIRLS VARSITY) Dec. 4: vs. Avondale (away) Dec. 7: vs. Mott (home) Dec. 14: vs. Marian (away) Dec. 18: vs. Henry Ford II (home)

HOCKEY Dec. 1: vs. Birmingham (away) Dec. 15: vs. Troy (away) Dec. 22: vs. Royal Oak (home) Dec. 28: vs. Romeo (home)

BASKETBALL (BOYS VARSITY) Dec 11: vs. Seaholm (away) Dec 14: vs. Bloomfield Hills (home) Dec 20: vs. Rochester Adams (home)

COMPETITITVE CHEER Dec 8: CCCAM Scholarship Invitational at Troy High School Dec 11: Competition at Rochester High School

THE TALON || NOVEMBER 2018

PAGE 16|| SPORTS

NATIONAL SIGNING DAY

Student athletes prepare for their lives after high school KARI EICKHOLDT

STAFF WRITER

Rochester senior Max Varon, a student athlete, improved lifestyle habits by going on a ketogenic diet that cut out all carbs and replaced them with healthy fats. He also did interval training for eight months to lose weight and then started weight lifting to gain muscle mass. All of these changes helped him on his journey as an athlete.

“I use to be very unhealthy and overweight, and with aspiring to play baseball through college, I had to change something,” Varon said. “I learned a lot about nutrition and exercise through self teaching and research, and I used everything I learned to put myself into a better position physically and mentally. This was a big step for me in my life, and it was definitely what led me to where I am today.”

Ten RHS students signed the Letter of Intent to play athletics at the institution that they’ve committed to in furthering their athletic and academic careers on Nov. 14.

The National Letter of Intent, created in 1964, includes 657 Division 1 and Division 2 participating institutions. The NLI is the binding agreement between a student

athlete and an institution for one academic year that includes financial aid through the institution. Though the NLI is presented, student athletes and parents are not required to sign it.

“Signing with Hillsdale, I hope to gain a great education and compete at a high level of baseball,” senior Nick Stepke said.

Even though students will commit more and more time to their sports in order to further advance in their athletic careers, the importance of academics is never forgotten, according to senior Kaitlin Ducharme.

“The coaching staff definitely stresses the importance of academics,” Ducharme said. “The purpose of college is to be able to have a successful career and life after college.

Soccer is just the fun part.”

Apart from academic goals that student athletes strive to attain, the drive to accomplish much in their athletic career is equally as important to them.

“I am looking forward to helping UIC win the Horizon League Championships. I also hope to qualify for D1 NCAA’s,” senior Victoria Thor said. “My UIC swim coach

has set a goal for people on our team to get Olympic Trial cuts and I hope to be one of those people.”

Thor is also aiming for a balance between pursuing athletic goals and academic goals at her institution of choice.

“I am looking forward to learning more about political science and doing research on issues that impact our governments and communities,” Thor said. “I also look forward to collaborating with international recognized professors at UIC.” As these athletes take the next step into their futures, they say the support from their parents, coaches, peers and teachers allows them to grow as individuals, athletes and students.

“I’m looking forward to going to Northwestern next year because there are a lot of athletic and academic opportunities there for me to take advantage of,” senior Elizabeth Bulat said. “I’m so blessed to have the opportunity to continue my athletic career at a college level and I’m thankful for everything RHS has done to prepare me for it.”

STUDENT PROFILES Kaitlin Ducharme Soccer Southern Illinois University Nick Stepke Baseball Hillsdale College Owen Malonowski Baseball Northwood University Elizabeth Bulat Cross Country Northwestern University Peter Corsetti Swim Michigan State University Max Varon Baseball Owens College Hagen Schwark Baseball Mott Community College Emily Morrow Softball Wayne State University Victoria Thor Swim Illinois Chicago University Kyleigh McCarthy Lacrosse Northern Michigan University

Rochester student athletes signing the National Letter of Intent on Nov. 14. Photo by Kari Eickholdt.