May 3, 2013. Vol. 18. Issue 7.
Dexter High School 2200 N. Parker Road Dexter, MI 48130 www.thesquall.com
The Squall Page 2 www.thesquall.com May 3, 2013
6 4 7 8 10 15 16
Index On The web See the following photo slideshows and more at our website, www.thesquall.com
4 News
Budget cuts likely take effect in district next year.
6 Feature
Student makes money selling art in NYC.
7 Sports
Benchwarmers contribute to team morale.
11 Interactive Spread
Tips on beach etiquette. Q&A with Christian Kunitz.
12 Opinion
Are school safety policies enough?
14 Get Involved
SNAP program brings students together.
THE
Squall
Letters to the Editor Policy: The Squall encourages letters to the editors. They can be emailed to dextersquall@gmail.com, dropped off in room 407 or given to staff member of The Squall. Letters may be edited for length and unprotected speech. Requests to withhold a writer’s name will be considered by the editorial board. Letters should be no more than 300 words.
Contact us at: 2200 N. Parker Road Dexter MI, 48130. (734) 426-4240 Editors-in-Chief Levi Kipke Cameron La Fontaine Head Designer Abby Mesaros Photo Editor Miranda Mors Assistant Photo Katie Vontom Web Editor Teddy Grammatico
Business Manager Erin Lashbrook
Opinion Editor Erin Lashbrook
Illustrator & Design Drew Daugherty
Entertainment Editor Dan Edwards
Graphics Jordan Romanowski
Sports Editor Nate Nuttle
Center Spread Editor Lauren Kimmel
Get Involved Editor Carolin Schade
News Editor Morgan Van Hoof
YOU page Editor Mitch Kimball
Feature Editor Aman-Vir Mandair
Photo Illustration Credit: Jordan Romanowski
ext: 7407. dextersquall@gmail.com
Design Team Ben Grover Levi Kipke Cameron LaFontaine Abby Mesaros Brandon Otto Jordan Romanowski Morgan Van Hoof Staff Writers Zeke Breuninger Dan Edwards Mitch Kimball Lauren Kimmel Aman-vir Mandair Noah Mellifont Bryce Pederson
Scott Rogers Carolin Schade Zac Sharp Morgan Van Hoof Photographers Casey Hansen Lindsay Henderson Andrew Milkey Nate Nuttle Kathryn Pisano Hadli Polidori Adviser Rodney Satterthwaite
Staff Editorials:
Editorials represent the majority opinion of the editorial board. Editorials are unsigned. Columns represented the opinions of the individual staff members who wrote them.
Staff Policy:
The Squall is a student publication distributed to students, faculty and staff of Dexter High School. The Squall is also distributed by subscription to the Dexter community. The Squall has a press run of 1700 copies and is printed by The Argus-Press in Owosso, MI The paper serves as a public forum with student editors making all content decisions. Opinions expressed in the newspaper are not necessarily those of Dexter Community Schools.
Memberships:
The Squall Page 3 www.thesquall.com May 3, 2013
News MarshEnglish battles breast cancer teacher ‘s outlook on life changes after diagnosis Dan Edwards Staff Writer
In December, English teacher and debate/forensics coach Debora Marsh started to feel a sharp pain in the top of her breasts. Thinking it was nothing, she dismissed it and thought the pain would go away by the time of her yearly mammogram. But on Dec. 10 she went to St. Joseph Hospital in Ypsilanti for the check up, only to learn something that would change her life forever. She had breast cancer. “I didn’t actually know right away,” Marsh said. “Usually after a mammogram appointment it takes them two days to report back if something was up. But they never did, so I thought everything was fine.” But the following Monday after school, she noticed she had received an email from the hospital. It was almost five, so she decided to not email back. “I thought they’d be out of the office by then, so I decided not to respond or call back,” she said The next morning, Marsh had to go to a meeting with a few of the other teachers when she got another call from the hospital. “I answered it mostly to get out of the meeting,” Marsh said. But the call she received was a little more serious than she anticipated. “The woman on the phone was very adamant,” Marsh said. “She sounded very suspicious and worried and really wanted me to come in for another check up that day.” Marsh questioned why she had to come in that day, and told the nurse that it would be hard for her to leave because she had lessons planned. But the woman on the phone was very persistent, so she decided to go. When Marsh came in for the second time, she had to get another mammogram and talk to a radiologist about her results. The doctors had found black spots on both breasts, and they suspected that it could be cancer, but they weren’t sure. After they saw the black spots, Marsh underwent two biopsies where doctors take a piece of tissue from the body in order to examine it more closely. “I couldn’t feel any pain, but I could feel them tugging
and pulling on my insides. It makes me queasy just to think about,” she said. After the biopsies, the doctors told Marsh that if anything was wrong, it was small and nothing to worry too much about. “Two days later during passing time between third and fourth hour, the hospital called me and told me I had a cancer,” she said. “I told them to call my cell whenever, and I guess I wasn’t thinking when I said that, because when I got the news, I started bawling. I told the librarian to watch my class for a few minutes, and I went up to find Mrs. McDonnough who knew about my biopsies and stuff.” However, McDonnough wasn’t at school that day, so Marsh went into the room where she normally eats her lunch. “(English teacher Stephanie) Nolan and (special education teacher Amy) Raus were the only ones in there, and I just burst out in tears and told them what was happening,” she said. “I was a wreck. Nolan and Raus told me to go home, but I said I couldn’t because I had lesson plans and a debate tournament that weekend.” Nolan, however, convinced Marsh that she could drive her home. “I drove Mrs. Marsh home in her car,” Nolan said. “I wanted to be sure that she got home safely so that she could talk to her family and make a plan of what to do.” A few hours later, Marsh’s husband Steve came home. “We just sat there and cried, and then made a million calls. He said he’d do whatever it took to fix it,” Marsh said. For his part, Steve said he is amazed by his wife’s strength in the face of such a disease. “I am deeply proud of my wife’s resolve and courage in the face of this horrible disease,” Steve said. “She is a remarkable woman. Her prognosis is very good and I am thankful for that. The most important thing now is to be sure she continues to get plenty of rest and she maintains this great positive attitude.” The following Friday, Marsh went to the Interdisciplinary Clinic at St. Joe’s, a place where people with specific cancers can meet with three different doctors on one day who can help a patient decide what course of action they should take.
After the Interdisciplinary Clinics, Marsh talked with some doctors and scheduled another two biopsies for the following Wednesday to find out if she had to get a lumpectomy or a mastectomy. A lumpectomy is a common procedure that is often used to remove tissue or lumps from the breasts. A mastectomy involves removal of the entire breast. “Luckily, I only had to do a lumpectomy,” Marsh said. But when the doctors were prepping her for the surgery, they found something that they weren’t expecting to find. More cancer. “Originally they thought they’d only find 1.3 centimeters of cancer, but instead, there was 4.5 centimeters,” Marsh said. This discovery changed everything. The doctors thought that Marsh’s cancer was only going to take a little bit of radiation treatment and that’d be it. But since they found more, they realized that it was going to take a lot more radiation and a lot more time to fix this. “The radiation doesn’t hurt, but when it’s done, my skin is really hot to touch,” Marsh said. “On the spots they do the radiation, it looks like I’m an African-American. It’s like a really bad sunburn where the inside of my skin is throbbing.” Marsh is currently waiting to go further with anymore treatments because she has to wait a month after the biopsies to go under more surgeries. But this whole experience has really changed her perspective on things. “From being a person who is always a control freak, it’s hard to be away from school so much,” she said. But she said the support and kindness from students, parents and colleagues has really made her feel good. “I feel so awkward receiving all these flowers and cards,” she said. “I’m grateful. All the support is really generous. But usually I’m the one making the care packages for people, not receiving them.” And this whole experience has changed Marsh’s outlook on life. “People can be happy if you let them,” she said. “We’re all trying too hard to get what we want. I say, look at the big scheme; if anything can make someone happy in anyway, let them do it.”
Forms of cancer treatments
Clinical trials
Used to test new medicines that help with the treatment of cancers. However, most clinical trials are unproven treatments that may or may not be superior to currently available therapies.
Medical Marijuana
Illustrations by Drew Daugherty
The National Cancer Institute said medical marijuana shows some signs in helping to treat breast cancer. The same report showed that marijuana can also be used for pain relief, relaxation and appetite stimulation.
Used to treat cancers that are sensitive to hormones. Used to shrink and control the cancer. Hormone therapy can be used after surgery or during any other treatments to decrease the chance of the cancer returning.
Hormone Therapy
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy uses a variety of drugs to destroy cancer cells in the body. It is often used when the cancer has a good chance of returning to the body multiple times to help stop the spreading of the disease.
News District grapples with budget cuts
The Squall Page 4 www.thesquall.com May 3, 2013
Morgan Van Hoof & Carolin Schade Staff Writers Although rumors regarding budget cuts for the 2014-2015 school year have began to circulate, nothing is official according to Principal Kit Moran. The district’s Executive Director of Finance and Business, Sharon Raschke, echoes Moran, saying that the budget is in the process of being determined and that the board of education, by law, doesn’t have to adopt the budget until June 30. So while there may be substantial cuts in the district’s future, students don’t have a reason to worry Moran said. At least not yet. “We’ve chipped around at the edges,” Moran said. “We’re working on doing better with less resources. We’ve had to ask ourselves: ‘What can we live without?’” According to Moran, the district has been working to find new ways to save money and avoid laying off teachers. By looking into eBooks, higher teacher-to-student ratios and cutting insurance benefits for staff, the district has kept its head above water. Computer teacher Joe Romeo, who is the president of the Dexter teacher’s union, said that the teachers have al-
“I don’t think we pay as well for administrative as other districts do. It bothers me that we are the lowest paying district for coaches.”
ready accepted a lesser quality insurance plan that saved the district money. Along with cutting insurance benefits for teachers and staff, Romeo said that he makes 10 percent less than he did three years ago. This percentage will only continue to increase as staff members collectively take pay cuts. “I don’t think we pay as well for administrative as other districts do,” Romeo said. “It bothers me that we are the lowest paying district for coaches.” And Dexter is not alone in this financial crisis. “Every district in the country has had budget cuts,” Romeo said. Many of these cuts can be attributed to losing students. Each student in the district is worth $7,468 and we have 3,633 students, therefore, the State awards the school district with $27,131,244. With the number of students in the district decreasing, and the state allotting a lower dollar amount per student, it puts the budget in a tough place. Since teachers’ salary and benefits make up the highest percentage of the budget cutting teachers is often the most effective way to balance the budget from an administrative standpoint. Teachers are referred to as full-timeequivalents, or FTEs, by the superintendent and other administrative officials. By calling teachers FTEs, they are converted into numbers. Teachers who work half-time are worth 0.5 FTEs, for example. For the next school year the superintendent has informed Moran that the
“I’ve had to lay off teachers in the past, and it sucks to tell people that they no longer have a job.” -Kit Moran, principal
-Joe Romeo, DEA president Illustration Credit: Drew Daugherty
number of FTEs will be lower than this year’s number. Not replacing teachers who retire will help meet this new criteria, but this likely means larger class sizes. In addition, the number of retirees will likely not be enough to get down to the right number of FTE’s. And the district might have to look into laying off teachers. But that’s difficult, Moran said. “I’ve had to lay off teachers in the past,” he said, “and it sucks to tell people that they no longer have a job.” However painful it may be for Moran to deliver this news, it may have to be done. “It’s part of my job,” he said. “I wouldn’t be a good principal if I only did the fun things.” Laying off teachers worries everyone according to Moran. But newer teachers are at a higher risk since seniority plays a role. As one of the relatively newer teachers to the district Jeff Oesch is not particularly worried. “The district will do whatever they need to do,” Oesch said. “I’m not especially worried. I don’t want to think about it and have it be the damper on my school year.” Although Oesch said he chooses not to worry about the possible layoffs at this moment he has a summer job which could hold him over just in case. Moran uses this philosophy when it comes to the budget as well. “We are hoping for the best,” Moran said, “while preparing for the worst.”
“The budget is in the process of being determined.” -Sharon Raschke, chief financial officer Dexter Community Schools
Sports
The Squall Page 5 www.thesquall.com May 3, 2013
Another one bites the dust
Football coach resigns, leaving team questioning why Morgan Van Hoof & Carolin Schade Staff Writer The varsity football team has seen three different head coaches in its 2012-2013 season. It all began with Brian Baird’s resignation early in the 2012 season. When Baird resigned, assistant coach Ryan Fischer took over as the head of the team for the remainder of the season. It didn’t last, though, and Mike Glennie was pre-hired as the new head coach in this off-season. According to Principal Kit Moran, Glennie was chosen based on his stellar coaching record at Saline High School. As the the most qualified out of all recipients that applied, Glennie had plenty of proposed changes in store for the program. “We were pretty optimistic,” Moran said. “We hoped that he could take a program that needed some help and lead it to success.” And Glennie, even though he never received a paycheck and was never officially employed, was already working with the kids in the weight room, just without the official title. Junior and football player Matt Mitchell worked with Glennie in the short two month period he was at the high school. “He started the BFS, or Bigger Faster Stronger, weight lifting program where we could lift two times a day, three days a week,” Mitchell said. After roughly two months of working with Mitchell and the other players, however, Glennie quit. Athletic Director Mike Bavineau, who has dealt with the football coach dilemma from the beginning, said Glennie’s resignation had nothing to do with disarray in the athletic program as some have suggested. “I think it is just circumstance,” Bavineau said. “I do not believe we have any problem with our football program in respect to retaining coaches. It just happened. I do not think there is anything that has been done to drive this cause of action.” Glennie did not respond to requests for comments on his resignation. Regardless, the news of Glennie’s resignation came as a shock to his players. “We heard on Monday April 14,” Mitchell said. “We weren’t told why, so we asked if we could get a meeting set up with him to ask, but it never happened.” Dean of Students Ken Koenig, said part of Glennie’s resignation was that he didn’t feel he was fully supported by the district. “Coach Glennie didn’t feel like he had financial backing from the district in order to do what he wanted,” Koenig
Photo Credit: Andrew Milkey
Mike Glennie coaches a game for Saline in this file photo. Glennie resigned from the Dexter head coaching job, citing lack of support from key people within the school system. Glennie’s replacement will be the fifth football coach in five years.
said. “He sensed some resistance for change, whether it was from the football booster club or from the district or from the board of education.” As one of the changes to the football program, Glennie meant to restructure the booster club. “It was pretty much a wholesale change to how they functioned,” Koenig said. “It was all pretty sudden.” According to Koenig, Glennie also feared that coaches
of other sports weren’t going to work with him in order to schedule events around the sharing of athletes. “I think it was more of an assumption than anything else,” Koenig said. A factor, that according to both Koenig and Moran, did not affect Glennie’s decision to resign, were the players. “It’s not the kids,” Moran said, “but I worry about how the boys may feel.” s an experienced coach himself, Moran understands the bond between the players and the coaches. Mitchell, along with the other football players, shared this same bond with Glennie. “It was especially frustrating because he promised us from the very beginning that he was here to stay,” Mitchell said. “He said he wouldn’t leave us and said that we would get better and better every day with his help. Now a lot (of players) are upset and are considering quitting.”
Feature
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Artistic pursuit Encouraged by her parents, Kleinhenz works with a passion for art Lauren Kimmel and Scott Rogers Staff Writer
Some of Katy Kleinhenz’ favorite work includes her painting of ‘60s icon Twiggy, her rendering of a decorated elephant and a watercolor of a mystical mermaid. Kleinhenz said her favorite medium to work in is watercolor.
Students who attended Mill Creek in the spring of the 2009-2010 school year may remember the wall in the middle stairwell coming to life. What started as a white cinder block wall became an intricate, colorful, expansive mural within a matter of weeks. This is what junior Katy Kleinhenz does: she takes a blank canvas and creates a masterpiece. Kleinhenz sold her first painting, a watercolor of a bird’s nest, for $65. This was an eye-opener for her. “I was really surprised someone would want to buy my art,” she said. “I didn’t know how much to ask for it, and I didn’t know if anyone would like it.” Since then, Kleinhenz has continued to sell her art at increasing prices and has potential customers asking for more. Kleinhenz’s art endeavors began halfway around the world, however, in Germany, where she lived from ages 7 to 11. Her mother, Ann JusticeKleinhenz, enrolled her in her first art class, and continued to have a strong influence in the rest of Katy’s art career at every step. “I really enjoyed it, and my mom was really big into making me start,” Katy said. “That’s where I started taking painting lessons because they’re really into that.” Ann was so intent on getting Katy into art because of her own positive experiences with the activity. “I always enjoyed arts and crafting so it seemed natural just to pass this joy on,” Ann said. “I think the thing I love most about art is that not only does it bring joy to the person who creates it but also to the person who views it.” But according to Katy, painting didn’t always come easily. “I had some natural talent, but I wasn’t, off the bat, really good,” she said. “As you get older, you see things differently. It takes a while to realize the sky touches the ground.” Katy naturally gravitated towards watercolors because it was what she was best at and truly enjoyed it. “I like watercolors. That’s just what I do,” she said. “I learned to do watercolors when we had a painting teacher over in Germany.” After living in Germany for five years, Katy moved back to America, where she continued her artistic pursuits. She started taking lessons at the
Two Twelve Art Center in Saline, where she said she really learned to make real art. Along with taking lessons, Katy began teaching lessons to younger children. This is where she first was able to make money from her natural ability and years of hard work. A few short months later, she was selling another one of her paintings to an art collector in New York. She sold this piece of art, a person floating in water, which took her between three and four hours to make, for $90. However, Katy, who plays water polo and is president of the new Dexter Arts and Community Service Club, has trouble finding time in her busy schedule to focus on her art career. “I have all these unfinished projects lying around,” she said. “I guess I could make money, but I don’t have much motivation. It’s really hard during the school year when you have other hobbies.” Once school ends, she said she will have more time to develop her craft. “Right now I have a couple paintings lined up that I’m doing for someone,” she said. “I plan this summer to really get back into it.” Katy said she has considered going into art as a career, but she and her mother are both skeptical about the outlook and possibility of pursuing art full time. “On the one hand, I know that art is everything to Katy,” Ann said. “She truly has a passion for art in its many different expressions. On the other hand, I know that there is a paradigm or stereotype that we have of the starving artist which gives us pause when recommending art as a career path.” However, the Kleinhenz’ have discussed the possibility of combining Katy’s talent in art with another field. “Luckily, we are living in a time where getting an art education is not so black and white,” Ann said. “It is actually quite exciting when you look around at all of the different possibilities. I have great confidence that Katy will end up using her art in some capacity in the future.” Katy said even though she has sold and continues to sell paintings to respected customers, she still doesn’t consider herself a professional, but hopes one day she will be able to. “I’m still learning a lot,” she said, “but I hope one day to do something professional in the artistic field, or I’d like to find a job where I do something artistic.”
Sports
The Squall Page 7 www.thesquall.com May 3, 2013
Lack of playing time, not lack of passion For the ‘benchwarmers’ it’s about love of the game Scott Rogers
So why could someone be on a team if they don’t get to play? Why put in all the work? Why not just do something else It’s a Thursday afternoon, and most students are heading with your time? For Molloy, there really isn’t anything he enjoys more. home, ready to relax, finish up some homework, browse the In“I’m barely on the team,” he said, “and I haven’t touched the ternet, maybe even watch some TV. But junior Joe Molloy chooses to spend his evening another field.” While many student-athletes might be devastated by the idea way. of not being able to play for their team, Molloy said he embraces He listens to his favorite music to get pumped up on an hourthe opportunity by helping everyone out and bringing a good long bus ride to St. Mary’s School in Orchard Lake. As he swaggers off the bus, he sizes up his opponents, looking attitude. “I try to help the team as much as possible,” he said. “I feel for weak spots. He warms up with the team, getting ready to like I bring a sense of morale. I hope so. That’s what they count start the season off right. Finally, he settles into the dugout, where he will remain on me for.” But while Molloy may seem like a typical benchwarmer, he for the entire double-header. After four hours of gamehas somewhat of a different circumstance. play, he gets back onto the bus, his legs still fresh. While the rest of the team is practicing, he also performs Molloy heads home to begin all of the homework evsome other duties such as filling up water bottles or helping run eryone else had a six-hour head start on. a drill. His formal title is student assistant coach. While this type of routine may seem odd, it is the typiHead baseball coach Don Little said he made the position cal day for Molloy, a so-called “benchwarmer,” someone who doesn’t get regular playing time but remains on the this year specifically for Malloy. Little also said he hopes to have more players like Malloy after he is gone, as they truly don’t team anyway. come around very often. “His work ethic and desire to be around the game inspired me to create a position I hope to continue in the future,” he said. “He is a great kid, a hard worker, respected by the players and coaches, and has a pretty good understanding of the game,” Little said. “We have some really good coaches here, and Joe is learning a lot this year about the level of baseball we hope to attain.” Little also said Malloy’s willingness to help whenever and wherever he is needed are a motivation and inspiration. “Joe helps with the scorebook at games. He also fills in at many positions at practice and works out with the team when specific opportunities are available,” Little said. “As the season progresses, we will continue to increase Joe’s duties and responsibilities.” Molloy also said part of his job is emotion support for the team. He said, “If someone needs a hug, I give that. If someone is sore, I rub that.” Baseball takes a lot of time out of Molloy’s day, with an average practice taking about two hours and a game six hours, but he said he doesn’t pay much attention to that. “I guess I have less free time for activities,” he said. But Molloy said he prefers to focus on what he can do instead of what he can’t do. He said he prefers to do what he enjoys with his time, and being on the team is what he enjoys. Of course, he might wish he could contribute more on the field, but he certainly doesn’t have any regrets about where he is now. Molloy said the real reason he plays is for “all the team bonding times. All Photo of Joe Malloy and photo illustration credit: the guys on the team are really welcoming Nate Nuttle and accepting.” Staff Writer
The Squall Page 8 www.thesquall.com May 3, 2013
Spread
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What do you think about the number of pizza places Dexter has?
“We are pretty community oriented. We donate $15-20 thousand each year back to the community. We try to help out every organization that comes to us. We try to help them out with donations, pizza, anything really that we can do.” -Ralph Schlaff, Classic Pizza owner
Not Enough: 15%
Right Amount: 23.5%
Other: 3.5%
Too Many: 58%
POW! Bam! ZAPPO! IT’S A PIZZA TAKEOVER!!! Staff Writers
Senior Ben Bruetsch sat down at his kitchen table with his phone in his hands, frantic, panicking. It was all just too much stress. Too much thinking. He could not decide what restaurant to get pizza from. With seven pizza places in and around the small town of Dexter, potential pizza eaters have a myriad of options for places to dine at. For some consumers, this variety is important. For others, it is too much. “I eat more than enough pizza in a week,” senior Ben Bruetsch, self-proclaimed pizza aficionado, said. “Pizza has been way too abundant in my life and it must come to a halt.” And Bruetsch’s qualms about overeating the Italian dish are becoming further pronounced as the school moves toward a more pizza-oriented menu. Dexter recently went from serving Classic Pizza once weekly to twice weekly. Now, every Tuesday and every Thursday is devoted to serving students the popular cuisine at lunchtime. This change corresponds with the high school serving less of their own pizza weekly. “I think there was a demand for more Classic Pizza instead of the pizza we serve at the school,” Food Service Manager Lorraine Bienko said. “We serve a whole-grain pizza, which has more grain and more fiber than other pizzas, but it was unfamiliar to students, so we decided to serve them pizza that we knew they liked.” But is Classic the brand that students are craving most? According to an unscientific Squall poll of 85 DHS students, 38 percent say that Jet’s Pizza should be served instead of Classic. In
contrast, 33 percent say they still prefer Classic. “Jet’s Pizza just has a superior taste to the plethora of other pizza sources,” senior Brennan Maisch said. “I’m just fed up with Classic. Two times a week is two times too many.” So is Dexter following in the school’s footsteps and overloading on pizza? Even with five pizza places already open in Dexter, two new businesses, Pizza Island and Bits and Pizzas, plan to open this summer. While some may be excited about the plethora of pizza options that Dexter has to offer, according to the aforementioned poll of 85 students, 58 percent think Dexter has too many pizza restaurants, while only 24 percent are content with the current amount. However, Bits and Pizzas owner and operator Rob D’Oria has his own reasons for establishing his restaurant. “Our children go to Dexter schools, play sports and participate in the band program,” he said. “So this community, the Village and surrounding townships, is very important to us. And we didn’t decide to open up a pizza place, at least not one that is comparable to other pizza places in the area. We’re more of a casual Italian restaurant.” So, in a world run by pizza, what sets apart a star restaurant from a so-so restaurant in the eyes of a consumer? “Personally, I like pizza places that offer a large variety of toppings,” Bienko said. Consumer opinions like Bienko’s have created a market for this topping-heavy type of pizza. “We’ve started specialty pizzas from day one,” Classic pizza owner Ralph Schlaff said. “Now, there’s a market niche for that type of thing.” Special features such as toppings and extras especially factor
into a consumer’s opinion when deciding where to find their grub. For this reason, Bits and Pizzas has incorporated its own special touch. “We think our pizza is great,” D’Oria said, “but we’re making fresh pasta dishes and desserts that are pretty darn good too.” Each restaurant has their own contribution to the world of pizza, their own way to differentiate themselves. For Classic Pizza, it’s their breadsticks. “They’re probably our most popular item,” Schlaff said. “I think the reason people like our breadsticks so much is because they’re actual breadsticks. Most pizza places just use pizza crust for their breadsticks.” 79 percent of the 85 polled DHS students preferred the breadsticks from Classic Pizza over all of the other pizza restaurants in Dexter. Whether you’re like Bruetsch and you believe your life is being taken over by pizza or you’re simply craving more, you, the consumer, are the one deciding how well business goes for these restaurants. Thus, in the world of the pizza takeover, the successful restaurant has to provide for the desires of the consumer. It remains to be told whether students are correct in their assessment that there is too much pizza. There is an abundance, but until “out of business” signs start popping up, the restaurants vie for the title of best pizza. “There is nothing wrong with competition is any restaurant business,” Aubree’s partner Ron Evangelista said. “It keeps everyone on their toes to have a good quality product for the consumer. (We) hope to see you stop by and have a friendly dinner in the restaurant and see what we are all about.”
Dexter will soon have 7 pizza places within the city limits. While some students question if that’s too many, the business owners say let the market decide. All surveys based on a non-scientific poll of 85 students conducted by the Squall staff
Students’ favorite pizza places
Levi Kipke & Mitch Kimball
Photo Credit: Lindsay Henderson; Graphic credit: Jordan Romanowski
Interactive Spread
The Squall Page 10 www.thesquall.com May 3, 2013
THE FIVE BY FIVE Annie Beckman Freshman
Chandler Van Fossen Sophomore
Theodore Grammatico and Ezekial Breuninger Staff Writers Eden Krull Junior
Clay Hansen Senior
Photo Credit: Nate Nuttle
Kate Upton Model
What’s the most fun you’ve had at a beach? Playing beach soccer.
Sneaking behind my brothers and dunking their heads underwater, then watching them throw up because of the salt water.
Dancing with a hot Dominican dude.
Going to the Atlantic Ocean in 5th grade.
Facebooking with Kit Mo.
Panama City Beach?
Party Center Bus?
Penguin Conservation Bungalo.
Oily merman.
Finding a giant gold chest in the sand.
What do you think PCB stands for? Precautions.
Pound Crooks Brutally.
What’s your idea of a treasure? Finding a sand octopus.
If I said it, you’d have to edit it out.
It’s hard to find treasure when you are treasure.
Tell me, have you seen the marvelous breadfish? Nope?
Yes, it’s annoying.
I’ve seen a flying fish, what’s a breadfish?
Ate it. ‘Twas tasty if I do say so myself.
Has the Breadfish seen me?
My name is Clay.
Can I draw a picture of myself?
What would you write if you could put a message in a bottle? Watch out for grandma.
This is a message in a bottle.
I’d draw a picture of a cat.
Q&A with Christian Kunitz
Photo Credit: Andrew Milkey
Q: What makes your beach bod better than the rest? A: While I’m at the beach, I am typically wearing long pants and a trench coat, because that’s what normal people do.
Q: What exercise have you used most to prepare yourself for the beach scene? A: Oh gosh, I just look this good naturally.
Q: If you were a fish, what kind of fish would you be? A: Can I be a whale? I’d like to be a blue whale.
Q: What sort of compliments have you received on your bodacious bod? A: Well, obviously people tell me my eyes sparkle like a lake in the evening.
Q: Do you feel others just use you for body? A: I do. I feel like it’s a lot of sexual discrimination. Women have a tendency to use me for my bod. I’m just an object in their eyes.
Interactive Spread
The Squall Page 11 www.thesquall.com May 3, 2013
Get hot and oily Beach tips for the unprepared from Theodore Grammatico and Ezekial Breuninger
Beach bods are hard to come by in a land cursed by chocolate chip cookies and Classic Pizza. But don’t be discouraged; there is hope for all of us. Here’s what you need to become the sand-slaying tycoon you’ve always wanted to be.
Women
Don’t be so self-conscious. There’s nothing more attractive than a lady who has the confidence to do as she pleases without hesitation. 1. Spray tans: Don’t over think it. Your skin is fine the way it is. Concentrate more on the things that really matter. 2. Be gutsy: Set yourself apart from all the others. We’ve all seen bikinis, so can you rock a one piece? 3. Get involved: Don’t be afraid to get wet. Play some volleyball or flip a burger. In short, don’t be a Debbie Downer. 4. Makeup is for prom: There ain’t no place for blush at the beach, so let hair flow, skin glow and the good times roll. Illustration Credit: Drew Daughtery
Men First of all, nobody likes a Timmytry-hard. Don’t be that guy. If you show up to the beach with tanning oil and reflective sunglasses, you’re only going to end up in some sort of meme that mocks your ridiculousness. 1. Chest hair, don’t care: If you have a delicious patch of man fur, let it shine. 2. Get beefy: Beef castles attract the best sort of women. Grow your castle by lifting heavy objects, like logs, small children or broken pieces of cement. 3. Leave the Fohawk at home: If you’re more worried about your hairdo than your outfit, you’re doing it wrong. 4. Have your own style: A Hollister shirt, Billabong shorts and bikini sandals have been done before. Try something new.
Opinion
The Squall Page 12 www.thesquall.com May 3, 2013
Cameron LaFontaine Staff Writer
Imperfect is now the flawed norm Discussion with principal shows no school is perfect about safety
T
wenty-year-old Adam Lanza forced his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, shooting and killing 20 children and six more adult staff on Dec. 14. Since this infamous school shooting, an open debate has sparked around the country as to what measures schools should take in order to be secure and safe. Is there a perfect solution to school safety problems? Principal Kit Moran struggles with this dilemma. “Here’s the balance that I struggle with as the person in charge,” he said. “We need to create an atmosphere that is open and welcoming, at the same time making it secure. So do you want a prison? Or do you want an open building? So we’ve got to reach a balance that says people can come in and not be too inconvenient.”
Redesigning the entrance
Just a few months ago, Moran met with some members from the district bond committee, Granger Construction, school liaison officer Jeremy Hilobuk and security and technology consultant Brett Emerson about a redesign of the high school’s entrance. “We talked seriously about redesigning the entrance to the high school,” Moran said. “They were on a bit of a fast track, and I slowed that down a little. So I don’t think we’re going to do anything about it this summer.” Hilobuk said he agrees with many of Moran’s views. “Even if you redesign the front entrance even with all these little check-ins, there’s still people that can find another way inin another part of the building,” he said. “So you have to be careful because then you would have to shut down all the doors and all the windows to make it totally secure. So there’s got to be a middle ground where you don’t allow people to come through without checking in, and you make sure if parents are coming in that they have a good reason to. And then making people more aware. Tell people to ask questions when they see people coming through.” Right now, people are supposed to come in and check in at the main office. If they don’t they walk right by the front door and they can go anywhere. Who stops them? According to Moran, no one. “Nobody. Nobody right now,” Moran said. “Should we redesign (the entrance) to stop people? Good question.” It’s a valid question, and it’s an important question. As a school filled with 1200 students, 1200 children, do we risk it and assume that nobody dangerous will enter our school? Why shouldn’t we do more to keep our school safe and secure? A question I’m always asking myself is,
is there anything preventing someone from walking right into the main part of the school? The answer from Mr. Moran: “Not right into the main part of the school. No.” Reassuring? Not exactly. However, Moran makes good points. “No school (in the district) has nearly the foot traffic we have. We have 1200 kids, twice as many as any other building,” he said. “We have a million different activities going on. We probably are not going to have a lot of kids that want to go to the school where they have to go through a metal detector.”
The community and security
Moran also said school security needs to reflect the desires of the community. “From my point of view we need to have a serious conversation to figure out what we want to do about security, and if we want to modify we need to be very purposeful, but I also think it needs to reflect what the culture of the community is,” he said. If the community wanted more security, Moran said he would increase the security at the school. “Some communities would say, ‘The most important thing is student security and student safety, and that’s more important than convenience and more important that anything else. We don’t care about any of those things because the most important thing is building security. Lock that building down, improve the security.’ If the community in Dexter said that then I would as the principal say, ‘OK, I’ll take your lead on that. I’ve got to be careful that I am reacting with the appropriate response that the community expects.” So, as a community, do we say, “These things will never happen here anyway, why should we change?” Or do we say, “Let’s take necessary precautions so that nothing like this ever does happen.” I think the latter. Why not expect the unexpected and take necessary precautions? But the real question is, how do we take the right precautions?
Illusionary security
Moran said many schools try to make their school secure but are only actually creating an illusion of security. Moran goes to Saline High School for meetings once a month and uses the school as an example. “After coming in the big main door, you enter a lobby. If you go to the right you go into the main part of the building, there is a big desk there. It’s empty. It didn’t used to be empty, but it is now. If you go through the doors to the left you go to the office area,” he said. “So, if you go to the right, you can go into the main part of the build-
ing freely. If you go to the left, you’re supposed to go to the office and check in with somebody, and I have never ever zero ever gotten a visitor pass. I walk in like I know what I’m doing, I know where I’m going and I know I can get in.” And Moran said this illusionary security is even worse than not doing anything at all. “That’s my problem,” he said. Are we creating an illusion of security? I would argue if you created an illusion of security and (the school) is really not secure, then you’ve led people to believe that you are more secure than you are, which is worse.” According to Moran, Novi High School locks their front doors and someone needs to knock to get it. A man with a clipboard opens and answers the door. So what’s stopping someone from barreling past the man who opens the door?
After Sandy Hook
Moran said he thinks that it’s more important for DHS to be a friendly, convenient building rather than a locked down “prison.” But has his opinion changed since the Sandy Hook Shooting? “Not mine,” he said. “But here’s the tough political thing I deal with: if something happens someone sticks a microphone in my face and says, ‘Mr. Moran, what have you done to improve security since Sandy Hook?’ And I say, ‘Nothing. We looked at everything and decided we didn’t want to make it into a prison.’ So how does that look? You’re stuck between a rock and a hard place. So do you do something just because you should do something? And maybe sometimes you do things just because you should do something. I’m trying to make us not overreact but act appropriately.” Hilobuk said that Newtown definitely made us more aware of things that could happen in a school even like ours and how law enforcement should be prepared. “I think that (Newtown) just made us more aware of things we need to be aware of,” he said. “It definitely put something in motion as far as the sheriff’s department and police agencies around here. As far as how we’re going to work together more with the State Police and local agencies in responding to things like that (shootings) so we have more of a game plan of how to respond. We’ve set some things in motion so we can learn to respond just a little quicker and respond better.”
Preventing shootings
Am I thinking that when I walk into the high school I’ll be shot at or that my school is in danger? No. But when I think about school shootings in the past like the tragic Columbine or Sandy Hook, I can’t help but
think it’s wrong for us to not secure our building more. How can we sit here knowing that this can happen to any school and any time and just wait for it to happen? Moran said that he’s confident in how our school helps students with problems and this minimizes risks of violence in school. “We’ve got to do our best to know our kids, so we don’t have a kid doing this (shooting up school),” Moran said. “Do we have some kids in the school that we’re concerned about? Yes. What are we doing about that? We should be checking with them regularly with counselors and our social workers. We should also try to create an atmosphere that this is a good place and that if you have a problem you can talk to somebody. I think we do that. We are trying really hard to make this not a place where our kids are going to come here and take things out on the school. We try to reduce those risks.” School shootings aren’t unknown in Washtenaw County. In 1993, Chelsea High School science teacher Stephen Leith returned to the school after having a grievance meeting with the superintendent, principal and another teacher over allegedly making inappropriate remarks about a female student. He returned after storming out of the meeting with a 9-mm Browning handgun and shot and killed the superintendent and wounded the other two. This happened in the school. In a school less than eight miles from ours. Who’s to say something hostile can’t happen here?
My opinion
I am a believer that safety is definitely one of the most important factors in a quality education environment. I don’t think our school is at high risk for a shooting or other violence, but as we’ve learned in the past from Columbine and Newtown, it could be any school, even the most unexpected. I trust our administrators and our experts in creating a school environment that is both welcoming and safe, and I believe we’re doing a good job of maintaining it. With that said, conversations on true safety and security need to occur in order for our school to function adequately. No school is perfect when it comes to school safety, but a standard needs to be set. While I recognize Moran’s arguments , something still needs to be done to the front entrance to the point where it puts a barrier between someone walking into the school and the lunchroom filled with 400-500 children at a time. While violence may not be lurking at every corner, it could be walking into any building, and we need to make sure that does not happen here.
Editorial
The Squall Page 13 www.thesquall.com May 3, 2013
Our View
WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE A FOOTBALL COACH?
Low coaches’ pay leads to turnover
Barbieri. Baird. Fisher. And now, another one bites the dust. After just a month, Mike Glennie has resigned as the varsity football coach for the 2013 season. With four different coaches in two years, there must be something scaring these professionals away. All come with a good resume, promise to bring a new vision and success to the team, and in a short period of time, they’re gone. So what is the cause of their short stay? Perhaps it’s that our district is one of the lowest paying for coaches in the county. Or maybe it’s because of the historical lack of winning seasons for the football team. It seems like every coach is willing to take on the challenge of the program, but when the time rolls around, reality is too much to handle. With the possibility of around $2 million dollars in budget cuts coming, there may be even less funding that goes towards athletics in the future. However, budget is not the biggest problem Dexter athletics faces. The real problem is the lack of leadership and commitment being exemplified to the student-athletes when there is such a turnover in the system. Athletics are important not only for physical benefits. By participating in sports, students learn how to work together towards a common goal, deal with failure and celebrate success. But the most important lessons learned are responsibility and accountability. Coaches seem to be using Dexter as a stepping stone in their careers: a comfortable position until something better comes along. This is a problem that our district will continue to face until we provide an incentive to get coaches to stick around. Coaches salaries were cut by 20 percent this year.
Janitor
Athletic Director
Illustration Credit: Drew Daugherty
While 10 percent of this cut will likely be restored this year, depending on how teacher contract negotiations play out, we are still worried about the future of our athletic department. This problem will continue unless we are able to make offers that compete with rival schools. Our athletes are talented, have a strong work ethic and deserve coaches that will work with programs long-term. While coaches do not coach just for the money, it can be a contributing factor when it comes to making a choice between a job at two districts. If both programs provide equal promise and fulfillment, but one offers more compensation, it’s almost guaranteed that is where the contract will be signed. If we were able to provide a better financial incentive for coaches, it would allow for our district to improve the quality of its athletics overall.
Editors’ Vote Do you think that we need to provide more incentives to our coaches so that they stay at Dexter?
12..............................Yes 0................................No
What do you think about Dexter’s inability to hold onto football coaches? Photo Credit: Andrew Milkey
“I think that they need to go the board and fight for changes.”
Lexi Heath, freshman
“We can’t keep football coaches in Dexter because the board is so difficult to deal with. It is hard to join a failing program and turn it around.”
“It sucks. It’s unreliable. It’s nonexistent.”
“It’s pretty bad. It is probably because the football team is so bad.”
Ben Kill, sophomore
Bethany Shiguango junior
Luke Hannah senior
Get Involved
The Squall Page 14 www.thesquall.com May 3, 2013
Oh Snap!
Club formed to make connections with special ed. students Zac Sharp Staff Writer
in 1990,
Junior Marisa Williams is one of several students who participate in the Students Need Accepting Peers program or SNAP, a program designed to help special education students feel more connected to their school “Getting to know (the special education students) is pretty fun, and it’s nice to feel like we are making a change in their life,” Williams said. The program is in its first year at Dexter High School and, according to special education teacher Megan LaBarre organizers hope it will continually grow. However, because the program is still in its beginning stages, students only have a few tasks. “We have lunch with the special education students twice a week to make them feel more socially acceptable, but we are trying to add more things in, like a movie day and maybe even take them to prom,” Williams said. Principal Kit Moran said he thinks the program could be a benefit for students from both sides of the program. “This program is used to take down the barrier between special education students and general education students,” Moran said. “The program tries to get general education students to pair up with special education students in a mentor-mentee situation. The high school is looking at this as a chance for general education students to understand the special education students and also help the special education students feel like more of a part of the world and high school experience.” The SNAP program originated when Washtenaw Intermediate School District special education teacher Liz Shields, Speech and Language Pathologist Deb Sakowski and LaBarre came up with the idea of bringing this program to Dexter High School. “The SNAP program is an opportunity for both students,” LaBarre said. “It can help increase the circle of friends for the special education student and also increase knowledge of special education students to general education students. The first ideas of this program came from the Statewide Autism Resources training, or START, service in Michigan, who work with special education students. Their research says that peer-to-peer is one of the most helpful ways to work with them. As long as students continue to sign up, then, yes, the program will continue.” The coordinators and leaders of the club have numerous goals that serve as a basis for bringing the program to Dexter. But the main idea, according to Moran, is to make the school environment better for all students. He said, “Our main goal is to get special education students to get a sense of the real world, and at the same time teach general education students that the world is different than they are, and that there are kids different than them.”
1208
children between the ages of birth to 26 identified with ASD were receiving special education services.
Whereas by January 2012,
16,591
children were receiving services under the ASD eligibility
I,724
students across the state participating in SNAP
1 in 88
kids have Autism Spectrum Disorder and about
140
special education students with an IEP at Dexter
Entertainment The not-so-suite life Lately it’s been downhill for Disney
The Squall Page 15 www.thesquall.com May 3, 2013
Lit. mag looks for authors Aman-vir Mandair Staff Writer
Morgan Van Hoof Staff Writer
The Disney I know and love no longer exists. The down-to earth-blonde with a spunky cartoon conscience, the mischievous twin boys who live in a hotel, and the girl who puts on a wig to live the best of both worlds no longer fill their time slots with witty repartee. Such characters have been replaced by talking dogs with blogs, wannabe dancers, and 11-year-old high schoolers. I can honestly say I looked up to those characters as a kid. “Lizzie McGuire,” which premiered in early 2001 (do you feel a little old now too?), was one of my favorites. I don’t think I will ever forget the episode in which Aaron Carter guest stars and shoots a music video. And let’s not forget the time Lizzie buys her first training bra. Lizzie could never prepare me enough for the actual horrors I would go through in this first-time shopping experience. Then in 2005, “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody” joined the ranks of my most-watched shows. The first thing that comes to mind is the second episode, when the Tipton Hotel hosts a beauty pageant. Cody humors us all as he reaches new heights (with the help of some three-inch
stilettos) to impress a girl. But even before that, I remember the very first episode, when I was first introduced to the two boys. As the new kids in school, the boys befriend Max, the infamous tomboy, and Tapeworm, the geeky kid. When the cool kids in school try to take advantage of the boys’ residence in the hotel, they teach us to never take our real friends for granted. Then, Hannah Montana took the world by storm with her catchy songs and country-turned-couture fashion sense. Every girl dreams of a closet like that. To this day, the words “nobody’s perfect” will inspire every girl (and sometimes a few boys) within a two mile radius to continue on with the famous lyrics--no matter how bad they sound. The catchy tune and applicable message make for a song that will be stuck in your head for hours. Sometimes days. Hannah kept a dream alive for millions of little girls out there, teaching us all that no dream is too big. However, all good things must come to an end. Out with the old and in with the new. Unfortunately, this new era was destined to fail. How could anyone ever follow up an act like that? Kids today don’t know about the shows that I grew up with. They don’t have any idea about what they missed out on. Instead, Disney shows these days aren’t teaching kids the lessons they should. In “Dog With A Blog,” kids are taught that it’s okay to lie to your parents Lessons about lying to parents. Now talk about new shows, how they don’t teach any important or worthwhile messages. Nothing funny about it. They try way too hard. Maybe it’s the fact that I’m older now, or maybe it’s the fact that I don’t want to let go of those characters I grew up with because letting go means that part of my life is really over. But now the characters on the new Disney shows are not someone I would want a kid looking up to.
Since he was a small kid, senior Anthony Quail has had a passion for literature and the English language, leading him to take some rigorous English courses, including A.P. English Language and A.P. Literature. His interests in literature eventually led him to become a writer for Starboard, DHS’s literary magazine. “Although most people wouldn’t know this, I’m a pretty avid reader, and I’ve always loved English courses throughout my life,” Quail said. “Starboard gave me the opportunity to write and reflect on some amazing pieces of literature out there, and even some of my favorite books and writPhoto Credit: Jordan Romanowski Editor Mitch Kimball takes notes during a ers.” English teacher Deb- before-school meeting of Starboard, the school’s online literary magazine. orah Marsh advises the magazine, which was originally a print magazine known as Jargon. According to Marsh, the purpose of Starboard is to take in and present creative submissions, from poems and short stories to pictures and even music and videos. “We thought that an Internet Starboard would be far more vibrant,” Marsh said. “We also have no budget and money to print out print magazines, and thought we could accept more creative media online.” Each month, Starboard accepts submissions of a certain creative theme. April, for example, is poetry month, and so Starboard is accepting poetry submissions for a poetry slam that is to be held some time in April. “April is known as the national poetry month, and so we are all throwing this slam to honor that and the poets here in Dexter,” Starboard editor Sarah Bell said. Marsh also said that the main purpose of the poetry slam is as a public showcase of poetry where poetry pieces are judged for which is best. Submissions have been few and far between, however, and this has been disconcerting to Marsh. “People don’t seem to submit things, either because they don’t want to or have no time,” Marsh said. “This is sad because I know there are creative kids out there, but they hide their skills like it is something to be ashamed of.” However, Quail is hopeful that more submissions will come as people are made aware of what Starboard is. “We’ll start advertising through posters and school announcements that will let people know what Starboard is, and this way, we’ll be able to get new recruits to run the website in the next few years. Despite some recent setbacks, I’m confident that we’ll reinvigorate our membership and website.”
Photostory
Survivors Greg Osberg and Valerie Manners do the limbo challenge at the Senior Survivor assembly.
The Squall Page 16 www.thesquall.com May 3, 2013
Juniors Graham Northrup, James Fischer and Scott Rogers cheer on the green team at the assembly.
All of the survivors perform a coreographed dance at the assembly.
Osberg, Manners and Alex Reich are off to the races in one of the many Senior Survivor scavenger hunts.
Noah Mellifont Staff Writer
Blue team survivors Nate Nuttle and Payton Lakey jump up during their pre-game routine at the assembly.
Photo Credits: Katthryn Pisano, Casey Hansen, Katie Vontom
Survivors Bailey Mayrand and JP Birmingham perform their “pre game routine” at assembly.
On the evening of April 14 the Senior Survivors walked into their competition with high hopes and positive attitudes. J.P. Birmingham of the purple team said, “If you’re not first, then you’re last.” Right off the bat, Bailey Mayrand of the purple team lost the privilege of having a pillow for being late to the meeting. Then came the pep assembly where the survivors started with a dance they all did together. After that, it was all competition between the six teams. In a close limbo competition, the dark blue team of Nate Nuttle and Payton Lakey pulled off the win. Even though the green team found the immunity idol within five minutes of the challenge the night before, they did not need it as they came on out top after a few more contests. And the first out was the Maroon team, Sean Coast and Daniella Gomez. “It’s sad to be out first because it was fun, besides the food challenge,” Coast said. At the end of the day, the dark blue team joined the
maroon team and did not get to stay another night. Four remained, with two days left of competition. On the last night, two teams stood. The light blue with Megan Flocken and Alex Reich, and the green team, AJ Sterlitz and Sarah Keen. When the final day of Senior Survivor finally came, student council adviser Al Sniders asked the seniors to come down to the office during fifth hour. They slowly walked down the hallway and into the office. Snider congratulated all seniors for their hard work on raising money. He gave them all a free prom ticket. Winners receive two free prom tickets a piece and $50 each. Then Snider announced over the PA: “Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of the 2013 Senior Survivor is ... the green team.” Hugs went around the room in happiness, and Snider congratulated the green team. “This year for Senior Survivor all teams raised over 12,000 bucks, which is crazy,” he said. With the green team winning, Keen and Sterlitz get the charity of their choice to give the money. Keen donated her the money to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and Sterlitz donated his to the Howell Nature Center.