Issue 2

the

TOWER Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2016

Volume 89

Issue 2

@thetowerpulse

A weekly tradition since 1928

Grosse Pointe South 11 Grosse Pointe Blvd. Grosse Pointe Farms, MI 48236

South swimmer represents in the Junior Olympics

KELLY GLEASON ‘17 | Staff Writer While most of the world was closely watching the events in Rio over the summer, Renee Liu ‘19, was preoccupied with a different kind of ‘Olympic Fever’.

Over the summer, Liu competed in the International Children’s Games, an event held annually where athletes from ages 12 to 15 from all over the world come together to compete against one another.

“I used to live in Windsor, and so I, along with four other swimmers, were chosen to represent Team Canada in Taiwan this year,” Liu said.

After taking a brief detour in Beijing, Liu arrived at the village near the racing grounds, where she would compete two days later.

Much like the regular Olympics, the competitors stayed in an athlete’s village for the duration of the games and were able to meet peers from across the globe.

Along with housing the athletes during the Games, there were numerous events and activities I used to live in planned in the Athletes VilWindsor, and so I, lage. along with four other “We played a big game of swimmers, were chododgeball with everybody. It sen to represent Team cause nobody was tough bespoke the same l a n g u a g e ,” Canada in Taiwan this Liu said. year, Activites like this held RENEE LIU ’19 for all of the competitors allowed them to befriend one another despite the language barrier.

“It was tough to communicate, there was a lot of hand signaling,” Liu said.

In addition to helping the athletes meet others from around the country, the village helped them make friends with athletes from their respective home countries as well.

“I walked around the village with the other Canadians for a while, it was fun,” Liu said.

Due to her move to Grosse Pointe last year, Liu competes on a Canadian team while still primarily training in the United States.

Balancing two teams on different sides of a border takes a lot of

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work, but Liu was more than up to the challenge.

“Renee is a leader and a worker. It’s fun to have her on the pool deck,” Grosse Pointe Gators head coach John Fodell said.

While in Taiwan, Liu swam the 100 and 200 meter butterfly and backstroke, all four of which require intensive training. Daily and sometimes twice daily practices help Liu get in shape to compete in events such as the International Children’s Games.

“When I was younger swimming was mostly recreation, but now I swim up to 7,000 yards a day,” Liu said.

Most of the training for Taiwan Liu did was in the United States, and made for a hectic practice schedule.

“I would swim Saturdays with the team in Windsor and still practice with Gators or South,” Liu said.

As well as competing in a different country, Liu would train under another coach before competing in the Games.

“She knew what had to be done before she left, and she prepared herself best before she swam,” Fodell said.

CAN

SWIMMING TO VICTORY | Renee Liu ’19 looks up after completing a race at a South swim meet on Thursday, Sept. 8. The team was facing off against Northville.

PHOTO BY KELLY GLEASON ‘17

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students were enrolled. that schedules for each school year de“I don’t think 36 was ever meant to pend on how each class falls and which be,” Harris said. “We physically don’t hours they are. have spots for 36 students. I have 32 “We as a counseling department try student desks and 32 lab tables. The ex- to keep our class sizes as balanced as tra four students are sitting on my lab possible,” Bernbeck said. tables.”

Bernbeck said that he personHarris said ally has needed to move that the class a few students into differis already difent classes based on their ficult to schedteacher’s ability to accomWe physically don’t ule; during the modate them in the class. have spots for 36 stuschool year, “It is always an isdents. I have 32 stustudents shadsue if you’ve got too many dent desks and 32 lab students for the amount of ow physicians tables. The extra four at the hospital, desks that you have, or if and it can be students are sitting on you’re in a computers class tough to find a and you don’t have enough my lab tables. spot for every computers for that,” Bernstudent. beck said.

CHRISTINE HARRIS “Some stu Bernbeck said that Science Teacher dents have ofthe counselor’s’ goal is to fered to move make sure that students retheir schedceive the classes they want, ules, so we’re looking at how many stu- as well as the classes they signed up dents could make a change easily with- for, while trying their best to keep class out affecting other classes,” Harris said. numbers consistent throughout the South counselor Nick Bernbeck said school.

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THIS WEEK AT SOUTH... sep.

Back to School Night starts at 7 p.m.

USA

AUS

Overcrowded classes draw concern

KATHLEEN CARROL‘19 | Web Editor Multiple Grosse Pointe South teachers have been scheduled to teach larger classes than expected for the 2016-2017 school year.

Thomas Szmrecsanyi, an art teacher at South, is teaching two multi-level courses during third hour: three levels of Sculpture students and four levels of Design with Metals, with one independent study student.

Szmrecsanyi said that in his third hour class, he has eight groups of students. Throughout most of the semester, each of the groups is working on a piece completely independent from the other seven groups.

“I agreed to teach both of the classes at once because if I don’t, neither of the classes will run. I do it for the students,” Szmrecsanyi said. “My metals kids don’t want to take sculpture, and my sculpture kids don’t want to take metals. If they can’t take the class that they wanted, they might ultimately choose not to take an art class.”

Science teacher Christine Harris expected about 25 students to be in her Investigations in Medicine class -- 36

No matter the team she is competing for, Liu has been a team player.

“She’s a really compassionate teammate, and hard worker, she always keeps us motivated,” Clarice Fischer ‘19 said.

Competing in the International Children’s Games allows young athletes to experience competitions for their sport on a global level while connecting with others their age from all around the world.

Now that Liu has aged out of being eligible for the Children’s Games, she has a different inkling for the future.

“I want to try to be a good team leader,” Liu said. “I also want to swim and college, and maybe try to make it to the Olympics.”

GRAPHIC BY LIAM WALSH ‘18

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Class meetings reintroduce school year expectations EMMA RUSSELL ‘17 | Staff Writer

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n Friday, Sept. 16, there tenth graders who might not be as will be meetings held with familiar with me versus eleventh each class to review the and twelfth.” rules and regulations at South. The Lucy Loch ’17 explained that meetings will be an hour long and she feels the extra staff speakers will feature speakers from all over and the more interactions with the South. students will help keep them inter“(The class meetings are) to try ested in the presentation. to help the kids understand the “I think it’s really great that the organizational parts of school. We administration brings everyone have some policy reinforcements, together and they make everyone the tardy thing, the cell phone feel welcome at South, and right off thing: we want to talk about school the bat we know what they expect issues that of us,” Loch said. we feel are “You know last year important,” they got up and Assistant talked to us for the We also want to be Principal whole time, but I able to get get differTerry Flint think it’s good this ent people in front of said.

“We year that they’re enthe kids, some of the also want to gaging more people teachers, some of the be able to so they’ll pay atget different tention and then counselors, the social people in everyone’s on the worker. front of the same page.”

TERRY FLINT, kids: some of One of Flint’s Assistant Principal the teachers, main goals at the some of the all school meetings counselors, is to create a more the social comfortable enviworkers.” ronment here at South, as well as Of the speakers planning to at- informing students of what certain tend, social worker Doug Roby will staff members are here to do for be one of them. His speeches tend them. to be brief and focus on making “We want the kids to feel invitstudents aware of his availability, ed into this school year,” Flint said.

Roby explained.

“We want them to have a sense “I typically talk about myself that this is their school, this is their and what my role is here at South home. And our part is just to try to High School, so students are aware make sure it’s organized and runand how they can access me,” Roby ning well, and to make sure that said. “So it’s really pretty brief, it’s we communicate to the kids the more important for the ninth and expectations here, as well.”

Next Varsity Football game at 7 p.m. against Utica Ford at South

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PAGE DESIGN BY LIAM WALSH ‘18

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sep.

Class Meetings throughout the day for all grades in the Auditorium

OPINION

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9.14.16 PAGE BY KATHERINE BIRD’18

Is sweating in the summer over assignments necessary?

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here comes a point in the summer where a student can relate to the thought of a summer assignment looming over their head. Although most teacher’s intentions are good at heart, students interpret it as a diabolical plan to shorten their summer.

As much as we do not want to agree with the idea, there are some good things that come with keeping the mind fresh throughout the sun-filled summer. Some may say that during the vacation of summer, a student could forget his or her work ethic in school. Summer projects can be a reminder to get the brain back on track for a stress-filled school year.

With the absence of waking up in the early morning and burying their head in a book for seven hours, one tends to forget what a schedule actually feels like. The assignments help the mind remember what the next nine months will entail, especially reading tasks. Reading summer assignments can help a student increase their vocabulary, reading pace and ability to absorb information from passages. This can help in the school year ranging from essays, FRQ’s, ACT’s and other forms of english oriented assignments. Sometimes a student can get carried away in the fantasy of summer. The assignments are a slap of realization that only school can get them to college, not jet skiing or spending time with friends.

Nothing is more foreign for a student to pick up a pencil and a piece of paper to start work they wish never came back to haunt them. Summer is a time for kids to truly find what interests them and what does not.

Students are not always going to be behind a desk with a teacher lecturing he or she; they need to actually see

what happens in the world and where they fit in. A packet before the school year starts is not going to make or break the students ability to learn the content in the class. If anything, without a teacher to guide or correct the student, he or she could end up making bad habits that could potentially set them back before the school year even starts. Teachers should give their students a couple months to be themselves, figure out what

OUR VIEW// EDITORIAL

Senior Stress: MY VIEW

WILLIAM MUAWAD ’17 STAFF WRITER

Senior year--a year full of the last classes of high school-- a light schedule load complete with blow off classes, partying, senioritis and the dreaded college application process, a rollercoaster of emotions.

First is the excitement of starting the application. Then is the determination of actually filling out the applications, writing the essays and submitting the applications to colleges. Third is the nervousness of waiting to hear back from the colleges and finally is the disappointment if the applicant is rejected or jubilation if they are accepted.

Starting Aug. 1, the Common Application, commonly known as the Common App, turned live and high school seniors were able to start filling it out, writing the essays, and applying for college.

Going into senior year, I knew that this was the year that I was going to decide where I would be spending the next four years of my life, but what I didn’t realize was just how much work applying to college would really be.

The college application process consists of filling out the college applications with basic information, like where a student lives, their name, family information, extracurricular activities and ACT or SAT scores.

This can be very tedious and boring, but it lets the colleges know all of the basics about you as a person, your family life and personal lifestyle.

The next step in the process is writing the essays, and almost every college requires them. Of the six colleges that I am ap-

SOMETHING THAT’S...

plying to, I have to write about ten essays in total, each with a different prompt and topic.

Writing all of these essays is the most frustrating part of the college application process for me and I am sure many other students. The sheer amount of essays and the time it will take to write them can be overwhelming and at times seemingly impossible to finish. It seems like I every time I finish an essay, there are just more waiting for me to start writing.

I advise anyone applying to college, like I am right now, to write their essays in the summer before school starts. I know that nobody wants to do school work in the summer, I sure didn’t, but doing them in the summer allowed me to focus on them more and be less stressed than I would be if I wrote themafter school started.

Writing the essays on top of sports, clubs and homework makes them even more overwhelming and harder to find time to write them. l know at the time writing them in the summer stinks, so I am so happy I did now that I have so much school homework.

Other parts of applying to college include requesting your high school transcript with your schedule, grades and GPA, getting a teacher or teachers to write a letter of recommendation for you and paying the application fee, which is different for every college. All of these parts are quick and easy compared to the rest of the process; they are the final step to pressing that submit button and applying to a college.

While very time consuming, applying to college is a fun and unique time in my life.

I am very excited to finally finish the application process and to decide where I will be spending the next four years of my life.

STAFF NEWSPAPER

TOWER the

Editor-in-Chief Erykah Benson* ’17 Associate Editor Jack Holme* ’17 Supervising Editors at Large John Francis* ’18 Liz Bigham* ’18 Supervising Editors Anton Mikolowski * ’17 Rachel Harris*, Riley Lynch*, Ray Hasanaj*, all ’18 Page Editors Claire Hubbell* ’17 Cam Smolen*, Chase Clark*, Elena Rauch*, JD Standish*, Katherine Bird*, Liam Walsh*, all ’18 Claire Koeppen* ’19

Copy Editors Madeleine Glasser*, Lily Kubek*, both ’17 Alyssa Czech*, Sylvia Hodges*, Bianca Pugliesi*, all ’19 Business Managers Cameron Francis* ’17 Asst. Olivia Sheffer* ’17 Photo Editors Lauren Thom* ’18 Phoebe Miriani* ’18 Online Editor-in-Chief Ariana Chengges* ’17 Web Editors Erica Fossee*, Henry Ayrault*, Kathleen Carroll*, all ’19 Multimedia/Social Media Editors Emma Andreasen* ’17 Abigail Due* ’18

Summer fun stolen by assignments MY VIEW

INTERESTING NASA astronaut Jeff Williams sets a new record for amount of time an American has spent in space

SOMBER President Obama lays wreath at the Pentagon in honor of 9/11

DEVASTATING Three passengers dead in small plane crash at Reno-Tahoe International Airport

Corrections from last week: John Francis is a Junior not a Senior.

It’s the 15th year of 9/11 not the 10th.

makes them happy or unhappy, GRAPHIC BY RILEY LYNCH ’18 who to spend quality time with and go on vacations with family instead of burying their head in books for 5 hours at home. With no summer assignments, a student can come through the doors with a fresh mind, not worn down by some summer assignment they waited until ten o’clock the night before to start.

Staff Writers

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ummertime is for warm weather, a great tan, and fun with BIANCA friends. Also, it’s for reading four PUGLIESI ’19 books to then write an essay on COPY EDITOR each.

For students taking AP or Honors classes, expect a load of homework to celebrate your “break” from school. It’s surprising to me that students who take challenging classes are the ones with all thse assignments. During the school year, these are the students who stay up all night studying and doing homework, constantly preparing for standardized tests and sacrificing their social life for their academic career, and this is how they are rewarded?

Most of these classes count summer assignments as a large part of your first quarter grade, so don’t you dare not do it. With multiple classes giving homework over the summer, you might as well still be in school.

Nearly half of all students feel stressed on a daily basis, grades and homework being primary sources sources of stress, according to an NYU study.

Summer should be a mental break. We spend the school year under unbearable amounts of stress, and it’s only healthy to let our minds and bodies recover. Instead, it’s a time to prepare ourselves for more hell that’s ready to break lose.

When we read a book for school, it makes the book less enjoyable because of all the work that comes along with it. Reading for school during the summer just makes it even worse. According to research released by Common Sense Media, 45% of 17-year-olds said that they read by choice only once or twice a year. So, if a teacher looking for a way to ruin reading for a student, this is the way to do it.

I think that work over the summer is given because of the amount of time teachers have to cover all of the curriculum isn’t enough. This problem also decreases the quality of teaching we receive. However, if the curriculum is shrunk down to only important concepts that can contribute to the point of the class, time wouldn’t be an issue.

This shortage of time and copious amounts of curriculum problem means that teachers can’t risk students falling behind as well. Summer homework can keep the mind working. An equivalent of one month of overall learning is lost during the summer break, according to Oxford Learning.

To get to the point, teachers want students to get ahead on the class material and ready to learn when school picks back up again, but can’t we get a break?

Summer just isn’t as fun when all your summer homework is laying out on a beach towel in the back of your mind.

irresponsible or obscene material.

“The Tower” is the weekly publication of the Errors Adam Cervone, Charlie Denison, Conner Advanced Journalism classes at Grosse Pointe Factual errors will be corrected on the McQueen, Emma Russell, Gillian Eliot, Jack South High School. It has always been a or in news briefs written upon Froelich, Jack Roma, Mac Welsher, Mary designated public form of student expression. opinion page request and verification.

Grace O’Shea, Michael French, Sydney Stann, The Tower is located in room 142 in Thomas Sine and William Muawad, Grosse Pointe South High School. Please Letters all ’17 contact us at 313-432-3649.

Letters to the Editor are encouraged and will be screened for libel, irresponsibility Arianna Pagenette, Alex Acker, Blair Cullen, and obscenity. The Editorial Board may edit Opinion Pieces Evan Skaff, Evan Theros, Griffin Jones, Ian or shorten letters as long as the meaning is Editorials represent the majority opinion of Dewey, John Schulte, Harper McClellan, unchanged. All letters must be signed and Kaitlin Nemeh, Maren Roeske, Margot Baer, the Editorial Board and are left unsigned. a telephone number for confirmation.

Mollie DeBrunner and Piper Eschenburg, Columns represent the opinions of individual include Request to withhold the writer’s name all ’18 staff members and outside contributors. from publication for good reason will be considered. Letters can be sent to the above Allison MacLeod, Amelia Turco, Audrey Editorial Board email address, or dropped off in “The Tower” Whitaker, Caroline Baratta, Donald Room.

An asterisk * denotes Editorial Board editors.

McGlone, Grace Reyes, Sarah Bellovich, Sarah Stevenson, and Olivia Mlynarekn, all Advertising Professional Associations ’19 Member of the Columbia Scholastic Press Display adverising is sold at a rate of $7 per Association, National Scholastic Press column inch, with discounts for large or Association, Quill and Scroll, the Society frequent advertisers. Advertising may not Adviser for Newspaper Design and the Michigan advocate illegal activities or contain libelous, Kaitlin Edgerton Interscholastic Press Association.

NEWS

9.14.16

3 PAGE DESIGNED BY CHASE CLARK ’18

ANTON MIKOLOWSKI ’17 & JOHN SHULTE ‘18|Supervising Editor & Staff Writer GRAPHIC BY ERYKAH BENSON

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ast Wednesday, Presidential nominees Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton discussed their plans for national defense in the “Commander in Chief ” forum hosted

by NBC. Trump used the forum to respond to the criticism and concerns surrounding his comments about Vladimir Putin and the amount of unreported sexual assaults that occur in the military each year.

When questioned about his thoughts on Putin, Trump said that he only complimented Putin because the Russian President had commended him first. Trump said he wanted to keep Putin happy by praising him and that he doesn’t necessarily like how that system works.

In 2013, Trump tweeted “26,000 unreported sexual assaults in the military-only 238 convictions. What did these geniuses expect when they put men & women together?”

When questioned by mediator Matt Lauer, Trump defended his tweet saying that it was a correct tweet and that many people share the same views. Trump said that including men and women in the army may have led to the statistics, but he does not believe women should be excluded from the armed forces.

Trump also stood by his claim that he opposed military intervention in Iraq and Libya. Trump said that President Obama’s

decisions have reduced the countries to rubble and that it is something America should be embarrassed by.

Trump was not the only right winged candidate to make headlines this week.

Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson made headlines after admitting that he did not know of the existence of the Syrian capital, Aleppo, in an interview with MSNBC. Aleppo is a major city in Syria and the center of the refugee crisis.

Once clarified, Johnson said that Russia and the United States should join forces to try to fix the issues in Syria. Johnson also stated that the United States ultimately ends up supporting the regimes that creates refugees, so military intervention is the root of the issue.

Trump and Johnson both used last week to provide their insight as to what needs to be done in the middle east, even if one of the candidates needed clarification.

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MICHIGAN POLLS

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45.3 Via realclearpolitics.com

reen Party candidate Jill Stein and running mate Ajamu Baraka have been charged with vandalism and trespassing during a Dakota Access Pipeline protest in North Dakota.

Stein is a relatively obscure candidate, aside from the recent courting of Sanders supporters, but after having images published of a Dakota spray-painting, she has had a warrant issued for her arrest by local law enforcement bodies.

Stein claims that her actions and those of the protesters was just in opposition of a horrendous plot against the Native residents of the Standing Rock Reservation.

Hillary Clinton, Democratic running candidate, has recently been under fire by mainstream media for referring to half of all Trump supporters as “deplorables.”

Clinton has since redacted and apologized for her blanket labelling, saying that it was inappropriate and ill-con-

ceived, according to CNN. The former Secretary of State continues the political clout, reprimanding presidential rival, Donald Trump, after his comments on the current leadership of the Russian Federation -- calling President Vladimir Putin a leader “far more than (Obama) has been a leader.”

Clinton slammed Trump for this instance at the “Commander in Chief ” forum hosted by NBC, where Trump went on to praise Putin further.

Before gearing up for the presidential debate on Sept. 26, Clinton made a visit to the 9/11 memorial in New York City, calling the terrorist attack that resulted in the deaths of nearly 3,000 individuals the “(closest) depiction of hell that I’ve ever personally seen.”

New policy permits children of staff to enroll in GP school district regardless of zip code IAN DEWEY ‘18 | Staff Writer

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n May 23, Board Policy 5111 was revised in order to make available a new option for the staff of Grosse Pointe Public Schools.

The policy was revised so that staff are permitted to bring their children into the Grosse Pointe School district, even if they live outside of it.

The revision in policy became effective at the ending of the 2015-16 school year, to allow staff members to enroll their children into Grosse Pointe Schools and to have to ability to go through registration process during the summer.

According to the recently revised policy, “a child of an employee of the district will be permitted to attend school in the district on a tuition-free basis.”

However, there are restrictions.

“You have to be at least a half-time employee, so you can’t just work five hours of the week, and there has to be space inside of the school for the child,” Deputy Superintendent Jon Dean said. “So, for example, if there is no room left in a particular school then you can’t have the child go to that school. We would have to place them in a different school.”

In response to the revision in 5111, many have voiced their approval in the change, seeing it as a valuable entity in Grosse Pointe.

“I think that it [the board revision] helps create a sense of family,” Assistant Principal Steven Wolf said. “Besides creating a sense of family for staff members who don’t live in the district, I think it creates a sense of family for immediate family and other folks who live in the district.”

Dean said he chooses to withdraw personal opinions on the revision, but still acknowledges the decision as a positive gain for both the staff and students alike.

“One of the primary benefits [of the policy revision] is that it will make our employees happier, and happy employees are good things because the most important employees in our district are teachers, and everybody, and them being happy is generally a good thing for students,” Dean said.

“a child of an employee of the District will be permitted to attend school in the District on a tuition-free basis, under the following conditions...”

Courtesy of section 5111 of the GPPSS Bylaws and Policies

Additionally, there are financial benefits for the District that comes with the revision of 5111.

“The school district does receive state funding for the students when they come here,” Dean said.

“So, if a student comes here and they’re a second grader at Maire, we receive state funding for that student. That is an economic benefit for us as well.”

Despite the wide appeal of these features, this new installment in board policy has actually been in consideration for quite a long time, according to English teacher John Monaghan.

“It must’ve been as long ago as ten years ago that this was suggested,” Monaghan said. “And it would’ve worked a lot better for me then because my kids are 15 and 17 and they are pretty established at their schools… It would’ve worked much better ten years ago.”

Despite the option being allowed, some teachers choose not to send their children to Grosse Pointe Schools; even when age isn’t the issue.

“I have a five year son who started Kindergarten,” English teacher Nicholas Provenzano said.

“At the moment, I don’t plan on bringing him into the District. We live far away. I have a 45 minute drive. The school district we live in, Livonia Public Schools, is a very good school district. So right now, the drive of taking him to and from school and potentially going to a school where all of his friends may be near but he doesn’t live near his friends might be a problem.”

Still, despite these difficulties, Provenzano still views the revision of board policy as a positive gain, and still considers taking advantage of it as a possibility.

“But things could change,” Provenzano continues. “We might move closer to Grosse Pointe, but if circumstances were different I would absolutely take my kid to Grosse Pointe Public Schools I think it’s an amazing school district and I would feel very lucky if some of my colleagues would get to teach my son. That would be an awesome scenario.”

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FEATURE

9.14.16 PAGE DESIGN BY CAM SMOLEN ’18

Mylan increases Price For EpiPens, millions of users in outrage across the nation PIPER ESCHENBURG ‘18 | Staff Writer A firestorm of controversy exploded this summer when Mylan, the company that icans have owns and sells the venerable name brand EpiPen, announced that they were increasing i n s u r a n c e the cost to more than six hundred dollars, an increase of over six hundred percent price through the since they bought the rights in 2007.

Affordable EpiPen reverses the effects of allergic reactions by administering epinephrine, which Care Act, your body normally makes but for some, not enough to stop a dangerous and sometimes and the expideadly reaction. It is the difference between life and death in many situations. ration of patMillions of lives rely on EpiPen, and the price increase has angered those who depend ents loom for on it and claim that Mylan is abusing their dependency on the drug. As of to- consumers. day, an online petition for regulation of the price of EpiPen called, “Stop EpiPen Price Gouging”, has “[Companies have] a responsibility to keep garnered close to one hundred fifprices low, particularly with the EpiPen. But...the ty thousand signatures. government has full responsibility to keep the cost of “[Companies have] a responsibility to keep prices low, particlife saving drugs down,” said Dr. Patrick Hines ularly with the EpiPen. But...the Dr. Patrick Hinkes government has full responsibiliCritical Care Unit at Children’s Hospital of Michigan. ty to keep the cost of life saving drugs down,” said Doctor Patrick Hines, who works in the Critical Care Unit at Children’s Hospital of Michigan.

In another With no generic brand available, Mylan has a monopoly on epinephrine auto-injec- prescription drug price hike, Martin Shrekli raised the price of his HIV drug by five tors. thousand percent, earning the title of “most hated person in America.”

“My allergist...always [tells] us to go to EpiPen,” said Julia Rapai ‘18 who has a severe Right now there doesn’t seem to be a middle ground for people who are detree nut allergy, forcing her to carry an EpiPen at all times. pendent on particular medications and the drug companies who cite Hines recommends always having two pens with a patient, but people buy more for the need for profit to finance research on future life-saving the home, their car, and school. EpiPens also must be replaced fairly often, due to the fact medicines. with Hines who said, “Bottom line: this that pens do expire about once a year. is outrageous.”

Rapai said the purchase of EpiPen has become expensive, especially since her insurance doesn’t cover the cost of the copayment, the payment a health insurance carrier makes in addition to the payment their insurer made. This is a common sentiment amongst EpiPen users and is placing substantial financial burden on many.

Mylan has defended the cost increase with coupons, a way to make sure that a person will never pay the full price out of pocket. Further, some states like Michigan requires schools to have two EpiPens on the property at all times, but Mylan will pay 100% of the cost of Michigan’s expense.

“This isn’t a Mylan issue,” Mylan CEO Heather Bresch told CNBC and also stated “that no one is more frustrated with the 8 EN ’1 price rise than her,” all while giving herself a $16 million raise.

SMOL M A C Y Controversies like the one seen with EpiPen are sure to conHIC B GRAP tinue as drug companies work to wmaximize profits, more Amer-

EPIPENS SHOULD BE KEPT AT A ROOM TEMPERATURE .

WITH A SEROUS CASE OF YOUR ALERGY AN EPIPEN MUST BE CARRIED ON. YOUR EPIPEN IS NOT WATERPROOF. THERE IS NO PROTECTIVE COATING AROUND THE LIQUID BEIGN via epipen.com HELD INSIDE THE PEN.

WHO’S NEW AT SOUTH BLAIR CULLEN ‘18 | Staff Writer

Grew up in Rochester & Attended both Michigan and Michigan State University HAD YOU HEARD ANYTHING ABOUT SOUTH PRIOR TO GETTING HIRED?

“I heard it was a really great school district with high test scores and high performing schools with tons of sports and clubs. I also heard there was really great student engagement and teachers who stay a long time and I was excited about that.”

Ms. Sobolak

Grew Up in Farmington Hills & Attended Grand Vally State University WERE YOU NERVOUS BEFORE STARTING AT SOUTH?

“Since it’s my first year out of college, it’s a little nerve racking but it’s really nice since everyone’s been so welcoming and the students are really great and it’s nice getting to know them.”

Mr. Palen Grew Up in Grosse Pointe Farms & Attended The University Of Michigan for his undergrad WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT SOUTH SO FAR?

“It’s been really encouraging to have everyone welcome me. The best part about it is connecting with students that I had at Pierce four or five years ago, so one of my favorite things is connecting with my OG’s, which are students that I had in 8th grade social studies that I now have in my Government class or my AP US History class.”

Mrs. Triden

Grew up in Livonia & Attended Eastern Wayne State and Boston College HAD YOU HEARD ANYTHING ABOUT SOUTH PRIOR TO GETTING HIRED?

“I heard it was a really great school district with high test scores and high performing schools with tons of sports and clubs. I also heard there was really great student engagement and teachers who stay a long time and I was excited about that.”

Mrs. Edgerton

Grew up in Rochester Hills & Attended Oakland University HAD YOU HEARD ANYTHING ABOUT SOUTH PRIOR TO GETTING HIRED? “ I did, I came to be the journalism advisor and so I knew a lot about the program through MIPA. I knew it was an long standing tradition at the high school so I was excited to apply for the position and more excited when I got it.”

PHOTOS BY BLAIR CULLEN ‘18

Mr. Hecker

Mrs. Overs

Grew Up in Royal Oak & Attended Michigan State University WHAT IS THE BIGGEST THING THAT’S SURPRISED YOU ABOUT SOUTH SO FAR?

“It’s an beautiful school, I think I was surprised by how pretty it is, inside and outside. I didn’t realize schools this pretty existed.”

9.14.16

FEATURE

5 PAGE DESIGNED BY LIZ BIGHAM ’18

Tomato tossing to turkey legs: Michigan Renaissance Festival returns this fall

JOHN FRANCIS ‘18 | Supervising Editor Every year, from mid August to the beginning of October, the Michigan Renaissance Festival takes place right off the Dixie Highway, about an hour away from Grosse Pointe.

People from all walks of life take part in the games and festivities. Every weekend until Oct. 2 the gates will be open to the public.

Jamie Keogh ’17 went toward the end of August with some friends in the summer heat.

“It was pretty fun,” Keogh said. “Definitely a cool experience and I liked seeing all that medieval stuff.”

Carter Teranes ’17 also attended the festival this year and said it was crowded, despite the large size venue.

“There’s almost always events happening,” Teranes said. “The food is good, but everything is pretty expensive.”

The festival has a wide array of shops-- some selling food, drinks and other handmade goods replicated from the renaissance era.

One store in particular, Candle Light Rock, makes stone-carved candles, which burn off an ultrapure oil and can burn for hours on end.

Laurie Younglove works for Candle Light and poses as a salesman to get patrons walking by to come check out the candles, she said.

The rock that creates these candle and lanterns comes from Georgia and is then processed in Florida, after the shapes are made and the lantern canister is built, the candles are sent around the country.

The price range of the candles starts around $20 and goes up from there depending on how big the rock is and how many wicks are in the specific candle.

“There’s a vast majority of people, there’s old and young people coming in,” Younglove said, explaining the various patrons who attend annually.

“Every weekend is a different theme,” Younglove said. “We have a pet theme and a biker theme-- pirates-- so there’s different weekends for everyone to connect with.”

The Renaissance Festival is unlike any other festival offered to the public, Younglove said.

“It reminds me of a soup, a bunch of different ingredients coming together to give you that old time flare,” Younglove said.

MUTTON, MAGIC, AND MORE| A few photos of the Michigan Renaissance Festival this year. From a range of live shows, both music and acting, to shops selling a range of items. People can find timeless items and children can enjoy rubberband guns and toy swords.

PHOTOS BY JOHN FRANCIS

FEATURE SPORTS

4

Where they are now: South alumni named Michigan’s 2016 Miss Tennis

9.6.16 9.14.16

PAGE DESIGNED BY ELENA RAUCH ’18

ALYSSA CZECH ‘19 | Copy Editor

A four-star college recruit.

One of the top 130 tennis players in the nation.

Has made it to the final of three Intercollegiate Tennis Association Tournaments.

Is attending Northern Illinois University (NIU) this fall on a full ride athletic scholarship.

Has been named Michigan’s 2016 Miss Tennis July 29.

This is Raven Neely ‘16, former South student and tennis player.

Neely impressed her parents, coaches and community when she was awarded the title 2016 Miss Tennis.

“They were really excited and proud of me.

It’s a ‘great honor’ they say, to be named Miss Tennis of Michigan,” Neely said.

The title of Miss Tennis is awarded to the best senior tennis player in Michigan. All four divisions vote on their best senior player, then all of the coaches elect the best player out of the four to be named Miss Tennis, according to South Girl’s Tennis coach Mark Sobieralski.

Neely will receive the honor at the Hall of Fame Banquet at the Troy Marriott on Feb. 17.

“I’m really excited, knowing that all my hard work has paid off and that everyone who has been supporting me (was) proud of me and my success,” Neely said.

Neely began tennis at five years old and started getting serious at seven when she began competing in tournaments.

She tried out many sports at a young age -- golf and tennis being her favorites -- until she dropped golf and chose to pursue tennis, according to Neely.

“Tennis was the one that I liked more, I actually thought golf was really boring -- a lot of walking around -- and tennis is more active (with) more movement and just more exciting,” Neely said.

Both Sobieralski and Gombera raved about Neely’s work ethic.

“I’ve been coaching high school for 34 years; she’s got to be the hardest working player I’ve

ever coached,” Sobieralski said. “She makes everyone at practice better because of her work ethic. She won’t leave the court unless she hits a good serve in, or makes her last forehand. She is an extremely hard worker, that girl.”

According to both coaches and Neely herself, Neely strives to improve every time she steps on the court. Sobieralski said she makes all her teammates work harder, which helps him as a coach and makes the team stronger.

“I just want to go out there every day, making sure that I can be the best I can be. I just want to get better and improve every day, so that’s pretty much my motivation,” Neely said.

Neely’s father, Lorenzo Neely, was a basketball star who has set several records at Eastern Michigan and still coaches basketball. The fact that Neely comes from such an athletic family is another factor that contributes to her success, Sobieralski and Gombera said.

“She’s gifted physically...She’s extremely strong. She moves well. She’s very powerful...

And very athletic. She’s got great genes,” Sobieralski said.

Neely said growing up with an athlete father has influenced her tremendously.

“The way he talks about having to be mentally strong on and off the court has really helped throughout the years,” Neely said.

Her competitiveness is an attribute that both coaches recognize and value in the girl, and both Neely and Gombera agree that her forehand and serve are the strongest parts of Neely’s tennis game.

“I’m going to say the weakest part of her game is sometimes she just loses focus once in awhile, or she might let up a little bit instead of just keeping her foot on the accelerator,” Sobieralski said.

Neely trains with her coach Dennis Royal for about 2-3 hours every day, and then works out and does extra work about three days out of the week. She has been practicing this rigorous training schedule for about ten years now.

This work has prepared Neely for her goal of playing college tennis. NIU began looking at

her during her junior year.

Cleveland State, Cincinnati, Minnesota, West Virginia and Wisconsin were all colleges that showed interest in Neely. Sobieralski said he thought Neely would choose a Big 10 college, but she chose NIU instead.

“I felt like NIU had (my) best interest, and they weren’t really having one foot in and one foot out with me. They really wanted me, and so that’s where I felt like home would be,” Neely said.

Another reason she chose to play for NIU is her coach there -- Gombera.

“I’m in good hands over there with her. I feel like she can take my game to another level and with the team we will be having in the fall, I think we can do big things,” Neely said.

Gombera and Neely first met at a tournament in Ohio when Neely was about 12-14 years old and Gombera was a player at the University of Akron.

“I am humbled to have her here on the team...She is like a daughter to me,” Gombera said.

B o t h Neely and Gombera have large goals for Neely’s college career and are looking forward to a great year of tennis. “(My goal is) to win the conference tournament, of course, and do well in all my matches... To dominate and make a name for myself,” Neely said.

Neely plans to go far with tennis and make a career out of it. “(I plan to) do my four years in college, playing college tennis, and then eventually go on to the pro circuit and play pro tournaments and turn pro out of college.” Neely said.

Both of Neely’s coaches, Sobieralski and Gombera, are looking forward to what Neely can do with tennis and how far she can go.

“The sky’s the limit for her. She definitely has the game to go professionally, it’s a matter of how hard she can work from now until she graduates.

And, you know, anything is possible, it’s just the work ethic.

And I know she has the drive to be successful,” Gombera said.

PHOTO COURTESY OF RAVEN NEELY ‘16

Humans of GP:

“

Two and half years ago, JeDonna Dinges, resident of Grosse Pointe Park, started a boutique called Margaux and Max. Dinges prefers to call her handpicked products “previously loved”. Now, as she prepares to move her business to her new location in Ferndale, Dinges reflects on her success of her growing business.

I really feel humbled by the success of this business because I started this it after I was downsized from my job. And I really started it with a pair of earrings and a Facebook page.

I was really taking a few minutes just to catch my breath after losing my job and trying to figure out what to do next, what the next steps were.

I put a pair of earrings up on my Facebook page. A friend of mine, woman who I have been friends with for twenty years, came by, bought the earrings and casually asked, “What else do you have?” And I began to go through my closet, and pull out things that I no longer wore. From my prior life as an insurance agent, where I had to wear suits every day, and she’s an attorney. So she bought a bunch of things from me and came back multiple times and came back week after week, and brought friends and the business just began to grow. So much so that I had to move it out of the house and into a brick and mortar.

I’ve always had a dream of doing something like this, but I never could figure out how to actually do it, even when I had my job where i had a lot of flexibility and I could have started a business and done this one the side. I’ve developed a very loyal client base, people who come every week because they know there’s always going to be something new and exciting. But, this is a passion for me, it’s something I really enjoy, and so I’m glad that I don’t have to do it as a side gig. That it’s something I can do full-time, and that I’ve been able to make a living at.

PHOTO BY ERYKAH BENSON

Grosse Pointe City holds annual car exhibition

S

ERYKAH BENSON ‘17 | Editor In Chief

cattered showers hardly deterred community members from attending the annual Village Fest Car Show. Live music was provided, there was plenty of food to eat and beer on tap and residents of Grosse Pointe, as well as the surrounding area, flocked to Kercheval to see cars displayed from the Ray Laethem Chrysler dealership, as well as vintage automobiles owned by members of the community.

An antique police car complete with a bright blue siren sat in front of Kroger, as well as a sleek, silver DeLorean-- the iconic car brand seen travelling through space-time in the 1980’s film “Back to the Future”.

The centerpiece of the show was the red Corvette parked in the middle of Kercheval. People were buying $10 tickets left and right for the chance to go home with this coveted classic.

Mariann Bulton, a 31-year resident of the Grosse Pointe community, showed her interest in winning the car, but she said the car is a stick shift, she is unsure.

“I looked at (the stick shift), and I thought ‘well, I might be out’,’” Bulton laughed. “I would just have to learn how to do it again.”

The car show and the auction however, was not just a chance to oggle at red hot Dodge GT Magnum’s. For the first time, the Village Car Show was a beneficiary event, hosted by Holy Cross Children’s Services, an organization that helps to serve underprivileged and neglected children all over the state of Michigan.

It was a team effort, according to Juline Jordan, radio personality for 94.7 WCSX Classic Rock.

“We’ve been working with them (Holy Cross) for a couple of years now, and we came together, people knew each other, and we wanted to do a charity to help kids this time around,” Jordan said. “We’ve raised tens of thousands of dollars to help abandoned and abused children all over the state of Michigan.”

Over the past couple of months, the radio station had been selling raffle tickets for the red Corvet, and ended up raising around $60,000 to benefit Holy Cross.

According to John Lynch, CEO of Holy Cross Children’s Services, 98 percent of the funds raised during this past weekend will go toward

the programs they run all over the state.

“Holy Cross has been around for about six or seven years,” Lynch said. “And our primary mission is to serve the underserved adolescents in the state of Michigan. The kids who have been abused and neglected and have been through the justice system and really haven’t been given a chance.”

Through rehabilitation programs and 500 coworkers, Lynch said that they help the lives of 1,500 people across the state every day, lives that have been affected by drug addiction and child abuse.

“We give them a chance and we try to tell them there’s different ways of life than what you’ve been in and we try to help you to that, try to get you back on your feet, to be positive, be productive citizens and eventually when they graduate they get moved back into society and hopefully you could be a great dad or great mom and have kids, so that generational-

ly, you’ve got to stop that,” Lynch said.

Lynch said this past weekend has been a success thanks to his sponsors, namely WCSX for promoting the event and car auction for the past six months.

“It’s been great,” Lynch said. “It’s always been great. Once we tell the story of what we do and what we do for the kids in Michigan, you know they feel that they want to contribute somewhat. And if they contribute and win a car, what a better thing.”

PHOTO BY ERYKAH BENSON

SPORTS

9.14.16

7 PAGE DESIGNED BY JD STANDISH & RAY HASANAJ both ’18

Fantasy Football facts & projections 1.

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Devonta Freeman Last year, Freeman had an average of 120 yards and more than 2 TDs per game. Freeman averaged 48 yards a game through the air. He is projected 196 carries for 813 yards and 8.2 TDs.

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Green managed to put up an impressive 10 TDs while he was playing through injuries. He only averaged 5 catches and 80 receiving yards. This year he is healthy and projected 134 targets for 85 receptions and 1,203 yards with 9.1 TDs.

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Gurley was the offensive rookie of the year in 2015-he had 1,106 and an average of 4.8 yards per carry and an impressive 10 TDs, leading all rookies.

Gurley is projected 332 rushing attempts for 1,595 yards and 10 TDs for 2016.

At Northern Iowa he had 36 catches and 457 yards with 4 TDs he averaged 128 yards and 1.28 TDs per game. But one of his best qualities is he is 6’1” and 225 pounds bigger than most backs including Adrian Peterson.

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Julio had 148 catches out of 204 best of the NFL season along with 8 TDs. He is projected 130 catches for 1,705 yards. Jones has the 13th most receiving yards since coming to league and he has missed 14 games last year.

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Last year, Beckham had 96 catches-- the 8th most in NFL, for 1,450 yards 5th in NFL s along with 13 TDs tied for 4th last season. Beckham is projected to achieve 161 targets for 103 yards for 1403 yards and 12.6 TDs.

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Last season Hopkins caught 111 of his 193 targets, he also had 10 games with 10 points or more out of 16 total games. Hopkins is projected 104 catches of 172 targets for 1,406 yards and 9 TDs.

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Last year, Beckham had 96 catches-- the 8th most in NFL, for 1,450 yards 5th in the NFL along with 13 TDs. Beckham is projected to achieve 161 targets for 103 yards for 1403 yards and 12.6 TDs.

MAC WELSHER & JACK ROMA both ‘17 | Staff Writers Now that the NFL season has started, that means Fantasy Football has to, and students at South want to pitch in on who they think are going to be great fantasy players.

Quarterbacks

Matt Stafford – Even though Stafford lost one of the best receivers in the NFL in Calvin Johnson there is no need to worry for Stafford’s fantasy production. The addition of Marvin Jones, consistency of receiver Golden Tate, up and coming tight end Eric Ebron, and receiving back Theo Riddick, gives Stafford endless options to put the ball in the end zone.

“I like Stafford this year because the Lions are a pass heavy offense, and now that they have Jim Bob Cooter as the offensive coordinator, it will give him a ton of different opportunities to make plays,” Jacob Brauer ’17 said.

Running Backs

Lamar Miller – After the running back swap trade of Miller and Arian Foster, Lamar Miller looks for a new start in Houston. Miller is finally out of Miami where he consistently put decent fantasy points with barely any workload.

“He is going to get 20 plus carries a game in Houston, and when he was getting only around 10 carries a game in Miami, he was still getting yards, so there isn’t a lot of room to fail with his workload,” Ryan Sullivan ’18 said.

CJ Anderson – Last year was a bit of a disappointment fantasy wise for owners of Anderson, but the latter half of the year he picked up the pace and should bring that same play into this year. With the departure of Peyton Manning the Broncos don’t have much going at the quarterback position with newly named started Trevor Siemian.

“With a new and young quarterback, offenses don’t usually trust them right away which means they have no other option to give Anderson the ball, so he should get a high workload and good amount of goal line carries,” Ryan Sullivan ’18 said.

Wide Receivers

AJ Green – Green is a big named wide out who in most all leagues is picked to the in the top two rounds. This year though the Bengals lost Marvin Jones, Mohamed Sanu and Tyler Eifert will be out the first couple week due to injury.

“He has the chance to be the best receiver in the NFL this year because Andy Dalton doesn’t have anyone else to throw to,” Joey Veneri ’17 said.

Amari Cooper - Jack Del Rio and company have built Oakland from the ground up, drafting Amari Cooper in 2015. Cooper quickly became WR1 for QB Derek Carr and has proven he can put up big numbers, catching for 1,000+ yards and six td’s in 2015.

“Cooper is going to be really good this year coming off the season he had last year,” Jack Austin ‘17 said.

“I drafted him to go along side of Julio Jones and I couldn’t be happier with my recievers.”

Flex Will Fuller V - Houston Rookie WR Will Fuller V is a player who had a great week one and is not owned in very many leagues. With the addition of QB Brock Osweiler in Houston, Fuller will be a great WR2 behind DeAndre Hopkins. In week one, Fuller caught 5-11 for 107 yards and a touchdown.

“I picked Will Fuller in the last round of the draft and knew he was going to be a steal,” Alec McWood ‘17 said. “I followed him at Notre Dame so I knew what he could do and his combine times were unreal.

He was only drafted in 7% of leagues.”

Tight End Delanie Walker - Walker is a great TE to have in your lineup due to the fact that he is Tennessee’s red zone threat. Mariota loves throwing to him inside the 20 yard line and he will rack up touchdowns. Walker is coming off from the best season in his career in 2015 so he’s reliable in an up incoming Tennessee offense.

“I had Walker on my team last year and he was very reliable for a big load week after week,” Jon Rogowski ‘17 said. “I drafted him for the same reason this year. I expect him to contribute a lot of points with all of the action he see’s in the red zone.”

Fantasy Football fluctuates every week so checking the waiver wire and your lineup every week is key to winning. These players are going to be solid to have in your lineup no matter what week it is.

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The cowboys are projected to make Elliot the workhorse and carry on McFadden’s carries of over 300. In Elliots 3 years at the Buckeyes he rushed for 3,961 yards with a total of 43 tds and average of 6.7 yards per carry.

Last year, Brown caught 136 of 193 targets for 1,834 yards Brown also had 10 touchdowns in 2015 and is projected 11 in 2016 along with 187 targets with 129 catches for 1752 yards.

SPORTS

9.14.16

8

XC CAPTAIN Q&A

PAGE DESIGNED BY CLAIRE HUBBELL ‘17

PHOTO BY MIA TURCO ‘19

EVAN SKAFF ‘18 | Staff Writer

MARIE HIGH ‘17

HOW DID YOU DECIDE TO GET INTO CROSS COUNTRY? When I was a freshman, I had an older sister that was a senior and she forced me to do it. I wasn’t a fan of running but I did it and I ended up liking it.

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST IMPRESSION OF THE TEAM AS A FRESHMAN? It was kind of intimidating walking into this huge group of girls.

Everyone is really welcoming and they made running not so scary, which it was as a freshman.

HOW IS THE TEAM CHEMISTRY FROM A SENIOR PERSPECTIVE? I like being able to talk to all the kids in lower grades. I like to give them advice and know from where I came from and being able to talk to them on the team and running. Their both different but I like being a freshman and a senior.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MEMORY OR MEMORIES OF THE TEAM? I always seem to remember the pasta parties on Friday nights or the fun you have after the race, as in cheering on your other teammates.

IS THERE SOME TYPE OF DIET YOU GUYS FOLLOW BEFORE RACES? So we race early in the mornings, so we leave at 7 a.m. The night before we have our races, we load up on a bunch of pasta and bread and cookies. Its called ‘carb loading’. In the morning you want to avoid dairy and heavy meat. So you want to eat bagels or toast or scrambled eggs and drink lots of water.

WHAT MAKES YOU KEEP COMING BACK TO CROSS COUNTRY? Well I really like the team and all the girls, but also the drive of running and constantly wanting to improve your own time. It is a personal sport, which a lot of people are unaware of, just try to better yourself and race against the clock to beat your time from last time.

It makes you want to come back and keep racing.

THERE ARE DEFINITELY SOME BAD/HARD PARTS TO THIS SPORT LIKE THERE IS TO ANY SPORT, WHAT ARE THEY IN YOUR OPINION? Training gets really hard sometimes, some of our workouts are hard.

The sport is definitely very mentally tough having to run through injuries or mental blocks or road blocks. So that is what I would say is the hardest besides training.

DID YOU USED TO RUN BEFORE HIGH SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY? No, I had never ran. I maybe ran the mile in fifth grade but that is it.

WHO IS THE PERSON THAT INSPIRES YOU THE MOST? My older sister definitely inspired me the to join, like her being in the captain position and senior positions and how much she likes it really made me want to stay with it. But meeting all the other freshman that are falling in love with it definitely helped too.

DOES RUNNING IN NATURE HELP WITH SCHOOL STRESS? I would say practice definitely does, it helps you clear your mind and take a moment too go on a run and clear your head. Racing stresses people and I get a little bit nervous. Racing might not help clear my mind but definitely after school practice and training does for sure.

MIRA ZARANEK ‘17 KAM LEONARD ‘17 HOW DID YOU DECIDE TO GET INTO CROSS COUNTRY? One, my dad is the coach. Two, I have always heard that cross country is a good way to meet people and that there are people on the team who are good to be around and who are good influences.

SO, HOW DOES IT WORK WITH YOUR DAD BEING THE COACH? It’s actually pretty normal. I don’t call him Coach Z (I call him dad).

It’s pretty much the same treatment, just like any other teammate.

It’s not any different than if I were not his daughter.

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST IMPRESSION OF THE TEAM AS A FRESHMAN? As a freshman, I was surprised at how big the team was. Before, I was around the team, but when I joined the team I saw everyone supports each other really well.

HOW IS THE TEAM IN TERMS OF CHEMISTRY? I think it plays a big part because we all know each other’s names for the most part. I think it encourages everyone to do better because they talk to each other. The friendly competition also plays a role like you would with your family: I want to do better than the next person but also encourage them to do just as well as you.

WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO KEEP RUNNING ON THE TEAM? For me, I like the running part because it’s a fun way to stay in shape.

Also, it’s a good way to meet people and keep up with your friends.

You get to run with all of the people you enjoy being around.

THERE ARE DEFINITELY SOME BAD PARTS, LIKE WITH ANYTHING, BUT WHAT ARE THEY WITH CROSS COUNTRY? Some of the practices are hard. Sometimes we have to run up hills and that’s not much fun, especially when it’s really hot out. There’s nothing else that’s really bad.

WHERE DID CROSS COUNTRY START FOR YOU? Cross country started when I was born because I always went to meets and I was always around the team and the girls on the team.

It’s always been a part of me.

DO YOU PLAN ON COACHING AFTER YOU GRADUATE? I am hoping if it can fit into my schedule in college. I could then help coach with my dad. I really enjoy all of the girls on the team and being a part of it.

WHO WAS THE PERSON THAT SHOWED YOU THE MOST OR IS THE MOST INSPIRATIONAL? The seniors in my freshman year were an example of how to lead the team really well because they were good role models. They always knew how to do things the right way. They were really good at showing everyone on the team how to do things.

HOW IS THE TEAM DOING THIS YEAR? The team is doing really well. This year, we are going to focus more on strategy, but so far so good. We have had two meets thus far and we’ve done really well in both of them. It’s looking really good. Our record is 2 - 0.

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST IMPRESSION AS A FRESHMAN WHEN YOU GOT TO THE FIRST PRACTICE? My first impression was “Oh my gosh, I don’t think I can do this” because it was a lot of running and things I have never done before.

I had played other sports and soccer for ten years, but I had never straight out ran three miles. I was not sure I could do it but eventually over the weeks I built up endurance and everyone on the team was at least able to run it at whatever speed they could run it at.

HOW IS THE TEAM IN TERMS OF CHEMISTRY? We work well as a team by pushing each other. There are so many of us that you are bound to run with someone most of the time. So you are kind of in competition with yourself, but you are also in competition with the teammates who you run with. So they kind of help to push you to do better every time.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MEMORY OR TRADITIONS OF THE TEAM? My favorite tradition is the team cheer we do before every race. The seniors get in the middle of the huddle and they begin the cheer and then everyone else repeats it back. I always thought it was kind of fun because it was all 120 of us doing it and we always out cheer everyone else.

WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO KEEP GOING BACK TO CROSS COUNTRY EVERY YEAR? Mostly because of the people. The coaches are really great and all of my friends that I’ve come to know throughout the years, most of them are on cross country. So getting to hang out with them and working out hard after school every day is kind of fun in a way. You get kind of addicted to it.

THERE ARE DEFINITELY SOME BAD PARTS, LIKE WITH ANYTHING, BUT WHAT ARE THEY? The bad parts are on super hot days when you have to go out and run four miles and you think you are going to die. There aren’t a whole lot of bad things.

WHO WAS THE PERSON THAT SHOWED YOU THE MOST OR IS THE MOST INSPIRATIONAL? As a freshman, you get a senior assigned to you as a mentor, which is called a senior sister. My senior sister was Kelsey Schwartz (‘14), who was one of the varsity runners who pulled me up with her and her friends and encouraged me to run with them. I got a lot better because she encouraged me and that kind of competitiveness stuck with me.

ARE YOU MEETS GENERALLY OUT IN NATURE? For the most part, yes. We have some that our out in the open, on football fields, soccer fields. We also have races that are on metro parks with trails and hills, different types of terrain.

IS IT A GOOD MENTAL ESCAPE TO RUN ON THE TRAILS? I think so. That aren’t a lot of spectators on the trails (they are more focused on the open areas). The trails are more quiet and you are by yourself most of the time. I think it’s a good time in the race to evaluate yourself: am I going through the motions or am I actually racing and trying to close the gap between me and the next person.

Freshmen football team finds success early SPORTS OF SOUTH BRENNAN ZIHLMAN ‘18 | Tower Radio Executive Producer South Freshman Football has started off their season with a 3-0 Cimmarrusti said. “We’re going to control and play our football record. against the stakes, control the ball and play good defense.”

The team is not short on talent, according to Head Coach Tony The team goals are not in terms of wins and losses, but to get betCimmarrusti. ter every day, to be continuous learners, to “We have a terrific, terrific team, incrementally grow and improve, discipline and a terrific group of players,” CimWe’re going to control and play and focus. The team wants to train to come marrusti said. “Kids are playing well, together as a team and to have fun. our football against the stakes. getting better every day and really “We are winning a lot of games. We all get coming together as a team.” along very well and have a lot of fun together,” The team’s biggest game is against Kevin McCarron ‘20 said.

TONY CIMMARRUSTI North, Cimmarrusti said.

The next game for the freshmen is this Freshmen Football Coach “I don’t think it will be any difThursday at Henry Ford II High School at 4 ferent than any other game though,” p.m.

{

UPCOMING HOME GAMES

}

PHOTO BY MIA TURCO ‘19

“I feel great. I really like the team. I really enjoy it. I love the culture of cross country.

Everyone’s great. It’s a brotherhood to me.”

-MICHAEL GRADY ‘17

FOOTBALL vs. Henry Ford II

BOYS TENNIS vs. Port Huron N.

Sept. 14 @ 4

Sept. 16 @7

GIRLS GOLF vs. Dakota Sept. 20 @ 3 vs. Henry Ford II

CHEERLEADING Sept. 16 @ 7