Issue 24 by The Tower Newspaper

the

TOWER Wednesday, May 3 , 2017

Volume 89

Issue 24

A weekly tradition since 1928

@thetowerpulse

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

April school board meeting tackles plan to remove hall monitors for privatized security guards IAN DEWEY ‘18 | Staff Writer Many students attended last week’s Board of Education meeting in response to a non-action agenda item brought up concerning the proposition to replace regular hall monitors with privatized security guards. Although many other items were the subject of the April 24 meeting, this non-action item caught the attention of the student populace. At the end of the meeting, students and staff alike commented on the non-action item concerning the privatization of school security. Among those commenting was hall monitor Debbie Dempsey, who voiced her concerns to the Board. “Three years ago, the budget development guidelines had similar proposals for our jobs,” Dempsey said at the meeting. “We had a pay cut and a freeze on the cost of living increases. On top of our health insurance and cost increases, we are also the lowest paid in the school system.” Dempsey additionally noted that hall monitors provide a service to schools by forming relationships with the student body and provide help with many problems in schools. According to Dempsey, privatizing this system would be disruptive. “No one is going to want their children to go and have security guards,” Dempsey said at the meeting. “The records show that in the past five years ten or more security guards that have been working at Grosse Pointe North have been let go. Two guards were overly personal with female students, one guard assaulted a student; security guards have been disrespectful to the students.” Students also commented on the non-action item, among those was South student Sam Roberts ‘18, who showed concern toward the seemingly intentionally irregular structure of the board meeting in that an intermission was called halfway through the meeting. “That intermission, that was deliberate,” Roberts said. “It was deliberate, because if you think about it, what they (the school board) were doing was pushing it (discussion of the non-action item) all the

A BATTLE FOR THE BUDGET | Hall Monitor Debbie Dempsy expresses concerns about privatizing security and explained school board meeting.

way to the end while Mike Rennell gives his good news report, but we’ll wait on that, so we can take a fifteen minute break. What they did say is that anyone can leave if they can, so half the audience left.” As for when the item is going to be brought to a vote, that remains unclear. According to Deputy Superintendent Jon Dean, the decision will be reached before the end of the school year. “I cannot speak to when or when not (the board) will vote on something,” Dean said. “I can tell you that by state law that they have to reach a balanced budget by the last board meeting in June.” In addition to the security guard issue, another important nonaction item brought up was the revision of 5111. This revision, if passed, would allow those outside the district to pay tuition to attend Grosse Pointe Schools, according to Dean. “(The 5111 revision) could be placed on agenda for approval,” Dean said. “It’s possible that it will not come back again. That is really up to the board of education.” As for this and other items proposed to help achieve a balance budget, nothing is set in stone. According to Board Member Kathleen Abke, the board is currently considering other options to cut costs and raise revenue. “During the course of discussion we (the board) are considering a whole lot of options, none of them any of us like,” Abke said at the meeting. The April 24 board meeting is available to watch on the district’s website. The next regular board meeting will occur on May 8.

Staff continues diversity professional development through service activities ALLYSA CZECH ‘18 | Copy Editor South’s teaching staff experienced another Professional Development (PD) day on Thursday, April 22. The event was facilitated by South’s teachers Kevin Cox, Taryn Loughlin, Kaitlin Edgerton and Elizabeth Triden. “This is a time for us to reflect on our craft, to take a closer look at our policies and procedures, and to take a closer look at where we want to go both as individual teachers and as a school,” Cox said. The PD day was held at Zaman International in Inkster, Michigan. “We showed up and had a little breakfast. We met the founder and she told us about what they do,” economics and accounting teacher, Bill Cayo, said. “Several groups of teachers provided educational pieces in short blocks. Mr. Cox gave a 15-20 minute conversation about 20 things you can effectively do in your classroom. We went through a sequence of four or five of those, had lunch, then did our service component.” According to Spanish I and II teacher, Christina Partalis, the teachers tried to give back to the community and provide service that day by sorting silverware silverware there. “It was sad because you think about all the things we have and these people are just receiving silverware just put together, they are not even matched and come from different places, so it made me feel so sad that people have to come there to get their basic needs,” Partalis said. Several teachers, including Cox, Cayo and Partalis, said there were several parts of the day they enjoyed and learned a lot from. Partalis said she was glad Principal Moussa Hamka chose the venue he did because she and others want to help and give back to the community.

“It was a great day,” Cayo said. “My favorite part was the service component. We have been doing this thing where we learn about something and reinforce the activity and it was a sevice thing where we helped an organization that is trying to help people in need.” Partalis said her favorite part of the PD day was when the refugees came before the teachers and sang “This Land is our Land” even though they had just learned how to speak English. “It was really beautiful and brought tears to our eyes,” Partalis said. Learning about how to support students in difficult situations was Cox’s favorite part, he said, and Cayo also said he was engaged and impressed by the learning part of the day. According to Cox and Cayo, diversity training was the topic of this PD day, so being inclusive in the way the staff teaches and making sure the staff supports their students in the classroom was the central focus. “Some of our themes this year I feel were particularly important. We’ve had great professional development for quite a while, but we’re taking a closer look at inclusion and diversity and ways that we can make South a supportive learning environment for all of our students,” Cox said. Cox said one of the biggest challenges of helping organize the event was developing ideas that would help implement diversity and inclusion in the classroom and would resonate within all teachers with different backgrounds, who teach different subjects. “I think it was just hearing from teachers from different disciplines and having them share how they use their field to help students con-

THIS WEEK AT SOUTH...

GRAPHICS BY JD STANDISH ’18

May

sider how to treat each other,” Cox said. “And how to reflect on implications of their ideas (that helped me learn the most).” According to Cox, the facilitators meet several times, consider what material they want to use and bounce around ideas. “Just like (with) a general lesson during the school day, we want to have sort of an educational experience, perhaps something new,” Cox said. “We want to have some time for people to reflect, and we also want to have time for people to discuss and consider how we want to progress.” The best part of organizing the PD day, Cox said, was being able to watch it all come together. Cox advised those who plan on organizing a PD day in the future to meet as many times as possible in order to subdivide tasks and plan out what is a good use of each teacher’s time. “I think opening up those conversation timelines is important, and also pulling back to research; taking a closer look at what seems to work in other districts and being open to new approaches instead of just going with what we’re familiar with,” Cox said. Partalis said that while she has not yet organized a PD day before, she is interested in doing so in future years. “(I) would like to (organize a PD day), especially being a Spanish teacher and helping the people of southwest Detroit; immigrants and refugees from Spanish-speaking countries,” Partalis said. Overall, teachers said the PD day on April 27 was a positive experience that they learned from. “The team that does it right now is excellent,” Cayo said. “It was effective, enjoyable and just all in all a great experience.”

Senior speech tryouts 3:05 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

You can’t stop the beat: South completes annual play

ELLA DIEPEN ‘19 |Staff Writer Grosse Pointe South’s all school musical “Hairspray” took visitors back in time to enjoy the magic of the Sixties: they experienced happy music, dancing people in colorful dresses and social issues like racism. This year’s Broadway musical was performed on April 27-30 at the Christian A. Fenton Performing Arts Center. “Hairspray centers around a young girl named Tracy who wants to get on the Corny Collins Show . She faces adversity because of her weight but that doesn’t stop her. She’s very eager to spread her joy and succeed no matter what’s going against her,” actress of Tracy Turnblad Cinderella Ksebati `17 said. “On the road she meets some black people and wants to integrate TV and have both black and white together to break the barrier. She ends up accomplishing this through the help of her new friends.” The audience consisting of parents, siblings, teachers and members of the community reacted to the jokes of the show, actor of council member Duane, LaShun O’Rear `18 said. “I’m happy with how the performances went,” O’Rear said. “It was an amazing effort from our dedicated cast and the crew.” For this successful event, actors and singers rehearsed a lot. The students worked with drama director Meaghan Dunham on their acting and with music director Christopher Pratt on the music and begun auditioning in January, Ksebati said. “For the last month and a half we’ve had rehearsals three to five times a week ranging from three hours to five hours per day. For the past week, it’s been a very busy time trying to put the last minute touches on everything and make the show the best that it can be and I think it turned out very well,” Ksebati said. “It’s been tough but I really enjoyed it. Hairspray has been a great experience and I’m so honored and privileged to have been able to play Tracy in my last year at South.” Many teachers, students, parents and community members were involved in the production of the show. “Thanks to Mrs. Dunham, Mr. Pratt, all the moms and everybody that worked to make this possible,” O’Rear said.

CURTAIN CALLS | Grosse Pointe South put on

Hairspray this past week. Hairspray was directed by Meaghan Dunham.

May Boys Varsity lacrosse plays North on Thursday at 7 p.m. at North.

PHOTOS BY JOHN FRANCIS ’18 & MIA TURCO ’19

Dancing with the South Stars is at 6 p.m. in the auditorium.

OPINION

5.3.17

Privatized security should not replace our valued, community-oriented hall moniters They provide guidance, emotional support and love to students. They deliver attendance sheets, packages and other items for teachers. They are family-oriented individuals who are part of the South community. They have invested years of hard work and dedication to South. Our hall monitors love being at our school, and go above and beyond their jobs each and every day in countless ways, ways security personnel would not. We at the Tower are firmly against privatizing our custodial services and replacing any of our hall monitors with security guards. Yes, the district does have a $2 million deficit. There is declining enrollment and lack of funding by the state of Michigan to the school district. Cuts must be made or revenue must increase in order for the district to establish a balanced budget by June. However, there are better ways to do this. One way to reduce costs on a large scale is to close the district building. This building is old and larger than the size the district needs it to be and costly to maintain. Closing this building would be much more cost-efficient than firing a few of our hall monitors, who happen to be the lowest paid employees in the school system. Our hall monitors provide too monumental a service to merely sacrifice their jobs due to costs that could be better reduced elsewhere. According to Dr. Jon Dean, the Deputy Superintendent of Educational Services, administration provided the board of education with a list of things that could be done to counter the imminent budget issue in the district. On that list was the proposal of privatizing South’s custodial services and switching the school’s hall monitor system to mirror the method currently implemented at North-- replacing a certain number of hall monitors with privatized security guards. Dean said the district has flexibility with how many of South’s hall monitors they replace with privatized security. He said they could choose to replace most of the hall monitors and mirror North’s system, they could keep all of the hall monitors and not hire any security personnel or they could choose to replace all of the hall monitors and move to complete security service at South. The district most likely will not decide on this issue until June when they vote to adopt the entire new budget, which would include these changes, according to Dean.

We believe security guards will be threatening and will trigger a backlash from the students and community, and would fail to exceed their job descriptions and love our school as our hall monitors do. Students don’t want to go to a school where we are intimidated and made to feel unsafe by security guards who we don’t trust, instead of being supported by our hall monitors who we have known and loved for years. If implemented, the move to privatize our hall monitors would cause students and parents to complain and respond negatively to the situation. We also believe this possible budget reduction would decrease enrollment in the school. One of the reasons the district needs to make these budget cuts in the first place is due to the decline in the number of students they educate, and administration has even proposed opening up the district to non-residents who pay tuition, according to Dean. Employing security guards could potentially prove to cost the district more money due to the backlash of students and the possible decrease in enrollment. “No one is going to want to send or want their children to go (to school) and have security guards. It’s threatening,” Deb Dempsey, secretary at the front desk at South, said at the school board meeting on April 24. “Security guards at a school are a strong deterrent to new enrollment, we believe. We say no to privatization completely.” We firmly believe that those employed by a security firm instead of the district, who are not part of the community and don’t have strong relationships with the students and staff, will in no way care about the students as much or be the role model and confidant the hall monitors have proven to be. The security guards would not come to South every day because they love the school and want to be there, but only because if they do, they get a paycheck. At the board meeting, several students shared some experiences they have had with our hall monitors that significantly improved their high school experience and that would not have happened had security guards been in the hall monitor’s place. Charlotte Martinez ’19 talked about how whenever her or her friends are having rough days, they know they can trust the hall monitors enough to confide in them and receive emotional support in return. This would not be the case with security personnel.

GRAPHIC BY RILEY LYNCH ‘18

OUR VIEW// EDITORIAL

The Tower believes there are other ways to develop a balanced budget by June. Replacing any of our hall monitors with security guards is not one of those ways. Our hall monitors have formed bonds with us over the years, they are a precious part of our community and they love their jobs. The reduction in cost of hiring security personnel in no way merits the loss of our loved and valued hall monitors who provide us with invaluable services each and every day.

TRUMP’S FIRST 100 DAYS Just over six percent of Donald Trump’s first JOHN FRANCIS ’18 term in office SUPERVISING EDITOR has gone by. It’s clear to say the political atmosphere will never be the same. Here’s why that is a good thing. The first example of the refreshing leadership delivered by this new administration can be seen in the Syrian air raid of a base the heinous regime used to launch a chemical weapons attack. The target: none other than Syria’s own citizens. When he was a candidate, President Trump ran on a foreign policy that was aimed against “U.S. policing the world,” but once he was shown the images of the horrors bestowed on the Syrian people, no action would have left war crimes unanswered. This is a new president who, instead of drawing ‘red lines’ as his predecessor infamously did, sought counsel with his generals and Cabinet and made a sound decision. The same can be said for the latest Massive Ordinance Air Blast (MOAB) which was delivered to a network of ISIS tunnels, killing 94 fighters, according to NPR. But let’s not get away from ourselves. There have been major growing pains among the Trump team. Thus far, Trump has had several small-scale scandals. Michael Flynn, who was the National Security Advisor for Trump at first, was caught talking to Russian officials and citizens during the transition period from the Obama administration to the Trump administration. He then faced a firestorm of media attacks, as well as the partisan liberals in Congress. Then, in similar reason, the newly appointed Attorney General Jeff Sessions was pushed to recuse himself from the investigation on Russia’s hand in the 2016 election. Both proved as wins for Trump’s opposition, fueling speculation insisting Trump and Putin were in cahoots on hacking the Democratic National Committee’s emails. If there were any serious merit to these allegations toward President Trump or his Cabinet, they would not have been blown out of the news cycle by a tweet the following days. (A tweet most likely

MY VIEW

coming in the early hours of the morning from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue). North Korea has been taunting just about everyone on the world stage, and President Trump is not taking any light-hearted actions toward the regime. “Over the past 18 months North Korea has conducted two unlawful nuclear tests and an unprecedented number of ballistic missile tests, even conducting a failed missile launch as I traveled here for this visit,” Vice President Mike Pence said earlier this month. “The era of strategic patience is over.” Some of Trump’s critics suggest that there is no plan, that the Trump administration is lacking a ‘doctrine’ outlining their foreign relations strategy. This is a point the president must work on, while keeping the element of surprise on the U.S.’s side. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson gave his input on the situation unfolding with North Korea, saying that “We must prefer a negotiated solution to this problem, but we are committed to defending ourselves and our allies against North Korean aggression,” Tillerson said on the handling of North Korea, according to CNN. On the southern border, illegal crossings have been down approximately 40 percent in both January and February in comparison to last year’s crossings, according to Customs and Border Protection. This came to the Supreme Court, along with the successful nomination of Neil Gorsuch, taking the place of the late Antonin Scalia. Both are moves in the right direction for Trump’s base and those who oppose him. Where Trump continues to struggle is with the so-called ‘sanctuary cities,’ which have been rising up since the November election. The executive branch has not second guessed threatening incoming federal funds to these cities. Defending a sanctuary city is taking one’s own citizenship for granted. These illegal immigrants may have families with young children, and they should not be torn apart. The worst part of it all may be the ruthless, low-life criminals who make up a portion of those seeking sanctuary in the likes of San Francisco and Chicago. For someone to defend illegals and oppose federal laws, which under the Constitution is the supreme law over state and local jurisdiction, is unpatriotic.

NEWSPAPER

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STAFF

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

Copy Editors Madeleine Glasser*, Lily Kubek*, both ’17 Alyssa Czech*, Audrey Whitaker, Sylvia Hodges*, Bianca Pugliesi*, Claire Koeppen*, 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*, Brennan Zilhman*both ’18

Rash military action in the Middle East, horrendous tax cuts, laughANTON MIKOLOWSKI ’17 able healthcare SUPERVISING EDITOR “reform” and crippling immigration policy. No, this isn’t your Hollywood doomsday story, nor is it a tale of woes and throes: this is reality under the Trump regime. While he’s not too busy lounging in his indolence between golf sessions at Mar-a-Lago, American President Donald Trump spends his days making impulsive political decisions with such a surface-level understanding of policy it becomes difficult to tell where his interests align. We can clearly understand at this point in the presidency that Trump is so cocksure at the success of military operations overseas he is eager to engage. A few weeks back, the Trump administration made the hasty decision to drop a Massive Ordinance Air Blast bomb (MOAB) in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan. This bomb had the largest payload since the atomic weapons used against the Japanese during the second World War, and was the first time it was used in combat. Not only did it make certain to the international community that the U.S. was not afraid to initiate conflict, but it also emphasised tragic, presidential idiocy. Trump, who considered this a “successful job”, failed to account for the intended goal of the elimination of hundreds of ISIS operatives within the tunnels, instead eliminating less than one hundred and putting the lives of civilians in this populated area at risk. Luckily none were harmed, though that would not be a qualm of the president who values the lives of innocents on such a small scale, even domestically. Despite claiming to support the common man, Trump has managed to hang the working class out to dry in every way since the premier of the administration. His proposed tax cuts will certainly see the return of capital to the middle class which he, as he is so keen to remind, supports so fervently, but this only surface. These cuts will also be vastly reducing

MY VIEW

the amount pushed out by the wealthiest citizens beneath the flag, up to $200,000 in some cases, according to Forbes. These cuts will deprive federal resource allocation and further the crumbling of our nation’s infrastructure to a point beyond repair, a point unaffordable at this stage. We in Michigan know more than anyone else the pain of the cracked roads beneath our feet and the horrendous conditions in urban schools. Without tax dollars, the state will continue in its decay, eventually fading to the cold whims of political profiteering. If discussions of profit are to be made, one should also touch briefly on the nepotism within Trump’s board of advisors, such as Jared Kushner and other family members harkens back the the sale of indulges. Regardless of which advisors advise, Trump still manages to make misguided decisions of his own volition, such as his attitude toward North Korea. He reportedly plans to put a United States military operation base and missile defense system in South Korea… so long as their turmoil-ridden government manages to cough up the funds for it. Of course, we cannot forget about the fleet Trump plans to use to blow a hole into the Korean operation, so deftly skilled and well-advised, they managed to sail in the wrong direction for days before arriving in South Korea, according to PRI. Of no regard, Trump’s constant antagonizing yields in nothing but soured relations of locales Trump proves to know nothing about. America experienced an alarm when it had also been determined Trump had chosen to strike federal forces of the Syrian government under Assad a while back. Trump veiled this as an attack for the sake of freedom, for the government of Syria had poisoned their own people! All the while, Trump makes no moves to remedy the poison laid down upon the residents of Flint, who have been suffering the repercussions for years. Trump would not lose an ounce sleep over the mistreatment of civilians, what this really was? An attempt to placate critics of Trump’s potential Russian ties by attacking an ally of Russia. Was this a success? Only time will tell. And time does tell all, but a populace cannot allow it to act for them; take action, it’s the best a citizen can do in these trying times.

CON

Staff Writers Adam Cervone, Charlie Denison, Conner McQueen, Emma Russell, Gillian Eliot, Jack Froelich, Jack Roma, Kelly Gleason, Mac Welsher, Mary Grace O’Shea, Michael French, Sydney Stann, Thomas Sine and William Muawad, all ’17 Arianna Pagenette, Alex Acker, Blair Cullen, Evan Skaff, Evan Theros, Griffin Jones, Ian Dewey, John Schulte, Harper McClellan, Kaitlin Nemeh, Maren Roeske, Margot Baer, Mollie DeBrunner and Piper Eschenburg, all ’18 Allison MacLeod, Amelia Turco, Alyssa Cole, Donald McGlone, Grace Reyes, Jacqueline Mercier, Katherine Costello, Sarah Bellovich, Sarah Stevenson, and Olivia Mlynarek, all ’19 Adviser Kaitlin Edgerton

“The Tower” is the weekly publication of the Advanced Journalism classes at Grosse Pointe South High School. It has always been a designated public form of student expression. The Tower is located in room 142 in Grosse Pointe South High School. Please contact us at 313-432-3649.

Errors Factual errors will be corrected on the opinion page or in news briefs written upon request and verification.

Letters Letters to the Editor are encouraged and will be screened for libel, irresponsibility Opinion Pieces and obscenity. The Editorial Board may edit Editorials represent the majority opinion of or shorten letters as long as the meaning is the Editorial Board and are left unsigned. unchanged. All letters must be signed and Columns represent the opinions of individual include a telephone number for confirmation. staff members and outside contributors. Request to withhold the writer’s name from publication for good reason will be Editorial Board considered. Letters can be sent to the above An asterisk * denotes Editorial Board editors. email address, or dropped off in “The Tower” Room. Advertising Display adverising is sold at a rate of $7 per Professional Associations column inch, with discounts for large or Member of the Columbia Scholastic Press frequent advertisers. Advertising may not Association, National Scholastic Press advocate illegal activities or contain libelous, Association, Quill and Scroll, the Society irresponsible or obscene material. for Newspaper Design and the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association.

NEWS

5.3.17

Comic Con comes to Motor City GRACE REYES ’19 | Web Editor For all fans of comics and pop culture, May 1921 holds the 28th annual Motor City Comic Con. The convention will take place at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi. “It’s a convention where comic fans meet each other, dress up and go in costume. There are artists and comics. You can buy merchandise and comic gear too,” Katie Shrader ’17 said. According to the Motor City Comic Con. website, there will be over a million different comic books and pop culture merchandise for sale. “I think that the best part of (comic cons) is that you get to be surrounded by people who love the same things as you do. To be around the same people, it’s quite the experience. It’s really great to not feel like an outsider, ” Amanda Reyes-Aquino, Vault of Midnight Detroit (a comic shop) manager, said. According to Joe Calhoun ’17, many people attending dress up as their favorite comic book characters for this convention, including himself. “It’s really fun to see all the costumes people come up with and make themselves. It’s just a really cool, creative thing to do,” Shrader said. According to Aquino, Vault of Midnight has attended many conventions similar to the Motor City Comic Con. Saturday, May 6, they will be

It’s an insanely awesome gathering of nerds and people from all over who come together to celebrate all the amazing things they love. AMANDA REYES-AQUINO Vault of Midnight Detroit Manager

hosting Free Comic Book Day, an event celebrated across the nation for old and new advocates of the comic book industry. “We can’t think of a better way to say ‘thank you’ to Detroit than by basically having a huge party and giving away as many comic books as we can on a beautiful Saturday,” Nick Yribar, Vault of Midnight co-owner said. According to Calhoun, comic book conventions and other events are a fun experience for anyone interested. “It’s an insanely awesome gathering of nerds and people from all over who come together to celebrate all the amazing things that they love,” Reyes-Aquino said.

DETROIT COMIC CON AT A GLANCE : + This is DCC’s 28th anniversary. + Over 250 comic book writers and artists and over 50 movie and TV actors gather at DCC. + Over 1 million comics for sale + For more info, visit www. motorcitycomiccon.com. INFO COURTESY OF MOTORCITYCOMICCON.COM

SOUTH DANCING WITH THE TEACHERS FRIDAY, MAY 5. Stay tuned on The

Tower Twitter and Snapchat for live coverage of the event.

“Snitches” get stitches: The world of Hogwarts comes to South with new Quidditch team

game of Quidditch,” Evie Kuhnlein ’20 said. The club began when a common interest sparked among South teachers who wanted to see if students would like to get involved with the sport, according to the club co-advisor, Nicholas Provenzano, there have already been many signups within the first couple of weeks. “Mrs. Edgerton, Mrs. Peck and I were talking about how fun it would be to do something like the Quidditch Club if there would be student interest,” Provenzano said. “We figured this would be something fun to do so we pitched the idea and there were enough kids that said they would do it. It is sort of a fun, silly way to get kids outside, running around and having fun.” The club plans to meet “SLYTHERN” TO SOUTH’S NEW CLUB| Over 20 students have signed up for the Quidditch team. The whenever possible in order to get club meets every Monday after school in room 142. out and play the game and hold PHOTOS COURTESY OF QUIDDITCH CLUB championships, Jack Bellamy ’19 said. “We are having our first practice (on Friday, April 30),” Bellamy said. “Our first World Cup is being held the Thursday before Memorial Day, May 25, in which we are going to have two teams competing for the world Quidditch cup. Our teams are being randomly selected.” The advisers are working on creating both a fall and a spring league in order to be flexible THE GIRL WHO LIVED| Evie Kuhnlein ’20 pays homage to for other students interested, CATCH THE SNITCH | South students playing Quiddtich on South’s front Harry Potter. Provenzano said. PHOTOS BY MARY GRACE O’SHEA ‘17 lawn. “There are a lot of kids that said they wanted to play, but they have their spring sports,” Provenzano MARY GRACE O’SHEA ’17 | Staff Writer said. “So, if everything goes well, we do a fall and spring season. That The Harry Potter phenomenon has resurfaced again at South with way kids who have other sports are able to play when they are not in the introduction of the Quidditch Club, meeting on Mondays after season. ” school on the front lawn. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to join the club, regardless Quidditch, the sport played by students of Hogwarts School of of their experience with the series or the sport, according to Bellamy. Witchcraft and Wizardry in the “Harry Potter” series, is known for its “I love Quidditch,” Bellamy said. “Who wouldn’t want to run flying broomsticks and enchanted balls, according to the official U.S. around with a broom on the front lawn catching balls and throwing Quidditch website. them through hoops? It’s amazing.” “Quidditch Club is a club honoring Harry Potter and the beautiful

FAST FACTS ON QUIDDITCH: + Quidditch was founded in 2005 at Middlebury College. + The first-ever game of Quidditch was played on Battell Beach at Middlebury College in Vermont. + The first televised Quidditch game was broadcasted on the Buckeye Cable Sports Network. + The United States Quidditch (USQ) League helps over 4,000 athletes. + The USQ hosts nine major tournaments and superves regular season competition. + U.S. Quidditch is a 501(c)3 nonprofit. INFO COURTESY OF USQUIDDITCH.ORG

Spikeball Club starts at South showed me it and I ended up really liking it.” ADAM CERVONE ’18 | Staff Writer The club will play each time on the front lawn of the school where, “It is a lot like volleyball,” Angelo Pendolino ’17 said. “It’s fun to play, but in volleyball it’s hard to find a place to put the large net. You can according to Kim, is the most suited place to play due to the softness of the ground which allows players to dive to take Spikeball anywhere, it’s like portable volleyball.” make a save. Four players, teams of two, one mini volleyball, “The game is up to 21, win by two, switch hands that act as paddles and one circular net near It is a lot like volleyball It’s off every five serves, the players can only hit the ground. For the first time, the game of Spikeball is fun to play, but in volleyball the paddle with their hand, and the players coming to South as a club. on one team can only pass the ball two times “I first heard about this it’s hard to find a place to put before returning to the net,” Kim said. game last summer,” the large net. You can take The club had a meeting after school last club leader Spikeball anywhere, it’s like Wednesday outside on the front lawn of the and South school. c h e m i s t r y portable volleyball. If any students are interested in playing t e a c h e r , ANGELO PENDOLINO ‘17 the game, or are just looking for a way to Stephen burn some energy and have fun doing it, K i m , said “A buddy of mine head on over to Kim’s room, 272, or listen for the next meeting date on the daily announcements.

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Dinners-To-Go and Special Events Mon. - Thurs. 7:00 am - 7:00 pm Fri. - Sat. 7:00 am - 5:00 pm 15110 Kercheval Grosse Pointe Park, MI 48230 (313) 823-8425

Monday - Thursday 4:00 P.M. to 10:00 P.M. Friday - Saturday 4:00 P.M. to 11:00 P.M. Sundays Noon to 9:00 P.M. 20745 Mack Ave. Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan 48236 313-882-1600

FEATURE

New e-cigarette drains wallets, can cause severe health risks

VAPING

INFORMATION GATHERED BY KATHERINE BIRD ’18

Antifreeze

There has been a

900%

increase in use of e cigarrettes among high school students from 2011-2015.

The

U.S. Surgeon General

has found that exposure to nicotine during pregnancy harms the developing fetus, and causes lasting consequences for the developing brain and lung function in newborns.

‘18

The effects of

According to Staricco, the population that affects teenagers and young adults are using a lot more e-cigarettes opposed to regular cigarettes. People think it’s cooler, and perceive vaping to be safer than regular cigarettes, which hasn’t proven true, Staricco said. “It ends up being sort of a gateway or introduction to regular cigarettes,” Staricco said. “More than half the people who use e-cigarettes end up smoking regular cigarettes as well.” The current pace of e-cigarette research can be compared to regular combustible cigarettes, Staricco said. “Sometimes it takes decades to accumulate the data on something that people use for years and years before you start to see the health effects: the cancers, the heart disease, the strokes,” Staricco said. For South, the staff plans to minimize vape usage during school through hearing people talking about vaping in a particular areas of the school, Parravano said. “We will continue to be vigilant with our hall monitors patrolling the hallways, making sure that isn’t happening,” Parravano said. “I’m not sure there’s really any way to stop it completely, but certainly our goal is not to have it on campus.” Vaping is discouraged from use in general, according to Staricco. The risk never entirely goes away, which is a common misconception with combustible cigarettes or e-cigarettes, he said. “If people quit smoking, the risk of cancer, heart disease or anything else never completely disappears” Staricco said. “Smokers will always carry a higher risk than somebody who has never smoked.” Staricco offered some advice to young vape users or people considering to start using e-cigarettes in the future. “One, that it really isn’t safe. Two, it leads you into using combustible regular cigarettes most of the time,” Staricco said. “People should really never start smoking things like that. In the long run, you will end up with health issues, and be at risk for cancer.” ISH STAND BY JD PHOTO

LILY KUBEK ’17 | Copy Editor There is a Speedway right next to the college Daley will be attending ith the growing popularity of vape among teens and young next year, so he plans to carry JUULing into the university level, but adults for the past couple years, JUUL is the newest elec- after college, Daley said he will stop. tronic cigarette craze, emptying pockets for the exchange Daley is not the only South student who began to use JUUL once of pods to satisfy. they turned 18. Chris Elliott ’17 said he is also a daily JUUL user. According to the official JUUL Vapor website, vaporization is the “I started off just to try it (JUUL), liked it, and got my own, and process of gently heating nicotine to release active ingredients which (am now) impossibly addicted,” Elliott said. “Most people like the head are inhaled in the form of vapor. buzz it gives you.” “The amount of nicotine in e-cigarettes is unregulated at the moElliott spends about $20 to $30 a week on JUUL-related products, ment,” pulmonologist and intensive care doctor for Pulmonary and he said. He said he averages the use of one pod a day. JUUL-pods conCritical Care Associates Dr. Andrew Staricco said. “The FDA is going tain 0.7mL with five percent nicotine by weight, approximately equivthrough the process of forcing companies that manufacture e-ciga- alent to one pack of cigarettes, according to the official JUUL Vaper rettes to register their product and apply for the right to manufacture website. e-cigarettes.” “Yes (I consider the health risks), but after looking it up and stuff, I According to Staricco, regulating e-cigarettes will be up to a two usually just wake up the next morning and keep doing it,” Elliott said. year process. While aware that the JUUL is harmful to his health, Elliott still con“I do (think JUUL is a better alternative than cigarettes) because tinues to JUUL because he said he enjoys it. Elliott does have longthere are a lot more products out there with more chemicals like ciga- term plans on when his personal JUUL usage will end; and when the rettes than there would be in JUUL and vape in general,” Jamey Daley popularity of JUUL itself will die out. ’17 said. “For me, I’m probably going to stop in the summer before college,” However, Staricco said there isn’t any solid data supporting the Elliott said. “Trend-wise, probably not much longer because someclaims that using e-cigarettes enhances the ability to quit smoking at thing new is always coming out.” this time. While the specific use of JUUL may be foreseen to decrease, the Since Daley has turned 18, he has been a JUUL user, purchasing his general use of vape is thought to increase, even expanding to students JUUL at a local Speedway for $50, he said. using vape products in school, Vice Principal Cindy Parravano said. Daley said he spends about $16 per week on JUUL-related products “I see it becoming more and more popular with youth,” Parravano and continues to spend the money because he likes the head buzz it said. “I can speak to the school that I was in (previously). It’s becomgives him, similar to the ing more popular because you can’t smell the smoke reason other JUUL users when it’s exhaled from somebody, so it’s a little more use. difficult to catch on to.” “More than half the people who use “(JUUL is popular) The use of tobacco is prohibited on school grounds e-cigarettes end up smoking regular probably because of the regardless of if the student is of the legal age to use the amount of nicotine it has products, Parravano said. cigarettes as well.” in the juice,” Daley said. “The first offense is basically issuing a Saturday “It gives you a way betschool. The second offense is a three-day temporary ANDREW STARICCO ter head buzz than other separation which is typically considered an out-ofIntensive Care Doctor vape products.” school suspension,” Parravano said. “Anything after Daley has even manthat would be up to ten days suspension from school.” aged to learn tricks with his JUUL, he said. He can blow rings, flute The use of vapor has even led to some teachers catching stuand tornado. But while the JUUL is a mindless activity Daley does, dents using the products in restrooms. Teacher Kevin Cox had his first he said he is aware of the health risks e-cigarettes can do to the body. interaction with students vaping in school just a few months ago, he “The tobacco in regular cigarettes contains over 200 different car- said. cinogens, and contains nicotine as the primary addictive agent in “A couple months ago I did find two students in a restroom who there,” Staricco said. were vaping, and so I had to take care of that,” Cox said. “I did relay Nicotine has been shown to be a carcinogen, which is a substance that it was clearly a poor choice and that I hoped they would reconsidcapable of causing cancer in the living tissue, Staricco said. He said er their recreational activities.” e-cigarette usage, particularly in the young population like teenagers, Staricco broke down the e-cigarette population into two: users has proven to affect brain development. trying to quit smoking regular cigarettes, and users-- typically young “Obviously inhaling most things that aren’t oxygen are probably adults and teens-- who use e-cigarettes as something that is cool to do, pretty bad for you,” Daley said, but this still doesn’t stop him from he said, “The population uses it to try and get off cigarettes, a lot of JUULing. them don’t really get off cigarettes,” Staricco said.

has been found in two leading brands of e-cigarettes and 18 various cartridges.

Lab tests

conducted in 2009 by the FDA, detectable levels of toxic cancer-causing chemicals were found, including an ingredient used in antifreeze, in two leading brands of e-cigarettes and 18 various cartridges.

Lasting health effects of yoga can be beneficial ARIANA CHENGGES ’17 | Pulse Editor-In-Chief forward. According to Caulfield, it’s just that one breath where it goes my friends early in the morning is a great way to start off my day and Namaste. The word heard at the end of a yoga session after the body back to the mind-body-breath connection again. end my week in a positive way,” Phillip Huetteman ’17 said. has gained self-control and balance. Many people have a certain preHaving different levels offered is nice because everyone varies, Many people do not realize the effects yoga can have on the body conceived notion of yoga: they believe they are not flexible enough or Caulfield said. and the mind. The tension built up in your upper back and shoulders it is not the kind of work out they are looking for, or something along “I don’t discourage someone coming from a harder class because could easily be realized if you set up mind to it and restore the balance those lines. there are modifications and vice versa,” Caulfield said. in your life. It’s truly a combination of everything because there is a lot of For example, Caulfield said she subbed for strength involved, a Chair Yoga class and it made her Becky Caulfield, realize she should slow down her wellness coordinator teaching to focus on the simple Follow us on Instagram: @chezloulousalon and yoga instructor things, like getting in and out of a “It is hugely important to find that Follow Us on Instagram at the Neighborhood chair. whole mind-body connection for a lot Send us a selfie with the hashtag: Club Recreation and “When kids are able to not even @chezloulousalon of people who don’t even think about #iamchezloulou and win Wellness Center, think about the muscles used to get prizes. that on the daily.” said. up from a chair it’s insane,” Caulfield You will be entered in a drawing to win prizes During yoga sessaid. “(I taught) this class (Chair including hair products, haircuts, and blowdries. BECKY CAULFIELD 16900 Kercheval Ave. sions, people inhale Yoga) with senior citizens who came Wellness Coordinator (313) 647-0525 positive emotions back from injuries (and) had to and exhale the negathink about using their lower back tivity. It quiets the mind and makes people erase the problems in their muscles just to get in and out of a chair, so it is life for a while. It is extremely beneficial if a person is suffering from hugely important to find that whole mind-body excessive stress, Calyx Turco ’17 said. connection for a lot of people who don’t even “It lowers your heart rate and calms you down while giving you a think about that on the daily.” great workout,” Turco said. “It also helps a lot with stretching out your Caulfield encourages someone who may be muscles if you play another sport and need help in that area. That is into faster pace or more into workouts to just how I got into yoga in the first place.” take an easier, gentle class to focus on holding According to Caulfield, people truly have to think during the ses- the position longer and getting those breaths in. sions of yoga. But, for those who possibly do not want to attend “Anyone can come into the gym and mindlessly run on a treadmill a class, there are certain stretches that are benefior lift weights without even thinking about it,” Caulfield said. cial to the body. Hip-openers are perfect because Yes, breathing becomes a real natural rhythm because that connec- people are on their feet all day or shoulder opention between breath and movement is found. It is almost like a moving ers due to rounding your body in during school meditation, so once that flow and rhythm is found, that is the most if you are sitting at a desk all day, said Caulfield. important part of yoga, according to Caulfield. “My favorite pose of all time is legs up the Whether it’s stretching out tired hamstrings and hips or because wall,” Caulfield said. “Laying on your back and someone has too much anxiety, there are a variety of courses to attend. letting your legs go up the wall is a great way to The Neighborhood Club offers an introductory class for students who find that inversion and letting your blood flow in are new to yoga called Basic Yoga. If you are looking for a twist on your the opposite direction.” body, they offer Chair Yoga which is when poses are performed sitting Not only does the Neighborhood Club offer on the chair or used as a cushion for other stretches. Gentle Yoga and sessions, but South also has a club many students Yoga Flow are for those who like a moderate pace and enjoy relax- attend every Friday morning to start the day off ation. Vinyasa Yoga is taught at a more fast pace. You do one move, right. one breath, inhale and reach your arms up while exhaling and pulling “Coming together as a group and going with

FEATURE

5.3.17

Annual Fundraiser

Mother’s Club Fashion Show

VOGUE, VOGUE FASHION BABY| Justus Welch ‘20 strutting down the runway at the 2017 Mother’s Club Fashion Show.

AUDREY WHITAKER ’19 | Staff Writer The Grosse Pointe South Mothers’ Club hosted its annual fashion show fundraiser Thursday, April 27. The show featured South students modeling clothes, shoes and accessories from local shops. According to Mothers’ Club member Helen Srebernak, around 50 Mothers’ Club members and 210 students, including models, tech crew and choir, are involved in the production and planning of this exciting fundraiser that has being going on since June 2016. According to model Daniel Kuhnlein ’17, everything down to hair and makeup for the show is done by Grosse Pointe businesses. Kuhnlein said girls arrive earlier on the day of the show to get their makeup and hair done by local salons, while guys usually get there about an hour earlier to get their outfit and prepare for the show. According to Kuhnlein, the show is a huge fundraiser for the Mothers’ Club and South. “I decided to do the fashion show because the Mothers’ Club does so much with conservation, scholarship and enrichment that I believe it’s every student’s obligation to give back to the school and the Mothers’ Club by volunteering a few hours to model for the fashion show,” Kuhnlein said. Kuhnlein said he has been volunteering to model in the fashion show all four of his years at South. Another student, Ethan Briggs ’17, is returning for his second year of modeling at the fashion show. “I decided to do the fashion show because it’s a lot of fun and it raises a lot of money for our school,” Briggs said. “It’s a great way to support the school and the community.” According to Briggs, there are only two things students modeling in the show have to do, besides be there on Thursday for the event. “You have to go get a fitting at whatever store you’re going to wear, and then there’s a rehearsal on Sunday,” Briggs said. According to Srebernak, while the student models have their fittings and rehearsals, the Mothers’ Club volunteers are busy setting up for the big show. “The choir is performing, so we have to reach out to them,” Srebernak said. “The Design Group donates the curtains and a lot of the big decorations that go up, tables are ordered, the raffle people are working on donations and getting the raffle together, people are seated at specific tables and money is collected for tickets.” Briggs said student models are grouped randomly by Mothers’ Club members and assigned the business whose products they will be wearing. “The Mothers’ Club chooses students and assigns them a store,” Kuhnlein said. “Every year I have been asked by the Mothers’ Club president, Ann Turnbull, to work with Village Palm.” According to Briggs, Mothers’ Club members randomly group the student models and assign them businesses whose products they will wear. “This year I am modeling for Village Palm, and last year I did Jos. A. Bank,” Briggs said. Kuhnlein said he will be modeling for Village Palm this year too, as he has the other three years in the show. “It (the fashion show) is very small amount of time, and a great way to give back to the school,” Kuhnlein said.

Meet the Models Shannon Kerr ’17 Wearing The Wink Boutique

Sam Rivard ’17 Wearing the Yoga Shelter.

Kate Satterfield ’17 Wearing The Wink Boutique.

PHOTOS BY MARGOT BAER ’18

Practice Makes Perfect in “Hairspray” This past Thursday, the stars of Grosse Pointe South’s all-school musical rocked the audience all the way back to the sixties. MARGOT BAER ‘18 The cast of “Hairspray” STAFF WRITER perfectly hit every note while making the crowd want to laugh, cry and get out of their seats and dance. The opening night performance was nearly sold out, and rightfully so. Mary Reinman ’17 played the role of Tracy Turnblad for the blue cast and was a perfect fit. The sets used in the play were eye-catchingly gorgeous and really made the audience feel like they were right in the scene with the cast, and the set design’s top-notch quality only made the experience that much more amazing. South’s extremely talented students adapted to their roles exceptionally and made the entire play-going experience a truly enjoyable one.

MY VIEW

It was quite obvious that the cast and crew of this production have been putting in hours of work for months on end to bring this show together. Even the cast members who only had one or two lines were still great. The cast was so large that it made the performance feel like a Broadway show. There was always something intriguing going on onstage. You could see the play all three nights and still find something new out of the experience every time. The only issue that was evident was the sound quality and how it was hard to hear some of the minor characters when they spoke. The fact that there is an easy fix to this issue reassures me that the plays to come in the future will be nearing perfect. South students made it clear that they put their hearts and souls into this production and they truly let their talents shine through. It will be hard to top this year’s show, but I do think that it is possible. Overall, this year’s production of Hairspray was an amazing way to promote unity and bring joy and entertainment to the community.

SOLO | Mary Reinman ’17 singing at dress rehearsal. She played the lead female role of Tracy Turnblad in South’s production of Hairspray.

HANDS UP | South’s production of Hairspray included bright clothing and catchy songs. The show was performed on three separate nights. PHOTOS BY MIA TURCO ‘19

ALL TOGETHER | Tiffany Furicchia ’18 and cast mates performing a song during dress rehearsal. Openng night of Hairspray was nearly sold out.

FEATURE SPORTS

9.6.16 5.3.17

Tower staffer tests out new Detroit-based burger joint MY VIEW CAMERON FRANCIS ’17

BUSINESS MANAGER

Only a five minute walk from Comerica Park and Ford Field, Basement Burger Bar is poised to be downtown Detroit’s next favorite post-game locale. The new eatery located at 1326 Brush St. serves a variety of foods. However, their main attraction is the custom “Build Your Own Burger”. While every restaurant menu seems to have a custom burger, Basement Burger Bar’s menu literally puts the custom in customer. Each table is set with laminated menus and dry erase markers so customers can individually pick and choose every aspect of their burger, salad or milkshake. Which Wich instantly came to mind when I filled out my order, the only difference being Basement Burger Bar is a sit-down restaurant with full service

GOOD EATS | A Tower staffer visited new Detroit burger joint called Basement Burger Bar last weekend. A burger and fries only cost him just over $13.

included. The service is great as well. The workers were friendly and my food came relatively quickly, especially considering how personalized it was. My burger was loaded with all sorts of toppings, some of them complimentary, some of them additional charges. From onion rings to avocado spread, my burger was much more than a handful; I even contemplated breaking out the silverware. The first few bites tasted a bit better than the last few, but I’ve already decided it’s worth another visit in the near future. My enormous sandwich, along with a side of fries cost me just over 13 dollars, so it’s not too expensive, especially when compared to many other restaurants downtown. I’d also like to note that Basement Burger Bar has a full menu of appetizers and entrees for those who would rather not customize their meal but still enjoy signature Basement Burger Bar creations. The atmosphere at Basement Burger Bar was exciting, the service was great and the food was definitely unique.

PHOTO BY CAMERON FRANCIS ’17

HUMANS OF SOUTH CHANTZ WRIGHT ’18

DONALD McGLONE ’19 | Staff Writer hantz Wright ’18 has been doing Parkour since 2013 and hasn’t looked back. Wright quickly found success and thus began or metaphorical love story. For those who are unfamiliar with Parkour, it is a form of freerunning that is often times flash and risky. Wright had seen people on YouTube doing parkour and said, “Right away I was like, ‘Alright this is basically something different, I have to try it.’” Wright found success quickly and decided to continue down this ill-beaton path of flips and tricks, he said. “One of the reasons I started (is) I did a lot of sports; I did like football, baseball, soccer, all of that and it’s weird because I don’t really like being controlled,” Wright said. Wright said he enjoys how he can create his own style saying. “I see it more as an art because you don’t have to hit a certain standard to be good,” Wright said. He compared Parkour to drawing and how each artist has their own style. According to Wright, he did not start doing Parkour so he could show off. “I don’t really like being asked to do flip and all that 24/7,” Wright said. Not only was Parkour another outlet for Wright’s athletic ability but it was a way to provide a sense of “freedom”. Wright also spoke about finding peace through the intense training which made him focus on the task at hand. Parkour take Wright’s mind off the everyday struggle it gives him an outlet to redirect that energy towards his craft, he said. “You shouldn’t worry about anyone else’s progressions or anything you should worry about your own,” Wright said. PHOTO BY DONALD McGLONE ’19

TV Production student wins prestigious “CATCH” award ABI DUE ’18 | Social Media Editor A dedicated student in TV production and president of video club, Rachel Dearing ’17 was not only thrilled, but also grateful for the recognition as she was nominated an outstanding student for Detroit News’ CATCH award. According to The Detroit News, the CATCH award has seven different core categories to enter in, including athletics, vocational-technical education and journalism. After Geresy verbally nominated Dearing, he also had to submit a letter giving the reasons he nominated her and how he felt she fit the role of an outstanding student in the vocational area. Automatically, Geresy thought of Dearing when he and his peers were presented with the competition, he explained. “You get your information from the teachers, then you basically answer questions about your leadership, your volunteer involvement, and you write an essay about your achievements in general,” Dearing said. In Dearing’s essay, she not only explained her love for producing and editing films, but the passion she has for telling stories in unique ways, she said. “As a director in TV production, I can exercise those abilities and use them to their utmost potential,” Dearing said. When Dearing started producing videos, she realized it’s another way of speaking to others through creativity, she said. “I felt very excited and I felt very happy that Mr. Geresy thought of me,” Dearing said. PHOTO BY CAM SMOLEN ’18 According to Dearing, she felt as though she’s always put forth a lot of effort into TV production, but she didn’t realize it would amount to this. “Rachel through the years has proven to be a strong leader and communicator, and she has gone above and beyond to deliver on projects, to deliver and help with our news cast,” Geresy explained. Although Dearing has creative interests in TV production, she is going to Michigan State next fall and majoring in history education, she said. “I like telling a story, and history, people sometimes think is boring, but history, if you think about it, is a big story. If you explain it like a story, I think it’d be a lot more interesting,” Dearing said. Geresy said he learned a lot more about Rachel through this application process and he definitely believes she is deserving of the CATCH outstanding student award. “We’re really excited for Rachel and this upcoming honor,” Geresy said.

School district lacks in diversity among teachers SARAH BELLOVICH AND JACQUI MERCIER BOTH ’19 and age people are scared and they don’t understand be| Staff Writers cause they don’t know, and once we know, we can have a About 83 percent of South students are white, about 9 better understanding and once we have a better underpercent are black, about 3 percent are hispanic, about 1.5 standing people will understand other cultures,” Cosma percent are Asian and roughly 3 percent are other races, said. according to the MiStar Portal. With a student body of Stephen Kim, a South science teacher, is a minority on such minimal diversity, one has to wonder how South’s South’s staff. He is Korean and from Ohio. Prior to teachstaff compares. ing here, Kim was a student teacher at Detroit RenaisAccording to Shantrell Griffin, a special education sance High School, in which he was a minority in their teacher at Grosse Pointe South, she is one of two Afri- predominantly African-American staff as well. can-American teaching staff in the entire district. She According to Kim, it is important to embrace diverhas been teaching in the Grosse Pointe sity within South’s staff because it can Public School District for 12 years at help some minority students feel more Parcells, Defer and Mason. comfortable in their learning environI just think I have a “It is a district-wide situation. There ment. are only two minority teachers in the “To some extent maybe (being a purpose wherever I am teaching classrooms,” Griffin said. minority) does (matter) for certain at. I find my purpose, “You have a few in the administration students. Maybe it makes them feel I make sure I do building and you have a few that are more comfortable knowing I’m a miwhatever is needed in the special-ed department, but they nority as well,” Kim said. of me and I just try to are not teaching staff.” However, Kim also emphasized Griffin said she believes it is immake a difference just that it is important for positions on portant to gain a different perspective staff to be filled by the best and most being who I am. and helpful to have a teacher that looks qualified candidates possible. He said SHANTRELL GRIFFIN like a student. a potential teacher’s background is Special Education Teacher “It is important for kids to have a something to look at, but not to base diverse background of teachers bethe decision off of. cause everyone is coming from a dif“You’re students coming from all ferent place,” Griffin said. different backgrounds, so you have to give them someKennedy Cosma ’18, a student at South, believes hav- thing to relate to,” Kim said. ing more diversity in the classroom would give a better Being a minority on staff has become a “norm” for insight into other cultures. Griffin in her 12 years in the Grosse Pointe school dis“And not just black and white but Arabic, or Chinese trict, however, she says it is always good to see another (too). We can all learn something from other people. It minority, and not just from an African-American standnever hurts to learn,” Cosma said. point, but diversity overall. The lack of diversity did not Cosma said she participates in a camp at Wayne State affect her decision to join the district’s teaching staff, she University in the summer where she has multiple Muslim said. counselors. She said learning about them and their cul“I just think I have a purpose wherever I am at. I find ture is always fun and enjoyable. According to Cosma, my purpose, I make sure I do whatever is needed of me diversity is always a great thing to better understand. and I just try to make a difference just being who I am,” “There needs to be more diversity because in this day Griffin said.

“

FEATURE

5.3.17

South teachers get to learn new moves

ALEX ACKER & EVAN SKAFF ’18 | Staff Writers Teachers will enter a dance competition to raise money for the junior class. The event is called Dancing with the South Stars and will take place in the auditorium on Friday, May 5 at 7 p.m. “My partner’s name is Rachel, though she goes by the name Ray,” social studies teacher, Peter Palen, said. “She is an instructor at the Arthur Murray Dance Studio.” The junior class has worked out a deal with the Arthur Murray dance studio to get their professionals to help. “My partner’s name is Jason, and he’s amazing,” chemistry teacher Lauren McCulloch said. Each teacher has been assigned a dance professional form the studio, Palen said. “My partner’s name is Jamie Palmer from the Arthur Murray Dance Studio,” South science teacher Stephen Kim said. “I danced jazz, ballet and non partner type dancing when I was younger,” McCulloch said. “I missed it and LAUREN McCULLOCH when I heard the opportunity was available, I wanted to do it and try something new since I had never done partner dancing, and I also wanted to help out the junior class.” Each staff member has different reasons for partaking in this event, they said. “I decided to do it because I am getting married in August, so I thought I would sort of double dip on the dancing,” Palen said. “Whatever routine I created for Dancing with the South Stars I thought I might be able to incorporate into my wedding dance.” The contestants differ in experience. McCulloch has a background in dancing, while Palen said he is trying something new. “I have never done anything like this in my entire life and the opportunity to get a whole bunch of dance lessons doesn’t normally come available for most people,” Palen said. Kim said he decided to participate because it was a new experience. “It seemed sort of fun. I have never done ballroom dancing before. It seemed like something new to try. Why not,” Kim said. Practice is consistent for each contestant. One lesson per week for 40 minutes. However, if the contestant wants, they have the option to practice for extra time. “We have been practicing about once per week since

January. Recently, I have been doing doubles in order to get ready for the competition,” Palen said. The contestants are doing various dances. McCulloch said she is doing an Argentine Tango, but Palen’s dance has some mystery to his. “That’s the question of the hour, I don’t want to reveal too much. I will say it’s a blend of modern genres, with more classic styles. There’s a ChaCha,” Palen said. Some contestants are really starting to focus in on their dance routine. “Now that we are coming to the end of it we are just doing the routine over and over and over again, and fixing all the little things,” Kim said. “It’s just like learning anything, you have to go through the steps. It’s repetition and you have to be focused. Taking small steps learning the process.”

Tickets are $5 for students Auditorium May 5 7 p.m.

I danced jazz, ballet and non-partner type dancing when I was younger.

Eight South faculty participating Practice: 40 minutes a week

I have never done anything like this in my entire life and the opportunity to get a whole bunch of dance lessons doesn’t normally come available for most people. PETER PALEN AP U.S. History Teacher

GRAPHIC BY LIAM WALSH ’18

Student blogger shares her puppy love AUDREY WHITAKER ’19 | Copy Editor Julia Ansell ’17, dog lover, James Bond enthusiast and student at Grosse Pointe South began her “Paw Blog” this February on a suggestion from a friend. Julia’s blog has taken off in the short time since its creation, due to Julia’s creativity and passion for not only dogs, but James Bond and events in her daily life, according to Evie Ansell, Julia’s mom. “Sometimes we’ll be having a conversation and I might say ‘that would make a good blog, you should write about it,’ but it’s really her own thoughts,” Evie said. According to Evie, Julia writes about her own dog Jackson as well as Bella, a friend’s dog. “When I’m writing, I usually think of my dog or my family’s dogs, and I write about them because I’m familiar with them,” Julia said. According to Evie, writing is a release for Julia and a way to express her thoughts and feelings through characters. Harry Campion had Julia in his advanced creative writing class second semester of last school year. According to him, Julia seizes the opportunity to write as much as she can on her blog and on assignments. “She loves using her time. She uses it well. She is very imaginative and she likes to portray her imaginative view of the world through her writing,” Campion said. According to Campion, finding time to write is the hardest part of the journey when it comes to moving forward as an author. “I’m a huge believer in that in order to be a writer, you have to write. So much of high school life is structured (so) it hedges the time to do it (write),” Campion said. Julia said she believes her blog will help her gain a future in writing. According to Campion, she is on the right track. Campion said Julia was able to take a little more freedom to write about her favorite subjects

in advanced creative writing, and the most important thing her blog does for her is give her an opportunity to write what she wants to write. “Her dog is like a person to her, not literally, but she thinks of him that way, so she is able to give him a voice and put him in situations that most dogs don’t find themselves in,” Campion said. Campion said he has seen Julia’s blog, and he often sees the writing posted there beforehand in class. “A lot of the structure you learn for writing in school does find its way into blog writing in that you introduce the idea to your reader, you have to develop it you have to give examples, you have to analize your thoughts,” Campion said.

WOOF WOOF | Julia Ansell ’17 started a blog originally about dogs, but has now grown to many other subjects. Ansell has used a lot of her writing abilities she gained in school to help with her blog. PHOTO BY LAUREN THOM ’18

When I’m writing, I usually think of my dog or my family’s dogs, and I write about them because I’m familiar with them. JULIA ANSELL ’17

sw 5.3.17

SPORTS

Seniors reflect, discuss their top moments and legacy of high school sports MICHAEL FRENCH ‘17 | Staff Writer The spring sports have begun which means that seniors playing have little time left to savor their athletic career. Some seniors will get the benefit of being able to compete at the college level, but many seniors have decided to go to school for academics. Jay Ulbrich ’17 has been playing lacrosse since the seventh grade and is now in his senior season at Grosse Pointe South. He does not plan to play in college. “I played a lot over the summer and even took some official visits to look at some Division 3 programs, but I decided that I wanted to focus on academics. Who knows, I may end up playing on the club team,” Ulbrich said. Ulbrich sure left his mark on the Grosse Pointe South lacrosse team, he is one of two three year varsity players. His junior year, he won an All-State honorable mention award, and has won the scholar athlete award all four years he has been at south. This being his last season, Ulbrich has been named a Co-Captain of the team this year and is trying to help the lacrosse team finish strong in his final season at South. “We got off to a slow start, but I believe that we are hitting stride right now and are going to go into playoffs strong and hopefully make a run to remember,” Ulbrich stated. Jay Ulbrich is a senior planning to attend Michigan State University next year to study business. Robert Martinez plays baseball for Grosse Pointe South. Robert has been on the varsity team for two years. He pitches and plays third base. This is his senior year and last year playing for the baseball team. “The thing that I will miss the most about high school baseball is the feeling of winning. Although I love the game of baseball, the thing that will be the hardest for me to get over after it is done is the feeling of having success at a high level,” Martinez Said. Martinez has helped South be successful over his time at South. Last year the boys finished 19-22 and this year they are currently 6-7. Martinez said there are a lot of seniors on the team this year, and the base-

HOMEFIELD ADVANTAGE | Girls lacrosse plays Troy Athens in a tough battle. They clinched a win during their first home game of the season.

PHOTOS BY WILL MUAWAD ’17

DOWN TO THE WIRE | Boys Varsity shakes hands with Ann Arbor Skyline after a close overtime win. The team is now 2-7 on the season.

SPORTS UPDATE South sailing team starts off undefeated TOMMY SINE ‘17 | Staff Writer ominating multiple regattas, the sailing team is off to an undefeated start to their season. Team member Liam Walz ‘17 said that the team won two large events already, and their season is just beginning. “I’m confident that we will place again in future regattas,” Walz said. Team captain Blake Stackpoole ‘18 agrees that the season is off to a great start. “I feel that we have over achieved this year as we are currently undefeated. Not losing aregatta this season,” Stackpoole said. According to Stackpoole, the team’s success is a result of a team effort. “I feel our teams depth and how strong our coordination is on the water

makes us really hard to beat,” Stackpoole said. Stackpoole added that while always dominating, certain parts of the season stand out. “The most memorable part of our season was our team winning the Baker and Mallory Pre-Qualifiers in Columbus, Ohio last weekend. We really stepped up to the challenge and we were able to battle it out to the end,” Stackpoole ‘18. As fall has transitioned into spring, the cold wet weather has dampened Walz’s, or the rest of the sailing team’s enthusiasm to get back out on the water. “I was just excited to get back on the water after the off season, plus we had a mild winter so the cold wasn’t too bad.”

ball team has been granted many great opportunities. “My most memorable moment while playing for South would be beating Grosse Pointe North at Comerica Park earlier this season,” Martinez said. Martinez will also be attending Michigan State in the fall to study business. Kayla Conlan ‘17 is also in her senior season on the girls soccer team. Conlan has been apart of the varsity team for two seasons now and plays midfield. She does not plan to pursue soccer in college, so she is coming down to some of her final games of her career. “What I will miss most about playing high school soccer is having the privilege to play with the girls I have spent my whole life playing with.” Conlan said. Last season the girls soccer team finished with only one win, and this year through five games they are 0-4-1. With this being said, the girls achieved a great tie this year against rival Grosse Pointe North. Despite the continous loss, this tie was able to inspire pride within the members of the Grosse Pointe South lacrosse team. “My most memorable high school soccer moment was tying North this year after losing to them three times in my junior season.” Conlan stated After the season ends, Conlan plans to attend Grand Valley State University to continue her academic career and study physical therapy. Both Conlan and Ulbrich hope to prosper at the university level and look forward to reflecting on the experiences had at their high school between their friends; their team.

IN THE DUGOUT: Brian McKenna ’20 on being on the freshmen baseball team, playing first base and pitcher

AT THE PLATE | Brian McKenna hits a ball into the outfield. The team won that game 16-0 in a dominant preformance PHOTO COURTESY OF BRIAN MCKENNA ’20

“I feel that we have overachieved this year as we are currently undefeated, not losing a regatta this season.”

WHAT’S IT LIKE BEING A FRESHMAN ATHLETE AT SOUTH?

WHAT IS SPECIAL ABOUT THE FRESH MAN TEAM?

“It’s fun. There’s a lot of practices. It’s tiring but it’s alright.”

BLAKE STACKPOOLE ‘18 Sailing Captian

WHAT IS A HIGH SCHOOL SPORT LIKE COMPARED TO WHERE YOU’VE PLAYED PREVIOUSLY?

“We just all get together and compete to beat the other team. In future years, we can all get better and go for a state championship together.”

“It’s more competitive. You want to beat the other schools and be a powerhouse.”

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE DIFFERENTLY AS A HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE? “I just try to help out the teammates more because you have to get everyone involved in games and everything.” SETTING SAIL| South battles it out in Spring Lake during a regatta. The team is currently on their way towards a perfect season. PHOTO COURTESY OF SOUTH SAILING

WHAT DOES YOUR FUTURE LOOK LIKE SPORT-WISE HERE AT SOUTH? WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF GOING? “Maybe making varsity, if I continue to practice and just continue to put work in everyday and hit and help out the team.”

WHAT DO YOU DO DIFFERENTLY COM PARED TO OTHER TEAMMATES? “I just try to help everyone and practice how I play in a game. The way you practice in a game is the way you perform in a game.”