Vol. 1 Issue 7

Troy High School, 4777 Northfield Parkway Troy, MI 48098

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theTROYINDEPENDENT Vol. 1 Issue 7

Tension arises over new math curriculum

BY CAROLYN GEARIG The THS class of 2013 will be the first to graduate under the new math curriculum which combines Trigonometry, Pre-Calculus and Discrete Math into one class and eliminates a year of mathematics instruction, with the goal that every student will graduate having taken Calculus.

“The math curriculum has been in transition since the state of Michigan adopted the Michigan Merit Curriculum in 2007,” Troy School District mathematics curriculum coordinator Kristen Karbon said. “At the time, the Troy School District course sequence did not directly align with the state’s. Eliminating one course in the Troy course sequence brought it in line with state requirements.”

Previously, students took Geometry, Algebra 2, Trigonometry and Discrete Math and Pre-Calculus before taking Calculus. Under the new curriculum, there is no Trigonometry and Discrete Math class and students taking Pre-Calculus have the option of taking Calculus AB or BC, Statistics AP or College Algebra. However, most Pre-Calculus students were advised to take Calculus.

Principal Mark Dziatczak said the change was put in place to reduce redundancy in math classes where the same topic was covered more than once.

“The reaction from teachers, parents and students is not unlike other curriculum changes we’ve experienced in the past,” he said. “I think some people are concerned and have raised an eyebrow while other people have sailed through.”

While the curriculum aimed to expose students to high levels of math, many students struggled.

Senior Maddy Amalfitano, an A and B student with a 3.7 GPA at the start of senior year, felt lost in her Calculus AB class. Amalfitano will attend Michigan State University and plans on majoring in Film, which does not require Calculus. She would have taken Pre-Calculus as a senior under the previous math curriculum.

“It just seemed way too fast paced,” she said. “I would have benefited from another year of math before because I didn’t feel like I was prepared. It seemed impossible.”

Amalfitano dropped calculus and is taking College Algebra second semester, but her GPA dropped because of See Math, page 5

INDEX

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February 8, 2013

Richard Gleason, Freedom Rider

BY ANNIE CHEN A 76-year-old man is on stage wearing a black suit and a red tie. Behind him, projected on the wall is a black and white mugshot of a young man. Linked around his neck, the same name plate and serial number 20934.

“I have a mug shot,” he said.

“I have a rap sheet. Do you have a RAP sheet?”

On Jan. 21, schools were given a day off in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. At the Athens auditorium, Reverend Richard Gleason spoke with the intentions of remembering Dr. King Jr., but left the audience with inspiration and life lessons.

RAP. R for Respect.

Richard Gleason grew up in Ohio in a town population 500. He lived in a rickety house, and his family was

Science Olympiad attends first invitational

considered the “have-nots” of the small town. At school, he was bullied for his height and at home he was beaten.

But most of all, Gleason was alone. He endured the chides at school and the violence at home by himself. He wanted someone who could trust and believe in him.

It wasn’t until a youth leader eight miles from his home changed his view about himself and others. “[They said] ‘Richard look at me. Open your eyes and look at me,’” Gleason said.

“They said to me, ‘I see something great in you.’

They respected me. They saw something in me that I could not see in myself.”

It was long awaited, but finally he was given respect for himself and for everyone—black or white.

It was in the 1960s when he heard the news about the

Exploring buildOn

BY MARCEY SHEHATA

LAURA FREEMAN

Richard Gleason stands onstage at the Martin Luther King, Jr. day event Jan. 21 at Athens High School. difficulties the freedom riders were facing. He followed his instinct and was on the next train to Montgomery, Ala.

RAP. A for Attitude.

Richard Gleason was the 59th freedom rider to join the peaceful bus ride protest from Alabama to Mississippi. Before he boarded the See Gleason, page 5

BY LIZA BURAKOVA Studying is normally considered a requirement, something every student dreads. Yet there’s a certain group who study not only for school, but for their extracurriculars. These students are part of the school’s Science Olympiad team, and every year they compete and show off their knowledge.

The science Olympiad team, led by Bill Hevel, has a limited membership, with students needing to pass the tryout test in order to get accepted. Dates are announced in October, and accepted members begin preparing right away.

There’s a variety of events, from chemistry to robotics to genetics. Depending on the event, a student could end up answering questions based on a subject, conducting an experiment in a lab setting, or building something and creating a presentation. Students choose three, and focus on those specific three for each competition.

All events are team based, and a lot of students, especially the older ones, start off with a bit of background knowledge about their subjects. There’s a lot of teaching and learning involved, so people who may not have the background knowledge required still have the opportunity to compete by being put in the alternative team. They still attend invitationals, but

See Science, page 5

sports.........page 6 opinion.......page 8

ALLISON KNEISLER

Members of Robotics work on their robot. The robot takes around $40,000 to complete.

Robotics club prepares for 2013 competition

BY KATIE SCHLAFHAUSER

You might see the Troy High’s U.S. First Robotics team selling Krispy Kreme donuts, selling tickets for a Mean Girls movie night or staying late after school to work on their robot. A lot goes into this club, which consists of 78 people, including 12 from Athens.

Contrary to popular belief, Robotics is not just about building robots.

“Our kids are not all engineer-bound for college,” adviser and teacher Alfred Merian said. “They’re all in the related field and that’s what they want to do. We have programmers. We have great writers for our papers we have to write. We have peo-

ple that like to build. We have people that do the CAD work and actually plan it out.”

President Arjun Namineni is at the head of the team, and there are four sections within the program.

“There’s the president and then there’s four section leads,” said management section leader Bryce Downing, a junior. “We have [the] building the robot [section]. We have management, which is what I am, which is fundraising and awards. We have PR [Public Relations] which is all about getting new members on the team and other relationships with other teams, and animation, which makes an animation every year.”

The process of design-

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ing and building the robot starts when a challenge is released on the first Saturday of every January. “This year [the challenge is] Frisbee shooting, last year it was basketball, and the year before that was hanging up swimming tubes onto racks,” co-secretary sophomore David Yang said. “There’s a challenge every year and we have to build a robot to accomplish the challenge and compete in a competition.”

“This year that game is called Ultimate Assent, and it’s about Frisbees,” Downing said. “What we have to do is we have to make a robot that can shoot Frisbees into different goals. So there [are] small, two medium and large [goals], and then

A group of students gets together and finds different ways to serve others.

They help literacy around the world, as well as in Troy.

They also do many fundraising activities to raise money to build schools in third world countries. This is buildOn, a popular club at THS. The buildOn mission statement is to break the cycle of poverty, illiteracy and low expectations through service and education.

“At first, I didn’t want to join buildOn,” sophomore Frank Wang said. “My friend convinced me to join. I found that it was very interesting, so I stuck to it.”

“At THS, in the past years we’ve sent kids to other countries to build schools,” senior officer Marie Talarico said. “Right now, we are fundraising to do it again this year. We also have our members do service around metro Detroit.”

“During my freshman year, two students gave a presentation about their trip to Nicaragua through buildOn,” senior officer Apara Sivaraman said. “They were really passionate about it and it seemed interesting so I joined. At meetings we prepare for fundraisers by brainstorming ideas and doing services.” buildOn hosts an annual cookoff to fundraise.

“In the buildOn cook-off we have different teachers have a cook off, kind of like ‘Top Chef’,” Talarico said.

“People will try small portions from each teacher and vote on whose they like best.

We also get profits from bidding baskets that other clubs make for us, for a silent auction. We usually raise a couple thousand dollars by the end of the dinner. We receive live entertainment from the Troy High band.”

Through their actions, buildOn aims to make a difference in the world. there’s [a goal] on top of a pyramid. During the last 30 seconds of the game matches run for two minutes and 15 seconds—you have to drive up the pyramid or somehow latch on to levels of the pyramid and climb up.”

During each game, the robot is put on a team with two other robots from different schools, and together these robots play against another three robots. For part of the time, the students are able to control their robots, and for the other part the robot is programmed to score without anyone controlling it.

“In the first 15 seconds [the] robot is autonomously scoring, which means nobody is driving it,” Yang said.

See Robotics, page 4

Got a news tip? Want to share your thoughts on our stories or issues effecting Troy High students and staff?

Shoot an email to troynewspaper@gmail.com

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Features heart Remembering Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Matters of the

BY KATHERINE MAHER AND ANNA LARSON Store shelves and minds alike are filled with the vision of hearts: chocolate hearts, cherry hearts, paper hearts and just about everything else shaped as hearts.

However, in the season of hearts, there is one heart in particular that tends to be forgotten—February is Congenital Heart Defect (CHD) awareness month.

This is a month to spread awareness of the different types of heart defects a child can be born with. CHD is one of the most common birth defects because there are 87 different types and many of them come in pairs. CHD causes more deaths in the first year of the illness than any other birth defect. Heart defects affect 8 out of every 1,000 children.

There are two types of CHD. They are cyanotic (blue skin color caused by a lack of oxygen) and non-cyanotic. Some types of CHD are a hole in an

artery, a valve that doesn’t open properly, or an underdeveloped heart. Some of the defects, such as a hole in the heart, can heal on their own, or some, such as an underdeveloped heart, may require a heart transplant.

Sophomore Bobby Hahn was born with a hole in his heart. He visited his doctor twice a month to make sure the hole did not get any bigger. About two years ago, the hole closed up. Now, Hahn only goes once a year in order for the doctors to monitor the condition so that it doesn’t cause other problems.

Athletes are now at a higher risk to develop a heart condition or affect a preexisting condition. Because of this, parents and coaches want students to get their heart screened. “[The football players] are all required to get a physical and that mostly covers it,” football coach Gary Griffith said.

He believes that if the ath-

lete’s family has a history of a heart defect that they should get screened or if there is any gray area.

Troy Beaumont has a new program set up to screen high school students. This program is called Healthy Heart Check. This event travels around from city to city on different Saturdays of the month.

The evaluation includes a complete medical history evaluation, blood pressure check, physical examination and electrocardiogram (ECG).

It checks for a range of problems: an enlarged heart, an irregular heartbeat, a hole in the heart and others.

“These tests are not usually done, but are very important,” said Lindsey Karjewski of Troy Beaumont Hospital.

For more information, call the Ernst Center in Royal Oak at 800-328-8542. The cost is $25.

Orchestra Gala concert impresses

BY MARISSA CECCATO The massive curtains hang over the stage motionless, yet still full of anticipation.

As they begin to part, the elegant orchestra comes into view. The students begin to tune their instruments, the lights illuminate the stage, all is still and all awaits.

Every year the THS orchestra puts on five concerts, but by far the biggest is the Gala Concert. This year’s show included special performances

by Tom Sullivan, Joe Bentley, conductor of the Rochester Community Chorus and baritone and Hye K Yoon, professor and talented soprano, as well as a chorus made up of the Rochester Community Chorus, the Rochester A Cappella Chorus and the Troy High Concert Choir.

The 2013 Gala Concert was announced by Roop Raj, a THS alumni, and showcased performances by the Troy Country Fiddlers, the Freshman Orchestra, the Troy High String Trio, the Concert Orchestra and the Symphony Orchestra. The night concluded with the breathtaking performance of Carmina Burana, which included members of the symphonic band, the various choirs, and both Yoon and Bentley’s voices.

“The best part about the gala was that everybody that played had so much passion,” sophomore Alina Shavikova said. “You can see it when Mr. MacNair was conducting,

BY IN CHAN LEE The four iconic words, “I have a dream,” begin one of the great American speeches and represent the legacy of a great figure in recent history—Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “[Martin Luther King] was more than just a civil rights leader,” said sophomore Ruchica Chandnani, winner of Troy’s MLK Day essay contest. “He was a real person with beliefs beyond just unity.”

Dr. King was the face of the Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s. He was a fighter against all forms of social injustice, from segregation and discrimination in America to the South African Apartheid. He was a true challenger against the status quo, preaching messages of love and acceptance to achieve his goals, for, in his immortal words: “Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

“Back then, a black person

wouldn’t dare look a white person in the eye,” said Richard Gleason, civil rights activist and freedom rider, who spoke at the Celebration of Freedom at Athens Jan. 21.

“If a white person was walking down the street, you get off of the curb. It wasn’t just the water fountains. You don’t even look at them; there could have been a lynching.”

It seems that much has changed since the 1960’s: “Whites only” signs are gone and nobody can be legally denied their rights based on skin color. There’s even Barack Obama, the first African American to take the White House. With such accomplishments, many believe the fight for Civil Rights to be over. The efforts and messages of Martin Luther King are fading into the pages of a textbook, sharing space with other prominent Americans that many care about because they’ll be on next week’s test.

But how far has America

MARISSA CECCATO

and you [could] feel everything from your seat.”

The Gala concert is unlike other concerts simply because of how grand it is.

With every aspect of musical performance on stage, the show was nothing short of perfection.

“The best part was the begging of Shostakovich’s Sinfonia, and the beginning of Carmina Burana, where the wall of sound hit us,” senior Hangil Lee said. “It was really intense.”

Another reason that this year’s show seemed to top year’s past was because of its special guests. This year, Troy High veteran cellist Sullivan performed two solos with both the Freshman and Concert orchestras, and his presence inspired many students.

“It’s really cool to just hear someone have a solo,” Shavikova said. “To accompany them gives you a new

perspective on how to play.”

Both the Freshman and Concert orchestra played three songs, which include one cello and two violin solos for the freshman and a trio of violins and cellos during the Concert orchestra performance.

Another group of students to preform was the string trio of senior Justin Fan on the cello, senior Peter Hao on the piano and Lee on the violin. Their performance was very passionate and the trio was very talented.

The rest of the night’s special guests worked alongside the symphony orchestra, and the show was brought to new heights. “[There was] Carmina burana, with [about] 100 choir members, the full orchestra, and an insane number of percussions. It [was a] a wall of people,” Lee said. “It’s everything that you could ever hope for in a concert, and the

whole orchestra just blows your mind.”

The sound of the strings playing so smoothly, the mysteriousness of the choir singing in Latin, the awesome contrast of the percussion and horns, and the mesmerizing voices of Yoon and Bentley all together in the grand finale event of the show made a very magical moment that captured the night. The 2013 Gala Concert was a show to remember.

“This concert was definitely the best of the years that I have seen it,” Shavikova said.

“When I heard the symphony play my heart stopped.”

actually come?

“You ask me if things are getting better,” Gleason said.

“I don’t really like to answer that question. Yes, things are getting better, but we still have a long, long, long way to go.”

The roots of evil that plagued generations before us still remain in the form of hatred and fear. It doesn’t take much to look around and see that discrimination based on a person’s skin color, group affiliation, or sexual orientation still run rampant—these are all things King would have stood for, the acceptance of all individuals, for them to be judged as an individual rather than a derogatory label.

Many are unaware of the plethora of other ideas King stood for. Towards the end of this life, King was greatly opposed to the U.S. involvement in Vietnam; he would surely have much to say about U.S. involvement in the Middle East today. King also headed a major campaign against urban poverty, which has arguably worsened since his time.

‘Teens for Jeans’ continues

BY AMANDA MCCAFFERTY

The Symphony Orchestra and the choir play during Carmina Burana’s performance.

Page 3

Teens for Jeans, an organization through Dosomething.org, is flooding the country. As the number of homeless people under the age of 18 in the United States continues to rise to a heart stopping 1.7 million, the request for jeans at these shelters is through the roof.

Teens for Jeans provides these homeless teens with your donated jeans.

Students such as senior Adele Jamil, junior Angela Krokos, and junior Sydney Boberitz have already donated their jeans and they feel great.

“I think running Teens for Jeans at Troy High is a great idea,” said Krokos. “Giving our old jeans sitting in our closet to those who actually need them feels good. I think it helps our community to be able to give back to others.”

Junior class Vice President Cori Mittelbrun agreed with Krokos.

“It makes me really proud to go to a school that cares so much about the community,” said Mittelbrun. “See-

ing people donate their old jeans to benefit others really tells you something about their character.”

2.5 million pairs of jeans have been collected and donated through Aeropostale alone. If everyone at Troy High could afford to donate one old pair of jeans just lying around in their closet, it would be over 2,000 pairs of jeans. Those 2,000 pairs of jeans donated could make the difference between warmth and cold to any teenagers’ life.

“Everyone has an extra pair of jeans lying around,” junior Paul Johnston said. “Why not give them to someone who it could make all the difference to?”

Drop your jeans off to Ms. Doptis in the English office before or after school. Or, hand your jeans to junior Amanda McCafferty by Feb. 11. The more pairs of jeans we collect, the more we can better our community. If the donations persist, Troy High is eligible for a grant of $10,000, free Aeropostale hoodies and a party for everyone.

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Features

From Robotics, page 1

SHANNA FRENDT

English teacher Shanna Frendt’s daughter Macy June was born May 28.

English teacher Frendt welcomes new daughter

BY AUJENEE HIRSCH According to the United Nations Population Board, an average of 4 babies are born every second worldwide.

According to the secretaries at THS, an average of eight teachers have a child every year.

In May, English teacher Shanna Frendt had daughter Macy June. She was born on May 28, 2012, weighed 7 pounds, 6 ounces and was 20 inches long.

“It’s really hard to be a parent,” Frendt said. “When she was a newborn it was hard because I would try things to get her to stop crying but they wouldn’t work. Now that I know what she likes it’s easier.”

This past summer, Frendt and her family went on a road trip to Virginia.

“We went on a tour of Virginia Tech which was her first college campus tour,” Frendt said. “We also went to a wedding and my hus-

band had her dancing on the dance floor, even though she was only eight weeks old, and was making her do dance moves. It was really cute though.”

Macy has also gone sledding and watched her dad participate in a race car event, among other interests.

“She loves music,” Frendt said, “Especially this Radiohead lullaby CD someone got her as a gift. While [Macy] was still in my tummy we went to a Black Keys concert and I think she liked it.”

It’s hard being a parent and balancing work while spending time with a child.

“It’s really hard being a teacher and parent. It’s hard to find time to grade my papers,” Frendt said.

Frendt said she and her family are doing great. Her baby is vivacious and she couldn’t be any happier.

“I love being a parent,” Frendt said. “It’s one of my favorite things to do.”

score—grab Frisbees and shoot them into the goal.

[During] the next two minutes [the team] has to score as many Frisbees as [we] can, and that will give [us] points per Frisbee scored.”

To design and build the robot, the team has six weeks to divide their time between the school and at the GM tech center in Warren.

“We have a mentor engineer from GM,” Merian said.

“He comes every day and works with us. He’s an electrical engineer, so [he helps with] any of our electrical problems…We have to build [the robot] from scratch.

We get a kit of parts that comes in a black container and from that kit of parts we have to build a robot.”

It takes around $40,000 to run the First Robotics program each year, so the team holds many fundraisers and is sponsored by GM, Siemens and EnG Design.

The team held a Mean Girls movie night at school on Jan. 25. Picking the movie involved strategy and a little fun.

“My girlfriend told me to present [Mean Girls] as an idea,” Yang said. “Then the team, as an act of rebellion, decided to vote for the idea.”

“What we decided was that there are a lot of guys in Robotics,” Downing said, “and there are eight girls. [W]e picked Mean Girls, so that we could try and make all of the guys go with a date.

We’ve got almost 80 kids in Robotics so if we get all of them to bring a date or just anyone whatsoever, then we will make tons of money.”

Page 4

Wharry prepares future mechanics in Auto Tech class

BY ALEX ROETTENBERGER

It’s late at night, raining, and you have hit a tree. A tow truck comes to haul your car away. But what happens next? Well, unless you carry magic gnomes around in your back pocket, the vehicle is probably taken to an auto-shop, where the highly trained mechanics mend the vehicle. So where do the mechanics come from? Some of them get their start right here at our very own Troy High Automotive Technologies class.

Taught by Ryan Wharry, students begin in Auto 1, where they learn how the internal combustion engine works, the different parts of the car and how to use the different equipment in the shop. During the second semester of the class, the students disassemble a singlepiston four-stroke engine, learning about how each part works with the others to make the engine work. After the easy part is over, the students must put the engine back together correctly and must be able to start the engine.

ALEX ROETTENBERGER

Two Automotive Technologies students, with teacher Ryan Wharry, work in the lab during class. The various levels of the class teach students to repair mechanical problems in cars.

The next year, returning students go back into the shop to repeat the last year’s project on a much bigger scale. They strip and rebuild a 2.5-liter inline four Chrysler engine. In the third year, students once more repeat the project, only bigger. This time around they use a Ford Mustang V8. After the two classes finish their respective projects, they bring in their own cars to work on as well as other teachers and students.

Reasons for taking the class range from just a basic interest, to a desire to be able work on their own car and save themselves a few hundred dollars.

“I took this class because it’s one of the only classes that’s not a [blow-off] elective,” junior Joe Dalian said.

Wharry has been teaching the class for eight years, along with math.

“I got my start with cars

because I took auto mechanics at Troy High,” Wharry said “I sat in this exact same classroom in this exact same school when I was a teenager. “ Wharry’s goal is that students will leave the class with a basic to advanced understanding of the automobile and how to preform basic maintenance on one.

Every so often, Wharry allows one or two of his top students to come back for a fourth year. This past year, two students were allowed to return, but only one of the two came back—senior Zach Johnson.

As a kid, Zach began working on his own dirt bikes. As a freshman, he started his four-year career in the shop class. Now, he can diagnose and fix a problem with a car in about an hour.

“It’s been the most productive year I’ve [had] in the shop,” Johnson said.

The Troy Independent - thetroyindependent.org From Math, page 1 it.

“I might get kicked out of NHS because my GPA dropped because of calculus,” she said, “and that stinks because I already have 55 volunteer hours. I think there needs another system in place for kids who aren’t as strong in math.”

Math teacher Kevin Ortwine, who has taught Calculus AB for ten years, agreed.

He said more students in his classes struggled than ever before.

“I’m frustrated because I think it would be beneficial to have a non AP level calculus class for students that aren’t as strong,” he said. “[With] one less year of math instruction, you may not have a lot of new topics in that extra year but it’s the constant practice that’s lacking. I’ve seen a lot of Algebra and Trig mistakes that didn’t show up in the past.”

Junior Allison Brown, previously an honors math student, switched from Calculus BC, which covers Calculus 1 and part of Calculus 2, into Calculus AB, which covers Calculus 1, second semester.

Brown, an A student, said Calculus BC was the hardest class she had ever taken.

“I felt like I did not have a good enough foundation for many math concepts that you are expected to know before taking the class,” she said. “If I had another year of math before taking Calc, I’m sure I would have had a much easier time in BC. Also, I don’t think AP math classes are for everyone.”

Senior Rebecca Ress felt frustrated and lost in Calculus, but unlike Amalfitano, she was unable to switch out after first semester. By the time she talked to her counselor about it, all College Algebra and math elective classes were filled up, primarily from other students dropping calculus.

“I got a C in Calculus,” she said, “and I’ve never gotten a grade lower than an A- in math before.”

Although she worried about colleges seeing her Calculus grade, she had to remain in the class so she could meet the four years of math required to graduate.

Senior James Hendrickson offered an alternate opinion.

“I feel that the school had good intentions in attempting to accelerate the program,” he said. “However, I do feel that those people who are in the AP math courses should have understood what they were getting into before joining. They made College Algebra for a reason.”

Although it is unclear if further changes will be made, Dziatczak remained optimistic.

“We will continue to monitor and address concerns,” he said. “I think things are going pretty well.”

From Science, page 1

don’t go to the states competition and focus more on learning the basics. The students who do better on the test are put in the competitive team, which is the one

Features

that attends states. A few of the students who qualify for the competitive team are put on the alternative team in order to teach the newbies.

Senior Phillip Yang picked the more hands-on events.

“I’m doing chemistry lab, robot arm, maglev (magnetic levitation cars), and gravity vehicle. To prepare, I build these devices.”

Unlike Yang, some students choose events that involve more straight up studying and less building.

“I’m doing astronomy,” junior Stephen Li said. “You answer questions about the universe, experimental design, where you perform an experiment and write a lab report, and remote sensing, where you study satellite images and hydrology (study of the movement, distribution, and quality of Earth’s water).”

“My partner, Justin Fan, and I chose write-it-do-it. We’re given a specific structure to build, and I have to write out instructions on how to build it, then Justin takes those instructions and builds the structure” senior Alex Wang said.

Not everyone is as interested in academics, and those who aren’t may see all this studying as torture. Studying isn’t normally a solo activity, either, with members regularly getting together for study parties.

Middle school competitions seem to be the gateway, as a lot of students who participate during that time join their freshman year.

“I’ve done it [Science Olympiad] since middle school, and plan to do it all four years of high school” Li said,

“I originally joined because I love science.”

Others join to harness the power of science.

“I joined because I wanted to crush the other opponents with science,” Wang said.

And he’s getting close to accomplishing his goal. On January 26, the team went to their first invitational at DeLa Salle High School, and the competitive team won second place, while the alternative team got tenth. Li, along with the other competitive members, has high hopes given how well they did at the invitational.

“Although we didn’t get first place, we still tried hard, and I’m sure we’ll capture the gold next time.”

From Gleason, page 1

bus, his tie was cut to lessen harm in case he was choked.

The bus passed a “Welcome to Mississippi” billboard, but he knew it wasn’t for him.

The bus drove by another billboard: “Prepare to meet thy God,” but Gleason was just hoping to return home alive.

After his arrival to Mississippi, he was arrested for being white and sitting in the “colored only” section of a waiting room. Gleason was fined $200 because he committed a “breach in peace.” However, this small roadblock did not stop Gleason and other riders from achieving their goal.

Gleason referenced R. Kelly’s song “I Believe I Can Fly.” “If I can see it,” Gleason said. “If I believe that I can do it, there’s nothing to it.”

Page 5 Justice: the freedom riders the Congress to pass the Civil saw it. They believed in it, Rights Bill. Policemen with fire hoses and dogs were and it eventually came.

Half a year after the first inside Washington, and U.S. freedom ride, the signs fi- troops were outside in case nally came down: 318 free- riots broke out. That day, Dr. dom riders—half white and Martin Luther King Jr. gave half black—succeeded. Peo- his “I Have A Dream” speech. ple were no longer divided Dr. King Jr. had a dream that one day chilinto “colored only” “Attitude is every- dren of slaves and “whites thing. Regardless will be able to appreciate each only.”

“Attitude is of what is happen- other. Dreaming ing around you that Mississippi, everything,” Gleason said. in your home and once the city of discrimination, “Regardat your school, will be the haless of what is happen- attitude is every- ven of justice, he spoke to the ing around thing.” audience.

He you in your home and at RICHARD GLEASON had a dream that compasyour school, sion would bring everybody attitude is everything.” together in harmony. That RAP. P for was Dr. King Jr.’s dream for Persistence.

“But after 12 teenage kill- today. ings in one month, what do Persistence. Richard Gleawe do about despair and son and Martin Luther King hopelessness in Detroit, Jr. tolerated contempt in in Chicago,” Gleason said, order to foster a better to“Where are mentors? Where day, where the barriers of are those who will take them discrimination and judgeone by one and say, ‘Look me ment should be nonexistent. in the eye, I see in you some- But when children and even thing you don’t see in your- adults don’t respect one another and view the world self?’”

Gleason took on the job as without hope, what becomes that mentor. He envisioned of their efforts? himself helping others. In “So you asked the question, Chicago, he organized a ‘Are things getting better?’ youth center where children I don’t like to answer that were given individual tutors question, but we have a long, from colleges to better their long, long way to go,“ Gleaeducation. Gleason saw the son said. “It’s the first step potential hidden in the them, [in a mile], but are we going just as the youth leader be- to take the second step?”

Respect. Attitude. Persislieved in him.

On Aug. 28, 1963, 260,000 tence. Do you have a RAP people gathered in Washing- sheet? ton, D.C., to rally and push

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SCORES AND HIGHLIGHTS

Sports

Page 6

RED ALERT

JAKE LOURIM

BOYS’ BASKETBALL

L 75-57

@ West Bloomfield

W 63-59

@ Pontiac

L 76-74

@ Southfield-Lathrup

inc.

Auburn Hills Avondale

Friday

@ Clarkston

Tuesday

@ Southfield

@ North Farmington

Jan. 15

@ Stoney Creek

L 33-28

GIRLS’ BASKETBALL W 41-19

Lake Orion

L 64-35

@ Clarkston

inc.

West Bloomfield

Friday

Pontiac

Thursday

@ North Farmington

BY THE NUMBERS

64 19 24 0.3

Clarkston scoring totals in two first halves against Troy this season (31 on Dec. 14, 33 last Thursday).

Points allowed by the Troy girls’ basketball team last Tuesday against Lake Orion, its lowest of the season.

Offensive rebounds by the Troy varsity basketball team last Tuesday at Pontiac, its highest of the season.

Seconds left when Lathrup’s Jon Williams hit the gamewinning jumper to beat Troy last Friday.

DISTRICT BRACKETS

Girls’ Basketball

Boys’ Basketball

Bye

Bye

Waterford Mott

Waterford Mott

Athens

Waterford Kettering

Troy

Auburn Hills Avondale

Troy

Pontiac

Bye

Bye

Pontiac

Auburn Hills Avondale

Waterford Kettering Athens

Troy junior Nicole Niemiec goes up for a shot against Rochester Hills Stoney Creek. Niemiec and the Troy girls’ basketball team have struggled because of a brutal league schedule, but they say it will prepare them for the tournament.

Troy hits brutal OAA schedule just before districts

BY JAKE LOURIM The Troy girls’ basketball team finally got a win it so badly needed last Tuesday, a 41-19 rout of Lake Orion for its first win since Dec. 4.

There was no time to get into a rhythm, however.

Forty-eight hours later, the Colts had a trip to Clarkston to play the No. 1 team in the county (12-1, 8-0 OAA Red).

There are no days off in the OAA Red. “It’s tough,” head coach Simon Bato said. “We have a perspective on our team.

We’re heading into February.

February is a great month in high school basketball because that’s when you start seeing some upsets. I think if we come out and play hard, then hopefully we’ll be on the opposite ends of a lot of games, in comparison to what we were in the first half of the season.”

With only four games left, it’s officially crunch time for the girls’ basketball team.

Entering the week at 2-13, the Colts still weren’t counting themselves out.

They know how they’ve improved. They know how they’ve fought. Most importantly, they know who they’ve played.

“It’s tough going up against difficult opponents,” senior point guard Jennifer Stencel said, “but in the end we know it’s just going to make us better as a team, for this year and for years to come, just knowing that we’re improving every game.”

Troy has battled five teams receiving votes in the state Associated Press poll, including No. 7 Clarkston twice.

It lost to No. 8 Macomb Dakota to open the season and dropped a 58-19 defeat at No. 9 Southfield Lathrup in December.

Birmingham Marian, which received 13 votes, good for 13th place, beat Troy 75-32.

So what’s the hardest part about this schedule?

“It’s just trying to keep our

morale up when we keep having tough games and tough losses,” Stencel said.

The Colts fell behind Clarkston last Thursday after a 20-2 run that spanned eight minutes. They went into the locker room down 33-11. But they came out, still fighting.

They outscored the Wolves 18-14 in the third quarter and lost the second half by only seven, even though Clarkston had starters in until the final three minutes.

“That’s been something with this group of girls, that they just do,” Bato said.

“They never give in, they work hard, they’re resilient, they’re persistent and they just come out and work hard, game in and game out.”

Two weeks ago, Troy entered Rochester Hills Stoney Creek to play a hot-shooting Cougars team. It shut down their top shooters to just 5-for-20 shooting and nearly pulled off a big upset.

In that game, just like all

the others, they continued to fight back from deficits.

“When we were down by [seven], it wasn’t affecting me,” junior Nicole Niemiec said after the game. “I wasn’t looking at the scoreboard.

That’s not fazing us anymore.”

Finally, the team was rewarded with a 22-point blowout win over Lake Orion last Tuesday. The win was huge, considering it snapped a ten-game losing streak.

“We just keep a positive attitude,” Stencel said. “We’re trying to turn the season around, and we know that we can do it if we keep working hard.”

With the district tournament only two weeks away, Troy has a long way to go.

Despite its effort, the Colts have lost nine of their 15 games by double digits.

They know where to start.

“Our main focus is defense because we know that if we can prevent teams from scoring a lot of points, that’s how we’ll beat them,” Stencel said.

“We’ve got to work hard on the defensive end,” Bato said.

“Poor shooting nights happen, nights when you turn the ball over happen, but the one thing that you can control game in and game out is your defensive effort.

We’ve got to come out with the same defensive effort that we showed at moments tonight and last Tuesday.”

Tonight, Troy hosts Pontiac, trying to avenge a 50-46 loss on Jan. 8 and prepare to play the Phoenix in the first game of the district tournament Feb. 25.

On Feb. 19, Troy plays at Auburn Hills Avondale, a 67-49 winner over Troy on Jan. 17. If Troy beats Pontiac in the first game, it will play Avondale two days later. The district is just down the road at Athens.

Few things can be expected in the district tournament, but here’s one: the Colts will play hard for 32 minutes.

No matter what the scoreboard says.

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GENTLE GIANTS

Sports

Page 7

BY JAKE LOURIM

Miles apart, fierce, friendly family touches THS Before every game—before the Friday night lights come on, before the battles in the trenches and the low post, before the scores start going up—the Wunderlich boys look up.

They look over the football turf or the basketball hardwood, up from the passing skeleton or the layup lines, next to the student section.

They look in the stands.

They find their biggest fan crew.

“Before each game in warm-ups, I try to pick them out,” said Danny, the youngest. “I know where they’re sitting, and I can always hear them. I have a distinct hearing—I can hear my family.”

Sports have always been a fixture in their home. Dave (Troy High Class of 2008), twin siblings Bobby and Sarah (2010) and Danny (now a junior) always have each other’s backs. So before they play, they look up and find their siblings and their parents, Keith and Mary.

Of all the fans who have rooted for Troy in ten years of Wunderlichs, the siblings are the biggest. They take off work to come to the games.

When they can, they come home from college—Albion, Grand Valley State and Michigan State, average distance from Troy, 98 miles—to see games. When they’re here, they cheer louder than anyone else.

“When I hear that, I feel like it’s such a blessing,” Mary said. “It’s so important to have people who love you on your side. That adds so much to the success in your life.”

The Wunderlich house is big enough to have a room for each kid. Dave, Bobby and Danny would have none of that. They slept in the same room every single night, their mother recalled.

“It’s a really close-knit family,” Troy varsity basketball coach Gary Fralick said.

“Great mom and dad, and the siblings are the best. It’s a high-quality, high-value family.”

“Their mom and dad did a great job raising them,” football coach Gary Griffith said.

“If they would have raised my kids, I couldn’t be prouder. They see the big picture, rather than just what relates to them. Those are great attributes to have in kids.”

Athletes need that extra edge. Rarely, however, does it come from a sibling in the stands. These four kids have spent their entire lives together. But they still can hardly stand to spend a single minute apart.

Inseparable

Before every game, football or basketball, home or away, big or small, Danny Wunderlich can expect a phone call.

It comes from his brother Bobby. All the way from Grand Valley, Bobby thinks of his brother before the game even starts.

“Family’s so important,” Mary said. “If you have people who are just rooting for you no matter what, you

have everything in life. It does mean a lot to me, and I know it will extend into their future.”

Such is life with the Wunderlichs. Mary and Keith attend every game with whoever is in town. It’s harder now that they’re all in different places. Still, they man-

One time, Dave and Bobby finally ended up on the same youth soccer team. They went all-out that year, spraypainting their hair to match their jerseys. Their team went undefeated.

One Wunderlich on the other team is hard enough to handle. Two, and the opponents have no THE WUNDERLICH FAMILY chance.

have always been rooting for each other. First, there was Dave, who played wide receiver and safety on the 2007 Troy state semifinalist team and went on to play football at Albion. Then there was Bobby, a captain in football and basketball who went on to play defensive

A house of competition

A four-year age difference didn’t stop Danny from competing with his brothers. Nothing could.

“That’s just how he is,” Bobby said.

“He never gives up on anything.”

Smaller, younger and shorter at that time, Danny adage to come see each other play, even if it means taking off work or making the trip home from college.

“I think it’s really important to show you’re still there for each other even though you’re so many miles apart,” Sarah said. “It was really hard for me when me and Bobby went to Although fiercely competitive, the Wunderlichs have always been each college, because other’s biggest fans, making it to athletic events no matter where they are. we were always together because we were mits he rarely beat his brothtwins. Going from being at back at Grand Valley. Now ers. But when he did, it was every single one of his games there’s Danny, whose young sweet. to being an hour and a half varsity career exploded on Now Danny’s 16, and he the gridiron when he led the away and not being able to wants to win more than ever. make it to more than two team in interceptions last “I’ll take 14 Wunderlichs season. was really hard.” any day of the week on my Recently, that distance got But numbers don’t even beteam,” Smith said. “If you even farther. Dave moved gin to describe their impact surround yourself with peoto Los Angeles last month on a team. ple like that, you’re going to to start his acting career. He “Rarely would you have a be successful.” problem with their attitude knows he has five people The brothers competed in at home who have his back or their want-to,” Griffith everything when they were every step of the way. And said. “They’ll make mistakes, younger. It started with basbut not because they didn’t you can bet there’s one stop ketball and roller hockey in he’ll make when he comes want to be in the right spot, the driveway. Then it became home—Troy High, where didn’t want to make a play.” a battle for the height advan The coaches have seen that he’ll watch Danny play. tage, Keith said. They would Their loyalty goes beyond impact on their teams for also race to get the best car sports. The kids always years. seats, Dave recalled. wanted to be together over “They both raise the level “We’d find something to of everybody on the team,” holiday break. They spent compete about if there was New Year’s Eve together. Fralick said. “It brings out nothing to compete over,” They drove out to Eastside the best in other players.”

Dave said.

Sarah’s been there every Mario’s to visit Dave at his “It would get to the point step of the way. She didn’t bartending job. where one of us would get so “They just wanted to be participate in sports the way angry that we would storm where he was,” Mary said. her brothers did, but she’s into the house and wouldn’t “It’s always been like that, always followed their catalk to each other,” Bobby and it’s always been that reers. said. “It was a competitive “She’s been a really good family comes first.” atmosphere the whole time.” supporter of them as well,” They formed that bond From the outside, it apKeith said. “She’s the No. 1 through sports. pears negative. But it wasn’t “It’s become more than just member of the fan club.” animosity that caused the

When Troy played a coach-player relationship,” intensity among them—they said JV basketball coach Aar- Clarkston on Dec. 21, after were always in good spirits. on Smith, who has coached Ben Horvath hit the game It was sheer desire to win. each of the boys. “I started winning 3-pointer, Bobby “As much as we compete to grow closer to the family. I was the first one down on against each other,” Dave can honestly say that they’re the court celebrating with said, “if anybody else tried his brother. my second family. to mess with either of them,

“I know after every game, “I’ve gained some best I would have their back 100 friends in Danny, Dave and Bobby would go up and percent. The competitivehug his mom,” Smith said.

Bobby.” ness was just between us.

“I think that’s just a natural Fiercely competitive in ev “I always took it as, ‘I can erything, the Wunderlichs bond that family has.” mess with Bobby and Danny,

but no one else can.’”

When one of his brothers is in a battle on the court, Dave finds himself in the same battle.

The brothers agree their competitions made them the strong athletes they became.

Danny’s desire to beat his brothers has translated today into an insatiable hunger to outwork his opponents— because, as the youngest puts it, “I don’t have to see them after the game.”

Brotherly lessons

Be aggressive, Bobby taught Danny. Work hard.

“He’s got the same mentality as when we were in the backyard shooting,” Bobby said. “Nothing’s changed.”

The Troy varsity basketball low post has featured a Wunderlich for five of the past six years. Almost never have Bobby or Danny had a height advantage. They win because they work hard.

Since the basketball games in the driveway, they’ve learned a lesson: they’re not given anything.

“I went as hard as I could at [Danny],” Bobby said. “I made him earn the wins that he got on me.”

Keith worked as an elementary-school principal in Waterford when Bobby was younger. When he could, he would bring Bobby so that Bobby could shoot free throws in the gym.

Eventually, Dave started playing.

“I picked it up pretty quickly,” Dave said, “because I was tired of Bobby beating me at one-on-one.”

For almost their entire lives, the Wunderlichs have had that person to push them, to give them that extra edge.

It’s hard to tell the difference between Danny and Bobby playing basketball.

Sure, they both work hard.

But they also shoot with the same form, box out the same way, pry the ball from an opponent the same way.

“Their work ethic is second to none,” Fralick said. “When they’re on the floor in practice, games, offseason workouts—they have tremendous work values.”

Every athlete needs a motivator. All of the Wunderlich kids had several—and they lived in the same house.

“I think the best thing that’s been passed down from son to son is that anything possible,” Keith said. “If you set a goal, you can achieve it.”

It’s after 7 p.m. on the last Sunday night of the December holiday break. The players have filed out of the building. Fralick turns off the lights in the gym, and the building is still.

Danny sits in a chair in the corner of the gym, talking about his family. He smiles.

But deep down, he can’t wait for the moment when the lights are back on, when the gym is full, when he can look up. He can’t wait for the moment when, through the dull roar of the gym, he can hear his family’s voices above all the rest.

Players call meeting, rejuvenate team

BY JAKE LOURIM The Troy basketball team knew it needed a change.

“We just got sick of losing,” senior captain Zak Noor said.

“We had a team meeting the other day, and everybody just let out what they had to say.”

The players called a team meeting last Sunday night, exactly a month after their last win, Dec. 27 against Dearborn Divine Child.

Through that time, they’d been looking for more energy—something, anything, that could spark them. They found it.

Two days later, they went on the road, played hard, grabbed 24 offensive rebounds and beat Pontiac, 6359.

“It felt like we came back to where we were earlier in the season,” Noor said.

Where they were earlier in the season was 4-1, holding teams to fewer than 60 points in every game and coming off a buzzer-beating win over Clarkston.

Sitting at 5-8, the Colts could use another tone-setter, and just in time. They’re heading to Clarkston tonight.

“We need to go back to how we were at the beginning of the season,” senior captain Joe Leonard said, “it’s just being more together.”

Seniors Noor, Leonard and Ben Horvath and junior Danny Wunderlich talked the most at the meeting, according to the team. Troy also made new team goals for the rest of the season: average 54 points per game and give up 52 or fewer, shoot 70 percent from the foul line and 35 percent from 3-point range and average 12 offensive and 20 defensive rebounds, among others.

“We just needed to get back in our groove,” Leonard said.

“Now that we’re there, we feel like we can turn our season back around. We feel like that this win is going to turn things around for us.”

Some of that momentum was lost Friday night at Southfield-Lathrup.

After forcing Lathrup star Jon Williams into foul trouble and taking a 24-13 lead early on, Troy lost its lead and tied the game inside ten seconds.

Lathrup responded with a heart-stopping, buzzer-beating, step-back jumper in the last second.

Now, the question is, how will Troy respond? The last time it lost after a win, it started a six-game skid.

“I think this time they’ll bounce back fine,” Fralick said.

A major factor in the Lathrup loss was Chris Dorsey’s ankle injury. Dorsey locked down on Williams in the first meeting, a 57-47 Troy win.

Fralick hopes to have Dorsey back tonight at Clarkston.

It’s still undetermined where this team will end up.

But if they finish where they want to, they’ll remember Jan. 27, when the players took charge.

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Opinion

COMMENTARY

Debate class: a unique opportunity With every new semester comes the opportunity to take new classes. Troy High offers many electives in the science, math, arts and English departments.

But the problem is, most students aren’t sure of what they want to take. Here’s some advice: take the English elective Debate.

Debate is the only class at Troy High where arguing is not only encouraged, but mandatory. In my opinion, there couldn’t be a better opportunity.

In debate, we, as teacher Harriet Clark likes to say, discuss. In actuality, we bicker, banter and brawl. Opinions are thrown across the room, thrust into the minds of those who otherwise would not listen. A debater must be knowledgeable and educated. He knows his topics better than I know the contents

of my own closet. whim. Yet, the speeches I did Political ideas are always not plan were probably my a highlight. The election of best. Improvisation is key. course was always up for Clark teaches Debate class, discussion. Republicans ver- most known her from taking sus Democrats, pro-life ver- Personal Communications sus pro-choice and whether or Speech classes, is the best or not Troy High teacher for the class. should have She challenges us to junk food in think deeper, questhe vending tion more harshly machines were and even speak just a fraction against what we truof the topics ly believe. The best debated upon part about her? this past se- ERIN WRUBEL She joins in on the mester.

Even arguments and sexting was the shows us her fiery subject of a debate. I’m seri- side as well. And let me tell ous. Sexting. you, she is one person with Debate allows for prac- whom I do not want to argue tice on thinking quickly. extensively.

For Debate, a student does I gave a speech on why not need an entire speech Texas has the right to secede written down. Generally, I from the United States. I did researched the facts, found not believe one word that statistics to support my ar- came out of my mouth that gument and then spoke on a day, but I received a prom-

ising “good job” and a smile from Mrs. Clark.

Yes, in debate you are encouraged to lie. We call it “Debateland” where anything can be true. In “Debateland” everything is possible and no opinion is wrong as long as there is support for it.

The best part about the class, however, is the dynamic of my peers. I love the fact that everyone has something to say, something they believe is worth fighting for. We are in an essence, a dysfunctional family who screams at each other one moment but is hugging the next.

This isn’t a class for the soft spoken. It is a class for the loud mouths, the very political and the kids who are passionate about what they believe in. That loud, chaotic group of voices you hear from room 201 during fifth hour? That’s debate.

‘Life of Pi’ does not disappoint

BY BRENDAN BATTLE I’ve never been a big fan of 3-D movies. The glasses often make the screen seem dimmer and I sometimes get headaches from the threedimension effects.

But some movies like “Life of Pi” stand out, with the 3-D not hindering and even enhancing the experience. The storyline of the movie moves

slowly at first but has many with Pi Patel, a boy who lives memorable moments in its in a zoo in Pondicherry, Ininteresting twist on a lost- dia, with a menagerie of at-sea story. The computer- animals including a zebra, a generated baboon, a hyena animal cast is Life of Pi and a tiger named so lifelike it is Now playing Richard Parker. impossible to However, Pi’s life tell from the is turned upsidereal thing, and down when his the 3-D makes the vast sea father says the zoo must be setting more majestic. sold, and the family takes The interesting story starts a ship to start a new life in

PETER’S PALETTE by Peter Mansky

America.

But after a devastating storm, Pi is lost at sea in a boat full of animals, including a frightening tiger. Pi must learn to get along with the vicious animal, and the two of them eventually develop a bond. There were several exciting and emotional points in the movie, but I won’t spoil them here.

The movie has excellent

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THETROY

INDEPENDENT The official student newspaper of Troy High School www.thetroyindependent.org troynewspaper@gmail.com Carolyn Gearig, editor-in-chief Jake Lourim, editor-in-chief Peter Mansky, cartoonist Sarah Regan, advertising manager Erin Wrubel, advertising manager Anna Larson, social director Amanda McCafferty, social director Marcey Shehata, social director Brendan Battle, staff writer Liza Burakova, staff writer Marissa Ceccato, staff writer Annie Chen, staff writer Sarah Chmielewski, staff writer Kellie Halushka, staff writer Sonalee Joshi, guest writer AuJenee Hirsch, staff writer In Chan Lee, staff writer Yifeng Li, staff writer Katherine Maher, staff writer Annie Pappageorge, staff writer Alex Roettenberger, staff writer Tommy Rowbal, staff writer Katie Schlafhauser, staff writer Erin Tepatti, staff writer Jennifer Doptis, adviser

The Troy Independent is the official student newspaper of Troy High School, produced by students in the third hour Writing for Publication: Newspaper class. The Troy Independent is an open forum and thus encourages members of the school community to submit letters to the editor and guest columns. Interested in joining our staff? Sign up when you complete your 2013-2014 scheduling cards. use of CGI, beautiful visuals and a great story, but it starts out slow. The first hour of the movie is almost entirely devoted to exposition, but it

picks up after this. This movie is worth checking out if you have some patience and are willing to give the 3-D a chance.