Uncaged V26 E5

We are the change

Parking passes, chromebook restrictions, attendance policies and locked bathrooms have disrupted the school environment. Drawing attention to these problems is the only way to find a solution.

Problems have to be recognized in order for a change to be made. As students, it is our job to speak up about all the things we think are problems in order to bring change to the school and make it better for ourselves and those who will come after us.

Staff Reporter Macy Cipta

Staff Reporter Jolie Smith

Staff Reporter Grace Burg

Staff Reporter Gracee Robidou

Staff Reporter Emily Jones

Staff Reporter Jamie Phillips

Staff Reporter Nicole Wadkins

Staff Reporter Michael Armstrong

Staff Reporter Joey Ballagh

Staff Reporter Drew Robinson

Staff Reporter Taiyler Stanfield

Uncaged is the student-run newspaper for the students of Stockbridge High School. An open forum for student expression, Uncaged provides independent reporting and opinion. Something to say? Letters to the editor must include the writer’s full name, cell phone number, and be 150 words or less in length. Response to ideas presented through the newspaper and web are encouraged. Letters are subject to editing and may not be anonymous or to third parties. Leave letters in Alexandra Doering’s room #207 in the CTE hallway or email us at uncaged@panthernet.net.

Uncaged receives individual critique through state and national competition through various state and national organizations. Staff awards may be viewed at uncagednews.com in the About section.

PHOTO LILLY WILLIAMS

PHOTO ALYSSA VANHOOK

PHOTO MACY CIPTA

PHOTO JAMIE PHILLIPS

PHOTO ALYSSA VANHOOK

Jazz band attends festival

The Jazz Band went to Mason High School recently for the annual Jazz Festival. They performed four songs for a crowd of other bands and professional musicians.

“We go there to have fun, to experience other people’s music, and to show off what we have been learning,” sophomore Zavien Torrey said.

They also got to listen to bands from surrounding schools, including the Michigan State University jazz octet, which proved to be a fun and educational experience for the students.

“It taught me different things about the instruments that I play,” sophomore Grace Lackey said. “It taught us about playing as a group.”

Though they weren’t playing for a

rating, the jazz band members practiced hard and gave a performance that they were proud of.

“I think we did pretty well, all in all,” junior William Marshall said. “There were a few mistakes, but everything went pretty solid.”

Even students that had attended the festival before took great enjoyment in it and hope to go back.

“The Jazz Festival is probably one of my favorite things that we do in jazz band,” Lackey said. “Listening to the other bands with a similar skill level to us was really cool.”

The band will also be attending the state Jazz Band Festival on March 23rd of this year.

Winter storm causes power outages

On February 22, 2023, an ice storm descended upon the village of Stockbridge. Taking the electricity from homes all over Michigan, over 700,000 people were left in the dark. Many schools were closed and many businesses were either closed or unable to function. Ice storms are relatively uncommon in Michigan, which happen every few years instead of every year like the snowstorms. The roads were dangerous and power lines were wrecked, seen fallen in the streets. “My family lost power and just got it back on today,” Senior Krista Culver said. “While we were more on the lucky side for

having a generator, we spent the first two days in the cold, because we needed a part to connect our furnace, and we still weren’t able to get our electricity on.”

Culver’s situation was one of the many cases in Michigan where families lost power to their house. Luckily, Culver was able to see the light in the situation.

“Going through situations like these helps you find out how great some people are,” Culver said. “I had a lot of people ask my family if we needed anything, offered a place to stay, etc. It makes you have faith in society more, and it made me realize who was truly there for my family and I.”

Senior makes it to state bowling championship

Senior Mason Keene is the only student on the high school bowling team who has made it to the state championship.

“It was super, super nerve wracking waiting to know if I made it or not,” Keene said. He found his passion for bowling about a year ago after one of his good friends invited him to go bowling for fun.

“About a year and three months

ago one of my friends was like, ‘Hey, we should go bowling,’” Keene said. “From there I just got hooked.”

After that, he became a part of the bowling team where he has continued to improve his skills. Keene was confident in his performance during the regional bowling competition and is feeling confident about how he will perform during states.

Agriculture class sells eggs

The agriculture class is selling Isa Brown eggs to any staff who wants some. They are being sold for three dollars a dozen for the remainder of the school year. The money from the eggs will go towards the feed for the chickens.

“Eventually we’ll most likely sell outside of school once we meet the demands within the school,” Agriculture teacher Robert Richards said.

“I was really excited to learn that I made it,” he said. “I’m feeling pretty good about going to states.”

Although it is nerve wracking, with all his practice Keene is able to handle the stress well. “Just focusing on breathing is something that really helps me a lot,” Keene said.

Keeping the chickens alive and caring for them is everyone’s responsibility who is in the agriculture class. Groups of three to four students are responsible for checking on the chickens each day.

“In the beginning we were feeding chickens a feed that didn’t have enough protein in it so they weren’t laying eggs,” senior Jacob Collins said. “Once we figured out this issue, we started giving

them oyster shells which is a great source of protein but it also helps strengthen the shells and we also changed their feed so they were getting the protein they needed to lay the eggs. Everyday we check the coop, feed and water the chickens, and collect their eggs. Then we wash and refrigerate the eggs to get them ready to sell.”

EMILY JONES. Reporter

ELIZABETH VLIET. Business Manager

Senior Mason Keene bowling with his team.

PHOTO GRACE BURG

The agriculture class’ chickens standing proudly behind their eggs.

PHOTO LILLY WILLIAMS

A power line that snapped during the storm. PHOTO NICOLE WADKINS

The jazz band’s performance during the festival. PHOTO GRACE LACKEY

The outdoors during the storm.

PHOTO NICOLE WADKINS

LILLY WILLIAMS. Editor-in-Chief

LILLY WILLIAMS. Editor-in-Chief ARIANNA PLACE. Freelance Writer

1

“It was pretty strange, they called me instead of Micah, Micah should’ve won. Micah is prettier than me.“

“I thought it was pretty cool that my grade voted for me. It’s really chill.“

3

4

When asked for his thoughts on winning coming home king, Acosta started singing the whopper song.

“I was shocked, because I didn’t think i would win. I’ve never really had anything that big happen to me.“

Stockbridge Week

Coming Home

PRIDE

PHOTOS JAMIE PHILLIPS

Senior king Hayden Keiser and escort Hannah Marshall

Senior Devin Moser and escort Sofia Morales

Senior Micah Bolton and escort Grace Neic

Senior Noah Lewis and escort Adrianna Adkins

Senior Michael Armstrong and escort Krista Culver

Senior Ebin Gustafson and escort Lirin Bolcavage

Junior king Kegan Collins and escort Ava Marshall

Sophmore king David Acosta and escort Averie Rosedale

Freshman king Kameryn Gross and escort Taylor Steele

PHOTOS JAMIE PHILLIPS

Students participating in the pep assembly.

Seniors David Kluesner, Thalia Sayer and Jake Sawicki playing musical chairs.

Senior Josie Beautler doing the splits.

Students taking pictures in front of coming home decorations.

Students dressed up and showing off their panther pride.

Seniors Adrianna Adkins and Grace Neice emceeing the assemmbly.

Wlson talent center

is it right for you?

The Wilson Talent Center also known as the “Career Center” is an opportunity for juniors and seniors. The talent center allows for students to take a class that is more career oriented and provides more opportunities and experience in work fields that students are interested in. Many different students from different schools attend this school which allows students to meet new people and learn how to work in a more professional environment.

“I feel that Wilson is a great opportunity to engage students in a more mature workplace standard,” junior Samantha Nothnagel said. “It prepares students for life outside of high school.”

The Talent Center includes over 22 different opportunities for students to advance their skills. The Health Foundations class provides you with a CPR and First Aid certification, the Automotive Technology class leads you to become ASE certified, the Welding

class allows you to become a certified Welder in the state and there are also classes coming in the next school year like Teaching Careers that will widen the options even more. The list goes on and on with a variety of opportunities.

Stockbridge students visit the talent center in eighth and 10th grade along with an informative presentation to teach them what it is all about. These events have shined bright lights on Wilson which may have been misleading to some.

“I was hoping Wilson would be an escape from Stockbridge but it was just as bad,” senior Kathryn Brumm said. “My teacher ruined the experience for me.”

Wilson also takes up half of the normal school day so you would only attend three Stockbridge classes a day. This could possibly prevent you from getting the amount of credits needed your junior year.

“I decided not to attend Wilson when I learned that I wouldn’t be able to receive all of my junior year credits for graduating,” junior Macy Cipta said.

pass program

Stockbridge’s alternative school

Stockbridge schools have an option for students called the Panther Alternative for Student Success otherwise known as “PASS.” PASS was designed for students that are behind academically or behaviorally in the standard school system. Students that are selected for PASS are still able to attend school activities including dances, sports and pep assemblies. There are two teachers along with a part-time counselor that are able to accommodate the students’ needs. PASS attendees also have Wednesdays off of school for work-based learning and credit recovery. There are 16 students that attend the PASS program and these students are split into the credits that are needed for graduation like English, algebra, history and physics.

“I love the PASS program,” junior Chase Allison said. “It is 100% better than the

high school.”

Although PASS is for Stockbridge students, the building is located in the old Howlett Elementary School building in Gregory. This building also holds the Unadilla Township Offices and the Unadilla Police station. This placement of the students has caused speculation considering some of the students are in the program for “behavioral reasons.”

“I think it’s a bit ironic that these students are placed next to a police station since some of these students are in the PASS program for their behavior,” junior Nick Pilch said.

The placement of PASS was chosen because of the limited space in the high school.

“This location was chosen because it met the needs of the program, and gave us access to additional resources, such as the kitchen and gym,” teacher Meghan Kunzelman said.

“It is our goal to support and educate our students to become active participants in their education, making progress towards graduation, while earning the skills necessary to redirect their lives and make choices that will help them become employable, cooperative, self-sufficient and responsible citizens,” Kunzelman said.

Students discussing their recent assignment in Health Foundations.

PHOTOS GRACE BURG

Outside of the PASS program building.

PHOTOS MEGHAN KUNZELMAN

GRACE BURG. Reporter

GRACE BURG. Reporter

Spring break destinations

Where does everyone go for spring break?

It is almost that time of year again when students across the country travel down South for spring break. Spring in Michigan is usually still pretty cold, and sometimes, it snows. Those who are sick of the weather might travel somewhere warm and tropical, but where do the majority of people in our country go?

Spring break season in America usually begins in early February and ends in mid-to-late April. The South and a few countries in Central America see the most visitors during this time of year. According to USA Today, Florida saw over 500,000 students during spring break last year and the number is only supposed to increase this year. Most people go to Florida for spring break because it offers an escape from the cold northern winters and brings warm weather and sunshine. It also has a fun beach party scene, and there’s always something to do.

Senior Micah Bolton has gone to Florida about five or six times for spring break and absolutely loves it.

“Florida is beautiful, it’s tropical, and I just love it,” Bolton said. “The vibe that I get from it is just awesome.”

Bolton goes for the beaches and believes that everyone should go to Florida at least once in their lives just to get the experience. He has also gone to South Carolina and Tennessee for spring break, and is going to Puerto Rico this year.

Eighth grader Bralynn Phillipp has also gone to Tennessee for spring break.

“I usually go somewhere for spring break, last year I went to Tennessee,” Phillipp said. “But I am not going anywhere this year.”

Though Tennessee isn’t always as warm as Florida during spring, it still offers tons of exciting activities to do, but people don’t always go down South for just the warm weather, some go for fun things to do, like theme parks.

“Most of the time I go to Disney World, Seaworld or Discovery Cove,” senior Bailey Bartrum said. “My favorite memory would be swimming with the dolphins at Discovery Cove.”

Bartrum has gone to Florida five times and usually goes to Florida for the theme parks, however, she likes visiting the beach a little more.

“I don’t care for the inland as much,” Bartrum said.

“The beaches and ocean are more worth it.” Spring break gives a temporary change of the everyday norms people have. That change could be a new location 1,000 miles away, or it could just be spending a little more time outside. Not everyone goes somewhere for spring break, some cannot afford it and others just simply don’t want to. Some don’t think you need to go out to have a fun spring break, but instead just want to enjoy the time away from school.

Senior Ebin Gustafson has gone on vacation before for spring break, but usually stays at home to enjoy his time away from school.

“I usually watch movies, play pool in my basement and hangout with my girlfriend,” Gustafson said. “It’s kind of bittersweet because I don’t get to relax at home much, so I just get to relax and enjoy time off from being stressed at school.”

Freshman Braxton Blackledge does not need to travel far to have a memorable break either.

“I usually go to my dad’s house because I don’t get to see him much,” Blackledge said. “Sometimes we go up north to go sledding if it is still snowy out or we will go ice fishing.”

This week off school also gives people the opportunity to continue doing their hobbies.

For example, history teacher Carter Mauter likes to start one of his favorite hobbies during break.

“I usually stay home during spring break to start my gardening stuff,” Mauter said. “We usually try to do like a day or two trip, but not a week long one.” Unfortunately, jobs and businesses do not have a spring break so many students still have to work during their time off from school, but some don’t mind.

“I don’t usually go anywhere for spring break,” junior Marcus Hill said. “I usually just help out on the family farm during spring break.”

Even though working at a job is tiring, spring break still takes a lot of weight off student’s backs caused by quizzes, assignments and deadlines. Whether you prefer Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee or just your house, spring break poses a great chance to mentally decompress and the perfect opportunity to get out and enjoy the sunshine.

JOLIE SMITH. Reporter

Do students go on spring break vacation?

AP classes

AP classes

are they worth it? are they worth it?

Trying to decide which type of class is best for you can sometimes be challenging. With so many to choose from, students can get confused with what kind of classes they should take.

Advanced placement classes popular because of the opportunity to gain college credit, but taking an AP class can be incredibly challenging, but there are also immense benefits that come with it. AP classes in high school can help students stand out to colleges and get a jumpstart on their careers if they earn credit for the classes that they take. This is a very promising aspect of taking an AP class, but in order to gain credit and save time and money, students must pass the AP exam first. The exams are graded on a scale from one to five and students must score at least a three to earn college credit for the course. Statistically, students struggle on these exams. According to the College Board, only 22.5% of public school students passed the exams with a score of three or higher. At the high school, the passing percentage is higher than average at about 50%. These odds may seem great to some students, but the $97 cost of the exam itself may make students turn away from taking the class because of the risk of not passing and missing out on earning college credit.

“I think we should get the college credit for doing well in the class,” junior David Villegas said. “It seems like what’s more important is passing the exam rather than learning the material.”

This opinion seems to be common amongst students who feel that studying for the exam takes away from actually learning the material in the classes.

“I think it’s more important to learn the skills than scrambling to learn the topics,” senior Emily VanPelt said.

Another one of the main complaints among students about AP classes is the grading scale. Our school does not have a weighted grade scale, which means that the grades do not take the difficulty of the class into consideration when determining grades.

Some classes do have a weighted grade scale, which makes it easier to get better grades than a regular class. This system still does not account for the fact that AP classes are harder than regular classes.

“There are kids here who have taken gym all throughout high school and get A’s who have a better GPA than the people who take more challenging courses like AP classes,” senior Bailey

Bartrum said.

Grades are an important factor for getting into college, so this is a serious issue for those who take AP classes. The learning material is much harder as a college-level course, and students may have lower grades than they usually earn.

“I would have over a 4.0 GPA if the AP classes were weighted,” VanPelt said. “I would be

salutatorian and would have been offered better scholarship opportunities.”

Although there are many difficult and demanding sides to an AP class, there are also many benefits. Gaining college credit in high school provides a good foundation for a student’s college career and provides lots of life skills that can help them later on.

“You learn about your own learning style,” AP Calculus Lisa Avis said. “You are doing college level material, but in a supported way, so you get time to figure out what in terms of a student. It provides this opportunity where you’re seeing the teacher every single day, you’re working in small teams, you’re trying to figure out how you learn best.”

The cost of the exam is also significantly cheaper than any class you can take at a college.

According to educationaldata.org, the average cost of a class at a local community college is $423 in 2023. This price only gets higher when factoring

in room and board, the kind of college students can attend and whether the student chooses to stay in state. The school also offers reduced prices for exams as low as $5 for students from low income families, which can factor in the decision on whether or not to take an AP class.

Succeeding in AP classes requires discipline which is necessary for the rigorous day-to-day schedules students receive to work towards passing the exams. It also gives an insight into what kind of coursework they will have when working towards a degree while still being in a familiar classroom environment.

“There are more opportunities geared towards the experience of taking an AP class,” principal Jeff Trapp said. “There’s a huge benefit to going through a college level curriculum in a high school setting. It’s preparing students for that next step.”

Though they might seem appealing to some students, AP classes are hard work. Advanced placement classes are more difficult than normal classes; it is college work for a reason. Students who are looking to gain college credit through these classes should have the expectation that they will be challenged more than usual, but will gain the experience and skills to thrive after high school.

ALYSSA VANHOOK. Creative Editor

If you have been on social media within the last year, I do not doubt that you have heard of the phenomenon by the name of Andrew Tate. The influencer, who originally rose to fame as a kickboxing world champion, has made a platform meant to ‘uplift men’ by bringing down women. He speaks about hitting and choking women, and blames rape victims, saying they must ‘bear responsibility’ for the attacks against them. Andrew Tate, and other influencers like him, institute the ideas of misogyny into the minds of young, impressionable men.

Tate’s primary audience is teenage boys. According to GoodRx, the human brain is not finished developing until around age 25. Tate’s toxic and misogynistic views affect how these teenage boys see the world, particularly how they perceive and treat women. To these boys, Tate seems like an example of what a man ‘should’ look and act like, living in a mansion, driving shiny cars and ‘getting women’.

In December 2022, Tate and his brother were arrested on charges of human trafficking, organized crimes and rape in Romania. Many of his fans turned to the internet with either support for Tate, or denial that he was rightfully arrested. These young men that look up to Tate believe that he can do no wrong, and that is extremely dangerous. If their idol is committing heinous crimes against women, like rape and violence, it is encouraging these fans to do the same as they believe there is nothing wrong with what they are doing.

We need to realize that this is not an issue that is just on social media. Tate’s ideas and influence over these children are affecting people’s everyday lives. The majority of Tate’s fans are still learning and growing. Having such a terrible influence only worsens the development of these kids, and puts them in a place where they could ruin their own lives or others.

It is terrifying to see influencers like Tate rise to fame. As a society, we need to question who we are promoting and why we are enabling them.

A crumbling foundation

The United States has some of the loosest gun laws in the world, so it’s no surprise that we carry the highest number of mass shootings in the world as well. This year, there have been more mass shootings in the nation than calendar days so far- 93 to be exact, as stated by the GVA, or Gun Violence Archive.

According to the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, between 1998 and 2019, the U.S. had 101 mass shootings that resulted in four or more fatalities (those under four fatalities aren’t included in the study.) The only country that has come remotely close to having such extreme numbers of mass shootings as the United States is Russia, which only had 21 incidents between the same years of 1998 and 2019 and the same rule of undergoing four or more fatality rates.

Our school itself has had multiple gun and bomb threats against teachers and students, some of those resulting in us having to go outside onto the football field or the Stockbridge Area Emergency Services Authority having to come to us and pick us up via bus.

It’s scary just having a major gun or bomb threat, so just imagine an actual shooting happening to another school around you.

Seven Michigan high schools including Okemos, Jonesville, Portage, Saginaw, Jackson, Ann Arbor, and Muskegon, recently received false shooting calls, which the Detroit News disclosed. These schools are fairly close to us, Jackson only being 21 miles away.

Only a short distance further, on February 13th, Michigan State University was faced with the aftermath of a mass shooting on two of its campuses, one of them being MSU Union, a popular place

critically injured, as hundreds of students fled and hid in fear for their lives.

Unfortunately, Michigan isn’t the only one that faces both fake and real shooting threats; it’s happening all over the country.

For example, California is one of eight states that have banned assault weapons, yet they’ve had nine mass shootings within the months of January and February, resulting in 33 lives taken including 33 additional injuries. In Florida, eight mass shootings occurred just in January, where 44 citizens were injured and eight were killed. In Texas, there have been nine mass shootings, resulting in 27 injuries and 10 casualties. Mass shootings are happening all around us, and the majority aren’t even talked about or discussed on the news because it happens so frequently. With that in mind, it’s imperative that there needs to be reform.

55 years ago, we recognized that guns were a problem and passed the Gun Control act of 1968 whose primary purpose is to prevent these types of incidents. If this is the case, then why are guns still being taken advantage of if laws such as this one are in place?

However, the question shouldn’t be why, but how.

How. Such a simple word yet so complex. How is a gun more important than somebody’s life? How can we scream that the second amendment gives us the right to bear arms when those arms can shoot up to 600 rounds per minute? How, after all the violence and shootings the nation has been through such Sandy Hook, Connecticut; Ulvade, Texas; Oxford High School, Virginia Tech; the Harvest Music Festival, Las Vegas and the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, can the U.S. government still be able to support something so ill-omened, such as a gun, more than a human being’s life?

OLYVIA HOARD. Editor-in-Chief

How the United States government allowed gun violence to become a national crisis EDITORIAL. Staff

Between 2014 and 2022, The number of mass shootings has increased by almost 300%

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Prescriptions

CrossWord of 2022-23 school year

Can you solve this crossword puzzle about the many new and different things this school year?

Unscramble This Year

Can you unscramble this chaotic year?

2. We have more “NO _______” days this year

4. Most of the time the ____ bathroom is locked 6. We merged with the _______ School 8. With six blocks we have more ____________ 9. School starts at ________ thirty-five 10. Our Principle is Mr. _________ Down 1. Our assistant principle is mr. _______ 3. You can get detention for not having your ________ charged 5. We have ____ blocks

Half-days are on ______

Coloring page

From a young age, our creativity and individuality is squashed from us, under the guise of the “adult world.”

7. 8.

5.