The Bystander Effect

The Bystander Effect

WHAT: The psychological phenomenon that sweeps through our halls. WHO: It affects everyone around us. HOW: Learn the skills to combat being a bystander. Will you help make the school a more connected space?

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8.

UNCAGED Stockbridge High School|Stockbridge, Michigan Volume 21 Edition 2 December 21, 2017

Contents 4 5 6 7 8-9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Feature Anonymous opinions from our peers

Feature No decisions about us, without us

Feature Generosity spikes at holidays, needed all year

Feature Tales of a nomad

Cover Story

Follow the leader

Opinion Sexual harassment is your issue, too

Opinion Run, hide, fight

ASSERT

Sports Cheerleaders face the possible fear of imperfection

Sports

Senior begins new sport while coach builds new program

Advertisements Entertainment ‘The Color Purple’ leaves audience tickled pink

Entertainment Jaden Smith’s new album shows promise but no masterpiece

Unlike a Lego, we have no one controlling our actions. We choose when and how we wish to assert ourselves. In our school spaces, a lot of people assert their opinions. However, some choose to stay quiet and keep to themselves. In this edition, we aim to empower the voiceless to assert themselves upon the controversies and issues of every day life. Through articles about anonymity, generosity, sexual harassment and the bystander effect, we hope to instill some ferocity in our readers to assert your own opinions and positive actions.

FIND US ONLINE AT: Web: uncagednews.com Twitter: @uncagedshs Facebook: Uncaged Online Instagram: @uncagedstudentnews Snapchat: uncagednews #UareUncaged

Contact us:

FRONT PAGE PHOTO SHOOT

Thank you to our front page models, freshman Amelia Pulley, junior Jade Harbert and Eleanor Diffenbaugh.

Photography in the CTE hallway by Zabrina Yannella. Page 2 still photo of Lego toys by Kali

Stockbridge High School 416 N. Clinton Stockbridge, Michigan 49285 Phone: (517) 851-7770 x6207 Email: uncaged@panthernet.net

Uncaged is the student-run newspaper for the students of Stockbridge High School. It is an open forum for student expression to providing independent reporting opportunities and individual critique through state and national competition. Staff awards may be viewed at uncagednews.com. Something to say? Letters to the editor must include the writer’s full name, telephone number, and be 150 words or less in length. Satire, columns, and interesting features in reactions to other printed material are encouraged. Letters are subject to editing and may not be anonymous or to third parties. Leave letters in Elizabeth Cyr’s room #207 in the freshman hallway or email us at uncaged@panthernet.net.

Uncaged Team Anna Baird Editor-in-Chief, Kali Roskowski Editor-in-Chief, Zabrina Yannella Editor-in-Chief, Logan Connolly Sports Editor, Abbey Salyer Copy Editor, Lauren Morris Web Editor, Madie Gee-Montgomery Senior Reporter, Hannah Beauchamp Staff Reporter, Patrick Cox Staff Reporter, Matthew Hill Staff Reporter, Maria Risner Staff Reporter, Gavin Salyer Business Manager, Kimberly Higgins Social Media Editor, Elizabeth Cyr Adviser

2 Content

Basketball teams kickoff seasons with some losses Madie Gee-Montgomery Senior Reporter As winter rolls around, the girls and boys basketball teams start to play their first few games of the season. Losing a few key players from each team due to senior’s graduating, the teams are having to adjust to their new line-ups for the year, figuring out which will make the teams the most successful this season.

Returning players for the varsity girls team are seniors and point guard Madi Howard, power guard Faith Whitt and shooting guard Mackenzie Williams. Also, sophomore Emily Breslin is a returning center in her second year on varsity.

Having a young team and being a senior, captain Faith Whitt thinks that the team needs to bond more due to the abundance of

underclassmen players on the team.

“Our record is 2-1,” Whitt said.

“Once we get to know each other better, I think we will play better, but right now, we are a young team. Half of the team is underclassmen, so we just need to get to know each other.”

For the boys varsity team, the returning seniors are center Kyle Lilley, shooting guard Miguel Medina and guard/forward Hunter Winnie. Also, point guard and sophomore Chris Hall is returning for his second year on varsity.

“We have played Bath, South Lyon East and Eaton Rapids,” senior captain Kyle Lilley said. “I’m our only captain this year and I broke my hand in the South Lyon East game. I’m hoping to come back a little after Christmas Break, after I get my cast off.”

At the boys varsity game against Bath, senior Kyle Lilley lines up to shoot 3-point. The Panthers lost the first game of the season 54-31. “We only scored eight points in the first half,” Lilley said. “Together, we just had a hard time making our shots until it was too late in the game.” PHOTO MADIE GEE-MONTGOMERY

Highway to be renamed in memory of fallen officer Lauren Morris Web Editor At the young age of 25, Deputy Grant Whitaker died in the line of duty during a high speed pursuit on December 7, 2014.

Whitaker, an alum, was a wellknown and beloved member of our school community.

The dedication came to be when state senator Curtis Hertel Jr. introduced Senate Bill 509 that would make a portion of highway M-52 named “Deputy Grant

Whitaker Memorial Highway.”

The naming gives comfort and pride to Whitaker’s family.

“I feel that by naming the highway after Grant shows a tremendous amount of respect for the sacrifice he made for this community,” 7th grade language arts teacher and sister-in-law of Deputy Whitaker, Laura Whitaker, said.

“Grant made an impact on the people here; as a student-athlete who graduated from our schools, to a Stockbridge police officer, and

then as an Ingham County deputy.”

The renaming of the highway serves as a reminder for people to remember Deputy Whitaker.

“He will be thought of and remembered daily. It’s a way we can honor him even though he is no longer here with us,” Whitaker said.

On December 5, Governor Rick Snyder signed the bill. “It was a bittersweet moment for us as December 5 was also the last night we saw Grant,” Whitaker said. “Just a special time all around.”

Resource Officer recruited Matthew Hill Staff Reporter

Talking with Loagan Risner, Devin Caroen and Tony Erisman at lunch, resource officer Brad Hagman engages with students during their lunches. Hagman hopes to take on a mentor role to the students and be someone they can talk to about a variety of issues.

PHOTO ZABRINA YANNELLA

The entire Whitaker family watched as Governor Rick Snyder signed the actual bill to rename a part of M-52 just outside of the village of Stockbridge after fallen officer, Deputy Grant Whitaker. PHOTO GOVERNOR SNYDER’S OFFICE

The junior/senior High School has received a School Resource Officer.

According to principal Jeffrey Trapp, the Resource Officer was hired for the purpose of furthering a schoolwide initiative to maintain the safest learning environment possible.

Officer Brad Hagman started on December 7.

“The resource officer will be able to handle situations that our regular staff cannot,” Trapp said.

“He will be able to work at lunches and other large gatherings of students” like sporting events.

Kael Youngblood, a junior enrolled in the Wilson Talent Center’s law enforcement program, thinks the addition of the Resource Officer benefits the school.

“With all the fights that have been happening lately, the officer might be a good thing to have,” Youngblood said.

This addition is just the latest increase in school security that came with the bond.

“Security is our first priority,” Trapp said. “At this point, the officer will have their office located near the new gym.”

News Brief 3

ANONYMOUS OPINIONS FROM OUR PEERS

SNAPCHAT LINK SARAHAH.COM CAN LEAD TO COMPLIMENTS OR HARSH CYBERBULLYING Kimberly Higgins Social Media Editor

“I HATE YOU”

“YOU ARE STUPID”

“TBH, NO ONE CARES ABOUT YOU”

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION KALI ROSKOWSKI

4

Feature

“I hate you.”

“You are stupid.”

“TBH, no one cares about you.”

These are all harmful comments that can be anonymously left in the DMs of unsuspecting victims.

Sarahah.com, the new social media website allows for bullying, anonymous insults, and if you are lucky, you may even get some compliments.

Launched June 13, 2017, this fad has spread like wildfire across the world, having over 250 million accounts existing today.

The word “Sarahah” means honesty in Arabic, with the original intentions of just that. Creator, ZainAlabdin Tawfiq’s original intention of the app was to allow employees to give their bosses feedback without fear of losing their jobs.

The app has since led to a string of cyberbullying such as harassment and death threats.

“I don’t think it’s good, honestly, because you can say whatever to a person, and I think that is a huge source of bullying and hiding behind a screen,” sophomore Oriana Hackworth said.

With no way to see who sends or responds to the messages off of the app, people are not afraid to speak their minds.

Although some people think Sarahah is only meant for evil, some think it is a good resource for teens.

“I use it because sometimes I get bored,” sophomore Hannah Smith said. “The first time I figured out what it was I wanted to see what people think, and then after that when I started doing it, got less and less because people already said what they think.”

Getting harsh feedback is painful. It activates the same part of your brain that physical pain does, according to psychologist Tanya Basu.

The feedback from the app could make it easier for people to learn how to take constructive criticism when they get older.

No decisions about us, Without us “The irony is that the freedom caucus, which is very pro-life and against Planned Parenthood, allows PP to continue if they stop this plan.”

-Donald Trump

“Abortion is population control.”

-Nick Cannon

“I really don’t believe in abortion. I think an embryo is human. it’s like killing a baby.”

-Justin Bieber

Planned Parenthood fights to keep funding

Hannah Beauchamp Staff Reporter

The GOP tax bill just passed, and for young people who lack access to affordable health care, this could potentially be bad news because the bill cuts funding for their medical needs, including the services Planned Parenthood offers.

Roughly 2.4 million women and men, including teens, in the United States visit Planned Parenthood affiliate health centers which has been positively affecting pregnancy rates in teens.

“Right now as a country we are seeing the lowest unintended pregnancy rate in the 30 years,” Ruth Lednicer Director of Media and Communications of Planned Parenthood of Michigan and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan said. “We are seeing the lowest teen pregnancy rate ever, and the lowest abortion rate. These are all good things and I think these things are something everyone would agree on that it would be a step in the right direction.”

Some 80 percent of Planned Parenthood patients receive services to prevent unintended pregnancy.

Planned Parenthood also provides more than 295,000 Pap tests and 320,000 breast exams detecting cancer across the nation according to its national chapter.

Currently, President Trump is trying to get rid of the funding of Planned Parenthood.

He has tried and failed at least three times, according to Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan.

He wants to create and reinforce the American Healthcare Act, which will take away healthcare from millions, defund Planned Parenthood and gut Medicaid, according to Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan.

Opponents say that abortions are targeted on teens.

“I think in an ideal world, every parent would have the conversation with their daughter and/or son about pregnancy and STIs, and it would not be necessary for the government to intervene,” physical education teacher Susan Lockhart said. “Unfortunately we don’t live in an ideal world, and many would struggle without the services that Planned Parenthood provides.”

Lockhart would “hate to see it completely de-funded.”

However, she thinks that the government should have “strict control of how funding is appropriated.”

In actuality, the amount of people who go to Planned Parenthood for abortion services is 3 percent. The agency provides cancer screenings, pap smears, STI/STD testing, HIV testing and family planning, such as birth control.

All of the expenses of the testing and other services that Planned Parenthood provides are covered for people with Medicaid.

If Planned Parenthood is defunded, it will take away all of these services from people who rely on Medicaid to help pay for their medical needs. They would need to find a different health care provider entirely.

These resources are vital because they are already scarce as it is.

“There are 83 counties in Michigan, every single one of those have a veterinarian.

Twenty two of those don’t have an OB/GYN. You have a better chance of someone treating your dog or cat then having someone treating you as a woman who needs reproductive health care,” Lednicer said.

Planned Parenthood supplies educational programs and outreach to 1.5 million teens and adults every year. It has its affiliates go around to schools and help educate teens on sexual education and teach students the material that most sex ed classes will ignore.

“The bottom line is that what we do shouldn’t be controversial,” Lednicer said. “Birth control shouldn’t be controversial, allowing women and the 10 percent of men we do serve to control their reproduction and decide if and when they wanna be parents is really for the betterment of society.

It really allows people to pursue their dreams and start their careers, finish their schooling and just do what it is to really become contributing members of society in the way they want to, forcing people to have children that they aren’t ready for emotionally and financially to take care of is never really a good idea.”

“the U.S. taxpayer who hates abortion [and] considers it murder is paying for abortion. That is an outrage.”

- Bill Stein

“And this doesn’t make you sick? Planned Parenthood uses partial birth abortions to sell baby parts.”

-Kevin Sorbo

“I’m positively against it. I don’t have a right to any other view.”

-Jack Nicholson

What do you think about President Trump’s health care plan?

“It’s unfair to people, because it’s a lot of money, and everything is getting more expensive these days.”

Senaida Gonzalez, 11 PHOTOS HANNAH BEAUCHAMP

“I’m against it. Planned Parenthood is such a huge key part to those having kids to figure out what they wanna do when the kid comes.”

Chris Kaltner, 10

Feature 5

Generosity spikes at holidays, needed all year Matthew Hill Staff Reporter An image persists in our culture about what the holidays are supposed to look like.

The exact details change depending on someone’s personal beliefs, but generally some similarities exist: Families coming together and celebrating with big meals or the exchanging of luxurious presents.

The notion that generally prevails this time of the year is that goodwill and generosity are the primary focus of everyone and peace spreads throughout the planet.

This image may exists as pretty as a Hallmark card, but not everyone has the privilege of being able to celebrate around the holidays. In the United States, 13.55 percent of the population lives in poverty, according to Census Reporter, a Knight Foundation site. In Michigan, that number is 19.55 percent, and in Stockbridge 5.9 percent live below the poverty line.

Capitalism and the holidays go hand in hand, and that Hallmark image that is so often pushed isn’t cheap. Food alone is a major expense.

Thanksgiving has come and gone, and once again the meals were assembled partially through donations and a food drive conducted by the leadership program at the high school. More than 75 families were able to celebrate Thanksgiving because of the Stockbridge Outreach program.

“We definitely get the most donations around Christmas,” Karen Smith, manager of Stockbridge Community Outreach, said. “Summer is a time when we don’t get a lot of cash and food donations. However, donations of used goods are fairly constant throughout the year.”

For 17 years, leadership teacher Corey Baird has helped run the Thanksgiving food drive. The school food drive is one

of the most important providers for Outreach during this time of the year.

“It helps to do the fundraisers at a few certain times during the year,” Baird said. “During the holidays the Outreach really could use as much food as possible.”

While various programs run throughout the year to help those in need, the success of these charities is entirely dependent on the generosity of others.

In Michigan, 2,093,199 students are eligible for free lunches according to the Michigan Department of Education. They come from households that are either below the poverty line or only slightly above it. Even if they get that Hallmark card celebration, will they have it the next month? Christmas trees only get presents under them once a year, and that is just not often enough.

“It’s probably good to not have food drives all the time,” junior and leadership student Jada Moser said.

“You might get more food overall if you did the drives regularly, but you wouldn’t get as much food at one time.

Widely celebrated holidays do not happen all that often, but for many around the world every day brings new struggles. Giving doesn’t always require colorful wrapping paper. The holidays will come and go, but the Outreach will always have their doors open.

“We usually provide for 50 households each month,” Smith said. “We’re determined to keep helping no matter what.”

19.55 percent of Michigan lives in poverty

5.9 percent of the population lives below the poverty line in Stockbridge

FROM CENSUS REPORTER

6

Feature

FROM CENSUS REPORTER

“We usually provide for 50 households each month.”

“We’re determined to keep helping no matter what.”

Outreach Director Karen Smith

PHOTO MATTHEW HILL

13.55 percent of the U.S. lives in poverty

FROM CENSUS REPORTER

2,093,199 Students come from families with a low enough income to receive free lunches FROM MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Tales of a nomad A substitute teacher’s story on her travels and desire to help others Patrick Cox Staff Reporter

In the name of a good photo Hannah Reyes put her life on the line.

She did this by capturing a photo of a white rhinoceros sleeping, little to her knowledge, that rhino was a mother protecting her calf. Since rhinos are naturally curious creatures, the mother was immediately awoken by the clicks of the camera and came towards Reyes.

As the cow made the tell-tale signs of charging, Reyes ran as fast as she could trying to find any sort of shelter. She resorted to diving into an acacia bush for refuge from the 4,000 pound beast, waiting for hours, praying the creature would leave.

Thanks to her many experiences that deal with dangerous animals and even more harm inducing humans, Reyes has gained wisdom that helps students in times of need with advice that a teen will actually listen to and follow.

She is a long-term substitute teacher who is replacing science teacher Laura Bell for the current semester and possibly the next.

Reyes describes her life with one word, “nomadic.”

She has lived in more than ten countries throughout her life, such as South Africa and Mozambique. Each one has varied greatly.

Reyes tends to group her many temporary residences into developing countries and developed countries. “There’s an aspect of community spirit that is more typical in developing countries, and so I tend to favor those for that reason; however, they also lack, sometimes, basic sanitation and things like that, which you value those things, too, as soon as you don’t have them,” Reyes said.

Reyes’s opinion of her favorite place forever changes. “Today, I miss Yorkshire the most, but if you asked me two nights ago, I was really missing South African food. I was also missing politics

“Persevere.

There is always going to be a challenge in front of you.”-

L

ooking into the plastic container, long-term substitute teacher Hannah Reyes describes each object’s state of decay to the wildlife project in their biology class about the effects of various types of landfills. Afterward, junior Gage Place, sophomore Toby French, freshmen Clayton Allen and sophomore Morgan Payne discuss with Reyes what landfill type they believe causes the most harm to the environment. PHOTO PATRICK COX

teacher Hannah Reyes

in Africa, because I think that it’s not so important to people there, like, we understand that it’s there but it would never take over a larger goal for the country, and if you ask me this question next week, it’ll be something different,” Reyes said.

One of the major beliefs Reyes has is that knowledge should be given to all willing to listen. “My responsibility is to help other people who have not had that education and to share it with them. I hate that knowledge has to be paid for, so I like to share,” Reyes said.

Although Reyes teaches many school subjects such as wildlife biology, anatomy and computer sciences, she does something even more important: On multiple occasions Reyes has been called upon by students in need for advice on how to move forward in whatever difficult situation they are in.

Freshman Abigail Douglas has been affected by Reyes in a positive way.

“When things were going on at home, she just gave me good advice, like when she gave that example of that sometimes diamonds have to go under tremendous amounts of pressure to become beautiful. That was something that really stuck with me and helped me get through my situation,” Douglas said.

Reyes has lost two friends to suicide.

She remembers both of these people, Wax and Chris, had helped their communities throughout high school and were genuine human beings.

They both committed suicide shortly after they graduated

from high school. Over the years, Reyes has often looked back on these awful tragedies and wonders what pushed these two beautiful souls to do such an act.

Thinking back on what signs she can find in their behavior has helped her learn that if Wax and Chris just held out for a little bit longer, they would’ve seen that there was hope and light still in this world. This realization has helped her give advice to students who feel like her friends did.

Reyes gave this piece of advice to the student body as a whole and anyone else who may read this

article. “Persevere. There is always going to be a challenge in front of you, and it might be an academic one. It might be a personal one.

You grow as a person with each one of those challenges. And, it’s not to say you shrink as a person if you don’t persevere through them, but sometimes it’s a missed opportunity. It’s an opportunity for somebody you would’ve become.”

“I hate that knowledge has to be paid for, so I like to share.”teacher Hannah Reyes

Feature 7

Follow the leader The science behind the bystander effect and why humans mimic each other 8

Cover Story

Zabrina Yannella Editor-in-Chief Screams and laughter fill the air of the corridor as a crowd of students forms around to witness the big event.

Smartphones whip out of pockets to record what takes place. Gaukers stand in complete stillness, watching and waiting to see if anyone will make the first move in stopping the fight in front of them.

But no one does.

No one speaks up.

Nothing happens.

Time freezes in that moment as the fight continues.

This is what is called the bystander effect.

“I think everyone is so shocked by what is going on, they are frozen and don’t know how to step in to help the situation,” senior Ronin Hackworth said of the psychological phenomenon.

The bystander effect occurs when the presence of others discourages an individual from intervening in an emergency situation, according to Psychology Today.

Documentation of the first bystander effect occurrence dates back to March 16, 1964 in Queens, New York when Catherine “Kitty” Genovese died outside of her apartment building while 38 citizens watched her get stalked and stabbed in three separate attacks. The police were finally called after she had died, according to the article written in the New York Times. This was later proven to be falsely

reported information, and calls to the police were made while others tried to intervene with no such luck.

The Bystander Effect

Around for many years, the phenomenon has only become worse as the younger generation plays follow the leader.

“I thought it was crazy that our school had four fights in one day,” freshman Rose Casto said about a string of fights that occurred November 21. “I’m not sure that I would step in to stop a fight, because I am afraid that I would have gotten hurt, but I think it’s immature for people to just watch a record the fights instead of trying to help stop them from fighting.”

Just this semester, seven fights have taken place at the school. Out of these fights no students have stepped in and tried to break them up.

“The school is out of control and there is not enough help,” custodian Kevin Smith said.

“I didn’t know what I actually thought about the situation at the time, but I saw the kids gathering around in the hallway after lunch, and the anticipation of the fight, and my first instinct was to go out there and break it up.”

The Helper Effect

People tend to become bystanders in large groups, a trait called the diffusion of responsibility. Individuals do not feel the responsibility to step up and help in the presence of other

Empowering students to be active bystanders is part of our approach, but not all students (or adults, for that matter) are assertive enough to speak up in a group of their peers.

-student support specialist Judy Brune

HOW TO CHANGE FROM BEING A BYSTANDER TO AN

UPSTANDER • Support the person being targeted by bullying.

• Don’t participate in the bullying.

“When there is a fight, people just stand around and watch it, especially with bullying, people don’t step in and try to stop anything,” Smith said. “Students do not want to involve themselves in any of the stuff that is going in the fights.”

This leads to another psychological phenomenon called the helper effect. It is basically the opposite of the bystander effect and occurs when someone steps in to help someone in an emergency situation, and more people follow suit.

“I think people should have not just stood around watching the fight,” junior Bethany Plennert said about a particularly well known fight that occurred by the cafeteria on December 1.

“They should have stepped in and helped break up the fight.

I think that people are just afraid to step in and help because people have gotten in trouble in the past for stepping into other people’s fights.”

When bystanders intervene, they can stop bullying within 10 seconds over 50 percent of the time.

-American Society for the Positive Care of Children

Bystander Prevention

According to Stop Bullying, an official website of the United States government, there are four main ways to prevent bullying: 1) help kids understand bullying, 2) keep the lines of communication open, 3) encourage kids to do what they love and 4) model how to treat others.

“Empowering students to be active bystanders is part of our approach, but not all students (or adults, for that matter) are assertive enough to speak up in a group of their peers,” student support specialist Judy Brune said. “Another option is for students to shift their attention to the target and support that person by either redirecting them away from the bullying situation or connecting with him or her privately to offer support.”

Another reason for the bystander effect could be influenced by popularity or humor. Recently, an account from instagram called “Fights_of_stocktucky” was deactivated, which included many of recent fights in the school. Videos were anonymously sent to the user and then posted to the page, which gained many followers and likes.

A study published by Psychological Science, a journal for the Association for Psychological Science, found that people feel the urge to mimic others when they have the same end goal.

This helps explain why people undergo the bystander and helper effects. Those who want to help in an emergency situation follow others who want to help the situation, and those who do not want to intervene become bystanders.

One main cause for the vast amount of fights that have broken out is said to be social media and teen’s online presence.

“People are always concerned with their presences on the internet,” psychology teacher Pam Gower said. “They try capturing live action that is violent or funny or interesting in a viorisitc or disgusting way that someone can post that, so they can gain followers that will give them attention. I also think people do it because they are used to watching reality happen through a TV, so they feel like they are removed from the situation.”

Gower, concerned that this behavior will lead to more dangerous behavior for students in the future, thinks that the bullying could be handled in a safer way.

“I feel like we need a lot swifter consequences for when fights and things happen, because over the years, I have seen things handled in ways that I think are dangerous,” Gower said. “I want kids to have consequences like suspensions or involve the police, not because I want to get them in trouble, but because I am worried that when they become adults, they will do these things and think that they can get away from them. They might end up in jail or fired from their job and think that this behavior is totally normal.”

• Tell a trusted adult about the incident.

• Get to know people instead of judging them.

• Practice what to say and to whom when you know bullying will occur in the future.

• Celebrate diversity in your classmates.

• Avoid gossiping about others.

• Create a distraction to draw the bully/bullies away from the situation.

• Include someone who is being left out from an activity.

• Remember that there is power in numbers.

FROM JENNIE SPIEGLER OF EDUTOPIA, KATHRYN DEBROS OF PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY, THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OF PHILADELPHIA

PHOTOS ZABRINA YANNELLA

Cover Story 9

SEXUAL HARASSMENT IS YOUR ISSUE, TOO

BAIRD’s

CONSTITUTIONAL

CONCERNS

Staff Editorial

ONE VOICE:

Respect the amendment, protect the people Anna Baird Editor-in-Chief Watch the news once, and the repeated mass shootings makes it obvious that a change needs to take place in the process of how citizens can get their hands on firearms.

The Second Amendment brings a sense of self-protection and needs to be respected, but for the safety of the country as a whole, this amendment should have limits. Those limits could involve anything from psychological screenings to deeper background checks.

The United States has 88.8 guns per 100 people, according to the Small Arms Survey website, a mandate specifically made to supply research and analyze armed violence, in hopes of reducing the number of incidents that occur.

Whether the Second Amendment needs to be changed has become one of the most debated topics in America today, due to all of these tragedies. Each side makes a strong argument, but neither knows how to respond to the other side’s thoughts.

The politically liberal-sided people tend to want stricter gun laws, but they never really say what that would consist of, nor do they say how people could protect themselves and their rights through these laws.

The politically conservative-minded tend to want absolute freedom and control of their firearms, but these people do not know how to respond when they are questioned on how to stop mass shootings.

Something in the world of gun control must change before America becomes even more of a bitter, divided, negative country.

If we are ever going to find a solution to stopping violence, the people must work to find a central middle ground, while still having their own opinions, of course.

The Second Amendment should still exist, but the process in which one goes about having legal firearms needs a change before more harm is done and more tragedies turn into statistics people pretend to care about.

Just this year, as of November, mass shootings in our country killed 555 citizens, according to the Mass Shooting Tracker website. The American citizens hear about these incidents on the news, and put something on social media about how they feel sorry for the victims, but never make a change.

That is 555 people killed by the same problem in less than a year, and Americans should not be sitting around watching it happen. The divided mindset that the country possesses needs to change before more of these incidents occur.

Of course, the Second Amendment needs to be honored, but there also needs to be a more thorough process that citizens need to complete before having a firearm in their possession. This should involve deeper background checks than the ones we have now. We should be performing further screenings and testing for mental health concerns.

For the best possible outcome of this country, the right to bear arms should be respected, but there also needs to be a precedent on how this issue should be handled because the mass shooting problem our country has needs to stop before the cycle of destruction starts all over again.

10 Opinion

“It’s kind of sad that these are the role models that America has. It just kind of ‘OKs’ women or men to be sexually harassed in the workplace.

It’s saddening to see people going through such great lengths to use sexual harassment as an exploit to get their names in the papers or get money out of lawsuits. “ junior Derek Young

Harvey Weinstein. Kevin Spacey. Ben Affleck.

Matt Lauer. Roy Moore. More and more women are throwing powerful men into the spotlight for their crimes. The time has come when people are comfortable with standing up for their bodies.

Sexual harassment has become a social norm in society.

Our generation is entering the workplace. This is our issue just as much as any other generation’s.

Unlike them, however, we have the power to change it.

The unhealthy thirst for drama and scandal by the masses fuels the fire for those committing the crimes, making harassment more common in the workplace. Out of 92 different companies, 54 percent of all workers reported experiencing a form of sexual harassment in the workplace according to a survey conducted by the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE).

As our generation begins to enter the world of work, this problem that we have been hearing about becomes our reality. Hear us: we can change this. Through directing our voices and taking action, our generation can stop sexual harassment from being a social norm.

The Domino Effect has become quite prominent in recent times. Victims emerge out of the shadows, stating their claims with a thirst for justice against their attackers. Now that the issue of sexual harassment became socially acceptable to speak out against these situations, power-obsessed tyrants can finally face the consequences.

For years, sexual harassment has been pegged as an issue for only females. Not the case. Males are quite commonly harassed, and according to AWARE, 21 percent of the victims mentioned above are male.

The last generation could not find a voice to stand up against this issue. Now, this generation possesses the ability to speak out.

Another common misconception is that a contact has to be rape to qualify as sexual harassment. Violations can include invasion of personal space, derogatory language and/ or comments, bragging about how good he or she is in bed, suggestive comments about

a person’s body and unnecessary physical contact according to the Ontario Human Rights Commission.

Harassment can come from anyone and happen to anyone. This last October, actress Alyssa Milano started the hashtag #MeToo to help boost the movement that Tarana Burke started a decade ago. Formed for the purpose of denouncing sexual harassment, #MeToo trended worldwide in multiple different languages.

In France, according to Times, activists took to the streets. Accompanying the chant “Me too” was “Balance ton porc,” which roughly means to “Expose your pig.”

For this movement, Time Magazine announced the pioneers of the #MeToo movement Time’s Person of the Year. The Silence Breakers, made up of over 30 men and women, includes actors, entrepreneurs, journalists and singers such as Ashley Judd, Terry Crews, Wendy Walsh and Taylor Swift.

The #MeToo movement matters to everyone.

If the generation before us could not stop the harassment, our generation must be the one to pull the break.

The intensity that this movement came out with only sheds more light on how often sexual harassment occurs, and how unacceptable it is. But, in some instances, standing up for oneself can result in harm.

Threats of injury or even murder are commonly accompanied with the demanding of sexual favors or with prepositions of physical intimacy according to AWARE. Of those 54 percent who were harassed, 12 percent reported receiving such threats if they did not comply.

More commonly, 27 percent of victims reported colleagues commiting the harassment, according to AWARE, while 17 percent are discriminated against by their superiors in the workplace.

The issue of sexual harassment has been prominent for decades. Millennials are already flooding workplaces. We have the contention against the issue, ergo having the power to lessen and eventually diminish it.

[ ] “Out of 92 different companies, 54 percent of all workers reported experiencing a form of sexual harassment in the workplace.”

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION KALI ROSKOWSKI

OUT OF 272 RESPONDENTS, 54 PERCENT REPORTED SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE WORKPLACE. OUT OF THOSE HARASSED, 79 PERCENT WERE FEMALE AND 21 PERCENT WERE MALE ACCORDING TO AWARE. Bodies represent 10 victims per image

The procedure for lockdowns should be changed Abbey Salyer Copy Editor

Danger rarely would have a ever sets foot in reflex to what our school. the bullets It came close would sound October 30 like, how they when the Wilson should be Talent Center in prepared and Mason went into how to fight. lockdown because According of a student who to the same had a threatening source, 24 weapon; juniors shootings and seniors from — nearly our school were one in six — there during that occurred after situation. a confrontation Speaking of or verbal lockdown, how argument does our own intensified school deal with because of the an internal threat? presence of a The teacher slips gun rather than a green sign in spite of it. under the door, We must basically inviting acquire more the intruder in, and options everyone piles into than just a corner like sitting our current targets, praying for passive their lives. system, and Common sense students have PHOTO ILLUSTRATION ABBEY SALYER would dictate to do something to something instead do when their of waiting for harm, lives are on and our school must address this issue. the line. We should have a chance to fend Since 2013, 254 school shootings for ourselves in dangerous situations, and occurred in our country. So far in Michigan, the school’s method today would not work. seven instances dealt with a shooting on When the unthinkable happens, no matter school property according to the Every what the cost, students and teachers must Town Research website, which shows a be prepared to deal with that situation. map of which schools have experienced In our newest update to the school, the front school shootings. entrances have better security, but that does A recently introduced method is appearing not necessarily stop the danger with the in public schools in Michigan including possibility of a student coming into the school neighboring Dansville Public Schools. The with a weapon, such as a gun or a knife. method, typically known as the “Run, Hide, A recent study by the Centers for Disease Fight” method, replaces older procedures.

Control and Prevention (CDC), found that 5.4 In fact, our current lockdown system is percent of schoolchildren carried a gun, knife derived from the “duck and cover” method or club on school property on at least one day used during the ‘50s during the Cold War during the month according to the Youth Risk during nuclear threats. Seems pretty Behavior Surveillance by the CDC. ineffective for protection of bullets than it Yes, it is hard to think about; there are does of bombs, don’t you think? endless possibilities of danger being ALICE stands for Alert Lockdown Inform in any school. But, if the students were Counter Evacuate is a program that helps given a chance to protect themselves train students K-12 for an active shooter. offensively instead of defensively, students According to the ALICE training institute, the and staff would more likely survive as federal and state governments recommends shown statistically by the 300 schools and simulation strategies to be used. universities who have implemented ALICE Some of the training requires drills of since the mid-2000s, according to the ALICE real shooters with prop guns which causes training institute. controversy with parents and children. But, Students and staff should be able to try to simulations would be the most beneficial distract or even fight threats. There needs practice to have, because if there was an to be a change in our school, before danger active shooter in the building, the students consumes us.

A survey by the American Psychological Association found that nearly half of all teens --45 percent-said they were stressed by school pressures.

Let me color outside of the lines Kali Roskowski Editor-in-Chief

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION KALI ROSKOWSKI

Adulthood looms, we get it ONE VOICE: “It’s kind of common sense to fight back when you’re in the line of fire.

Nobody is really gonna listen to the rules when someone is trying to attack us with a gun.” junior Paige Brown

I have 162 unread college emails in my school inbox from the month of November and over 780 total emails in my “College Emails” folder.

Tenth grade to present has become a constant stream of college recruitment messages from the moment I took the first PSAT, whether it be from email or snail mail.

High schoolers get it. And, we hear it all the time from our teachers, parents and college counselors.

“You need to get good grades.”

“You need to do community service.”

“You need to play sports.”

“You need to apply for scholarships.”

The reason?

“Because it looks good on college applications.”

Students, particularly juniors and seniors, are force-fed those lines all too often. We know what we need to do, and we are too busy preparing for our adult lives that we forget that we are not, in fact, adults.

We are teenagers.

The problem lies with the adults in our lives who consistently push us to prepare for the future, forgetting to give us time to act our age, let alone sleep.

According to Nationwide Children’s Hospital, teenagers

get approximately 7 to 7.5 hours of sleep a night, when really we need more than 9. Teens have ridiculously heavy schedules, and this preventions us from doing the activities that we want or even need to do, such as sleep.

We are teenagers, and we have worked hard to get where we are at.

Chores, socialization, jobs, extracurriculars and countless other delegations we are told that we have to do by our parents, teachers and college advisers, all the while having to dry-swallow their preachings about how we are over complicating the whole college process, well, it is overwhelming.

According to the American Psychological Association, in 2009, “Over a quarter (29 percent) of children ages 13-17 reported that they worry about getting into a good college and deciding what to do after high school, when only 5 percent of parents of 13–17‐ year‐olds agreed that this was a source of stress for their child.”

Of course, some students do need a push in the college direction, but, there are a lot of diligent students who know what they have to do, and constantly being on them all the time adds mounds of stress.

So, for the sake of every hard-working teenager’s mental health and childhood, lay off.

Many juniors and seniors already juggle a job, school and sports. Many have to pay for their own gasoline, and may have to pay off loans to their parents. Teens have enough stress as it is without having to worry about their futures every time they get a second to breathe.

Hey, juniors and seniors. Do not think about college today. A college is not going to disappear overnight, so regroup today, focus on your future tomorrow. Go do something that you enjoy and escape for a little while, and go be a teenager.

Opinion 11

Competitive cheerleaders

FACE THE POSSIBLE FEAR OF IMPERFECTION

Maria Risner Staff Reporter It’s not the glitz, the bows or the skirts. It’s much more than that. It’s heart, hardwork and commitment. Cheerleaders don’t pursue their sport for the special recognition from their peers or for the so called popularity.

“It’s not as easy as you would think it is, it’s actually pretty pretty hard,” senior, Ashley Gunn said, who takes charge as team captain of the competitive cheer team as she did for the sideline cheer team in the fall. “I started cheering when I was in second grade,” she said. “I just wanted to try it, and ever since then I just loved it. So that’s what I just stuck to.”

Athletes like Gunn compete because it pushes their limits as far as they can go and challenges their skills. The hours of dedication put into every hit, beat and chant at practices still can not confirm

12 Sports

Coach’s perspective perfection on the competition mat.

Although Gunn has been working on her skills in the sport since a young age, she knows there is always the possibility of something going wrong while performing.

“Just keep going, don’t stop. If you mess up, don’t make it obvious,” she said. “You just have to try and keep going no matter what.”

Cheerleading takes daily commitment. If not everyone shows up to a routine practice, the team may fail when it comes to performing a round in competition. When one person lacks dedication, the whole team suffers from that decision.

Freshmen Laurynn Kittle keeps this in mind as she strives to build her cheerleading future. “We could try working harder so that we are all better as one,” she said.

The chase for perfection is why

coach Betty Phillips make sure the girls practice five days a week after school dismisses.

“Honestly, practice makes perfect in this sport. You have to get it all down and the go with it,” sophomore, Cassandra Chapman said, who has been cheering since age 3 and knows how the structure of cheer works. “You have to just take what the coaches give and work as hard as possible to get things how you would want them,” she said.

Gunn understands her team mates have those days when they would like practice with less effort than what is wanted, but she also thinks the team should work just as hard in a practice as they would in a competition.

“We should, so we can get into the movement of when we are in a competition,” she said.

Leadership skills: “It taught me how to be a leader back then, and it helps me now coach the girls.” - coach Paige Sawyer Personal development: “It definitely pushed me to be more outgoing. It kind of forced me out of my shell and to interact with people that I normally wouldn’t.” - coach Paige Sawyer Everyday aspects: “It helps aspects in their life as growing up and becoming a young adult and being active in the community and all of that. It helps them to be a leader. It helps them to understand you have to work through all issues. It helps them to understand, to get along and to be a unit and trust each other.”

- coach Betty Phillips TOP: Coach Paige Sawyer laughs as she helps one of the two groups practice a round of stunts.

LEFT TO RIGHT: Senior cheerleader Ashley Gunn leads her team in warm up stretches before they go through competition routines. Freshman Laurynn Kittle takes her stance as she performs one of three rounds. Coach Betty Phillips walks her team through how to correctly approach a move when performing.

Sophomore Cassandra Chapman practices splits while she waits for her next routine to be practiced. PHOTOS MARIA RISNER

MEET FOSTER: THE NEW COACH HIGH SCHOOL 210-27 school record Won four conference titles Earned All-State recognition three times

COLLEGE Attended Concordia University Won 2016-2017 NAIA North 3rd place (141 lbs.)

NAIA 2015-2916 Scholar-Athlete

Senior begins new sport while coach builds new program Senior Jake Sutton wrestles during practice with coach Foster Bunce, while Bunce gives Sutton techniques. Bunce coaches by wrestling with his athletes, telling them different moves or forms while they wrestle in slow-motion. After they complete the technique, they wrestle “live,” which is in real speed. PHOTOS LOGAN CONNOLLY

Logan Connolly Sports Editor The one emotion that was going through senior Jake Sutton’s head on that mat during his eighth grade year was nerves, and that did not change his senior year.

Heading in to his first high school meet, Sutton said he “was nervous but somewhat confident.” Sutton plays team sports like baseball and football, and only wrestled from pre-K to eighth grade.

He walked out of his first meet against Vandercook Lake 1-1. Sutton, who wrestles in the 152 weight class, thinks that is because his coach, Foster Bunce, gave him some good advice.

“He wants us to have confidence in ourselves, and he doesn’t want us to be pros with the moves, just know when and how to use them,” Sutton said.

Just as Sutton has never done high school wrestling, Coach Foster Bunce has never coached before.

Foster is fresh from Concordia University out of Nebraska. He has wrestled in high school for Dansville and had a record of 210 wins and 27 losses. He qualified for state all 4 years in high school and decided to come back. He chose a local team, where his cousin, sophomore Kael Bunce, wrestles.

Even though Foster has relation to Kael, he guarantees that he will treat him like “another member.”

But Foster does look to Kael for influence on the team. “Kael is one of the only guys who’s wrestled before, so I look at him as a leader,” Foster said. Most of the boys on the team are brand new to the sport, having never wrestled before according to Foster.

Kael has a positive record when it comes to pins, winning two matches as of December 6, leading the team in victories.

Their meet at Vandercook Lake ended in a loss, but Foster thinks the boys excelled. All the team members “got a chance to wrestle, and most the guys won one match.” Foster acknowledges that the program and the team is new, and that it will take time to build it up.

“We’re just having fun, trying to get the guys better.”

Sports 13

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The Color Purple leaves audience tickled pink

MATTHEW MURPHY ZABRINA YANNELLA

Calra L. Stewart, staring as Shug Avery, gives a crowdpleasing performance of the song “Push the Button” with her cast.

Mackenzye and Zabrina Yannella at The Color Purple ZABRINA YANNELLA

MATTHEW MURPHY

Zabrina Yannella Editor-in-Chief Dear God, Thank you for blessing the general public with the U.S. tour of the Broadway musical, “The Color Purple.”

The Tony and Emmy award winning Broadway performance has toured the U.S. for 12 months, with the final tour date set for January 8.

A cast filled with actors and actresses such as Adrianna Hicks and Carla R. Stewart, who star as Celie and Shug Avery, gives a performance that will make the audience’s heart break and fall in love at the same time.

ACT 1

The first act starts off in Georgia in 1909 with Celie and Nettie singing “Huckleberry

Pie” and the company joins in for their rendition of “Mysterious Ways.” The opening songs left the crowd ecstatically waiting for more.

Once Celie marries her husband Mister, her sister Nettie becomes nonexistent and Celie began to think she died. The audience feels her pain and wants to help her reunite with her sister, Nettie.

In her powerful performance of “Hell No” that allows her to express her desire for a feminist future that left the crowd hootin’ and hollerin’, Carrie Compere urges Celie to leave her husband to start a better life. When Misters ex-girlfriend Shug Avery comes to town all hell breaks loose, pun intended.

Shug goes from being the town slut to one

of Celie’s best friends turned lovers, but eventually gets tired of Celie and leaves her broken and alone once again.

In heart-wrenching story we watched Celie lose everything and everyone she had ever loved in the blink of an eye.

ACT 2

The performance “African Homeland” shows the desperation in the characters to be reunited one day and left the crowd in awe.

Celie leaves her husband after years of physical and mental abuse and goes on to inherit the house she grew up in. She opens her own business making custom fit pants of all shapes, sizes and colors in the vivid and ground-shaking song “Miss Celie’s

Pants” that left the house ready to put on their dancing shoes and sing along.

Celie went from having nothing to having everything.

In the final scene, Celie and Nettie are reunited after many years and Celie is able to finally meet her children Adam and Sofia, for the first time since being seperated.

The play leaves the house booming with a sense of empowerment and gives hope that the viewers can push past the hardships life sends their way.

I came into the Fisher not knowing what to expect, and left with a great appreciation for the amount of freedom I have in my life, and the ability to support other women in my life in everything they do.

Entertainment 15

CAN BE FOUND ON

Jaden Smith’s new album shows promise but no masterpiece

Patrick Cox Staff Reporter As he climbs out of his Tesla, looking as cool as the ice draped on his neck, Jaden Smith begins the next chapter of his career as an aspiring music superstar in his new music video for “Icon.”

With his new release, he delivers vocals with a passion and poise that his previous work never had. The major increase in sales between “SYRE” and Smith’s previous project, “CTV2,” proves that. “SYRE” opened on the 24th spot of the Billboard 200, while “CTV2” never ranked.

Songs from “SYRE” such as “U,” “Falcon,” “The Passion” and “George Jeff” succeed greatly due to the individuality and ingenuity shown in them.

Many of the tracks contrast greatly within themselves through instrumentals. Smith goes from a funky beat, sounding like a Brazilian dance anthem, to an Ed Sheeranesque acoustic guitar rhythm. Then, from a furious and cocky delivery to a slow, methodical, almost prophetic flow in the middle of a lyric.

When Smith has passion in his voice, a feeling of immense hype and intensity wraps around the listener and refuses to let go until the song comes to an end. The track “Icon,”is a booming, bass-blaring bop that demands your focus, making it the best example of this.

Contrasts do not just appear inside the songs. A war of genres between the tracks rages on; the sides almost evenly split between rock and rap.

This contrast of genre in Smith’s album provides a refreshing change during a time where mainstream hip-hop has a congestion of boring bass and painful snare, but it also could be seen one of the album’s biggest downfalls. Many times major changes that happen in certain songs clouds the track’s purpose. In “Hope,” the beat, vocals and lyrical theme changes completely a total of three times. With each change, the purpose gets foggier, and the desire to skip to the next song grows stronger.

Jaden’s flow and delivery weighs down the quality of “SYRE” greatly. On a majority of the tracks, Smith stays in a extremely monotone state, trying to belt out all of his words as fast as possible, making him sound like he wants to do anything but make this song.

One of the songs that showcases this the most would be “Rapper,” where the entire song comprises itself of one boring, generic trap beat with an even more boring vocal performance.

16 Entertainment

PHOTO (MSFTSMusic)

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Overall, “SYRE” may appear as a flawed project, but also one that shows a lot of potential for the 19-year-old artist. Songs like “Lost Boy” and “Ninety” drag on for a brutally long time as they near the 10-minute mark, being by far the album’s biggest flaw.

These tracks bring a wave of exhaustion with them, but get blown away by the short, passionate tracks filled to the brim with energy during their three-minute spans.

“SYRE” plummets to the Earth and then soars with an equal amount of incredible highs and rock-bottom lows, but it is best described as just bland. I would give this album a 5/10.

23,964,925 total album streams in its first ten days

PHOTO MARY NICHOLS/CREATIVE COMMONS