The Voice: March 10, 2016

MEMPHIS Bound:

Voice The

your school. your voice.

Volume 55, Issue 4 March 9, 2016

1 • The Voice • March 9, 2016 • myvikingvoice.com

Cast and crew prepare for Friday opening

news

EV students have the potential to go viral, but what consequences come along with media attention?

2 • The Voice • March 9, 2016 • myvikingvoice.com

Salma Torres Entertainment Editor During the winter homecoming pep rally, senior Kieu Vi Nguyen and a group of close friends of hers touched the heart of many students, especially sophomore Ben Davis.

Nguyen gathered her friends, each having a letter on their shirt spelling out “PROM?” and a heart at the end, while seniors Kiara Caston and Deqa Husein, and junior Da’money Trevino brought up a box reading “I’ll ask you to prom when pigs fly.” Then they cut the tape holding the box closed. When the box opened, balloons designed to have the appearance of pigs came flying out. The crowd erupted in a unanimous “Awwww…” followed by a cheer as Ben accepted. Students and staff alike wept.

Later that afternoon Nguyen posted the emotional video on Facebook, commenting that it was an honor to be Ben’s friend. By Saturday morning it had over 7,000 shares.

Nguyen was not expecting the video to go viral, and was definitely not expecting what came next: along with all of the positive comments, there were hundreds of comments and responses filled with hate and negativity toward her act of kindness. People accused her of doing it only for attention, and other disrespectful things.

“I was very upset when I first read the negative comments,” says Nguyen, who said she was shocked when she started reading them. “People were saying mean and inappropriate things, they were the ones being judgmental, and I can’t believe there’s people like that out there.”

Nguyen said she was not looking for attention, she has had a close connection with Davis since her junior year and has been looking forward to asking him to prom for a long time.

Though Nguyen is the most recent, she hasn’t been the only Everett student that has gone viral and received hate in return. Senior Monntel West went viral about a month ago when a lady recorded him in the Lansing Mall playing “River Flows in You” on the piano. Although West was only trying to pass the time and wait for his friend, he gained popularity without realizing. As the attention increased online, many people, even Everett students, said horrible things about West.

“People were commenting stuff like

‘there’s people better than him, why are they acknowledging him?’” said West.

West did not let these comments get to him, though.

“I tend to not fall into negativity,” said West.

As these viral videos have been the most recent, they’re not the only Everett students to experience a burst of online fame. Junior Roberta Glennon-Rule went viral last year, not through a video, though.

Glennon-Rule said she was criticized last year for wearing a shirt that said “Legalize Gay,” and shortly after she tweeted about it.

The tweet said, “I guess my legalize gay shirt is inappropriate and offensive for school” with a picture of her in the shirt holding up her middle finger.

Her friends on Twitter were not the only ones who were informed of this happening, but singer Miley Cyrus heard about it. Cyrus tweeted at a student-run school Twitter account (thinking it was Everett’s official account), and even called Glennon-Rule to talk to her. Within a day, her story was on websites for both Time and Cosmopolitan.

News quickly spread around the school and Glennon-Rule was receiving hate for it.

“People kept telling me that I was making it all up, and that I ‘did it all for attention,’” said Glennon-Rule. “I was upset and confused as how people could think that I started that whole thing for attention, like how would I know that Miley Cyrus was gonna hear about it, you know?”

Rule, like Nguyen and West, let the negative comments go. But were the negative comments worth the excitement?

“I would definitely do it again, seeing his [Ben's] reaction was priceless and it made us feel good that we could make someone's day,” said Nguyen.

As for Rule and her tweet, she was glad of the awareness it raised although she would definitely undo one thing.

“I would not have used a photo of me putting up the middle finger,” Rule thought only her followers would come across her picture, “but then the whole world saw it and thought I was being disrespectful.”

chad sanders

Arin Dampier Business Manager

Eighth grader Zach Surdenik and junior Roberta Glennon-Rule rehearse a scene from “Memphis.” The musical opens Friday night.

chad sanders

Illustration by clinton turner

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Senior Za’Quan Callahan sings during rehearsal for “Memphis.”

theatre community,” said theatre tech teacher Jim Allen.

Felicia, a strong, young black woman who just wants to be heard, will be played by sophomore Dallas Robinson and senior Savanah Harris.

“I love Felicia, she’s me: sassy, sexy and fabulous,” said Robinson.

Huey will be played by eighth grader Zach Surdenik, and freshman Kaynen Martin.

Delray, Felicia’s protective older brother, who owns the club in downtown Memphis that Huey happens to enter into, will be played by 2006 Everett graduate Brenden Todd.

The director said Memphis is a show everyone should see.

“It’s a great show, about an important topic, racism, and the music is fantastic with an amazing cast, so it will be great,” said director John Lennox.

Lennox said that getting the show together hasn’t been trouble-free.

“I actually have a lot of difficulties trying to coordinate rehearsal with everyone’s busy schedule,” said director John Lennox.

In the beginning, work on a musical is basically casting, blocking, and stage construction. After casting and blocking begins, the actual rehearsing of lines, and scenes onstage, the actors figuring out how they really want to portray their character.

company was unable to perform and the se- option in the winter, there was no choice but niors did not get the opportunity to run out to hold it in the gym. with music.

“I truly did not think we would be able Students weren’t so much upset at the to all fit in the gym but with the large number fact they were forced outside, compared to of absences and the reduced enrollment, we the traditions that were able to fit,” said had to be altered.

Cheadle-Holt.

“At the time of the Members of the Although what fall pep rally, we had dance team canthe students were told celed their perforin the end was true, an enrollment of mance because of approximately 100 more the short notice of the the change. change of fall location “We told students than at the time was a huge deal, and them we couldn’t of the winter pep rally.” is still a very relevant dance on grass and among students -Principal Susan Cheadle-Holt. topic they told us that today. Administrawe just do hiption did not take into hop. We don’t just do hip-hop, we do turns, consideration the impact it would have on the we jump and we told them we couldn’t do that students, especially the seniors. on grass,” said Anderson.

“It took away something I had been lookSince a pep rally at the stadium isn’t an ing forward to [since freshman year],” said se-

nior Jillian Johnson.

Some students wonder if in years to come, pep rallies will still be held in the stadium.

“You know, it depends on our school’s numbers,” said Cheadle-Holt.

Another big question students ponder on is what would happen if the numbers got too big again for the winter pep rally. CheadleHolt didn’t have a precise answer.

“I don’t know. I hope that would never happen, but I don’t know,” said Cheadle-Holt.

“Of course we would figure it out.”

Even if the numbers allowed the pep rally to be held in the gym, could there still be a possibility the pep rally would still be held in the football stadium?

“Possibly, I think we would have to get a student ballot. Some students really enjoyed it being out there,” said Cheadle-Holt.

The musical this year will be the show Memphis. The production’s first show will be Friday, March 11 at 7:00 p.m. “Memphis” is about a white man whose parents always told him not to travel to the downtown of Memphis, which is where the black people live, but Huey just can’t seem to stay away. Huey travels to the black side of town, and finds a hot club with a beautiful sound coming out of it. In that all black club, Huey finds Felicia. Along with Felicia comes her protective brother Delray.

“I thought it would be fun, especially with the diverse personalities in our school’s

Jae’Lyn McClain Reporter As fall homecoming approached, word got around that Everett had too many students, and for safety reasons the pep rally had to be outside. That Friday, the assembly was in the football stadium, and it left students confused as to why they were forced to go out there.

Fast forward four months. The winter pep rally, held in the gym, was an overall success. Students participated, dance company and cheerleaders performed, and the little bits in between the main events made the show. Amongst this good time, some students couldn’t help but wonder: how come students were able to be inside the gym? What had changed within those four months? “[In the fall], they told us there wasn’t enough room,” said senior Chloe Anderson.

Dee Halstead, along with class officers, planned the fall pep rally and informed teachers of the change of events.

“Pep assembly will be at the football field, if the weather permits. We are doing this for safety reasons as we have almost 1700 students and there simply is not enough room in the gym… [for] parents, guests and others,” said Halstead in an e-mail to staff.

Halstead said that the decision was made by administrators, and she had no further insight. Principal Susan Cheadle-Holt explained that there were more people in the building in the fall.

“At the time of the fall pep rally, we had an enrollment of approximately 100 more students than at the time of the winter pep rally,” said Cheadle-Holt.

Many students were upset about the fall pep rally, since having it outside took away many of the beloved traditions. The dance

ing expanding the Affordable Care Act, raising the minimum wage, civil rights, women’s rights, bringing business back to America, comprehensive immigration reform, and decriminalizing marijuana.

Sanders campaigned heavily in Michigan ahead of the state’s March 8 primary, with rallies in Dearborn, and at campuses like MSU, Grand Valley, and the University of Michigan.

katrina turner

Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders stopped in East Lansing March 2, and many Lansing students turned out to support his campaign.

Thousands were lined up on three sides of the Breslin Center hours in advance of Sanders’ speech. Volunteers walked the lines, speaking to those waiting about helping with the campaign.

Many brought signs supporting Sanders, and many more wore shirts, hats and buttons declaring their allegiance.

When Sanders took the stage a little after 7:00 p.m. to thunderous applause, he launched into an hour-long speech, making the case for why he was the best candidate for the Democratic party’s nomination for the presidential election.

His speech hit the main points of his candidacy, includ-

Julia tominski

Lansing feels the Bern

3 • The Voice • March 9, 2016 • myvikingvoice.com

Winter pep rally in the gym left some wondering: why do we fit now, but not last fall?

OPINION

As technology gets better, society becomes worse Salma Torres Entertainment Editor 90’s kids had a blast playing tag outside, racing on their bikes, and meeting at the playgrounds, but it seems like that is the last generation to go outside and sweat for fun. Everything you could do outside you can now do on a screen. Technology has been growing within the last couple of

4 • The Voice • March 9, 2016 • myvikingvoice.com

.com

customers are not satisfied with only one aspect of the whole service.

Speaking of the “mandatory morality,” I believe as a fact there is more behind the story. When employees in other industries find their wage to be less than deserved, what would they do? With no doubt, they would request a raise to their employers, but when it comes to the fields with gratuity, the situation became more complicated as another source of servers’ income was involved. The twosided game now has a third party and it is obvious that the owners benefit from the misplacement of antagonistic financial relation from completely employees/owners to partly employees/customers.

Still, most customers somehow manage to stick to the standard tip levels. Based on interviews with teachers and students, when eating out, most people choose to pay 20 percent of the charge as tips for good waiters and still 15 percent for ordinary waiters. The difference between what someone pays for bad service and good is not really remarkable.

In all, I personally think that gratuity as a means of improving service in an industry is neither necessary nor effective. Just charge a little more for the food, pay people a decent wage, and do away with tips completely.

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Gratuity, also known as tips, is a common phenomenon in certain cultures which is always found interesting and, to some extent, unnecessary by foreigners.

“Gratuity can make sure that servers get paid what they deserve, and thus improve their service.” This is probably the number one reason always mentioned by supporters of tips. However, when countries like the U.S. are not reputed for good service, at least not compared with Asian countries like Japan with no gratuity cultures, is this reasoning necessarily correct?

Basically, there is an assumption behind the reason that customers would pay for their service based on quality. However, it seems that customers are required by conscience to offer tips even if the service offered is not satisfactory. In the gratuity culture always mentioned is the fact that servers are expecting the money to support their family, which holds customers as hostages of morality, being blamed for leaving less tips because of a server’s incompetent skills.

Also, another dilemma of morality is present as the tips are not offered separately toward workers of each job, and for example, waiters, dishwashers and etc. in a restaurant. In fact, the tips will be split at a fixed proportion among the employees, which result in trouble in tipping when

yne, Free

Here’s a tip: stop the tips!

de Bru

Yicheng (Paul) Li is an exchange student from China.

At home, he was the editor in the broadcasting station at his school. He made sure to join the newspaper staff when he got to Everett. Each month, Paul will share his colorful view of life at Everett, as seen by someone from the other side of the globe.

Danny

Paul’s Point:

years. Some can argue that everyone has been viewing more stuff on their screen then they view in real life and that this can be unhealthy.

I can see where people who think it’s unhealthy are coming from. Kids don’t go outside to play like we used to. Kids would rather stay inside and play a game on their mom’s tablet than go outside and ride their bike. I think it’s important for kids to go outside and play, using their imagination. Imagination includes all of the five senses, sound, taste, smell etc. It’s important for kids to be able to explore. The five senses can not be experienced when simply playing a game like Subway Surfers.

Another area where technology has been a factor is in relationships. Being involved on social media can make you check what your partner is doing. I think relationships tend to get rough because of what one another does on the media. We’re constantly worried about whose picture our partner likes or who our partner tweets back to on Twitter. The constant need of checking up on your partner's social media can make things problematic if you see something that

upsets you.

“I watch out for other people trying to take what’s mine,” said senior Rachael Fisher.

Research shows that partners tend to get suspicious of one another. Back in the day our grandparents lasted because your grandpa couldn’t like a picture of a hot girl and then have your grandma see that he liked it.

There are ways that technology can be very helpful. Being able to talk to people who live 12 hours away from you or even live in a different country as you is a beautiful thing.

“My parents call their families back home [in Thailand], mostly my grandma and aunt,” said senior Na Dalai. “I appreciate technology.

I still get to know how my family is doing back there from just one call.”

Whether technology can bring people together it can drive us away as well. We should all make an effort to get kids involved with playing outside and setting down their video games. Parents have a big influence on what their children do, so taking away electronics so that their kids are active outside can be a small but powerful movement. As for teenagers, when you’re hanging out with your friends or family, set the phone down and connect with the people who are in the room, not those who are on a screen.

Forcing a healthy diet a waste of time, and food Kaitlyn Brown Social Media Editor The mandatory fruits and vegetables rule at lunch is ridiculous. We should not have food forced onto our plates, especially when they don’t get eaten and frequently only see the trash.

At one point, lunchroom workers had been told they may lose their jobs if people don’t take both fruits and veggies, which made some of the workers start forcing food onto people’s plates.

We should not be forced to have something on our plate if we don’t want to eat it. I understand that it’s for the purpose of healthier eating, but how can it be healthier eating if no one is eating it?

No one would give us the wrong meal on purpose, so why are they giving us veggies we don’t want?

Jekeia Murphy, a Freshman English teacher, sympathizes with the cafeteria workers.

“I’d do the same if it was my job, I need

my job,” says Murphy.

When I went in to interview some of the cafeteria workers, I was told that it was a mistake that was made and it’s now back to normal, you can choose either or but you don’t need both.

But even with old policy, it still causes a lot of food waste. Many of those apples we are forced to take just end up in the trash.

Everything is in place for healthier eating and healthier lifestyles, but it can’t be healthier if we aren’t eating it.

It makes no sense for the whole basis of this policy to be on something that doesn’t happen.

How is it that a policy can be beneficial if it’s taken seriously by adults, but not by students.

That’s not even mentioning how terrible the majority of the fruits and veggies taste. Many times, you bite into a carrot stick and it’s bitter, you try to stomach the lettuce and it’s inedible.

So how is it that inedible fruits and veggies that don’t get eaten for good reasons, are still forced to show up on our plate?

The policy should be changed, otherwise there’s going to be a lot of food waste. Schools should not control what we have on our plate.

OPINION

Voice The

Seniors shouldn’t let the last days of school slip away due to senioritis Senioritis is becoming very visible in the Everett community. Seniors are showing up to classes less and less, and those that do show up are complaining about graduation being so far away. They are tired of the work, the people, and the environment the school carries. Seniors are just ready to graduation and be done. Senioritis is a fictional sickness that is spreading day by day and causing a significant number of tardies and absences that are adding up more than the students think.

Graduation seems as if it’s years away when it’s only a mere three months away.

Waking up for school seems like it only gets more and more difficult as the days wind down. Seniors’ snooze buttons are abused every morning by the kids procrastinating.

Many seniors don’t see the point in coming to half of their classes and find

them unnecessary. It’s showing a lack of responsibility, dedication, as well as showing a bad example for the other students.

We all understand the reasoning behind senioritis, but shouldn’t seniors be enjoying their last few months as high schoolers rather than staying home?

Seniors are too tired and see no reason for going to school because of their good grades, not realizing that there are still some things they need to learn before drifting off to college.

Students should be in class putting forth the same effort they put out when exams come around, and create memories with their best friends and favorite teachers before they all start a new life, wherever it takes them. Students should consider enjoying every bit of their last year at a school they will never again attend.

Students shouldn’t shy away from controversy Kaitlyn Brown Social Media Editor School newspapers are becoming more and more censored and easily controlled by outside sources. The Kaimin, a Montana student newspaper, published an issue with the headline “Free the Nipple.” The edition of their paper included shirtless men and women with their nipples blocked out on the front page, and inside the paper there was a fully shirtless woman to accompany the story. Everyone in the pictures had written consent and was above the age of 18.

There was a whole district recall to throw away all of their printed newspapers, along with the principal getting a three-day suspension for allowing the paper to be printed. This is wrong.

None of the papers should have been thrown away, and the principal should not have been suspended for three days. I think the paper should have been distributed with a note warning people about what’s inside. The cover can’t be considered indecent.

The Voice is very carefully worded at times. The staff makes sure everything is in the guidelines that we would have to follow, and we pick relevant topics. We has to make sure that it will have people talking, but won’t

3900 Stabler Road Lansing, MI 48910 (517)755-4472 myvikingvoice.com myvikingvoice@gmail.com

be thrown away.

I understand that some stories shouldn’t be run. I also understand that there are limits to what one should be able to write about and have published for the people to see, but I do not agree that an important story about desexualizing women should be thrown out because of a topless picture of a female.

I do not believe that something as important as showing the double standard that women face should be thrown away like garbage.

Instead, administration can talk to the editorial board of the paper. If the picture is relevant to the story, it should not have been pulled. The picture is not pornography, as it has a story behind it that makes the picture relevant. It’s the whole point behind the “Free the Nipple” campaign. Their paper got pulled for the same double standard they were writing about. I believe that shows why we need this campaign.

Under the First Amendment, we, as Americans, have the right to Free Speech including Free Press. So why are people trying to take away our rights to Free Press by censoring what we do and say? It doesn’t teach kids that we do have that right if every time we try to print something a little more risky, it gets censored.

THE STAFF EDITORS Katrina Turner (Editor-in-Chief) Katrina Turner (News) Ruth Becerril (Opinion) Salma Torres (Features) Salma Torres (Entertainment) Dan Tran (Sports) Dan Tran (Online) Raquel Adkins (Photo Story) Arin Dampier (Business Manager) Isaiah Garrett (Multi-Media Editor) Kaitlyn Brown-Hatchett and Julia Tominski (Social Media Editors)

Change to SAT causing stress for juniors Arin Dampier Business Manager The SATs are fast approaching, which means the stress is setting in for the juniors.

In the past, the ACT was the test given, and used by college admissions. Now, the March test contains the SAT, a news test that teachers are trynig to get a handle on.

This one test can affect so much in a student's life. Everyone is quick to remind the juniors how their scores affect how colleges see you, and is also an imperative part of how they decide if you’re worthy enough to become a student at their prestigious establishment. People constantly remind us what is at stake, but often ignore the pressure already resting on our shoulders. This test can impact the amount of scholarships that you receive and are offered. This one little test influences so many points that may determine our future.

“It disappoints me that the way colleges will judge my intelligence is based mostly on one test. My score is NOT who I am,” said junior Mariah Hernandez.

The SAT is not the test that juniors

have been preparing their entire high school career for. Michigan has recently joined many other states, having their 11th grade students take the SAT. Last year, students were informed that the year of 2015-2016 would come with many changes, and the removal of the ACT would be one of them.

Even though they were warned, many didn’t expect the test to be so different from what they knew. Students must prepare for the test three times quicker, and study five times harder. SATs are more stressful in this way. Some teachers are taking a lot of action to get students ready for the SAT. For example, English teacher Robin Elliott has her classes doing a lot of prep-tests regarding writing essays, and reading comprehension.

“I appreciate the time Ms. Elliott takes to get us prepared for a test this stressful,” said junior Melissa Swiontek Although the SATs are not impossible to succeed in, it is not easily taken. There has to be another way to measure and view students’ progress. Our futures should not be mainly based on one test, one score. It should depend on our attendance, our behavior, our grades, and our attitudes.

REPORTER Amanda Cooper-Huston Jordan Jones Linda Lee Yicheng (Paul) Li Jae’Lyn McClain Stherlyne Osterne Lisa Phan Kylie Skuse Kira Thatcher Skyah Thompson Briana Vazquez ADVISOR Chad Sanders Mission Statement The Voice is a monthly publication of Everett High School. It is published the second Wednesday of each month by the fourth hour Newspaper class.

The Voice is distributed free of charge to every student and staff member at Everett. The current issue is always available on the counter of the main office. Subscriptions are also available for $15/year.

The Voice is an award-winning member of the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association.

Letters to the editor are accepted at the discretion of the editorial board.

Forms of speech not protected by the First Amendment will not be published.

Letters must be signed by the author, and will be edited for quality. Direct all questions to room 313. We can be contacted via email at myvikingvoice@ gmail.com The Lansing School District is committed to a policy of providing equal opportunities to all qualified people regardless of economic or social status and will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethic origin, national origin, creed, religion, political belief, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, age, veteran status, or physical or mental ability.

5 • The Voice • March 9, 2016 • myvikingvoice.com

OUR VOICE:

OPINION The Voice’s view on gun control and some facts about gun violence across the US

6 • The Voice • March 9, 2016 • myvikingvoice.com

magine this. You are in Walmart shopping for your favorite conditioner or fuzzy socks for the chilly winter days; the store is even having a sale on those exact items. It’s basically your lucky day. Suddenly you hear a loud commotion from the aisle next to yours, shouting and items falling off the shelf. Before you have a chance to react, you are looking down the barrel of a gun. How did your lucky day transform into this? Andrew Joseph Todd did this very thing in a Walmart in 2015. Todd was arrested, but this is a real situation.

The reason is clear, but commonly overlooked: Lack of gun control in America.

I know what you’re thinking, it’s a RIGHT! People deserve to carry guns, it has been an American goal since the beginning of time. We need to be able to protect ourselves if push comes to shove, or if someone breaks into your house you need to be able to defend your family. However, there is no reasonable circumstance for an American citizen in 2015 to own a weapon of mass destruction.

Having a gun can turn a simple argument into a funeral. Without realizing it, people have a sense of violence about them when they own guns. Over the past few years, gun violence has been growing in the media. Last year, many citizens were shot by the police, and protests and more violence continued. America has an issue with normalizing violence. We see it on TV,

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gunviolencearchive.org

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Katrina Turner Editor-in-Chief

in the movies, and we read about it. The halls of Everett see their fair share of fights, and it is almost another form of entertainment at this point. It is easy to say that violence is wrong, but where in society are we actually teaching that? In elementary school, kids are told that being mean equates to a crush.

In 2015, studies showed that America has 12 times the homicide rate of Japan, a point that is mainly due to the difference in gun control.

M o s t sane people can agree that violence is wrong, but they are also quick to say that guns are okay for citizens to own. People overlook the fact that even if they are a normal part of our society, guns are still a weapon, a tool used to inflict harm. It’s unsettling to imagine everyday people carrying guns for a reason. In 2015 alone two separate movie theaters had people open fire on them. In 2015 a man opened fired in a church and injured 9 people. Both of these instances could have been prevented if civilians weren't allowed to have access to guns. Lives could be spared in countless attacks, and our violence rated would go down immensely.

It goes without saying that police officials should be allowed to have guns. Even if guns become illegal to civilians there would be a large black market for them. Police need weapons to be able to defend and protect themselves and the public.

The quickest way to cut down on the violence that seems like an inevitable part of our lives is to make gun control a real thing. Make it illegal for anyone not in the police force or military to own a gun. Hunting is a popular sport, but there could be ranges where people go and rent a gun, hunt for a while, and then return it. This year a political election will be held, and Bernie Sanders is working towards a safer future with gun control. There are ways to make this country safe and better for all of it’s citizens. Without drastic actions America will continue to see it’s innocent citizens gunned down daily, and American citizens need to know that they have the power to make the change.

Isaiah Garrett Multimedia Editor

magine that you are an average middle class American citizen sleeping at home in your house that you worked hard to own and sustain. Then, one night, you hear your window break and something moving around your house. You go and grab a baseball bat out of the hallway closet to confront the intruder but to your surprise the intruder rushes towards you. Not having any combat skills because you work in an office for a living and aren’t trained for it, the intruder overtakes you and takes the bat. Now you’ve lost the whole battle and lost the safety that you once felt in your home. This can be avoided if an average citizen owns a gun.

According to law you have the right to own a firearm and to protect your property, but recent events like terrorist attacks and mass shootings have people demanding that procuring a gun shouldn't be as easy as it is today. I believe that if you want to own a gun you should be able to, either to protect yourself or to take advantage of your American rights.

With the proper steps you can acquire a weapon legally in the United States. You also can carry a gun on you. This has been the law for years. Recently businesses have been allowed to choose if they allow customers to have a gun in their building or not, but other than that what should change? The law gets changed and added to every day, but those are little laws compared to the Bill of Rights in the Constitution. The 2nd Amendment is what allows the ability for civilians to acquire guns. As part of the Constitution that has been around nearly as long as the country has been around.

Why should we take such a large part of our country's tradition away?

Just because you are able to get a gun doesn't mean that we have people running throughout the streets pretending they are in the middle east with AK-47s. There are laws that specify that the right to bear arms is not just a simple “you have the right to get a gun.” These laws keep The Purge from happening. It also keeps common sense in the law. Why allow the public to have higher quality weapons than the local law enforcement? Citizens that get a side arm are responsible adults that understand the dangers of owning a weapon.

If you are a firm believer that people should not have guns, then you are saying that the 2nd Amendment in the Bill of Rights in the Constitution of the United States should be taken away. United States citizens should be able to choose whether or not they want to own a gun, not whether or not someone else should.

Features

Yicheng (Paul) Li Reporter

on Facebook about being single on valentine’s day, and I remembered I had that mannequin head in my closet,” said Bolte.

Bolte said he didn’t have a problem with the exclusion of single people on Valentine’s Day. “There isn’t a need to be included, it’s a day for couples to celebrate what they have and put any difficulties they may have aside

and embrace each other with gifts and dates,” he said. “Single people should just keep doing them and not put effort into finding ways to include themselves in a day that’s not for them.”

Thus, after all, forget about all the Valentine’s Day stuff. There is another one coming.

Have some green clothes prepared, also bagpipes and potatoes if possible.

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7 • The Voice • March 9, 2016 • myvikingvoice.com

Love yourself, and your mannequin Even if you are not Irish, you can still eat potatoes and get wasted on St. Patrick Day (if you are, you know, above 21, or do not live in the US).

Even if you are not a Catholic, you can still throw yourself into an indulgent crowd on Brazilian Carnival (if you are, you know, in Brazil).

Even if you are not LGBTQ, you can still participate in Pride Parades (if your area, you know, has one).

Even if you are single on Valentine’s Day, you can still... okay, not really.

When it comes to holidays and festivals, nothing prevents people from jumping into the irresistible atmosphere of celebration.

However, when it comes to Valentine’s Day, the door seems to be shut in the faces of single people.

For Everett Senior Branden Bolte, his Valentine’s Day was pretty “chill.”

“I spent the day just doing the regular single person day stuff,” said Bolte.

However, it was a “regular” day, only if one believes a normal day for singles includes quality “me” time with a mannequin.

“That only happened for 10 minutes.

I was bored and there were a lot of memes

Raquel Adkins Photostory Editor

“He is true and does not hide anything,” said junior Michael Bellosillo.

In October of 2015, Lush held a comYoutuber Matthew Lush (AKA Gay- petition called My Gay Online Boyfriend.

God) has touched many people’s lives. He The point of the competition was for him not only entertains, but he shows what is to meet new people and maybe even find like to be human. He does not just show his the love he had been looking for. It started ups but he also shows his downs through his off with 10 guys which would do things like vlogging. wax their legs and dance in their underwear He can be very graphic with his topics to be able to win a trip to California and meet and discussions about sex and relationships, Lush. Each week two people were voted off and his channel is definitely not for children. till two were left. He would pick out the two Baring his heart has made him millions of who he wanted to meet. In the end, a 19fans, connecting with year-old named Kasper people around the Tait from Australia won.

“Matthew helped At the beginning of the world. Lush made a me believe in love, competition he made it youtube channel for his and even when it clear he was straight but very public relationship with Nick Laws in 2013 did not work out for liked Lush. called “Lush.” They him he showed me After flying him out made tons of videos, they spent a few days tohow to move past gether then flew to New doing challenges, giving it and that dating York to meet Lush’s famout relationship advice, is not everything.” ily. After another day they and just showing their life together. Everyrealized they were not -Senior Za’Quan thing seemed to be gomeant to be, leaving Lush Callahan ing great, but a year and heartbroken yet again. To a half later they broke make matters worse, Tait up. Having such a public relationship not claimed he was only using Lush to get him only affected him and Laws, it affected his popular and that he never truly like him. fans. His vlogs started to show the dark side Then Tait called the 27-year-old Lush a “peof his life. He showed how breakups are hard dophile” for picking him, a 19-year-old. and how he struggled getting past them.

The heartbroken Lush still continued “Matthew helped me believe in love, and to be respectful to Tait. He shared his views even when it did not work out for him he with how people can make you not want to showed me how to move past it and that dat- trust others but without trust you can’t exing is not everything,” said senior Za’Quan pect to make real relationships.

Callahan.

“I relate with Matthew’s perspective on Lush vlogged his struggles though mov- life and situations he has gone through,” said ing on and how difficult it can be. He ex- senior Octavia Lartigue. plained how he and Laws were not right for What puts Lush apart from other Youtueach other and that maybe something could bers is how authentic he is. He sees that trywork out in the future. He relied on his friends ing to hide things only make it worse and that and family to help him get past his breakup. even if it is not the happiest it still should be Matthew struggled with what he wanted. He shared. Lush’s life is proof that no one’s life did not like being single but he knew he was is perfect, even if the camera is still rolling. not ready for another relationship.

@yaboibranden, Instagram

Lush, Youtube

Love Out Loud

Youtuber Matthew Lush shares his relationship struggles with the world

Entertainment

Finding

Films Julia Tominski Social Media Editor This year, cinema is going to be big. 2016 is jam packed with promising sequels and longawaited blockbusters. Here’s a look at some of the most-anticipated films of the coming year.

Super Heroes

biggest anticipated movies of the year is the Harry Potter prequel, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. It’s about the man who wrote one of the textbooks they read at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Newt Scamander, and his adventures in New York 70 years in the past.

“Originally I wasn’t excited about it because I thought the Harry Potter franchise was just trying to get money. But after I saw the trailer when I saw Star Wars, I got so excited! Like, I can’t wait,” said Geometry teacher Sheila Orr.

This is the year for the comic book fan, with the release of movies such as Deadpool, Batman Vs. Superman and Captain America: Civil War. “I thought that Marvel had run its course but I think that Marvel has come out with a whole new brand of comics that I think are gonna be blockbuster movies. I don’t know about DC. We’ll have to see,” said 8th grade social studies teacher Emmanual Kamm.

3. Kung Fu Panda is so good, I love it,” said former Everett student Breanna Conley.

Remakes This year is also the year of remakes.

The all-female Ghostbusters is coming out July 15, as well as the classic children’s movie Pete’s Dragon.

“You don’t remake a classic because it will never live up to the original,” said Kamm.

All throughout this year, whether you’re comic book fan or a cinema fanatic, 2016 is the year for you.

Families

Sequels

Children, mostly millennials, also have something to look forward to with the long awaited sequel Finding Dory. It tells about what happened a year after Finding Nemo and shows us a deeper look into Dory’s past.

“I’m so looking forward toward Finding Dory because I’ve loved finding Nemo since I was little, so I’m really looking forward to how they continue it,” said freshman Brittney Pratt.

Another movie coming out for children is the third installment of Kung Fu Panda and their are some die hard Kung Fu Panda fans that can’t wait for this movie.

“I’m so freaking excited for Kung Fu Panda

People are also looking forward to the big sequels this year. Allegiant, the end of the Divergent series, is coming out and finishing with a bang. Another sequel is the long-awaited Tim Burton’s Alice Through the Looking Glass.

“Oh my goodness, I saw a trailer for Alice Through the Looking Glass and I got hype as heck. This is gonna be great,” said freshman Natajsia Garcia.

Other sequels include Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, Zoolander 2 and Independence Day: Resurgence. One of the

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8 • The Voice • March 9, 2016 • myvikingvoice.com

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@batmanvsuperman, Instagram; @captainamerica_civilwar, Instagram; @independencedaymovie, Instagram; @theellenshow, Instagram; @deadpoolmovie, Instagram; @fantasticbeastsmovie, Instagram; @thedivergentseries, Instagram; @Zoolander, Instagram; @TMNTMovie, Twitter

Kaitlyn Brown Social Media Editor 2016 is here! You know what that means, Netflix is releasing more content for us to binge watch until our eyes are as red as blood, every move we make is tiring, and you keep getting annoyed by the “Are You Still Watching?” message.

In February, Netflix will release titles ranging in time periods from 1969 to this current year. There will be older movies, new movies, long-awaited sequels, new Netflix originals, and follow-ups to kids shows that you probably have watched before.

A few shows that you may be very excited for are: Better Call Saul, which is a Breaking Bad prequel about the lawyer Saul Goodman, which comes out on the first.

Scooby-Doo one and two, the live-action movies of Scooby-Doo and the gang, which also comes out on the first. Land Before Time XIV (can you believe they found the funding for 14 of these movies??) hits Netflix on the second. Marvel Super Hero Adventures, which is an animated movie where the Marvel Heroes team up to defeat Loki, and comes out on the 24th. And finally, Fuller House: Season 1, which is a spinoff of Full House and it is based around D.J. calling Stephanie and Kimmy to help her raise three boys, and that’s coming out on the 26th.

Hectic hoverboards hatch highly heated havoc

Childhoods will be revisited along with current favorites being expanded on.

“I’m a Breaking Bad watcher. I’m trying to finish the fifth season before I watch Better Call Saul, but I’m excited to watch that. Other than Better Call Saul, I’m probably going to watch the new Land Before Time, because that’s my childhood,” said freshman Chance Behrens.

Some people are excited for shows to start coming out, but to some it’s really about the actors behind some of our favorite characters.

“I really like Bob Odenkirk (Saul Goodman). I like the work he did before Netflix was even around, like back in the 90’s. He was in a show called Mr. Show with Bob and David. He’s a funny guy, even before he was Saul,” said New Tech coordinator Mitch Foster.

The Netflix originals that are going to be added to the list soon are: Degrassi: Next Class, Fuller House: Season 1, House of Cards: Season 4, Daredevil: Season 2, Pee-wee’s Big Holiday, and Orange is the New Black: Season 4.

Stherlyne Osterne Reporter

A truly offensive but funny Marvel : Deadpool Stherlyne Osterne Reporter Deadpool is a comic book movie about an indestructible anti-hero on the hunt for the villain who left him disfigured. Deadpool’s costume might resemble the popular hero Spiderman, but they are far from being similar.

Deadpool is more psychotic than heroic, as he takes no time in killing and throwing jokes often while looking straight at the camera.

The protagonist, played by Ryan Reynolds, (who also played Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine) is the alter ego of Wade Wilson. A breezily amoral hired gun who, after some story fillers, turns into Deadpool, an antihero who likes to address and make jokes at the camera between kills. Wade saw the devastation on his fiance’s face when he was diagnosed with cancer so blindly he accepted the advancements of a guy named Francis Ajax (who turns out to be the bad guy) who says he can cure his cancer and give him super

powers which Wade drunkenly accepts and follows him into a place where they used to make slaves.

“Ryan Reynolds was the perfect actor for Deadpool,” said senior Everett Rinckey.

The movie credits, which consist of a series of genre clichés “hot chick,” “British villain” and “comic relief ” instead of the usual headliner cast and crew names and it turned out to be one of the best sequences in the movie, partly because it’s a bit complicated and makes the audience wonder if Deadpool is going to follow on those clichés.

The trailer on the other hand did the movie justice as it grabbed many viewers attention.

“I’ve been anticipating the movie since the trailer came out,” said Senior Everett Rinckey.

“I think Deadpool stood out because it was one of the very few R-rated Marvel movies. I had been anticipating the film since last November,” said Sophomore Jordan Phan.

The hype of this new Marvel movie had definitely attracted the attention of minors and parents. What’s the worry, though? He’s everyone’s favorite sarcastic, satirical superhero-WAIT! He is definitely no hero! Our sword brandishing gun slinging wild card isn’t afraid to murder the mess out of people.

According to Rotten Tomatoes, 84% of the viewers like the movie but the remaining were complaints that the movie was highly inappropriate because of the jokes and the language use. Some critics went on to say that this movie was one of Marvel’s smallest budget movies, and that it’s impossible for them to imagine this movie having a sequel.

Dan Tran contributed to this story

The Hoverboard has been catching the eyes of young adults and pretty much anyone who is into the new technologies of the past few years. Hoverboards are two-wheeled scooters that look like Segways with no handles.

Nonetheless, the hoverboard has been very successful when it comes to sales and although it’s becoming a big part of today’s culture, the hoverboard isn’t perfect as of yet. Lately, the hoverboard has had reports of it catching fire due to some technical difficulties which the company is making sure that this little hiccup is fixed. The hoverboard is a real form of transportation that lets trendy kids have fun while effortlessly zipping along the sidewalk.

“I’ve always wanted one because that’s what’s trendy right now, but I can’t afford it,” said junior Dhan Bandari.

One hoverboard can sell for $300 to $1,000, depending on which style you want and if you want it personalized.

According to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, there have been 12 incidents in the United States where the lithium ion batteries in these hoverboards reportedly caught fire.

The fires have started in all sorts of different circumstances, too. According to owners and witnesses, some of the hoverboards exploded while charging, others while riding. There are no explanations to why the hoverboard have been catching fire but the company is working on resolving the problem.

“The whole catching fire thing made me uninterested in ever buying one,” said senior Nimo Mire.

Although the company lost some interested buyers, the ones who are willing to take the chance still buy the product so overall there’s not much of a change of productivity of the hoverboard.

There are no known creator(s) of the hoverboard as of now but there are theories on where it came from. Theory one is that it originated from a city called Shenzhen in China. The second theory is that it originated from Portland, Oregon and that the creator might be Shane Chen who runs a small equipment company outside of Oregon.

It was said that in May 2013, he had this Kickstarter video, supposedly it is the earliest trace of a hoverboard kind of thing you’ll see online. Whether or not Chen was the inventor, hoverboards became very popular throughout the year of 2015.

“The whole catching fire thing made me uninterested in ever buying one.”

-Senior Nimo Mire.

9 • The Voice • March 9, 2016 • myvikingvoice.com

New Year, New Queue

ENTERTAINMENT

Kira Thatcher Reporter

Members of the Unified Cheer team perform at the winter pep rally. Some of the members of the cheer squad performed last summer at the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games in L.A.

Julia Tominski

The Unified Cheer squad performed again with the varsity cheer squad in the winter pep rally. This is the fourth year for Unified cheer team, a group made up of students with and without special needs.

“Unified cheer has been a great experience for everybody,” said coach Amy Robinson. “Eight members of our Unified Cheer team even went to the 2015 Special Olympics World Games in L.A. [last year].”

The team members started practicing January 20, and they worked hard to put together another successful show.

“My favorite part about being on the cheer team is cheering on our Vikings and interacting with the crowd,” said senior Savan-

nah Harris. “I also have gotten close to my teammates, some of them I probably wouldn’t have known outside of cheer. All of the girls are so sweet and they love cheering with us.”

For some members of the Unified team, performing at the assemblies are a highlight of the season.

“I like Unified Cheer because we get to perform in the pep rally,” said sophomore Linda Lee. All of the varsity cheerleaders enjoy working with the Unified team, and said they will miss the experience.

“This is my final year doing Unified Cheer I will miss cheering with my friends,” said senior Mariah Moore. “My best friend/ sister Kira Thatcher is a varsity and a Unify cheerleader and I’m so proud of her and I look up to her as my role model.”

Julia Tominski

Unified Cheer Squad unifies school spirit

SPORTS

Left: Swimmers celebrate in the new pool, at the beginning of the grand opening cermonies, ahead of their meet against Waverly.

Julia Tominski

Julia Tominski

10 • The Voice • March 9, 2016 • myvikingvoice.com

Top Right: The boys’ swim team line up for the national anthem.

Bottom Right: Junior Da’Money Trevino competes in the reopened Hill pool against Waverly.

Diving into a successful season, new pool Julia Tominski Social Media Editor Swim CACs at Mason signaled the end of the boys’ swim season. This year, the Lansing Legacy Boys’ team placed 6th during the meet. Senior Luca Ajaic-Bosmic placed 2nd in the 50 free relay.

“The team had so much fun,” said senior Quy Ho. Quy swam the 100 Butterfly with a time of 1:37.

Next year, the boys will not have Coach

Nate Burchfield as their coach because of wanting to be with his family, although he will still coach the girls team.

“I just wanted to juggle my family and my job. Only coaching the girls is so much easier,” said Burchfield.

This year, the boys were allowed to move to Harry Hill’s pool for their swim meets but cannot practice there. Next year for girls’ season, perhaps they will allow the team along with a diving team.

“We’re definitely hoping we can use

Hill’s pool next year for practicing because having only four lanes makes the swimmers get all bunched up,” said Assistant coach Megan Sidge.

Quy loves the pool, and enjoys how the short distance of travel from home.

“Carpooling is what we do to get there because it’s super close Everett,” said Ho. The Hill pool reopened with renovations this year, and it is much better than Everett’s pool. Athletic Director Elizabeth Ballinger is enjoying the new upgrade.

“It looks amazing. The pool is great, the lighting is great,” said Ballinger.

Everett’s’ pool is under par in comparison with only four lanes, very little extra equipment, and a much smaller size. Both swimmers and coaches are happy to have a new pool.

“The swimmers love it. It’s better than our pool. It has six lanes, a diving board, it’s bigger. It’s like a pool that we’re supposed to have and it’s a great thing to have for the district, for the community, for everybody,”

said Ballinger.

It’s a big upgrade for all of the swimmers. With the new size, boys and girls can now practice together, plus the pool is divisible into lanes based on skill level.

With some hiccups in the road, people quitting the team and seniors leaving, the team still stayed strong, and is looking forward to next year..

“This team is like a family to me. I’m happy to have joined it,” said junior Darius Jackson.

SPORTS

Serving up the new girls’ tennis season: hurdles overcome last year Attention tennis lovers and players! As you may or may not know tennis conditioning had already begun. There was a meeting held which included information about practices and the game plan for this year. Conditioning started the week of February 22.

“Everyone is welcomed, we are looking for enthusiastic girls with a great team spirit who want to learn to play the game,” said coach Judy Kramer.

The only thing you have to do is have a physical, which is required to for every sport.

Other than that, nothing else is needed. You don’t even have to know how to play!

“I’ve had girls who have never held a racket in their hands and we teach them to play, then they love the game,” said Kramer.

They teach you from what you already know, then build off of that. If nothing is known, they start from the very beginning, from knowing how to add up points to differ-

ent types of skills.

Unfortunately, there’s one struggle the team has to deal with is an issue that most schools don’t face.

“We don’t have any courts to practice on,” said Kramer.

No courts on campus means having to travel to practice, and transportation can be a little bit difficult. The team has to drive out all the way out to Eastern to practice for a hour and a half. Even home games have to be held there. Overcoming hurdles like having to travel just to practice has helped the team build a strong bond.

“The thing I like the most about the team was how everyone supported each other and even when we lost we were always there for one another,” said former tennis player sophomore Kenna Yoder.

The team has been working on raising money for the team. Recently the tennis team was selling chocolate roses. The money earned was going towards trying to get the girls new tops for this year, but mainly to pay for the

expenses that go into training.

“We have to pay $57 for 1 ½ hours to practice at an indoor court,” said Kramer.

They spend $2,850 each season going to the courts so they can get enough practice.

Some of the players come and go, but others stay. The ones who are dedicated help build the team.

“Most of our players are gathered by returning players,” said coach Kramer.

Over the years, the number of girls joining has increased. Last year, they had enough to make up a JV and a varsity team with a total of 25 girls.

Official practice starts March 14 after school. Anyone who would like to join is welcome.

FAST FACTS March 14: First official practice of season $2,850: Cost of court time each season 25: Number of girls on team last season

My view: stereotypes of sports affect all athletes Yicheng (Paul) Li Reporter

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“Softball is a lesbian sport.”

“Soccer players have ugly feet.”

“White people can’t dunk.”

For the record, anything mentioned above is reflective to any of my personal opinions. However, those judgements, like daunting ghosts, show their presences everywhere, leaving smell of arrogance and ignorance.

De Beauvoir wrote “no one is born to be a woman” in her world famous The Second Sex,

accusing the vicious loop of gender stereotypes where presumptions become real by convincing the “victim” to follow such impressions. However, besides gender, similar injustice is also present in sports themselves.

Take volleyball as an example; some in the society have an impression of this sport as a female exclusive. They “emasculated” the

supposedly genderless sport itself. Over time, males really started to avoid this sport because of the mockings, proving the closed minded bias right: you see, most people who play this are females.

For homo sapiens, it is always easier to have things classified and tagged in a certain way, with huge possibilities that their logic is actually based on a grain of salt. Statistics? No, this is just based on personal observations.

Logic chain of argument? Sorry, it is just so obvious that every one knows so. In fact, the only base of these stereotypes is the shallowness people find comfortable in. Unknown is intimidating so that people subconsciously need stereotypes as a weapon to guard their ignorance.

However, there is at least one thing good still in us. Our consciousness, our intelligence, or our superegos are whispering to us every single minute. Maybe we can feel stereotypes. Maybe we can feel prejudice. But as long as we don’t let them drag us down to the abyss of discrimination, as long as we still try to prevent them from hurting others, that’s fine.

Sports do not care.

But we should.

Members of the girls’ JV and varsity soccer teams lift weights in preparation for the spring soccer season.

Soccer conditioning kicks season off early Sein San Reporter

prove your skills and speed by a lot.

“This will be my first time going to soccer conditioning, I really hope it’s worth it and This year is sophomore Akailia Francis’ will improve my skills,” said sophomore Alfirst year conditioning for soccer. She wasn’t yssa Yonana. quite prepared for the hard work and pain she The kind of activities the upcoming sochas to go through. She said she really felt the cer players are doing right now include 30 pain the next day. minute cardio workouts, which include one “The first day was minute cardio routines so hard because of the ab like burpees. Participants “It was intense; have to follow along with workouts. When I woke he made us work their fast paced trainer.. up the day after conditioning, I could barely feel After the workouts, hard, but it will my body,” said Francis.

Coach Dominguez make definitely help Soccer conditioning the students run for 5-10 us during the began January 11 with minutes down the New season.” coach Juan Dominguez.

Tech hall.

Players showed up wear- -Sophomore Tiara “It was intense, he ing necessary things for made us work hard, but Rogers. soccer, for example runit will definitely help us ning shoes, sweatpants or shorts, and a T- during the season,” said sophomore Tiara shirt.

Rogers.

“If we condition in the off season we Anybody can become in shape before the will be stronger when the season starts,” said season starts; it’s just a matter of fact on if Dominguez, “Soccer players are on the field they can go through the whole workout profrom 70 to 80 minutes without any time outs, cess. Students have woke up sore and not beso when the game is close the team that is bet- ing able to move their body because of the ter conditioned wins the match.” workouts, but sophomore Timia Robinson Conditioning is a way for students to get summed up the team’s mindset: “hard work fit for when tryouts come around. It will im- will pay off.”

11 • The Voice • March 9, 2016 • myvikingvoice.com

Briana Vazquez Reporter

Photo Story

Becoming Homecoming Court

Quy and Deshila

Dan and Cortoria

Tia and Jamyrin

2016

12 • The Voice • March 9, 2016 • myvikingvoice.com

Winter Homecoming court was Seniors Dan Tran, Quy Ho, Deshila Burse, Cortoria Jones, Tia Le, and Jamyrin Jackson.

Dan Tran trying on his suit

Tia Le getting ready

Tia at the lunch in with her friends

Jamyrin Jackson’s awesome hair style

Dan playing his nerves away before homecoming

Quy Ho strutting a pose