THE COUGAR STAR
ANNABELLA MI
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Unwrapping a Ring Pop, its vibrant berry blast and strawberry flavors taste as saccharin as they look. However, the ingredient label confesses a malignant secret — Red Dye No. 3. In 1990, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) mandated a ban for Red Dye No. 3 in cosmetics and topical drugs. Yet the ban on digested products did not happen until Jan. 15, 2025.
For 35 years, a synthetic color dye derived from petroleum and respectively known as Erythrosine was proven to cause behavioral disorders, cancer, and abnormal thyroid activity. More commonly coined as Red Dye No. 3, Erythrosine is a color additive that was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1907 but has now nationally repealed into a prohibition of the dye.
Registered dietitian and certified School Nutrition Specialist for Chartwells at Ann Arbor Public Schools (AAPS) Sarah Mason did not find the declaration of the Red Dye No. 3 ban to hold any shockvalue.
“Rumors about this ban had been circulating for a while,” Mason said. “So I wasn’t surprised when it was officially announced.”
According to The Center for Science Public Interest (CSPI), Red Dye No. 3 is found in over 9000 products — some of which include the popular snacks such as popsicles,
On Friday, Jan. 17, Clague eighth grade counselor Slavica Vidojevski sent out an email notifying all eighth graders of her departure from Clague. Her position has been filled by Dr. Eaddy Richardson, who has previously supported the Clague counseling team.
“I know that many of you may have heard from your teachers that I am leaving,” Vidojevski said in her email. “And some of you may not have. That is true, this upcoming week will be
my last week.”
The reasons for Vidojesvski’s departure remain unknown.
“I am not sure on why Mrs. Vidojevski left Clague,” Clague principal Dr. Kyron Harvell said. “I received notification that she was leaving our school and met with her to wish her well in her future endeavors.”
The job vacancy opened by the counselor’s leave has been posted on the Ann Arbor Public Schools website. Until someone was found to take up the position, Dr. Harvell stepped up to take the role, in addition to his
responsibilities as principal, coach, and more.
“I’m accustomed to working a lot and wearing many hats so balancing responsibilities is very easy for me,” Harvell said. “I own a number of businesses and teach at the collegiate level outside of my position as principal here at Clague. I've worked multiple jobs since the age of seven so it feels very natural to me.”
Two weeks later, on Jan. 30, Harvell sent out an email announcing that Dr. Eaddy Richardson would be returning to Clague to take Vidojevski’s role.
Supreme Court rules against social media platform: Tiktok
SAANVI KULKARNI MANAGING EDITOR
Pre-ban
On Friday, Jan. 17, the Supreme Court ruled against TikTok, rejecting the social media company’s First Amendment challenge to a law that will lead to a ban starting Sunday — unless it is sold by its China-based parent company, ByteDance.
In April 2024, Congress passed a bill requiring ByteDance to secure a U.S.-approved buyer for TikTok within nine months or face a shutdown. President Joe Biden signed the bill into law, and now the deadline has arrived.
ByteDance has strongly opposed the mandate, claiming that banning TikTok would violate First Amendment protections on free speech. The company argues that the law unfairly targets TikTok and is unconstitutional.
However, lawmakers argued that the Chinese government’s oversight of private companies posed a security threat, potentially allowing it to access sensitive American data or spread covert disinformation and propaganda.
“Under these circumstances, we find the Government’s data collection
justification sufficient to sustain the challenged provisions,” the court’s opinion said, according to The Hill.
However, ByteDance said that the Chinese government holds neither a direct nor indirect ownership stake in TikTok or ByteDance, emphasizing that more than half of the company is
owned by global institutional investors.
According to the New York Times, TikTok’s lawyer warned the justices last week that the app would “go dark” if it lost the case, though it remained unclear how quickly the shutdown would occur. If app store operators like Apple and Google continued to distribute or update TikTok,
LA wildfires and how they affect all people
CLAIRE WEI STAFF WRITER
VIOLET KANG STAFF WRITER
If you’ve been able to access the outside world recently, it should come as no surprise to you that Los Angeles (L.A.) is burning. The wildfires that began due to the high wind
speeds and heavy droughts have been rapidly spreading and burned 40,168 acres, as of Jan. 11. But what does this mean for us?
The following quote was taken from a student at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA):
“The fires did not affect me directly, but they did heavily disrupt those two
weeks for everyone. All of us had to prepare for the worst, especially UCLA when evacuation warnings reached neighboring areas. I also know many people, including many UCLA students, who lost their homes and possessions in the fires. It was, and still is, a terrible tragedy and great disaster for the people of Los Angeles.”
Over the past few years, wildfires have become increasingly common. In 2023, Canadian wildfires overtook the news reports and burned through 45.70 million acres of land. The effects were so severe that they even reached Michigan with air pollution increasing to 100151 (unhealthy for sensitive groups). It was estimated that 169 individuals died in Michigan alone from the smoke, and Clague’s field day was canceled to avoid the risk of students and staff breathing in the dangerous smog. This could be due to several factors, many of which led to climate change, especially during the
2000s, when temperatures were higher. L.A.’s fire mainly resulted from dry land and a lack of rain. Possible origins include power lines creating electrical breakouts, weather temperatures rapidly rising, or a lack of precipitation.
29 people have unfortunately lost their lives, and around 170,000 have lost their homes. Recorded on Sunday morning, the Pasilades fire in L.A. was 52 percent contained; the damage has been extensive with 4,996 structures torn apart and 707 damaged. Just updated to be 17000 structures damaged. And it’s only predicted that these numbers will continue to rise.
“Wildfires likely create their own weather, and since a fire is very hot, the air rises and pulls in surface wind patterns,” sixth- and eighth-grade science teacher Gretchen Hahn said. “Those surface winds stoke the fire more. The one in L. A was likely caused by too dry land and a lack of rain, so it took
Club brief: HOSA regional competition update: up next states
subjects, and health science.
ELLA TANG STAFF WRITER
Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) is a program that teaches students about leadership, teamwork, medical-related
This year, the club meets every other Friday after school. In this club, students can participate in a diverse selection of subjects relating to health science, such as veterinary science, nutrition, and mental health.
Recently they had their first competition/conference at Bedford High School on
Jan. 11. This was a oneday competition from early morning to late afternoon. This year, Clague Middle School won an assortment of awards and a total of 18 students qualified for the HOSA State competition!
“I think HOSA was really fun and I’d like to do it again next year!” seventh grader Melissa Lee said.
they would face significant penalties under the law.
The app stores and cloud providers would pay penalties as high as $5,000 per user who gain access to the app inside the United States if the ban takes effect, giving them significant motivation to comply with the law.
The decision came on an unusually fast timeline. The justices heard arguments last Friday, and a majority seemed convinced by the government’s stance that the law targeted the app’s ownership as opposed to its speech rights.
TikTok’s lawyer Noel J. Francisco acknowledged the security risk, but argued that the government could address them through other measures, rather than ordering the app to “go dark”.
This ruling could’ve been a death blow to TikTok’s American operations. Being inaugurated the day after the
“I learned a lot from HOSA and the competition was a bit stressful but there was lots of time to relax and stuff so that was fun,” Lenaya Lee said. “We also had time to goof off and we played games like Tag and Hide and Seek when we were bored.”
The Clague HOSA team at the HOSA regional conference. PHOTO CREDIT: GRACE YANG
only a little spark to cause the whole area to burn thoroughly. The wind was also a big factor while fighting the L.A. fires.” So, what does this mean for Michigan?
Well, it depends, as Michigan is not known for extremely hot temperatures like those in L.A. The opposite really, with its cold snowy winters and moderate summers. However, the state occasionally experiences wildfires in its drier conditions, such as the Blue Lakes fire and Duck Lake fire in 2022 and 2012, respectively. There are currently two threats to our forests: oak wilt and pine-boring beetles, insects that kill trees, both of which create lots of dead trees that could be fuel for a large fire. Notwithstanding, the chances of wildfires erupting in Michigan still stay on the lower side, and a sudden and severe case like that of L.A. is highly improbable.
ZAHRA SYED STAFF WRITER
Wild fires are a threat to more than just people in California. This photo was taken in Santa Monica this past month.
PHOTO COURTESY HALEY KLUGE
The TikTok ban briefly went into effect on Jan. 19. PHOTO CREDIT: SAANVI KULKARNI
How many no school days can we expect this winter?
AEDA BAANG STAFF WRITER
MEDHA SANGI STAFF WRITER
Have you ever wondered how many days off from school we should expect this winter? Most students are excited about days off in Ann Arbor every winter. I have always loved it when we had days off from school. Whenever I came back from school I always asked my friends how the day off from school was.
“I was so happy they took two days off from school!” my friends had told me when we came back to school after a long two-day break because of too much snow on the roads.
This shows that a lot of people love days off from school. I have a lot of friends and so far all of them loved days off from school because I always asked how it was. My friends have also told me they
love to go sledding, etc. People love to go sledding, ice skating, build snow forts, or stay home relaxing. Whenever there is no school day, I sometimes go sledding. I see people sledding and making forts and clearly they enjoy it a lot. Those are some reasons people love days when school gets canceled. Many people are always ready to dive into the weekend head first and love it when that short dose of freedom comes slightly earlier or lasts a smidge longer than expected. So how many of these wonderful surprises can we expect this winter?
“January’s average temperature is 27 degrees Fahrenheit (1 degree below average),” the Farmer’s Almanac said. “Its average precipitation is 1.5 inches (1.5 inches below average). For February’s average temperature, it’s 24 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees below average and the precipitation
is 1.5 inches (0.5 inches below average).”
The Farmer’s Almanac makes almanacs every year. You might be wondering, what are almanacs? Well, they are annual calendars containing important dates and statistical information such as astronomical data and tide tables or handbooks, typically published annually. According to Google, an almanac contains information of general interest or on a sport or pastime. This almanac company has existed since 1792, when George Washington was still alive. “And we’re also proud to say that it’s still made in the U.S.A., which seems to be a rare claim these days,” the Farmer’s Almanac said. They are still publishing their annual almanac about planting charts, weather forecasts, recipes, and moon and sunrise times. They have been a helpful group, helping people know
Orange: more than just a color
JAEWON LEE NEWS EDITOR
Orange is everything. It’s not just a fruit or a color — it’s a cultural, artistic, and historical phenomenon.
“To me, the color orange represents vibrancy, energy, joy, and warmth,” Clague art teacher Sarah Griesinger said.
“To me orange can sometimes be life and can help you in your daily lives in so many ways,” Clague eighth grader Kiya Rostamian said.
“It’s just a chill color,” Clague eighth grader Feiyun Chen said. “Whenever I think of [orange], it makes me calm down.”
From the warm hues of sunsets to the bold flags of nations, orange has left its imprint across centuries and societies. Let’s take a journey to explore how orange became not just a shade in the rainbow, but a ubiquitous phenomenon.
Royal And Religion Throughout history, orange has often been associated with royalty, religion and power. The color derives its name from the fruit Orange, which was introduced to Europe in the 15th century.
The word “orange” comes from the Sanskrit word “nāranga” (meaning orange), which passed onto Persian as “nārang,” passed to Arabic language as “nāranj,” and eventually settled into European languages, which then translated them back into orange (Etymology Dictionary).
In the religion Hinduism, saffron — a specific shade of orange — symbolizes purity, spirituality, and warmth. Orange represents fire in this religion, and since Hindus believe impurities are burnt by fire, this color symbolizes purity. Moreover, in the Dutch revolution, which happened in the 16th century, William of Orange, also known as William the Silent, led Dutch independence efforts against Spain, which succeeded. Since then, Orange became a symbol of resistance and independence for the Dutch, even though the Dutch flag isn’t actually orange despite popular belief. Today, orange is the national color of the Netherlands (Britannica).
Artistic/Emotional
Significance
During the
the weather, moon, and sunrise times. They also taught people how to garden and plant. They are an expert at nature around us and have helped us. They have existed for more than 200 years, which tells us they have much experience. The Farmer’s Almanac shows us a chart below, It is the weather report for January and February. This report shows that this winter is gonna be a mild one. It won’t be harsh for sure since right now we aren’t experiencing any snowstorms or ice storms. According to the Ann Arbor Public Schools website (AAPS Weather Guidelines), “On days when the temperature including wind chill is below 20ºF (20 below zero): Schools will be closed.” Although this seems like a very low temperature, it also says wind chill. This means that the wind could make it feel like 20ºF. But even though the wind chill
Renaissance, artists used orange pigments for warmth and vitality in their paintings. Since then, orange has become a color representing warmth. Furthermore, orange represents unity in many cultures. This is why we wear orange on Unity Day. Moreover, 19th century impressionists like Van Gogh used orange to evoke intense light and emotion. He once even said, “There is no orange without blue.” (Textures World)
Orange as Food And Flavor
Of course, even though we are exploring different perspectives of oranges, we must not forget the most common perspective: Orange as food and flavor. The food orange came earlier than the color orange. Oranges were cultivated for thousands of years, starting in Southeast Asia, but the color orange was invented only in the 16th century.
Conclusion
Orange isn’t just the fruit or color orange. It’s an element filled with deep historical roots, cultural significance, and artistic impact. Whether you see it on a sunrise or wear it on unity day, orange is, and always will be, everything.
affects temperatures, this winter doesn’t seem like a winter with a lot of snow days. We also have experienced no school days when there was a lot of snow and when there were icy roads for dangerous roads. There are websites where you can find the percentage of no-school days that could happen. Here is a link to one of those sites: Snow Day Predictor, with the zip code being 48104. This year doesn’t seem like a year with lots of snow days but don’t be too disappointed because the weather is always changing and we might get a lot of snow this year. No one knows until it happens. But look out for snow days during January and February. So don’t be too disappointed when you see that chart. Always look out for icy roads or much too cold weather. We still might get a few no-school days this year!
Why summer is better than winter
JACOB DAVIDSON OPINION EDITOR
Although every season has its own distinct beauty, many people have a particular place in their hearts for summer. Summer provides a vitality that winter frequently lacks despite its long, sunlit days and countless outside activities. Here are some reasons why summer is unquestionably superior to winter. The warm weather is the primary factor that makes summer preferable to winter. I always enjoy the warm temperatures of summer. Another advantage is that there are more daylight hours for summertime pursuits like sports and tanning. Summertime activities are the second factor that makes summer superior to winter. Compared to winter, many more sports can be played in the summer. Soccer, for instance, is far more enjoyable when played on a field than in a gym. Many other sports are simply more enjoyable when played outside as opposed to indoors.
Social events are a third factor that makes summer superior to winter. Pool parties, barbecues, weddings, graduations and concerts are examples of activities that do well in the summer rather than the winter due to their
seasonality.
One could argue that winter is preferable to summer for a variety of reasons. The main one is that you can stay at home and engage in a variety of indoor activities, such as playing video games or watching movies. However, summer is still better because movies. In conclusion, there are numerous reasons summer is better than winter, including the pleasant weather, summertime activities, and social gatherings. Even while it’s possible to claim that summer is worse than winter, there are always why summer is preferable.
We polled 20 of our staff members, and....
11 prefer summer and
9 prefer winter.
GRAPHIC BY SAANVI KULKARNI
GRAPHIC BY SAANVI KULKARNI
Love at third sight: how Mark and Julie Donnelly met
JAY TAVANE AND ANNABELLA MI EDITOR-IN-CHIEFS
For Clague ELA teachers Mark and Julie Donnelly, it was anything but love at first sight.
“I would come 10 minutes early to class, and he came in one second before the professor,” Mrs. Donnelly said. “I used to think he was rude.”
Their paths crossed multiple times in a history class at the University of Michigan-Flint, but it wasn’t until a neighbor suggested they meet that they found a connection in one another.
“A month later, my neighbor came over to my house and said, ‘hey, I have a really good friend who I think you should meet because you have similar personalities,” Mrs. Donnelly said. “I was like, ‘well, I’m dating someone right now.’ And she goes, ‘no, no, no, he’s really great.’”
and then we actually met and shook hands,” Mrs. Donnelly said. “But you were dating someone else also, so I was just like, ‘oh, hey, nice to meet you.’ We did not talk.”
Three weeks later, another party was organized. Although retakes are optional, for Mr. and Mrs. Donnelly, it was paramount for their relationship.
“You were having a party because your mom was in Hawaii for Christmas,” Mrs. Donnelly said to her now spouse. “And I went over to your house, and that’s when we actually started talking.”
After a night of enjoying each other’s company, Mr. Donnelly offered to take Mrs. Donnelly sledding -- which she declined.
“She said ‘no,’” Mr. Donnelly said. “Because it was too cold.”
Despite the slight disagreement in setting, the two compromised over nachos at Michael J’s Pub, which is the address of where their
“We weren’t thinking of each other romantically for a
Despite their immediate chemistry, both described their first impressions as “pretty average.” Regardless, they quickly found solace in working out together and
“We found ourselves to be pretty average. I was not wowed by his looks, he was not wowed by my looks,” Mrs. Donnelly said. “That’s not how our
their Dexter backyard
started, which is good.”
The shift from friendship to a romantic relationship happened
STELLA SWARUP STAFF WRITER
Born and raised in Detroit, Keisha Ferguson attended Catholic school.
She grew up with her mom, dad, and sister.
“I went to the University of Michigan for my master’s degree,” she said. Ferguson was
organically.
“We loved each other’s personalities,” Mrs. Donnelly said. “Then you grew enamored with mine.”
Starting off on the same foot, both Mr and Mrs. Donnelly avoided the terms, “boyfriend, girlfriend,” they were provided with a loose sense of commitment.
“We always felt that if he or I were to fall in love with somebody else, yeah, one of us might have been heartbroken,” Mrs. Donnelly said. “But who am I to tell him he can’t? . . . we wouldn’t want to stay together out of some false sense of commitment, because we’re” boyfriend and girlfriend.”
After six months of friendship, it evolved into a relationship of romance.
“I think it was because everything just felt so effortless that we don’t have these big moments that we go, ‘oh, yeah that’s when the whole world changed,’” Mrs. Donnelly said. “I think it just grew into that.”
But when Mr. Donnelly received a scholarship to live in Japan for over six months, the two unanimously decided to part ways.
“I was like, ‘okay, we’re broken up,” Mrs. Donnelly said. “So obviously, it’s not going to work out because he’s leaving. And so . . . I was moving on with my life.”
However, love pursued. After two months of Mr. Donnelly living abroad in Japan, he asked a question only one person could answer correctly.
“He said, ‘Hey Julie, do you want to get hitched?’” Mrs. Donnelly replied. “ Mark, we’ve been through this before. Yes, someday I want to be married.’ And he goes, ‘no, I mean to me.’”
Although scripted as a prank call, with persuasion, the vision of a “ring” started to wrap around the circumference of Mrs. Donnelly’s finger.
“It took a long time on the phone to convince me that this was real,” Mrs. Donnelly said. “And I still didn’t believe it because there was no ring or anything. But then I did.
And so, when Mr. Donnelly returned from Japan, a wedding was arranged: July
inspired to become a teacher because her mother and grandmother were both teachers. She now teachers sixth grade math.
“So that means that I am a third-generation teacher,” she said. “Some struggle[s] I face is that being a teacher is very demanding work. You always have something to do.”
25, 1992, at 10:30 a.m., the two vowed their love for each other under Mrs. Donnelly’s favorite tree in her backyard. The reception, held at a local hall, featured a solo guitarist and Mr. Donnelly’s “very nice hair.”
“It was beautiful,” Mrs. Donnelly said. “It was a garden wedding [with] 30 of our cherished friends and family.”
However enchanting the wedding, Mr. and Mrs. Donnelly did not dub the cohabitation afterward to be as glorious.
“Living in the same place was the hardest part,” Mrs. Donnelly said. “Marriage is so much more than just love. You got to know how you feel about squeezing the toothpaste out of the bottle . . putting away clothes or dropping them on the floor — little tiny annoyances like that can build up.”
To Mr. and Mrs. Donnelly, it was clear within the first year that marriage entailed much more than love; it involved communication and compromise.
“It’s important to make it work out, by not letting things fester to where you’re feeling like you’re going crazy,” Mrs. Donnelly said.
With open communication, living together expanded into working together. Mrs. Donnelly landed a job at Clague initially and eventually welcomed Mr. Donnelly after seven years. Although it was a slim chance, the odds worked in their favor serendipitously.
“I like working with him,” Mrs. Donnelly said. “I can’t remember not working here with you.”
In tandem, the two invested effort in ELA by coauthoring a book, “Guiding Adolescent Readers to Success” and began an auxiliary curriculum business, in 2015. Since then, they have continued to expend time into a career beyond Clague.
One of Ferguson’s best experiences as a teacher is watching kids grow throughout the year and being a part of that.
“One of my hobbies is I love to go and see concerts and comedy shows,” Ferguson said. “I also enjoy spending time with my son Tre. And I like to visit my college friends.
designed the guided reading program for middle school, and implemented the program through Ann Arbor Public Schools (AAPS).”
In their early days, Mr. and Mrs. Donnelly spent time together traveling around Europe and having late-night talks until 5:30 a.m. Now, they enjoy golf, home improvement projects, and spending time with their two children: Conor, an infection preventionist, and Caitlyn, a human resources major.
“Kids are the big commitment,” Mrs. Donnelly said. “We waited six years to have children so we had time to get our careers situated before we needed to dedicate our focus to our family.”
33 years together, Mr. and Mrs. Donnelly maintain their idiosyncrasies of not celebrating anniversaries or Valentine’s Day in a traditional manner. Rather, they enjoy their unique customs, such as the Sweetheart Relay race followed by a trip to McDonald’s.
“We just never had any awkward moment where you [can’t] talk all night long. And we’re still just like that,” Mrs. Donnelly said. “I fell in love with Mr. Donnelly’s intelligence and personality.”
As ELA teachers, as authors, as entrepreneurs, as best friends, as spouses, they always have love in every dynamic.
“We are best friends and life partners and we wouldn’t want to be with anyone else.”
Ferguson’s favorite movie is “Coming to America.” She would watch it all the time as a kid.
“When I was younger I played baseball and basketball,” she said.
One fun fact about Ferguson is that she loves reality TV.
Mr. and Mrs. Donnelly’s garden wedding on July 25, 1992. JULIE DONNELLY
The in the Aran islands in Ireland, 1991. JULIE DONNELLY
Mr. and Mrs. Donnelly in Black Forest Germany. JULIE DONNELLY
In
in 2020. JULIE DONNELLY
Reviewing Ann Arbor’s Yoon’s Bakery
The history of local Korean Bakery
Have you ever craved fresh bread or something to satisfy your sweet tooth from a bakery? If you’re looking to satisfy that craving but aren’t sure where to go, this article will guide you. We strongly recommend Yoon’s Bakery, located at 2775 Plymouth Rd, Ann Arbor, MI. Read on to find out why this spot is a must-visit for pastry lovers. According to their website; Yoon’s Bakery, “Yoon’s Bakery is a Korean Bakery based on the French baking style, serving a unique selection of fresh bakery goods made with the highest quality ingredients. Delicate
buns of fine-grained, baked until just pale gold and filled or topped with freshly made creams or custards flavored with chocolate, coffee, or fruit. Some are filled with sweet potato, red bean, or green pea pastes, which may provide rich flavor. We believe you really can taste the difference.”
Ratings: Overall, we’d highly recommend checking it out if you are craving some bread or want to spend some time with your family, the service is incredibly nice, and check it out, with a five-star rating!
The website says: “Imagine the aroma of bread baking in your oven – or cookies, muffins, or cakes. It’s the
smell of home, warm and welcoming, with the promise of shared pleasures to come. We provide both bread and delicious moments in your day that can be shared with your loved ones and friends having our bread and your favorite tea or coffee at home, work, or school.”
Here are all the bread pastries. One of our personal favorites is Morning Bread because it has a clean taste and not too much flavoring. This bread is very common to be sold out, so I don’t usually have the chance to get it. Here are the trays that they provide you to hold the food you want to bring. You take your food, put it on the tray, and then head to the checkout.
OLIVIA YIM STAFF WRITER
Mr.Yoons visited Ann Arbor in 2010. He was surprised that there were many Korean restaurants but not a single Korean Bakery. In 2015, Mr. Yoons launched Yoon’s Bakery to serve “the taste of home” to make them smile and feel warm inside. Yoon’s Bakery adds to the international flavor of Ann Arbor.
”A few months later, he was surprised by how many Americans also love the Korean bread and adopt the
Staff Editorial: There is nothing to lose from love
Every single person has encountered love in some way. Either we give it, we receive it, or we spectate it. But no matter its form of commute, we experience how love bewitches us into writing passionate proses to serenade a not-so-secret admirer or bake chocolate-strawberry cakes for a friend’s birthday. But with love’s constant presence, there is always the opportunity for too much of a
good thing.
It’s the tax on a box of chocolate, the fine print on a viewer’s discretion, and the most overlooked aspect of what it means to express love. Every action has its consequences, and so does love. When we write enamored poems to someone our heart gallops to at 200 miles per hour for, we risk portraying ourselves as “stalkers.” When we pour
every last unit of love into that cake, we’re secondguessing if we remembered to ask if our friend had allergies or dietary restrictions.
But it’s more than a single-defining, flustered moment of humility that we’ll laugh off as a nostalgic memory in a decade. It’s the throbbing heartbreak of when we give so much of our precious love that we only grant to a select few.
It’s a full-circle expectation: for the song we composed and pastries we baked, we anticipate the recipient’s unconditional love.
So what happens when we don’t get it? A few dystopian settings start to soar through our imaginations -- oxygen turns into carbon monoxide, the world stops spinning, Sleeping Beauty never awakes from her slumber.
Korean habit of dropping in to take home some treats. In Yoon’s Bakery, there are various kinds of sweets one can buy. There are over 49 different kinds of bread and 10 cakes. (Available by whole or piece). The sweets in yoon’s bakery are made with high quality ingredients. It does not have any artificial color or preservatives. The breads and cakes in Yoon’s Bakery are home made. Starting from flour. All cream fillings or tops including custard, are homemade. They are baked fresh at 5 a.m. every morning.
Yoon’s Bakery is located at 2775 Plymouth Road. It is opened Tuesday-Sunday from 8am to 8pm.
PHOTO JESSIE GUO
In other words, we start to experience heart throb for the reciprocated love we awaited for and even start to ask of a cruel fantasy: Is love even real?
Here’s the thing: as love itself is inevitable, so is the heartbreak that follows it. So I advise this: love regardless of what might never be compensated for. Because you only gain when you give love.
VIOLET KANG & JESSIE GUO STAFF WRITERS
Pastries at Yoon’s Bakery. The store is located on the North Side of Ann Arbor. It serves cakes, coffee, ice cream and pastries PHOTO TAKEN BY JESSIE GUO
The iconic graphic novel “Dog Man” becomes a movie
ETHAN CHEN & BOQIAN LI STAFF WRITERS
The “Dog Man” movie will be released in theaters on Jan 31, 2025*. It is based on the book series “Dog Man,” but like many other bookto-movie films, some things have changed. The “Dog Man” series by Dav Pilkey is popular with children like Bruce’s seven-year-old brother but is meant for all ages. I love the “Dog Man” books, so I want to know more about the movie.
The “Dog Man” movie will center around a dog who is part dog and part man, like the books. Once upon a time, a fit policeman and a genius dog who couldn’t see green had a horrible accident. In the hospital they were sent to after the accident, the doctors decided to attach the dog’s head to the man’s body because the policeman’s head was damaged beyond repair and so was the dog’s head, creating Dog Man. Dog Man
was good at everything except seeing green. He is a key player in stopping Petey the Cat and his various schemes and exploits.
The trailer of The “Dog Man” movie includes Petey the Cat, the main antagonist of the book series, and the Dog Man movie from what I can see from the trailer.
Petey is an evil cat who had a rough childhood. His father left him when he was young, so his mother raised Petey completely by herself. When Petey’s mother dies, Petey becomes who he is now: a genius inventor, just like his father. However, unlike his father, he tried to be good at first, but everyone kept mistreating him, so he decided to fight against them.
The trailer features many inventions not shown or edited in the book series, such as a tank made of scrap metal, and a less pristine and robust version of the tank shown in the book series. Like
most other book-to-movie films, a single movie has multiple inventions shown in different books. In the trailer, the doctors that created “Dog Man” did it Frankensteinstyle, with electricity reviving and fusing the policeman and dog.
The “Dog Man” series’ plot is great just the way it is and I don’t think that the creators of The “Dog Man” movie need to change it that much. But they do change some key personality points like making it so that Petey’s tank isn’t painted. Petey is the type of guy to try to hide this. Many inventions seen in the trailer look like Petey took three all-nighters and put them together, which also does not fit Petey. Something the movie got right was that Dog Man acts based on instincts and rarely shows good intelligence (around once per book).
Looking at the history of the day of love: Valentine’s Day
JAY TAVANE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Valentine’s Day is a day we all know and love, it’s a holiday celebrated every year on Feb. 14, this year it will fall on a Friday, during MidWinter Break. Every year on that day, thousands of people worldwide exchange candy, flowers, and gifts between loved ones, all with the previous help of St. Valentine (c. 226 - c. 269), a priest who helped marry young couples even though it was outlawed at the time.
Who is this guy and where did these traditions come from? To find out the interesting history of Valentine’s Day we first have to go back in time to Ancient Rome and the story of a certain Saint named Valentine. Let’s take a look.
February has always been celebrated as a month of romance and St. Valentine’s Day contains Christian and ancient Roman traditions. The Catholic Church recognizes three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred. One legend talks about how Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When the emperor Claudius II at the time Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with families, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine realized the injustice of the law, and defied the emperor, continuing to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. Valentine’s
actions were discovered, and Claudius ordered that he be put to death. Some people say that a bishop, Saint Valentine of Terni was the true namesake of the holiday but he was also beheaded by Claduius II outside of Rome.
“Valentine’s Day has some chaotic origins,” Clague history teacher Austin Bryan said. “It started with the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, which was a weird mix of a fertility celebration, a matchmaking lottery, and some guys running around smacking people with strips of animal hide for good luck (yes, really). The holiday got a glow-up when the Catholic Church decided that was way
too much and rebranded it as Saint Valentine’s Day to honor a couple of different Saint Valentines (history wasn’t great at keeping track).”
Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were tortured painfully. One legend said an imprisoned Valentine sent the first Valentine’s Day letter after he fell in love with the jailer’s daughter. The note was signed “From your Valentine” and it’s still an expression we use today, although the history of St. Valentine’s legend is blurry, all the stories still
emphasize how sympathetic and heroic he was. By the Middle Ages, possibly due to his reputation, Valentine would become one of the most popular saints in England and France. As Valentine’s Day became more popular it was celebrated with gifts of flowers, chocolates, and greeting cards. The first Valentine’s Day cards were mass-produced in the 19th century, and they became more elaborate and romantic as time passed. Today, Valentine’s Day is celebrated in many countries worldwide, and it is a time for couples to express their love and affection for one another.
“Over time, it went from being about martyrs to being about love, thanks to medieval poets and Hallmark’s marketing team,” Bryan said. “Now, it’s a day when people either celebrate romance, eat chocolate alone in their pajamas, or pretend it doesn’t exist.”
Whether you’re celebrating with your significant other, friends, or family, Valentine’s Day is the perfect time to show your love for those special people in your life. So go and spread the love!
Graphic by Jay Tavane
Dog Man Collection of books #1-3, in Bruce Li’s kitchen countertop surrounded by tape, plastic, cardboard, glue and a water bottle. PHOTO TAKEN BY BRUCE LI
New K-Pop dance team learns moves after school
1. There are three groups that participate in Dynasty, the newest club at Clague. This is the first group. They are working on a hip hop dance. 2. Sixth grader Stella Lee dances to BTS. 3. The newly formed K-Pop Dance club meets every Monday after school. 4. Huron student Sarah Xu leads the group in choreography.
The harm of collective punishments when it comes to coaching a
BRYN HIRSCHMAN STAFF WRITER
If you play sports, you probably have had a coach use the punishment “If one person messes up, then we all run laps.” This is called collective punishment, and a harmful way to punish a group. People do this by taking the wrongdoings of one or a few people and placing the blame and consequences on the whole group. This can be seen in school where some trouble-making kids always ruin Kahoot games during class time by continuously talking. It can also be found again in sports. If someone doesn’t pay attention and messes up a drill, then a coach would stop the whole practice, make everyone do sprints to teach a “lesson.”
This is blind justice: when a group’s effort is being dragged down by a couple of people, the whole group should not be the ones to get punished for their actions. It is an unfair tactic to assert control over the team’s work and people, and it usually has
bad consequences. Funnily enough, there isn’t much research and experiments done on this topic, except from a few articles and my personal digging. But from sharing the experience of this punishment, in school and in sports, I can attest that this is a lazy way to punish a group when you don’t know who isn’t showing effort or paying attention. The reason for this unethical procedure also could be they don’t want to confront the person because it is assumed they won’t listen, or they themselves are lackadaisical and too nervous to confront the individual.
“
This is blind justice: when a group’s effort is being dragged down by a couple of people, the whole group should not be punished for their actions.”
BRYN HIRSCHMAN
A real example is when I was at sports practice, my
team and others were not doing so well on the drill. We were sluggish and overall not having a good start but many got the drill down and we were soon fine. However the coaches were not happy with our collective performance, so they changed the drill a little and I messed it up by not paying attention. They stopped the practice, yelled about it for a bit, then made us go to the line and run laps while saying we could be actually doing something useful. I must say, being the scapegoat for the whole team was not great — I felt guilty and bad that I had to make the whole team sprint for my mistake. To breakdown this example: the coach was not happy with
the team because we were underperforming. So the next time someone messed up the drill (me), they used that person as the excuse to punish the whole team for not doing better, including the people who were working hard. The effects on the team cause the scapegoat to feel terrible and be self-conscious about the mistake, how the team feels towards them, and scared to make another mistake. I cannot read the minds of my teammates, but in other cases I’m sure they wouldn’t be pleased with their friend for making them run, causing arguments and overall negative feelings towards that person. Plus the trust for the coaches would be questioned and lessened that they won’t let us make mistakes and not have an over-the-top reaction. So the team would tread more cautiously around them, afraid to mess up and being the scapegoat for the punishment. People could label collective punishments as efficient, we don’t have enough studies done on this by professionals
team
but we can say that there are a lot of cons to this too. It could increase the work performances of the individuals, but some people stay the same and continually cause repercussions. The message of the collective punishments for some people just flies over their heads like a frisbee. Instead of doing this, the person in charge should figure out who doesn’t understand what they are supposed to be doing, and confront them about it, telling them what they are doing wrong and punishing them instead of the whole group. It would be a better solution to just being lazy and attacking the whole team. This form of punishment has been going on since Roman times/ We need to break this cycle of teaching and punishment, it’s unfair justice and in the long run just harmful. There should be more studies done on this by professionals, not by kids who have the free time to do so.
SOPHIA RUSTIA AND ADRIANA AQUINO PHOTO EDITOR AND STAFF WRITER
Finding her voice: Supriya Kelkar’s writing journey
MEDHA SANGI STAFF WRITER
Supriya Kelkar is an award-winning writer and the proud author of 17 children’s books, including ‘American as Paneer Pie,’ which tells the story of a girl discovering her voice as an “outsider” in her own community, with her two friends, and her first book, Ahimsa, which follows a young girl named Anjali who fights for her own freedom and her country’s during the Indian Independence Movement.
But she wasn’t always as confident as she is today, growing up Kelkar often struggled to find a voice and speak up for herself.
Growing up in a small town in metro Detroit, Kelkar faced chronic bullying due to her skin color and other differences from her peers.
However, she found comfort in her communities.
“I was fortunate to grow up going to several different Indian cultural associations and getting to appreciate the diversity within South Asian culture,” Kelkar said. “Much of ‘American as Paneer Pie’ is based on experiences that really happened to me when I was your age. It took many years for me to find my voice.”
struggles of those alive at the time.
Kelkar eventually decided to attend the University of Michigan and she found the new diverse environment refreshing and freeing.
As she continued her education at the University of Michigan, Kelkar discovered that her voice was naturally expressed through writing. She realized she could use her passion for writing to uplift others and make a difference in her community.
Because of this, she set out on a journey to write her first novel Ahimsa. But it wasn’t easy, the road to publishing “Ahimsa” was not straightforward. Kelkar noted that, for many years, the publishing industry refused to acknowledge diverse voices in books.
“I wrote the first draft of Ahimsa in 2003 before you were born,” she said, speaking to middle school students. “And I received hundreds of rejection letters over many years for it, and dozens of other books and screenplays.”
“ I write these books because I want readers like you to always know you have the power to make a difference and make a change.”
But Kelkar doesn’t always write her stories using her personal life as inspiration, she also recognizes her Indian heritage. Both Ahimsa and Strong as Fire, Fierce as Flame detail the lives of people living during the time of Britishoccupied India and turn them into entertaining stories while educating readers about the
SUPRIYA KELKAR
Despite these setbacks, she remained committed to her story and kept revising. Her perseverance eventually led to the successful publication of “Ahimsa” in 2017. Kelkar said she was inspired to write through growing up in the 1980s and 1990s, a time when there was no representation in books, TV shows, movies, commercials, or even junk mail fliers featuring anyone who looked like herself, she never thought her story mattered, until third grade when her teacher assigned a project where each student had to write a book.
“He even bound them into hardcover,” she mentioned. “It was the first time I saw my name, an Indian American name, on a book cover. That day made me think about wanting to be a writer.”
Many of her novels which include Ahimsa, American as Paneer Pie, the 2022 Global Read Aloud: Strong as Fire, Fierce as Flame, and many more are about recognizing you shine, your power, and knowing you matter.
“I write these books because I want readers like you to always know you have the power to make a difference and make a change,” Kelkar said.
Although Ahimsa was Kelkar’s debut novel, it wasn’t her first exposure to published writing. In fifth grade, she and a friend launched a classroom newspaper “I heard it lasted
for several years after we left elementary school,” she said. She was also a writer in her high school newspaper.
“I don’t remember much about it except it was exciting when we would get assigned subjects to cover that we were interested in too. For me, that was books and movies.” While she couldn’t remember the specific details from her time there, she remembered it as a rewarding experience that she really enjoyed.
Kelkar attributes her love of writing to one simple thing: access to books, thanks to a book of the month club gift her aunt and uncle gave her throughout her childhood she had easy access to an abundance of great books. Because of this, she was constantly reading.
“This turned me into a writer because anytime I
read a book, even if I didn’t like it, I was learning from that book,” Kelkar said. “I’d think about what I didn’t like. Did I not like the pacing? Was it too slow? Did I not like the main character’s personality or decisions?”
All this reading turned her into a writer.
“If I thought my first draft of Ahimsa was perfect, I wouldn’t be the author of over 17 books for kids today,” she said. “Second, no matter how many times you get rejected, keep pushing forward. “Everyone’s story matters,” Kelkar reminds young writers. “So make sure you tell it.”
Kelkar’s books are available for purchase at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other local bookstores. PHOTO COVERS COURTESY OF KELKAR
Kelkar poses for a photo in a sari, a traditional Indian outfit. PHOTO COURTESY OF KELKAR
High school students step in to coach seventh-grade Rec & Ed volleyball team
YUAN
When the seventh grade Rec & Ed volleyball team found itself without coaches, two high school students stepped in to help and consequently transformed the team.
For two years, two of the players’ parents had coached the team. However, as the team was becoming increasingly more advanced, the coaches felt that they did not have the skills to accurately coach volleyball.
Instead, the previous coaches asked high schoolers Zara Lin and Mada Montgomery to coach the team. Lin and Montgomery
are currently seniors at Huron High School and play volleyball for the school.
They said yes, and since Lin and Montgomery have stepped in, the team has been undefeated. They have won every single game they’ve played, but Lin and Montgomery have provided an even more important quality: teamwork.
“We got better at working together,” said Flaherty, a player on the team. “Before, we didn’t talk as much, but then we started communicating when we were playing and we got closer.”
Now, the volleyball team will continue to rise and get better, both through technique and collaboration.
1. After school, runners can be found in the Clague neighborhood running the sidewalks and trails. Sixth graders Audrey Yuan and Audrey Yang pictured.
2. Passing by Thurston neighborhood homes are Lauren Zeng and other winter runners.
3. Runners jog throughout the neighborhood.
4. Coach Michelle Machiele trails after the runners to guarantee their safety.
MYRNA FLAHRETY STAFF WRITER
The seventh-grade Rec and Ed volleyball team, coached by high schoolers Zara Lin and Mada Montgomery. PHOTO COURTESY OF ELLEN SCHULTZ
AUDREY YANG, AUDREY
& OLIVIA YIM STAFF WRITERS
The key to a long-lasting relationship isn’t just grand gestures or dramatic speeches in the rain like in movies, it’s consistency, trust, and mutual respect. Good communication if you can’t talk about feelings without turning into a nervous wreck, it’s going to be tough. Respect, If you don’t actually like each other as people, all the romance in the world won’t save you. Patience, because no matter how much you love someone, they will eventually test you (like when they load the dishwasher wrong for the 100th time). And effort, love doesn’t sustain itself; you have to actively care, show up, and maybe even share your fries. At the end of the day, a great relationship is built on the little things because grand romantic gestures are cool, but remembering their coffee order without asking? That’s love.
I love “Alien Stage” by VIVINOS (Studio LICO), it’s a YouTube anime. [In the show,] Ivan loves Till and Till loves Mizi and she’s missing. So he [Ivan] loses someone he likes and he loses someone who likes him. It’s still coming out — so exciting and nervous cause there’s like six members and three kids died already in the previous episodes; I don’t want them to die.
My favorite thing is soccer because it is a fun sport to play with your friends and family. Soccer is played by many different countries. Soccer teams are made up of 11 players each. Each team tries to control the ball and move it toward the opponent’s goal. Only one player on each team, the goalkeeper, can touch the ball with the hands and armcause it is a fun sport to play with your friends and family.
Some things I love are ducks, of course, dance and cute things. I like ducks because they’re cute. I like dance because I can be with my friends and have fun.
ANNABELLA MI AND JAY TAVANE EDITORS-IN-CHIEF