V23 I4 - March 22, 2023

Wednesday, March 22, 2023

SAAN: An original display of identity

Venturing into community beyond diversity week

“I was curious when they got up on the stage fully dressed, and then when they started dancing it all made sense,” said Orrin Batts ‘23. “I really enjoyed it though and it was cool and different” Among the eight affinity groups at Greenhills is SAAN (South Asian Awareness Network), which took a more unique and creative way of sharing their culture.

Most groups went up and shared a slideshow or a skit, but SAAN performed a choreographed dance that took months of preparation.

“In past years, I don’t feel the leaders of SAAN, and other affinity groups for that matter, have gone out to really share their culture or identity with others outside their group,” said SAAN leader Chakor Rajendra ‘23. “I’m not saying they don’t do anything, I feel as a SAAN member in the past it felt more about the members sharing in their culture and identity[with each other] but not much about sharing it with those who don’t associate being South Asian with their identity. It felt more like just attending a meeting and then waiting for the next one. “We didn’t do anything extra.”

Bharatanatyam, such as a prayer before and wasn’t necessarily themed to depict any certain South Asian mythology, it still followed the use of intricate hand gestures, facial expressions, and body movements to tell stories,” said member Rayhan Bhalwani ‘24. “For our dance we choose all songs made by those who share in our identity and had the stories the dance portrayed be based off of the song lyrics.”

There were more reasons for SAAN doing a dance apart from culture and doing something different. We wanted to make it easier and more entertaining for those who we were sharing our culture with to understand it,” said Bhalwani.

Members of SAAN also felt like they are doing more this year.

“I was a member last year and we met a few times and though it was nice to have that shared community, I didn’t necessarily feel like I was learning more about my culture and growing as a person because of it,” said member Riya Narayan ‘23. “It was a lot of work this year but I felt more connected to who I was and the sense of accomplishment after seeing it all come together was great.”

Some minds may jump to the conclusion that a dance isn’t the best way to share aspects of one’s culture or identity with those who are on the outside, however there was a lot of thought behind the dance and how people would take it.

“Though it may look like a dance from a Bollywood movie, it is actually rich in history and is even based on a traditional cultural dance known as Bharatanatyam,” said Rajendra.

Bharatanatyam originated in the southern state of Tamil Nadu in India and is believed to have been developed over 2,000 years ago. It was initially performed as a temple dance, with dancers using intricate hand gestures, facial expressions, and body movements to tell stories from Hindu mythology.

“Though our dance doesn’t take all aspects of

SAAN also hopes to branch out from the Greenhills community. SAAN club sponsor Reeti Katoch-Rouse is also a volunteer for the nonprofit organization Asha for Education.

“I’m hoping sometime in November when the Detroit chapter of Asha for Education has one of its two yearly events that Greenhills SAAN would be able to share something similar to what they did during diversity symposium week,” said Katoch-Rouse.

The members of SAAN also welcome branching out and sharing their identity with those outside of the Greenhills community.

“Though the Asha for Education event is in November, I’m still really looking forward to it,” said SAAN member Kabir Rajendra ‘25. “Some of us are even trying to find other opportunities for us to perform as a group outside of Greenhills.”

The SAAN group is trying to bring their small community together by hosting more events and doing activities out of school.

“We are trying to do more activities outside of school, like hosting movies at people’s houses or supporting Indian businesses,” said Chakor. “SAAN is trying to do things more outside of school, instead of just being a meeting every week in a class, we are trying to do things outside of school that will bond our class.”

Fulfilling more than just a pint Students, faculty help battle blood shortage

SARAH HORAN ‘23

School Editor

Since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, there has been a rapid decline of blood donations, which is resulting in a national blood shortage in January 2022. The American Red Cross has been holding blood drives to prioritize the donations of blood to aid those in need. In order to combat the shortage, schools including Greenhills have gone back to holding blood drives in order to help hospitals recover from the worst blood shortage we have seen in the last decade.

According to director of service learning and civic engagement, Alyssa Friendly, Greenhills has been holding two to three blood drives for the last 12 years, and engaged in friendly com petitions with other high schools in the area. In 2018, Greenhills com peted with Skyline High School to see who could collect the most pints of blood; Greenhills lost by three pints to the larger public school. On average, Greenhills donates 25-30 pints per drive.

“Every time someone donates blood, three lives are saved.” said science teacher Ju lie Smith. “A pint of blood has three units that are taken from it, red blood cells, plasma and plate

lets. Three people’s lives are saved, and those are people. They’re not just numbers”

Smith is a regular platelet donor, which means every two weeks, she attends a clinic where blood is taken from her and the Red Cross harvests just the platelets. The machine will then return the other blood components — plasma, red cells, and white cells — back to the donor. This type of blood donation isn’t as typical but is just as necessary in hospitals for patients going through chemotherapy.

“Chemotherapy destroys platelets because platelets are dividing all the time, cancer patients need platelets because their blood doesn’t clot as easily,” said Smith. “They bump into something, they bleed and then bruise. They are needed more frequently for pediatric cancer pa tients, young children that are learning how to walk and falling down all the time, they need to have their blood clot when they bruise them selves.”

These platelet donations can make all the dif ference.

ence in a person’s life and whether they are able to continue with their treatment.

“When I donate platelets, they send me an email telling me where my platelets went, ” said Smith. “My platelets rarely stay in Ann Arbor, the need is so great that they go where they’re needed most. My last donations went to a children’s hospital in Indiana, another went to a different hospital in Indiana, and the last unit went to a hospital in Detroit. They’re taking platelets from Ann Arbor, and sending them all over, that’s how great the platelet shortage is.” Smith’s commitment to donating platelets was reinforced when a friend with cancer needed two units of blood but was only able to receive one.

“I have a friend that has cancer and needed two units of blood in February, ” said Smith. “They were only able to give her one. She got the one, home and she got sicker. on Feb. 27. because she only get one when she ed two, and this at U-M. This local, this is in our community.

underlies how big the shortage is.”

Smith was deeply affected by this loss and realized how big the shortage of blood and platelets really is in our local community. The blood drive held at Greenhills had 27 total donors (18 faculty members, seven students, and two others being community members) which translates to about 51 lives being saved. It turned out to be a big success, with a new record set of faculty members donating. Some potential donors were turned away the day off due to not meeting height or weight requirements or their blood having low iron, which would make it unsafe for them to donate.

“They won’t take your blood unless it is safe and healthy for you to donate, ” said Smith. “If you get turned away as a high school student, it’s okay, it just means that your body right now isn’t in a place where it’s healthy to give away blood. If you still want to volunteer, you can do that through the Red Cross, where you can check people in.”

In order to encourage participants, there was some friendly competition between faculty to see who could have a pint drawn the fastest. On the podium was gold medalist Lisa Flohr with a time of 3:57, silver Joseph Elliott with a time of 4:30 and bronze medalist Jarrett Bussell with a time of 4:50. Although there is not a student competition, if there were, Charles Branch ‘24 would have won with a time of 3:22.

“It’s a great way to easily give back to people,” said Lisa Fhlor. “You’re able to save lives and it doesn’t impact you negatively. It’s a great way to serve the community.”

RISHI VERMA ‘23 School Staff

DANCE, DANCE From left to right, Sasha Doshi ‘26, Mira Jayaraman ‘26, Parini Rao ‘24, Mina Dewar ‘26, Chakor Rajendra ‘23, and Manya Tijoriwala ‘26 prefrom for the upper school. “It was a lot of fun, and we definitely made some mistakes and it wasn’t perfect but it was great to share some of our identity with our peers and I’m excited for opportunities to come,” said Rajendra.

Photo by Rishi Verma’23

Information collected by Dhruv Nallamothu’25, Graphic by Griffin White’23

One day is not enough

The school was probably the most attentive it has ever been. Literally on the edge of their seats. Professor of Educational Studies at Colgate University John Palmer gave a stirring presentation, really more akin to a sermon, about solving racism not through top down solutions, but by individuals creating their own narratives, not holding onto those thrust upon them by society. It was one of the few presentations of any diversity week ever that, instead of focusing on what we can’t do, the inevitable injustice that we will face in the world, honed in on what we can. We can stop tokenizing whole cultures. We don’t have to get one foot in the door. We can create our own stories. So it’s not surprising that, in typical fashion, the very next day we were greeted by a slew of cultures, presented as uniform populations, one after another without any room to show the diversity within those cultures. Not everyone in these groups are the same, and when they all come together, some of the diversity becomes blurred. We were treated to skits, a kahoot, and, arguably a crowd favorite, a dance performed by the South Asian Affinity Network. But through all of it nobody stopped to think about what Palmer had said the day before. Don’t tokenize. Don’t condense a whole culture into a one dimensional 15-minute experience that can be nicely packaged up into our allotted week of diversity for the year. He was talking directly to us, to our school.

But these decisions don’t just fall on

ODEI, they are students’ responsibilities as well. Affinity groups are the ones that represent the student voice on these issues, and right now they are treated like any other club.

many niche factors of cultures that students of Greenhills are not always able to represent. The affinity groups show the surface level of cultures which predate

not agree with the school’s usage of them. The example he used was that affinity groups are like a salad bowl covered in ranch dressing. Affinity groups are not necessarily accurate representations of these cultures. How does a school expect a few to represent the many? There are

Senior says bring back more final year traditions

Our norms and expectations are constantly changing, and along the way, some of our school traditions have gone by the wayside. Greenhills seniors once had the privilege of organizing their senior prank, lock-in, and skip day. But today, the senior prank feels regulated by the school, defeating the point of the prank. Lock-in, where seniors had a sleepover in the school, no longer exists, and seniors seem to have lost the drive within them to even put together a covert senior skip day.

The senior prank, a tradition every student anticipates in their time at high school; from covering the floors in bubble wrap to covering everything in the principal’s office with tin foil and filling it with balloons, we have all heard of the craziest senior pranks. Sure, there are some pranks that have gone too far, but the reality is that most pranks er, they provide ant surprise and comedic laugh for the faculty and students.

Regulating senior pranks takes away the creativity and spontaneity that makes them so special. The seniors now have to get their prank school. Instead of this, the school should establish clear guidelines for the prank. By establishing clear guidelines, the school would demonstrate that it trusts students to act responsibly, and preserve the element of surprise.

much time with during their high school years. Students have been skipping school for ages. In movies and television shows, we see students try their best to get out of class and go home, no matter how big the consequences are if they get caught. However, the reality is that most high schoolers, at least at Greenhills, rarely skip class. When they are expected to be in a class they show up and, hopefully, participate. However, across almost all high schools, there is always one day where the seniors don’t show up to school: senior skip day. This tradition has been around forever and represents a day of going against the grain for the senior class. Aware of the consequence of missing any school extracurriculars on that day, the seniors participate in activities to-

sands of years. Some choose not to even join affinity groups that describe ing what’s low husk that is more tive of the music a few people listen tual ethnicity. This could make people comfortable in nity, narrowing the narrative, alienating some until all that’s left is a few that are the most nationalistic. Which isn’t to say that the school always gets it wrong. The iftar event being just one example. Iftar is when muslims break their

fast during the month of Ramadan. The event hosted by the school allows for both muslims as well as people who are just curious to learn about iftar. These “celebrations” of cultures only work when those who identify with something are able to express their identity on their own terms without restraint or having to play to an audience.

If it sounds like we’re being harsh it is only because issues of identity, race, ethnicity, sexuality, and culture deserve the utmost attention. If these concerns sound small in the larger scheme of discrimination, that’s because they are, but they’re far from petty. These little disparities between what is taught and what is practiced in terms of diversity undermine the overall purpose of the ODEI, to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The ODEI is doing 99 percent of its job perfectly. Affinity groups, celebrations, speakers, documentaries, all working towards one goal. All doing their job well. But that one percent still matters.

When the viewpoints presented to us on these important issues are conflicting it is hard, bordering on impossible, to decide which viewpoint to follow. So our message to the ODEI is this: don’t stop striving. Don’t be complacent in diversity week, and Fresh class, and whatever else we do, because the work you do has bettered us all, and will continue to better us all, but most importantly is never over.

Senior advises caution with popular traditions

The joys that come with being a senior are reached once certain milestones have been hit. First, there’s convocation, the beginning of the new school year, and then are all the deadlines that follow. There’s a lot that occurs between submitting the common app, to opening our acceptances, and finally being able to walk out with our high school diplomas. Between the studying and writing, countless memories are made. From senior sunrise to senior skip day, senior traditions are never set in stone but still, they are traditions that can be found amongst seniors worldwide.

One of the things I looked forward to most as a freshman was lock-in. Lock-in is where all the seniors would get locked into the school and would spend the whole night with their peers inside the school. Basically, it was a whole grade sleepover inside of the school. It was a tradition at Greenhills for years, but was taken away by the school due to the extensive resources needed for it. Not many teachers are willing to stay overnight and supervise the seniors, and due to past lock-in fiascos, the school is very hesitant to bring back this senior tradition. The school only remembers the fiascos, but I remember hearing stories of how fun the lock-ins were. The seniors would set up movies, play hide-and-seek around the school, and do many other fun activities. It was a great time for the senior class to bond, as many people would hang out with those they didn’t spend

year, the senior skip day was planned around the same time as the boys basketball district playoffs and the beginning of spring sports. This poor planning resulted in only half the grade actually skipping. Out of loyalty to their teammates and coaches, the spring sport athletes felt the need to attend their first practices of the season and the athletes on the basketball team needed to practice before their big playoff game. Students are taught to email teachers and coaches when missing a day of school. However, this day is an exception. The whole point of a senior skip day is that the faculty are unaware that it is happening. By emailing their teachers and coaches about missing this day the seniors spoil the spontaneity of the moment.

For the sake of school spirit and fond memories these traditions need to be brought back to Greenhills. It’s not too late for seniors to find the motivation and communication skills to do so.

Seniors are able to decide whether they want to participate in these events or not. The decision to skip class falls onto the students. Teachers, however, are unaware of senior skip day and when it will occur. It could be on a day in which they have a test scheduled, a guest-speaker coming in, or the due date of a project. The ambiguity that comes with senior skip day raises numerous complications within a teacher’s schedule. Although it sounds good in theory, the excitement of skipping a day as an entire grade would cause harm not only on teachers but also the other students involved. Alongside potentially pushing back the agenda by a day, senior skip day without any sort of warning would affect the learning of students in other grades.

There are several classes that are a combination of different grade levels such as electives, languages, and AP’s. On senior skip day, the lack of seniors students, especially in classes in which seniors make up the majority, would result in of learning for the students that do attend that day. If a teacher comes in ready to teach a full class and without knowing it only see half of their seats full, they will have to work their lesson plan around this. This, however, does not mean that senior skip day can no longer exist. It can still occur as long as it is mentioned to teachers beforehand. If seniors decide to skip the one day in which a majority of senior-filled classes will be doing an activity, that teacher has the right to know beforehand. Similarly, if a big test or project is to occur on that date, it is only right that the teachers be aware of it. This will allow them to reschedule their plan to a date in which a lot of students will be present for. In the past, events such as senior skip day and senior pranks have occurred without warning. The consequences that follow are done in hopes that the same mistakes will not occur. At Greenhills, there have been several incidents in which senior pranks have gone wrong. A few years prior,

inappropriate items were taped on every single locker, all around the school. Although upperclassmen found it funny, the underclassmen and teachers were not half as amused. A seemingly harmless prank quickly turned into heavy discussions between sixth graders and their parents on topics that they were far too young to understand. Similarly, other unregulated senior pranks tend to cause more harm than good not only on the student body but also on our property. The satisfaction that comes with properly pulling off a prank is due to the element of surprise that comes with it. So why should seniors explain the entirety of their pranks, as it would only take away from that fun? Harmless and reversible pranks such as rearranging the set up of the forums and bringing in balloons don’t require approval but when it comes to zip tying every single locker, that’s another case. If senior pranks affect the learning of other students, then that means that they are probably causing more good than harm. In order to have things such as senior pranks, we must learn from our past mistakes. This is not to say that events such as senior skip day and senior pranks should not occur, but rather, that they should occur with the acknowledgement of certain teachers. Looking at where previous seniors went wrong will prevent the issues from reoccurring. Securing the approval of an adult in the building will allow seniors to continue on with what they may have in mind, while eliminating the harmful effect that it may have on other students.

Arjun Prabhaker ‘23

Maraki Tamrat ‘23

Illustration by En-Lih Wang ‘24

The Alumni Bunch

Harry Berkowitz ‘07

“I was a student who was very engaged in class discussions, but a little mischievous at times,” said history teacher Harry Berkowitz ‘07.

Berkowitz was an active student here.

“I played soccer, did forensics, ran track, and played lacrosse,” said Berkowitz.

Berkowitz left the school with no intentions of ever coming back.

“I attended Case Western Reserve University. During my first two years there, I did chemical engineering with the goal of becoming a doctor,” said Berkowitz.

After his second year, Berkowitz took a gap semester and returned to Ann Arbor, where he became the assistant coach for the school’s boys soccer team.

“I had a lot of fun and really enjoyed the experience,” said Berkowitz.

Berkowitz went back to Case Western and later taught English abroad for a few years.

“My wife is currently in med school at Michigan, so I was very lucky that Greenhills was actually hiring when I was coming back to Ann Arbor,” said Berkowirtz.

Stephanie Miller ‘86

“When I was here, I wanted to go into journalism,” said Stephanie Miller ‘86, associate director of annual giving and alumni engagement.

Miller worked on the yearbook team and for the newspaper during her time here. After, Miller went on to Kenyon College and majored in art history.

“I worked in the communications departments of museums for a lot of my career,” said Miller

However, even after graduating, Miller maintained connections with the school.

“I had kept in touch with Gargaro for many years. When Teresa Kasey retired and the job opened up, I decided to apply for it because I knew the school and the office.”

Even though it was many years since she was first at Greenhills, the school still felt the same.

“You know how sometimes you go to an old elementary school or something and it seems so much smaller?” said Miller. “Well, when I first walked in here as a staff member, and I had been here many times since I graduated, it never had that feeling to me.”

Caitlin Smead ‘03

“I was just an average student at Greenhills but really involved in a lot of things,” said director of the learning center Caitlin Smead ‘03. “My favorite activity was running a group called peer counseling, which has now evolved into Peer2peer.”

Smead was always told to pursue a career in education by her mentors, but she went into college without considering an education degree.

“I took a bunch of classes and tried new internships,” said Smead. “Ultimately, I realized social work and public policy aren’t for me. It was late in college when I realized that I belonged in a school.”

One of Smead’s mentors later reached out and informed her of a learning center job opening at the school, and Smead applied right away. The return to Greenhills has felt natural for Smead.

“I felt at ease right away,” said Smead. “Greenhills does a great job of not making you feel like a kid and they treat you with so much dignity right from the start. This has become my dream job ever since.”

Paul Gargaro ‘79

Director of Advancement Paul Gargaro ‘83 entered the school in ‘79 as a freshman. During his time here, he played tennis and soccer.

“From Greenhills I went to Tufts, where I realized I was a much better student than I was, in part because Greenhills had prepared me,” said Gargaro.

Gargaro worked in the journalism industry before returning.

“After college, I was a newspaper reporter and editor at the local newspaper in Plymouth,” said Gargaro.

In 2004, Gargaro became a part of the board of trustees, where he served for six years until he was offered his current job. When head of school Peter Fayroian offered him the job, he was hesitant to take it at first.

“It was a hard decision to come and work here, but I was an alum and I loved it, so I thought, ‘what if I took this job and it ruins the great relationship I have with this school,’” said Gargaro.

Since taking the job, however, Gargaro has fallen in love with it.

“It’s been the best job I’ve ever had, I’ve been here longer than any other job,” said Gargaro.

Gregory Huntoon ‘07

“I tried to take advantage of all of the resources that the school had to offer when I was here,” said math teacher Gregory Huntoon ‘07.

Huntoon took part in multiple sports and leadership positions.

“I played soccer, baseball, and did the musical for all four years,” said Huntoon. “In my senior year, I was the student council president.”

Huntoon then attended Boston University after graduating.

“I got my undergraduate degree in Mathematics,” said Huntoon. “After, I went to grad school for sports broadcasting journalism.”

Huntoon always wanted to come back to Ann Arbor, as he had lots of friends and family in the area. After receiving a masters degree, he moved back.

“I taught here eight years ago as a long term sub for Mrs. Johnson and coached here for a year,” said Huntoon. He then taught in Birmingham and St. Louis for five years.

“I was glad to be able to come back and teach at Greenhills. I definitely wanted to be a part of the school.”

Rebecca Beery ‘11

“I took every science course that I possibly could,” said biology teacher Rebecca Beery ‘11. Beery always knew she would go into the field of science, but took a while to get there.

“I became a physical therapist before becoming a teacher back in the field of science in nature, so I took a little turn and then came back to my roots.

Although teaching as a profession didn’t come to her until later in life, as a physical therapist, Beery found herself teaching all the time.

“Every day that I was treating patients I was teaching them,” said Beery. “I would teach them how to complete exercise and patient education on their condition. They would ask me questions about how their bodies work and I would explain it to them.”

The transition from physical therapy to being an educator at Greenhills has been a smooth one.

“When I came back it almost felt like no time had passed in some way, because a lot of my teachers are still here,” said Beery. “It’s been like coming home to a family.”

Nina Scheinberg ‘11

“By high school, I knew I wanted to be a teacher,” said math teacher Nina Scheinberg ‘11. “I was pretty sure I would be a Latin teacher, but by the end of high school I got more involved in math tutoring.”

Scheinberg credits her teachers for the interest in teaching.

“When I look back at my 12th grade yearbook, I gave a shout out to my teachers because they were really the reason I wanted to come to school every day,” said Scheinberg.

After leaving Greenhills, she studied engineering at the University of Michigan.

“I remember, even as a freshman, people would ask me, ‘What are you studying?’ and I would say ‘Engineering, but I want to be a teacher,’” said Scheinberg.

Before going to grad school, she subbed here for a year.

After graduate school, she applied for one of the math openings available and began teaching in middle school.

“Even from high school I thought what a dream it would be to come back to Greenhills and teach here” said Scheinberg. “I didn’t even toy with the idea of teaching somewhere else.”

Caroline Huntoon ‘02

The construction of the Campbell Center for the Performing Arts when English teacher Caroline Huntoon ‘02 were in seventh grade firmly cemented their theater kid-dom.

“I left Greenhills thinking ‘I’m going to be an actor’, but the realities of being an actor are quite harsh,” said Huntoon. After finishing school, they headed to Disney with the goal of working in the entertainment industry.

“I wanted to become a leader at Disney,” said Huntoon. “Then about three years in, I started realizing that ahh, ‘I actually do want to be a teacher.’”

After moving back to Michigan, they tested the waters in a familiar place.

“I started working in the Forensics program here just to dip my toes back into interacting with young people,” they said.

Originally, Huntoon was set on becoming an elementary school teacher, but quickly, their mind was changed after returning to Greenhills.

“I am glad that I realized early on that that’s not what I wanted to do,” said Huntoon. “I knew I would be happy working here.”

Katie Sims ‘11

“Growing up, I was very much into athletics, but I didn’t know what the role of ‘wellness’ meant,” said wellness teacher Katie Sims ‘11.

Seeing the impact of her teachers and coaches inspired her to try and do the same for other young people, albeit in a slightly different way.

“My first choice of career wasn’t teaching,” said Sims, “I wanted to work in pediatrics.”

In college, Sims originally majored in nursing with a minor in exercise physiology, but after realizing that she was more drawn to the latter, decided to flip-flop the two.

“From that point moving forward, I got to work with people of different ages, lifestyles, and experiences,” said Sims. “I found that I really enjoyed working with young adolescents and helping them establish healthy habits from an early age.”

After deciding that she wanted to be in the adolescent health space Sims went looking online for job opportunities.

“This opportunity came up to coach and teach,” said Sims. “I never could have imagined it coming together in like one nice package, but it did so that’s kind of how I came to be here.”

MARCH

For students, by students

Parenthood Peer Educators teach sex education

EVA BERESTEIN ‘25 Lifestyles Editor

For Tendo Ruwende ‘24, a service opportunity at the start of her sophomore year sparked a lifelong interest in reproductive health, education, activism, and psychology. As one of Greenhills’ five Planned Parenthood Peer Educators, Ruwende educates students across Washtenaw county about all things sexual health and LGBTQIA+ in her role as a Peer Educator.

“I didn’t know what the program was and filled out the application on a whim,” said Ruewende. “I researched more about it after the fact and got really excited.”

After receiving the news of her acceptance, Ruwende began her 40 hours of mandatory training.

“We had meetings, some of which were in person and some of which were on Zoom,” said Ruwende. “Speakers would come in to teach us about different topics like anatomy and STIs.”

Peer Educators also have specific LGBTQIA+ centered training and learn how to help peers that are struggling with homelessness or domestic or relationship violence.

best from other students, can see themselves in other students, and can use them as a resource, which makes this program so valuable,” said Kennedy Scott, Community Outreach Educator and Peer Education Coordinator for Washtenaw County.

Although the bulk of what they do is present in high schools, with a virtual option for home-schooled students, Peer Educators are also encouraged to let their communities know that they are available for support outside of the school setting.

“We put ourselves out there on social media and say, ‘We are peer educators and we live near you, so if you need help or anonymous guidance for anything we are here,’” said Ruwende.

“We end our training with a baseline of knowledge to be able to help our peers based on whatever situation they may be in,” said Ruwende.

Once their training is complete, the Peer Educators go to schools in their communities to educate their fellow students. Currently, there are two main programs being taught: contraception and LGBTQIA+ 101.

“We give presentations in both Greenhills and other schools across Washtenaw County, the majority of which are public,” said Ruwende. “Whenever I go to schools and present it makes me realize how important this role is for a lot of people. At Greenhills we have a lot of resources, but when you go to different schools you’d be surprised that a lot of what we teach is not common knowledge.”

The Planned Parenthood Peer Education program was founded with the goal of getting youth involved in sexual education.

“We know from research that students learn

Black

“We put out our contact information like our phone number, social media, and email.

I’ve gotten chances to help people not only at Greenhills, but at other schools as well with questions about getting birth control and setting up appointments for well person exams.”

Along with being active on social media, Peer Educators host menstrual product drives, attend events such as Pride month celebrations, and can get specialized training to teach different workshops.

“In the past, we’ve gotten the opportunity to become facilitators for IN-clued, an organization that helps LGBTQIA+ youth, and give sex education workshops,” said Ruwende.

Greenhills has had a long standing relationship with Planned Parenthood’s various educational pro grams.

“Decades ago, one of our faculty members who taught health reached out to Planned Parenthood, who at the time had an outreach program and would send instructors to schools,” said Athletic Director Meg Seng. “Those instructors would come here on a regular basis and would teach a whole unit to a health class, so they were here for a few weeks. They would go through the services offered by Planned Parenthood and have really great con-

History Month ends, conversations continue

ADITYA KUTTY’23

Lifestyles Staff

Black students are looking beyond Black History Month towards the future with mixed views on the school’s teaching of Black History. During diversity week, which coincided with the last week of Black History Month, John Palmer, a Professor of Educational Studies at Colgate University warned members about diversity weeks and Black History Months that discuss diversity for the week and might forget about it for the remainder of the year. Two weeks after the end of Black History Month, members of the Greenhills community are ambivalent on whether or not Greenhills continues to discuss Black issues and teach Black literature and culture throughout the year.

Chiney Anwunah ‘23 said she believes Black history isn’t talked about enough, and that she hasn’t really seen much discussion of it both during Black History Month and even after it ended. She understands that while Greenhills might not want to engage in behavior that could be construed as virtue signaling by discussing it for a month and forgetting about it afterwards, she sees value in focusing on Black issues for a month and giving people valuable time to reflect on Black history.

“I’m not sure that in many of my classes I’ve discussed enough Black history at all even during the month unless the BSA is doing something to help talk about it. It kinda goes unnoticed,” said Anwunah. “Greenhills tries not to be a school that’s signaling, but I think that there is some importance when it comes to focusing on it for some time. I understand why we

versations with students about human sexuality. We did that for a long time, and I don’t know if that program died out for them, but we started having them occasionally come in for assemblies. We’ve had a good relationship over the years.”

The efects of the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that established the constitutional right to abortion, have been felt throughout the program. Peer Educators have been reached out to with questions and came together to go to protests.

“When there was uncertainty about the future of abortion rights in Michigan, people were scared,” said Ruwende.” I had people DMing me asking, ‘What does this mean for me?’ and I would answer their questions and remind them not to worry because we still had the right. My role hasn’t changed too much because abortion is still legal here in Michigan, but for a second I was scared and upset that this right could’ve been taken away, which motivated me to do more work.”

Change has also been apparent on the administrative side of the program, with an increase in applicants.

“There’s a lot more interest in the program,” said Scott. “We now get well over 50 applications each year. The overturn of Roe v. Wade has brought youth in and made them more ignited in this fight than before, when things weren’t as at risk.”

Tillie Klein ‘25 is one of many students who was motivated to apply to the program after the overturning of Roe v. Wade

“I’m interested in women’s rights, and especially since Roe v. Wade was overturned last year, it’s something I’ve become more passionate about,” said Klein. “It’s felt more urgent.”

Some Peer Educators, like Klein, pursue their position knowing that they want a career in medicine and public health, but for others, joining the program sparks that interest.

“I never thought I would actually be interested in this, but for my Advanced Research project I want to go into gender psychology or social work,” said Ruwende. “I’m trying to implement this newfound interest that being a Peer Educator has brought me into a

Gun violence raises anxiety

Greenhills takes saftey precautions

ISABEL BARU’25

Lifestyles Editor

100 mass shootings in 64 days. By March 6, the number of mass shootings had surpassed the number of days in the year. A mass shooting is a crime that is committed by an attacker which results in injury or death. The alarming rate of increase brought many questions into the school halls.

Students like Maya Comer ‘24 deal with the fear of growing up in a world prevalent with mass shootings. This fear affects more than just public outings, it affects their school life as well.

“It has made me more scared of going out in public,” said Comer. “A few years ago I was going to see a concert, and I was terrified because I was convinced that someone was going to open fire and kill me. I did not want to be in a place with that many people. I was sure that I was going to die. We shouldn’t have to live in a world where kids are dealing with that.”

In the aftermath of the school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in Feb. 2018, schools around the nation jumped to action including Greenhills. Greenhills students learned about March For Our Lives, a rally held in Washington, D.C in support of gun violence regulation.

“The students were very excited to go as well as the other chaperones, James Lupton, Nadine Hall, and Mark Randolph,” said Rebecca Randolph, who also chaperoned.

The chaperones and the 12-15 Greenhills students stayed in a hotel. Where they spent the night making posters with other students from around the country who had also come to march in support of gun regulation. In the morning they attended the march with over a million other people. A

“The group that was planning the day dropped everything and chose to focus on gun violence awareness,” said Friendly.

On April 20, 2018, the rally was held. In advance, the student service leaders researched all the mass shooting victims names and ages. The members then created a card for each one and color coded based on the year and decade. The cards were then distributed to students who stood side by side around the track.

Date markers were placed to show the range of years starting from the 1960s to 2010s.

walked on the sidewalks near the school and down to a nearby overpass with banners. Written on the banners were #neveragain and #enough, these were popular hashtags created by Parkland students.

Greenhills has not had a rally since this. When Greenhills initially opened it was a small school. No cameras, no doors locked at a certain time, and the main entrance was not watched.

Over the past couple of years new precautions have been placed. According to chief financial officer John Nickle, the precautions are only the physical aspect.

The first was the installation of cameras.

Added 15 years ago, they are exterior fac-

“It was very powerful to see that half the track, so roughly 280 students, were on the 2010s side. It portrayed the drastic increase in gun violence between the 1960s and the more recent years,” said Friendly.

“I would be interested to see this again, but from 2000 to 2022, the students on the track would be overfilling or double stacked.”

don’t want to seem like the kind of people to be signaling, but sometimes it seems like there’s no care for it.” Austin Andrews ‘23, said that Greenhills is doing enough to teach Black history and educate students about Black culture and literature outside of

outside of Black Histo- ry Month. I think that any course that teaches a lesson in Black literature provides students with the ability to paint a picture for themselves,” said Andrews. “But I also think that you can always do more. I think there is often an environment of jokes and unnecessary comedy [among students] in a way that is not necessarily truthful to what Black history is.”

Other students, like Makayla Jones ‘23 seem to view Black History Month as necessary, believing that it accounts for a lack of focus seen throughout the year and helps to ensure that Black issues get recognized to some extent.

“It depends on the classes you take, but as a school overall, we don’t do enough to teach Black history,” said Jones. “I do think that it’s also important to recognize [Black History Month] for the month, because if we don’t then it might not get recognized at all, and because it’s important to bring attention to certain issues at a certain time. Sure, [without it] it might get recognized some but not enough.”

Janelle Sterling, co-sponsor of the Black Students Affinity Group, believes that Greenhills does a great job of caring about Black issues during the month, but seems to struggle to keep that energy throughout the year.

Black History Month. Andrews does however worry that sometimes students may not take these attempts to teach Black history seriously, making jokes and engaging in humor that is sometimes ignorant of the historical experiences of Black people.

“Greenhills does enough to teach Black history

“It doesn’t feel like it has to be this way, but it seems like it’s a little bit concentrated for 28 days, and then we kind of just move on,” said Sterling. “But I think if we can embed activities or spread learning out throughout the year, then it doesn’t have to be that way.”

month later, Greenhills held its biannual service day, planned and led by director of service learning and civic engagement Alyssa Friendly and a group of students. Unlike most service days, the focus was centered around gun violence awareness.

A portion of the rally was dedicated to student and faculty speakers. Speakers focused on a variety of topics such as: what action needs to be taken, the results post school shootings, and the need for the removal of accessible military grade guns.

Ben Toporski ‘22 was one of the student speakers. While Toporski spoke from his pro-gun rights perspective, he explained that he felt not all guns belonged in civilian life.

“The AR-15 and other assault weapons are military guns, and I believe that nobody in this country should be allowed to own a military gun,” said Ben Toporski.

After speeches the entire school

ing with the exception of the gym. To not interfere with the school’s culture of trust, the cameras are used for passive security. Passive security means they are not constantly monitored and only used when someone needs them to rewatch an event.

The second precaution was built 10 years ago. After the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting in Newtown Connecticut in 2012, there was an increase in demand from Greenhills parents for the school to be safer. This was the creation of the “official” front entrance.

“The purpose was that once doors were locked, visitors were now forced to go through the main entrance and check in with the secretary versus entering any random door,” said Nickel.

The locking door mechanism which locks all the doors at a specific time was set in place around the same time the entrance was created. The doors lock from 9 a.m to 3:10 p.m.

Besides the physical changes from a couple years ago, the newest installment has been the black door covers added this school year.

Another aspect of aiming to make Greenhills a safer school focuses on community action. This includes discussions on being aware if something problematic may occur, when a shooting happens, a mass email or call being sent out, and intruder drills.

“Discussions have happened between faculty about being encouraged w\

to think about ways of defending the class and how to get students out of a classroom if an intruder were to enter the school,” said Rebecca Randolph. “As well as having conversations with students about having a plan. I hate to do it because it makes the scenario real, but encouraging classrooms to have those discussions is important.”

Even with precautions and heightened awareness from educators there are mixed opinions on how safe Greenhills is. Teachers feel like Greenhills is thoroughly prepared and safe.

“Greenhills has done everything that it can and I do think that there is a balance needed between safety protocols and continuing to provide an environment for students that is open and welcoming,” said Rebecca Randolph.

Both Rebecca Randolph and math teacher Chris Lemoine agree that Greenhills is a secure environment. Some feel like the action steps that need to be taken should start with the law enforcement officials and lawmakers.

“It is very important to be vocal where it is appropriate and where actual change can happen such as emailing and calling state legislators and raising conversations in town halls,” said Lemoine. “Also being supportive of movements or institutions that want to help remedy the issue we have in the United States with gun violence. We need to address the issue at the source.”

Students at Greenhills have mixed reviews on whether the school is secure. Rebekah Warren ‘25 doesn’t feel the school needs to take any more precautions.

“This is pretty much a safe community,” said Warren. “If anything was to happen there’s a lot of access to resources. Everyone has also been accustomed to the drills so they would know where to go if someone were to enter the building.”

After the Oxford High School Shooting shooting in 2021, Warren felt like she had many trusted teachers to reach out to talk to.

“Last school year I had some friends who got very upset over it and what the outcome would look like,” said Warren. “Ms. Sterling let us use the entire class period to process our emotions and have an open discussion about what happened.”

For other students like Comer they wish that more physical precautions could be taken. Especially with the accessibility of the building.

“I do wish Greenhills were better about locking its doors because anyone could walk into this school if they wanted to,” said Comer. “That does sometimes make me feel unsafe. There is more that Greenhills could do but I am not sure it would change anything in the case of a shooting event.”

“With the lack of sunlight, my mom uses a sunlamp, and at the breakfast table, she turns it towards me as I’m trying to get my stuff together and go,” said Olivia Emerson. ‘23. “It helps me wake up, and if I do it consistently I’ve noticed I feel a lot better.”

“When it’s the winter and pitch black outside, I have to play upbeat music and it energizes me in the morning,” said Nicole Zhong ‘24. “Music influences my mood, so when the lyrics and the beat are cheerful, it fills my head with happy thoughts at the beginning of the day.”

“I have a whole kit of essential oils. I have peppermint, lavender, argan oils, tea tree and I put them in my diffuser,” said Kayla Silberg ‘25. “I like the lavender scent, I feel like it helps me mentally because it allows me to relax more.”

“I do a lot of running and I also like to do some weight lifting,” said Jonah Kaplan ‘26. “It’s a good way to improve your mental and physical well-being and it’s hard to be motivated in the winter, so I try to get outside more often, especially running when it’s warmer outside.”

“I invested in a hydroponics tank so when you walk into the house, you immediately see a tank with bright lights around it and when it’s hazy outside, inside it feels like it’s sunny,” said English teacher Danielle Conti.

22, 2023

MARCH 22, 2023

ELEANA ZHUANG ‘25 Lifestyles Staff

DISCUSS Black Students Association (BSA) affinity group members Orrin Batts ‘23, Caleb Johnson ‘25, Alana Andrews ‘26, and Ana Flemming ‘24 discuss racial matters during a lunch meeting. “I think there’s an opportunity for that group [the BSA] to do educational outreach, and there’s a way for students to get more involved,” said BSA co-sponsor Janelle Sterling.

Art, a helping hand

Senior

showcases artwork at local

cafe,

work available for sale

FIONA LIN ‘23

Managing Editor PRANAY SHAH ‘23

Editor-at-Large

Some people babysit to earn some extra cash. Others mow lawns. How about selling your own artwork? For Annie Stone ‘23, a conceptual photographer, that’s just what she plans to do. Her portfolio will be exhibited at Cahoots Cafe located in downtown Ann Arbor for the month of May. She is the first Greenhills student in recent years to have her artwork shown at Cahoots.

“My entire portfolio will be shown and available to be sold,” said Stone. “Anyone who walks in will see it.”

This is a big step for Stone to get more local attention and to sell her artwork. It was made possible by art teacher Elizabeth Wilson-Hill.

“I was looking for a springboard place to show my own work as I had just moved into Ann Arbor,” said Wilson-Hill. “When I saw this place I thought it could be really nice for Annie as well as we had spoken the week before about how she didn’t have a portfolio she made last year printed yet and I wanted to get her some exposure.”

Stone is in good hands to help present her portfolio. Wilson-Hill is no stranger to art exhibitions and is a painter herself.

“It came to pass that I had to develop a new curriculum for Annie because no one had ever taken photography at that level,” said Kinnard. “My advanced level two classes were already college-level, and she was well beyond that.”

Stone was always the first person to try new gadgets and pieces of equipment.

“Annie was up for trying every single thing,” said Kinnard. “The more she tried, the more connected she felt.”

Stone’s constant experimentation has led to her portfolio to be a very intimate exhibition of human emotions.

“I have tons of experience with helping artists gain publicity and put on a show,” said Wilson-Hill. “I have exhibited a lot of my own work all around the world. I have also helped curate a bunch of different art shows for artists as well. Even in Dallas where I just moved from, I was in charge of a whole arts district where we did group shows and had studios.”

Although Wilson-Hill is helping Stone launch her portfolio, Stone’s portfolio is a product of lessons learned from former art teacher Rob Kinnard.

Stone’s passion for photography sparked freshman year, when she first entered Kinnard’s art photo elective. On a whim, the class struck a chord within her, and she ended up taking the class seven more times.

“Once Annie started, she stayed all the way through,” said Kinnard. “She kept getting more and more involved in what it was that she was trying to say, recalling enjoying that process of exploring herself through art.

The approach to photography that Kinnard taught and adopted was based on art theory, ensuring that each artwork communicates an idea.

reflect what’s going on with me or the people that I am around. Once I noticed that, I dove deeper into it and tried to explore it further and try new ways of expressing that.”

“Much of what Annie does is very personal,” said Kinnard. “Even though she doesn’t try to explain what exactly is going on, any view could see there is a lot going on. Those are emotions that we try to hide. Annie’s work is peeling off the mask we wear in our daily lives.”

Titled Mourning the Living, Stone’s portfolio depicts the cyclical cycle of depression.

“It was the hardest work I’ve ever done and I have Rob Kinnard to thank. He showed me how to turn my emotions into ideas,” said Stone.

Kinnard helped Annie develop her creative pathway and ways to embed her experiences and struggles into artistic expression.

“She was always very personal with her art,” said Kinnard. “In many ways, she was sharing her experience and her feelings in her artwork, readily and almost exclusively all the time. She felt very comfortable doing that.”

Stone initially drew inspiration from a family member who was going through what the portfolio conveys. She turns emotions into ideas and shows viewers raw emotions through symbolism.

“The images themselves are quite dark and relatable to the teenage experience,” said Wilson-Hill. “Her work is a way to express a more scary side of the human experience –a voice for teenagers and just anyone going through a lot of volatile changes.”

Stone’s work not only resonates with people who are undergoing major life changes, it also consistently inspires and affects others.

“Her enthusiasm, her questioning of the world and herself were contagious,” said Kinnard. “Since we are both doing theory-based art, in many respects, we’re very similar in the ways we look at things. We like to grab them and hold them tight to see what might come, how our artwork might evolve.”

Kinnaird’s class had a profound effect on Stone.

“Photography was the vocabulary I was born to speak,” said Stone. “Since learning about photography, I find that it is the only way that I feel like I was meant to express myself. It’s the most beautiful expression that a person can have and release to the world.”

Stone’s style of conceptual photography means she takes photos based on thoughts and narratives. Unlike portrait, landscape, or sports photographers, she adopts a more artistic form.

Stone has gone through a lot of what the portfolio depicts, but her work also illustrates a diverse amount of experiences that many people have.

“I have been working on this the past two years,” said Stone. “ I was looking through all of my works and realized they were all melancholic. A lot of the time, I would just accidentally

PAINTING AND CROCHET

Favorite part about their art:

“I like the feeling of constructing things – the process of creating something that resembles my emotion. When I was little, I had a more difficult time expressing myself with words, so I turned to those creative outlets.”

Favorite Moment:

“I recently made a semicolon, which is a reference to the album by Seventeen, one of my favorite K-Pop groups.” Fellow or professional artist they take inspiration from: “I really look up to my friend Nicole Zhong ‘24. She is someone who is very hardworking and diligent in their craft but still has fun. I try to replicate that into my creative outlets as well.”

CERAMICS

Favorite part about their art:

“Trimming is definitely my favorite part of the process because it’s so satisfying. It’s when you cut of excess dry clay when it’s a really nice consistancy.”

Fellow or professional artist they take inspiration from:

“There’s this guy on Instagram who I really like named Tortise. He makes some pretty cool stuff.”

Favorite moment:

“I made was a mug that I gifted to my dad. It was red and blue, but otherwise pretty simple and functional. He really liked it so it’s my favorite piece.”

SINGING

Favorite part about their art:

“It is amazing when everyone’s voices come together and it becomes a dialogue of a community of people. The community is a comfortable space too, so when people give me feedback on how I can improve, I do the same for them.” Fellow or professional artist they take inspiration from:

“My classmates Emma Hudson ‘23 and Silvia Abbasi ‘23 are some of the most talented singers I know and their work ethic inspires me everyday. I am forever grateful for having the opportunity to sing with them.”

“I try to make my viewers think and make the audience see the reflection of emotion,” said Stone.

And she has done so successfully. Stone recently received an honorable mention and gold key from the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards context – the country’s longest-running recognition program. These achievements have all garnered more publicity for Stone’s exhibition this May and will help future students.

Students, faculty express themselves through art

CERAMICS

“After Annie’s success, more students will know about exhibiting their art and create more opportunities for kids wanting to do this,” said Wilson-Hill.

Abby Webster ‘23

DANCE

Favorite part about their art:

“Sometimes, words aren’t enough to describe feelings or circumstances. The action of throwing something on the pottery wheel can help heal whatever is going on inside you.”

Favorite Moment:

“When teaching, I find joy in seeing how people that I may not know until they take this class and realize that they’re good at something or they can find confidence in themselves through ceramics. I hope it helps them know they can conquer other things in their lives, not just ceramics.”

Favorite part about their art:

“I’ve learned how to show my experiences and struggles through the way I position my body. It really helps with my mental health.”

Favorite Moment:

“Last year, I had my first solo performance. That was really special for me to do it at the annual recital in Saline.” Fellow or professional artist they take inspiration from: “My dance teachers Ms. Deena and Ms. Olivia are very inspiring to me. They have really taught me about confidence in dancing because performing in general is a very stressful situation.”

Photos courtesy of Annie Stone ‘23 and Abby Webster ‘23, Photos by Fiona Lin ‘23, Graphic by Megan Peng ‘25

Briefs compiled by Pranay Shah ‘23, Fiona Lin ‘23, and Eva Bernstein ‘25

Annie Zhu ‘24

Manasa Golapalli ‘23

Art Teacher Caitlyn O’Neal

George Rominski ‘25

DON’T MOVE Stone takes photos in the dark room. “When the subject aligns just like how I envisioned them to, it’s one of the best feelings in the world,” said Stone. “I try to capture the moment immediately and get them [the subject] to stay still in the position.”

HIT THE BRAKES “‘Ecstasy’ was taken using the brake lights of a car as the red because I noticed it was really blue outside and I really wanted a colored light,” said Stone. “So, she just stood behind the car and I wanted to capture that dichotomy and juxtaposition.”

FAR FROM HOME “This is called ‘Eclipse’, and it is about the journey, the pathway back home from any sort of time when you feel like you’re lost,” said Stone. “That doesn’t have to be physically but also mentally. I wanted to show hopefulness using the two doors and sources of lights.”

Spring sports preview

Goal-oriented team

WOMEN’S SOCCER

After an injury-plagued season and an early playoff exit, the women’s soccer is looking to rebound this season. Members of the team feel as if they weren’t able to reach their full potential as several key seniors were sidelined by injuries for the majority of the season.

Stepping up to the plate MEN’S BASEBALL

Similar to lacrosse, the boy’s baseball team lost just one senior, but with a large effect.

“Last year, we only had one senior, Riley Day [‘22], he had some big plays during the season,” said Brandt Toporski ‘24. “I know a few times he had some big hits towards the end of games that really made a difference.”

After having a down year last season, the team is looking to bounce back.

“We’ll probably be about .500 this year, we have a tough schedule and a lot of young players,” said Toporski. “With Sam on the mound and healthy, it should be a good year.”

This year, the team is going back to South Carolina after a four-year hiatus in order to play in a tournament.

“We are confident that the experience will carry into this year.”

One of the team’s weaknesses is at the goalie position as their former keeper, Claire Stephens ‘22, graduated. The team is look-

“We definitely had a lot of important seniors that we lost, but we already have experienced playing without them as a few of them were injured last year,” said Sophia Bleakley Wasserman ‘23.

HOLE-IN-ONE

On the up and up MEN’S LACROSSE

The men’s lacrosse season ended on a low note last season, as the team traveled more than two hours in the first round of the playoffs to face the first-seeded Grand Rapids, only to suffer a crushing defeat. The team played the top-ranked team as a result of their poor performance during the regular season, where the team was victorious in only one game.

“We only had twelve guys on the roster, which is not nearly enough

ing to find a player to replace her.

“We lost our goalie so we’re in the process of finding a replacement,” said Bleakley Wasserman. “Thankfully, we have very good underclassmen who will be able to contribute.

Based on what I’ve seen in practice so far, I’m very optimistic.”

Swinging into the season

MEN’S GOLF

The golf team is looking to win the state championship for the second year in a row for the first time in school history. After losing two talented starters the team is looking to reload its lineup in hopes of capturing the title. “We definitely had an extremely strong team last year, obviously very happy with the result,” said Max Shulman ‘24.

to support a full team,” said captain Graeme Jagger ‘23. “Other teams with bigger squads were able to sub more players in while our guys got tired.”

However, the team expects to bounce back this year, despite losing two impactful players.

“Yaseen [Metwally ‘22] graduated, and we’re going to miss him a lot- he was an important part of the team in terms of both team chemistry and actually playing on

Shulman also hopes to use this season to improve marginally, as he has aspirations of becoming a Division I golfer.

“Playing golf on the next level is something I’ve dreamed of since a very young age,” said Shulman. “If I get the opportunity to golf at a Division One school in a couple of years, I’m absolutely going to take it.”

the field,” said Nate Gajar ‘24. “We also lost Kyle Quinn, a great teammate who moved out of state.”

The team also adds many new, previously experienced players, and returns the vast majority of its roster.

“This year, we gained a lot of freshmen, a couple of sophomores, a couple of juniors, and one or two seniors,” said Gajar. “We should have a pretty sizable roster this year, which will be a lot different from last year.”

GAME-SET-MATCH

Cha cha real smooth TRACK AND FIELD

After coming just short of the state meet during last year’s season, the track and field team looks to carry both their experience from last year and their training from cross country into this season.

“I think it is going to be a good season this year as in cross country, both the boys and girls had a great year and most of them are doing track,” said Anika Bery ‘24.

Some runners also wish to avenge last year’s

regional meet, which resulted in several shortcomings.

“Last year we had a few members that were on the cusp of making state cuts,” said Lincoln Cha ‘24.

“Some people got 3rd, and you need to get top two in order to go to states - the regional meet didn’t go as planned since it was raining.”

In terms of major losses, the team lost three seniors.

“We lost 3 seniors who were pretty important but they didn’t make

up the majority of the team so it shouldn’t make any difference,” said Bery.

The team is also optimistic about its strength in a variety of ways. Despite losing seniors, the team returns several key members with high expectations.

“We have members that are talented at sprinting as well as distance so we should be strong in both event types,” said Cha.

“We should make states in the 4 x 800 [relay].”

Despite losing those three seniors, the team hopes to regain some talent with the addition of five freshmen, along with new players in other grades.

“There are a few new juniors, and hopefully Arjun [Prabhakar ‘23] and I can do well as captains this year,” said Shulman.

“Wanna see me do it again?”

WOMEN”S TENNIS

Coming off of a dominating state championship, the stakes couldn’t be higher for the women’s tennis team. However, while most teams regress after winning big, this team is looking to reload and defend their state title. The varsity team loses four seniors, its one-doubles duo of Rukmini Nallamothu ‘22 and Georgie Branch ‘22, Lana Kouatli ‘22, and Sabeen Malik ‘22. Despite these losses, the team returns many experi-

enced players and adds a large number of freshmen. “We’re definitely a very young team this year, but we still have eight people that won states last year returning this year who are bringing that momentum into this year,” said Sydney Rosenberg ‘23. “Out of 34 people on the roster, fifteen of them are freshmen, so we’re very excited to see what they can do this year.”

The biggest example of this youth is

represented by Maddie Morgan ‘25, who, as a freshman, was the team’s highest-seeded singles player. There were also two more freshmen on varsity - Meera Tewari ‘25 and Sophie Chen ‘25. The team looks to win back-to-back championships for the first time ever, and capture their third state title in the past six years.

Briefs compiled by Dylan Carvette ‘23, Leo Applegate ‘23, and Nathan Burke ‘23

Photos by Arjun Prabhakar ‘23, Leo Applegate ‘23, Griffin White ‘23 and Eva Bernstein ‘25, Photo courtesy of Mackenzie Hess

GOOAAALLLL! Captain Sophia Bleakley Wasserman ‘23 practices her free kicks.

STRIKE Captain Sam Dorfman ‘23 warms up his throwing arm.

Captain Max Shulman ‘24 gets ready for season ahead.

SWING IT Captain Graeme Jagger ‘23 works on getting past the defender.

Manasa Gollapolli ‘23 works on her backhand.

SNOWBALL FIGHT Janaan Rehman ‘26, James Kluge ‘23 , Lincoln Cha ‘24, Anjana Kanakamedala ‘24, Mikayla Eccleston ‘25 participate in a track team bonding snowball fight.

MARCH 22, 2023

Greenhills’ final power play?

With all hockey players graduating, athletic department severs ties with Father Gabriel Richard team

first time since 2019.

LUCAS WENTZLOFF ‘23

Sports Staff

Capping off what could be their final season as a combined team, the Greenhills-Father Gabriel Richard Fighting Irish combined hockey team celebrated a 6-5 victory against Orchard Lake St. Mary’s in the regional finals on March 1, but their dreams of a state championship were dashed in the quarterfinals just a few days later by Riverview Gabriel Richard with a final score of 1-6 on March 4.

Despite the quarterfinal loss, the team’s performance throughout the season has earned them recognition and admiration from fans and competitors.

“It was fun to watch the team’s journey this season, and they definitely played high level hockey,” said Alex Hummel ‘23.

On March 4, the Fighting Irish beat Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, with a final score of 6-5 to win the regional championship, their first regional title since 2019. In the regional final there was little to separate the teams, but the Irish held a 5-3 lead near the end of the third period. The hardware was in sight.

St. Mary’s was not going to go away easily. With seven minutes left in regulation, St. Mary’s Merino Seman took matters into his own hands, refusing to let his high school career come to an end. Seman netted two back-to-back goals to tie up the game, the second of which happening with 34 seconds left in the period, sending the game into overtime. Energized by Seman’s late boost, St. Mary’s started overtime on a mission — dominating possession and the game began to look grim for the Irish. However, after a few minutes, the Irish responded when FGR’s Jacek Koszycki took matters into his own hands. Koszycki had scored more than a dozen goals this season, but none were as crucial as the one that was to come. With one swift swing of his stick, he perfectly placed the puck in the upper right corner of the goal, hitting the crossbar and netting the game-winning goal.

The Fighting Irish hockey team’s run to the state championships came to an end in their next game, the state quarterfinals, as they were defeated by Riverview Gabriel Richard 1-6. “Right from the jump FGR wasn’t real-

ly in it,” said FGR alumni and former player Will Monty. “After the second goal went in it was really deflating, because of the nature of it. And then when the third goal got popped in a few minutes later, it kinda just took all of the wind out of the game.”

Powder to the people

Sports Staff

Despite the disappointing end to the

season, the team can hold their heads high after a strong season. This was a record setting year for the program, as they saw an all-time high of 25 wins, along with capturing the coveted Jilek Cup (awarded to the best team in Ann Arbor), becoming Catholic League, Metro League, and regional champions, reaching the state quarterfinals for the

Athletes push for school-backed competitive, leisurely skiing opportunities

consider.

‘23

As the 2022-23 winter sports season wraps up, Matthew Streicher ’24 and Dom Schuster ’24 already have their focus on next year’s winter athletics. More specifically, on a sport that is growing in interest among the student body but currently not offered by Greenhills: Skiing.

“You would not expect to see a skiing interest, but many people in our grade ski in some capacity,” said Streicher, who currently skis for a club team. “There is a ton of interest in it [skiing]. There are already high school teams outside of Ann Arbor. Schools like Novi, Plymouth-Canton schools, and Brighton have a team.”

Streicher and Schuster are leading the effort to add a ski team, hoping to get a team place by next year, which would coincide with their final year at Greenhills.

“It is an awesome thing too: be able to take a few days off school and get to go up north, wake up early in the morning, hang out with friends, go out to ski hill, and just race for eight hours,” said Streicher. “It may sound miserable if you are not into skiing, but once you are up on the hill and getting ready to go, it is an unreal feeling.”

The process of adding a sports team is not a simple one. There are competitive and financial commitments the athletic department must

“In terms of adding sport it is the transportation, the uniforms, the equipment, the venue, the coaches and the officials that need to be addressed,” said athletic director Meg Seng. “You are talking about thousands or tens of thousands of dollars to add any one sport. Ski actually has a really small roster, and if it is self-funded, it would be easier to add [than other potential sports]. There are certain races that the MHSAA sponsors for [skiing] state championships.” What is different about skiing compared to other sports Greenhills offers — like basketball, soccer, or volleyball — is that skiing would be self-funded, much like the hockey team is.

“We have looked into it,” said Seng. “We have looked at numbers. We do not have huge numbers.

It would be self-funded, which is typically for skiing. They [the skiers] basically pay for themselves, but they have to pay for a coach, they have to pay for travel, they have to pay for equipment, and they have to pay for mountain time.

“I had a nice, long conversation with the director of skiing at the MHSAA last year when I was first investigating the idea,” Seng said. “He said most of the programs are usually well-resourced schools, meaning it is families that can afford to pay out of pocket for the ski experience for their sons and daughters.”

The numbers neces-

The team’s coach and players expressed their gratitude to their supporters, and the returning members will look to continue the legacy next season.

“Thank you to everyone who took the time to drive out to support us at our games, it means a lot to me and my teammates,” said Griffin White ‘23.

Despite the team’s successes this year, the future of Greenhills’ involvement is in jeopardy. Greenhills students interested in hockey have found their place in the FGR-Greenhills coalition—as Greenhills does not have a team, interested students have to join the Fighting Irish. However, this opportunity will end next year, as Greenhills’ athletic department has made the decision to terminate the contract that the school holds with FGR that allows Greenhills students to play on the team. All three of the players that Greenhills contributes to the team share the same sentiment.

“Even if we don’t have people right now, it’s still worth having the contract because in the future it’s good to have the opportunity for students to play,” said White. “This termination of the contract is taking away from the Greenhills experience.”

Ryan Kowalchik ‘23 echoed White’s sen timent against ending the hockey team contract.

“Students will be incentivised not to play, and restarting the contract will be significantly harder to do without an easy option to play,” said Kowalchick.

“In order for that to happen we are looking for double digit participation [of Greenhills players],” said Greenhills athletic director Meg Seng when asked about why Greenhills is deciding to terminate the contract.

Seng said that FGR may seek another cooperation to replace Greenhills if they needed more players, because Greenhills simply cannot provide the necessary manpower.

Greenhills does not have enough interested students to pursue a contract with a school. If they wanted involvement in hockey through school they would need to get a more interest in the sport to resurrect the team.

sary to fill out a ski team is six boys and six girls, with a minimum amount of four per gender. According to Schuster and Streicher, they have garnered enough boys to fill a team, but still are looking for more girls to join.

“Once we raise awareness of it [the ski club/team], then everybody is going to jump on,” said Streicher. “I think we will easily get the numbers needed.”

While Schuster and Streicher push to gain interest in skiing among the student body, the prospects of adding any new sports team, even a self-funded sport like skiing, are dim. Adding any new sport would have to come with the commitment that there will be enough athletes to sustain the sport over the course of many years, not just for a short period when there may be an uptick in interest.

“We have already set the budget for next year, so it did not include adding any sport—skiing, crew, boys volleyball, girls lacrosse,” said Seng. “So, those are all viable sports that people compete in. We would love to add sports, but we also know that we currently offer almost all the sports that are sanctioned by the MHSAA. And, we don’t fill those out in every case. Certainly, in the fall and the spring, we have a ton of roster spots open. We want to get ninth and tenth graders in the sports we already have before adding more.”

The compromise that seems to be in the offing is the inception of a skiing club. The club would allow interested students and teachers to go on ski outings a few times a year without the long-term commitment of creating a ski team.

“Wouldn’t it be nice if we had a couple of skiing outings,” said Seng. “We would get a bus, rent the hill, and take a group. It is not competitive. It is literally a ski trip to Mount Brighton. In order for the athletic program to invest in a team, it would have to be all-in joining the MHSAA versus just recreational, because there are so many moving parts.”

Despite being disappointed by the prospects of adding a ski team being slim, Streicher and Schuster forge ahead with the creation of a club being a starting point. The ultimate goal remains to begin a team. To show his continued interest, Streicher wrote a report to present to the athletic department addressing the necessary factors that would allow them to start a team.

“The report included a potential connection between XLR8 [pronounced accelerate] alpine racing,” said Streicher. “XLR8 would offer a coach, it would let us get all the gates, would let us get time on the hill, and would allow us to compete in Division II.”

Streicher and Schuster will not give up their effort to establish a ski team, even if it occurs after they graduate and are not able to participate in the team.

“We will keep trying,” said Schuster. “We will keep pushing forward. If not for us, for the [next] generation.”

SKATING OFF THE ICE Griffin White ‘23 surveying the ice mid play in the state quarter finals. “Hockey was a big part of my high school career, we had a great season this year,” said White. “It’s kind of sad that future Greenhills students won’t be able to play hockey.”

Photo courtesy of Griffin White ‘23

NICHOLAS ALUMKAL

HEAD FOR THE CHILLS Matthew Streicher ‘24 competes in a downhill race for his club team

Photo courtesy of Matthew Streicher ‘24