The Huron Emery Volume 7 Issue 3 December 2021

THE @THEHURONEMERY

HURON EMERY HURON HIGH SCHOOL, 2727 FULLER RD., ANN ARBOR MI 48105

VOL. 7 ISSUE 3

“I felt very guilty”: Heather Potocki’s COVID-19 experience RIDHIMA KODALI MANAGING EDITOR

Unwrapping the stigma: Addressing period poverty

A

RIDHIMA KODALI MANAGING EDITOR

pproximately, 1 in 5 Americans miss school due to lack of access. 3.5 million women get their period every month. 500 million do not even have access to menstrual or feminine products, experiencing period poverty.

On Nov. 1, the Ann Arbor City Council voted unanimously on providing menstrual/ sanitation products in all public restrooms (without regard to gender designation and without charge) of Ann Arbor.

“It’s terrible when people don’t have access to [menestrual products],” Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor said. “ The absence of period products inhibits people at work, inhibits people at school and inhibits their ability to engage in basic life. It keeps people from achieving what they can and being easy participants in society.”

When Taylor became aware of this inequity it was when a high school student approached him and voiced her concerns. Those concerns were that it was difficult for many to obtain for those who did not have established residences.

“Over time I’ve heard reports that various jurisdictions are making them available in schools,” Taylor said. “I

didn’t q u i t e figure how we could do that. But over time, it put a bug in my ear as to the importance of the issue, and we’re able to roll out a citywide policy.”

Starting Jan. 1, 2022, the ordinance will come into effect making Ann Arbor the first U.S. city to do so.

“It’s a fundamental human need,” Taylor said. “A fundamental public health need, in a matter of personal d i g n i t y that these products be available.

I’m just so glad that we’re able to ensure that they are.

I’m hoping that we can do our part to overcome that and hoping that we can do our part to support people’s engagement in the community, engagement in school, engagement in work and engagement in going about doing things in the regular. Having the products available is going to

See PERIOD, PAGE 4

GRAPHIC BY VIRGINIA HE

Counselor Heather Potocki saw the daunting rapid test result that came upon her phone: positive for COVID-19. This was after she had just gone to work.

This was after she had just picked Kane, her son, up from preschool Heather immediately threw on her mask and swear words were spewing from her mouth.

She was trying to call her husband, Paul, on her way home.

The first dial went straight to voicemail.

The second dial, another voicemail.

The third call, voicemail again.

Two calls later. No response.

“Oh my god, will you please answer?” Heather exclaimed. “I do not know what to do.”

Then she thought that he must’ve been taking care of Quinn, their daughter. Heather decided to call her mom instead.

“I’m freaking out,” she frantically told her mom. “I’ve interacted with so many people.”

Heather expressed a plenitude of fret on the phone call home.

She remembered when it all started: Wednesday, Oct. 27.

Fall colors had started to seep in the leaves, as well as colds amongst staff and students at Huron.

Heather was trying to pack up her office and she started sniffling and sneezing. Multiple times. That same day, she was scheduled for her booster shot at CVS and she could not even get it.

By Halloween weekend, Heather’s nose was fine. It wasn’t running or burning and the COVID tests she took came back negative.

On Nov. 9, Heather woke up with rheum.

“I had this two weeks ago but I was negative,” Heather recalled to herself. “So I’m sure it’s fine. It’s no big deal. And I was like, ‘I’ll just take some DayQuil and it will be fine.’”

By the end of the day, nothing put a halt to her

See POTOCKI, PAGE 2

OPINION - PAGE 6

FEATURE - PAGE 8

SPORTS - PAGE 15

Jewish Representation in Hollywood, we need more of it in a positive light

Breaking the stigma behind menstruation: It’s normal, natural and real

Sophomores from Georgia and Scarlett Middle School start first chapter of Huron Men’s Volleyball

THE HURON EMERY | ISSUE 3: DECEMBER 2 | NEWS POTOCKI | FROM PAGE ONE nose from continuously dripping.

Her son was in the car when she witnessed the shocking positive COVID-19 test result.

“I had kind of thought of it all along,” Heather said.

“Based on our experiences this fall, it was just a cold and the two previous experiences were just a cold, where Quinn and I tested negative. But I was positive this time.”

As Heather isolated herself in her bedroom, tears flooded her eyes. She was just crying and crying during those first couple of days during quarantine. Her husband, Quinn and Kane stayed away from her.

“I was very upset that I allowed this to come into my

home,” Heather said as she almost broke down. “I think it was that I felt very guilty for anybody I had exposed because I didn’t know I had it.”

Heather thought she had been exposed to COVID-19 at her gym, despite always wearing a mask. She had been previously working out virtually, up until July 2021.

“I was upset that, as careful as I was, we still got it,” Heather said. “I wanted to go into the gym because they had heavier weights and they had other things that I don’t have here at home. I found out after I was positive, that there were two other people that were positive at one of the last boot camps that I had gone to. I don’t know if it was worth it.”

Afterward, Heather’s

husband started coughing.

Quinn, Kane and Paul got tested again for COVID-19.

Twice.

“We kind of knew that as things opened — as we sent our kids to school, as I returned to work, as my husband returned to work, as we returned to “normal life” — that we would eventually get it,” Heather said. “It just kind of seemed inevitable.”

Heather and Paul had always been straightforward with their kids and explained COVID-19, the entire pandemic and safety measures since it all began last year.

They both double-masked at work and the Potockis wore masks everywhere they went.

“Quinn has insisted on wearing a mask the entire time that I’ve been home with COVID-19,” Heather said.

“She sometimes wears two masks. I wear masks anytime that we interact with my daughter because she’s still going to school virtually ”

When Quinn was Zooming in school, Heather said she was still figuring it out, but is very self-sufficient in terms of knowing what she needs to do and getting ready for the day.

“Being isolated in my room was not the worst part,” Heather said. “It was not being able to see my kids or being able to help run the house, not being able to do all of that. I didn’t have any of the really bad symptoms. And I think it’s because of the vaccine — that’s why my symptoms have been so mild.”

At the end of the interview on Zoom, Heather was still in quarantine and had a slight cold but regardless, she expressed a positive mindset, keeping in mind what counselor Rashonda Jamerson told Heather: she had done everything she could to prevent this situation and sometimes it still happens. She reminded Heather to focus on the positives.

“Focusing on the positive and gratefulness really helped,” Heather said.

“We have had COVID-19 in our household but we’re all still healthy. Nobody’s in the hospital. We have blood oxygen monitors. Nobody — none of us — are having longterm issues that are going to prevent us from living the rest of our lives.”

Potocki’s cold and quarantine lasted about four weeks, until she returned to school in late November. COURTESY OF POTOCKI

GRAPHIC BY ANNABELLE YE

NEWS

briefs

THE EMERY STAFF

MYA GEORGIADIS STAFF WRITER

Huron hallways transformed

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF: Vish Gondesi 408215@aaps.k12.mi.us Allison Mi 403010@aaps.k12.mi.us ADVISER Sara-Beth Badalamente Ridhima Kodali Managing Editor Lydia Hargett News Editor Anita Gaenko Feature Editor Quinn Newhouse Sports Editor Amy Xiu Design Editor

Decals being worked on near the library on Dec. 8 VISH GONDESI

Gregory Auchus Noor Allah Ismail

Suhybe Awwad

Muhammad Ba

Kandyce Barnes Jaden Boster Kaylee Burton Carlos Castrejon Zain Charania Aleila Chun-Elliot Eliot Dimcheff Dominick Douglas Anna Esper Emily Fasing Tarik Fermin

Maya Fu Sandra Fu Mya Georgiadis Nora Gibson Samantha Goldstein Julia Gray Trey Green Chloe Griffths Mihail Gueorguiev Robert Hall Carson Hawkins Isabella Hernandez-Bernabe Zachary Hildebrandt Shakira Hughbanks

Braedon Ingarm Kantaro Inoki Braedon James Cameron Jarvis Mark Kerekes Hyo Won Ko Jaia Lawrence Daniel Lee Justin Meath Jonathan Mendez Anthony Neyman Tayla Nesmith Iva Panyovska Kelly Park Jackson Pollard

Leela Raghavendran Visruth Rajendiran Micah Robertson Kyren White Jewel Storrs Jose Vega Stacy Viurquiz Ky’ell Williams Annabelle Ye Chase Young Virginia He

Principal Ché Carter is beautifying every inch of Huron, looking for all areas that need change.

“I was disappointed in the condition of the building,” Carter said.

Carter is driven to make sure the school is represented properly.

Through bond money, Carter wants to add small touches to Huron’s interior, which he calls “low hanging fruit,” that can make a difference quickly.

The ceilings in the lunchroom w e r e repainted, covering food stains. The elevator doors are now a bright forest green and the light poles under the arch are gold and green. New vinyl

decals on windows showcase the flaming “H.”

“The schools of the future cannot be the schools of the past,” he said. “We are not going back to the old normal.

The branding of our school will help to generate a sense of loyalty and ownership for students, teachers, parents and alumni.”

Carter is trying to bring back a sense of pride at Huron High School.

“I want students to have a say of the decisions in the building,” Carter said. “It is my sincere hope that students will develop a positive image of their physical space and an emotional connection to the campus and academics.”

THE HURON EMERY | ISSUE 3: DECEMBER 3 | NEWS

River Rats reflect on Oxford High School shooting RIDHIMA KODALI MANAGING EDITOR

The walkout

On Thursday, Dec. 2, there was a walkout to honor those who passed away in the Nov. 30 Oxford High School shooting.

About 40 students came out for the walkout under the arch. Most were taking selfies and talking to their friends.

Sophomores Isaiah Barrientes and Samuel Mungar stood up on the seat of the cafeteria table.

“No, no,” their friends begged.

“Don’t do it.” “You’re going to embarrass yourself.”

Mungar quickly shouted and gathered everyone’s attention.

“I want a minute,” Mungar said. “At least a minute or a moment of silence.”

As he moved his arms outwards, pointing and calling out everyone, he said, “Y’all just do this, did it skip school, but I’m really here for the real reason.”

Barrientes pulls out his iPhone from his black jacket holding up a timer for 1 minute.

10 seconds in and people start laughing.

“Are y’all serious?” a girl questions. More laughter continues afterward.

DING! DING! The alarm rings and everyone leaves and as everyone goes back inside, there’s m o r e chaotic giggling a n d laughing.

Fifteen minutes later,

GRAPHICS BY VIRGINIA HE AND ANNABELLE YE

Mungar and Barrientes were interviewed.

The purpose of the walkout was to spread awareness about the shooting and gun violence. Mungar heard about the shooting through social media and Barrientes, from his therapy session.

“It just felt really powerful [standing up there],” Barrientes said. “I was doing it for a good cause and it felt really nice to just be out there knowing I was a part of it.”

Barrientes believes that there is no real way to prevent school violence fully.

“There’s always going to be kids with mental illnesses,” he said. “There’s always going to be ways to get guns and there’s always going to be ways to do things.”

Mungar and Barrientes both are very saddened and sympathetic for what happened at Oxford and for the families that lost their loved ones.

“Prayers go out to the Oxford families,” Barrientes said. “I don’t want to say we know how it feels to lose loved ones and friends. Our prayers go out to you.”

Brady Grenier and Kyla Graves Junior Brady Grenier was at the Huron Men’s Soccer

banquet when he first saw it.

“I wasn’t sure if it was real,” he said. “I saw multiple sources and it just seemed crazy that something like [a shooting] could happen somewhere so close to you. A younger person was able to have their hands on a gun and it’s obvious and evident that something needs to be done.”

Grenier’s friends had a lot of discussions as to why people were leaving school and going home but he was not planning on leaving.

“When something like this happens it affects people differently,” Grenier said. “I don’t think it was a huge emotional hit, but it definitely scared me a little bit to go to school. I’m more scared, but not scared enough to stay home. I trust the people that go here.”

For senior Kyla Graves, she has become more hyper-vigilant about where she is, where her friends are and where there are exits.

“This isn’t something high school seniors should worry about,” Graves said. “I don’t think we have proper systems in place to prevent a shooting. There has to be a lot of changes in place. Honestly, I‘d like to feel safe enough. I’d like to have enough faith in our students that no one would ever do something like that.

I’d like to have a lot of faith in our counselors that if someone was showing warning signs like E t h a n Crumbley was, they will be able to handle that.”

As for the copycat threats, B r a d y says this, “As long as we do the right things to be safe, I think I can move

forward. I think it’s so stupid that kids would do something like [the copycat threats] to get out of a day in school. It’s people’s lives that you’re joking around about and then just to not go to school for a day, that’s just ridiculous.

I’m glad that those people are being punished.”

Gina Friske

“I didn’t feel any less safe than I had previously in this building,” science teacher Gina Friske said. “I also immediately thought about how to keep rumors from spreading and to keep students calm. I tried to reassure students that were concerned that I felt safe and identified precautions that we’ve taken and things that we do on campus to keep each other safe.”

Friske took notice in her fourth hour Earth Science class, which is when the rumors started to fly. Students were messaging their friends from Pioneer and Skyline and because there was a student-teacher teaching, she had the opportunity to have side conversations with those students.

“I said, ‘This is the information I have, look, this email was just sent to my parents’ book,” Friske said.

“They’ve addressed all this.

This is not true. I just tried to say I’m not saying that your friends are not telling the truth, but they might be misinterpreting situations. If anything serious comes up, I will be upfront and tell you about it.”

When Friske heard about the shooting, she could only think about one thing: “The poor parents.”

“I immediately went into mom mode,” she said with a quivering voice. “Even though my daughters are much younger, I started thinking about what it would be like to not know what’s going on with your student. Also, there’s an assumption that parents have when they send their children to school: that it’s safe. And there is a community of adults that are responsible for that. And teachers are a big part of it. And I expect the same thing as a parent: that when I send my girls to school, their teacher will prioritize my child’s safety.”

From a safety standpoint, the Friday off was not necessary.

“I think it was necessary to allow people a chance to process and reset,” Friske said. “To allow people to recognize that there are authority figures that are taking this very seriously and are going to continue to take it seriously until as many people as possible can feel comfortable. I never personally saw the threats. I chose to not engage with that and social media. And I trust if the police are telling me it’s okay. I trust our administration that they would not put us in harm’s way.”

Friske lives in Oakland County and amidst the shooting, the first thing that went through her mind, as a parent, was “how am I going to tell my seven-year-old?”

Her seven-year-old’s district was off Thursday and Friday.

“I framed it to her that it is my job to keep you safe,” Friske said. “That’s a mom’s job — to keep you safe — I can’t keep you safe at school. I need to teach you things that will help keep you safe at school.”

As Friske continued to have the talk with her daughter, her daughter sobbed and looked up at Friske and said, “Mom, you’re scaring me.”

Friske started to tear up as well and said to her, “I’m scared too. But we have to do the best we can to keep ourselves and each other safe.”

“I don’t know what to say to [those parents who have lost their loved ones at Oxford],” Friske admitted.

“If I were to be put in front of them I would be speechless.”

And then she just started to cry.

“As a parent, I don’t think anything that could be said to me — just thinking about it — if I were to be put face-to-face with them I would just be speechless and crying.

Like I am now.”

Friske recalls when a friend asked her, “Are you scared?”

“I am no less scared today than I was a week ago,” Friske said. That’s not to say I am not scared. There’s always a little piece of me that knows something like this is possible.”

THE HURON EMERY | ISSUE 3: DECEMBER 4 | FEATURE

6,605 miles from home: Navigating life without family ALLISON MI EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Sarah Kim didn’t want her family seeing her cry. So, as she waved back, she stared at the airport floor: shiny, white mondo rubber.

But as the opaque double doors were sliding closed behind her, she couldn’t resist one last glance of her family.

They were blurry through the tears. But just seeing them — that was more than enough for Sarah.

“I’m not ready,” the words spun in her head.

The double doors were about to m e e t halfway.

“I’m not ready.”

Clunk.

T h e doors s h u t .

Her family was gone.

And Sarah, backpacked and surrounded by a sea of suitcases with a one-way ticket to America in hand, had one daunting realization.

She was truly on her own.

This had not always been the plan.

When the Kim family decided to return to Suwon, Korea after five years in Ann Arbor, halfway through Sarah’s eighth grade year, they had every intention of keeping the family together.

Their American life, after all, was tidily packed into boxes on a container ship sailing across the Pacific Ocean.

However, two weeks after arriving back, Sarah became more realistic.

“I actually had to get serious about my education,” Sarah said. “I started to get worried, scared thinking about it.”

The five years she spent in America meant five years worth of Korean education out the window.

Moreover, while her Korean peers had grown up in an environment preparing them for the eight-hour lifedictating College Scholastic Ability Test, her readiness was close to nothing.

“Do I really want to stay here?” she wondered. “Maybe I am better off in America.”

Her parents agreed; it was better for her — for her future — to go back.

“I liked the idea,” Sarah said.

Two weeks later, she was at the airport and the doors closed.

“Until I realized I had to live alone.”

“Different”

At the start of the second semester of Sarah’s eighth grade year, she was back in Ann Arbor.

Except, she was staying on a different street, sleeping in a different house, living with a different family.

“Parent or guardian,” the form read. Never once had Sarah thought the tagalong word “guardian” would be applicable to her.

The rest of her eighth grade year was “different.”

“It was terrible,” Sarah said. “I was like ‘This is not right.’”

She FaceTimed her family once a week on Friday n i g h t s and spent most of her time in her bedroom.

As welcoming as her guardians were, simply lounging on their living room couch was out of the question.

“I just can’t open up to them,” Sarah said. “I can’t just talk to them like I do with my parents because I’m not completely comfortable.

So I just needed to stay in my room. The guardians are nice, but that’s when I started to feel really empty, knowing no matter how many great people I have around me, family is just a thing no one can fill in.”

Even though Ann Arbor had not changed, through Sarah’s eyes, without her family, the city seemed to have lost its luster.

TJ Maxx was one of Sarah’s mom’s many loves.

Mother-daughter weekend field trips to the store became part of the agenda. They would splurge on dog toys, cotton candy and piping bags they’d never use.

“Many good memories and good feelings start there,” Sarah thought back.

But when she returned without her mom, there was no use for dog toys, since her toy poodle Louis was in Korea.

The cotton candy looked dull. The baking accessories actually seemed useless.

“Wow, I really miss my mom,” was all Sarah could think.

Without her mom, TJ Maxx just didn’t feel the same.

“It just felt like a store.”

6,605 miles from home

At first, at Clague, Sarah could forget that her family was 6,605 miles away.

But after classes ended, when she got “home,” it was straight upstairs to her bedroom, no casual banter of “How

was your day?” or “How was that math test?”

“Home just didn’t feel like home,” she said.

Small things like seeing her friends being dropped to their house made her melancholy.

“They were going home, home to their families, and I was going home too but it didn’t feel like the same kind of home,” she said.

Through the car window, Sarah saw her friend’s parents lovingly greeting them at the door.

“When I saw those moments, it reminded me that I was actually here alone,” Sarah said. “It made me wish I had my parents just pick me up from school or drop me off. Just the small things would do it.”

Most people assumed Sarah lived with her parents, that she circled “parent” on field trip permission slips, that whoever drove her “home” were appa and eomma.

“Everyone assumed that I was with my parents, which made it harder for me to open up,” she said. “And it was like, ‘Okay, I’ll just go along with it.’”

The fact that Sarah could not relate to anyone about this experience and could not ask for advice only made it more difficult.

“No one could understand how I was feeling,” she explained. “And I understood that no one could really do anything about it, and that was what made it hard. I had no one to rely on.”

She paused, holding back a few tears.

“Sometimes I question if it’s even worth it,” she said. “Sometimes I just want to give up.”

In a black A-line dress

Sarah walked across the stage during her eighth grade graduation ceremony to pick up her paw-stamped diploma, and one thought dominated: “I wish my parents could see me.”

But she still kept her chin up high.

“I was sad, but that moment was also when I stopped whining about my situation and actually started thinking about my future,” Sarah said. “That’s when I saw there were a lot more opportunities and options here in America. I think my parents were focused on education and I was just interested in having fun, that’s why I was so stubborn about moving here.”

After the ceremony, a friend’s mom gave Sarah a bouquet of rose tulips, knowing her parents couldn’t make it.

GRAPHICS BY KELLY PARK

“I have many hopes,” Sarah said. “My parents have many hopes for me.

No matter how much I miss them, I know I have to get up the next day because life is going on. I have to take care of my future. That’s what’s keeping me going.”

No one, of course, could have predicted Sarah’s next chapter.

When schools went virtual due to COVID-19 in March, 2020, Sarah didn’t see any reason to stay in Ann Arbor. As soon as school was confirmed to be virtual for the rest of the academic year, she booked the first flight to Korea.

“It just made me so happy knowing that I could be with my family for longer than just the three months of summer,” Sarah said.

No combination seemed more perfect than asynchronous Google Classroom assignments and a life with her family under the same roof.

“My life was great,” she said. “It was really all happy.”

When virtual synchronous classes started in Sarah’s sophomore year, however, her sleep schedule flipped. Due to the time difference in Korea, she started school at 10 p.m. and stayed up until 5 a.m., attending physics or orchestra — during which she had to explain to the teacher why she couldn’t play along to Giddens on the violin, since it would wake up the entire apartment building.

Sarah never woke up before noon, but early enough to have lunch with her mom.

“It was really nice to have lunch with her,” Sarah said, “not just eating by myself in my room.”

Sarah’s “lunch” — a breakfast in disguise — consisted of white toast, sunny side-up eggs with ketchup and mom-made coffee — the best coffee, according to Sarah.

Afterward, they would go feed the street’s abandoned cat — an orange tabby — whom they named Raemi after the apartment building’s n a m e , Raemian.

“It all felt too good to be true,” she said. “It felt like a dream.”

The last days

In August, 2021, it was confirmed that Ann Arbor Public Schools would be going back fully in-person.

“During that last month, I wasn’t completely happy anymore,” Sarah said.

“I was just overwhelmed.

Everything I did, I knew it would be a last.”

Grocery shopping with appa would be a last.

Feeding Raemi after lunch would be a last.

Meals with eomma would be a last.

“By the last week, it tasted like a different breakfast,” Sarah said.

Since Sarah wanted to spend as much time as possible with her family, she booked the plane ticket last minute, arriving in Ann Arbor two days before the first day of school.

On that flight, instead of watching in-flight movies, Sarah replayed memories, the memories that would comfort, strengthen and motivate her to persist in the tough — and she would say, right — choice she has made.

“Even though it’s really difficult, I know it’s making me a stronger person and more independent,” she said. “I know in the long term I will be grateful for this experience.”

Before landing in America, Sarah recalled the 14th floor apartment living room, drowned in sunlight, when she was lounging on the family couch, enjoying freshly cut apples and watermelon with her mom and sister, laughing at her dad as he cursed the politicians on TV, and watching as Louis played with a few too many TJ Maxx toys.

And she thought to herself:

“This is all I want.”

THE HURON EMERY | ISSUE 3: DECEMBER 5 | FEATURE

Setting the bar: The Blind Pig throughout the years KAYLEE BURTON AND CHASE YOUNG STAFF WRITERS

Home to one of Nirvana’s top rated venues in an MTV interview, The Blind Pig of Ann Arbor is a small but mighty venue. Second owner Betty Goffett originally bought The Pig for her husband Roy Goffett in 1983 but it became a second home for both. The Blind Pig was originally a coffee shop during the day that turned to a blues bar at night up until around the 1980s. The Goffetts renovated the venue, creating the 8-ball saloon in the basement, moving the stage upstairs upping the bar’s capacity to 400.

The most important thing to Betty was to make sure all bands got the same chance.

“We try to give the bands that are from Ann Arbor a chance to show us what they can do,” Betty said.

Not only was it im-

portant to Betty to give all bands a chance she also made sure they all felt welcome.

“We try to treat each band that plays there the same,” Betty said.

Betty made sure every band and every person that walked through the front door felt like they had a place to be, she made every band feel the same as the others no matter the fame.

When the Goffetts created the 8-ball saloon one of the main reasons was to give more people a place to be at the bar.

“Everyone feels good about coming because if they want to play pool or shoot darts, it’s downstairs and the music is upstairs and you can kind of go back and forth,”

Betty said. “We try to make everyone feel welcome.”

Betty always made sure everyone was having a good time. She was always raising the mood and making everyone feel like they were having the time of their lives.

Betty and Roy were the life of The Pig, they were there all the time and they dedicated most of their time to making the Pig an enjoyable place for people.

Jason Berry, their talent investor, worked under a company called Prism until 1999. When he split from that company, he stayed at The Pig primarily because of his bond he created with

THROUGH THE PANDEMIC:

Roy. They ended up being very good friends and would spend every lunch together, even before Jason was working under the Goffetts and not Prism.

Roy was a worker. He was always at the Pig.

“He was there every day at noon every weekday,” Jason said. “Not at 11:59. Not at 12:01. He was there at noon every single weekday.”

Roy was dedicated to his bar and he made sure he was doing his part. Betty and Roy devoted a large amount of their time to The Pig until Roy passed in 2001. Betty went on to own The Pig until 2017, continuing to do her best to run it and be the uplifting spirit she always was. Betty is now 90 but continues to talk about The Pig everyday. It is still her passion and by far her favorite topic to talk for hours about. Not only did she use to be that uplifting spirit, she still is and always will be.

1982

Betty buys the bar

1988

The iconic 8ball is made

1989

Nirvana plays at the

1989

Sound Garden performs at the bar

1991

Pearl Jam performs at the bar

Logo of the Blind Pig. COURTESY OF BETTY GOFFETT

KAYLEE BURTON AND CHASE YOUNG

Jason Berry, talent investor and now co-owner, has stayed at The Blind Pig even after Betty leaving. He has kept her wishes and her hopes alive within The Blind Pig. Berry tries to work with Betty in mind and what she would want the bar to be and to become. He has done a great job being a good co-owner and a good leader for the bar. Jason spends a lot of his time at the bar, making sure everything goes great and that business is amazing. Like Betty, Jason is very passionate about hiring local artists, not caring about their size. He gives all bands a chance to show their talent and to jumpstart their career.

Jason Berry has made a big decision that makes the Blind Pig different from most other venues by being negative test only, not vaccine only. He and his team believe that it is more important to have a negative test than to be vaccinated, because people who are vaccinated can still get COVID-19, and people who are not vaccinated don’t always have it.

“If the object is safety, and you want to gather

together and see an artist, then the only real solution is that everyone has to show a negative COVID test within 74 hours of the performance,” Jason said.

Being negative 74 hours before the show guarantees that no one in the show has COVID, getting rid of any risk of there being a COVID outbreak. Jason and his team are very passionate about keeping a healthy and safe venue, while also being able to include everyone in their shows who want to be there.

“A vax-only show is no safer, because the vaccinated still transmit the virus and can still get the variant, so no one is really safe in a vax-only show,” Jason said.

On August 27th, they had their first show after COVID-19. They have been able to keep that up and continue to be open since, which is great for the small venue and great for the city of Ann Arbor, keeping the history and fun alive.

Side wall

artwork o

f the Bling

Pig store.

C

OURTESY O

2011

Macklemore performs at the bar

2017

Betty sells the bar

Aug. 27, 2021 F BETTY GO

FFETT

First show after COVID-19

THE HURON EMERY | ISSUE 3: DECEMBER 6 | OPINION

Antisemitism in entertainment needs to stop now SAMANTHA GOLDSTEIN STAFF WRITER

I am Jewish. I love baking challah and cooking latkes. I love celebrating Hanukkah and Passover with my family. I have curly hair and a big nose, and I love these things about myself.

However, there is one thing I don’t love about being Jewish, and that’s how Jews are portrayed in entertainment.

As a child, when I would turn on the TV, I would see characters like Hermione Granger and Belle, and immediately see myself. After all, they were a lot like me, with the same curly brown hair and passion for learning.

Despite this, I found myself constantly being compared to characters like Mother Gothel and the goblins from Harry Potter. Just in elementary school, I didn’t understand why my classmates only compared me to

villains when, in my eyes, I was so blatantly similar to some of my favorite fictional heroes.

In 2010, families flocked to theaters to watch “Tangled”, Disney’s reenactment of the Grimm fairytale, “Rapunzel”.

Fans fell in love with Rapunzel’s bubbly personality and Flynn Rider’s humor and charm. Mother Gothel, on the other hand, was widely disliked-- and understandably so. In the movie, she kidnaps baby Rapunzel and uses her magical hair to maintain her youth and power. This storyline has striking parallels to the antisemitic Blood Libel myth, which tells of Jews kidnapping Christian children, murdering them in rituals, and using their blood to gain power. Additionally, Mother Gothel’s character is animated with a large nose and dark, curly hair, both features commonly associated with Jews. Because of this, it’s not difficult to subconsciously view her as Jewish.

When taking a look at “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”, it’s easy to see the antisemitism rooted in the Gringotts goblins, who are heavily based on the misconception that Jews are greedy and deceitful.

This stereotype dates back to the Holocaust, when many Jews could only find work at banks or in finance. So,

Let’s Go Back. Please.

RIDHIMA KODALI MANAGING EDITOR Staff shortages. Rising COVID-19 cases. Multiple absences.

School closures.

About a year ago, I wrote an article expressing how I was on board with the district keeping us virtual. If we had been back last year, then it would have been a muddle of COVID-19 and for that, I thank Ann Arbor Public Schools (AAPS).

However, it does not change the fact that if these problems do continue to persevere, it’ll leave our district left pining for even more ruination and destruction. We need to go back to virtual. We have to go back to a virtual setting. It’s our best bet and a temporary solution for now.

Already three months into

The Goblins from Harry Potter and Mother Gothel from Disney’s Tangled are examples of Antisemitism in media. (Left: Amaury Laporte/flickr.com, Right: Charles Rodstrom/flickr.com) it only seems fitting that these goblins work in the wizarding bank, Gringotts.

When these characters are first introduced in the book, Harry is immediately told to never mess with goblins. This automatically enforces the goblins’ corrupt characterization. On top of this, the goblins are portrayed with large, hooked noses and beady eyes, a depiction that is disturbingly similar to antisemitic Jewish caricatures from the 1930s and 1940s.

Although it isn’t confirmed that the Gringotts goblins are based off of Jewish features and stereotypes, that

in-person school and these issues persist. And I am annoyed. I am flabbergasted. I am upset and frankly, I am bothered. Yes, vaccines are available. Yes, I know, AAPS is trying its hardest to find solutions and reduce the damage that has been done, but it’s time to face reality.

The purpose of this column and for upcoming articles is to talk about how everything isn’t rainbows and butterflies or how everything is normal. The truth is, nothing has been normal ever since we came back and some are just too naïve to admit it. Amidst all the fake normalcy lying in Huron and the piles and piles of work teachers are giving students, nobody is discussing the real issues we should be talking about. Everyone is moving on or at least attempting to, which is understandable in some cases.

Every single day, there are floods of people walking in late, teachers are absent because they either are following the COVID-19 mitigations or protocols or have contracted COVID-19. And some students are not even wearing their

connection could easily be made.

However, this isn’t to say that progress hasn’t been made towards completely eliminating antisemitism from entertainment. If one were to compare “Harry Potter” and “Tangled” to Nazi propaganda made with antisemitic intent, they would see a stark difference in the portrayal of Jews and Jewish-coded characters.

With the increase in positive Jewish representation, and more light being shed on antisemitism and how to address it, large improvements have been

masks correctly. Michigan has the most COVID-19 cases in the United States thus far — leading with an average of 7,768 cases as of Dec. 3, according to The New York Times.

The fall semester carries 500 cases, according to the AAPS COVID-19 case dashboard.

All of these can be fixed with one solution: virtual learning. It may not be everyone’s favorite solution or option, but it is the right one for now.

It’s the only way to mend the current status and issues of AAPS.

Going back to virtual learning, there will be a reduction of COVID-19 cases, and school closures would not have to be such a big issue, nor would staff shortages. Also, having closures especially during the wintertime can be beneficial, considering the recent flu outbreak at the University of Michigan of Ann Arbor.

In fact, the CDC had to come on campus to investigate the outbreak that surged the campus. Also, staff absences do not seem to be getting better considering 94 percent rate of the staff being vaccinated. Superintendent Jeanice Swift did say the

reason for such high staff absences is due to staff following COVID mitigations. However, many are sent to the cafeteria and COVID-19 cases seem to be increasing, not only in Michigan, but as a district.

This is leaving AAPS at the breaking point. Things will only become worse from here on out if we do not go back to virtual learning. Going back virtual will give us the opportunity to take a precautionary measure before things get heated with a rise in cases and absences in staff. AAPS, we can not just sit and wait for everything to crash and burn. We need to take action and go back to virtual learning. There will be minimal COVID cases (considering sports), rare staff absences and students do not have to come late to school every day. It’s what we have to do now.

It’s what we should do. Regardless of what AAPS decides to do, I am here to talk about how the glass is half-empty and for every optimist, there is a pessimist.

...............................

GRAPHICS BY AMY XIU

made in erasing overtly harmful Jewish stereotypes.

Nonetheless, it is evident that these stereotypes continue to be spread, just in a more discreet manner.

As the generation that grew up watching movies like “Tangled” and “Harry Potter” continues to make their mark in society, it’s more important than ever to take a look at classic books and movies, as well as our own institutions and debunk these harmful stereotypes. Jews aren’t villains, and they need to stop being portrayed as such.

THE HURON EMERY | ISSUE 3: DECEMBER

7 | OPINION

Richard Nixon speaks in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963. (TOM DILLARD/DALLAS MORNING NEWS/TNS) GRAPHIC BY SAMANTHA GOLDSTEIN

Not so different from the Cold War: The war against cancer

ERIC HENG COLUMNIST Fifty years ago,President Richard Nixon signed the National Cancer Act of 1971, marking the start of the war on cancer. With it came a massive influx of funding for cancer research, along with a renewed push to cure the disease.

In the present day, cancer remains the second highest cause of death in the U.S., trailing behind heart disease. So, why are we losing the war on cancer?

At the time of the signing of the National Cancer Act of 1971, the prevailing theory was that cancers were caused by retroviruses, a class of viruses

that transform RNA from the virus into DNA in your cells, which would then activate biochemical pathways that could then cause cancer. And thus there was hope that with a solid theory for the origin of cancer, there was a way to reverse-engineer a cure. By the 90s, the scientific focus shifted to oncogenes, genes that could cause cancer, and again there was renewed hope when the Human Genome Project, which sequenced the whole human genome for the first time, was completed in 2003.

Today, cancer research continues to move forward. Yet, this journey is marked by a string of broken promises. In his 1971 State of the Union, Nixon said, “The time has come in America when the same kind of concentrated effort that split the atom and took man to the moon should be turned toward conquering this dreaded disease.” Bill Clin-

ton eloquently claimed in the difference.

2000, “In fact, it is now con- Obviously, we havceivable that our children’s en’t cured cancer. Then what children will know the term is going wrong? cancer only as a constellation Interestingly, maybe of stars.” Just five years ago, inspiration can be drawn by when Joe Biden was put in two other wars raging during charge of the Cancer MoonNixon’s presidency: the War shot, he even addressed this on Drugs and the Vietnam seemingly War. recurring

At first pattern at glance, these the World seem like ideoEconomic Today, cancer research logically different Forum, conflicts, fought continues to move for- on different “I knew there ward. Yet, this journey fronts, against would be completely difis marked by a string of ferent enemies. a lot of skeptics But perhaps they broken promises. out there share more simwho’d ilarities than you say, ‘well, here we go again. think.

Haven’t we done this be Like the War on fore?’” Biden went on to Cancer, the War on Drugs is explain why with the addian ongoing fight, with no end tional power of computing, in sight. Like the indiscrimand new techniques such inate killing of cancer cells as immunotherapy, which using chemotherapy, the harnesses your immune cells relentless fighting in Vietto fight cancer, would make nam, using all means neces-

“

sary, from Agent Orange to bombing, failed to defeat an adaptive enemy.

All three conflicts saw U.S. efforts derailed by a foe more tenacious and less understood than any conflict the U.S. had seen previously.

Clearly, the U.S. had thought a complex problem to be simple, and against an enemy that could evolve, brute force, whether it was the Tet Offensive, “tough on crime” stances and mass incarceration, or chemotherapy, could not be effective for long.

Perhaps the warlike mentality of the Cold War era was incorrect. Currently, there are many experts calling for a different approach in the War on Drugs, such as better rehabilitation programs and resolving the racial disparities in convictions. Perhaps a similar shift in mentality is needed in cancer research.

It’s been hard: It’s time to uplift each other Staff Editorial: Becoming the light we need

When all seems to be tunneling in, it’s expected to grieve. Be pessimistic.

Be bitter. But during a time when our community has the most reason to be leached of love, we need it the most.

You need it. Your teachers need it. Your peers need it.

And the people you always see in the hallway, who you know by face, but maybe not by name, need it too.

And we get it. It can be hard to share a (masked)

smile when our own world is falling apart. It can be hard to be the light for others when we ourselves feel drained and empty. But someone else is feeling as heavy, waiting for a sliver of kindness to trickle into their day, and that slice of happiness could be from you. Even a hint of happiness can suffice because the truth is, you can never know what someone else is going through.

How could you

have known your friend had a terrible week when they bury their raw frustration?

That your teacher is going through a divorce? That the person you just passed by in the hallway, with two earphones in, recently lost a loved one? You couldn’t have known. So, always be kinder than you feel. Everyone is fighting their own hidden battle, quietly screaming for help, for company, for acknowledgment that they’re

overcoming a lot, that simply being able to walk past you in the hallways is a feat.

Everyone needs some love and that source of light starts with you. And you don’t need to supplant a new “best friend forever” to make a monumental, positive difference in someone’s life. The ability to hold the door open, even as the crisp winter wind bites, is a move forward.

Even a simple “Please and thank you,” genuine “How

was your day?” or wave matters.

Next time you catch yourself picking phone-scrolling sessions over genuine interactions, look up. That person whom you’ve seen pass by the hallways everyday after third hour but haven’t learned their name yet? Change that. Ask them how their day was. How they’re doing.

THE HURON EMERY | ISSUE 3: DECEMBER 8 | PERIOD

PERIODS| FROM PAGE ONE play a big role in people’s lives.”

In the ordinance process, United States and city governments have to have the ability to set rules, before they move forward. As well as having valid reasons as to why they would want to pass it.

“Sometimes that rational basis and as a matter of constitutional scrutiny,” Taylor said. “The rule has to have a rational basis, and it has to express be within the government’s ordinary power to achieve that goal.

With respect to menstrual products, we do not have the ability to pass a rule about

the distribution of menstrual products merely because we think it’s good or equitable, or people should be able to afford them. That’s not something that we can do.”

Instead, the ordinance establishes a sanitation criteria as cities do have the ability to set rules affecting health, safety and welfare.

“Leaning on that health support we have an ability to make rules with respect to sanitation,” Taylor said. “We have rules with respect to the storage of solid waste and where you put it and how you dispose of it. We have rules that we at the county affects, restaurant inspections and the

likes of governments have the ability to promote sanitation and public health. Menstrual products fall within that category. They aren’t there to promote sanitation. They promote public health.”

Any violations of the ordinance results in a $100 fine and as the ordinance states, “community Standards officers shall be responsible for enforcing this section.”

“We’re not going to have a set of bathroom inspectors running around different buildings checking to see this,” Taylor said. “We communicate to people their obligations, we expect them to comply with their obligations. In the event

A bloody cycle of stigmatizing

ANNABELLE YE GUEST WRITER

“My comma came.”

My friends gave me knowing glances. Comma. Our code name for the dreadful time of the month where a lovely surprise is delivered to our bathrooms. The time of the month where the cramps in our stomachs feel like they’re weighing down our whole bodies. The time of the month where our backpacks overflow with green and orange packs of cotton. Despite the inevitability of this delivery, the word roamed around our heads like a dirty secret.

The dirty, humiliating word: period.

My relationship with the red wave has always been rocky.

She first came into my life the day I left for Blue Lake Fine Arts camp — my first ever sleepaway camp. My excitement was rudely interrupted by a rush of panic that seemed to electrocute me from head to toe. From then on, she was forever inserted into my life, personally bringing hell to my doorsteps once a month.

Our tumultuous relationship reached its climax in seventh grade. Listening to the tear-jerking squeaks and bangs of our seventh grade band must’ve been too emotional for her as she

simply could not contain herself. There she came, right as I was blowing my guts out on the flute, leaving a scarlet splotch the size of my fist (on a white pants day too!). I left school after first hour band class, humiliated.

It wasn’t until recently that I started to question where this humiliation came from.

From sharing code names with friends, to finding new methods to hide period products to even the embarrassment of opening the unnecessarily loud packagedpad in the bathroom, it all came down to the stigma surrounding the natural cycle of menstruation.

The fact is, menstruating people are conditioned to suppress their experiences.Furthermore, society’s inability to have open conversations on period experiences and advice has left young people feeling unprepared and even unaware of what their next few decades of bathroom experiences will entail.

We need to break this stigma, and having open conversations — that include nonmenstruating people — is the key: no more whispering about how to insert a tampon, no more “comma” references, no more stuffing pads up jacket sleeves. Let’s all shamelessly help each other through this normal, universal experience.

Period is not a dirty word.

Period.

THE HURON EMERY | ISSUE 3: DECEMBER 9 | PERIOD

Not lip gloss: How men can help with periods

that folks are not complying with their obligations, we expect the some member of the public to communicate to the bathroom provider head or tampons. I would hope that that person would call to the city and our community standards officers would go out and

VISH GONDESI EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

READ THE FULL STORY ON THEHURONEMERY. COM

Statistics are from Family Planning, Cosomopolitan and Healthline

At first, I thought someone threw up spurts of blood. Various shades of red streaked several pieces of paper in the toilet and the colors started to seep into the clear water. As an eight year old who would frantically rush for a band-aid, anytime I detected a sliver of blood on me, it was more than enough to put me in a frenzy.

In a run throughout the house, I went to alert the first adult I found, which happened to be my mother.

With two tangled tufts of hair on both sides of her forehead and a strained smile, she listened intently as I told her what was wrong.

After I finished rambling, she calmed me down and went to clean up the mess.

Later on, she admitted that she just wasn’t feeling well. Between her pursed lips and unnatural behavior — nothing like her typical amiable self — I knew to stop asking questions.

Regardless, I monitored her mouth for the rest of the day, ensuring they were not lined with blood from throwing up again. Yet the true source of the blood was one I couldn’t fathom at the time, at least not for the next six years.

My mom was on her period.

And aside from this slight mishap, she was highly competent at concealing it. My brother and I were completely in the dark. From the way my father acted, he was clearly indifferent as well, with menstruation being far from his area of expertise.

Accordingly, until ninth grade, the only period I knew of was in English class. During menstrual product ads, the content was so roundabout (not even revealing a drop of blood), so I always misunderstood or had no idea what they were talking about. If someone showed me a tampon, I’d probably say something along the lines of:

“Nice keychain.”

“Why’d you pick out such a plain air freshener for your car? The ones shaped as trees are the best ones.”

“Sorry I’m not too interested in lip gloss.”

In my defense, those colored tubes still look similar

to make-up.

Nevertheless, my Health and Wellness class in my freshman year extinguished these misconceptions. Taught in a straightforward, cut and dry manner, I learned the ins and outs of the menstrual cycle. My mom still doesn’t explicitly say when she is on her period, but full transparency wasn’t what I wanted — it was knowing I could help her if she needed it which reassured me.

Across a wider population, though, men’s lack of knowledge regarding men-struation is concerning and very much like me before that class. In a INTIMA study conducted

by YouGov, in August 2021, with a sample size of 1,091 males, 52 percent of males in the study wrongly thought the menstrual cycle lasted 1-6 days (actually 21-35 days) and only 41 percent correctly identified what menstruation

“

is.

Although improvement in male awareness and educatedness surrounding menstruation is key, evidenced by these studies, it shouldn’t limit me, or other males, from finding ways to help out. It doesn’t take a doctor to do these things: 1. Abstain from the phrase, “Their acting like their on their period,” or any similar stig-matized statement with a derogatory purpose. Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) can alter behaviors and emotions temporarily, so mood swings during this time can be uncontrollable. While men will never fully comprehend the pain and inconvenience of periods, we can forgive bouts of irritability or misguided anger when they do occur.

2. Be calm. If a person reaches out because they are on their period, having two distraught people isn’t a formula for success. Provide

Until ninth grade, the only period I knew of was in English class.

The price of being a woman STACEY VIURQUIZ STAFF WRITER

GRAPHICS BY VIRGINIA HE AND ANNABELLE YE

swift aid in emergency situations and take it step by step.

3. Relieve their stress through small actions. Try to satisfy food cravings, help with chores around the house and don’t be scared to stock up on additional menstrual products if necessary. Due to cramping and bleeding, period pain can last anywhere from 48-72 hours. So while navigating the menstrual health section may be an unfamiliar inconvenience, just be glad it’ll be a painless ten minutes.

After completing all this, they might even thank you. Well, on second thought, it does depend on how severe their PMS is.

Overall there will always be an element of foreignness when males assimilate information on menstruation. Despite that, no one’s asking us to be experts, but we have to realize this is something that all the menstruating people we love commonly experience, according to UN Women, for an average of six years over the course of their lifetime.

Consequently, us males should show a bit of empathy, and when it comes to periods, we should at least get the gist.

Pink Tax.

From the moment we are born, gender stereotypes are generated: pink for girls and blue for boys. This classification has come out expensive to us women.

Pink Tax is the increase in prices directed to women such as clothing, hygiene, personal care and even health.

Growing up I never paid much attention to this issue, but of course I realized the difference in prices of women’s and men’s products, because there were times when the same product cost twice as much just because it was packaged with a pink ribbon. I always thought that the difference between the prices was due to the fact that the product is of better quality, and they taught us that women should always look presentable and we always have to care about our appearance, and that’s is why we must be willing to spend more money for certain products .

As I grew older

I became more aware of the situation so I began to investigate more of the subject. But in my social circle I was the only one who cared, and I couldn’t understand why. This is something that affects us all. But I don’t blame them for not having the same concern as me, they grew up all their lives thinking that this is the price of being a woman, but the truth is that it should never have been that way and it shouldn’t continue to be like that.

And as if that wasn’t enough, women also pay the menstrual management products tax, also known as tampon tax. This type of product is not classified as a health product, but as a cosmetic product and has approximately 21 percent tax.

But there are ways to regulate this issue, one would be to eradicate the idea that a color is specific to a gender, and the other is that consumers should not be willing to pay more for a product that is not worth more.

READ THE FULL STORY ON THEHURONEMERY.COM

THE HURON EMERY | ISSUE 3: DECEMBER 10 | ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

Revisiting “Diamonds and Pearls”: Q and A with author Duane Tudahl

December 1989 at Paisley Park Studios in Chanhassen, ZACH HILDEBRANDT Minnesota. “Walk Don’t STAFF WRITER Walk” and “Daddy Pop”

In 1991, George H.W. were initially recorded in Bush was president of the June 1990, while in London, United States. That same England, for the Nude Tour. year, The Gulf War: Operation “Money Don’t Matter 2 Desert Storm began with Night”, “Willing and Able” airstrikes against Iraq. and “Strollin’” were recorded Also that same year, Prince in August or September 1990, released his 13th studio album while in Tokyo, Japan, also for “Diamonds and Pearls”. the Nude Tour. “Insatiable”

It marked the first was recorded in October 1990 Prince album to feature his at Larrabee Sound Studios in new backing band The New North Hollywood, California.

Power Generation and to The rest of the tracks were feature his use of Hip-Hop recorded at Paisley Park (especially in songs like “Gett Studios; “Thunder”, “Cream”, Off”).

“Jughead” and “Push” were

Upon its release recorded in the winter of in October 1991, the album 1990-1991, while “Gett Off” reached number 3 on The was recorded in May 1991, Billboard 200 Top Albums as the last track added to the Chart and number 1 on the album.

Billboard Top R&B Albums To celebrate the album’s 30th Chart. The album also anniversary, I interviewed received positive reviews from Duane Tudahl, the Prince fans worldwide. author of the According to Princevault. two books com, Prince recorded “Prince and the album’s 13 tracks the Purple from December Rain Era 1989 to May 1991.

Studio “Diamonds and Sessions: Pearls” and “Live 4 1983 and Love’’ were the first 1984” and two tracks recorded the “Prince for the album in and the Parade and Sign O’ The Times Era Studio

Sessions: 1985 and 1986”.

Q:

How do you think Prince´s 1991 album “Diamonds and Pearls” relates to Prince’s other work?

I think that D&P was Prince showing how commercial he could be again.

The last two albums were movie soundtracks, the most recent being a collection of a few newer songs, and several that had sat in the vault for years. I think that on D&P Prince was searching for an updated sound instead of paving new directions, so parts of the album seem a little dated, but there are many tracks that stand out and continued to be played in concert for years. It was his biggest selling album of the 90s for a reason, he promoted it well and released several strong singles.

For D&P, he added a variety of new voices and sounds with an almost entirely new band (in fact, it was the first album that credited “Prince and The New Power Generation”) and he allowed many of them to help shape the tracks in the studio instead of doing everything himself. The entire band was tight and focused with standouts including the solid drumming from Michael B., great guitar of Levi and the addition of iconic Rosie Gaines allowed Prince to blend his voice with hers on the album and tour.

In both of your Purple Rain and Parade/ Sign O’ The Times studio sessions books, I enjoy reading the background information, quotes, and facts. Do you have any information, quotes, and facts about the album’s recording sessions?

Yes I do. I’ve been collecting session dates and quotes over the last 30 years and have a number of dates and other information

A:

Q:

Prince performs live during his Purple Rain tour MICHAEL OCHS ARCHIVES/GETTY IMAGES

A:

Author Duane Tudahl has penned two books about Prince. DUANE

Prince’s 1991 album Diamonds and Pearls recently celebrated its 20-year anniversary.

TUDAHL

COURTESY OF NPG RECORDS AND LEGACY RECORDINGS

about the D&P era.

Do you know anything about what was going on in Prince’s life around 1991 when the album was released?

Do you know anything that would surprise people?

I don’t think it is coincidental that he signed a $100 million dollar contract with Warner Bros.

(WB) while promoting this album. The contract was reportedly contingent on him selling more than 5 million copies of an album to receive a larger royalty. “Diamonds & Pearls” showed that he had the ability to create a commercial project and successfully see it through.

Unfortunately, his track record on committing to this type of promotion for his subsequent WB albums was patchy.

Do you have a favorite song from Diamonds and Pearls? If so, why is it your favorite?

“Cream” is one of my favorite songs of his during this era. A solid, crowd-pleasing jam, that is classic Prince. The drumming is perfect and authentic and this later addition to the album reminds me of how he added “U Got The Look” to Sign O’ The Times toward the end of his work of that album. For me, the song fits

Q: A:

Q: A:

seamlessly with his greatest music becoming one of those tracks that you can’t imagine wasn’t always part of his catalog.

The title song is also stunningly beautiful and understandably one that he came back to many times during his future tours, actually performing it during the last encore in his final full concert before he passed.

In the future, do you think you will write a book about Prince and the Diamonds and Pearls studio sessions?

I have been gathering recording session dates and information about all of his albums over the last three decades. If I have time, I would love to write a book about this era, but right now I’m focused on letting people know that my second book about the Parade & Sign O’ The Times eras was recently released, and the audio book comes out in November of 2021. My goal is to do a few more books, and it isn’t just the 80s that contain amazing music and stories about Prince, so who knows! That would be a lot of fun.

Q: A:

THE EMERY READS: LATER BY STEPHEN KING JAIA LAWRENCE STAFF WRITER

I have heard of Stephen King multiple times throughout my life. I even dabbled in a a few of his best selling books such as the “Shining” and “It” both well written novels that I have read.

So when I heard about another book being released from the same author I decided to take a chance and read it as well.

In early March, 2021 the book “Later” was released. It immediately starts with an introduction to the main protagonist, Jamie, who is able to see dead people, although his mother doesn’t like to talk about his abilities. But his ability is needed in order to help a NYPD detective find a killer.

Jamie from a young age understands things.

Also with him able to see dead people he can hear and understand them, I can see why that would freak

his mother out. This puts a lot of stress on her shoulders.

The ability that Jamie has is something that King can relate to. Growing up King had a vivid imagination. “When I was a kid I had a huge imagination,” King said per ABC news. “And I was a little bit afraid to let people know that.” Same as Jamie, he wanted to have an ordinary childhood. Well, if King didn’t embrace his ability we wouldn’t have his fantastic stories to read today.

As the generations go on, we should teach our children to be able to be interested in various hobbies. Realistically though, seeing dead people would not be the best ability to have. I would recommend this book if you are a fan of the author’s books or just want to try a thriller novel since it does keep you engaged.

THE HURON EMERY | ISSUE 3: DECEMBER 11 | ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

All Too Well: The short film left me in tears ANNA ESPER STAFF WRITER

For the past seven years I have called myself a Taylor Swift fan. My favorite song has been “All Too Well” since the day I heard it. In the back of my mind has always been the full version of the song. When I heard that Swift would be releasing the ten minute version of “All Too Well” on Red (Taylor’s Version), I was ecstatic.

Then when I heard Swift was producing and releasing a short film to the song, I couldn’t believe it.

My favorite song would be turned into a short film. But I had the worry of if it would live up to my expectations. For some background, Swift is rerecording her six albums that she does not own. Scooter Bruan, who is a music manager, decided to sell her masters when Swift’s label deal was up. After selling her masters without permission, Swift was outraged. With the profit of Swift’s songs, albums and hard work not going to her and a loophole in the contract,

she decided to re-record the albums she does not own. So far, two of the six re-recorded albums have been released.

“All Too Well” short film was released on Nov. 12, 2021. This film was written and directed by Swift herself.

In the short film, Sadie Sink plays Her and Dylan O’Brien Him. Towards the close of the film, Swift herself plays Her later on. The film follows Her and Him through their relationship. What really makes the film is that it’s told through the song “All Too Well (Ten Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault)” with one scene of dialogue.

At the start of the film, you see Sink’s character put a red scarf onto the staircase railing at O’Briens’ character’s sister’s house.

I think this is a great way to start the film because it helped set up the plot for the story. We see the characters driving down a long road surrounded by colorful trees.

Then, we see the characters holding hands and running on a hiking trail. After that we see the two characters in love. We can see this by the camera shots of the couple having fun.

To add, the lyrics in the

background push the “love” narrative. Towards the middle of the film we see the relationship start to fall apart. We start to see this during the only scene with dialogue. Sink and O’Brien mostly improvised this scene.

It left me speechless. While watching, I could tell how trapped Sink’s character felt.

It made me feel like I was there in the fight, when I was actually sitting with my family in my living room.

Throughout the film, there are chapters that show up on the screen. The first chapter is “Are you real?” That is at the beginning of the film.

“The Breaking Point” had me in tears. The way that Sink portrayed the emotions of heartbreak made me feel like I was heartbroken. As soon as I saw Sink’s face drop, I could feel my heart drop as well. Watching the anger and sadness Sink portrayed helped me connect to her character more than before. With the dialogue Sink was saying being mute, the lyrics to the song helped me connect more.

I could imagine what she was saying in my

head. Although I have never been in a relationship, I felt like I was in Sink’s character’s position. While watching I felt an overwhelming sense of sadness and anger.

As the film goes on, we watch Sink’s character try to move on. Something I loved about the film was how interested I was to see more. I wanted to see how the lyrics would be portrayed in the film. I found myself connecting with Her as we watched her heal.

Sink was able to portray the emotions beautifully with no dialogue. After watching, I was speechless at how powerful Sink’s acting was, even without dialogue.

Of course in the Swift way, there are Easter eggs in the film. One of the biggest one is the age gap in the film. Originally, this song was written about Jake Gyllenhaal. When Swift and Gyllenhaal dated, they shared a

“

10 year age gap. Sink and O’Brien also share a large age gap. This is something that is portrayed throughout the film very well. We can see the effects of the relationship as Sink’s character portrays anger, regret, loss, shame and manipulation in a way I can not only see but feel as well.

Towards the end of the film, we see Her “Thirteen Years Gone.” When I saw Swift as Her later on, I was shocked. I could see how powerful it was for Swift to tell her story and be a part of the film.

Not only was she directing the film, she starred in it. I felt so proud while watching Swift play a character in the film about the song I have loved for so long.

To see some of my lyrics on screen that I have pictured in my head blew my mind.

Someone I have looked up to for so long was giving back to a fan favorite and doing it her way.

To see some of my lyrics on screen that I have pictured in my head blew my mind.

GRAPHIC BY AUDREY ZHAO

Ten deaths at Astroworld Fest: Hold Travis Scott accountable

TAYLA NESMITH

STAFF WRITER

Everyone has dreamt of going to their favorite artist’s concert and having the time of their life, but no one expects to lose their life at one. On Nov. 5, rapper Travis Scott held his music festival in celebration of one of his highest selling albums, “ASTROWORLD.” Scott is now being held accountable for 10 deaths.

The cause of the deaths were due to the crowd mosh-pitting. Scott was very aware of these happenings at his concerts as he claimed in his Netflix documentary “Look Mom I Can Fly,” “If you can’t mosh, you have to be careful because mosh

pitting isn’t for the weak.”

Some videos show attendees coming towards the stage screaming “stop the show,” while staff members push them back. Some videos seem to show that Scott paused a few times when he noticed people getting injured, but even after that, he kept the concert going.

Those closest to the stage with nowhere to escape were slowly crushed to death.

Some said they felt like they were being burnt alive.

As people panicked, many people fell and got trampled on. Eye witness Shawn Little and his wife Ariel Little

“

shared their experiences via AP.

“People were crushing me,” Ariel claimed.

“I felt like I couldn’t breathe.”

Imagine thousands of people stepping on you as you’re screaming for help, but no one comes to help you. I felt my heart breaking for those people who passed away in the process. One death that really hit home for me was a 14 year old boy. It really struck me hard as someone my own age had their life shortened by a mosh-pit.

Though I’ve never been to a concert myself, I know that feeling of losing someone

Imagine thousands of people stepping on you as you’re screaming for help, but no one comes to help

close to you.

Scott reached out on Friday night on his Instagram story to send his condolences to the victims who were lost during the festival, and he is now going to pay for the funeral services and for those who were injured as well. As my family and I are fans of Scott, we were disappointed that he wouldn’t stop, but it’s not entirely his fault for what happened since the stage crew knew, but dismissed, the calls while many lives were at stake. Though none of those lives can be brought back, at least he’s trying to right his wrongs and do something about it. I feel he should be held accountable and shouldn’t perform for a while, something I’m positive

isn’t going to happen. Will I still listen to him? Probably, as I separate the music from the artist. I don’t condone what he did and I’m glad that more videos came out to go against his case about not knowing what was going on in the crowd. It’s normal for people to pass out in concerts, but death is not.

I’ve always wanted to go to a Travis Scott concert, but now I think I’ll pass on it if his concerts have a deadly outcome.

GRAPHIC BY CAITLYN FONG

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THE HURON EMERY | ISSUE 3: DECEMBER 14 | SPORTS

Face-off: Winter sports start on the court, water and ice SANDRA FU PHOTOGRAPHER

SPORTS

Left: Junior forward Braylan Majesky takes a face-off in their second game of the season, playing an away game against Dearborn Unified. Center top: Women’s varsity basketball hosted Lincoln on Dec. 13, for their second game of the season. Center bottom: Swimmer Alex Moskus reads the set that coach Eric Stanczyk has created for him and the rest of the team. Right top: Sophomore Jackson Moxley catches his breath during swim practice. Right middle: At their first home doubleheader, Women’s JV basketball beat Lincoln.

briefs

is centered around practice attendance,” Dowling said. “The morning and afternoon practices can be very tiring and boring so sometimes people skip. We have very high expectations for practices and those who attend and work are frequently rewarded with a varsity letter”.

Dowling also adds about morning practices, which usually go from 5:45 to 7:00 a.m.

“Morning practices are not very enjoyable simply due to the fact that we all have to wake up so early,” Dowling said. “However, the breakfast afterward arguably makes it worth it.”

Other swim team members share similar sentiments about the

Huron swim works through double

practices

QUINN NEWHOUSE SPORTS EDITOR

Huron’s swim and dive program is working to find the same success they have found in past seasons.

Although no official meets and tournaments have taken place yet, the Rats are prepared and ready.

Senior Matthew Dowling is confident in the team’s expectations.

“The main expectations for this team

mornings.

“The hardest part is getting up at 5 a.m., but once you manage to get to practice and jump in the water, you feel a sense of accomplishment,” junior Peter Fazekas said.

“It’s important to Swimmers have two separate practices, usually every day of the week, stay rested, before and after school. SANDRA FU b e c a u s e Both Fazekas and Kenneth is exhausting, but rewarding combining a bad night’s Jiang, however, believe it’s as well,” Jiang said. “I manage sleep with morning practice worth it. They’re both looking it by creating and following a is setting yourself up to crash forward to bonding more routine.” at some point throughout the with their teammates. day.”

“Two practices a day

THE HURON EMERY | ISSUE 3: DECEMBER 15 | SPORTS

Sophomores from Georgia and Scarlett Middle School start first chapter of Huron Men’s Volleyball club VISH GONDESI EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Shortly after school let out, sophomores Alexander D’Haene and Zubair Abshir would go to play volleyball for six to seven hours on a small squash court. It was in one of their neighborhood recreation centers, which didn’t even have enough space to serve.

But, it was in those enclosed walls, on those weekdays, where the two connected over their passion for the sport — which led them to become the co-founders of the Huron Men’s Volleyball club.

For D’Haene, these sessions were his first times playing volleyball in Michigan.

He moved from Georgia for the start of his sophomore year.

“I didn’t get to participate in any clubs or sports,” D’Haene said.

“In Georgia, they actually have high school volleyball, so I kind of thought it was a given that ‘Oh, this is a game I’m interested in.

I might be able to pick it up and play here to meet new people.’ And then to find out that they didn’t have a team here I was like, ‘Alright, well, let’s see what we can do about Sophomore that.’”

Alexander D’Haene has his eyes set on P r e v i o u s l y becoming the D ’ H a e n e p l a y e d “best setter s o c c e r , in the state,” regardless of b a s k e t b a l l and ran in his minimal volleyball ex- cross country, chose perience. VISH but GONDESI to pursue volleyball in high school despite his minimal experience.

Unlike D’Haene, Abshir’s sister needed to convince him to start playing volleyball.

When Abshir joined the Scarlett Middle School boys’ volleyball team, he instantly enjoyed the first practice. However, Abshir only played in one game, until COVID-19 ended his season.

“The first thing that was on my mind was volleyball and thinking that it’s going to be canceled or it might get canceled,” Abshir said. “My friends and I were

with each other and we always complained about it. I was really frustrated. We did a lot of research and I emailed a bunch of teachers about it, but it was unfortunate.”

Abshir was one of the first people D’Haene reached out to about forming the club.

“I was like this is perfect since last year I tried to email teachers about it,” Abshir said. “It was a crazy coincidence since Alex hadn’t played volleyball before.”

Currently, the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) doesn’t designate men’s volleyball as an official sport. Therefore, even with all the emails — to the athletic director, Huron teachers and Abshir’s old Scarlett contacts — Abshir and D’Haene received just as many rejections.

That was until they met Huron teacher, former U of M club volleyball player and Huron Women’s Assistant Volleyball coach Veronica Choe.

“First of all, whoever’s running it is doing it for free right now because it’s not a club sport yet,” Choe said.

“It’s still just a school activity.

You have to fight for gym time. You’re changing in the bathroom right before class.

The coach has to wake up early and go to school for free, because they just want to do it.

I’m in a position this year to be able to handle it.”

At first, Choe thought D’Haene and Abshir were “upperclassmen the way they conducted themselves.”

“I wouldn’t do it if it wasn’t for Zubair and Alex being so competent and so reliable,” Choe said.

“I’m there as a support to facilitate practice but whatever it becomes is going to be whatever they want it to become.”

Next, Choe created posters that attracted school interest. D’Haene and Abshir overcame the issue of gym time, by electing to hold practices in the morning (6:45 a.m.-7:45 a.m.) which — while a sacrifice — would result in committed members.

So, when Huron ninth-grade dean Salvador Barrientes sent the news the club was approved, and they would have their first open gym, the group was ecstatic.

D’Haene and Abshir exchanged texts celebrating.

D’Haene: “Dude this is so exciting. We’re in the home stretch.”

Six hours later Choe

sent the final confirmation email.

D’Haene: “YO IT’S GONNA WORK.” Abshir: “I KNOWWWW.”

The night before the first open gym, D’Haene couldn’t sleep.

“It was the most exciting feeling in the world, to see something that I worked on for this long finally come to fruition,” D’Haene said. “It’s not even that I reached the summit or reached my goal, it was that I got my foot in the door. From here, we’re all looking forward to getting a lot better and getting to compete.

So basically going from step zero to step one, it was the greatest feeling in the world.”

On the first day, around 14 players showed up, and there has been a consistent cast since.

Additionally, to make the competitive transition, D’Haene and Abshir organized certain members of the team to play in an adult Ann Arbor Rec and Ed league, regardless of the fact some games are as late as around 10 p.m. They hope this will help realize their goal of being designated as a club sport and participating in the Michigan Boys Volleyball Conference’s March league, to demonstrate significant interest to MHSAA.

“I would love to see the club be in the spring league for the high school teams and I would love for all of those teams in that league to band together, and say ‘Hey MHSAA, you need to make this an actual sport,’” Choe said.

“There’s clearly an interest.

There’s clearly organization.

There’s clearly infrastructure already set up for us to do this.

You got all these kids who are pushing for something. Let’s make it happen.”

Despite previous attempts by Huron alumni, this is the first time the Huron Men’s Volleyball club has formed officially.

GRAPHIC BY VISH GONDESI

Going from the squash courts to the lower gym, the beginning of the Huron Men’s Volleyball club has humble beginnings. VISH GONDESI

THE HURON EMERY | ISSUE 3: DECEMBER 16 | ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT