GRAPHIC BY KELLY PARK
JACKSON POLLARD PHOTO EDITOR
But I just think profession ally, it was the right time for me and the right time for the program and I think the right time for the kids too. I think they’re excited.” The men’s basket ball program operates in a way so unique and so spe cial it has been coined “The Huron Way”, and is referred to as that by many. The cul ture built within the pro gram extends way beyond the court and it’s shown by not just players, but coaches who also work in the build ing and around the district display it.
Ann Arbor is not alone. There are 300,000 vacancies in teaching and staff positions across the U.S., according to the National Education As sociation. Rural districts in Texas are planning to drop to four-day weeks, while Flori da scrambles to fill vacancies with military veterans with no prior teaching experience. Ad ministrators across the coun try are calling this the tough est teacher recruiting season they can remember. The issue lies in the en tire teacher pipeline. Over the last 10 years, teacher education enrollment has dropped by 35 percent. Some states have even seen drops of more than 70 per cent. Students who might have been interested in becoming educators see their own teach ers get better opportunities elsewhere, making the profes sion seem a lot less desirable. While these statistics may imply that the teacher shortage has been inevitable for the past decade, the ef fect of COVID-19 cannot be ignored. Fifty five percent of teachers in the National Ed ucation Association said that the pandemic drove them to plan to leave their profession earlier than expected in a Feb ruary poll. Surveys conducted by RAND Corp. show that the pandemic made teachers feel burned out, stressed and three times as likely as other adults to experience depression. Additionally, new controversial legislation has turned schools GAENKO PAGE CAMPANNA ESPER
With over 300 total wins, two state runner-up finishes, two regional ti tles, seven district champi onships and 11 conference titles, Waleed Samaha, for mer head coach of the men’s basketball team, leaves be hind a lasting legacy at Hu ron High School, earning the respect of many in the basketball community as a coach and a leader. “I was present this summer, but I was not lead ing,” Samaha said. “It was a difficult personal decision.
WEBSITE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Waleed Samaha leaves: The future of Huron Basketball
@THEHURONEMERY HURON HIGH SCHOOL, 2727 FULLER RD., ANN ARBOR MI 48105 VOL. 8 ISSUE 1 HURON EMERYTHE PAGENEWS 2 Here’s what to know about the mask mandate PAGEFEATURE4 The long journey to school PAGEFEATURE6+7 Social media’s im pact on society Post-pandemic staff shortage: Why is it happening ANITA
From Aug. 16-22, the river rats from band, or chestra, and choirs went up-north to the Interlochen Center for the Arts, where students participate in everything music. At the week-long camp, students stay in cab ins where they get the op portunity to see old friends or make new ones. Ann Ar bor Public School students perform what they learned throughout the camp, at the Kresge Auditorium, at the end of the Sophomoreweek. Selah Dowell attended Interlo chen to develop her musical school and make connec tions with people in the or chestra community.“Besides learning new repertoire in chamber groups and orchestra, the week-long camp teaches us the values of responsibili ty, friendship and commu nity,” Dowell said. The students fol lowed an extremely rigorous schedule with four hour re hearsals everyday. But the day never ended without ac tivities like an ice cream so cial or a talent Dowellshow.particular ly enjoyed the campfire, where the campers sang songs until midnight.
Left: Orchestra during the Sunday performance at Kresge Auditorium. Right: Cabin 2 campers compete in field activi ties against other cabins. COURTESY OF UNFENG BIAN AND KYLA ZHAO
Herzog originally came to work at Huron after work ing in college admissions and youth development.“Iheardgreat things about AAPS, so I was ea ger to join the communi ty,” Herzog said. Despite our school dis trict’s reputation as one of the top three in the nation, accord ing to Niche, many teachers and staff members have recent ly made the decision to move on to either new positions or retirement. In Herzog’s case, she has accepted a position at the University of Michigan. She plans to continue her work with young people, especially those who have been marginal ized historically.
Nothing compares to the strong community of working in a school, ac cording to former Huron High School counselor Emily Her zog. So why is it that Huron and other schools across the nation are losing unprecedent ed amounts of staff? In Ann Arbor the an swer may be straightforward: there were better offers. “A new opportuni ty presented itself to me that was too good to pass up,” Herzog said. “Though I truly loved the work I was doing at Huron, I needed to do what was best for my professional growth and my family.”
OPINION EDITOR See Shortage,
The large amount of staff leaving Huron High School is but a piece of a national phenomenon.
2 SCAN HERE For more content on our website briefsINTERLOCHENNEWS SUMMER
See PAGE
10
Samaha,
school staff have gone public about this being the main reason for quitting their jobs, it is unclear exactly how many resignations can be attributed to teacherSomecensorship. debate that there actually is no national teacher shortage.
A recent article in The Atlantic reported that the media narrative is pushing far past the “America’sdata. national teacher shortage is dubious, but America’s educationdata shortage is dire,” said Derek Thompson, the author of “There Is No National Teacher ThompsonShortage.” claims that, while there are many districts struggling with vacancies, these issues have been around for a long time. There isn’t enough data, he says, to determine whether these local shortages are indicative of a new problem, or simply an age-old endemic thrown into stark relief by SinceCOVID-19.Thompson’s article, however, numerous news outlets, both national and local, have run stories about school staff shortages severely harming their respective communities. Regardless of whether the issue is a new one, it remains an issue, according to Becky Pringle, the president of the largest teachers’ union in the “Andcountry.bythe way, it’s a chronic crisis,” she said. “It’s not new. The pandemic made it worse, as it did with everything else. But we know we have an educator shortagePringlecrisis.” responded directly to Thompson’s article, agreeing that it was a longterm issue, but criticizing his overall argument.“Iinviteyou to go into the school districts all over this country who are being challenged by the reality that they don’t have enough education professionals to meet the individual needs of our students,” she said.
off: AAPS COVID-19 policy change for 2022-2023
TARIK FERMIN MANAGING EDITOR into political battlefields. Texas’s Senate Bill 3, which states that “a teacher may not be compelled to discuss a parents.staffteachers,amonguproaraandDecemberpassedaffairs,”orpublicissuecontroversialcurrentlydebatedwidelyandofpolicysocialwaslastcausedmassiveandMore
As the school staff shortage continues to cast a dark shadow over school districts across the country, however, new staff members are still stepping up to the job. Between a lack of teacher education enrollment, the pandemic and censorship issues, it may seem like a lot of pressure for new hires. But Herzog has some advice.
“Take the time to get to know people, both staff and students, especially those you don’t naturally cross paths with in a typical day,” she said. “We often spend more time with each other than our own families, and what we’re all doing together — learning, growing, taking risks — is special.”
After a full year of everyone’s faces being hidden by masks, Ann Arbor Public Schools has made the decision to lift the mask mandate and make masks entirely optional for all students in the upcoming 2022-2023 school year. “It is in alignment with the mitigation measures being made in all the other areas of Ann Arbor, where individual choice is trusted to meet unique needs,” said Ann Arbor City Council trustee candidate Emily Fanelli in reaction to the AAPS’ mask mandate being lifted. At the recent Ann Arbor Board of Education Meeting, held on August 24, AAPS Superintendent Jeanice Swift laid out the new plan that will be used to prioritize both the safety and individual comfort for students attending Ann Arbor Public Schools with the change in mask AAPSmitigation.will still be following CDC’s recommendations, COVID-19 statistics and is tracking any possibly dangerous spikes or increases in case numbers in Ann SuperintendentArbor. Swift also made it clear that though masks will be entirely optional in schools, the encouragement and recommendation of masks in schools will increase congruently depending on the state of case numbers in Ann Arbor; and if case numbers increase to a certain point, AAPS may reinstate the mask mandate if “Wenecessary.havefollowed the CDC guidance, and we strongly theskepticalmaypeopletoalsoSwift[levels].”onhighwemasksrecommendwhenareatalevelCDCwasquickreassurewhobestillofsafetyof an optional mandate.maskSwift emphasized to the community the fluidity and the prioritization of COVID-19 safety measures that AAPS is taking during the upcoming school year. “Our focus is on being as responsive as school cases emerge, focused on high risk situations, and adaptable as circumstances change. We’ll continue to use and perfect systems that were developed in the 2021-22 school year.” Swift also made it clear that any possible outlying students who may be especially at risk to COVID-19 will receive ample and specialized“Weattention.are working very closely with parents of children who are everythinggoingwesituations,andwithinlikeport;towillmised,munocompro-im-andwecontinueoffersup-muchwehavethepastallergiesotherarealwaystodo we can to support [students].”“What we can all do to keep our students in school this year—stay up to date with our vaccinations and boosters, stay home when sick or symptomatic, know when to mask, be ready to test at home, and know what to do when you receive a positive result or exposure.” said Swift in a final statement assuring the Ann Arbor community that AAPS is doing everything in their power to protect students and staff against the spread ofDueCOVID-19.to the significant drop in COVID-19 cases, AAPS will now relocate efforts to other issues within the“Quitecommunity.often our staffing challenges, meaning that the adults are not able to be at school, our clusters, our outbreaks, do not necessarily occur with the change in CDC level..” Swift said. “We often have those [staffing] challenges occur when we’re in green, or yellow, or red.” “We’re very optimistic that it’s going to be a great year, we’ve learned a lot and we can manage our way through this year.”
TrevorrightsandbillcalledGov.signedRights3,”kindergartenidentitysexualpersonnelinstruction“Classroomrace.byschoolorthirdpartiesonorientationorgendermaynotoccurinthroughgradereadsthe“ParentalinEducation”bill,intolawbyFloridaRonDeSantis.Itisthe“Don’tSayGay”bypoliticalopponentscondemnedbyLGBTQ+organizationslikeTheProject.Meanwhile,
“ The pandemic made it worse, as it did with everything else. But we know we have an shortageeducatorcrisis” Becky Pringle Scan the QR code for more info on Fall AAPS COVID and Health Guidance. When Washtenaw County COVID Status COMMUNITY LEVEL is LOW Masks are welcome inside our schools Masks are encouraged inside our schools Masks are insiderecommendedstronglyourschools MEDIUMHIGH GRAPHIC BY SANDRA FU AND GINA KO FOLLOW OUR INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK, TWITTER, AND TIKTOK! @THEHURONEMERY EDITORAL BOARD: Allison Mi 403010@aaps.k12.mi.us Ridhima Kodali 306823@aaps.k12.mi.us Tarik Fermin 409951@aaps.k12.mi.us ADVISER Sara-Beth Badalamente Anna Esper & Maya Fu Website Editors-In-Chief Daniel Lee News Editor Gina Ko Feature Editor Zain Charania & Quinn Newhouse Sports Editors Anita Gaenko Opinion Editor Elliot Dimcheff Copy Editor Sandra Fu & Jackson Pollard Photo Editors Annabelle Ye & Samantha Goldstein Design Editors
Florida’s Stop WOKE Act would allow parents to sue schools if they suspected children were learning about critical raceManytheory.teachersthatfeel political someWhilelanguage.withlawsbyparentsandstudentsthreatsasteachersacterizingarefigureschar-topassingthis
THE HURON EMERY | ISSUE 1: SEPTEMBER 2 | NEWS THE EMERY STAFF Shortage | FROM PAGE ONE
Masks
recently, new Florida laws limit what educators are allowed to say about issues like sexual orientation, gender identity and
Now What?
According to the New York Times and Gutt Macher Institute, the ruling gives the states the power to decide the legality of abortions. Currently, several states have abortion bans that date decades back before Roe v Wade, including Michigan’s law that dates back to 1931. Additionally, there are 13 states that have “trigger bans,” which are more recent laws that have gone through the state legislatures and are made effective immediately after the turning.CourtSupremeover-
On Aug. 1, the Michigan of Appeals court ruled that Michigan county prosecutors can follow the 1931 abortion ban. With that there is no exceptions with rape or incest, and nurses and dcotors can get prosecuted for providing reproductive health care. This led Whitmer to file for a restraining order. This led Whitmer to file for a restraining order and as of Aug. 19, Michigan’s abortion ban has been blocked.
How is Michigan affected by the decision?
THE
The legality of abortions across the United States
On June 24, 2022, in the ruling for the recent court case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Roe v Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court, as well as Planned Parenthood v Casey, which upheld Roe v Wade. v. Wade?
SOURCE: NEW YORK TIMES
Abortion in Michigan is legal for now. Since April Governor Gretchen Whitmer has been protecting reproductive freedom with a lawsuit in April and also filed a motion on June 24, after the Dobbs decision with a follow-up, “urging the court to consider her lawsuit.”
According to Cornell Law School, Roe v. Wade is a 1970 Supreme Court case and lawsuit which ruled and allowed people to have a constitutional right to have an abortion. 22-year-old Norma McCorvey, or as she went by Jane Roe — to maintain anonymity — filed a lawsuit against Henry Wade, District Attorney for the Dallas County, wanted to fight for abortion in Texas, as she got pregnant with her third-child. At this time Texas had a neartotal ban on abortions, with the exception of if the fetus is endangering the mother’s life. Before Roe v Wade, many people would have abortions illegally and unsafely. With Roe v Wade, abortions have
COURTESY OF HENDERSON
Historically under represented mi nority students tend to travel parts—toandthanminuteshalf-minute8ger—approximatelylonto11minutes,atotwolongertheirwhiteAsiancounterschool 22 percent of 9th grade living in Detroit attend high school out side of Detroit
GRAPHIC BY GINA KO
The long route to school: navigating for better education
Graduation day at Voyager Academy, where Henderson (third to left in the second row) went from Kindergarten to first grade.
GINA KO FEATURE EDITOR Senior Rachel Henderson stood in front of her classmates in AP United States history class on May 31, 2022, just about to start the presentation on The Fate of African American Education in the Courtroom. After going through historical court cases related to Education for African Americans, she concluded:“With the lack of funding, safety, and impact of low-income areas, African American students are heavily impacted with disadvantages that are out of their control. African American students from this economic background are forced to look out and make on their own.” Then she acknowledged, with a calm yet strong voice, “I am one of those Hendersonstudents.” drives 40 minutes every day to attend Huron High School. Living in Detroit, early alarms, heavy traffic, and alwaysTheresixthwassinceroutineherpartarecommuteslongsimplyofdailysheinthegrade.hasbeen a reason behind this routine: to find a better educationalFromplace.Kindergarten to fifth grade, Henderson went to two elementary schools—Voyager Academy and Chandler Park Academy— each located on the south and east side of Detroit. From her early memories, outdoor activities and school field trips were extremely rare events where abandoned buildings and factories, disordered traffics, and continuous lockdowns were common learning environments for students.“It was a dangerous bubble,” Henderson said. “It was very much like a child dealing with adult issues. We all had to react emotionally. I remember all the fights and things.” So, when she first attended Ann Arbor Learning Community—a charter school located in Ypsilanti— she immediately noticed the differences. There were big and new houses on the street, fancy BMWs calmly driving down the road, and friends’ parents working as professors or doctors at the University of “TheyMichigan.just all look different from mine,” Henderson said. “And that’s when I started to notice that there were totally different
grade.secondsheschool,elementaryAcademydlerHendersonatChanParkwherewentfromtofifth
COURTESY OF HENDERSON
Undoubtedly,neighborhoodsandtotallydifferentopportunitieshere.”there were struggles in adopting the new learning environment. From the letter “D” on the report card for math class and the reading lists in English class, Henderson experienced a difference in education. “I had a hard time adapting to the level of education there,” Henderson said. “I noticed that the education I had before didn’t necessarily prepare me for the type of competitive atmosphere that Ann Arbor consisted of.” When Henderson was in the eighth grade, her parents had a discussion on what high school she should attend. Knowing that Huron has great programs and more opportunities than Detroit Public Schools, she decided to be a River Rat for the next four years. “The curriculum at Huron is literally a whole bouquet you can choose from,” Henderson said. “You can pick your classes and challenge yourself and be challenging with your peers to become better and to advance your mind.” In addition to this availability in the curriculum, Henderson realized the importance of community for students.“The community has to be great,” Henderson said. “It has to be emotionally stable. It has to have all these attributes that contribute to the child’s well-being. That’s what I believe that a child should have when it comes to education in the community.”However, many areas in Detroit lack this sense of community, especially for education. According to Wayne State University’s College of Education, Detroit students have among the highest rates of chronic absenteeism in the nation due to asthma, poverty, segregation, and plummeting city population.“Ifyou were in my neighborhood, there’s a higher chance that you will fall into the wrong things,” Henderson said. “You hang out with the wrong crowd. It’s very much like you would want to miss school and go to somebody else or do something adult-like. It’s a setting for Hendersonfailure.” observed another scenario that set many children into “Childrenfailure.here have to be parents or caretakers because parents have had several children,” Henderson said. “That’s the type of environment you’re around and you think that’s the only thing for you. Those struggles and stressors really shoot down the kids’Throughoutcompetence.” her journey, Henderson learns that it’s always people who make a change. She believes that she and her siblings should be the first ones to lead children in lowincome neighborhoods and educational disadvantages to a better path. And she urges people to do the same thing, keeping in mind that “Everything is not the same for all “Thispeople.”isreal life,” Henderson said. “This is what these kids have to go through. I’m not saying that you got to drop everything and help these kids. But give recognition, show support, and look at other ways to get involved. It’s not just where your kid goes to school. Every child deserves an equal chance.”
THE HURON EMERY | ISSUE 1: SEPTEMBER 4 | FEATURE
More than 20 per cent of students in areasdisadvantagedattended open enrollment schools Student in a dis advantaged neigh borhood was 35 percent more likely to be the only person from their neighbor hood at school
Stastics from Johns Hopkins School of Education and Urban Institute 29 percent of black ninth graders in Detroit attended a school where they were the only stu dent from their prior school
On the surface, modern science seems to have decided exactly where it stands when it comes to the sun. Wear sunscreen. Wear fullcoverage clothing. Wear wide-brimmed hats. Do whatever you can to avoid the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation (UVR). At the same time, however, we hear about the importance of vitamin D to our lives — a chemical that is synthesized when the body is exposed to sunlight. Having a tan is seen as a “healthier” appearance than being pale. So how do we decide exactly how much sun is good forInyou?the 1930s, the U.S. Public Health Service nectiontheunravelingworkedscientists40thesun.mid-dayavoidpeopleadvisingriskshealthrelatedsun-againstatostartedtakestandbytotheFornextyears,oncon-between UVR exposure and skin cancer. They found a clear link between excessive UVR exposure and the three main forms of skin cancer. In the early 1970s, that this diminishing protection would lead to even higher skin cancer rates worldwide. In response, healthofthepeopletocampaignslargeandUVcognizedtionallyinterna-developgowhichTERSUN,createdthearoundzationsorgani-worldIN-wouldontothere-indexpushforpublicwarnofdangersdirect sunlight.INTERSUN was successful in helping to plateau the rates of skin cancer in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Northern Europe. But “People don’t realize this because several different diseases are lumped together under the term skin cancer. The most common by far are basal cell carcinomas and squamous cell carcinomas, which are almost never fatal,” said Dr. Richard Weller in an article for Reader's Digest. “When I diagnose a basal cell carcinoma in a patient, the first thing I say is walkingbecausecongratulations,you’reoutofmy office with a longer life expectancy than when you walked Otherin." cancers seem to be linked to having too little UVR exposure. In fact, skin cancers caused by excessive sun exposure are much rarer than diseases connected to lack of sun. the leading cause of death globally.A 1998 study by the Free University of Berlin Department of Natural Medicine showed that sun exposure helps adults with hypertension decrease their blood pressure to normal levels. While plementstaminarguedermatologistsmanythatvi-Dsup-arejust as effective as sunlight, studies have shown that the vitamin D synthesized by the body under the sun stays active longer than its scientistscounterpart.supplementedSomearebeginning to worry that aggressive sun-avoidance messaging has hidden the even deadlier issues caused by a lack of sun exposure. An issue with sunavoidance campaigns is that a person’s ability to synthesize vitamin D from the sun varies greatly with their skin tone. People with more melanin, and therefore darker skin, need six times more sun exposure to produce the same amount of vitamin D as people who are paler. People with less melanin are much more likely to develop skin cancers from UVR exposure. Campaigns advocating for protection from sunlight, geared towards oursunlightskinwheretimeavoidance.sungoneamounttheneedminoritiesbehindpopulations,majority-whitecouldleavelargegroupsofwhosimplymuchmoretimeinsuntogetthesameofvitaminD.TheworldhasfromacultureofworshiptooneofsunSciencesaysit'sforamiddleground,wecanprotectourbutstillgetenoughtokeeptherestofbodyrunning.
Sunkissed or sunburned: our complex bond with our star
In a rapidly emerging digital age, we are the first generation to traverse the challenges of growing up with social media.Nodoubt to it, there are many positives to social media: now, connectedness is at a newWithlevel..just a couple of clicks or taps, within just a few seconds, we can contact people from across the world. However, in many ways, the convenience of social media has also seemed to exacerbate disconnectedness in society, where the world on our screens seems to have hogged more of our attention than the real world awaiting for us if we just looked up. Not to mention, convenience seems to have come at the cost of comparison.AllInstagram users — especially influencers — have the ability of posting content that simply emphasizes the ups of their life and hides the downs. For the rest of us, especially the youth who are still trying to find their place in this overwhelming world, it can be incredibly damaging to see the world praise a certain definition of beauty and success and neglect those who don’t exactly fit that box of expectations.Aswe all know, you can’t just turn off your insecurities. Despite the many growing uses and benefits of social media platforms, our generation knows all too well all the negative effects of social media, as well. At the end of the day, we all are human, so why do we all still feel so jealous of one another?Ifthe answer was simple, we wouldn’t still be facing these problems. What is crucial to remember is that no one is perfect, no matter how flawless it may look on your screen. We all have vices. Behind that image they put up, they are the exact same as all of us. They feel the same emotions, struggle with the same obstacles, climb the same mountains as the rest of us. It is important to understand that we all have the same feelings, despite how they may seem on social media.
ANITA GAENKO NEWS EDITOR
Sunscreen has long been considered a necessary protection against UVR, making it a vital component for skin protec tion against sunlight.
AUGUSTIN VAI
DR. RICHARD WELLER
Social Media: The Real Impact
Staff Editorial: What you see isn't always what's real
THE HURON EMERY | ISSUE 1: SEPTEMBER 5 | OPINION
GRAPHIC BY SANDRA FU
When I diagnose a basal cell carcinoma in a patient, the first thing I say is congrat ulations, because you're walking out of my office with a longer life expectancy than when you walked in."
THE HURON EMERY | ISSUE 5: APRIL 7 | OPINIONSEPTEMBER 6 | SOCIAL MEDIA GRAPHICS BY SANDRA FU
Sweetwaters manager: Social media for businesses is a means to stay relevant. When people see us posting regularly in their daily hustle and bustle, it reminds them that we exist and who we are. Our posts are also a form of entertainment for people scrolling through social media, which also helps keeps us relevant with the culture. We also use eventsadvertisemediasocialto
How has social media helped your business?
ALLISON MI PRINT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ANNA ESPER WEBSITE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
BenefitsThe of Social Media
— Amanda StoweBlanchard
— Kevin Cox Arbonne consultant: Social media was a space that I already used to connect with so many people all over the world. Since the pandemic, E-commerce has become a 5 trillion dollar industry and health and wellness has also become a near 5 trillion dollar industry. Arbonne sits in the middle of a 10 trillion dollar industry. Utilizing the number of people that you can connect with online in an authentic way, while building real relationships and sharing a business and products that have made a huge impact in your life was a super attractive way of doing business.
THE HURON EMERY | ISSUE 5: APRIL 7 | OPINIONSEPTEMBER 7 | SOCIAL MEDIA or social media platforms.watching.But
— Brian MoonwinksKungCafe coowner: What I have seen on the social media side has been a viewpoint from the original owners of Moonwinks using social media to communicate the business side. There weren’t a lot of hits from the previous posts. But yesterday I posted the grand opening and those hits have gone 200,000%upor 2,000%. And just one post got people excited. This outreach has hit from several hundred followers that have right now, So we’ve been actually hitting new followers and have been able to reach people but just because it’s me or my business partner, my wife, people who are never following the page are now following the page. And that was just overnight.
since most people these days use one of the digital platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Google) to find activities.
We all wonder what exists beyond our knowledge of the universe: a three-headed alien, UFO the size of a small city or maybe another planet with existent life identical to the humans we have on earth. Not much being discovered yet, people often perceive these speculations as a myth or a story that simply cannot be true. The movie “NOPE” captures this peculiar concept of UFO appearance on Earth, presenting the fear of the unknown. Tired of typical scary movies with expectable topics, I was fascinated by “NOPE” and its concept of alien invasions, expecting it to deliver a new style of apocalyptic horror. Despite having high expectations from the teaser, the movie left me with nothing but disappointments.“NOPE,”a hybrid genre of science fiction and horror, follows two horse ranchers’ journey of capturing a photo of a mysterious UFOlooking creature in the sky as life-threatening attacks were made against them. With such an interesting plot, I expected to have a realistic experience of what it feels like to encounter a monstrous creature from space and the sense of Lovecraftian horror (a subgenre of horror fiction that emphasizes the fear of the unknowable and incomprehensible) that follows it. However, the movie was a lot different from what I had directorexpected.andproducer of the film describes it as “a spectrum of moods,” as it includes multiple genres such as sciencemystery,horror, fiction, inrarewhichcomedy,andthrillerevenisaconceptmost horror films. Despite the intention from Peele to showcase a horror movie in a unique delivery with a sense of humor, the overall mood of the film felt quite unorganized and all over the place since the “scary mood” did not remain in power throughout the rising action. Multiple lines of jokes and humor from the characters, especially from Emerald Haywood (Keke Palmer) disrupted the rising tension and often lost me throughout the movie. I was suchonchillingspookinessahisbecauseapproachdisappointedparticularlyatthisfromPeelecomparedtopastmoviesthathadclearsenseofrisingandspine-interpretationsnoticeabledetails,astheconceptof
brain transplant in “Get Out”, “NOPE” felt like the flows naturally through the movie, “NOPE” had a weird time shift and frequent changes in the setting. For example, the movie places multiple different time settings, one with the UFO appearance, one with the story of Gordy the chimpanzee, and one with OJ Haywood’s (Daniel Kaluuya) father’s death. Whenever a scene in one setting seems to raise its tension, the movie immediately shifts the setting to a different story that does not necessarily connect or explain the previous scene. Because of this, I felt like the movie had a chronologically tangled order of events that made it harder to understand the transition of the storyline. The film also utilizes a lot of visual display of symbols (horses, the floating shoe, coins falling from the sky, eyes, cameras and antennas, to name a few) and their hidden meanings to the overall message of the movie. However, none of these symbols are directly addressed or explained throughout the film, rather leading me to make an interpretation of my own, which made me doubt if I was interpreting the symbol in the way the writer intended. Even though Peele enjoys having symbolic objects in his movies, such as the scissor in “Us”, too many symbols were thrown out to the audience without direct connection to the storyline. It left me with difficulties in understanding the movie.“NOPE” is an experimental movie that marked its freshness for being one of the few hybrid genre horror films that centers around the scientific fiction topic. It also delivered impressive camera work and visual effects that elevated the realness of every shot of the movie, such as the movie’s use of shots that had a first-person point of view and its production quality of visualizing an imaginative design of a UFO. However, for me, in order for a movie to leave a lasting impression, it is better to have a central theme that leads the film from start to end.While “NOPE” succeeded in carrying multiple aspects of what makes a movie well-rounded, as a horror film, it lost its core purpose and aim: to scare the audience. If you like movies that do not directly reveal its message or meaning behind the film and slowly lets you be the one to interpret the scariness of the storyline, “NOPE” is a great source of whiteboard that accepts multiple perspectives and understandings.However, for people like me, who love the jumpscares, the tensions and the noticeable meanings from the writer, “NOPE” is nothing more than a movie that leads you to fall asleep.
A horror movie that’s full of yawns
THE HURON EMERY | ISSUE 1: SEPTEMBER 6 | SOCIA MEDIA
SUMMER RECAP SHOWSTOP MOVIESTOP SOUNDSTIKTOK SONGS OF SUMMERTHE 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 8 | ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT DANIEL LEE NEWS EDITOR SUMMER RECAP SHOWSTOP The Sandman Top MaverickGun: Music For a Su shi Restaurant As It Was - Harry Styles Better Call Saul Doctor Strange Hotel (Sped Up) - Lawsy About Damn Time - Lizzo Stranger Things Jurassic DominionWorld: Sunroof - Nicky Youre, dazy First Class - Jack Harlow She-Hulk: At torney at Law Minions: The Rise of Gru As It Was - Harry Styles Wait For U - Future ft. Drake and Tems Black Bird Thor: Love and Thunder Running Up That Hill (Drill Remix) Running Up That Hill - Kate Bush ANITA GAENKO OPINION EDITOR From IMDb and Billboard
“NOPE”:
There’s no plans on changing the principles of The Huron Way without Samaha, just led in a new Zachway.Desprez, boys Freshman coach and a former Huron student and Varsity basketball player is just one example of what “The Huron Way” represents.“Ithasbeen a dream of mine going back to when I played for Huron to come back and give back to the community and program that helped me grow to be the man I am today. I have so much love, pride and respect for what Coach Samaha, the rest of the staff, and incredible young men that have put on a Huron jersey have built this program into. One of the most competitive and high character programs in the State on a year to year basis. It’s almost impossible for me to put into words how much I value and appreciate all the time, love and mentorship I have been lucky enough to receive from the entire coaching staff. I have so much gratitude for all the lessons, resilience, and grit that being a member of this program and coaching staff has brought me.” saidSamahaDesprez.taking a step back this summer allowed the program’s transition plan to take place after it was communicated to the team that Samaha would not be returning as head coach and allowing coach Mo Kasham to be the voice for the team to “Leadinghear. into the future Coach Mo and myself have done what we do best, help our current players get better,” Desprez said. “The day to day grind of working out, building the culture for next year, and developing the leadership of the guys that are going into their senior year this season is what I live for. I walk into the gym every day with the intent of helping out young men become the best versions of themselves. The future is so bright for the incredible young men that will have the privilege to carry the torch for this program this season.” Samaha will now be the head coach of the basketball team at LEAD Prep Academy in Brighton, MI. left an impact on the program entirely,” senior varsity special culture here where we are family and play for each “The coaching world is kind of taking me in a different direction,” Samaha said. “But I love the work that I do at school and I love the people I’ve worked with and serving our students is definitely a priority in my life.”
| FROM PAGE ONE SANDRA
— Abby Meggison, 12 My favorite part about rowing is definitely the people. In my first few seasons, I kind of just didn’t talk to anyone, came to practice, and left, which made me dread coming to practice. Now, I’ve made friends with the other rowers and have fun messing around with them or having inside jokes at practice.
Samaha watches a play unfold in a home game against Bedford in February 2022 BY JACKSON POLLARD
—VanEe,Eliza 12
— Abby Meggison, 12
What’sEDITOR new with crew: Senior rowers weigh in
What’s aboutfavoriteyourpartrowing?
What is memory?favoriteyourcrew
The hardest part about rowing is the amount of time and effort you have to put into it in order to succeed. Two hour practices all week and whole day regattas every Saturday mean you have to sacrifice lots of free time to be on the team. People who take on this challenging sport have so much love and passion for it that it everythingmakesworth it.
During my novice season at states, we had to stop half way through the race because of a kayaker in the course. We were in first place and all super upset because we would have to re-race it later in the day when it was extremely hot. We ended up re-racing it and getting second place. We had a ton of support from the whole team and it was nice to know that we had that many people who really cared about us!
—Shavit,Simon 12
I think my favorite part about rowing is winning a race and feeling like my hard work everyday at practice was worth it.
I am really excited to get to know so many new teammates. I think about half of the varsity girls are in their first varsity season so it’s exciting to get the opportunity to get to know more people.
The hardest part about rowing is definitely the erg pieces. Especially when you don’t PR.
THE HURON EMERY | ISSUE 5: APRIL 7 | OPINIONSEPTEMBER 10 | SPORTS
— Eliza VanEve, 12 I’m looking forward to see how competitive we can be this season, because in years past we haven’t finished as well as we hoped, so I’m looking forward to seeing if we can do well as it is a final ride for me and all the other seniors.
—Shavit,Simon 12 What are you thisforwardlookingtoseason?
— Leylan Kazi, 12
PHOTO
What’s abouthardestthepartrowing?
Samaha FU PHOTO
I am excited about joining the Huron team because I have missed the high school environment, and I am very interested in learning more about IB World Schools. What job will you have at Huron/what classes will you teach?
I’m the 9th Grade Dean. I’ll be helping to support 9th graders, and helping 9th graders learn about the IB and about all the other amazing opportunities that Huron offers to students as a provider of free, public education. What are you excited about as a new member of Huron?
in Plymouth Canton Community Schools as the curriculum coordinator for visual and performing arts, and then as an building administrator. When I started in Ann Arbor, I was the Assistant Dean at Community High School followed by Principal at Ann Arbor Open. Why did you choose to work at Huron?
fall!MYPfacilitatingPsychology.DPPsychology,teachingPsychologySL,andAppliedIwillalsobeasectionofPersonalProjectthis
What are you excited about as a new member of Huron?
There are so many talented and creative educators and students to learn from.
I am really excited for getting to know all of the students! They’re pretty funny and say unhinged things (especially in the psychology classroom) so we have fun talking about everything related to human behavior.
My first teaching job was in a town thatSchool.HighMadison,nearWiscons-in.WhenImovedhometoMich-igan,ItaughtatYpsilantiAfterIworked
MEET THE NEW STAFF
What job will you have at Huron/what classes will you teach? I will be
