The Huron Emery Volume 9 Issue 5 May 2024

Through teachers’ eyes: How the $25 million budget cut is affecting AAPS staff

SATVIKA RAMANATHAN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Alison Eberts loves teaching. She loves her students, her coworkers and the community of Huron High School. But as of April 5 she is a former employee of Ann Arbor Public Schools. She left AAPS to take a job at Schoolcraft College designing courses.

A $25 million deficit and what she calls “a lack of support” to put students first pushed her out of public education.

“It’s the hardest decision I’ve had to make in 10 years,” Eberts said. “I have been unhappy with the way that Ann Arbor Public Schools has been handling some things for quite a while.”

Eberts had already gotten her job offer from Schoolcraft College when the district announced the budget cut on March 13. The next day, Eberts accepted the offer.

“That was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” she said. “If I can’t trust them to be making good choices for students, I know now that I can’t trust them to be making good choices for me.”

The community aspect of the building was really important to Eberts.

“I will miss the people I work with who have become my family for 10 years,” she said with tears forming in her eyes, her voice breaking.

“I could not have asked for a better building or group of people to work with.”

Eberts isn’t the only

person affected by the budget cut. Teachers throughout the district are starting to feel unsure about the stability of their positions with the deficit.

“I’ve already had three coworkers asking me for advice on what jobs to look for,” Eberts said. “Teachers are scared. There’s a lot of insecurity, and people don’t feel valued or respected. Those trickledown effects are going to be

NEWS

briefs

ASHLEY KIM NEWS EDITOR

On April 18-19, Huron’s HOSA – Future Health Professionals of America – attended the Michigan State Competition at the Grand Traverse Resort and Spa in Acme, Michigan. HOSA is an international student organization for students with a passion or interest in health science careers, dedicated to improving health care for the future generation.

pretty detrimental to what would otherwise be quality education that we’ve come to expect in Ann Arbor.”

The AAPS Board of Education authorized layoffs at their board meeting on April 11. This doesn’t guarantee layoffs, but it gives them the option.

The Ann Arbor community has been banding together to support teachers as well. Public Commentary during Board Meetings is filled with disheartened

“I joined HOSA because I was interested in exploring potential careers/ topics in the health sciences field,” HOSA member and junior Claire Wang said. “A lot of people have familial connections to health sciences, but I don’t and HOSA was sort of my way of still trying to gain exposure to the field.”

The state competition consisted of various competitive events related to veterinary science, health careers, medical law, and more, involving an assessment of knowledge in the form of a test, presentation, or a combination of both.

“States was really eventful and it was definitely a rollercoaster, but it was fun as well,” HOSA Vice President, and junior Grace Yang said. “Seeing everyone work hard, have a lot of fun at the same time, and getting to meet interesting new people will make it something

English teacher Letitia Simmons poses for a photo with her sign at the protest before the April 11

Board Meeting. PHOTO BY SATVIKA RAMANATHAN

Huron HOSA competes at States

Sophomores Anjali Nadarajah and Shayna Weiner pose for a photo at States. PHOTO COURTESY OF NADARAJAH

Alison Eberts Former English Teacher

teachers, community members, parents and even students pleading with the Board to do everything they can before laying teachers off.

“Our schools are outstanding because they are held by outstanding faculty and staff,” AAPS teacher and parent Nathan Smead said during the April 11 board meeting. “I am urging the board and central admin to lead us through this moment with transparency and integrity.”

This isn’t the first time the community and teachers have said something to prevent budget issues. The Ann Arbor Education Association (AAEA), also known as the Teacher’s Union, works to advocate for teachers. AAPS is simply put: overstaffed. In the last 10 years, AAPS staff has increased by 480 people.

Student enrollment has decreased by 1,123 in the last four years. Every year there are about 100 to 150 teachers who resign, and the AAEA has previously suggested that the district not refill their positions over a few years.

“We urged the district for years to right-size,” AAEA President Fred Klein said. “They didn’t listen to us, and now we find ourselves in this position where teachers are going to be asked to make the ultimate sacrifice, potentially.”

Now that the budget cut has been announced however, the AAEA is urging the Board to make as many non-personnel cuts as possible.

“Let’s find all the expensive things that the district has that we can probably do without,” Klein said. “And let’s save as much money as we can before we look to people as a cost savings. Let’s make sure that the district isn’t spending on things that aren’t education-related in order to

briefs

ASHLEY KIM NEWS EDITOR

Huron Key Club is a student-led organization, dedicated to giving back to the community through various volunteering and service activities, as well as promoting student leadership. Branched off of Kiwanis, an international service club, Key Club aims to bring together students with a shared passion for bettering the world around them.

“I think Key club is great because we are always doing something that helps out,” said club member, Junior Adit Vuppala. “Key club is a great place to get together with friends and

Teachers listen on as the Board discusses the budget.

preserve jobs and keep our classes the way they are.”

Each school has their own chapter of the AAEA. Two of the Union Representatives from Huron are English teacher Sarah Anton and science teacher Geoffrey Lowes.

“Teachers feel like teacher layoffs are being forced to solve a problem, like the budget crisis that we did not create,” Anton said. “That was poor mismanagement, lack of accountability on the district’s part.”

The AAEA feels that layoffs are not a

good long-term solution. “This is not going to even fix the problem in the long term unless they are willing to engage in some of the things that we’ve been asking for anyway,” Lowes said. “If layoffs are just a quick and easy fix for one year, [this issue] is going to come back. [Budget issues] are just going to happen again if they can’t figure out where to cut expenditures that aren’t actually impacting students and teaching and learning.”

Teachers are feeling burnt out from having to stress about this issue on

top of everything else that is already on their plates.

“It’s soul-sucking,” Anton said. “I don’t want to worry about if I’m going to be here next year. I don’t want my kids’ favorite teachers to leave. I don’t want to lose our new teachers who are one or two years into our profession. Our people are so good.” Teachers also foresee how the stressors they are experiencing can trickle down and affect their students.

“It’s incredibly heavy on the teachers,” Social Studies teacher Luke Milne said. “We are emotional people. We are not robots. Even if we try our absolute best to be 100% professional in our classrooms, it will affect our moods, our energy levels and our focus. We’re going to come in because our students are relying on us. But at the same time, it’s very tiring to have

such a heavy focus on students and now this added extra focus that we do lose sleep over.”

One of the current solutions is that AAPS is on a hiring freeze. This means Eberts’ class will have a long-term sub for the rest of the school year.

“I’m tired,” Eberts said. “I’m burnt out. Working with students has been one of the most rewarding career paths I could have chosen, but it does take a lot. I feel very sad that I am burnt out. It makes me think if I’m doing a disservice by leaving, but at the same time, I have to do what’s best for me.”

Teachers only answered questions asked of them.

Giving back to the community: Key Club’s birthday kits

socialize, while doing good.”

Throughout this year, Key club has accomplished many service projects such as making dog toys and posters for school events. Their most recent project was a Birthday Cake Kit Fundraiser, where Huron PTSO, Kiwanis Club, and Huron Key Club members worked together to donate birthday-related supplies.

On Thursday, April 25, Key Club used these donations to assemble 51 birthday cake kits to donate to Food Gatherers, which will go to food insecure families. These kits contained a disposable baking dish, cake mix, cake frosting, vegetable oil or can of Sprite, candles,

birthday card, gift bag, and birthday decorations.

“We chose to put together birthday kits last week because there are a lot of people who aren’t fortunate enough to celebrate their birthdays, and by giving these kits to Food Gatherers we could help them,” said Vuppala. “This was planned and organized by our amazing board, while members brought in items such as candles and decorations. I contributed by bringing some decorations and paper bags to put the kits in.”

To get involved in this initiative, visit a2huronkeyclub.weebly.com or Key Club’s Instagram page @huron_keyclub.

Members Adit Vuppala and Ethan Lyu, club secretary Anthony Fan, and member Joel Lee pose with their birthday kits. PHOTO COURTESY OF VUPPALA.

PHOTO BY SATVIKA RAMANATHAN

Facing the obstacle of Huron pool renovations

About two months ago, the Huron pool was shut down due to renovations. The full pool and area around the pool including the locker rooms are receiving renovations. The pool has not been updated or renovated since it was first built.

“There has been a lot of mechanical issues and things that have been breaking down and it’s costing the district a lot of money,” Huron’s Athletic director Tony Whiren said. “It’s like a car, eventually after a lot of time and with a lot of breakdowns, you will need to just replace the whole thing which is essential what we are doing.”

Whiren said the renovation process is very long and it will take around five or six months to complete.

“We’re talking about a project that is draining all of the water,” Whiren said. “It’s thousands and thousands of gallons of water and then doing all the tile, so there is a lot of repairs to be done.”

Another difficulty that has come with this renovation is finding the right time frame to start the process. The decision was made to shut down the pool for renovations about a year ago. The process of starting and setting everything up has taken so long because of all the equipment they had to bring into the building and all things they had to get approved by the district.

“The workshop was put in place a year ago, but we didn’t have exact dates due to all of the requirements needed for codes and getting the kind of equipment that can be put in there approved, Whiren said. “If we didn’t start this process then, and the renovations began in the fall, we wouldn’t have the pool until December.”

Currently, the Huron Women’s Water Polo Program

is in season and is unable to play home games at their own school. They needed another school to step up and share their space with Huron and Pioneer was that neighboring school that decided to help. They are practicing and playing home games at Pioneer’s Pool which can be very inconvenient for players and coaches.

“The sacrifice is big for the Women’s Water Polo Program, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s a smaller sacrifice,” Whiren said. “We do it now and sacrifice two weeks in the fall or we finish the women’s season and sacrifice the entire season for men. So it’s scary and it’s not fair. But, you know, we’re doing the best we can to make it as on comfortable art as ease for the women’s polo team as there’s no perfect timing and it’s a project that has to be done.”

The renovations have pushed Huron’s opportunity to host districts.

The tournament will now be hosted at Skyline.

Men’s conditioning will start in May 2024, two days a week, at Skyline’s pool as well. This is a very big but necessary process that will leave everyone in a better spot afterwards.

Huron’s pool was shut down for construction due to its operational issues. PHOTOS BY RYAN BEZAS

Huron’s pool closure has forced water sports to move to Pioneer and Skyline RYAN BEZAS

ROWAN GRENIER SPORTS EDITOR

Ending on Wins: journalists named best in Michigan

BEA HARSS FEATURE EDITOR

The Huron publications programs is home to three seniors who received MIPA Student Journalist Staff awards this year; Anna Esper, Jamie Tang, and Natalie Bohnsack. These are annually presented to the top student journalists in the state, a huge honor given based on profiles of journalism work each student submits. There is an array of categories schools can apply for within the award, each school can only submit one student per category. The sections the Emery won are

writing and reporting.

All three of our victors are thrilled that their hard work in student journalism earned them the rewards they received and are immensely grateful to the Emery, and at it’s heart OC, for making them the journalists they are today.

“I am especially grateful to OC for encouraging me to apply and introducing me to the world of journalism,” Jamie Tang said. “ I would have never discovered my enthusiasm for journalism had I not joined

The Huron Emery in the fall of 2023. I had no idea what I was doing. I spent all nighters trying to

writing. But I found myself falling in lovewith channeling journalism as a medium for nuanced but high-impact storytelling.”

Tang has developed crucial life skills thanks to the Emery that she will take with her after she graduates. Another senior plans to to continue her passion in college, majoring in Journalism.

“ Overall, journalism has completely changed my life,” says Editor in Chief of the Emery, Anna Esper. “Before joining newspaper sophomore year, I had never written an article. I have now met some of my best friends, learned tons about leadership, and found my passion.”

Esper submitted the news design profile, she had lots of fun playing around with colors and photos while creating her designs and is most proud of the Michigan Football Championship front page she created. Her spark for the art of storytelling is her purpose in life.

The third senior to bring home a victory feels

lots of pride for all she has accomplished, when putting her profile together she could clearly see how far she has come during her four years at Huron High School.

Bohsack represented The Enthymion yearbook side when accepting her award, grateful for everyone she has met along the way to make her who she is today.

“I am majoring in Advertising/Public Relations at Penn State because of

journalism, and I’m so incredibly grateful for OC who has been the most incredible, supportive advisor,” Bohnsack explained. “If she hadn’t let me design a page on my own freshman year, I would not be where I am today and I cannot thank her enough for everything she has done for me over the years.” All three of these seniors have so much to be proud of, and all are graduating on the high of victory.

Cottage Inn to reopen under a new name

ISHA SAVI STAFF WITER

The Original Cottage Inn, a landmark of downtown Ann Arbor, is undergoing renovations and will reopen as Coratti’s Pizzeria Bar and Bocce in May. Having opened in 1948 by Nick Michos, The Original Cottage Inn has remained an iconic restaurant in the Ann Arbor community for over 70 years. Unfortunately, this chapter of the Michos Family’s life has come to a close as owner Jim Michos begins to think about retirement and other pursuits.

“Right now is just a good time for me to spend time

with my family and pursue my other interests,” Michos said to the Sun Times. “I’ve started a real estate business and want to spend time growing it.”

Coratti’s Pizzeria Bar is a well-known pizzeria that allows patrons to drink and dine while playing bocce ball on their indoor courts. Their menu consists of several types of pizzas, sandwiches, salads, and pasta, along with housemade gelato. While this will be a change for the A2 community, owner Nick Lemmer is staying committed to keeping the connections The Original Cottage Inn has made during its decades in Ann Arbor.

“I’ve been walking all around

Ann Arbor and we’re just really excited to be there with it being a college town and the great vibe it already has,” Lemmer said to MLive. “We’re really excited to be a part of it.”

The Michos Family shared a heartfelt goodbye on Facebook, thanking their patrons and staff for their decades of service and business respectively. “We wish for the continued success of all our employees and express deep gratitude for your dedicated efforts,” the post shared. “Our guests have meant the world to us. Thank you, once again, for your unwavering support.”

The Original Cottage Inn is reopening under new ownership while a new smaller Cottage Inn has opened on the northside of Ann Arbor on Plymouth Road. PHOTO BY ZAIN CHARANIA

GRAPHIC BY JULYA MAE JONES

MIPA Staff members Anna Esper, Jamie Tang and Natalie Bohnsack pose for a photo. PHOTO BY JULYA MAE JONES

The class of 2028’s perspective on affirmative action

ANJALI NADARAJAH EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

On June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) decided on the landmark decision for Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) v. Harvard, where the court held that race-based affirmative action programs in college admissions processes violate the Equal Protection Clause of

admitted to using race as one of the factors in their admissions, but argued that they follow the requirements for race-based admissions outlined in SCOTUS’s decision in Grutter v. Bollinger. SCOTUS held in a 6-3 decision that universities could not make a strong case for the need for students to specify race and failed to avoid racial stereotypes, leading to a new law; all college applications are required to conduct

stakes are high to get into a competitive college, and when U of M is ranked as the #3 top public university in the country according to US news.

Huron High School, Emiko Sano, is headed to U of M for their engineering program this fall. After a long process of applying to six schools with robust engineering programs and a chance to play soccer, Sano’s experiences with applications have shaped her perspective on affirmative action.

the Fourteenth Amendment.

SFFA sued Harvard, claiming that their application process discriminates against Asian Americans in favor of white applicants. Harvard

“After going through the process,” she said, “it’s really made me appreciate how privileged I am to come from a family with a great deal of academic and educational resources, and what an advantage this provides in terms of getting into a good college.”

Sano started her application process early, and worked consistently over the summer and fall of 2023. In terms of resources, she didn’t work very closely with an adult, but had a number of resources of people she could go to with

regardless of their background or socioeconomic status.

“Oftentimes the people who are given opportunities because they are seen as ‘talented’ are actually those with better resources,” she said. “So merit often is really a reflection of financial resources, and talented individuals without resources miss out even when they could excel and succeed if they had access to resources.”

Overall, for Sano’s decision, she doesn’t believe the end of universities considering diversity of their students affected her situation.

Another student, Cleo Washington, was accepted into the university coming from Loveless Academic Magnet Program High School, in Montgomery, Alabama. After starting the treacherous application process last summer, Washington is committed to Michigan’s Ross School of Business.

While he doesn’t have any personal experience with affirmative action, his father’s college experience was shaped by it.

Washington felt he had enough resources to complete the application, owing it to his parents for emphasizing the importance of staying on top of things. Like Sano, he does not believe that meritocracy alone can allow for equal opportunities.

“...It does not take into account the factors that influenced their background,” he said.

“Hopefully in the future we will be able to meet this standard of pure consideration of meritocracy; however, in the present I believe it is vital to evaluate the entirety of student circumstances, in and outside of the classroom.”

While he doesn’t think the end of affirmative action had a major impact on his university decision, he believes it did impact his college application.

“I had to really focus on fine tuning all aspects of my application, and ensure that I presented my best self to the university,” he said.

application season is the first year the new law has gone into effect. According to MLive, the University of Michigan had a record-breaking 105,000+ applicants this year. The

questions and advice. Even after working extremely hard over the past four years, Sano doesn’t believe meritocracy alone can ensure equal opportunities for all students,

“To this day, he believes that had affirmative action not been legalized when he attended college in the 1980s, he would not have been able to attend the institution that he did,” he said. “He believes that affirmative action was the key to him receiving the opportunity to go to college, and being the first in his family to do so.”

A profitable hobby: Zain Charania’s journey in photography

MELINDA MEI WEBSITE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

“My sophomore year, Ms. Badalamente (or OC) [said] that she needed someone to go take pictures at a soccer game,” senior Zain Charania said. “I remember that I had to be after school that day anyway for some reason, so I was just like ‘Okay, I can stay for another hour or so,’ and I just went.”

Though his first photography experience was interesting, Zain Charania’s passion didn’t develop immediately. His drive kicked in after he started learning more.

“I have learned that it’s a very deep hobby,” Charania said. “It’s very elaborate. [There’s] a lot of different things you can do. There’s a lot of things that I haven’t tried yet that I want to do.”

After his initial photography experience sophomore year, Charania continued taking sports photos throughout that summer with a camera borrowed from OC. At this point, he did not have his own camera yet.

“A lot of people were just asking me to meet up [and] come out to their stuff. I was like ‘Okay, sure. I’ll just come out and have fun,’” Charania said.

His passion soon turned into a source of income as more people began seeing the photography he produced and posted on social media, including his Instagram account @zain.flicks. Because photography was just a hobby for Zain Charania to do in his free time, it came as a surprise when classmates and strangers offered to pay him.

“I started having people DM me talking about ‘How much is it to have you

come out?’” Zain Charania said. “I never thought about it money-wise, so when I started hearing that I was like ‘Okay, this is really weird.’ I was just going for fun.”

After realizing he could make an income from this business, Charania set photography as a priority and

invested in his equipment.

“I took a really big gamble,” Charania said. “I ended up spending around $5,000 on my first purchase before I even made a couple hundred bucks. I said to myself, ‘If this doesn’t work out monetarily, if I can’t build a business out

Zain Charania takes pictures at The D Zone Shootout in Dearborn, Michigan in June, 2023.

The Supreme Court’s decision in SFFA v. Harvard represents a huge change in the field of college admissions. Sano and Washington’s experiences underscore the importance of affirmative action. Ultimately, the impact of the Court’s decision varies between individuals, and colleges like the University of Michigan are faced with a challenge for equitable and inclusive admissions practices.

of it, then at least I have a hobby I can do for a while.’” Charania’s parents have been consistently supportive of his passion since the beginning. When he first made the $5,000 investment, he repeatedly sought their approval to make sure they were okay with the purchase.

“He was very reluctant while we (Zain, his mother, and his father) were purchasing it,” Nadia Charania, Zain Charania’s mother, said. “He was surprised that we would support him that much. He kept coming and questioning me, ‘are you sure?’ and he kept going to my husband, his dad, and saying ‘is that okay?’ We were very supportive of him because we want him to do things he can cherish and make memories.” Even with his

GRAPHICS BY BRODY TURNER AND KIKI CHOI

PHOTO BY TOBY KRUPSKY

From “I was a refugee” to “I am a

FAYEZA MUIZZ COPY EDITOR

For Randa Hourani, her own definition of parallel is: Growing up in a war-torn country where school was never an option, then finding her way back to the four walls of school, teaching as an educator.

Hourani, 63, a substitute teacher at Huron, knew and understood that the first two years of her teenage period were not as normal as what others would think. She never got to hang out with her

friends and be naive like how kids her age would be, school was not as accessible like how it should be today, and going out for outdoor activities was stupid. Instead, Hourani, 13 when it happened, had her days filled with the sounds of bombs and gunshots constantly ringing and bouncing within the four walls of her home in Beirut, Lebanon, deaths being often reported, families crying out for justice, and her country was on the brink of being partitioned.

“In 1976, I came to this country because my dad

teacher”: Randa Hourani

left during the Civil War, brought my mom and my other siblings (three brothers), and I stayed [in Beirut, Lebanon],” Hourani said, a nostalgic smile on her face.

“He’s afraid - he was so scared, scared to bring us [to the U.S.].

So, I basically stayed there with my two other (younger) sisters, then the war escalated, so we came here.”

It was 1975 when the Lebanese Civil War happened.

The tension between the country’s Christian and Muslim populations was rising until Phalangists, a Lebanese Christian political party,

attacked a bus carrying Palestinian refugees, who were on the side of Lebanese Muslims, on their way to a camp. The armed conflict lasted for a decade and half, leading to 150,000 casualties. Randa was 14, one year into the war, when she left her home with her other two younger sisters on the 22nd of February 1976 through her dad’s EB1 visa, starting an entirely different life in Dearborn, Michigan with her family.

“I was sad - I thought that no one should be happy,” Hourani laughed, recalling

what she had felt about the whole situation back then. “I didn’t know anybody. My dad knew people, that’s why we came to Michigan.” Back in her time, Dearborn was not exactly very nice to Arabic people. Hourani had a clear memory of the racial discriminations she suffered from, also having a fair share of the other race riots she had witnessed.

“We were a minority at that time,” Hourani said. “There used to be bloody fights

THEHURONEMERY.COM

Huron sophomore Bekka Madeleine pursues her love for music

ISHA SAVI STAFF WRITER

With her soulful melodies and heartwrenching lyrics, Sophomore Bekka Madeleine is a force to be reckoned with.

“Music itself is something I’ve always been doing,” she said. “The very first choir I was in was a choir called Freiburg in the second grade.”

Her background in music has allowed her to make the music she makes now, as well as participate in other music spaces such as the Ann Arbor Youth Chorale.

Madeleine has been making and releasing her music on YouTube since 2022 and recently released her first song, “Jar of Sand.” Jar of Sand is a beautifully composed piece, combining

wistful, Americana lyrics with a painfully nostalgic sound. It allows the listener to reminisce about what could’ve been in a bittersweet way. Madeleine sings “You look and smell and act and breathe/Like someone who is planning to leave” which beautifully puts the feeling of wanting someone who isn’t planning on staying.

Throughout her journey in music, Madeleine has collaborated with her sister, Hannah Port, to aid in the songwriting aspect.

“My sister has influenced my music so much–it’s hard for her not to when she literally writes the lyrics,” said Madeleine. “ I am forever grateful for Hannah.

It’s kind of a surreal feeling to know I’ll always have this with her. If my career really takes off, the idea that we could

be working together for the rest of our lives is just wow.”

Madeleine recently started performing her music live, starting at the deeply historical Ark, and later at the relaxed North Star Lounge. According to Madeleine, both experiences were amazing, but they were certainly different.

“The North Star Lounge is a much more intimate space, while The Ark is a more intimidating space, but the fact that they are so different is how I’ve already acquired so much experience,” she said “It’s important to familiarize yourself with lots of different settings, and people, and acoustics. It’s the only way you can improve!”

In terms of plans for the future, Madeleine has tons.

“I haven’t really talked too much about this but I am

currently recording a song of mine called ‘Love in the Time of Climate Change,’” she said. “If all goes as planned, this song should be coming out sometime

in April, so stay tuned.” She plans to continue performing live.

Huron substitute teacher Randa Hourani moved to the U.S. from Lebanon because of the Lebanese Civil War in 1975. PHOTO BY FAYEZA MUIZZ

Sophomore Bekka Madeleine (Rebekka Port) in downtown Ann Arbor in the Nickel’s Arcade. PHOTO BY HANNAH PORT

Following the AAPS Board of Education meeting on Thursday, April 11, apprehension has grown among AAPS teachers and community members. At the meeting, the board voted 4-3 to allow superintendent Jazz Parks to lay off staff as a part of the budget recovery plan.

The board also discussed whether to cut $25 million dollars all in one year or to cut $12.5 million dollars annually in the span of two years. The recording of the board meeting is accessible via CTN.

Since the April 11 board meeting, several teachers have announced that they will stop work beyond their contractual hours, which is from 7:45 a.m. to 3:06 p.m. for high school teachers, in solidarity with AAPS teachers.

According to a national survey by RAND Corporation, “During the 2022–2023 school year, teachers worked more hours per week, on average, than working adults — 53 hours compared with 46” with teachers reporting that they work more than 15 hours per week than required by contract.

On Friday, April 12, Huron junior Diana Postigo said several of her teachers shared the board meeting updates and their decision to no longer work beyond contractual hours.

“Anytime teachers are here before or after school and offer office hours, they are doing it out of the goodness of their heart,” Postigo said. “They do not get paid for all the time they spend grading assignments on the weekend, which is significant.”

English teacher Sarah Anton is among the teachers choosing to no longer work beyond contractual hours.

Anton said that teachers spend a significant amount of time outside of contractual hours to do their job.

“[Contractual hours] are the bare minimum teachers need to be present in their building and attend to their teaching duties,” Anton said. “The job of a teacher is much more than their contractual hours. It is impossible to do the grading I need to do and plan a curriculum that is rigorous and engaging in only my contractual hours. Therefore, I work outside of my contractual hours and that work is free in the sense that I am not being paid beyond the hours within my contract.”

Anton said that the district has failed to support their teachers.

”Teachers care about doing their job well and to do that, it is often necessary to work beyond our contractual hours,” Anton said. “If the district views its teachers as disposable to make up for an egregious error and mismanagement of their budget, perhaps teachers feel we should return the sentiment by only giving to our workday what we are required to do.”

Anton said she hopes to see students practice self-advocacy.

“If I am laid off as a result of the budget crisis, I will not have a salary and that will directly impact me, my family, my children, and our ability to live in Ann Arbor,” Anton said. “Teachers show students how to advocate for themselves and speak up in this world every day. I know our students understand that we are practicing what we preach by working only contractual hours and sending a message to district leadership.”

Several school clubs are also no longer meeting, as the sponsor teachers have chosen to no longer work beyond contractual hours.

“I love teaching, I love doing clubs, but it’s always been burdensome and extra,” said government teacher Allison Echlin.

“Following the [April 11] board meeting, there were discussions about the teacher’s union and the next steps. One of the

proudly displays Mock Trial plaques and banners.

“It was hard to tell students,” Echlin said. “I sat there the day before telling students and emailed student leadership.”

Thankfully, Mock Trial had already finished their competition season.

Echlin said she is happy to continue being the sponsor teacher but will no longer host the club meetings past 3:06 p.m. She went on to emphasize the sacrifices teachers must make beyond their contractual hours.

“If my job is at risk, there’s no motivation,” Echlin said. “After I put my two kids to bed, I’m grading [and doing] lesson planning for an average of two to three hours a night. This year, Mock Trial fell on three birthdays. I missed my husband’s birthday, my kid’s birthday.”

Echlin said she hopes to see discussions continue civilly.

”I hope everyone who has an opinion shares their opinion,” she said. “I totally understand that there will be many people who will be unhappy with my decision. I hope that will help people think about paying staff stipends for clubs.”

options was to no longer work outside of contractual hours.”

Echlin is the sponsor teacher of Mock Trial and Huron’s Dear Asian Youth chapter. Her classroom

Global politics and history teacher Samantha Stockham also shared on April 12 that she will cease offering after-school tutoring sessions but will continue in-class support and online resources. She continues to grade papers on weekends.

“I can say that

everything that has been leading up to last night’s board meeting and what I am anticipating to happen in the future has increased my burnout. I need to protect my peace,” Stockham said. “The additional piece is also hoping that only working contractual hours can bring awareness to how much teachers work outside of contractual hours to emphasize the dedication and love teachers have for their students.”

As a newer teacher, Stockham said she has faced less frustration than her co-workers.

“I haven’t been faced with as much frustration,” Stockham said. “I wasn’t in the district when the pay freezes were happening, so I didn’t personally experience that. But I’ve been able to feel the second-hand frustration from teachers who have. I think it’s great that teachers have been able to express these concerns through public commentaries at board meetings.”

Despite this, Stockham said her uncertainty remains.

“The only thing I can say is I love my students and my job.”

JAMIE TANG MANAGING EDITOR

Where did the $25 million go?

GRAPHIC BY ANJALI NADARAJAH

This is going too far Staff Editorial: Teachers deserve better

“Due to the current budget situation in AAPS, I will be working only the hours that I am paid for. Huron class related emails will be responded to during contractual hours MondayFriday.”

As students, our teachers are so much more than a mere title to us. They are our number-one supporters, people we can share our feelings with and smiling people that provide comfort during our busy school days. There’s so much that teachers do for us outside of what they are paid for.

Now they’ve pulled back in order to make the point that even with teachers doing just what they’re paid for, things won’t function as well as they do normally. They’re proving that the teachers are the backbone of the district.

Even this is not them breaking any rules. Teachers in the Teachers Union can’t actually strike, so by coming to school right when it starts and leaving right when it ends, they are still following rules while making their voices heard.

But the truth is: it’s gotten difficult for students.

The fact that the district is turning to layoffs as one of the first possible options is awful. Without teachers, we as students

won’t be able to do anything. Teachers only working contractual hours is working to prove the point that they do a ton of stuff outside of their paycheck. But it has negative impacts on us as students. And is the district even noticing?

Right now, exams are coming up, and students are absolutely stressed. And so are our teachers. A lot of times we want extra support from teachers in order to make sure we will do okay on these major tests. But if there’s no one to turn to, how will that negatively affect our grades? We all have clubs and after-school activities that we pour our hearts into. But without being allowed to stay after school because we don’t have a teacher to supervise, how will we successfully perform as a group? Students go to teachers for personal support, as well. But if we email our favorite teacher over the weekend to tell her about something important that happened and they don’t check their email, how will that make us feel? Teachers are in the tough spot of needing to update their resumes, and consider more jobs if they are laid off or if their pay is frozen.

Teachers not working outside of their contractual hours is just giving us a small

taste of the disaster that will ensue if the district decides to go through with staff layoffs.

Our teachers make school a safe and comfortable place for us, but that sure does not come from just the slides that they make and the lectures they give. It comes from the hours they spend outside of school planning different kinds of activities to do something new with us. It comes from the time they take out of their lunches and after school to sit and talk to us about what we can do to improve our grades. It’s the support they show for us by coming to our athletics events and fundraisers. It’s the love they put into everything they do to teach. And that’s what makes them special. It’s so disheartening to see the stress our teachers are under because of the budget cut. It’s disheartening to see them have to protest at board meetings for their basic rights. It’s disheartening to think that layoffs are possible. And as the community, as the students, the people that all of this is supposed to be for, it’s our job to stand up and speak out for the people that give us everything.

GRAPHIC BY ANNA LEE

Young Scientist: Genetic engineering for the greater good

ANITA GAENKO COVERAGE EDITOR

Grocery store produce is peppered with small green stickers, claiming the superiority of their “GMOfree” food. Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have become synonymous with something experimental and unsafe, with organizations even dedicating themselves to stopping the practice. But GMOs are nothing to be scared of— they’re a well-researched outlet of scientific progress that have the potential to significantly improve the food industry.

The current scientific consensus is that there’s no inherent risk that comes with genetically modifying crops or food animals, but that

each new development is still rigorously tested before it can be sold. With the advent of new technologies like CRISPR, genetic engineering has become even easier, and scientists are able to run detailed trials to ensure safety.

Genetic engineering isn’t about “playing God” or doing things just because we can. For one thing, it could help in the fight against world hunger, specifically malnutrition. One of the first highly successful GMO projects was golden rice, a type of genetically modified rice plant that has extra beta-carotene (a precursor to vitamin A). Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) severely affects over 1.02 billion people worldwide, which primarily impacts children. In countries

with high rates of VAD, rice is a staple food, and providing subsistence farmers with the golden rice crop to partially replace regular rice could be an incredibly effective way to combat malnutrition. However, the fear of GMOs, especially outside North America, has made it hard to implement any large-scale program.

GMOs could also be beneficial to the environment. While some environmentalists worry that GMOs could reduce biodiversity, these claims currently don’t have any evidence to support them. A more direct impact on the environment is that crops can be genetically modified to be insect-resistant, eliminating the need for pesticides.

Pesticides can be super harmful for the environment, especially since farmers usually use them in bulk—using GMO crops instead also decreases the financial load on farmers who would otherwise need to purchase and apply pesticides. There are many more potential applications for GMOs—outside of crops, we genetically modify bacteria to

Freshly Popped Coachella Recap

ANNA ESPER

PRINT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Dust and Music. As arguably the biggest event for influencers of the year, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, commonly known as Coachella, is held for two weekends in Indio, California. The festival is known to be the biggest festival of the year, having everyone on social media watching, and judging.

This year’s festival took place on the weekends of April 12 through 14 and April 19 through 21. With the headliners being Lana Del Rey, Tyler, The Creator, Doja Cat and No Doubt as headliners. Each headliner held their own, creating excitement for not just individual acts, but the whole two weekends.

Overall, Del Rey was one of the strongest headliners. Bringing out guests like Billie Eilish, Camila Cabello, Jon Batiste, and Jack Antonoff, she swept the headliners away. Del Rey included her hits like “Summertime Sadness,” “Young and Beautiful” and “Born

to Die,” making her set special for everyone. This was her moment to shine, and she took it. In addition, No

Rodrigo as a special guest. Although they performed hits like “Just a Girl” and “Don’t Speak,” their return

produce life-saving drugs, and even use gene editing to silence genes that cause deadly diseases in humans. Instead of letting the idea of technology scare us, it’s time to accept the science behind GMOs and let them help save our world.

Besides headliners, special artists had stand out weekends as well. From either going viral on Tik Tok or Twitter, Coachella

going viral for her song “Casual,” her campy stage presence took TikTok users “For You Page” immediately. Recently releasing her newest single “Good Luck, Babe!” Coachella gave Roan the stage she needed to reach a larger audience. Fans calling her a “modern Lady Gaga” based off of her makeup and unpredictable lyrics, we will be seeing Roan in the future.

To add, Sabrina Carpenter performed to her biggest crowd yet. After being named a new “pop princess,” she held the crowd in the palm of herhands, or her cup of “Espresso.” With her incredible ability to connect with the audience through humor in her song “Nonsense” and T-shirt saying “Jesus was a Carpenter,” she can control a crowd, and she’s just getting started.

Overall, the two weekends brought more light to new and future moments of pop culture than the past. Drawing social media into where music is going next, with a mix of the old favorites of the past.

GMO has the potential to save our world. GRAPHIC BY KAYLA FU

GRAPHIC BY ANNA ESPER

Beyonce releases new country album “Cowboy Carter”

ETHAN DEMPS STAFF WRITER

The time has finally come; nearly two years after her last album “Renaissance,” Beyonce has finally released her much anticipated eighth studio album “Cowboy Carter” on March 29th. This album is dubbed “Act II”, the sequel in her trilogy of albums she is planning to release. Act II “Renaissance” took elements of house music; this album takes a sharp turn, tapping into her southern roots and diving into the country genre. Beyonce is truly breaking boundaries with this album as country is a genre that not only has a lack of representation in the mainstream music space but also has very little diversity with very few women making country music, especially women of color. Needless to say this album is truly one for the books, and I think everyone should give it a chance.

From the first song “American Requiem”, you can immediately hear the soulful, country influence that is woven through the rest of the album. The intro truly set a precedent for what is to be expected, showing off Beyonce’s amazing vocal ability and showcasing the first taste of the phenomenal instrumentation on this album. Showcasing instruments such as the banjo, acoustic guitar, accordion, harmonica, and more. This album is filled with one stellar track after another. One notable song for me was “Bodyguard”; this was one of the songs that I felt was most similar to the traditional pop feel. Others included “Jolene”, a cover of Dolly Parton’s famous song of the same name, whose vocals were also featured on the album. “Tyrant” and “Daughter” are songs that added a more melancholy tone to this album–the eerie tone paired with Beyonce’s voice left a chill down my spine. The

track “Spaghetti” changed this album completely, giving an almost rap vibe to it. “Ya Ya”, a truly thrilling song made me want to get up on my feet and dance. I could truly go on about all of the songs I loved on this album but it would be too many to count–out of the 27 songs she put onto this album, not one is a skip.

After my first listen, I had to give it a couple more listens and others should as well. It can be a culture shock as this is such a different genre of music for Beyonce, but once you get past that initial surprise, you can appreciate the level of artistry that she has incorporated into this entire album. It took some time for it to grow on me, but I am in love with this album. I don’t think this is her all-time best, but I think that the true joy of this album comes from how diverse it is. Although advertised as being primarily country it truly is a genre-bending album and it’s something different in every song. Beyonce describes it

best in her own words, saying “This ain’t a Country album. This is a “Beyonce” Album.” I truly recommend any and everybody to listen to this new work as I had a great

time listening to it myself and I think others will as well. You can listen to Cowboy Carter on Spotify, iTunes, and YouTube.

Apple Vision Pro: is humanity seeking simulation over reality?

IRIS GONG STAFF WRTIER

“Go touch some grass.” This satirical insult used in social media comments to criticize the chronically online may not be as exaggerated as intended anymore. With the rise in popularity of virtual reality’s simulations, people may be losing a sense of reality and the significance behind firsthand experiences.

Apple’s Apple Vision Pro was released on Feb. 2, 2024, described as “a brand-new three-dimensional user interface and input system controlled entirely by a user’s eyes, hands, and voice, [making] navigation feel

magical.” While the Apple Vision Pro can have many practical uses for work and meetings, the idea that this $3000+ pair of goggles can bring the viewer to an idyllic fantasy world quickly attracted the attention of many gullible consumers. The popularity of this product and similar VR goggles foreshadow the potentially detrimental effects of modern virtual reality technology on society and our lifestyles. If such technological developments become widespread among everyday consumers, more would want to immerse themselves in a virtual world, gradually losing touch with everything reality

has to offer. An experience of seeing the mountainous views of Reykjavík through a pair of false-reality goggles may be exciting, but $3000 can get you a plane ticket to actually feel the chill of Iceland’s glaciers tingling your skin. Each experience in a novel place is what comes together to make our lives meaningful. Having to hike the Appalachian trails until you’re out of breath at high altitudes is what makes the view at the summit quite literally breathtaking. Clicking a setting on a pair of goggles to display a 360º screen of the valley almost feels like cheating.

Despite Apple’s captivating descriptions and photos to market their new product, such authentic experiences cannot simply be replicated. The future of the digital world and its

“The Tortured Poets Department”: A dive into Swift’s mind

ANNA ESPER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

After two and a half months of waiting Taylor Swift released her 11 studio album titled “The Tortured Poets Department” at midnight. With a mix of synth pop songs, heartbreak ballads and insights into Swift’s past two relationships, the world can now relate to Swift more than before. Swift shows that she is just like each of us, crazy, but in the best way possible.

The album opens with the song “Fortnight” featuring Post Malone. The opening track sets the scene for listeners, this is not a love album, but it’s also not a breakup album, it’s a story.

With the next track being the title track, we can see with the numerous name drops including Jack Antonoff and Lucy Dacus, Swift is coming for revenge. And with this revenge, she is coming for our heartstrings.

One of the standout tracks on the album is “But Daddy I Love Him.” Swift takes us through her recent relationships, describing the love that she felt in the chorus, “Now I’m runnin’ with my dress unbuttoned/ Scrеamin’, “But Daddy, I love him/I’m havin’ his baby”/No, I’m not, but you should see your faces/I’m tellin’ him to floor it through thе fences/ No, I’m not coming to my

senses/I know he’s crazy, but he’s the one I want.” Swift directly writes to the public, telling the media that she doesn’t care how her dating life and partners are viewed.

As the album goes on, Swift becomes angrier, telling a story of her failed relationships and the hurt that she has felt.

Swift does this the best in “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived,” calling out her old partner. This ballad feels like a stab in the gut, like all of the wind has been knocked out of you. In the bridge Swift sings, “Were you sent by someone who wanted me dead?/Did you sleep with a gun underneath our bed?/

Were you writin’ a book? Were you a sleeper cell spy?/ In fifty years, will all this be declassified?/And you’ll confess why you did it and I’ll say, ‘Good riddance.” The best thing Swift does throughout the album is being able to drag her past relationships while being mature, showing that she is more than a girlfriend. She is a human too.

These in depth call out lyrics continue throughout the album, but Swift shies away from the ballady songs with “I Can Do It With A Broken Heart,” bringing

advancements remain uncertain, and it is important to cherish what reality has to offer.

Swift released her 11th studio album on April 19, 2024. PHOTO CREDIT: Album Cover “Album Cover THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT: THE ANTHOLOGY”

Beyonce’s first country album “Cowboy Carter” was released on March 29.

GRAPHIC BY BRODY TURNER

Taylor

Sleeping with socks: Iconic or psychotic?

Iconic:

JULES HESKIA DESIGN EDITOR

Do you ever wake up with a cold and don’t want to deal with yet another cold? Most likely, it’s because you’re not wearing socks. Winter comes quickly and it stays for a while. There’s nothing worse than having a small cold when it prevents you from having fun. A lot of the time the cause of a cold is not wearing enough layers. Everyone remembers wearing a coat and snow pants, but many don’t think they can catch a cold from not covering their feet properly.

A lot of people don’t wear socks when they sleep. I decided to question 26 Huron High School students about whether they wear socks while sleeping. Out of the 26 students asked in a survey, 17 said they don’t wear socks, 5 said sometimes, and only 4 said they do wear socks when they sleep. I am one of the 4 people that wear socks when I sleep. I wear them for two reasons: comfort and warmth.

Wearing socks, like anything else fuzzy, is comfortable. Most socks are made of cotton and wool, which are very comfortable materials. Having something fuzzy on your feet is different and can bring so much comfort and coziness. As well as socks being made out of a comfortable material, they protect you from the

discomfort of when your feet touch each other. When two bare feet touch each other, it is cold and not enjoyable. It can also cause your nails to scratch your feet, which might hurt and make it not comfortable. With socks, that can’t happen.

The second and most important reason to wear socks is to keep you warm. In this cold Michigan weather, anything and everything is needed to stay warm. Every layer matters, but most people don’t think their feet will be the reason they catch a cold. It can be the reason they catch a cold and lead to many other unwanted events. I tested this. I didn’t wear socks one night and I got sick. I kept on not wearing socks while sleeping, and got more sick. A couple of weeks later, I tried this again. This time I would not wear socks the first night and then wear socks for the next couple of days. I felt a bit sick for the first day, but quickly went back to normal after sleeping with socks on the next day. This proves that wearing socks at night can save you from getting sick.

Wearing socks at night is always a choice and everyone has their own preference. My personal preference is to wear socks because it is more comfortable and keeps me healthy.

Psychotic:

JULYA MAE JONS SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Wearing socks throughout the day is a must if you’re wearing closed toed shoes like sneakers. As you’re walking and going about your day your feet start to sweat with socks on and it can be quite uncomfortable; so coming home after a long day you can finally relieve your discomfort by taking off your socks. When

you’re home, that’s the perfect time to have your feet be free without restrictions. You feel the soft carpet beneath you or your toes curled up in your blanket after a shower. Wearing socks to bed can feel restricting as you’re trying to relax and fall asleep. Anytime I’ve tried to go to sleep with socks on I always end up taking them off in my sleep or before I fall asleep because it’s too hot with them on or they’re just generally uncomfortable. During the summer it can get hot and humid, having extra layers like socks can cause you to be overly hot and the easiest solution is to take off your socks. Wearing socks to sleep is a personal preference so personally I prefer not to wear socks to bed so I can feel the comfort of my soft blankets against my feet after a long day of wearing socks.

Results from @thehuronemery Instagram page with 184 responses. GRAPHIC BY SATVIKA

GRAPHIC BY ELLA YIP

Huron students’ favorite socks are...

Crew

Trainer

No show

Ankle

RAMANATHAN

Rats fall to the Eagles

3 4

for

3. Junior defender Solana Peralta looking for a clear as she takes the ball up the field with a Skyline attacker pressuring her. “When I defend, I keep my eyes on the ball and mind one step ahead of the opponent,” Peralta said. “That’s all there is to it.”

4. The first half comes to a close. Juniors Izzy Caddell, Anna Schneider, Eliana Esteva, and Min Coulombe walk off the field.

5. Junior goalkeeper Eliana Esteva saves a Skyline cross. “This was a tough game,” Esteva said. “But I managed to save all [shots] except one, and it really showed my abilities as a goalkeeper.”

6. Rushing up the field as Huron is on a fast break towards the Skyline net is senior Ashley Meath. “My mind is always very blank when I dribble towards the net,” Meath said. The Rats lost 0-1 to Skyline.

1. Junior midfielder Kelsey Sinkiewicz dribbling up the pitch, scanning for a passing option as a Skyline defender pressures her.

2. Senior attacker Ashley Meath winding up

a shot in the center of the Skyline net.

PHOTOS BY OMAR ABDUL-HAK, MELINDA MEI, ROWAN GRENIER

Gliding to Greatness: Huron figure skating championships

championships, skaters undergo rigorous schedule,

Trekking the road to state championships, skaters all pull their stories in tow. Hauling skating dreams ignited at a young age. There are moments that make a skater; taking only a few minutes to that spark their ambition,

“I watched this other girl, [and she had] a really pretty sparkly…glittery… flouncy…dress and I was like, this is it.” senior and team captain Elise Meints said.

Skaters from all four Ann Arbor Public schools gilded their way to the State Championship, the team returned with fourth (team B) and seventh (team A) places in their team events. To give a scale for how stiff the competition is, 12 of the best teams in the state are all participating.

“States is the biggest highschool competition of the year, with the top twelve teams in the state participating,” sophomore Victoria Wilkenson said.

Competing in State Championships, skaters compete in individual events to be scored. These points then add up to a team score. But reaching these feats bloom from immense amounts of pressure on the individual. Building up to state

“We practice at 6:30 A.M before school twice a week leading up to States,” Wilkins said. “I practice up to 25 hours a week, wake up at 4:30 A.M in the morning to skate before school, and have done an uncountable amount of “school sandwiches” - my mom and I’s nickname for skating before and after school.”

But this kind of dedication to figure skating provides more than enough of its own challenges,

“Preparing for competitions with this event is whenever I move up a level my coach has to change jumps and spins to make them harder,” freshman

Rebeka Muthyala said.

“A 2-minute 30-second program gets really tiring so it’s so important to build up stamina.”

Skaters are not exempt from typical athletic anxiety “You have to be that precise and that good,” Meints said. “It takes a lot. We have a lot of just general team frustration because people fall over and then we also have somebody tear their ACL.”

Skaters endure this dangerous sports and the smallest details can make or break a pratice,

“You’re on a slippery surface. You have the unpredictability of the ice, ice quality is

huge,” Meints said.

“The way your blade reacts with that ice changes.”

Not to mention, skaters still have lives outside of practice,

during high school challenges skaters, but the outcome proves to be more than rewarding,

all the stress of National Qualifying competitions, and our rigorous academic and athletic schedules, it can be hard to find the joy in figure skating,” Wilkinson said.

and a lot more relaxed, it gives skaters a great chance stress.”

Outside of

teams,

“Ice time costs a lot of money,” Meints said. “It costs $20 for the hour and that adds up quickly… especially if you skate six to seven times a week.” Skating is an expensive sport. Learning from personal experience, Meints supports young skaters in lighting their own flame for skating, “You can give, like a little six-year-old or sevenyear-old or even like a 12-year-old, their first pair of skates, [and they] are more likely to stay in the sport,” Meints said.

dreams, hauling teammates, the next generation and their own dreams.

But upon return from states, it truly shows what dedication can bring you.

ELLA YIP OPINION EDITOR

Huron Figure Skating Finalists. Photo courtesy of Karen Meints

Elise Meints in her individual photo. Photo courtesy of Meints

Huron Figure Skaters having fun after their competition. Photo courtesy of Meints

Empowering women in the field of sports

Game, Set, Match: Katherine Ma’s Journey in varsity tennis

KIKI CHOI COPY EDITOR

“Green, gold, green, gold, green gold fight fight, green gold fight fight, who fight we fight green gold fight fight -- go rats!”

For Huron’s women’s varsity tennis team, the cheer is a post-quad tradition, and it was no different at the team’s first quad of the 2024 season on April 6. The team came in second against Eisenhower, Walled Lake Northern, and Birmingham Grove, officially placing at a quad for the first time in junior Katherine Ma’s high school career.

“We were second by one point,” Ma said. “Most of our individual flights got first place in their respective flights.”

women’s team’s three captains, Ma has been playing tennis since sixth grade. As a member of the varsity team, she has been playing doubles, which is when players work in pairs to face off against another pair of opponents rather than playing individually, since her freshman year. This year, playing 1 Doubles (the top doubles pair) with her partner, Community High School sophomore Janaki Nallamothu, has proven to be a new and rewarding experience.

Ma explained that tennis flights are like divisions, and a team’s overall points at a quad are the total of all their flights’ wins. The varsity women’s team has not placed for more than three years, so the win was a big accomplishment.

“Overall, I’m proud,” Ma said.

One of the varsity

“I’ve been playing 1 Doubles since freshman year,” Ma said. “Last year my partner was Julie, but she graduated. She wasn’t here for one of the quads last year, so I had an opportunity to play with Janaki. I think we weren’t that good together, but this year individually we both improved, so we play a lot better overall.”

Ma explained that she has formed many close friendships through tennis that have been meaningful for her high school years, and highly recommended joining a sport at Huron.

“I think it’s a great

community,” she said enthusiastically. “In a team, you’re with them every day of the week, so it’s fun. You have friendships and you learn communication. Also, I find it nice to exercise after school.”

Despite tennis being very different from figure skating, which Ma quit just before beginning tennis, she has grown to love the sport and value its role in her life. In the midst of a high school life, which can be stressful and overwhelming, she finds tennis to be grounding and energizing.

“When I play tennis, I feel like it’s very calming,” Ma said. “When you hit the ball, you know what you’re doing through your practice and repetition. Obviously when you do matches, it’s stressful, but it’s just a matter of thinking correctly, like where do I want to place this ball? How hard do I want to hit it? So there’s a lot of fine tuning you have to do in your head, but once you do it, you’ve done it before. I think it’s pretty calming, and it’s a very rewarding experience.”

She especially enjoys playing doubles, because of the teamwork aspect and connection with her partner.

“Usually for girl’s tennis, there are two sets and you have to win both sets,” Ma said, explaining the logistics of tennis. “If it’s a tie, you play a tiebreaker set. [At the quad,]

we lost the first set, so we were getting really nervous. But we ended up coming back and winning the tiebreaker.”

Preferring doubles tennis to singles, Ma described how she enjoys the connection on the court.

“I really like the

feeling of teamwork and communication with your partner,” Ma said. “It’s like having a friend on court, and then you give your strengths to each other to help each other and set your partner up to hit a winning shot.”

From the Diamond to the Court: A journey of female sports visibility

ANNA ESPER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

I have been playing a competitive travel sport since the age of 11. For seven years of my life, weekdays have been filled with hitting lessons, catching pop flies and washing my uniforms. In addition, my parents’ money and time have gone into booking hotels, going to team dinners and sitting in 30 to 90 degree weather. But not until Women’s College Basketball took storm in 2023 did I see support for women’s sports.

Before joining travel ball in sixth grade, I played Rec & Ed since I can remember. My dad played baseball

throughout his life, being a captain for two years at Huron High School. It seems like all of my childhood memories are filled with the background noise of a Detroit Tigers game, so it only made sense I would play softball. A primarily male sport, I wasn’t even sure what softball was. When I was in fourth grade we got to play with softballs for the first time. I had only ever played with a baseball, and had only ever seen baseball. But what came as a bigger shock was the shift to softball, and the change of pitching. My parents have always told me that I can do anything I put my mind to,

no matter my gender or size, which made me want to try pitching. It made sense, my dad was the coach, and I loved softball. Softball pitching is the main difference between the two sports. In simplest terms, softball pitching is in a windmill motion as you stride off the mound. Forcing you to be strong physically, but almost stronger mentally.

So I was a pitcher. And soon after around five months of lessons, I was pitching in my first travel game ever.

As my travel years continued, I gained more skills, met new friends and traveled to new places. I was also beginning to be asked “Who is your favorite softball player?”

This was a loaded question, I had only been able to watch softball at the Michigan Softball Field. But since I didn’t get the correct channels or was asleep by the time the games were aired, I had no idea. I never watched softball the way I watched baseball or football. I never had to watch parties or a specific team’s flag in front of my house.

My answer was always the one player I did

know, Michigan’s former catcher, and now assistant coach Amanda Chidester.

Now in 2024, the Iowa vs South Carolina Wom en’s March Madness Final game has become the most viewed basketball game ever on ESPN. That’s both mens and womens basketball. Names like Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers and Angel Reese have taken over the world.

On April 13, Clark was a guest star on “Saturday Night Live,” paying tribute to the stars that have come before her, and taking the sport into mainstream media.

Now, as I play my last year of travel softball, and the sport of softball itself, I know I can find the sport on ESPN. In addition, on Feb. 10, “Major League Baseball “MLB” Network” aired their first softball games. I now have tons of players I can say are my favorites.

Women’s basketball has given all female sports the ability to be seen, and the opportunity to let little girls know that their dream can come true.

But in addition to

this, Women’s basketball has shown what it means to fail, and what it means to come back from injuries. The spring my junior year I was told I was never going to play softball again due to my shoulder pain. My heart broke, my life felt like it was over. I am lucky to be able to play with the small price of tan lines from my muscle tape. I am also lucky to see other athletes who have shared this heartbreak, and see myself in young women like me.

Over the summer, I will take my last step on the field. I will tie my cleats for the last time, dive for my last ball and hit my last grounder. But, this will not be my last time having the ability to watch women’s sports make a name for themselves.

Although there is a possibility that I lose my last game ever, the six year old girls will be able to watch girls win from any sport all from the comfort of their couches. To me, that is a win forever, and a thank you to womens basketball.

Junior Katherine Ma serving the ball. PHOTO BY JULIA CAIRD

Senior Anna Esper up to bat in July 2023. PHOTO COURTESY OF ANNA ESPER

Tous les Jours

330 S MAPLE RD, ANN ARBOR, MI 48103

Tous Les Jours, meaning “every day” in French (their motto being baked freshly every day), is one of the most well-known bakeries in South Korea, having found its way to cities internationally Now, there’s one right in Ann Arbor! For those of you who’ve never been, we’ve made a basic guide to its most popular and delicious goods.

Popular Drinks

Bingsu

With a refreshing and milky texture, bingsu is the perfect dessert during all seasons At Tous Les Jours, it comes in three different flavors: Mango, strawberry, and red bean

Red Bean Bread

A classic Korean flavor, Red Bean Bread is a staple pastry at any Korean bakery. It helps that Tous Les Jours’ is especially delicious!

Soboro Bread

Soboro bread is a simple sweet bun baked with a peanut streusel on top It’s nutty and not overly sweet, perfect as a side for coffee

by Yuanchen Zhao

Peach Cream Cake

True to its name, a peach cream cake from Tous les Jours is made with fresh peaches sandwiched between fluffy vanilla goodness.

Matcha isn’t usually everyone’s cup of tea- but Tous Les Jours’ is. Smooth and creamy with the right amount of sweetness, you’ll be hooked!

Perfectly sweet with the fragrance of vanilla and coffee roast, this drink is a staple iced coffee that pairs amazingly with Tous Les Jours’ pastries

River Rat Opinions

“I really like the kimchi croquette because the taste reminds me of Korean pancakes It’s also very crunchy because of the deep fried bread ” - Andrew Park, senior

“I love the melon cream bread because it reminds me so much of the melon flavored things from Asia! The strawberry croissant also isn’t too sweet and it’s easily shared between people ” - Myra Jamin, junior

Iced Matcha Latte

Iced Vanilla Latte