Issue 12

TOWER the

Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015 Volume 88 Issue 12 thetowerpulse.net

A WEEKLY TRADITION SINCE 1928

@thetowerpulse

Gross e Pointe S outh, 11 Gross e Pointe B oule vard, Gross e Pointe Far ms, Michigan 48236

Time for a change:

E

ZOE JACKSON ’16 // Page Editor ver since he can remember, clocksmith Phil Wright has been interested in the way things work.

“When I was a kid, and I tell everybody this, if I got a toy that was mechanical, I tore it apart. I wanted to see how it worked. I was just a gearhead. I liked that kind of stuff,” Wright said.

The third generation carpenter and self-taught horologist, or clockmaker, hails from South Charleston, Ohio, where he is the owner of the aptly named The Tower Clock Company.

South Charleston isn’t exactly around the corner from Grosse Pointe, and Wright has been living in South’s S-lot while repairing the clock tower.

“There’s a lot of action,” Wright said, of living in an RV in South’s parking lot for weeks at a time.

It was crucial to have a specialist like Wright working with South’s clock, engineer Michael Torongo said via e-mail.

“The clock tower needed to have worn parts replaced, adjustments to weights and mechanisms and a complete overhaul on the frame,” said Torongo. “We found Phil because I knew that the clock at Greenfield Village was recently renovated, and I found out Phil was the guy that

did it.”

Greenfield Village’s clock tower is very similar to South’s 134foot tower in age, style and mechanics, Torongo said.

Wright became involved in this rare career early on, he said.

“I met a guy who is a steeplejack, the guys that climb around on top of buildings and paint the

When I was a kid, and I tell everybody this, if I got a toy that was mechanical, I tore it apart. I wanted to see how it worked. I was just a gearhead. I liked that kind of stuff.

PHIL WRIGHT HOROLOGIST

little things up on top,” Wright said. “I didn’t want to do that, but he did (clock repairs) on the side, and I got interested in that.”

This same man gave Wright the opportunity to work on a courthouse clock from the next county over, he said. Wright was able to tinker with it and learn how it operated. From there, he was able to start his own business.

Because of his rare expertise, Wright said he travels around in his RV to do different jobs. Living

Historic clock in the tower is restored

in a motor home can come with some surprises.

“One morning I turned the coffee maker on, and it’s worked every day before, but today I have no power at all in the RV,” Wright said.

Overall, though, traveling around to work can be pretty enjoyable, he said.

“I get homesick, but the nice thing about it is that 75 percent of my work is all done at home, and being self-employed is nice too, so I can take a day off whenever I want,” Wright said.

From the three unique times he has visited, Wright has stayed at South cumulatively for close to a month. He said he needed to spend time on South’s clock tower because some of the mechanisms were not working properly, and this necessitated his physical presence.

Problems with the clock have persisted for years, Principal Moussa Hamka said.

“The clock wasn’t keeping the correct time, even when we would reset it, and would lose the time or stop,” Hamka said.

Also, the bell that is supposed to chime on the hour was not chiming, Hamka said. Because of these problems, Wright first came out to South in the early spring.

LIKE CLOCKWORK // Horologist Phil Wright, a third-generation carpenter, examines the gears which cause bells to chime every hour in South’s historic clock tower. Wright is a self-taught PHOTOS BY EMMA RUSSELL ’17 clockmaker.

Visit www.thetowerpulse.net for more on the clock tower repairs.

South, Wayne State to perform joint holiday concert

HOLIDAY TUNES // The band and orchestra posing in Vienna, Austria last year. Most of these students will be performing today in the joint holiday performance. two orchestras have played together, Gross said. The last time was in 2006. ​In the concert, both the South orchestra and Wayne State’s orchestra will play one of Beethoven’s symphonies, Gross said. In addition, each school will perform a holiday piece. South is playing “Christmas Festival” by Leroy Anderson, and the Wayne State Orchestra is performing the music of “The Nutcracker” by Tchaikovsky.

“Each orchestra is performing a classic piece, and coincidentally, the South orchestra is playing Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, and the Wayne State orchestra is playing Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8 ,” Gross said.

Learning Beethoven did not end up being a ma-

jor problem for the students after a The students are excited to There will be two few rehearsals, Sunny Xia ’16 said. play with the Wayne State orBeethoven symphonies “Beethoven was difficult at first, chestra and see some former but as we rehearsed more and got South students, Xia said. and some Christmas a chance to practice the piece indi“I think it will be interestmusic. It will be an vidually, it wasn’t really a problem, ing to have a joint concert with evening of great music. and we’re actually still learning the Wayne State’s orchestra,” Xia piece,” Xia said. “We’re always imsaid. “Especially since at least JAMES GROSS proving each time we rehearse. It’s two of the members are South ORCHESTRA TEACHER a continuous process.” alumni.”

During the concert, both orThe concert starts at 7:30 on chestras will perform their own individual set, Dec. 9 in the auditorium, and it is free.

Gross said. The addition of Wayne State’s orchestra ​“There will be two Beethoven symphonies and does not change the format from a regular concert some Christmas music,” Gross said. “It will be an for the orchestra. evening of great music.”

THIS WEEK AT SOUTH

10

dec.

dec.

09

South Orchestra and Wayne State University will play together today. <see above>

Tomorrow from 3:30 to 5 p.m. there will be a “Hour of Code” in the Media Center for students.

11

dec.

GRIFFIN BROOKS ’16 // Staff Writer ​Tonight the Wayne State University orchestra travels to the South auditorium to perform a joint concert with the high school orchestra.

Wayne State’s orchestra plays throughout metro Detroit at different events, so it was their orchestra professor who initiated the idea for the concert, South orchestra teacher James Gross said.

“The university orchestra is like an ambassador for the university,” Gross said. “They represent Wayne State University when they go out and play in different communities, so they asked if we would be interested in playing a concert with them down here at South.”

This is the second time in the last 10 years the

PHOTO COURTESY OF GPSBO.ORG

The GPS Choir will perform in caroling groups on Friday in the Multipurpose room. <see page 3>

opinion // 2

Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015

South courses, electives set up students for success

T

he opportunity for success provided by South is evident in its high ranking, extracurricular activities and passionate teachers. With a wide range of resources available, students who want to can reach a high level of achievement This is apparent in the notable alumni. From professional athletes to entrepreneurs, the environment at South creates a place that allows students to follow their passions when used effectively.

Rigorous course work, including a variety of AP classes and intriguing electives provide students with an education that allows the opportunity for academic and individual growth when used to the full potential. Over 70 clubs allow students to extend their education beyond the walls of the typical classroom structure. Clubs and activities including Makerspace, Robotics and Young Americans for Freedom put students in leadership positions and allow them to take charge of their education.

Entrepreneurs like Tony Fadell, also known as “one of the fathers of the iPod” was a South graduate who went on to create amazing advancements in technology. In high school, he took a summer programming class that introduced him to the world of technology.

Fadell took advantage of the opportunities handed to him and went on to do great things. The environment provided by South places opportunity like this at students’ fingertips.

Teachers encourage students to reach their full potential by referring them to various summer and afterschool programs.

In addition to education, athletes at South thrive thanks to the hard-work mentality instilled in the classroom and on the field. Various professional athletes have been bred on the fields of South including baseball player Chris Getz who played for the Kansas City Royals and Toronto Blue Jays. Cheering on the athletes is a community that supports the success of its students.

The drama department has also experienced great success. Yearly musicals put on at the level of some Broadway shows demonstrate the emphasis on hard work and dedication in all aspects. The choir, band and orchestra all have earned top honors at competitions whether as individual students or as a whole. Several actors have gone through the South drama department and gone on to be in popular television shows including Lisa LoCicero in General Hospital and Edward Herrmann in Gilmore Girls.

Photography and the arts is another department that creates an environment for success at South. Those wishing to pursue careers in various arts including photography, sculpting and painting can begin their journey in the art studios that are funded more than many other schools.

Behind every club is an adviser who sacrifices their time to build up the passions of students and behind every student is the school

COLLEGE CONFIDENTIAL:

‘Legacy effect’ gives leg up in college acceptance

MY VIEW Scarlett Constand ’16

NEWSPAPER

the

TOWER

STAFF

Applying to college is aggravating, we all know that. Filling out the Common App, touring campuses, digging through statistics--it sucks. Parents, advisors and friends all insist their tips and tricks are the ‘right’ ones, and that they will guarantee you admittance to the college of your dreams.

With so many differing viewpoints, it is almost impossible to know who’s right and who’s just plain wrong. The most commonly heard hint on my end has been what I call “the legacy effect.”

My grandfather earned his graduate degree from the University of Michigan (U-M) and my parents went there for undergraduate school. I’m what my parents call a “legacy.” Naturally, I feel a lot of pressure to get into U-M. I’m hoping to have that legacy on my side, and if anything I’ve heard from my friends and relatives is true, it gives a slight advantage.

Having a legacy seems to give an advantage to students when applying; this, of course, is all according to hearsay, but I for one hope it’s true. Given the chance,

I’ll take the edge.

This makes applying to schools all the more difficult, as all eight Ivy League schools take legacy status into consideration. Yale and Harvard Business School reportedly admitted former president George W. Bush partly based on legacy status.

Controversy on whether Bush had the grades to attend the Ivy Leagues ran rampant, and it was revealed his scores were well below the average scores of those accepted. That begged many questions. His morality and adequacy came under fire, much like other legacies.

Waitlisted or deferred students may feel cheated by students that are a legacy, but the fact of the matter is they don’t know if those students got into school because of their legacy or not. There are so many unique situations when applying to college that it’s impossible to know the exact reason you get into or get rejected from a school.

Maybe disadvantaged students feel cheated or rejected, and it is tough to accept, but they have to realize the legacy effect is just an opportunity some people are afforded.

Schools accept people for a reason, and we can speculate why, but I find it easier to acknowledge that there’s nothing wrong with taking an advantage you’re given.

CARTOON BY ABBY FERRY ’16

OUR VIEW // EDITORIAL

CARTOON BY ABBY FERRY ’16

pushing students to success and to try their best.

Not every student, however, is gifted in an area that can be measured by awards or test scores. Respect is something that helps boost students in their journey to success and respect is something that is highly emphasized at South. Our school has a history of taking students and building them into well-rounded individuals who are ready for the next chapter of their life which for most is higher education at

Participation trophies necessary to promote confidence in youths, teach lessons in perseverance MY VIEW Maren Roeske ’18

Life is hard; granite-cliff-face, insurmountable-challenges, stony-realities hard.

Everyone knows that. College applications and economic hardships are prime examples of the difficulty of life. From a young age, kids are taught this harsh truth, be it from timeouts to failed first grade spelling tests, and now, by the lack of participation trophies being handed out.

The age-old participation trophy, coveted by pee wee soccer players across America, has come under fire from concerned parents who blame it for creating and coddling generations of entitled kids.

The trophies, the opposition claims, send the message that losing is acceptable.

It’s not about trying your best. It’s about winning.

A new advocate for the abolition of the participation trophy is NFL linebacker James Harrison of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who took to Instagram to vent his distaste at the awards after returning the trophies given to his young sons.

“I’m not about to raise two boys to be men by making them believe they are entitled to something just because they tried their best,” Harrison wrote. Their shelves should stay bare, he said, “until they earn a real trophy.”

And this opinion is shared with a growing number of people. According to a recent poll by “Reason,” a libertarian magazine, 57 percent of Americans don’t support partic-

Editor-in-Chief Jennifer Maiorana* ’16

Photo Editor Jennifer Toenjes* ’16

Associate Editors Brenna Bromwell* ’16 Emily Fleming* ’16

Business Managers Alexis Motschall* ’16 Asst. Mackenzie Harrel* ’17

Supervising Editors Gabi de Coster* ’16 Haley Vercruysse* ’16 Lauren Pankin* ’16 Sydney Simoncini* ’16

Online Editors-in-Chief Allyson Hartz* and Olivia Baratta*, both ’16

Page Editors Maggie Wright* and Zoe Jackson*, both ’16 Claire Yeamans*, Erykah Benson* and Jack Holme*, all ’17 John Francis*, Liz Bigham* and Ray Hasanaj*, all ’18

Online Section Editors Scarlett Constand* ’16, Adam Cervone* and Ariana Chengges*, both ’17 Riley Lynch* ’18

Copy Editors Brendan Cauvel*, Hannah Connors*, Julia Fox*, Juliana Berkowski* and Shannon McGlone*, all ’16 Rachel Harris* ’18

the collegiate level.

If a course is not offered at South, students have the chance to take it online as an independent study. This course is paid for by the school and allows for even more diversity in student curriculum.

From extracurricular activities to fundamental personal values, the environment at South provides opportunity for students to make great advancements towards a successful future.

Online Associate Editor Preston Fossee* ’16

Online Copy Editors Lindsay Stanek* ’16 Lily Kubek* ’17 Online Social Media Directors Emma Andreasen* and Zoe Evans*, both ’17

ipation trophies. But that fact is that these people are wrong.

Science supports participation trophies as positive reinforcement for children. A study by Stanford psychology professor Carol Dweck looked specifically at how children are affected by praise. Dweck and her colleagues gave 400 fifth graders a basic IQ test. After taking the test some kids were praised for their natural intelligence, while others for their effort.

The slight change in form of positive reinforcement on the children was remarkable.

When asked to take another test and given the choice between and easier version the students were told they would “surely do well on” or one that was “more difficult but presented an opportunity to learn” the gap was evident. Sixty-seven percent of the kids praised for their natural intelligence chose the easier test while 92 percent of those praised for their effort chose the more difficult one.

The logic many have used to support getting rid of participation trophies, that learning young what a real winner is makes coping with loss later easier, is wrong. The study shows those praised for their innate abilities find it more difficult to cope when they’re actually confronted with losing.

Kids who are praised for their effort rather than their ability tend to strive harder, enjoy activities more and deal with failure in a more resilient way. Participation trophies are about rewarding effort and thus more helpful in building a functional child capable of managing the hardships of life.

Participation trophies don’t send the wrong message. They send the best message by building confidence and self-esteem at a young age. No matter how much

Staff Writers

the phrase “it’s about winning” is thrown around, it’s actually about learning. Sending a kid home empty-handed doesn’t teach them the “valuable” lesson of losing.

It teaches them there’s no value in effort.

American author and education theorist Alfie Kohn labels the mindset underlying the anti-participation trophy movement the “BGUTI” (or “Better Get Used To It”) principle in her book “The Myth of the Spoiled Child”. “BGUTI” is the idea that kids need to experience failure young to get ready for the harsh reality that awaits them in adulthood.

The belief is that facing failure early on, or learning the cruel importance of beating others so they face failure instead of you, better prepares our children for the dog-eat-dog world that is life. But the issue with “BGUTI” logic is that no one needs to be taught failure, they need to be taught a work ethic.

“We’re left wondering why it would help to be brought down to Earth even before one had the chance to soar,” Kohn said in an interview with “The Huffington Post”.

“Those who support BGUTI practices have an obligation to explain how exactly this is supposed to work.

What’s the mechanism by which the sting of a strikeout, or the smack of an undodged ball, or the silence of a long drive home without a trophy, is supposed to teach resilience?”

Participation trophies teach kids a more important lesson than winning or losing or how hard life can be.

They teach kids that engaging and making an effort to do their best has a reward.

These tiny, plastic, gold leaf figurines represent for children the hard work they put forth, work that is worth more than any number of wins.

Adviser Rod Satterthwaite

Abigail Warren, Blair Shortal, Callie Zingas, Christina Ambrozy, Elizabeth Coyle, Gennie “The Tower” is the weekly publication of the Martin, Griffin Brooks, Hadley Diamond, Advanced Journalism classes at Grosse Pointe Hailey Murphy, JD Gray, Jessica Whitney, Jon South High School. It has always been a Theros, Katharine Kuhnlein, Lily Patterson, designated public form of student expression.

Lindsey Clark, Mac Cimmarrusti, Madeline The Tower is located in room 142 in DesNoyer, Olivia Frederickson, Grosse Pointe South High School. Please all ’16 contact us at 313-432-3649.

Anton Mikolowski, Bridget Driscoll, Cam Francis, Charlie Denison, Claire Hubbell, Emma Russell, Gillian Eliot, Jack Froelich, Jack Roma, Mac Welsher, Madeleine Glasser, Mary Grace O’Shea, Michael French, Olivia Sheffer, Sydney Stann and William Muawad, all ’17 Abigail Due, Arianna Paganette, Brennan Zihlman, Cameron Smolen, Chase Clark, Elena Rauch, Evan Skaff, Grace Brandon, John Standish, Kaitlin Nemeh, Katherine Bird, Lauren Thom, Maren Roeske, Margot Baer, Mollie DeBrunner and Liam Walsh, all ’18

Errors Factual errors will be corrected on the opinion page or in news briefs written upon request and verification.

Letters Letters to the Editor are encouraged and will be screened for libel, irresponsibility and obscenity. The Editorial Board may edit or shorten letters as long as the meaning is Opinion Pieces unchanged. All letters must be signed and Editorials represent the majority opinion of include a telephone number for confirmation. the Editorial Board and are left unsigned.

Request to withhold the writer’s name Columns represent the opinions of individual from publication for good reason will be staff members and outside contributors. considered. Letters can be sent to the above email address, or dropped off in “The Tower” Editorial Board Room.

An asterisk * denotes Editorial Board editors.

Advertising Display advertising is sold at a rate of $7 per column inch, with discounts for large or frequent advertisers. Advertising may not advocate illegal activities or contain libelous, irresponsible or obscene material.

Professional Associations Member of the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, National Scholastic Press Association, Quill and Scroll, the Society for Newspaper Design and the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association.

feature // 3

Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015

Peck pops into acting:

English teacher, Danielle Peck makes debut in ‘Mary Poppins’

SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS // English teacher Danielle Peck performs in Mary Poppins, put on by the Stage Crafters of Royal Oak. Peck is located in the back row of dancers and is second from the right.

PHOTO COURTESY OF DANIELLE PECK From the experience, Peck said she understands much more about LIZ BIGHAM ’18 // Page Editor theatre and how much effort it takes to put on South’s productions.

Whether teaching in her classroom or performing on a stage, EnShe said, when people hear theater and choir kids are rehearsing until glish teacher Danielle Peck has a passion for literature. In school, she midnight, they think it’s crazy, but sometimes they have to rehearse teaches her students to analyze and articulate writings. This enthuthat long. siasm has helped her continue her craft for acting as she presents “I also understand the passion they have for their work and it rewritings on a stage. ally is so much fun,” Peck said. “It has also taught me confidence too, Peck’s interest in acting came from a trip she took to the Globe to just learn something well and just own it on stage.”

Theatre in England last summer as part of a program called “TeachActing has strengthened her craft within the classroom too. In ing Shakespeare through Performance.” While in England, she got theater, actors need to embody a character somehow, and people also the chance to work with other actors from the Globe, Peck said. have to do that when studying or teaching English, Peck said.

Following the trip, Peck auditioned for a role in “Mary Poppins” “Acting is looking at text and being able to interpret it, and that is through Stagecrafters in Royal Oak. always what I am asking students to do in the classroom,” Peck said.

“I had never auditioned for a play before and had never been in “So I think the two are very related.” a play, so that was a bit scary, but apparently I was Within her classroom, Peck said students are good enough to not get cut,” Peck said. interested when they find out she is in a play, espePeck’s role as part of the ensemble, consists of Acting is looking at cially students who are performer because it gives her playing a variety of different characters, singing text and being able to them something they can relate to. and dancing. interpret it, and that “So it’s been a neat way to connect with stuRehearsals began almost immediately after she is always what I am dents, and also just a fun thing to tell them about got her part, she said. During Sept. and Oct., pracasking students to do myself because I probably don’t come off as the tices were Monday to Thursday from 7 to 10 p.m. type of person who would do this, just by looking and 3 to 7 p.m. on Sundays. in the classroom. at me,” Peck said.

“It’s a lot of work, but it’s worth it,” Peck said.

DANIELLE PECK One of Peck’s Honors American Literature stuThe cast has put an extreme amount of time, enENGLISH TEACHER dents who was part of South’s production of “Mary ergy and effort into the show, director John Luther Poppins” last year, Elizabeth Rooney ’18, said she said via e-mail. thinks it is cool that Peck is involved with theater.

“These people, who have family obligations, work obligations, etc.

“She helped us better understand ‘The Crucible,’ a play,” Rooney still put in four to five evenings per week and gave of themselves in said. ways it is hard to imagine since none of them get paid for their effort,” Peck said one of her future theatre goals is to perform in a ShakeLuther said. speare play. Before “Mary Poppins,” she looked through every comAs a choreographer and producer, Luther said he prizes performmunity theater’s schedule for Shakespeare, but most of them put on ers who are a triple threat, and this cast have really shown him that musicals or big plays. they all can sing, dance and act well.

“So I thought, ‘Well, I guess I’ll get some stage experience with “This show was incredibly hard to cast since it ran for five weeks “Mary Poppins’,” Peck said. “I loved it, but that is my ultimate goal: to over the holidays and many people who would normally work with do some Shakespeare.” me simply could not make such a long-term and intensive commitThe “Mary Poppins” musical will be performed Dec. 10-13 and ment,” Luther said.

17-20 at Stagecrafters in Royal Oak. Details available at Stagecrafters.

In the end he got an amazing cast and added a great reason to see org. the show is to see how awesome Peck is, Luther said.

Takis receives Distinguished Employee of the Year Award RACHEL HARRIS ’18 // Copy Editor To recognize the impact South band and orchestra teacher Christopher Takis has had on students, he received a Grosse Pointe Public School Systems (GPPSS) Distinguished Employee of the Year Award at the School Board meeting on Nov. 22.

“The impact that he’s had with students has been nothing short of amazing,” Principal Moussa Hamka said. “He goes above and beyond with the number of hours he puts in.”

According to the Guidelines for Nomination, the Board of Education established the Employee Awards Program to recognize and reward distinguished service by employees that have served the district exceeding their daily employee responsibilities.

Nominations can come from staff members in the district, parents in the community or anyone who works in the school system.

Hamka said that Takis surpasses the number of hours needed and is always willing to take students under his wing.

“More than the hours is the impact that he has and the work that he has done with bringing back the marching band,” Hamka said. “He goes above and beyond to make sure students are getting the instruction, and if they’re not getting it, he intervenes and helps them out to get them where they need to be.”

Nominations for South teachers are first sent in, then Hamka reviews them and determines if they meet the criteria list set forth by the district. A district level decision determines those who will be receiving the award from the nominations.

“My parents nominated him for the award because they just thought that he was a really great teacher because he spends so much of his free time arranging music for students,” Devon Krasner ‘17 said. “He made some of our arrangements for marching band, and he just puts so much time into the extra stuff, like marching band and jazz band.”

After hearing that he was nominated and that several parents had sent in letters to nominate him for the award, Takis was honored and surprised, he said.

One of the reasons why Takis was nominated for the award was his efforts in bringing the marching band back to South, and the impact that it has had on students, Hamka said.

“He wants us to be the best version of our band,” Krasner said. “He wants us to sound good and be proud of what we are doing.”

If a student is going through a rough time, Takis is always there to make South a safe space for kids to come back to, Hamka said.

“On numerous occasions, Mr. Takis has demonstrated his willingness to take a group of students under his wing and really make sure that they are looked after,” Hamka said.

The students are a large part of the reason why Takis loves working at South.

“The students are so driven,” Takis said. “As far as being a band director, our kids are driven to succeed at South. The students want to be the best at everything that they do.”

Takis said that he is very honored to know that people observe his contributions to South.

“It is nice to know that your hard work and the extra things you do don’t go unnoticed by a lot of people,” Takis said. “It is nice to have people notice what you do and to get valued for the work that you do and the work that you put in.”

owner

16900 Kercheval Ave. (313) 647-0525

Jennifer K. Mertz, DDS, MS

18136 Mack Ave. Grosse Pointe 313.881.5890 www.grossepointeortho.com

Christiane Larue www.Christianelarue.com

17114 Kercheval Ave., Grosse Pointe City, MI 48230 313-264-1254

feature // 5

Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015

life without A look into what it is like to be colorblind and the challenges some people face

O

JON THEROS ‘16// Staff Writer

ne day after kindergarten, chemistry teacher John Theisen brought a picture of an apple tree he colored home to his parents. Except this tree had red leaves and green apples. But this wasn’t just Theisen’s imaginative interpretation of an apple tree. To him, this was reality.

“My mom looked at it and said, ‘I think we have a little situation here,’” Theisen said. “So we went to the optometrist, and he gave me the standard dot number test, and the only ones I could see well were the ones only color blind people can see.”

Theisen is one of about 250 million people in the world who have some variation of colorblindness, and this is a possible dilemma they may face, according to colourblindawareness.org.

The most common cause of colorblindness can be found in some kind of inherited defect in the color-sensing cones and rods in the retina of the eye.

While rods are mainly for low light white-and-black, cones are responsible for color differentiation.

Colored light all have wavelengths associated with them and the cones detect these wavelengths and signal to the brain which color is entering the eye, according to colourblindawareness.org.

There are blue, green and red cones found on a retina. The exact defects that cause color blindness aren’t perfectly known, however, it is known that it is caused by either defective cones, an incorrect interpretation by the brain or both.

According to Biology teacher James Adams this mutation is more common Sometimes I have to in males because it is an X -linked ask a clerk or a family member what I’m actually recessive inherited trait. Males buying before I buy it … I have an X and a even have to label certain Y chromosome, shirts. so if the X chromosome they KEVIN COX have has the colENGLISH TEACHER orblind mutation, they will be colorblind. This contrasts with females who have two X chromosomes and therefore will still see normally even if they have the one X chromosome with the mutation.

Females tend to be carriers for this reason.

Conceptualizing what exactly colorblind people see can be hard to picture Max Portwood ’16 said.

“I find it difficult to picture exactly what (colorblind people) are seeing that’s different than what I see,” Portwood said. “I’ve never understood whether it was a different color they see or none at all.”

Theisen is able to give a view of what exactly he sees.

“I think I see the same as anyone, except that I can’t see certain colors such as purple. When things are purple, they appear like a dark or reddish blue, depending on what shade of purple it is,” Theisen said. “I can imagine purple … except sometimes I get colors confused.”

For example, Theisen said when he watched the Bills play the Jets last week in their Color Rush game (one color uniforms), he was confused.

“To me, both teams were wearing the same color uniform with white helmets,” Theisen I learned early on that said. “The craziest if there’s going to be a thing is when they situation, especially one showed someone from just the that involves purple, I’m Bills, the uniform gonna need help. would look red, JOHN THEISEN and when they CHEMISTRY TEACHER showed someone from just the Jets, the uniform would look green. Yet, when I looked at a full field shot, they all looked green.”

English teacher Kevin Cox is red-green colorblind.

Cox said he finds it sometimes slightly more challenging to drive, specifically when the stoplights are turned horizontally rather than vertically. He also said picking clothing can be a challenge. In fact, Christmas becomes somewhat gloomy, he joked, because the chief colors of Christmas appear like dull grays to him.

“I do have to pay attention to stoplights more, depending on what color range they have,” Cox said.

“There’s also some other colors I don’t see, so sometimes I have to ask a clerk or a family member what I’m actually buying before I buy it … I even have to label certain shirts.”

In terms of teaching, Cox doesn’t think being colorblind has a big effect on him, but he said there are certain units he teaches that are more difficult.

“With visual argument units and explorations in different classes, I almost always defer to the students to help me discern certain things,” Cox said.

Both Cox and Theisen said being colorblind has never held them back from doing anything major they’ve wanted to do.

“I don’t think it has affected my life in any important way other than poor clothing choices occasionally,” Cox joked.

Theisen agrees.

“I wouldn’t say being colorblind has held me back at all … I learned early on that if there’s going to be a situation, especially one that involves purple, I’m gonna need help.”

The different types of colorblindness:

Normal vision

Protanopia

No working red cone cells

Want to test if you’re colorblind? If you can read the word in the dots in the headline (“color”), you’re not.

Deuteranopia No working green cone cells

Tritanopia Blue/yellow colorblindness

Information courtesy of the NATIONAL EYE INSTITUTE Graphics by BRENNA BROMWELL ‘16

feature // 4

n o s a

e s e is th

‘t

Choir concert celebrates classics LILY PATTERSON ’16 // Staff Writer Kicking off the holiday season, South choir will be putting on its annual Sounds of the Season concert and caroling later this week.

The concert is Thursday, Dec. 10 starting at 7 p.m.

“It’s kind of a smaller concert, but it’s really fun because it’s all Christmas songs,” choir VicePresident Alissa Martin ’16, said.

“We’ve been preparing for it since after our fall concert, Fall Follies, so we’ve been singing Christmas songs for a while.”

The concert’s focus on holiday music is not the only thing that sets it apart from the other shows put on by the choir, Martin said.

“It’s less show choir music, less dancing and more singing. It’s more classical music,” Martin said. “It’s less of a production and more focusing on the music.”

Choir director Chris Pratt said the performance is a blend of different types of music as well.

“The choirs do a combination of concert music that they will be performing at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in a couple weeks, as well as some fun holiday numbers

Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015

GRAPHIC BY MAGGIE WRIGHT ’16

that everyone knows from their childhood,” Pratt said.

It will also feature traditions that have continued throughout the years, such as Santa Tap and inviting the alumni in the audience to sing the “Hallelujah Chorus” with the choir.

Tickets are $9 for students. Nonstudent tickets cost $12 for balcony seating and $15 for orchestra seating and can be bought online at gpsouthchoir.org or at Posterity in The Village.

The evenings following the Sounds of the Season concert, the choir has their first of two nights of caroling.

Choir students are divided into two groups the nights of Dec. 11 and Dec. 12 to carol at homes who have requested them, Pratt said.

Pratt said the carols are prepared ahead of time in class.

“We’ve been rehearsing off and on in class, and this next week they will spend a little time after school in their groups practicing together, and then they will go out on Friday and Saturday,” Pratt said.

Carolers can be ordered online or by calling the choir office at (313) 432-3638.

T

JACK HOLME ’17 // Page editor o provide fifth graders with an introduction to South’s musical programs, band and orchestra will perform its annual winter concerts, Band-O-Rama and String Extravaganza, next week.

Both performances incorporate musicians from 5th-12th grade. At Band-ORama there will be 130 high school band students, 160 middle school students and 100 5th graders, band teacher Christopher Takis said.

“Band-O-Rama is a fun night. It’s a showcase from all the band students from the South end of the district from grades five through 12,” Takis said. “It’s usually a pretty fun performance to watch.”

Takis tries to make the show entertaining for the audience every year, he said.

“It’s (also) for us to show the younger students what it’s going to be like when the elementary students get to middle school and the middle school students get to high school,” Takis said.

There are going to be many different bands performing at Band-O-Rama, band member Seth Adams ‘17 said.

“From South there’s going to be concert band, symphony band, jazz band and marching band,” Adams said. “Then the middle school bands, so Brownell and

Band and orchestra tune into the holidays

Pierce, and also the fifth grade bands. It’s a huge band fest.”

This year Band-O-Rama is before the holidays, so holiday music is incorporated. The band is playing “Sleigh Ride,” which is an easy piece, Adams said.

“The marching band will start it off and they’ll play music from their James Bond halftime show,” Takis said. “You’ll hear the Jazz Band play, and they’ll play some music from Charlie Brown and a couple Christmas carols, and the high

It’s a wonderful display of the progression students make from their beginning.

JAMES GROSS

ORCHESTRA TEACHER

school concert band and the symphony band will play a medley of Journey songs.

It should be a good time.”

In addition, the strings have a concert the day after.

Ever since the last concert in November, Pops and Pastries, the orchestra has been preparing for this one, chamber or-

chestra member Alex Fahle ‘18 said. “(The orchestra will perform) ‘Andante Festivo’ with the North orchestra, by Jean Sibelius, a Finnish composer,” Fahle said.

“We are also performing a string adaptation of ‘A Leroy Anderson’s A Christmas Festival.’ The Chamber orchestra will play ‘Bach’s Heir,’ and a piece by Ottorino Respighi, an Italian composer.”

North and South will perform a piece together as well. “(Highlights include) the combined Orchestras in Leroy Anderson’s Christmas Festival and all 500+ students performing ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ en masse,” orchestra teacher James Gross said via-email.

The String Extravaganza encompasses all of GPPS system’s orchestra students.

“It’s a wonderful display of the progression students make from their beginning in elementary school through middle school, culminating in their high school performances,” Gross said.

Both Band-O-Rama and String Extravaganza give perspective to younger students about what the music program entails as they get older, Gross said.

Band-O-Rama is Dec. 14 and String Extravaganza is Dec. 15 at 7 p.m. in the main gym. Entry to both concerts will be free.

WALKING IN A WINTER WONDERLAND: Mothers’ club holiday walk to raise money for three different purposes KATHARINE KUHNLEIN ’16 // Staff Writer Decking the hallways with boughs of holly, the Mothers’ Club held their biennial Holiday Walk on Sunday, Dec. 6.

A tradition since 1996, the walk is an event in which community members visit Cleminson Hall and homes around Grosse Pointe that are decorated for the holiday season, co-chair Donna Satterfield said. The six houses on the 2015 Mothers’ Club Holiday Walk are located on Whittier, Kensington, University, Lincoln, Stratford Place and Harbor Hill.

One of the featured homes is on Kensington, owned by the Muawad family.

Amy Muawad said she was asked by co-chair Peggy Shine about a year ago if she would consider opening her home for the walk, and she realized she would need to prepare, she said.

“I have prepared for about a year, mostly because I was buying stuff. It took me until the springtime to tell them I would do it, but I was thinking about it,

so I was buying things after Christmas on sale with iday Walk, Satterfield said. the idea,” Muawad said.

Mothers’ Club President Laura Huebner overBeing a participating house on the walk required sees all Mothers’ Club events, including the Holiday a lot of work, Muawad said.

Walk.

“Helping raise funds for the Mothers’ Club and “The money made from the event depends on seeing so many of my friends and people I haven’t the weather. It can drastically change if it is raining,” seen in awhile all in one day made it all more than Huebner said. “The money made for this event goes worth it,” Muawad said. to three initiatives: college scholarships, classroom The community members enenrichment and preservation of joyed the walk and the sense of South’s historic building.”

The money made holiday spirit it adds to the comIn previous years, the choir for this event goes munity, Satterfield said. In Clemand orchestra have played in to three initiatives: inson Hall, there were 16 vendors Cleminson Hall, the music has college scholarships, and over 30 table-top trees decoadded a nice feature to the event, classroom enrichment Huebner said. This year the choir rated for sale.

There is a small committee of sang, adding some music to the and preservation ... “ 12 to 15 people who organize the event.

Holiday Walk, but there are more Cathy Cornell, a parent, who LAURA HUEBNER than 60 volunteers who work at went on the walk for the first time Mother’s Club President the houses on the day of the Holthis year, with no expectations,

just as something fun to do, she said.

“This year I had a lot of fun. Next time I’m bringing my sister,” Cornell said. “I have only been to one house, but seeing what everyone else does to make their house special is fun.”

People enjoy the houses presented on the Holiday Walk because it puts them in the holiday spirit, Satterfield said.

Attendees can go to as many houses as they want in any order featured on the walk, Satterfield said. A map was printed on the back of each ticket to display where each house was located.

Each house has a different environment and showcases different traditions attendees can view, Muawad said.

“I think it is a great event,” Muawad said. “I always go on it, and it gets you in the Christmas spirit.

It also motivates you to decorate whether you are featured in the walk or attending.”

Canning with grandma “dee” sales@grandmadee.com 586-850-2452 Macomb, Michigan

“Grandma has you covered”

VILLAGE PALM perfect holiday gifts!

17112 Kercheval Avenue Grosse Pointe, MI, 48230 313.882.7256 | shopvillagepalm.com

Like us on Facebook!

sports // 8

Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015

Girls hockey team sets goals

PHOTO COURTESY OF EMMA FRAME ’16

SHANNON MCGLONE ’16 // Copy Editor Though the girls and boys programs play on different teams, the expectations remain the same: to win. Both girls and boys South hockey programs expect a solid 15-16 season, following weeks of vigorous training and team building on and off the ice.

Girls varsity hockey has won the state championship 10 times in the last 15 years, most recently in the ’14-’15 championship, and often consecutively.

They are a Division 1 high school team.

“I think we’re expecting a lot, coming off of last year,” Emma Frame ’16 said.

Currently 0-0, they is the team’s sheer number: 32 athletes are scheduled to play of varying experience but equal passion, There are high Cranbrook Jan. 9.

Frame said. But despite their size, the team expectations set for us “There are high exhas a supportive, close relationship. from the other teams in pectations set for us The Blue Devils also employ seven from the other teams coaches to meet the demand of so many the division in the division,” Frame students, Frame said.

EMMA FRAME ’16 said. “We’ve only prac“I think with such a big group, considticed for three weeks, ering the sport is no cut, it’s important to and I’ve already seen huge improvement.” have so many coaches,” Frame said.

This is her third year playing for the Blue Devils.

With so many different levels of experience of One of the most unique attribute of her team the team, the coaches break them in groups based

on skill level.

Girls hockey coach, social studies teacher Chris Booth, said he feels confident about the future of his team. He is in his third year as a part of the organization.

“The unique thing about our team is that we build a program-- you can be a great hockey player, or you can be a girl who just started out--all the girls are on the same team. I love coaching,” Booth said.

Their biggest rivals this season are Cranbrook and Grosse Pointe North, Booth said.

Ski club goes uphill New transportation methods and social media for the Ski and Snowboard Club

GLIDING INTO FIRST // Celeste Franke-Joyce ’16 practices her skating routine. The team pracPHOTO COURTESY OF LORY LAROSE tices at St. Clair Shores Civic Arena every morning at 6:40.

Skating team laces up for new season HADLEY DIAMOND ’16 // Staff Writer Placing third at its first meet on Dec. 1, the Grosse Pointe South’s skating team hopes each of its members improves as a skater but more importantly has fun according to Caitlin Miller ’18.just had their first meet on Tues, Dec.1, placing third overall.

The season started one of two months ago, Ally Maiuri ‘16 said, and it ends around February depending on whether or not the team advances to States.

There are three competitions during the season, and so the skaters have about one each month.

The team practices every Monday morning at 6:40 at the St. Clair Shores Civic Arena. They are under the instruction of Claire Ladue, one of the coaches at the civic arena.

“She’s a good coach,” Caitlin Miller ‘18 said.

“She lived in Britain for a while, the UK, and she was on their Disney on Ice, and then she toured with them, and then she came o v e r here.”

A typical practice starts with an off-ice warm-up, like running, followed by an on-ice warm-up. Then the skaters are separated into A, B and C groups to work on what each needs to individually with Coach Claire.

Where a skater is placed on according to A, B and C teams is based on skill level. C team is of the lowest skill level, and A is the highest you can be.

Once a skater passes a test, which include jumps, spins, and moves, her position will move up. A skater can be in different levels for different elements too.

“If you pass your moves test, you can be on B

team moves and C team jumps, or A team jumps and B team moves,” Miller said. “It kind of just depends on your testing.”

The team is no-cut, but the ability to perform basic skating is expected. Along with that, there is a skating requirement in addition to the Monday practices.

“To be on the team, we just ask that you have some skating experience and that you’re skating at least two other times a week on your own,” Maiuri said.

A majority of the skaters, especially the higher teams, skate all year round, but there isn’t any official training in the off- season.

“I skate all year round, and a lot of the other girls do too, which is kind of like the pre-season, I guess,” Miller said. “We need a requirement of two extra hours off of the Monday morning, and a lot of the C team girls are doing that, but they didn’t really skate all year round.”

The team’s main goal for the season is to advance to States, with the competition aspect just beginning.

“Well we just started, but I think that we have a really strong team this year considering how many people left last year,” said Maiuri. A lot of people stepped up to the plate and are doing really well.”

The A and C team, and possibly the B team, will qualify for States by default. In the district South is a part of, there sometimes aren’t enough teams for the need to have an actual competition.

The team loses skaters every year, whether it be from graduation or people just not coming back.

Most of the losses from just leaving are from the C team, but a considerable number amount stayed this year.

There are a large amount of graduating seniors this year as well, so there will be many losses next season.

“I feel like we’re gonna do good. We have a lot of graduating seniors, so we want to make it a good year for them too,” Miller said.

Maiuri has been on the team since freshman year, and she has mixed emotions about it being her last season.

“It’s exciting because I get to share it with a bunch of other people that I have been for the past four years, but it’s also kind of like sad because I won’t get to do it after high school,” said Maiuri. “It’s just a really good way to connect with people we didn’t necessarily know were skaters.”

The team wants to make sure every skater learns something, and having a good time and enjoying skating is a huge part of the experience, Miller said.

“We don’t try to get that competitive, but for States, we will try hard and see what we can do,” Miller said.

WILLIAM MUAWAD ’17 // Staff Writer Creating a website and using buses instead of carpools are just a few of the changes South’s Ski and Snowboard Club has made this year to drum up more interest and excitement around the club and get more students involved.

The switch to public transportation may be the biggest and most important of the changes made, first year member Nicholas Bojarczyk ’17 said.

“We are trying to get buses this year, so we can all bus instead of a carpool,” Bojarczyk said.

“The advantage of it is that we can fit more people and we don’t need to have carpools and student reliability.”

The change to buses has been made in an attempt to unify the club and its members, science teacher and club adviser Lisa Bouda said.

“The advantage of buses is that you are much more cohesive and the cliques go away,” Bouda said. “You have got an hour ride both ways to meet people. You don’t have to arrange your own ride.”

The buses will take We are trying to get members buses this year, co we to nearby can all bus instead of a ski resorts, B oj arc z y k carpool said.

NICHOLAS BOJARCZYK ’17 “ W e have been deciding to go to ski at Pine Knob, Mt. Holly and Mt. Brighton,” Bojarczyk said. “So pretty much the three ski resorts near us.”

Along with buses, another change the club has made this year is creating its own website and merchandise, club president Ethan Reeside ’17 said.

“Also new this year we have a website (www. southskiandboard.com), and on that website we have a store where you can by South Ski and Snowboard Club apparel,” Reeside said.

Besides the website, the club is also available on other social media, like Facebook and Twitter, Bouda said.

“The website is really cool,” Bouda said. “We have a lot of electronic media like We have a lot of Facebook, electronic media like Tw itte r Facebook and Twitter and all of LISA BOUDA that stuff. I Ski Club Advisor think that will be a good way to keep in touch; forms can be uploaded from the website. It will be a good source for parents and students to look at and just to get our club’s information out there.”

In addition to expanding the club’s reach through their website and social media, the club also hopes to expand into other aspects of skiing, Reeside said.

“This year we are hopefully going to be skiing every weekend and we are going to have other skiing-based things going on too, like having waxing sessions where we can teach people how to wax their skis or snowboards,” Reeside said.

The expansion and publicity of the club has had an impact on the number of students interested in the club, Reeside said.

“Last year, our most-attended meeting didn’t even have 20 people,” Reeside said. “At our first meeting (this year), we already had 50 people, which is fantastic.”

South’s Ski Club is a great chance to ski with your friends and just have fun, Reeside said.

“Being in the club is just an amazing experience,” Reeside said. “It is super fun to ski with all of your friends. People aren’t judging you on your skiing level, you can just ski.”

South’s Ski and Snowboard Club meets in room 254 every Wednesday after school until there is no more snow.

HIT THE SLOPES // Gabi de Coster, Haley Vercruysse, and David Koelzer, all ’16, ski and snowboard at Mt. Brighton with the ski club. The club meets in Lisa Bouda’s room once a week.

PHOTO COURTESY OF GABI DE COSTER ’16

feature // 6

Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015

CAM GIBSON JENNIFER TOENJES ’16 // Photo Editor

If baseball could be played on ice, that’s what Cam Gibson ’12 would have done. Unfortunately, skating for a home run just doesn’t have the same ring.

Cam Gibson, son of Kirk Gibson, is following in the cleat-shaped footsteps of his father, Kirk, who is a Fox Sports Detroit baseball colorman and a retired baseball icon who played for the Detroit Tigers as well as the Los Angeles Dodgers and coached for the Arizona Diamondbacks. During his time at South, Cam began his baseball career even though hockey took up 10 months out of the year while baseball only took up two, Gibson said.

Because travel hockey took up a lot of his time, Gibson had switched from playing on an AAA hockey team to playing for the Blue Devils.

“If he wanted to be a hockey player, he probably could have been a hockey player,” former varsity baseball coach Kevin Schroeder said. “Pretty much anything the kid did, he worked hard for.”

His baseball career began to take off during his third year in high school, Cam said.

“During my junior year at South, I was invited to play baseball at a Michigan State University camp,” Cam said. “I threw for them and could tell it didn’t go very well. Then, I ran and hit for them, and I could tell it went really well.”

Michigan State offered Cam a position on the team after he had played at the camp.

“My dad and I kind of started laughing,” Cam said. “I didn’t even go there expecting to get an offer. Back then, I didn’t really know. I think committing to Michigan State really put things in perspective. I switched hockey leagues and played for South during senior year, and we actually made it to state championships but lost at the last game.”

Varsity baseball coach Dan Griesbaum said he could tell Cam was athletically talented. Even back then, Cam was expected to do great things. ““He hit the ball hard, but he would also strike out early,” Griesbaum said. “But, as he progressed, he just got better, better and better. With Cam, and his dad being who he is, they knew his genetics were there.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF CAM GIBSON ’12

SPARTY // Cam Gibson ’12 at a Michigan State baseball game. He has been on the team throughout his collegiate career and has recently signed with the Detroit Tigers.

CHRIS GETZ

CALLIE ZINGAS ’16 // Staff Writer

Debuting with the Chicago White Sox in 2008, Chris Getz ’02, played major league baseball for six years and now works in the Kansas City Royals front office.

Getz played for the White Sox in 2008 and 2009 and played for the Royals from 2009 to 2014.

His journey to the major leagues consisted of playing for Wake Forest University for one year and University of Michigan for two years before moving on to the minors and finally the majors. After playing South baseball under head coach Dan Griesbaum, Getz played college baseball until his junior year.

“I played second base and was drafted my junior year by the Chicago White Sox in the fourth round after finishing my second year at Michigan,” Getz said.

“Then I played in the minors for three years.”

Getz credits South for giving him both athletic and academic benefits he used to build his success, he said.

“South is a great school academically, so in terms of preparation for college, it certainly gave me a head start to handle my academics,” Getz said. “If I wasn’t going to be able to perform academically, I wouldn’t be able to be on the field in college.”

As far as baseball, Getz said he is thankful for the coaches who helped build his skills at South.

“It was great for my foundation of baseball skills and helping me develop as a player and a person,” Getz said.

John Hackett was Getz’s assistant

Cam and his father had similar builds, so it was only a matter of time until he reached the similar athletic achievements, Griesbaum said.

“My dad was always working, and always managing when I was growing up, so my mom took his place in coming to all my games and giving me some good advice before, and after the games,” Cam said.

Although his father could not be present during some of the games, Cam said, he would call before and after to give mechanical strategies to help him improve.

In addition, Cam’s siblings always made an effort to come to his games, he said. His support system consisting of family and coaches helped him through his high school athletics.

“During the hockey season, I would often get to baseball practice late, or end up having to leave early, but my coaches were always supportive of that,” Cam said. “They really started it for me, and got me into a serious baseball life.”

Cam’s coaches all saw his great potential and motivation to succeed, Griesbaum said.

“I can’t think of anyone who wanted to win as bad as Cam,” Griesbaum said. “He wanted to win more than any other kid on the team.”

JV baseball coach Kevin Schroeder agreed and said Cam was a player who needed motivation, but benefited greatly from it.

“Dad (Cam’s father, Kirk) wanted us to push him. If he was slacking off, he wanted us to get after him a little bit,” Schroedder said. “As he got older, he realized, ‘If I keep going in this game, I gotta work harder. I don’t think he ever stopped working hard.”

Cam said his dedication in high school made him the player and person he is today.

“It made me realize that I want to do this,” Cam said.

“Once I went to college and was by myself, I kinda used what they said to implement in my life.”

During Cam’s freshman year in college, he was playing UCLA in the second week of the season. He said he witnessed a kid throw a 90 mph ball was an immediate shock because he had never been exposed to this level of play.

“The atmosphere is pretty different in the college level,” Cam said.

The past three years, Cam said he cycled into a daily routine of waking up, working out, going to class, studying, and then going to practice.

“Then I’d look at the clock, it’s 10:30 at night, and I’m just getting back to my apartment, realizing I have to get up at 7 a.m. and do it all over again the next day,” Cam said.

After recently signing with the Tigers, Cam’s student life became more flexible, he said. The athletic load became spread out during the summer season, and he was able to become closer to a regular student life.

“I play my season with the Tigers in the spring/summer, and right now during the fall and winter I go back and take classes during the off-season because I don’t have to play baseball,” Cam said.

Griesbaum said Cam’s hard work will be vital to his future as a major league player.

“I’d say the confidence part is so important. You have to use failure as a learning experience, work hard, and focus on developing the mental game,” Griesbaum said.

Although the development of a young athlete is tedious, as well as intense, Cam’s commitment to baseball propelled his further developing career, he said.

He said, “I would not have made it this far if those guys didn’t give me the opportunity to play for South. My ultimate dream is to win the World Series with my hometown team, so far I’m on track to do that,” Gibson said. “Now I just have to put in the work to get there.”

coach and has coached alongside head coach Dan Griesbaum for 23 years.

“Coach Griesbaum has an excellent rapport with players, is an outstanding role model and knows how to teach the game of baseball as well as anyone I know,” Hackett said, “including the mental preparation which is extremely important.”

While at South, Griesbaum said he could see many qualities in Getz that a player needs to excel.

“He had great athleticism, a tremendous arm, quick bat, great foot speed and a tremendous work ethic,” Griesbaum said. “He was a true 5-tool player, and remained humble with a quiet confidence.”

Hackett agrees with Griesbaum about his qualities.

“He was always the first one to the field and the last one to leave, Hackett said. “He strived to be the best baseball player he could be, was extremely confident, but never cocky. He had great speed, a very strong arm and a love for the game.”

Both of Getz’s coaches were supportive and led him to success.

“Their guidance and coaching gave me a head start to accomplish what I did in college and then eventually professional baseball,” Getz said.

When Getz made it to the majors in 2008, Griesbaum attended Getz’s first major league game. In the eighth inning, Getz went up to bat for the first time.

“There was a man on second and Chris hit a line drive through the middle for an RBI single in his first major league at bat,” Griesbaum said. “We went as crazy as his parents did. I remember it like it was yesterday. His face was all over the Jumbotron at Comiskey

WHERE A The Tower catches up with EVAN BREEN LILY PATTERSON ’16 // Staff Writer

Making the world laugh in six seconds is second nature for Evan Breen ’06.

Breen is known for comedy videos on the social media app Vine, where he currently has 1.1 million followers. Despite his PHOTO COURTESY OF VINE.CO/EVAN69BREEN

VINE STAR // Evan Breen ’06 in the middle of one of his Vine videos. He currently has 1.1 million followers and over one billion “loops,” or plays.

Park.”

Getz said this was his most memorable moment in the major leagues.

“It happened in front of 25,000 people in Chicago. I got a base hit my first at bat and a standing ovation,” Getz said. “That first time at bat is a culmination of everything. It’s something you dream of as a little kid: to have everything come together into a surreal moment.”

Getz retired from baseball in 2014.

Shortly following his retirement, he said he was offered and accepted a position in the Royals’ front office.

As far as advice to future baseball players looking to be recruited for college or professional baseball, Getz said hard work and getting exposure is the key.

He said, “ot is important to play hard and respect the game.

You need to expose yourself and go to camps and college showcases as much as possible, and if you love the game you should play wherever you can in hopes of moving up in the future.”

SY TE UR ’02 O C Z O ET OT S G PH HRI C

OF

SLIDING INTO HOME // Chris Getz ’02 scoring his first home run while playing for the Kansas City Royals.

Getz played for the Royals for five years after playing for the White Sox for two.

success in this area, Breen said he did not originally intend to pursue a career in comedy or acting.

“This was a total accident. I meant to go into business, and I just couldn’t mentally do it,” Breen said.

After graduating from South in 2006, he went to Western Michigan University where he dropped out halfway through his sixth year.

“I didn’t really know what I

wanted to do in college, so I finally just stopped taking classes,” Breen said.

After dropping out of Western, Breen worked odd jobs and found himself bored most of the time. Then, he came across a video on Twitter that redirected him to the Vine app.

He began making his own Vines, feeling content if he got 20 likes on a video. Suddenly, his videos became more popular.

“Two or three big accounts revined me, and I hit 1000 (followers) and then 5000, and then I started taking it more seriously,” Breen said. “It happened kind of overnight, and it’s still really odd.

It makes me kind of uncomfortable sometimes.”

Breen said people often recognize or approach him when he is out in public, which is something he is still not used to.

“It makes me uncomfortable having people always coming up to me,” Breen said. “I’m not very extroverted or animated. Whenever people meet me in person, I feel like they’re disappointed.”

Although he can sometimes be spotted in Grosse Pointe, Breen moved to Los Angeles, Calif. when he was 25 and now goes back and forth between Grosse Pointe and L.A. “L.A. is so different. Here, the expectation is you get an education, you go to school, like college or trade school,” Breen said. “Out

there, it’s more realistic to actually doing what you want, and that was kind of a weird thing.”

Most of Breen’s work is done through social media and therefore can be done in either location.

“Most of the work I do is on social media, and it’s kind of on my own terms. I don’t really have much of a schedule or very many commitments,” he said. “To me, it gets kind of depressing, getting money for not doing anything really structured.”

His work on social media extends beyond his popular videos on Vine. He, along with writer friends of his, get together for hours at a time to sit and write together, writing scripts to pitch to networks as pilots and ghost writing for parody twitter accounts..

Although he has always been interested in comedy, Breen never actually participated in any comedy-related events when he was at South.

“I always wanted to be on SNL and I was obsessed with Second city, but I never really did anything about it,” Breen said.

A friend of his started Second Suburb, a comedy show focused on South staff and students, which he badly wanted to be a part of but was stopped by his stage fright.

“I didn’t want anyone I knew to ever watch me. I still can’t get up on stage. I’ll probably eventually have to do it, but I have really bad stage fright,” Breen said.

Although he never participated in theater at South, he took two or three acting classes with drama teacher Meaghan Dunham and would occasionally do improv at local theaters.

Breen said he does have fond memories of his time at South playing hockey, golf and baseball and although he understood what he was being taught in his classes, he always had some difficulty completing his schoolwork.

He preferred writing on his own to any kind of work that he was assigned.

“I guess I just kept doing my own thing, which is writing, and it eventually paid off,” Breen said.

“It’s weird how it all kind of fell into place.”

He now spends most of his time doing what he enjoys, writing. Although he still enjoys Vine, he prefers writing for other platforms.

“Vine was cool because it taught me a lot, and initially it was super fun,” Breen said. “It still is, but I like writing a lot more. It’s more fulfilling. You get more out.”

Breen said he enjoys making videos for Vine but knows that it won’t last forever.

“It’s fun I guess. I just know that this Vine thing isn’t permanent, so I’m trying to utilize the window while I have it,” he said.

As much as he enjoys what he does, there have been times when Breen wished he lead a more typical life.

“I remember I told myself that I just want a normal job, that I just want to work at a desk or work a day job, and have hours, and get married, and have a kid and a dog, and just be normal” he said.

Overall, he is proud of what he has been able to accomplish on his own, though he wishes he would have at least finished college. He plans to go back to school since he only has 12 credits left for his degree, Breen said.

He said, “Despite everything that I’ve done, I think, if you have the opportunity, going to college or finishing it is really, really important. If you finish high school and don’t go, it’s so difficult to actually go in your mid-20s or 30s.”

feature // 7

Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015

ARE THEY NOW? th some of South’s most notable alumni ELLIE OTTAWAY KATHERINE BIRD ’18 // Staff Writer

However, a series of jobs with companies such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Kid Rock have made her an established member of the modeling community.

Ottaway has appeared in music videos for Chris Young, Kid Rock, Big and Rich, Dallas Smith, Mitchell Tenpenny and Sammy Arriaga.

In addition, she has done work with e-commerce clients such as TJ Maxx, Rue La La and Zappos. And while in Miami, Ottaway did catalogue work for international companies, allowing her to travel, which she said is her favorite part of the career path.

“Many people had suggested that I try it (modeling),” Ottaway said. “Junior year of college, one of my friends suggested that I sign to an agency in Nashville. I figured that since I was pursuing music, I could use this as an opportunity to work with professional photographers to use the photos for my music career as well.”

Though her experiences at college directly prompted her to a career in the fashion industry, she said her experiences at South incidentally influenced it through her show choir director at the time, Ellen Bowen.

Ottaway said Bowen suggested she attend Belmont

HAILEY MURPHY ’16 // Staff Writer

For Bradley Foster ’10, running a lemonade stand was the start to an impressive entrepreneurship career.

At age 10, Foster had already started his own computer repair company known as Spark Force, and at age 12, he built his first computer. Once he began high school, he hired his first employee.

“The theme with all of the businesses I’ve start-

ed has been finding something that you are pas- ley’s mother Elaine Foster said. sionate about and turning it into a business,” FosBradley said he has been able to utilize this adter said. vice. After graduating from South, he continued In addition, he also owns a his education at the Wharton restaurant called Mother HubSchool of the University of bard’s Cupboard, owned a waPennsylvania and graduated in ter sports camp in northern 2014 with majors in economics, Michigan and also ran a chaufreal estate and management. feur business in Grosse Pointe “You have to be motivated to during high school. Both of his go through the ups and downs, parents have been supportive in which always happen even all of his endeavors ever since he when you are far along,” Foster was young. said.

“We told him (Bradley) that In Foster’s freshman year at life is 50/50: yes or no. You have the University of Pennsylvania, to take a chance. If you don’t he bought a hotel in Costa Rica take a chance in life, you’re nev- MILLIONAIRE // Bradley Foster ’10 so he could rent it out while he er going to go anywhere” Brad- has been an entrepreneur since age was not there. Three months af-

MIKE TEMROWSKI “QUINN XCII” LILY KUBEK ’17 // Pulse Copy Editor

After graduating from South, Mike Temrowski ’10 has gone on to create a musical alter-ego known as Quinn XCII in hopes of moving to New York City to build an empire where his music reins.

“I can remember being young and listening to old-school Michael Jackson being played around the house,” Temrowski said. “I would just be dancing and just being a little idiot, but I could tell early on that’s where it (his love for music) really started.”

Throughout high school, Temrowski wrote poetry and rap with his friends and began to produce his own music during his freshman year of college, he said.

“I kind of noticed him becoming an artist in high school,” Mike’s sister Lana Temrowski ’16 said. “I found poetry in his room, and I kind of made fun of him for it, but then figured out he liked music and was talented.”

At the time he used his nickname “Mike T” to make music under but then trademarked his name to Quinn XCII. “Quinn came about because I was in a lecture hall and my professor had a guest motivational speaker come in,” Mike said. “He said to live by the acronym Quinn which stood for quit unless instincts are never neglected.”

Mike said he first started creating his own music with another South alumni, Alex O’Neill ’10, also known as Ayokay, who is an aspiring producer.

“It started by in college, I was just strictly recording his music,” O’Neill said. “But then over time my role increased because I learned how to produce and write actual music behind what he (Mike) was

PHOTO COURTESY OF CRAINSDETROIT.COM

BRADLEY FOSTER

reer in this industry if you take things personally.”

Andrew Ottaway, Ellie Ottaway’s dad, wasn’t sure his daughter would make a career out of her modeling until she started spending time at different locations for her career. He thought she would make a career out of singing but the more she got into modeling, the more he said he was convinced.

“At an early age, she was drawn to performance,” Andrew said.

“When she was little, she did ballet. Even though she didn’t like the practices, she loved the recitals. She enjoyed performing in front of people.”

Ellie said has always been lucky to have a supportive and encouraging family who believe in her more than she believes in herself.

Even though her father misses her, Andrew said he understands that there a very few places where modeling takes place, and she needs to travel to these places to make it happen.

“I’m grateful to have met her and can call her a friend of mine,” Roselle-Jefferson said. “She’s going to go so far and have a very successful path in life because I truly believe great EN VOGUE // Ellie Ottaway ’11 in one of her professional shots. things happen to good people She currently is modeling for Wilhelmnia Models and Block and Estella is an amazing perAgency and has been in many professional music videos. son inside and out.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF ELLIE OTTAWAY ’11

Never did Estella Ottaway’ 11 see herself as a model, let alone making a career out of it.

University, a music school in Nashville. If she had never made the decision to move there and pursue music, she said she may not have started modeling as well.

“My breakthrough moment would be when I realized that you don’t have to pretend to be anyone else but yourself in front of the camera,” Ottaway said. “If you pretend to be someone you’re not, the camera can tell. Once you are fully comfortable with yourself, that’s when you will bring forth your best work.”

Ottaway said she has made a lot of friends through modeling and currently lives with a group of girls in Miami who have become some of her best friends, including Jade Roselle-Jefferson.

“As a model, she is strong, gorgeous, and I’m sure very easy and a pleasure to work with,” Roselle-Jefferson said.

Ottaway and Roselle-Jefferson are both signed with Wilhelmnia Models in Miami but have not done a shoot together yet. Ottaway is also signed with Block Agency in Nashville, Tennessee.

“We met Oct. 19, my first day getting to Miami and into the model apartment,” Roselle-Jefferson said. “She had an awesome energy about her, very warm and welcoming. And we instantly connected since we were the only two Americans in the room at the time and the same age as well.”

In the modeling industry you have to have tough skin, Ottaway said. There’s so much competition in Los Angeles, Miami and New York that you have to learn not to take things personally but as a growing opportunity.

“There have definitely been times where I doubt myself, but I have to remember that clients are looking for specific things,” Ottaway said. “Even if they aren’t looking for my specific qualities does not make me a lesser person.

I think a lot of models forget this. You cannot make a ca-

ter purchasing the hotel, it burned down. This was his first experience with the real estate business, and despite the negative outcome, Foster said he was able to learn a lot from the experience, something he advises high school students to do.

“I got to take something and start from scratch and rebuild it into something nice,” Foster said.

Now he has a full-time job with Foster Financial, a real estate development company that he started. And even though he said his hard work has mostly come from self-motivation and drive, Foster also said his family and peers have helped him immensely along the way.

He said, “If you surround yourself by a team of people who believe in what you’re doing and believe in you, it makes it a lot easier to do this kind of thing.”

10. He founded Foster Financial and is currently working there.

singing.”

When “Change of Scenery” came out last year, O’Neill fully produced it, he said. O’Neill wrote all of the instrumental music and later on had Temrowski come over and record lyrics.

“SoundCloud is like YouTube in a sense where we (O’Neill) could literally just upload our music,” Mike said. “It (SoundCloud) has always been a big tool for us when it comes to plays to track how well your music’s doing.”

In addition to SoundCloud, Mike said he also uploads his music to iTunes to be sold. He classifies his music as indie pop, however claims it was a difficult decision to put a label on it.

“For each song somebody buys, I would make only 20 cents since iTunes takes a portion and so does my manager and producer,” Mike said. “When it comes to making money, we make the bulk of it from tours and shows.”

Currently, Mike has one album and three singleson iTunes, he said.

In addition, his song “Another Day in Paradise” currently has 623 thousand plays on SoundCloud.

Mike is currently planning a tour to hopefully launch this spring, he said. He and O’Neill are currently reaching out to other large artists right now to support them on their tours.

“I have individual shows everywhere across the country where I perform,” Mike said. “I am going down to Arizona on Jan. 22 for a small prep college.”

Even after the rising of his fame, Mike continues to be a humble person, Lana said.

“He doesn’t let his fame interfere with his music,” Lana said. “People know him, little girls love him, but he doesn’t really let it get to him.”

Mike is shy when it comes to his family members come to his concerts, Lana said. However, he does like to share his music at home.

“I get to hear his new music all the time because he sings in the house,” Lana said. “And he’ll show us little demos that he’s recording on.”

As for support from his family, Mike said he gets a lot from his family and peers.

“Doing music is not a typical thing,” Mike said. “But I think once they (his parents) started seeing people catching on to it, they became

believers and fully started supporting me.”

Temrowski currently has a job at Meridian Health Plan, downtown Detroit, he said. His plan is to move out of state by next summer to New York or Los Angeles because that is where his management company is based out of.

“I definitely want to sign with a record label, within two years” Mike said. “We are talking to Republic Records and Atlantic Records right now.”

O’Neill and Mike released their latest song “Stung” out of Atlantic Records, O’Neill said, and are hoping to be signed.

“What we do right now is pretty self contained,” O’Neill said. “We record, we write, we do everything just the two of us, but a label would be pretty cool.”

Although signing to a record would be a major milestone for Mike, he does not necessarily need to be signed in order to be a successful artist, he said.

“Nowadays artists don’t really need a label,” Mike said. “Artists like Mack Moore were all independent, so you don’t need a label to make money.”

He said he would also love to headline his own tour and overall continue to reach out to a bigger fan base. “‘The Tower’ did something on my friend Jason and I when we were seniors rapping,” Temrowski said. “They made an article on us saying that ‘Mike and Jason wanted to be aspiring rappers.’ That was five years ago and to be back in ‘The Tower’ as a more established artist is really cool.”

Mike will drop his newest EP in January of 2016, and hopes this will be the big push to open more doors to his career.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF MIKE TEMROWSKI ’10

CENTER STAGE // Quinn XCII performing live in concert. He has over 50,000 monthly listens on Spotify and over 21,000 followers on SoundCloud.

sports // 8

Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015

Girls hockey team sets goals

PHOTO COURTESY OF EMMA FRAME ’16

SHANNON MCGLONE ’16 // Copy Editor Though the girls and boys programs play on different teams, the expectations remain the same: to win. Both girls and boys South hockey programs expect a solid 15-16 season, following weeks of vigorous training and team building on and off the ice.

Girls varsity hockey has won the state championship 10 times in the last 15 years, most recently in the ’14-’15 championship, and often consecutively.

They are a Division 1 high school team.

“I think we’re expecting a lot, coming off of last year,” Emma Frame ’16 said.

Currently 0-0, they is the team’s sheer number: 32 athletes are scheduled to play of varying experience but equal passion, There are high Cranbrook Jan. 9.

Frame said. But despite their size, the team expectations set for us “There are high exhas a supportive, close relationship. from the other teams in pectations set for us The Blue Devils also employ seven from the other teams coaches to meet the demand of so many the division in the division,” Frame students, Frame said.

EMMA FRAME ’16 said. “We’ve only prac“I think with such a big group, considticed for three weeks, ering the sport is no cut, it’s important to and I’ve already seen huge improvement.” have so many coaches,” Frame said.

This is her third year playing for the Blue Devils.

With so many different levels of experience of One of the most unique attribute of her team the team, the coaches break them in groups based

on skill level.

Girls hockey coach, social studies teacher Chris Booth, said he feels confident about the future of his team. He is in his third year as a part of the organization.

“The unique thing about our team is that we build a program-- you can be a great hockey player, or you can be a girl who just started out--all the girls are on the same team. I love coaching,” Booth said.

Their biggest rivals this season are Cranbrook and Grosse Pointe North, Booth said.

Ski club goes uphill New transportation methods and social media for the Ski and Snowboard Club

GLIDING INTO FIRST // Celeste Franke-Joyce ’16 practices her skating routine. The team pracPHOTO COURTESY OF LORY LAROSE tices at St. Clair Shores Civic Arena every morning at 6:40.

Skating team laces up for new season HADLEY DIAMOND ’16 // Staff Writer Placing third at its first meet on Dec. 1, the Grosse Pointe South’s skating team hopes each of its members improves as a skater but more importantly has fun according to Caitlin Miller ’18.just had their first meet on Tues, Dec.1, placing third overall.

The season started one of two months ago, Ally Maiuri ‘16 said, and it ends around February depending on whether or not the team advances to States.

There are three competitions during the season, and so the skaters have about one each month.

The team practices every Monday morning at 6:40 at the St. Clair Shores Civic Arena. They are under the instruction of Claire Ladue, one of the coaches at the civic arena.

“She’s a good coach,” Caitlin Miller ‘18 said.

“She lived in Britain for a while, the UK, and she was on their Disney on Ice, and then she toured with them, and then she came o v e r here.”

A typical practice starts with an off-ice warm-up, like running, followed by an on-ice warm-up. Then the skaters are separated into A, B and C groups to work on what each needs to individually with Coach Claire.

Where a skater is placed on according to A, B and C teams is based on skill level. C team is of the lowest skill level, and A is the highest you can be.

Once a skater passes a test, which include jumps, spins, and moves, her position will move up. A skater can be in different levels for different elements too.

“If you pass your moves test, you can be on B

team moves and C team jumps, or A team jumps and B team moves,” Miller said. “It kind of just depends on your testing.”

The team is no-cut, but the ability to perform basic skating is expected. Along with that, there is a skating requirement in addition to the Monday practices.

“To be on the team, we just ask that you have some skating experience and that you’re skating at least two other times a week on your own,” Maiuri said.

A majority of the skaters, especially the higher teams, skate all year round, but there isn’t any official training in the off- season.

“I skate all year round, and a lot of the other girls do too, which is kind of like the pre-season, I guess,” Miller said. “We need a requirement of two extra hours off of the Monday morning, and a lot of the C team girls are doing that, but they didn’t really skate all year round.”

The team’s main goal for the season is to advance to States, with the competition aspect just beginning.

“Well we just started, but I think that we have a really strong team this year considering how many people left last year,” said Maiuri. A lot of people stepped up to the plate and are doing really well.”

The A and C team, and possibly the B team, will qualify for States by default. In the district South is a part of, there sometimes aren’t enough teams for the need to have an actual competition.

The team loses skaters every year, whether it be from graduation or people just not coming back.

Most of the losses from just leaving are from the C team, but a considerable number amount stayed this year.

There are a large amount of graduating seniors this year as well, so there will be many losses next season.

“I feel like we’re gonna do good. We have a lot of graduating seniors, so we want to make it a good year for them too,” Miller said.

Maiuri has been on the team since freshman year, and she has mixed emotions about it being her last season.

“It’s exciting because I get to share it with a bunch of other people that I have been for the past four years, but it’s also kind of like sad because I won’t get to do it after high school,” said Maiuri. “It’s just a really good way to connect with people we didn’t necessarily know were skaters.”

The team wants to make sure every skater learns something, and having a good time and enjoying skating is a huge part of the experience, Miller said.

“We don’t try to get that competitive, but for States, we will try hard and see what we can do,” Miller said.

WILLIAM MUAWAD ’17 // Staff Writer Creating a website and using buses instead of carpools are just a few of the changes South’s Ski and Snowboard Club has made this year to drum up more interest and excitement around the club and get more students involved.

The switch to public transportation may be the biggest and most important of the changes made, first year member Nicholas Bojarczyk ’17 said.

“We are trying to get buses this year, so we can all bus instead of a carpool,” Bojarczyk said.

“The advantage of it is that we can fit more people and we don’t need to have carpools and student reliability.”

The change to buses has been made in an attempt to unify the club and its members, science teacher and club adviser Lisa Bouda said.

“The advantage of buses is that you are much more cohesive and the cliques go away,” Bouda said. “You have got an hour ride both ways to meet people. You don’t have to arrange your own ride.”

The buses will take We are trying to get members buses this year, co we to nearby can all bus instead of a ski resorts, B oj arc z y k carpool said.

NICHOLAS BOJARCZYK ’17 “ W e have been deciding to go to ski at Pine Knob, Mt. Holly and Mt. Brighton,” Bojarczyk said. “So pretty much the three ski resorts near us.”

Along with buses, another change the club has made this year is creating its own website and merchandise, club president Ethan Reeside ’17 said.

“Also new this year we have a website (www. southskiandboard.com), and on that website we have a store where you can by South Ski and Snowboard Club apparel,” Reeside said.

Besides the website, the club is also available on other social media, like Facebook and Twitter, Bouda said.

“The website is really cool,” Bouda said. “We have a lot of electronic media like We have a lot of Facebook, electronic media like Tw itte r Facebook and Twitter and all of LISA BOUDA that stuff. I Ski Club Advisor think that will be a good way to keep in touch; forms can be uploaded from the website. It will be a good source for parents and students to look at and just to get our club’s information out there.”

In addition to expanding the club’s reach through their website and social media, the club also hopes to expand into other aspects of skiing, Reeside said.

“This year we are hopefully going to be skiing every weekend and we are going to have other skiing-based things going on too, like having waxing sessions where we can teach people how to wax their skis or snowboards,” Reeside said.

The expansion and publicity of the club has had an impact on the number of students interested in the club, Reeside said.

“Last year, our most-attended meeting didn’t even have 20 people,” Reeside said. “At our first meeting (this year), we already had 50 people, which is fantastic.”

South’s Ski Club is a great chance to ski with your friends and just have fun, Reeside said.

“Being in the club is just an amazing experience,” Reeside said. “It is super fun to ski with all of your friends. People aren’t judging you on your skiing level, you can just ski.”

South’s Ski and Snowboard Club meets in room 254 every Wednesday after school until there is no more snow.

HIT THE SLOPES // Gabi de Coster, Haley Vercruysse, and David Koelzer, all ’16, ski and snowboard at Mt. Brighton with the ski club. The club meets in Lisa Bouda’s room once a week.

PHOTO COURTESY OF GABI DE COSTER ’16