Issue 18

the

TOWER

Wednesday, March 7, 2018 Volume 90 Issue 5

A weekly tradition since 1928

@thetowerpulse thetowerpulse.net

Grosse Pointe South High School 11 Grosse Pointe Blvd. Grosse Pointe Farms, MI 48236

ARTFEST 2018: The annual art show will take place in the multi-purpose room from March 21-24

their body of work, along with a biography to let the reader know a little about the artist.

“They basically get to put 10-20 pieces of their This year marks the 37th year of South’s art show, own,” Wolfe said. “It just depends on [the student’s] ArtFest, which will be this coming March 21-24 in level and what they’re interested in submitting.” the multi-purpose room.

Students can choose to sell their work or display it The yearly show aims to highlight the hard work for a chance to win a prize of anywhere from 15-500 talented art students and teachers do throughout the dollars, according to Lynch. year, according to Emily Wolfe, South art teacher and “Last year’s ArtFest sold 265 individual pieces, ArtFest co-chair. earning the students around “We have an amazing art depart4,100 dollars,” Lynch said. ment here at South, it rivals some of This year, Awards Night is the best ones in Michigan, and this Friday March 23, with a recepIf a student sells a piece is such an amazing opportunity to tion taking place from 5-7 p.m., of their artwork, they showcase that,” Wolfe said. “Art is and the awards ceremony startget 80 percent of the not as visible as sports or choir, so ing at 7 p.m. in the auditorium, this is the one really big thing during money and the other according to Lynch. the year where we get to showcase 20 percent goes into a According to Lynch, 20 perour students and their creativity.” cent of the sale price on student scholarship fund that Kristina Rogers ’19, a drawing pieces goes towards ArtFund, a is also given to the and painting student, also apprecischolarship given by the art destudents. ates that ArtFest is a chance for art partment. students to be recognized for their EMILY WOLFE “All of the award money goes hard work.

Art Teacher straight to the students,” Wolfe The show features one-of-a-kind said. “If a student sells a piece of art of all variety, from jewelry, cetheir artwork, they get 80 perramics, photography, painting and drawing, sculpcent of the money and the other 20 percent goes into ture and more, according to Mothers’ Club parent a scholarship fund that is also given to the students. and co-chair Michele Lynch.

So, any purchasing money or awards goes right back “Every student currently in an art class is encourto the students.” aged to have at least one piece of art exhibited. Some According to Wolfe, local businesses and the art students display dozens of items,” Lynch said.

Grosse Pointe South Mothers’ Club help make ArtAlthough Rogers chooses not to sell her pieces at Fest as great as it is.

ArtFest, she said she submits almost all of her work “All the awards, cash or prizes, come from sponfrom class. sors,” Wolfe said. “As far as other things, cookies are According to Lynch, senior students have a spedonated by students who make them and the Mothcial opportunity to display their work, called a Senior ers’ Club is a big sponsor.”

Showcase. Seniors get their own board to display AUDREY WHITAKER ’19 Section Editor

WIRED This sculpture was an entry in last year’s ArtFest. The event will take place from March 21 through March 24.

KICKS This painted pair of shoes was also an entry last year. Many of the works are for sale.

BIG CROWD Around two thousand guests visit the annual event to view the artwork.

PHOTOS BY MARGOT BAER ’18

WeGP plans to host gun violence vigil

student-led events, gave peers advice on various ways that they can get involved.

“The most obvious ways (to get inIn the wake of the school shooting at volved) are the walkouts on March 14 and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School April 20, ” Scott said. “In addition, we are in Parkland, Florida, various groups across accepting letters written about this issue Grosse Pointe are working on events to and student’s personal opinions to send to raise awareness on Congress.” gun violence across According to the community.

Scott, students at According to South are also workShannon Byrne, ing with community a member of the groups about gun viResponse to the school community-based olence. shooting in Florida organization “We are looking WeGP, the group to reach out to lois co-hosting a gun Takes place on April 20 cal organizations, violence vigil on but there is already April 20. a march in Grosse A student led event is “(The vigil will Pointe planned, ” scheduled to take place on be) in solidarity Scott said.

“Making with other national March 14 in addition to the signs and posters are action planned on event scheduled for April the same as spreadthe 19th anniversaing the word at ry of Columbine,” school (and also) go The group is also Byrne said. for the community. accepting letters writing In addition Everything helps.” to the April 20th about the issue to send to Some students, event, a studentCongress such as Billy Beardled event, includslee ’19, believe cering a walkout and tain activities, such various other acas the walkout, aren’t as effective, but still tivities will be hosted on March 14 as well supports the general message. as April 20.

“I understand the reason for the walkA statement from the Michigan PTA, out, but I think there are other, more efencourges students to work with district fective ways of standing up against gun administration to make a more peaceful violence, ” Beardslee said. “I would rather walkout. Grosse Pointe recently released a have a school-sanctioned event to really statement regarding the March 14 student talk about this issue. ” led walkout.

World history teacher and hockey coach Chris Booth to serve as interim AD

CLAIRE KOEPPEN ’19 Section Editor

Quick Details:

Alice Scott ’21, who is involved in the

IMPORTANT DATES mar.

07

Second annual World Language Week takes place from Monday through Friday.

mar.

THE TEAM The girls varsity hockey team poses for a group photo at the end of last year’s season. Booth coached from 2014-2016 years before taking his new position as athletic director.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CHRIS BOOTH

KAITLIN NEMEH ’18 Page Editor A new interim athletic director was recently named by the school and the his face is familiar to many at South.

From teaching to coaching, former history teacher, Chris Booth, has stepped into the position till the end of the year.

Booth said he went through a rigorous interview process according to Booth. Recently he was deemed the best candidate for the position.

“Human resources got together, and they put a posting out and they sent it to everybody in the district,” Booth said.

Booth heard of the offer and decided to apply because of a strong interest in the job and the great opportunity it offered.

08

Parent teacher conferences to take place from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday.

mar.

“Its my dream job,” Booth said. “I’ve always wanted to do it, and I love this school. It’s a great opportunity for me, and I’ve played sports for my entire life, as well as coached for a long time.”

Booth stated he thinks coaching experience is very important for an athletic director.

“I think in order to be a successful athletic director you have to have coaching experience,” Booth said. “I have six or seven years of coaching experience, and number one to me is to coach the coaches and help them give the best experience for the athletes.”

Some students have had Booth as a teacher as well as a coach at South, and agree that he was a successful coach.

Lauren Kramer ’18 was a student in Booth’s world history class, and also a player on the girls’ hockey team that Booth coached in past years. story continued on page 8

12

Tryouts for spring sports begin on Monday.

Remember to get your gold card stamped if you plan on playing.

2 | OPINION

THETOWERPULSE.NET | 3.7.18

Recent school shooting sparks new school safety policies

OUR VIEW || EDITORIAL Last Friday, March 2, assistant principal Cindy Parravano made an announcement on the P.A. at 3:04 p.m. The school stood still, even after the final bell rang, to listen to her words. The message within them disclosed several new changes to school policy in light of the recent shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

The new rules dictate that all entry points to South remain locked during the course of the school day, even during lunchtime. The only two doors students can use to enter the school at lunch are doors L and C, which are by the S-lot and Cleminson respectively. Furthermore, students are no longer allowed to walk outside during passing, which restricts all movement between buildings to the second-floor bridges.

We at The Tower understand the need for new safety procedures.

However, we do not believe that regulating student traffic in this way is an effective method of preventing harm to us or our peers. Besides that, the rules simply hinder the daily lives of students and obtrude into our day.

They make the hallways more crowded and the routes between classes more difficult to navigate. Now, students have to take longer routes to reach their destinations, potentially making them late for class. The lunch policy is simply inconvenient, especially with the size of the campus. Limiting access before and after school is also inefficient, because the vast majority of students don’t spend much time there outside of 8:00 to 3:05. On that thread, there is also restricted access before class that may make people tardy for their first hour because they may have to walk around the school to gain entrance.

We believe that most elements of the policy are, in general, will be ineffective in the way they may protect South. It seems to us that if there is a person who is so intent on causing harm to the students here

that they are willing to bring a firearm to kill people with, then they will not be deterred simply because the doors are locked. Nothing short of giving South the security measures of a prison-- and stripping students of the liberties that make us proud to be Blue Devils, especially considering that we are one of the only schools in the state that offers an open-campus lunch-would provide a sure defense against a gunman.

A potentially better solution would be to issue student IDs that have electronic chips, so they can unlock doors. This would let students have access to the buildings during normal hours, but still would not allow intruders to enter.

Perhaps a more judicious and reasonable solution to this threat would be practicing for it. Instead of installing complex security measures to try to keep out a shooter, South could find more practical and less time-consuming ways to prepare for this type of emergency.

Although teachers already undergo some training on how to react if there is a shooter, the school could further prepare its students and faculty so that there would be no doubt in this type of situation.

Nevertheless, we still believe it is important to respect and follow the rules that our school place before us, despite how much we may

A history of school shootings: read it and weep MY VIEW RILEY LYNCH ’18 Supervising Editor

NEWSPAPER

the

TOWER

STAFF

I first learned about school shootings in 7th grade after watching the first season of American Horror Story, which starred a romanticized school shooter. The scene where this plot arc was revealed was gory and graphic, with dark blood pooling around each bullet-marked body. Every five seconds was punctured with a shot.

That’s when my mom came downstairs, saw the massacre being labeled as entertainment and told me to turn it off. I did.

That night, I was confused by what I had seen, and turned to Wikipedia. I read the page on American Horror Story and learned the school shooting was “inspired” by Columbine. Not knowing what that was, I tapped the little blue link and opened myself to the world everyone older than me was trapped in.

On April 20, 1999, Columbine High School saw one of the most tragic high school massacres in American history, where two students murdered 13 others before killing themselves. I felt myself become sick and form a lump in my throat. It grew worse when I got to the section of the article about other school shootings and read the list, which went on indefinitely.

The first shooting I can recall experiencing was Sandy Hook in December of 2012, only a few days after exposing myself to the tragedies of gun violence. Again, I found out through the television, via breaking news strips at the bottom of the screen. I shut the TV off and went upstairs to the kitchen, where my mom was watching the news, crying. The anchor told parents to hug their children. I let her.

20 kids and six adults died in that elementary school. They went to school, to work, to a place they should have been safe, and got shot. In the following weeks, I learned this country’s stance on gun control when they inadvertently gave others permission to do the same and refused to limit the sales of firearms.

The following year after had 30 mass shootings, just above the FBI’s stated national average of 28-29. As of March 4, the day I’m writing this, we’ve had numerous mass shootings in 2018, including the one at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida that robbed 17 innocent people of their lives.

This is what we have grown up with. This is normal for us. We go through a sentimental, em-

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Liz Bigham* ’18 John Francis* ’18 Online Editors-in-Chief

Henry Ayrault* ’19 Grace Reyes* ’19

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Ray Hasanaj* ’18

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Katherine Bird*, Rachel Harris*, Riley Lynch*, Elena Rauch*, all ’18 Bianca Pugliesi* ’19

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Arianna Pagenette* ’18, Kaitlyn Perkins* ’18, Katherine Costello*, Claire Koeppen*, Jacqui Mercier*, Audrey Whitaker*, all ’19 Dominic Dulac* ’20

dislike or feel inconvenienced by them. However irksome they are, we must trust that these new standards are here for our protection and overall benefit. We realize that administration must take some type of stand to protect us after such a national tragedy. However, while we appreciate the intentions of the administration and their goal of keeping us protected, we encourage students to address our faculty with better and more practical ideas to more address the situation at hand.

Real change is needed for safety MY VIEW

pathetic week of sending prayers and thoughts to those affected and when that week’s up, we move on to the next big thing. But that’s the catch-- the next big thing will be another shooting if we don’t do something.

Thoughts and prayers are considerate, yes, but thoughts and prayers don’t save lives. Gun control does. I’m not trying to pry away the Second Amendment rights of anyone, but I am trying to make people realize the Second Amendment was created in a time where guns could only fire one bullet every few minutes, not where the single pull of a trigger would release hell.

The key word is right in the name-- assault rifle. Most mass shooters, including the ones in Sandy Hook, Orlando, Las Vegas, Sutherland Springs and, most recently, Parkland, use an AR-15, a type of semi-automatic rifle. For these guns to be so readily and easily available to the public is not only terrifying, but a twisted form of reckless endangerment. The sale of a weapon should not be valued over the life of a person.

Certain chains, such as Dick’s Sporting Goods and Walmart, are already taking action by removing AR-15s from their stores, restricting accessibility. This is definitely a step in the right direction, but it’s still not enough.

At the very least, we need thorough background checks for those who wish to purchase any type of firearm. A three-day waiting period for buying and receiving a gun is more than reasonable, and allows ample time to look into the potential buyer’s history of violence, mental ability and track record. And if the buyer isn’t willing to wait the proposed three days, if they’re itching to get their hands on a pistol? That’s red flag number one.

It’s time for people to stop using the Second Amendment as a shield of defense for mass murderers. The lives of children should be weighed more heavily than the availability of firearms.

I strongly urge everyone reading this to participate in the school walk-out on March 14 from 10:00 a.m. to 10:17 a.m. to protest gun violence. Allow your voice to be heard alongside hundreds of fellow students and witness the difference we can make together. And for those 17 minutes, one for each victim in Parkland, FL, remember the fallen and preserve their memories through choruses of “never again.”

Chase Clark*, Kaitlin Nemeh* Cam Smolen*, JD Standish*, all ’18 Adrian Doan* ’19 Anne Muawad*, Lauren Nemeh*, Maura Shine*, Aidan Walsh*, Elizabeth Wolfe*, all ’20

GRAPHIC BY GRIFFIN JONES ’18

JAMES ULKU ’19 Staff Writer

Yet another shooting that leaves a bitter taste in America’s mouth has occurred. When is it going to be enough? I could not wonder why Parkland is the last straw, the last straw should have been Sandy Hook Elementary School, where there were 26 people, including children killed.

It is so frustrating my family and I have to worry if our schools are protected enough, but I guess people say, “that will never happen to us,” until it does.

What do we have as a nation have to do to protect ourselves? Arm our teachers? Get stricter gun laws? Get rid of all guns? Or just wait to see it all happen again at another school, mall or movie theatre?

If we want to arm our teachers, that is just supplying more guns, which could be good or really bad. It could be good in the sense that if someone was to come into the school with a gun and start shooting everyone, at least that teacher could possibly put down that gunman and save their students. The bad side to it is there are guns in school, which could lead to accidental discharges of the weapon or another type of accident.

Students also would not feel safe if a teacher who was inexperienced with firearms is carrying one. The man who committed the shooting in Parkland should never have been allowed to buy a gun in the first place, especially after all the police visits to his house and the FBI being notified twice.

The age limit of buying a gun should be raised to 21. No 18-year-old needs an Armalite Rifle 15 or (AR-15). It’s also been said nobody needs an AR-15.

Stricter gun laws will only prevent the responsible gun owners from getting guns because the definition of a criminal is someone who breaks the law. It will be harder for people to get guns and 18-year-olds shouldn’t have them, but we also need to remember the Sutherland Springs Church shooting in Texas was stopped with an AR-15 by a responsible gun owner.

The only sure way to stop this shooting was to have no guns at all. The reason Parkland is so different is because everything that could have been done to prevent this was not.

The FBI was notified twice about the shooter. The police got upwards of 30 complaints about him and there were 13 police visits to

Multimedia/Social Media Editors

Abigail Due* ’18, Erica Fossee* ’19 Tower Radio

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Margot Baer, Solana Bryson, Blair Cullen, Griffin Jones, Harper McClellan, Caitlin Miller, John Schulte, Lauren Thom, Brennan Zihlman, all ’18 John Bellamy, Isabella Craparotta, Allison MacLeod, Olivia Mlynarek, Sarah Stevenson, Arif Ulku, all ’19 Madeleine Allen, Julia Ambrozy, Daniel Klepp, Evelyn Kuhnlein, Charlie Matthews, Kari Ronning, all ’20 Eva McCord ’21 Adviser

Kaitlin Edgerton

his house. Yet he was still allowed to obtain a gun. The FBI and police didn’t do their jobs, so now this guy is shooting up the school for six minutes. But the police fail at their job again. Supposedly, a police officer reported to the scene two minutes after he opened fire. If the shooting lasted six minutes and the police officer was there at the two minute, why didn’t he stop the shooter? Every safety net put in place to prevent school shootings was slipped through. Nobody did their jobs, so how are we as Americans supposed to rely on the FBI and the police force to save us? We can’t. The

GRAPHIC BY EVA MCCORD ’21

only true way this shooting could have been prevented is there was no guns allowed for citizens to have in the first place.

There was a reason the Second Amendment was put into place and people also forget that guns can kill people but they can also save lives. Cars kill way more people than guns. So should we get rid of cars? Or just let people who are mentally stable drive them?

When there is a mass shooting, people blame the gun, not the person pulling the trigger.

Nobody wants dead kids. People need to remember that guns don’t kill people, people kill people.

We live in a messed up country where kids feel unsafe at school, and there has to be an end to this.

As for the walk-out at South, it should not be political at all. It should be a protest.

It should be a school coming together and giving 17 minutes of silence for the 17 people killed. Nothing more and nothing less.

“The Tower” is the weekly publication of the Advanced Journalism classes at Grosse Pointe South High School. It has always been a designated public form of student expression.

The Tower is located in room 142 in Grosse Pointe South High School. Please contact us at 313-432-3649.

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

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THETOWERPULSE.NET | 3.7.18

Choir takes Europe

3 | NEWS

South choirs travel through Europe over midwinter break to perform

A

did everything the kids did and the chaperones did, but we didn’t have any responsibilities as far as with the kids,” Linda said. “The great thing is, I didn’t group of about 87 choir stuhave to do anything. I just knew what time to be up dents, chaperones and comand then the whole day was planned for me; I just panions traveled around Eukind of went along for the ride, which was great.” rope to sightsee and perform Calisi said the cost covered everything except this midwinter break. They lunches and spending money, including the flight, visited Barcelona, Spain, Avihotel, breakfasts and dinners and any tours they did. gnon, France, Aix-en-Provence, Nice, France and Turco said one of the reasons the cost was so Monaco. They departed after third hour on Friday, high was that they paid for Mr. Pratt, their accomFeb. 16 and returned around 3 p.m. on Saturday, panist, Richard Wolfe, and their choreographer, Feb. 24, according to the trip’s itinerary on South’s Andy Hanes. choir’s website.

“It was pretty pricey, which is why I think a lot “We did it through a program called KI and they of people shied away from it,” Turco said. “Choir is organize all these trips for different choirs around an expensive thing to do, but I think it was worth it. the world,” Mia Turco ’19, a member of the Pointe Just being with all those people is something you’re Singers, said. “We got to pick between trips and not going to get to do on a trip you organize by then they had already planned out a full itinerary yourself, so it was worth it.” of where we would sing, where The large amount of freedom we would go visit, our sightseethe students had was Turco’s faing and then they planned all We see the world in our vorite part of the trip, she said. the hotels, all the buses, so they They had about one to three way, and there’s a lot organized the whole trip for us. hours of free time each day for of things we don’t get We got tour guides too, so there shopping and sightseeing. Turco were always like four or five KI to see because we’re in said her and a friend were able to workers with us on the trip.” our community. take a taxi all the way across BarTurco said her, her mom, celona by themselves to sightsee.

DONALD VERCRUYSEE ’18 Hailey Martin ’18, Martin’s mom “I really like the free time. and choir director Chris Pratt We’re not going to do anything decided on the Europe trip. The bad because we (choir) have had other two destinations in the problems with that in the past,” Turco said. “It was running were Iceland and Cuba. Sally McLeod was really nice to see how much trust the administrators in charge of running everything to prepare for the had in us.” trip, such as bag checks and helping at the airport.

Calisi said she appreciated the freedom the stuThe international choir trip is a biannual event. dents had as well, and that experience is why they Turco said she went to Ireland with choir two years go on these trips. ago, her freshman year. Donald Vercruysse ’18, a “My favorite part of the trip was seeing the kids member of Pointe Singers, said he went to Ireland be able to be in a foreign country and have some autwo years ago as well. tonomy,” Calisi said. “Watching your kids with their “I really want to just see the rest of the world a best friends go on their own and travel, go off for a lot more,” Vercruysse said. “Because especially in couple hours and do their thing, and go eat and exGrosse Pointe, we have a very bubbled outlook of perience that culture on their own without someone the rest of the world. We see the world in our way, hanging over them, like their parents, I think that and there’s a lot of things we don’t get to see because was my favorite thing to see.” we’re in our community.”

Vercruysse’s favorite part of the trip was visiting The trip cost $3,850 for each student and comthe Sagrada Familia, a famous church built in Spain. panion, according to the trip Pricing Terms and He said it started being built a while ago and will Conditions. Linda Calisi, the co-president of the not be finished for another eight years, being passed Choir Booster Club with her husband, was a comdown from architect to architect. panion on the trip because her two children, Gino “It was just this humongous church, and it was Calisi ’18 and Elaina Calisi ’20 went as well. trying to be like the entire Bible, so that’s why it’s “A companion basically is there as a guest. So we ALYSSA CZECH ’19 Associate Editor

New club builds knowledge of countries, debate skills OLIVIA MLYNAREK ’19 Copy Editor This spring, a new club will join the collection of clubs offered at South. The Model UN Club is where students will have the opportunity to sharpen their skills as they interact with different schools and learn about different countries in the United Nations.

Elizabeth Triden, advisor of the Model UN Club, said the main idea of the club is to have students compete against one another as different representatives from different countries in the United Nations.

“It’s a club that goes into a competition where you come to a conclusion on some type of diplomacy issue that’s going on in the world,” Triden said.

Founder of the club, Atticus Henry ’21, said the idea was inspired by other schools who have this program.

“I was talking to a friend from another school, and I thought it would be really interesting to start one here because it seemed like (the other school) had a great time there and they learned a lot,” Henry said.

Students are also eager to begin the different activities and experiences the club has to offer, according to Henry. “I always look forward to the conferences,” member Kaiya Sutton ’18 said. “You get to go away for a weekend and explore the whole city while you’re also going to these huge debates and arguing your case.”

Sutton said it’s great to see all of their hard work and p r o g ress come together when

attending these conferences. She thinks it is cool to have knowledge about a country no one else really knows.

“You’ve done all this prior research about the country, so I think it’s really interesting,” Sutton said.

Not only does Sutton have experience with debate, but Triden does as well. Triden thinks she can use some of her skills and knowledge of the subject and thinks the club will be a good fit for her.

“I used to be a debate coach, which is very similar,” Triden said. “The same type of issues are debated.”

New members are encouraged to join as the club offers more than just significance on a college application, according to Triden.

“Model UN is a really great way to educate yourself on things that are happening in the world and be able to expand your horizons on what you know,” Triden said.

Students not only have the opportunity to work with other students in this club, but also the chance to work on their research, writing and debate skills according to Triden.

“Those academic skills that help you with other course subjects like English, science, and social studies,” Triden said.

The Model UN Club will meet every Thursday after school and is open to all new members.

GRAPHIC BY EVIE KUHNLEIN ’20

called The Sacred Family (in English),” Vercruysse said.

“One of the walls is the nativity scene, one of the walls was the death of Jesus, and the last one to be built will be everything between the birth and death of Jesus. Even though I’m not a huge religious person, it was cool to see.”

Vercruysse said his least favorite part of the trip was the fact that they had to pay for water bottles everywhere they went, because people are not supposed to drink the tap ENJOYING THE VIEW Katie Jeup, Sydney Yonkus, Lily Lathon, water.

Lauren Fleckenstein, all ’18, and Audrey Leo, Mia Turco, both ’19.

“The worst thing, I would have to say, is that water wasn’t free. You have to pay for water at restaurants, and sometimes you have to pay to go to the bathroom at some places,” Vercruysse said.

The choir students performed in churches in groups while on the trip, and the two top choirs, The Tower Belles and Pointe Singers, did their own song, according to Turco.

Many people from the top two choirs go, but not everyone, especially because it is a busy choir season now and some GREETINGS FROM SPAIN! Views of the streets in Barcelona, people had college auditions.

The students performed in Spain. The choir visited four different European countries.

PHOTOS COURTSEY OF MIA TURCO ’19 two churches, and also got to ken English, so the South students had people from work with two colleges in Europe. The first performance was in Barcelona, Spain, different language classes trying to translate pieces and then Nice, France, according to Vercruysse and of what they said.

One of the best things about performing in EuTurco.

“Performing at the churches was pretty cool just rope was that local Spaniards and Catalans would because it’s a whole different acoustics than what come to hear them sing, even though not everyone we’re used to, so you hear the voices differently, and could speak English, and their own faces were on when we’re singing those classical songs, it sounds posters around Barcelona.

“I think it was worth it,” Turco said. “I’m not really good inside of a church because that’s the huge in choir. It’s not my favorite thing, I don’t love kind of music it was made for,” Vercruysse said.

Vercruysse said when they watched the to sing, I’m not doing it in the future. But still getsecond college perform, they sat there in awe be- ting to do that and having that as part of having that cause of how in sync and “perfect” their perfor- as my high school experience definitely enriches it mance was. When they had a meet and greet with as a whole.” the college in France, only a few of them spoke bro-

Town hall meeting to be held at South to discuss new changes biggest price tag,” with the criti- members to share their thoughts cal needs costing $111,000, and and opinions about safety at these covering basic improvements like gatherings.

A town hall meeting will be new pipes. The full cost of pro“Safety is working with our stuheld at Grosse Pointe South on posed renovations is upwards of dents,” Hamka said.

April 12 at 6:30 p.m., discussing $20 million.

Among the attendees will be budget and policy changes.

“There is a component of safe- Jessica Dodge ’19, who hopes that The meeting will be a continuaty and security,” Hamka said. “I’ve coming together as a community tion in the series of meetings held had a conversation about replac- will stop more tragedies. to receive input from the commuing some of our doors, upgrading “When we all put our minds tonity regarding policies, according our surveillance system, but most gether, our different backgrounds, to the official importantly, a se- our different points of view, we Grosse Pointe cured entrance.” can really make a difference,” School SysThe secured enDodge said.

A study was done tem website. trance would be The voices of the community Among the to see what (South) the only way in or matter the most in this context, topics expectneeds, all we’re doing out of the building according to Profeta, and the aded is a strong right now is going for after the school day ministration is willing to incorpoemphasis on starts, as stated by rate new ideas. the critical needs. safety in the Hamka.

“Administration and the board wake of the MOUSSA HAMKA “One of the want to hear from the community Parkland, Principal things that is in- about what they would like to see Florida tragecluded in the cur- us do, and what they don’t want us dy. rent plan is building a single se- to do,” said Profeta.

“We’d like to provide the comcure entry vestibule similar to In Niehaus’ statement, he said munity information that is relewhat they have at Grosse Pointe many drills and emergency prepavant to South about the upcoming North, at every school,” Profeta ration training is helping the safeupgrades and investments that said. “Parents and grandparents ty of students. Dodge believes that will be made in our property and want to make sure that their stu- is not enough. our facility,” principal Moussa dents are safe in our buildings.”

“In light of recent events, it’s apHamka said.

Profeta said he was a senior at parent we need a better system of The meeting will start with the Grosse Pointe North when Col- keeping our students safe,” Dodge proposed changes to the South umbine happened. said. “It’s very important we edubudget, according to Hamka, but “I remember like it was yester- cate our community on why this is the meeting will also have a quesday, the rumors of similar threats a significant issue now more than tion period for attendees to let going around our school in the ever.” their voices be heard. days after that One town “A study was done to see what tragedy,” Profeta hall meeting (South) needs,” Hamka said. “All said. won’t change we’re doing right now is going for When we all put our Gun violence national law, the critical needs.” has now become or prevent all minds together, our According to school board a major talking different backgrounds, tragedies from member Christopher Profeta, a point, and meethappening, Blue Ribbon study conducted by our different points ings are full of but anything Plante Moran, to find the areas in of view, we can really questions about is better than which South as whole needs the make a difference. proposed solunothing, acmost improvement. The infortions, according cording to JESSICA DODGE ’19 mation was then compiled into a to Profeta.

Dodge. Dodge proposed bond to be shared at the “Like schools is attending to town hall meeting. and districts across the nation, see that her voice and opinions “The proposal only covers GPPSS is working diligently to do will be heard. building infrastructure,” Profeta everything in our power to pro“It’s shown through history that said. “It would not cover any techvide a safe and secure learning a community that comes together nology devices or computers and environment,” superintendent Dr. over tragedy, promotes change, lowould not cover any classroom Gary Niehaus said on the Grosse cally and nationally,” Dodge said. furniture.”

Pointe School System website.

Hamka said South had “the Niehaus urges community ABI WILSON ’20 Staff Writer

4 | FEATURE

THETOWERPULSE.NET | 3.7.18

FORTNITE FEVER

video game addiction sweeps the nation

GAMING Jacob Bolton ’18 plays a solo round of Fortnite on a computer. Bolton is another student who spends a lot of time playing the game.

LIZ BIGHAM & JOHN SCHULTE BOTH ’18 Editor in Chief & Staff Writer Snapchat stories of a screen with the words, “#1 Victory Royale!”

Jokes on social media about boyfriends spending too much time playing video games.

Good Morning America’s special investigation for parents about the graphicness of video games.

Fortnite: Battle Royale is the latest free survival-styled video game developed and published by Epic Games. According to Epic Games, the game reached 3.4 million concurrent users a few weeks ago.

The game works like this: 100 players are dropped onto an island, and the goal is to be the last one surviving. The players collect weapons and battle each other, in a continuously shrinking arena. Games can be a half hour event filled with excitement, adrenaline and rage.

South students are no strangers to the madness.

Joey Ambrozy ’18 was introduced to the game by a friend two days after it came out. Previous games, such as Call of Duty, decreased in popularity, so Ambrozy was open to trying out a new game, he said.

“I got hooked onto it,” he said. “It’s something new.”

What Ambrozy found new about the game was its battle-royale style gameplay, he said.

“It’s like the Hunger Games, you jump out of a plane onto an island

and you collect guns and bandages, and then you kill everyone,” Ambrozy said. “You have to be the last one alive.”

The excitement has lead him to play almost everyday, Ambrozy said. He realizes his addiction affects how much time he spends with his girlfriend.

“Girls gotta respect it a little bit, a man has found a new passion in his life,” Ambrozy said. “They’ve just got to respect it.”

Ambrozy’s girlfriend Erin Morris ’18 understands his passion for the game.

“He did tell me one time, after playing some 8 hours straight, he was finally feeling sick of the game. Of course, that only lasted for an hour or so,” Morris said.

She wishes he would play the game less, Morris said.

“I’ve played Fornite, and I definitely get what all of the fuss is about,” Morris said. “But I’m pretty sure my boyfriend is addicted to playing it 24/7 and always obsessing over it.”

Other students, like Alex Strelkhe ’18, have played it a few times but not regularly.

“I see some of the hype, but not to the extreme level that some individuals have taken it to,” Strelkhe said. “It is popular because you are able to play with your friends if you want, and it is a new platform, different from the likes of Call of Duty or Modern Warfare.”

Although a lot of his friends play, Strelkhe doesn’t feel like he is

Brooklyn in Detroit: restaurant brings variety to Corktown community MY VIEW

Brooklyn Street Local is a smaller restaurant located in the outskirts of downtown Detroit. The menu consists of a variety of items, most of which are vegan options. Surprisingly, I was not let down by Brooklyn Street Local.

Upon walking in, I was overwhelmed by the amount of people that were inside waiting to be seated. I thought I would have a long wait before being seated, but that was not the case. I ended up only waiting 15 minutes. After I was seated, the waiter almost immediately came and took our drink orders. This speedy service was only one of the things that made my visit worthwhile. BROOKLYN ST. LOCAL The restaurant is located in Cortktown and was founded in There are many different 2012. Brooklyn St. Local is open Tuesday through Sunday. meals to choose from, with alPHOTO BY KAITLYN PERKINS ’18 most all of them being healthy This is a great location because there are many other stores and without actually tasting healthy.

It is a brunch spot, so most of the menu is breakfast foods such restaurants along this street, and you still get the experience of as eggs, waffles and granola. However, they do have lunch op- eating somewhere downtown without the struggle of trying to tions, such as burgers, sandwiches and some salads. The qual- find a parking spot and the never ending wait times.

Even though my experience here was an overall good one, ity of the food is outstanding. I would definitely recommend the “Breakwich,” which was what I ordered. It consists of ham, there were some things that I was not that impressed with. For instance, the restaurant was loud and overcrowded, making it cheese and eggs on an English muffin.

For being a sit-down restaurant, the price of the food was hard to have conversations with your party, as well as feeling rather reasonable. For sides, the prices range from $1 to $4, confined at your table.

Overall, I was impressed with this restaurant and I would and the drinks average $3. For the meals, the least expensive thing on the menu is $3, while the most expensive thing is $12. recommend it to anyone that is looking for a delicious meal.

Another great plus to this restaurant was the location, being located on Michigan Avenue in the heart of Corktown.

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Seeing Black Panther on a “Caturday” As it stands to be one of the top grossing movies ever, and has almost a perfect critic score on HENRY AYRAULT ’19 Editor-in-Chief of Pulse Rotten Tomatoes (97 percent), Black Panther lives up to most of the hype. Director Ryan Coogler, who also directed Creed (2015), created a superhero film that extended the boundaries of the Marvel world.

The movie takes place in Wakanda, a fictional country in Africa that is rich with both futuristic technology and tradition. The modern technology meshed with the cultural ideas of real-life Africa to form Afrofuturism is not something you’ll see in the average superhero film.

It’s in Wakanda where we find King T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) who recently took over the throne. T’Challa also holds the title of “Black Panther,” which means that his job is to protect Wakanda. He sports an indestructible super suit made out of Vibranium, a fictional metal, plus has additional accessories and gadgets created by his younger sister, Shuri (Letitia Wright).

An issue I have with this movie is that the plot can be a bit predictable. I don’t want to give anything away, but there are moments where I knew exactly what was going to happen next. This made the film boring at times, because not much in the plot really surprised me.

Also, a couple of the action scenes of the movie are ruined by quick camera movements that limited how much I could really tell what was going on. This was very disappointing, as frenetic high-energy is an aspect of the typical Marvel movie that I usually appreciate. Luckily, some of the other intense moments make up for it.

The plot may seem a little similar to other Marvel movies at first glance, but the addition of the political undertones (if you’ve seen the movie, you’ll know what I mean) spice things up a little. In addition, instead of focusing on a large-scale story involving many characters such as The Avengers (2012), it is more about how T’Challa adapts and adjusts to life as a king and keeps Wakanda safe.

Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) is the main antagonist of Black Panther, and his character is probably my favorite, based mainly on Jordan’s performance alone. He really makes the audience hate him, which, in my opinion, is the most important trait of a good villain. His motives are intriguing, as he essentially wants to end oppression against black people, but how he plans to execute his motive is another thing altogether.

In all, Black Panther is an enjoyable film. I obviously cannot express how I feel about it in too much specifics, because this is a spoiler-free review, but let it be known that it was a good cinematic experience. I don’t know if I agree with the 97 percent Rotten Tomatoes rating, but nevertheless, job well done by Ryan Coogler and his crew. Rating: 8/10

MY VIEW

KAITLYN PERKINS ’18 Copy Editor

> RESTORATIVE > PREVENTATIVE > PERIODONTICS

missing out, he said.

“If my friends are playing it, I don’t feel out of it because I don’t find it that exciting to begin with,” Strelkhe said.

Evan Kvintus ’21 plays the game frequently and enjoys playing it with friends, he said.

“I like playing with my friends, but sometimes when your friends are bad, or in this case, I have a friend who is really bad, so I have to lead him to victory,” Kvintus said.

He believes the game’s so popular particularly because it is free, unlike a lot of other popular games, he said.

“The game also features in-app purchases, so that’s why they are making the revenue they’re making,” Kvintus said. “Since the game is free, it gives the player a feeling to spend money because the game is free in the first place.”

Andrew Vyletel ’19 doesn’t usually play a lot of video games, but Fortnite has him a frequent player, he said. There are a lot of benefits to playing the game, such as bonding with friends, increasing reaction time and developing strategic thinking.

“I started playing it because it’s a rush when you start winning and getting better,” Vyletel said. “I keep playing because it’s like a drug and hard to stop.”

Fortnite: Battle Royale is available to download on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC. PHOTO BY LIZ BIGHAM ’18

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Lack of shopping ability in Grosse Pointe raises frustration for student purchasers

THETOWERPULSE.NET | 3.7.18

5 | FEATURE

T

NAVYA CHAMIRAJU ’20 Staff Writer

o distinguish themselves in a sea of kids, students have turned to experimenting with different and new styles of clothing available. The diverse style and shopping options to suit people’s tastes are not available in Grosse Pointe as it lacks a large scale mall with hundreds of stores and styles to choose from. Even though this has been a problem, students have turned to online shopping for all their needs. “(Not having malls or department stores near Grosse Pointe) means I rarely go shopping ever because gas costs money, so you have to go pay gas to get to the mall and then spend money at the mall, so it’s like you’re spending more money than you need to,” Cate Christinidis ’20 said. “It will be helpful to have one around here, but also a lot of times, stores people need, like plus size stores, won’t be at those malls that are closer. So, you need to go farther away, and it’s going to mean you have to find extra time to find something that fits you because it’s not near you.”

It is a hassle to go out of the way to malls such as The Somerset Collection, Great Lakes Crossing, or shop online with the shipping and handling fees, to run small errands, according to Christinidis.

“A lot of people would like to have malls closer for technology, clothes and books,” Elyse Tazzia ’20 said.

With new products coming into the market, including Apple products and more, students want to stay updated. Plus, with their tastes changing, they are always exploring stores and the products they carry, which can be difficult to do when the nearest mall is 20 miles away according to Tazzia.

“I don’t think (the Village benefits many people’s shopping needs) because I feel that… not a lot of teenagers have time to shop there, but there are also not a lot of stores geared towards teenagers. It is more towards adults or the elderly because they have time to go shopping there, and they probably have money to go shopping there,” Christinidis said. “A lot of those stores can be expensive too, so it’s not

LAUREN NEMEH ’20 Page Editor

Impact of lack in shopping malls A) ARE YOU AFFECTED BY NOT HAVING A SHOPPING MALL CLOSER? B) WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE A SHOPPING MALL CLOSER?

like you can grab something cheap.” can just again go online and shop on Macy’s Christinidis states The Village does have or Bloomingdale’s or wherever they wanted to stores that are useful, including Kroger, CVS shop.”

Pharmacy and Trader Joe’s, but they do not Online shopping is a great alternative, but appeal to the teenage demographic, leading to according to Sutton, it also has it’s disadvantagstudents having trouble finding items they like es, including there not being an option to the in the Village and too busy to go out of their clothes on or seeing them in person. way to buy knick knacks from a mall two hours “There’s a shoppers mindset when you go away. into a mall, you go in looking to buy clothes, “I used to live in an area that was 10 minutes and I think people will limit themselves more if from a shopping mall, so it definitely was easy they have to shop online,” Sutton said. to go out and spend the day there if you needed The limitations of online shopping makes to or go pick something up for shopping,” Kai- people want malls in a close radius, according ya Sutton ’18 said. to Sutton.

With the absence of a large mall in the “I think the accessibility of a mall near us Grosse Pointe area, lifeskills teacher Marianne would be nice, but I also think Grosse Pointe Modlin suggests driving to downtown Detroit is such a small historical community that it for all of student's shopping needs as retailers would be really hard to put a shopping mall in have begun coming back to the area, giving the middle of history,” Sutton said. students the variety they desire being only 15 Grosse Pointe is a small city that has been minutes down Jefferson. urbanized, and the placement of a mall can in“Part of (the problem) comes down to crease the destruction of nature and crowding transportation, so the stuof the small amount of land dent that has a driver's lipresent, according to Chriscense, that’s probably easier tinidis.

A lot of people would for them, to commute to anIf a mall is to be built, like to have malls closer which is unlikely, it should other mall whether its Lakeside, Somerset, Partridge for technology, clothes be built in a pre-existing Creek or Oakland Mall,” building Christinidis said. and books.

Modlin said. “Whereas the “When I look at EastELYSE TAZZIA ’20 younger student would have land, it lost major departto rely on transportation ment stores but it was also from an older sibling or a in an area that was designed parent.” to handle the traffic and the amount of people,” Commute can be a big issue, as many stu- Modlin said. “You know designed for that one dents have turned to shopping online, which area, we don’t have the land for that, the prophas risen in popularity over the years, accord- erty for that, and also too just the access. Easting to Sutton. land was easily accessible right off the highway “(Student’s would not be affected by not where as we are not, we are pretty boxed in, having a mall) because of online shopping… bordering lake St.Clair.” you probably have more options sitting at your The land in Grosse Pointe is not equipped computer, and going online to various sites, to hold a large shopping center according to you can still shop the department stores on- Modlin, and for that main reason the talk about line,” Sutton said. a mall being built is not in Grosse Pointe’s near Modlin added she thinks because more future. people are shopping online companies are “If we can’t put drive thrus in Grosse Pointe having to change the way they promote their then I think it’s going to be really hard to put a merchandise to customers. mall in,” Sutton said.

“Companies have their websites where they have everything,” Modlin said. “So actually I don’t think it would harm them at all, they

HANNAH BLANZY ’20

Malls “near” us...

Eastland Mall: 7 miles, 17 minutes from South Macomb Mall: 12 miles, 24 minutes from South Oakland Mall: 23 miles, 41 minutes from South Somerset Mall: 29 miles, 45 minutes from South

BILLY BEARDSLEE ’19 A: No, I am not really affected, I just order most of my stuff online.

A: No, not really because there's good stores in this area.

B: I feel it would be kind of nice to get gifts, but I mostly use Amazon or something like that.

B: No, because it will bring a lot of people and it will get really crowded.

C: I feel like pros, it's a little more convenient to buy gifts or go shopping when you're bored, but the cons, there would be more traffic around.

C: The pros are you get more options of stores, and the cons are there's going to be a lot of people.

MARY JORDAN ’20

GRACIE ZIMMER ’21

A: Yes I am, because whenever I want to go shopping at a nice mall, I always have to drive half an hour, and I don't get to shop as much as I want to.

C) PROS/CONS OF HAVING A SHOPPING MALL CLOSE?

B: Yeah, I really would because then I could go shopping more and it would not be as much as a hassle.

C: It would be a pro because we could go shopping a lot more easily, but the cons are there would be a lot of drivers and more people around Grosse Pointe, and it would be a little bit dangerous.

A: Yes, because I have to shop online, and I will order the wrong sizes, and it takes forever to get to my house.

B: Yes, because it would be easier than shopping online.

C: The pros are more business and the cons are there might not be any place to put a shopping mall around here.

School dance numbers on the decline BLAIR CULLEN ’18 Staff Writer Nearly 10 years ago, South hosted several school dances, including homecoming, Sadie-Hawkins, Glow-Out and senior Prom. The last attempt to host Sadie-Hawkins left with numbers in the low hundreds, leaving students only with homecoming and Prom.

“What we have seen is homecoming and Prom tickets going up, but the middle dance does not sell tickets. The Sadies and Glow-Outs used to be popular,” Maria Mitzel, student activity director, said. “Once we got rid of the Glow-Out, we saw attendance really go down. I

think what was unique about the GlowOut was how it was casual and fun.”

The last Sadies dance was put on by student council two years ago, and while cutting it close with numbers, the dance was still put on. The break even point for all school dances is 500 students, and it was just over 540 students, according to Mitzel.

“Last year we did not even come close to the numbers required,” Mitzel said. “When we plan a dance, a lot goes into that, like securing a DJ, and even if it cancels, we’re still required to pay the DJ.” Low attendance at Sadies is a repetitive cycle with students not wanting to

waste money on tickets, dresses and dinner if the dance is going to get canceled last minute, according to class of 2018 vice president Carla Voigt.

“Rarely do I have friends or classmates who have an interest in attending Sadies, and usually it gets canceled anyway for not selling enough tickets,” Colin Mulcahy ’18 said.

The four class councils and teacher advisors are constantly trying to find new ways to keep the student body interested. Meetings are held post dances to figure out what can be done to improve the dances and DJs have been changed to keep appealing to the student body.

“With homecoming, there's just so

much that goes into it, everyone can participate in what their class is doing, then there is the pep rally,” Mitzel said. “The dance is a big culmination of that, but you lose that with the Sadies dance.”

Other dances have been attempted to run as well, but Snowcoming was canceled, and the other popular dance, the Flowout is no longer allowed at South.

One downfall of the winter dances is winter sports, according to Mitzel. The gym space gets booked quickly with so many athletic teams.

“During such a busy time of the year, girls are spending money on Prom dresses already and with other events in early spring/late winter, it is hard to spend

more money and plan for your group of friends to be able to attend,” Voigt said.

Other activities include the work of getting the student body together without the expenses and stress dances bring along, whether it is an activity night, watching movies in the building or getting students to attend the class of 2018 march madness tournament.

“I think kids only have so much time for everything, seniors have a crazy stressful year, and winter sports practices and games, and that all plays a role in it,” Mitzel said.

6 | FEATURE

THE DEBATE: Pro life vs. pro choice

THETOWERPULSE.NET | 3.7.18

JACQUI MERCIER ’19 Section Editor

JACQUI MERCIER ’19 Section Editor

Julia Turnbull ’18 has been involved with South’s Students for Life Club before she was even a student at South, starting in 8th grade. She is now spending her fifth year with the club as their president.

According to Turnbull, Students for Life hosts meetings about twice a month in Mr. Adams’ room at 7:30 a.m. on Fridays, depending on the school schedule.

Turnbull said meetings usually consist of about 2030 students and the club has a roster of about 40 students.

“We usually read a news article or watch a video and then we break down into groups to discuss it,” Turnbull said. “Then we come back as a group to discuss it and get everyone’s opinions and thoughts on it.”

Aside from their meetings, Turnbull said members of Students for Life annually volunteer with the Gianna House, a pregnancy and parenting home and center in Eastpointe, around Christmas time where they decorate, donate gifts and give presents to the women and children that live there.

Turnbull also said they host a bake sale in the spring through St. Paul church and raise anywhere from 800 to 1200 dollars to donate about half of it to the Gianna House to help them grow as they are still up and coming.

A common misconception about Students For Life is that it is a strictly conservative or a right wing club, according to Turnbull.

In reality, the club is open to anyone who prioritizes choosing life and wants to get involved and help with the cause around the metro Detroit and Grosse Pointe community.

Turnbull said pro-life is an important cause to her because she believes everybody has a purpose and a meaning that needs to be respected.

“My parents have always pushed the ideas of loving everyone and respecting everyone no matter what,” Turnbull said.

PRO LIFE Members of the Students for Life club at the March for Life in Washington D.C. on January 20.

Sebastian Simon ’18 was one of the two founding presidents of South’s Pro-Choice club that began just one year ago. Simon is now on his second year of leading the club.

Simon said the Pro-Choice Club consists of about 12 members right now, since it’s only the club’s second year, and they’re still trying to grow.

The Pro-Choice Club has a lot of discussions, and they are planning a clothing and product drive for women’s shelters right now, according to Simon.

Simon said meetings are usually the first week of every month in Mrs. McCue’s room.

“Meetings are pretty relaxed, everyone is just talking and then we go into our plan for the next fundraiser, next idea, or something on the news that we feel we need to talk about or need to cover,” Simon said.

According to Simon, alongside Kate Gavagan ’18 and Maren Roeske ’18, he started the ProChoice club last year because, previously, there was only one side of the topic supported by the Students for Life Club at South.

“There was a pro-life club before for eight years, but no one had made a pro-choice club,” Simon said. “I felt like someone really needed to make that happen, and I got it off the ground.”

According to Simon, it’s important for South to have clubs supporting all standpoints on controversial subjects like this.

“I have always wanted to have everyone be represented and to hear all viewpoints on pretty much every issue, so it is definitely important to have that diversity,” Simon said.

PRO CHOICE Marchers in a pro-choice march holding up sings in support of the right to choose.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ROSE WILLIAMSON ’19

PHOTO COURTESY OF RILEY LYNCH ’18

From jumping off ski jumps to riding in the elevator AUDREY WHITAKER ’19 Section Editor Jacob Schaupeter ’21, broke both of his legs this January snowboarding.

“I was snowboarding, there was a jump, I landed, fell over and I tumbled on myself,” Schaupeter said. “It all happened very quickly.”

According to Schaupeter, he was in the wheelchair for about five weeks, but is now walking. In that time, he figured out the best ways to get around, and how to get to class on time.

Schaupeter left classes two to three minutes early to get to the elevators at either end of the building, and to his next class. “(The elevators) are pretty far in different corners of the building,” Schaupeter said.

“The IA building elevator rattles, and you

can get to the third floor, but you come out in someone’s classroom.”

Shaupeter said his route to class changed based on the elevators, which were the hardest place to get to.

According to Schaupeter, his English class with teacher John Monaghan was moved from South’s third floor, which cannot be reached by elevator, to another room that he could access.

“Teachers let me leave a little early and were understanding about some light work, but it got back to normal,” Schaupeter said.

According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), accessibility updates have to be applied during the design, construction and alteration of buildings and facilities covered by Titles II and III of the ADA to the extent

required by regulations issued by federal agencies.

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THETOWERPULSE.NET | 3.5.18

7 | FEATURE

School shootings inspire walkouts at South the stage, the movement places emphasis on the youth of America taking action. The Facebook group reminds people that many high school students will be eligible to vote in the next presidential election, and for some students, this has come as an inspiration.

“It is amazing to see all these people our age who are leading a new movement for reform,” Drew Clutterbuck ’19 said. “It will show that our safety is an important issue that needs to be addressed.”

For students like Clutterbuck, it seems the nation’s leaders have abandoned their posts by ignoring the issues for far too long. The walkout itself calls on Congress to hear the voices of those most affected, according to the Women’s March website.

“Washington needs to see that the next generation is not going to sit idly by while they do nothing,” Clutterbuck said.

The upcoming march is a way for the students of South to show this, according to Clutterbuck. He said he plans to walkout, and knows many other students who will walk out, such as Lucy Burgoyne ’19.

“I plan on walking out because we need to show that gun control is an issue we take very seriously,” Burgoyne said. “We need our voices to be heard and we won’t stop until something is done. This movement shows a lot about our generation.”

But while students such as Burgoyne and Clutterbuck may see this as a serious opportunity, others are more sceptical of its effectiveness.

“I’m not going to join the walkout because people aren’t going to be doing it for the right reason,” Westin Bate ’19 said. “I’d rather stay in school than participate in something that’s just being used as an excuse for attention and to miss class.”

Among students not participating in the walkout, there seems to be a feeling that the walkout is an ineffective method and is instead negatively affecting school. Renee Liu ’19 will remain in class at her parents behest because of the same reasoning.

“My parents and I don’t think the walkout will really affect legislators in Washington to do anything about school safety,” Liu said. “I’d rather stay in class and not miss out on my education.”

No matter whether students plan on participating or not, on everyone’s mind is the question of punishment and response from the administration. The focus on this caused the administration to send emails to both the staff and families in order to clear confusion.

“On March 14, students will not be subject to some aspects of the code of conduct and will not be in trouble if they participate responsibly in the march,” deputy superintendent Jon Dean said.

Grosse Pointe Schools are working to ensure the march remains focused on coming together in unity, principal Moussa Hamka said.

The email sent to GPPSS families from Dr. Gary Niehaus sets out the three focuses as honoring victims, rallying against school violence and advocating for resources to ensure safe and secure buildings.

“We want to make sure this is an inspiring event for students to come together after the horrifying events in Parkland,” Hamka said.

“We don’t want to create focus on another issue that divides the school.”

As much as the administration wants to ensure student safety, they also want this to be an event led by students. Hamka mentioned he has met with many student leaders who want to contribute to the event.

“This is a student organized piece,” Hamka said. “The administration does have a role in supervising and ensuring safety, but the march itself is something of which we have allowed the students to take lead.”

To ensure safety during the event, the school plans on sending school staff members along with the march, according to Dean. Hamka also assured that local public safety will be present.

“We do have some concerns regarding safety and logistics, so we are talking with students about that,” Hamka said. “The police will be present to ensure proper supervision.”

Along with staff members who are sent to supervise, any teachers are allowed to participate, but must organize it with the administration to ensure an organized process, according to Dean.

“If you are a staff member and you wish to join the students we encourage you to do so,” Hamka said.

Unfortunately for Liu, staying in class won’t ensure her school day isn’t interrupted, as many kids and teachers leaving at once could cause a disruption; however, the administration is working to make the process as smooth as possible.

“If you do not want to join the students outside no one is going to

STAND UP. STAND UP. WALK OUT. WALK OUT. PROTEST GUN VIOLENCE PROTEST IN GUN VIOLENCE IN OUR SCHOOLS OUR SCHOOLS

MARCH 14

MARCH 14

10 AM - 10:17 AM

10 AM - 10:17 AM

ADRIAN DOAN ’19 Page Editor In the aftermath of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, a wave of activism concerning gun control and school safety is sweeping the nation, inspiring school walkouts even at South.

On March 14, many students from South plan to leave school for 17 minutes at 10 a.m. in the #ENOUGH National School Walkout organized by Women’s March Youth EMPOWER. “We are not safe at school,” the event’s Facebook page said. “We are not safe in our cities and towns. Congress must take meaningful action to keep us safe and pass federal gun reform legislation that address the public health crisis of gun violence.”

Just as the survivors of the Stoneman Douglas shooting have taken

Locking the doors was smart, but there should be better background checks and students should be more aware of what to do in a school shooting.

CHARLES TIDERINGTON ’19

make you,” Dean said. “But we are going to need some staff members to accommodate [these students].”

The administration is devising plans to accommodate any students that would like to remain in the building. The plan could involve moving remaining students into rooms together, according to Hamka, but it is subject to change due to the unknown nature of student participation.

“It could be that hundreds of students decide to participate in the march or it could be only a dedicated few,” Hamka said. “There are so many factors we just have to prepare for many different scenarios. No matter what, we will focus on supporting our students and keeping them safe.”

GRAPHIC BY RILEY LYNCH ’18

There should be more mental health care, I feel like most people who commit school shootings have mental health issues.

The measures the school has taken already are pointless because I don’t think this issue is in the hands of the school.

JORDAN CONNALLY ’21

JOHN KYLE ’19

How do students feel South is handling school safety?

JOHN FRANCIS ’18 Editor in Chief

8 | FEATURE

THETOWERPULSE.NET | 3.7.18

Continued from page 1: World history teacher, Boys swim hockey coach Mr. Booth to serve as interim AD glides its continued from page 1 hold the position of Athletic Director. students at South, and helping them become more “I had Booth as a coach for three years at South,” “They hired a long term sub, so she’s going to be successful.

Kramer said. “I liked how he coached and ran prac- covering my classes for the rest of the year,” Booth Forming relationships and bettering students’ time tices.” said. “It was a little bit of a tough transition for me as an athlete at South is also Booth’s main goal.

This job is part of the administration at South, but letting my kids go, but for me it’s a great experience.”

“I’m looking forward to developing relationships Booth is aware of everything required, and is excited Christine Hetner will be the long term sub for with coaches I don’t have right now,” Booth said. “I’m to start working.

Booth. Hetner taught previously at Crestwood High looking forward to putting my stamp on things and “I’ve prepared for this,” Booth said. “I got my mas- School and Emerson Middle proving myself in the athletic deHe knows how to partment, and improving the expeters degree in educational leadership to be an admin- School. istrator, but for me I would say what better place to The transition has been a bit manage his time and rience for student athletes.” help kids get better at life, to get kids to be more suc- challenging for Hetner, but it’s also According to Booth, he loves the knows that when cessful in life.” very exciting. job so far, and is hoping to be the things need to get lasting Athletic Director.

Kramer agrees Booth is well prepared for this job.

“As a history teacher, it’s kind done, he will get them “He knows how to manage his time and knows of fun to dive right into whatev“I hope I’m the permanent athdone. that when things need to get done, he will get them er unit the students are learning,” letic director in the springtime done,” Kramer said. “He is already doing a good job Hetner said. “Because as historiwhen they make a choice; I’m going LAUREN KRAMER ‘18 with only one week in, so I think this job is perfect ans, we look at history as a comto make it tough for them not to for him.” prehensive thing, it’s not like a behire me,” Booth said. “But I’m just Booth is excited to attend more South sporting ginning, middle and end.” starting out so I’m getting used to it and there’s a lot events as the new Athletic Director.

Hetner is looking forward to getting to know the to get used to, but I love it so far.”

“I’m going to be at every varsity home game we have and I’m going to try to go to as many freshman and junior varsity (JV) games as possible,” Booth said. “I also want to see as many practices as possible.”

According to Booth, his I’m going to be at day to day duevery varsity home ties are quite game that we have different than and I’m going to try before as a to go to as many teacher.

“Teaching freshman and junior all day you varsity (JV) games as plan for it and possible you have a lesCHRIS BOOTH son plan, and I Athletic Director know exactly what’s going to happen from hour to hour, but this job up here you can’t plan for it,” Booth said. “The way I like to think of it is like I’m an event planner for athletics of the school, so it’s a lot of preparation and it’s a lot of time, but I’m STICKING IT Booth leads a drill at practice. He was the girls varsity hockey assistant coach for loving it so far.” three years until being the head coach last season.

PHOTO COURTESY OF CHRIS BOOTH Booth is no longer able to teach his classes and

way into states

ABI DUE’18 Social Media Editor Boys varsity swim and dive will compete in the 2018 MHSAA boys Division II Swim and Dive Championships this weekend, March 9-10, at Oakland University. Captains Thomas Jogan ’18 and Ethan Briggs ’18 are anticipating success at the meet, as they’ve continued their 18 year streak of MAC Red wins and improved upon their overall record from last year, Jogan said.

This year, the team has improved on their relays, which are now much more competitive than in the past, Briggs said.

“As a senior and as a captain, I have the most experience at big meets. I will do my best preparing my teammates for the demanding back to back racing this weekend,” Briggs said.

In order to prepare, they’re continuing to work hard, but have switched their workouts around so they can ensure the best results by tapering and decreasing yardage about two weeksbefore, Briggs explained. Not only does their preparation include physical activity, focusing in mentally on states at a higher level is important too, Jogan said “I will continue to encourage my teammates to work hard for the rest of the season, and get fired up for states,” Jogan said.

Matthew Koueiter ’18 is also excited about the state meet, along with the entire team.

“Based on how well our regular season went we’re looking really good for states and should do well,” Koueiter said.

Girls gymnastics dismounts into regionals

The Grosse Pointe Unified GymThe girls all believed they did their best to do well at reCAITLIN MILLER ’18 nastics team tumbles out of a producgionals, and their coach Kristin Remillet supported their Staff Writer tive regular season. And with a few hopes of making it past regionals and onto states. Although additions to the team and some team bonding, the team feels the girls did not place to go as a team to states three team confident in themselves for regionals. members will be moving on individually.

The girls’ have worked hard all season to “We will have to remain calm and achieve goals and improve on their skills, confident throughout the meet in order according to captain Sydney Dugan ’18. to be successful,” Remillet said .“We have “I feel like as the season progressed, our some wonderful gymnasts on our team I feel like as the season team made giant improvements, not only this year; if we go out there and put our progressed, our team individually, but as a whole,” Dugan said. best on display, we will be very successmade giant improveAccording to Kaleigh Wu ’20, the team ful.” ments, not only individhad prepared for their meets the best they The team tried their hardest at regionually, but as a whole. could and worked as hard as they could at als, according to Dugan. They placed each practice. She added that this season’s fourth when the top three teams would SYDNEY DUGAN ‘18 scores increased along with their skills bemove onto states. Dugan added they were ing upgraded. only one point away from qualifying for With all the hard work put into this seastates. The three individuals will attend son, the girls compete at regionals on Saturday, March 3, ac- states next Saturday. cording to Dugan.

“The girls are always working to improve and add new “Once the season started on Dec. 12, we had one to two skills to their routines,” Remillet said. They put in a big efmeets each week, occasionally with invitational meets on Sat- fort at every practice and meet; this is something that makes urdays,” Elizabeth Byarski ’19, a member of the team, said. coaching in this sport easy and fun.”

REGIONAL RESULTS The girls gymnastics team placed fourth at their regional meet on March 3. This doesn’t qualify the team for states, but three individuals will move on to states.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SYDNEY DUGAN ’18

SPRING SPORTS TRYOUTS

Baseball

Conditioning March 5-9, girls’ gym (outside weather permitting, dress accordingly) Freshman & JV 3:30-4:30, Varsity 4:30-5:30 March 12 tryouts Freshman & Varsity 3:30-5:30pm main & girls gyms JV 4-6pm at Lakeside Baseball Club, 3538 Cadieux

Crew

Pre-Season conditioning January-April Weekdays 4:30-6:30 p.m. at the Detroit Boat Club on Belle Isle

Boys Golf

Tryouts will be posted on school announcements

Girls’ Tennis February 14 preseason meeting, 3:10pm in the Student Commons Tryout dates/ location TBD based on weather and availability.

Will be on school announcements.

Boys’ Lacrosse

Tryouts: Monday 3/12: 5:30-7:30 Main & Girls Gym Tuesday 3/13: 8:00-9:30 in Boll Gym Wednesday 3/14: 6:30-8:00 in Boll Gym

Softball Spring conditioning is strongly encouraged Conditioning: March 5-8, 7:30-8:30PM girls gym First day of tryouts: March 12, 7:30-9:30PM in the main gym

Girls’ Track Conditioning starts March 5, Field Gym 3:30-5:00-dress for outdoors First official practice is March 12, 3:30-5:00 Field Gym-dress for outdoors Weekday practices during the season will be from 3:30 - 5:00

Girls’ Soccer Tryouts at Total Soccer, 34300 Utica Rd., Fraser March 12 – 7:45-9:15pm, March 13 -57:00pm, March 14 – 6:30-8:30pm

Girls’ Lacrosse Tryout information meeting: Thursday February 8th Student Commons 7:00PM Conditioning: March 5,7, & 9 Field Gym 7:009:00PM / March 6 & 8, Field Gym 5:00-7:00PM Tryouts start March 12 in field gym: Fr, Soph, returning JV 7:30-8:30PM Junior, Senior and returning Varsity 8:30-9:30PM /March 13 6:30- 8PM March 14 8-9:30PM

INFO COLLECTED BY EVIE KUHNLEIN ’20

Sail March 11, GPYC 11:30 a.m. for boat rigging.

March 12, 13, 14 at 3:45-6:45PM, tryouts. Must have proper gear for spring season including a dry suit.

At Grosse Pointe Yacht Club

Boys’ Track Conditioning: March 5-8, Girls’ Gym, 5:307:30pm First practice week: March 12-16, 5:30 p.m. in Boll Field Gym, dress for outdoors Weekday practices starting March 19, 3:30-5:30