Issue 6

TOWER the

Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015 Volume 88 Issue 6 thetowerpulse.net

A WEEKLY TRADITION SINCE 1928

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

VARSITY CLINCHES SPOT IN PLAYOFFS

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PHOTO BY JON THEROS

GRIFFIN BROOKS ’16 // Staff Writer ecuring their playoff spot, varsity football team beat Utica Ford 28-7 last Friday.

The Blue Devils started out slowly against Utica’s aggressive football team, giving up an interception and a 53-yard touchdown in the first two minutes of the game. However, they rebounded in the first series of the in the second quarter when Michael Stuhldreer ’16 forced and recovered a fumble at Utica’s 10-yard line.

“When we got that fumble recovery on the goal line and punched it in for seven, at that point they completely unraveled.

They had momentum, and they lost everything,” Mac Cimmarrusti ’16 said.

“That score turned the tide of the game for sure. Michael Stuhldreer turned the tide of that game.”

South got on a roll after the turnover.

They quickly followed up with a touchdown run from Garrett Hudson ’16 to tie the game 7-7. Later in the second quarter, quarterback Logan Mico ‘17 had a 25-yard touchdown pass to David Burnett ‘16 and a one-yard touchdown run to give South a 21-7 lead going into the second half.

South put the game out of reach with a touchdown pass from Mico to Sam Jones ’16 to make the score 28-7.

That touchdown capped off a run of 28 unanswered points by the Blue Devils.

“When they came out and we threw that pick and scored immediately I

thought this game was coming away from us.” Cimmarrusti said. “Then we did what we have done every game. We just rallied back, got to them, hit them hard, and they didn’t want to play at the end of the game.”

The team doesn’t know who they will play in the playoffs, head coach Tim Brandon said.

The way Michigan high school football is designed, the division that a team is in is not decided until the regular season is done. A certain number of teams make the playoffs, then the teams are broken into eight divisions, Brandon said.

“We don’t know what division we will be in yet,” Brandon said. “Right now we’re on the border between Division I and II.” If the football team is in Division I, they will most likely be in a district with Cass Technical High School, Warren Mott High School and possibly Fordson High School, Brandon said. If they are in Division II, then their district will include East English Village Preparatory Academy and potentially De La Salle High School.

The team is excited to advance to the playoffs after not making them last year and look forward to their first round game in two weeks, Will Poplawski ’16 said.

“We’re in the playoffs now,” Poplawski said. A little undisciplined sometimes in the game, but we stopped them when we needed to, and we’re going to the playoffs, that’s all that matters.”

Bathrooms closed due to vandalism, infrastructure

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The fall choir show will take place this Friday and Saturday. <see page 3>

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The last home varsity football game will be this Friday against Dakota at 7 p.m.

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Hall monitor Julie Kolomjec said in order to stop this vandalism from happening, hall monitors need to check all the bathrooms on their floor make sure there is nothing bad going on.

In addition to the main building and S building bathrooms being vandalized, the third floor IA building bathroom has had issues as well, Hamka said. This bathroom had its stall door striped from its hinges, and the administration has not yet caught the culprit.

“Those doors kept coming off,” Hamka said. “Whether they were being torn off or falling off, I don’t know.”

Regardless of who did it, he said the district has hired an outside company to renovate the doors.

“We have actually gotten a company that have come out and given us a bid on putting all new doors on the stall doors upstairs,” Hamka said.

While Hamka said that the third floor bathroom will be fixed soon, it might take a little longer due to the time it takes to order and ship the parts needed.

Hamka said the other bathrooms should be up and running by this week.

Meanwhile, Hamka said he expects students to uphold the Student Code of Conduct while using school property.

“I would continue to encourage our students to use our bathrooms responsibly and be the great kids we know them to be,” Hamka said.

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JD STANDISH ’18 // Staff Writer Vandalism and structural concerns have led to the closures of two boys bathrooms at South--the first in the first floor main building and the second in the first floor S building.

Beginning last year, vandalism has continued to be a topic of concern for administrators and is adding to the problems these old bathrooms already have, engineer Mike Torongo said.

In addition to the vandalism, the main building bathroom was undergoing renovations, Principal Moussa Hamka said, due to problems with its infrastructure.

“Some students were causing a mess in the bathroom,” Hamka said.

“But we also know that we had some structural issues.”

The main building boys bathroom is the old one that has just recently been worked on, Hamka said.

Plumbing issues were fixed by putting new vacuum breakers on the urinals, which suck down the water to be flushed down the pipes, Hamka said. However, We have actually problems persisted, since some gotten a company of the urinal pipes leaked and that have come out required repair. To fix this, the and given us a bid on urinal drains were snaked and putting all new doors on fixed by the South custodians the stall doors upstairs. and engineers, allowing the main building bathroom to be MOUSSA HAMKA reopened.

PRINCIPAL The S building bathroom, however, is closed solely because of vandalism, Torongo said.

“They (students) kept jamming up the toilet with toilet paper, and actually we found a little bit of everything--pencils, quite a bit of unique items, we’ll say, aside from toilet paper,” Torongo said.

This vandalism has been fixed, but it also forced administrators to lock the bathroom full time as a precautionary measure, since they suspect this illegal activity was happening there, Hamka said. The only way to gain access to the bathroom now is for students to ask a hall monitor to unlock it for them.

Although the first floor main building being locked didn’t significantly affect Ian Dewey ’18, he said the closure of the S building bathroom is extremely inconvenient. He resents that he has to track down a hall monitor to gain entry to the S building bathroom.

“Usually it doesn’t affect me, but sometimes I’m on the brink of death, and my prostate is about to explode,” Dewey said.

Freshman senator elections will take place next Tuesday. <see page 4>

opinion // 2

Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015

Closing of bathrooms teaches lesson yet burdens many

Plaguing male students since last year, the administration’s closures of two critical bathrooms intends to stop student vandalism and to address plumbing and structural issues.

The first floor main building bathroom and the first floor S building bathroom have been both been closed recently. The result of this has been either to go to another facility or needing a hall monitor to unlock the door to the S building bathroom. We feel that this approach is one that not only doesn’t necessarily solve the problem, but prolongs catching vandalism and much needed renovations to both bathrooms.

Many situations that involve vandalism at South are student-oriented and the blame is and should be put on them. As for the bathrooms, if in fact part of the problems come from students vandalizing or carrying on illegal activity, then the real question is why weren’t these culprits caught last school year when the problem first occurred? We feel that it’s somewhat ridiculous to lock the bathrooms, eliminating a valuable resource in the S building, seeing as it is the only bathroom nearby for most classes.

As for the S building bathroom’s policy of getting a hall monitor to unlock the door to the restroom, this seems like a tedious encounter for both the student needing to go and the hall monitor who could be taking care of other activity going on in the school. In some cases, a student

finds themselves walking the halls looking for the hall monitor to unlock the bathroom door. By this point, several minutes have gone by, leaving a teacher wondering what the student was doing while outside of class. This system only proves to be many hoops to jump through just to use the restroom.

The silver lining to these recent events is that new hardware has been put in place for the main building bathroom and as for the infamous no-door stall in the IA building, where many math classes are held, a door is planned to be placed. Yet a question remains, why did it take this long for these imminent changes to be made? We believe that these much-needed fixes would have been better addressed during the summertime when students are not using the building.

The administration thinks that due to safety concerns, closing the bathrooms prevents vandals from clogging the toilets. The validity of this argument is applicable only if the bathrooms are only closed for a short amount of time, rather than from winter of last year to well into first quarter of this school year.

Moving into the future, the district should allocate money proactively to fixing our bathrooms, and the administration should not punish the general student body for the repeated actions of a few rogue vandals.

CARTOON BY ABBY FERRY ‘16

OUR VIEW // EDITORIAL

COLLEGE CONFIDENTIAL No regrets: half marathon run

The first-born child application process requires careful planning

MY VIEW

Madeline DesNoyer ’16

As soon as my junior year ended last, there was one prominent topic in my household: college. Being the first-born, this process was new to me and my parents.

My entire summer included endless college research and visits. Since sophomore year, I knew I wanted to attend a big school because it fits my personality best.

I also came to conclusions on what I wanted to major in. Granted, by knowing these two important things, my college research process was much easier, but I digress. At the end of July I eventually came up with a list of five schools that I thought were my best fit. The Common Application, AKA Satan, went online Aug. 1, and I completed that as soon as I could.

I then used the Common App as a template for all of my other schools that had separate apps. All applications ask nearly the same thing, so by doing this, the process of applying went by much easier and faster.

When all of COLLEGE the questions CONFIDENTIAL were finished, I then moved to the essay portions of all of my apps. Every time I looked at the essay prompts, I actually felt nauseous.

How could I sum myself up in under 400 words? There were many tears and rough drafts of these essays. Now it’s early October and all of my applications, test scores and transcripts have been sent. All that’s left is the worst part: the wait.

Getting all of my applications done early was probably one of the most beneficial and rewarding things I’ve ever done. In retrospect, the whole process wasn’t as bad as others played it up to be. I feel like I stressed myself out by thinking that it was this ridiculously impossible challenge. Now, I have the rest of my senior year to enjoy my time but cringe every time I check my e-mail. Hopefully, some of my tips can help you:

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1. Research If you already have an idea of what you want to major in, this step is much easier. Search for schools with a good program to support your

interest. For example, I already knew that I want to go into some type of career with a communications background, so I researched schools that would complement my principal interests.

If you have no idea what career path you are considering, there is no problem with that.

There are plenty of people who I know have applied undecided. School size and location can also play a very important role in your decision.

2. Schedule a visit Seeing the campus and understanding what student life is really like could majorly affect your decision on applying to a school. By visiting and talking to student representatives, you’ll be able to figure out if this school is the right fit for you or not. These visits are beneficial because you’re given tours and an information session by students attending the school.

You can ask them questions about their experiences and opinions on anything.

3. Letter of Recommendation Sometimes schools don’t require these, but for the ones that do, it can really make or break your application. You’ll usually need one from a teacher and a counselor. This is where teachers can brag about how good of a student and human being you are. Having a good word put in from a third party is an excellent way for colleges to see and learn more about you. Make sure you ask teachers early so they have enough time so they can prepare and write a letter for you on time; chances are they have plenty more to write as well.

4. Personal deadlines Setting up smaller deadlines for myself really motivated me and helped organize my time.

My ending deadline for all of my apps to be done was Oct. 1, a month before the early-action deadline. I’m impatient and waiting for my acceptance letters might be the death of me, so applying early was a good choice for me.

5. Finishing touches Once you’ve finished your apps, the CRC will be your new best friend. Request your transcripts and letters of recommendation on Naviance. Then head down to the CRC and request your transcripts once again but through filling out a form. Make sure you request your test scores from ACT.org and have them sent to all of the schools you are applying to.

By following these steps, I completed all of my applications by Oct. 1. I am no longer stressing about whether or not I will make the early action deadline. I have time to myself to really focus on my senior year and making the best of it.

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

Online Associate Editor Preston Fossee* ’16

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

teaches student a lesson in perseverance MY VIEW Lindsey Clark ’16

One day last March I was delirious. It was 11 p.m. after a long day of school, sailing and homework, and I was exhausted.

In that state, I had what seemed like a really good idea. I wanted to run a half marathon.

That night I signed up for the Detroit Free Press Half Marathon.

Throughout the following week I kept asking myself: What was I thinking?

I have been on the cross country team for four years. While I love the spirit of the team, I have always struggled to get motivated in the off-season. Also, the longest I had ever run was five miles. How was I supposed to run 13.1 miles and get motivated to train?

As the start my training schedule approached at the end of May, I began to get more excited. I was actually going to do this.

I figured that if I trained well over the summer, and got some mileage in, I could stop training in the fall but use cross country practices to keep up my endurance. If I needed to, I planned to do longer runs on the weekends after the meets.

At the start of my training, however, I started having a pain in my hip when I ran. I assumed it was just a result of my increased mileage. I struggled with my hip problems all summer until I went to the doctor, where she suggested I start some physical therapy.

I began at ATI physical therapy in Detroit and started working hard, because I knew I wouldn’t be able to run if my hip was injured. This was my motivation. By the beginning of Oct., two weeks from race day, I was feeling like my hip was back to normal.

As race day approached, I told myself that whatever happens happens. If I needed to walk a few miles, I would. I wanted to complete the half and enjoy it.

As my luck would have it, just four days before the race, I got sick. And it wasn’t just a few sniffles. It was full-blown coughing, sneezing, aching and exhaustion. I did not think I could run, and much less race, in my condition.

However, I woke up at 4:50 on race day, feeling better than I had in days. Even though I still had a cough, my recovery was

Staff Writers Abigail, Warren, Blair Shortal, Callie Zingas, Christina Ambrozy, Elizabeth Coyle, Gennie Martin, Griffin Brooks, Hadley Diamond, Hailey Murphy, J.D. Gray, Jessica Whitney, Jon Theros, Katharine Kuhnlein, Lily Patterson, Lindsey Clark, Mac Cimmarrusti, Madeline DesNoyer, Olivia Frederickson and Olivia Wouters, all ’16 Abby Ottenhoff, 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, Blair Cullen, 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

one of record speed. I was ready to run.

Getting to the starting line was a bit crazy with all of the road closures, but we made with enough time to check our gear at bag check and head to the starting line.

The energy of the race was exhilarating.

There was music playing and thousands of people (28,000 to be exact) lined up at the starting line.

The view of the Detroit skyline and the river going over the Ambassador Bridge was incredible, but the gradual incline of the bridge made it tough.

One of my favorite parts of the race was the posters made by spectators. Signs like PHOTO COURTESY OF LINDSEY CLARK ’16 “May the course be POST-HALF with you,” “You run MARATHON // better than our government” and “Run Lindsey Clark like it’s the start of the Hunger Games” ’16, with her provided much-needed comic relief. mom and I was surprisingly still going strong by aunt. They mile seven at the start of the tunnel back completed a to Detroit. It was the farthest I had ever 13.1 run in run. My legs were starting to get fatigued, Detroit this but I had a few more miles left in me. The past Saturday. tunnel, however, drained some of that energy. It was humid and stuffy compared to the 35 degree weather outside. Plus, the tile and cement walls did not provide much to look at to keep me entertained.

The rest of the miles were tough, but knowing that I was almost done kept me pushing. I was amazed at how far I could go, despite my lack of training. I realized my body can keep running for a lot longer than my mind thinks it can. It was remaining positive that let me go those last miles.

I ran the entire half marathon with my aunt, who kept me at a steady pace. Without her, I would have probably walked some of it. I am so grateful for that. We ran through that finish line like victors, with arms raised and smiles on our faces. We finished, and that itself enough to celebrate about.

I think going into the half with a positive mindset was what allowed me to run the whole thing.

Despite my training setbacks, I am glad I decided to run the half marathon. My advice for anyone considering doing the Detroit half marathon next year is to enjoy it. Take in the energy and excitement of the race. Walk if you have to, but just be proud of your accomplishment. 13.1 miles is a lot of miles.

Adviser Rod Satterthwaite “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.

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 ma not advocate illegal activities or contain libelous, irresponsible or obscene material.

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news // 3

Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015

FALL FOLLIES: RACHEL HARRIS ’18 // Copy Editor Kicking off their performance season, South’s choirs will put on their annual production of Fall Follies this weekend at the Grosse Pointe North Performing Arts Center at 7 p.m.

“I think that what the choir does, is we put on a show,” choir director Christopher Pratt said. “It (Fall Follies) involves singing and dancing, but there’s a lot of acting, and there is a lot of humor in it, a lot of kind of serious commentary through music and then some lighthearted moments.”

Fall Follies is a variety show involving all four South choirs: Sounds of South, South Singers, Tower Belles and Pointe Singers. Members in all four choirs have rehearsed since the start of the year to prepare for the showcase, Pratt said.

“I feel like from the standpoint of how they’ve been working, they’ve been working really hard,” Pratt said. “So that’s really been kind of a neat thing. They’ve come together as a team a lot, so it’s been kind of cool that way.”

Tower Belles member Ellie Connors ‘18 said she looks forward to students and parents attending the show and seeing the progress the choirs have made.

“I am excited because we are adding every concert starting from our summer workshop, and we are starting to build our competition set, and so we get to add a couple new songs this time to our competition set,” Connors said.

This year’s performance will have different styles and variations of songs and numbers, which are the pieces the choir performs.

Song styles include musical

Annual fall choir production this Friday, Saturday

theatre and recent pop hits, Pointe Singers member Claire Yonkus ‘17 said.

Since its a variety show, there is something in it for everyone, Pratt said.

“I always think that that’s a really good thing to get students, as well as parents and community members, to come see the shows.”

Connors said she hopes many people come to see how much the choirs have improved.

“The South choir is a really big part of the community, and we are known for how good our competition sets can be,” Connors said.

“We are a premiere show choir, and you will be able to see our show for a really good price.”

Yonkus is simply looking forward to being on stage and entertaining people, she said.

“I am just excited to perform in front of an audience, because we have been working on it for a while, so I guess that’s exciting,” Yonkus said.

Pratt said he looks forward to seeing the choirs’ growth from show to show throughout the year. Certain areas the choir has struggled with in the beginning of the year becomes better as time goes on, he said.

“Our choirs have been successful in competition,” Pratt said. “They keep pushing the bar up every year.

That’s why I think you should come.”

Fall Follies will be on Oct. 23 and 24 at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased through the choir web site and at Posterity Gallery in the Village for $9 for students or seniors, $15 for all lower level seats and $12 for balcony seats.

GRAPHICS BY HALEY VERCRUYSSE

JAZZ HANDS // Grosse Pointe South’s choir performs in their annual Fall Follies concert last year. Their performance will take place this Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m.

PHOTO COURTESY OF GPS CHOIR WEBSITE

Parent-teacher conferences return for third year conferences well-attended.

“I definitely think they (conferences) are beneficial, although I think the structure could be changed slightly,” McNamara said. “Most parents will come to the first night.

The second night is less attended.”

National Honor Society (NHS) volunteers will assisting at conferences by checking parents in on an iPad, NHS adviser Lisa Kurtz said.

“This is so we can keep track of which parents have come for which children, and then a grand total of how many parents are there,” Kurtz said. “There should be a student at each entrance so parents don’t have to go anywhere in particular.”

Last year 623 parents attended conferences over the two day period and a greater turnout is expected this year, Assistant Principal Steven Wolf said.

“Even when parents are not able to attend conferences and/or Back to School Night, we always keep an ongoing form of communication between staff and parents to monitor our students’ successes,” Wolf said.

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HANNAH CONNORS ’16 // Copy Editor For the third year, South will hold parent teacher conferences this Wednesday and Thursday from 5-8 p.m.

Parent teacher conferences are purposefully held several weeks into the semester and serve a different purpose than Back to School Night, Secretary for Assistant Principals Colleen Spencer, who organizes the conferences, said via e-mail.

“At Back to School Night, parents get an overview of each class. It’s not designed for individual questions,” Spencer said.

“During parent-teacher conferences, which is several weeks into the semester, parents can meet with their child’s teachers one-on-one to see how they are doing in class.”

The benefit of holding conferences both Wednesday and Thursday is that parents have an option if they are busy one of the two nights, Spencer said.

“We want as many parents as possible to participate,” Spencer said.

However, science teacher Shawn McNamara, whose students include both upperclassmen and freshmen, said over the past two years, he has seen only one night of the

18136 Mack Ave. Grosse Pointe, MI 48230 (313) 881-5890 * Fax (313) 881-4077 www.grossepointeothro.com

parents attended parent-teacher conferences last year over two days

3 first rd

year of parentteacher conferences

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news // 4

Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015

PHOTO COURTESY OF GPS MARCHING BAND PHOTO BY KRISTIN MALLEGG

Marching to a new beat

Marching band fundraises for official uniforms in an attempt to take them to the next level

unteer group,” Takis said. “Part of the reason it has grown so much is KATHARINE KUHNLEIN ’16 // Staff Writer ack for its third year after an almost 30-year hiatus, South’s that every kid who is here, is here because they want to be.”

In 2013 the marching band had 47 members, in 2014 it had 52 marching band is ready to step up to the challenge of raising money for new uniforms, according to marching band director and now it has 75 members, Takis said.

Uniforms are the next step for the marching band, mellophone secChris Takis.

In previous years, marching band members have worn polo-type tion leader Seth Adams ‘17 said. It is going to be a great year, and he is shirts, however because of the increase in the overall size of the band, excited for this important step for the marching band.

“I want uniforms because of how much the comthey are now wearing T-shirts and jeans, trumpet munity supports us--it’s time we go all out.” Adams player Devon Krasner ’19 said.

What we do is really said. “The uniforms will increase our support, and The band is looking to have a more professionhard, and the uniforms we will be viewed as an actual marching band withal outfit that will provide them with a more unified will help display our in the community.” look, drum major Alissa Martin ’16 said. professionalism and Krasner agrees.

“I do want uniforms, because they are a staple how serious we are “What we do is really hard, and the uniforms will to every marching band, and it’s time South gets help display our professionalism and how serious them,” Martin said. about making music. we are about making music,” Krasner said.

In order to have uniforms for next year the band DEVON KRASNER ‘19 The band members and parents are excited needs to raise between $40,000-$45,000, Takis about the uniforms and the professional look they said. So far they have raised about $13,000 through marching band funds and over $3,000 of that has been through their will provide, Takis said.

“It’s that last sign of validity. It really makes things more official,” gofundme site, a fundraising tool for individuals and organizations, Takis said. “If you go to a university like Michigan, Michigan State or according to gofundme site.

“The school usually doesn’t fund costuming,” Krasner said. “March- Ohio State or a place like that, one of the things that is most recoging band is an extracurricular, therefore the school usually doesn’t nizable about going to a college football game is having the marching fund them. Choir has to raise money for their costumes, therefore we band there.”

Uniforms will help the band stand out and improve its overall apdo too. Also, the school wants us to come up with a way to raise the pearance, as uniforms are steeped in military tradition and add anmoney ourselves.”

The students don’t rehearse in class, but since all students are in other level of being official, Takis said. The goal of any performing band and orchestra kids it’s considered co-curricular, Takis said. In- ensemble is to look the exact same, and the current matching T-shirts stead, they practice on Thursday nights for about two and a half hours. are not uniform.

“If it’s not too hot, they will be worn at all football games. What a At the beginning of August, the band had a week-long camp, where lot of schools do, is they have a summer uniform and wear matching they meet for nine hours a day.

“We don’t require every band member to participate. This is a vol- shorts and a shirt, for when it is really, really hot,” Takis said.

B

VISITORS ONLY

New parking lot creates a visitor area to enhance convenience due to limited access into the building

ARIANA CHENGGES ’16 // Staff Writer The visitor parking lot has now been moved to the Fisher lot, said Colleen Spencer, secretary for the assistant principals.

“This will be more convenient for people who come to our building because it is much closer to the main entrance door, which is now on Fisher,” Spencer said. “Since we consolidated with this change, we didn’t want our visitors to park in the S lot, where the parking used to be, and have them walk all the way around to the entrance.”

The signs in the parking lot are much more clear to the visitors who are not familiar with the area, Spencer said.

Not only is this changed to help with our visitors, but also to create a new security entrance to There is a multi-step the doors, said Betprocedure in doing all of sy Enders, Mothers’ the security enhancements Club Vice-President that the district has come of Scholarships. up with.

“There is a multistep procedure in BETSY ENDERS doing all of the secuMOTHERS’ CLUB VICE PRESIDENT rity enhancements OF SCHOLARSHIPS that the district has come up with,” Enders said.

Eventually, the main office will be moved by the Fisher doors, taking a couple years to complete.

The administration will move some classrooms around, but the whole office will be by the main door, and any visitors entering the school will have to have their ID checked for security purposes, Enders said.

Margret Reilly ’17 said she supports anything administrators can do to help make the school more safe and secure, even if it does inconvenient the student body.

“I think this is a very beneficial for the school because security is extremely important to everyone in this building,” Reilly said.

We asked officers from the Class of 2016 and SA what advice they have for the freshmen who are running

Lilly Hampton ‘16 For secretary, keep on top of attendance and notes and stay organized.

To contribute to the band uniforms, go to https://www.gofundme.com/southmarchingband or mail donations to: Grosse Pointe South Band & Orchestra attn: Christopher Takis 11 Grosse Pointe Blvd.

Grosse Pointe Farms, MI 48236 The uniforms will be worn next year, if enough money is raised.

Takis hopes to have the band further advance the “One of the things that you see in the area are marching band invitationals, where certain schools will invite other schools to participate.

These events are specific to marching bands,” Takis said. “There is a chance we would do stuff like that in the future.”

Kitty McKay ‘16

Anna Carmody ‘16

Try your hardest, and be passionate. It’s something they have an opportunity to be a leader in, so they should take advantage of it.

Be confident with what they have to bring to the table.

Make sure they’re giving forth all of their effort.

Margaret Sohn ‘16 Don’t stress out, don’t take anything for granted, and have fun!

Alex Niforos ‘16 Don’t sleep through the meetings.

Information compiled by KAITLIN NEMEH ‘18 and HANNAH CONNORS ‘16

Freshman elections for SA, class council to begin this week RACHEL HARRIS ’18 // Copy Editor Freshmen voted for Class of 2019 officers yesterday and can vote for senators Oct. 27 in Cleminson before school, during both lunches and after school.

“Student Council provides a lot of opportunities for students to get involved with their school and give back to an environment that does so much for us,” Student Association (SA) Vice-President Jennifer Maiorana ‘16 said.

Freshmen can be involved in student council by either running for an officer or a senator position.

Officer positions include Class of 2019 President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer. Students can also run for one of the six senator positions for both SA and class council.

“Officers hold specific positions and have specific duties,” SA adviser Laura Distelrath said. “For example, the president plans and runs meetings and has to communicate with their class and adviser.”

SA involves school-wide events such as planning Homecoming and raising money for charity, and Student Council fundraises for prom and their class, Maiorana said.

Students can still be on the senator ballot if they did not get elected a class officer by contacting Distelrath by this Friday at the end of the day.

“Getting involved in SA and Student Council is a great way to meet new people,” Distelrath said. “If you are going to be here for four years, you may as well make the most of it.”

feature // 5

Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015

Future rise of minimum wage sparks debate legislation under which the minimum wage will be at $9.25 an hour as of Jan. 1, LINDSAY STANEK ’16 // Pulse Copy Editor 2018, which is part of law passed in 2014 that has been gradually raising the wage. *Name has been changed to protect the privacy of source.

“As someone who works two jobs while earning a degree, I support raising With support of a possible new $15 federal minimum wage coming from such the wage,” Andrew* ’09 said, a former North student who is a manager in the people as Democratic Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, some feel that it’s food service industry, who wished to remain anonymous due to a confidentiality too steep a hike. agreement at his job. “Fifteen dollars is too high, but right now it’s way too low The concept of a minimum wage was first proposed by President Franklin D. because a lot of people are trying to not only live off it but trying to get a better Roosevelt and set at $0.25 per hour under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, life. ” according to the US Department of Labor.

Those who support a rise in the minimum wage say at its Roosevelt intended for the minimum wage to provide a current status of $8.15 per hour, it’s impossible to live off of, living wage, but with current inflation, the former wage of Right now it’s way too low such as Kelly* ’16, who currently is an associate manager in $0.25 per hour would only be at $4.20 an hour. However, the the food service industry and agreed to be interviewed if we standard of living has increased, so the American definition because a lot of people are didn’t use her name since she signed a confidentiality of a living wage isn’t truly a living wage anymore, according trying to not only live off it agreement as part of her employment. to the article “The 7 Most Dangerous Myths about a $15 but trying to get a better life.

“While I support raising the minimum wage, Minimum Wage,” published by Forbes magazine.

I think $15 an hour is too much, ” Kelly said.

Currently, the District of Columbia has the highest ANDREW* ‘09 “Working in food service has opened my minimum wage at $10.60 an hour, and Georgia has the eyes to the everyday struggles these people lowest, $5.15 an hour, according to the National Conference with low wages face, and I 100 percent support a possible raise, of State Legislatures.

Those who work jobs protected under the Fair Labor Standards Act must be but only within reason.”

However, those opposed to the raise claim that if a high paid the federal mandated minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. school student can do a job, it’s not fit to be a career, John* However, anyone who works a job which isn’t covered must only be paid ’16 said, an employee in the food service industry who also adhering to the state minimum wage, which is why 21 states currently have asked that we not use his name due to a confidentiality minimum wages less than that of the federal, such as Georgia. According to the agreement with his employer, adding that at his own partUS Department of Labor, all jobs within the US are protected except for those time job, if he wasn’t enrolled in school, he would easily be able which are federally exempted, such as commissioned sales employees, farm to work another job and therefore earn double. workers and those who work at seasonal establishments.

“I just don’t think that you’re really earning that much when you’re So far in 2015, only Rhode Island has elected to raise its minimum wage doing such an easy job, ” John said. “It’s like those Geico cavemen commercials. following a vote in favor of the bill by the state’s general assembly, after which Gov. If a caveman could do it, it’s not worth as much.”

Gina Riamondo signed into law. However, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has signed

GRAPHIC BY GABI DE COSTER ‘16

YOUR VIEW: SHOULD THE MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE?

NICK SHANKIE ‘16 I think the minimum wage should be raised because I want more money.

GRACE MALLIRES ‘16 It should not be raised for me, but I feel like for some jobs, it should be.

GRANT CLEMENT ‘16

It should be raised because minimum wage is not designed to be lived on for long periods of time.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF HADLEY DIAMOND ‘16

Working hard or hardly working?

Reasons for taking a job are as diverse as the jobs themselves

A

LIAM WALSH ’18 // Staff Writer high school job can be a mixed bag. Some spell monotony while others are full of excitement and new opportunities. As many as 16 percent of teens have jobs according to the Washington News 2013, but the reason for having a job varies.

PHOTO BY BRENNABROMWELL ‘16

SMART SAVINGS // Griffin Vandenbussche ’16 checks out a customer at Pet Supplies Plus. To save for college and to earn pocket money, Vandenbussche and other students work part time.

For Adam VanOsdol, financial reasons were a motivating There are different work options all around Grosse Pointe, and they factor. all offer different duties. Wilk mainly works the register at Panera.

“I just wanted to start buying my own things and have a nice sum “I primarily do cash and what that means is I man the bakery, and of money that I could save up and spend how I wish,” VanOsdol said. when someone orders a bagel or a pastry, I get that for them,” Wilk Peter Calcaterra ’18 works at Kroger in The Village. said. “At night I get to bag up the pastries for donations because we do “I wanted money,” Calcaterra said. “Kroger is a great place for donate all of our leftover pastries and breads at the end of the night, teenagers to work. I’m only allowed to bag.” which a lot of people don’t think we do. I also get to slice bread.”

Van Osdol also works in the village, at TCBY in the Village and At TCBY, VanOsdol has different duties that need to be done, but Cabbage Patch Cafe in the Park. still need to be done nonetheless.

“I love both places where I work,” VanOsdol said. “They’re both “At TCBY, there’s a couple duties I have. The main one is helping very different and both in the food industry, so I think there’s a lot customers. Serving yogurt, making them happy, ringing them up at to be learned from that, like day-to-day, because you’re dealing with the register,” VanOsdol said. “I also help to keep the store clean, keep people and facing problems directly.” all the materials and yogurt stocked, and if I’m Wilk works at he brightly-lit bakery and doing a night shift I have to wash the dishes used coffee shop of Panera. She works as one of the that day or sweep the floors and mop the floors.”

I just wanted to start associate trainers, but primarily mans the cash Work can be enjoyable and Panera is able to buying my own things registers. provide some of those things. There are many “Honestly, I love it so much,” Wilk said. “I positives of working there according to Wilk. and have a nice sum of love interacting with the customers.”

“There are too many things,” Wilk said. “I love money that I could save Workplaces around Grosse Pointe are the fact that I trust the food we make. A lot of time up and spend how I wish. different places have pretty questionable food. Panera’s stuff ADAM VANOSDOL ‘16 Customers can vary. There are regulars for is real.” most restaurants that come in and are friendly Treating workers well can help to make a good with all of the workers, than there are the working environment, Wilk said. occasional grumpy ones.

Jobs add to much of the responsibilities that students already have Their happiness makes employees happy according to VanOsdol. and Wilk’s managers understand that school comes first.

“One of my favorite things is when I give little kids their yogurt “It’s very easy to request time off if you need to if you have school and their whole face lights up,” VanOsdol said. “I get a little kick out problems,” Wilk said. “The managers are very flexible on your of that.” availability.”

Wilk agrees that customers are important. Regulars can also Van Osdol also likes the place where he works. He said TCBY is brighten up the day said Wilk. kept clean by the staff and he said he is impressed by that.

“I’m very fortunate that we have regular customers that come in,” “At TCBY I definitely think that for a restaurant it is so clean and Wilk said. “Sometimes you get the odd kind of rude customer, but you cleanly,” Van Osdol said. “We work constantly to keep just the counters get over it.” and the back part clean.”

With all of the great things that come with having a job, there are Counselor Nicholas Bernbeck said he recognizes the benefits of a few difficult things. You have to have a positive attitude and keeping having a job, but he also knows about the drawbacks. that up can be difficult VanOsdol said.

“I think it is a good idea if they have their schedule balanced,” “Sometimes an order will get messed up, or a customer will get Bernbeck said. “If they can handle work and school, then I think a job angry at you, or their child spills yogurt all over the floor,” Van Osdol can be very beneficial to them.” said, “and you have to deal with it but you can’t really let it show that Class load and homework are important factors in the amount of it’s making your job harder. You just have to be the best you can be.” work that a student can accomplish.

Sometimes the challenges are more physical than mental according “So it depends on how many hours they’re working, what classes to Wilk. they have scheduled, so if they have enough time to balance their “Filling the ice in the pop machine,” Wilk said. “You have to climb homework,” Bernbeck said. “So if you’re taking a more rigorous on a chair, and it’s awkward because people look at you and you also schedule, you might have more homework in which case you get to have to dump a huge bucket of ice.” work less.”

The difficulties of jobs can make them taxing and tiring. They take Bernbeck thinks that teens also need time to be teens. up time and can leave little time to do homework. There’s good parts “It really has to do with balance of outside activities, school, to having jobs, like making friends Van Osdol said. homework, athletics, work time with your family and friends too,” “It’s working with my friends,” VanOsdol said. “I love all the people Bernbeck said. “I think it’s important for teenagers to be teenagers.”

I work with. I’ve made more friends through that.” have leisure time.”

feature // 6

Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015

Fake IDs can lead to legal consequences MAGGIE WRIGHT AND HANNAH CONNORS, BOTH ’16 // Page Editor and Copy Editor

*Name has been changed to protect the privacy of source.

Two truths, one lie.

Sex: Female.

Eyes: Blue.

Age: 21?

Betty* was asked earlier this year by her friend if she wanted to go in on a group getting fake IDs. “I didn’t think I would get one in high school, but then some of my friends were getting one, and they needed more people to be in the group (in order to reach the minimum number the person making them required),” Betty said.

Betty said she knows little about the process that goes into making a fake ID. She doesn’t know who made it or how, as her friend handled all contact with the manufacturer.

Fake IDs allow students to live with two identities typically to allow the purchase of alcohol and illegal substances and to get into places they typically aren’t allowed, Detective John Walko of the I say be young, take Grosse it from an old guy, be Pointe young for as long as Far ms you can. Embrace the Police enthusiasm of your age said. and don’t look to escape or sedate yourself.

The minimum penalty that someone can get for having a fake ID is a $2,000 fine and one year in prison, and that is simply for a misdemeanor conviction of possessing a fake ID, said Walko.

If a student has a fake ID and commits another crime while in possession of the fake ID, that equals more potential time.

“I don’t really know what the consequences are legally, but I know if my parents found out, that would be bad.

I get really scared when I use it,” Betty said.

Most teens are unaware of the results of using a fake ID, Walko said. The consequences go up, too, when the ID is used for illegal purposes.

“It is a bold to move using one (fake ID),” C.J. Lemanski ‘16 said. “The consequences are liberal and pretty intense.”

Consequences increase if the fake ID is used for other illegal activities, Walko said. A felony conviction is giving for selling or pending to deliver or possessing two more IDs resulting in up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

“Most young people think, ‘Oh I’m going to get a fake ID to buy booze or cigarettes’ or something like that, but if

you’re caught that right there, just the ID, is a year in jail and a $2,000 fine,” Walko said.

While Betty said no one has questioned her fake ID yet, if she is caught, there are very serious consequences, Walko said.

“When someone is caught, a warrant request to the city is written to the city prosecutor, who comes back with charge and goes to court,” Walko said.

“If a felony is also committed, then that would be taken to Wayne County court. (These are) very formal gestures, not something that should be taken lightly by any means.”

While he hasn’t seen an increase in fake IDs recently, Walko said he believes there were too many to begin with.

“Why would someone get it? Because they want to be old enough to buy alcohol and stuff like that and that is what’s so ironic about it. Kids are trying to be older for the wrong reasons,” Walko said.

“I say be young. Take it from an old guy. Be young for as long as you can. Embrace the enthusiasm of your age and don’t look to escape or sedate yourself. This is one of the greatest times of your life.

Why would you look to numb your brain with alcohol or

anything like that?”

For Betty, though, getting a fake ID was more of an accident than anything.

“I didn’t think I would get one in high school, but then some of my friends were getting one, and they needed more people to be in the group. I didn’t go look it up, someone just came to me,” Betty said.

A lot of high school students obtain fake IDs to be ready for college, too, Betty said. However, they are not cheap.

“I got two IDs, and it cost $109. They’re exactly the same. It’s just two different copies in case one gets taken,” Betty said.

Students typically purchase the fake IDs in groups in order to decrease the cost, Betty said. Groups are organized by one of the students and sent in via e-mail. The name that one chooses to be on their ID varies from person to person, Betty said.

I didn’t think I would get one in high school, but then some of my friends were getting one, and they needed more people.

BETTY* “It has my picture. I did a fake name, but everybody else did their real names,” Betty said. “I did my middle name and my grandma’s last name.

It says it’s from New York.”

Ultimately fake IDs are purchased by underage kids trying to participate in activities they are not suited for, Walko said.

“Don’t you dare let any peer pressure get in the way of your life,” Walko said. “Be young.

Be confident, and stay away from those things that rob you of it like cigarettes, drugs and alcohol. That’s why having an ID is wrong-- because it leads you to those things.”

IDENTIFICATION CARD LN BATES FN RONALD DOB 06-09-15

JOHN WALKO

GROSSE POINTE FARMS POLICE DETECTIVE

GRAPHICS BY ERYKAH BENSON ‘17

‘You can’t zoom in on Instagram, mother’ A parents’ guide to today’s social media catchphrases MY VIEW

GENNIE MARTIN ’16

SQUAD GOALS!

It’s not a surprise to teenagers that our parents are out of the loop, although often times when I tell them about social media, texting abbreviations or social trends, I expect them to know more about the topic.

Swag?

The whip?

To adults, these are often foreign concepts, although to us they’re the social norm. We dance our peculiar dances.

We use slang that makes us sound like we’re talking a different language. We have social media that we constantly use, and our parents don’t understand any of it. It’s just the way it is.

Although their confused attempts to try and decipher a new slang word or sentence is entertaining, in the end, it just shows how truly outdated they are.

They jab their middle fingers at their iPhones to text, and they freak out when you show them a Snapchat, and it leaves the screen suddenly when the allotted time runs out.

“Where did it go?!” they ask frantically.

I’m constantly rolling my eyes due to the failure of our parents to understand the addition of new teenage trends and technology. For some of us, it’s difficult to imagine our parents ever being “hip,” but just like us, our parents were teenagers at some point in their lives whether we accept it or not.

As the spotlight generation, we are so used to having our slang, clothing style, music and dance moves all over the media. We almost speak in a different language with our texting abbreviations, Vine quotes and weird slang, but sooner or later, just like our parents, our world is going to be outdated.

Even though we cringe when our parents use a word like “yolo” or start

singing a popular rap on the radio, we should remind ourselves that they are trying their best.

When you think about it, we are constantly around other teenagers who have nothing better to do with their lives than create crazy dances moves and text lingo. How are we supposed to expect parents to be “hip” if they are never around teenagers who could teach them these things?

The reason parents are so disconnected from our world is partly because we don’t take the time to inform them of what’s going on. Although often times teaching our parents teen lingo is more entertaining than helpful, it’s what we would want our kids to do for us.

In fact, when your parents embarrass you by dancing in front of your friends and you start gagging, remember this: At one point in life, they were hip too. And as much as we hate to say it, sooner or later we are going to be just like them: old-fashioned and out of touch (no offense, parents).

Just like we do now, our children are going to record us doing crazy dances and post it on whatever hot new social media is in then. They will undoubtedly make fun of the way we dress and the old fashioned words we use. They will roll their eyes at us, and we’ll look back at the time that we were on top of the world.

We’ll remember using phrases like “on fleek,” “turn up,” “I can’t even,” “ratchet” and “Yaaaass.” We’ll recall cool moves like “the dougie” and “the shmoney dance.”

We will laugh about hashtags on Instagram like #mcm and #wcw, but when we try to fit this lingo into conversations with our kids, just like we do now, they will get embarrassed and groan.

So cherish every day of your teenage years and make sure to take your some time out of your day to explain things to your parents, because sooner or later we’ll be #outdated.

netflix and chill

reviews // 7

Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015

STEVE JOBS: awesome ‘Jobs’ vs. ‘Jobs’ Rotten Tomato Score

82%

27%

PHOTO COURTESY OF macrumors.com

PHOTO COURTESY OF underconsideration.com

Meet the Steves

PHOTO BY GORDON CORRELL

Steve Jobs Michael Fassbender

PHOTO BY TONY SHEK

Steve Wozniak Seth Rogen

LIAM WALSH ’16 // Staff Writer Danny Boyle takes audiences on a wild ride from start to finish with his latest movie, “Steve Jobs.” Boyle, the director of other highly-acclaimed films like Slumdog Millionaire and Trainspotting, teams up on this movie with elite writer Aaron Sorkin who wrote the screenplay for films such Moneyball and The Social Network. The result is an overall winner with elements of too much mush.

Going into “Steve Jobs,” I expected great things. This movie is by one of my favorite screenwriters and a quality director who can do great things when given good material.

The best way I could describe this movie was unexpected.

It’s a chaotic train ride through three of the biggest launches in Steve Jobs’ history. Don’t go into this movie expecting a movie about Apple, because it isn’t. This movie takes a microscope to Jobs. All thing Apple are secondary.

Jobs wasn’t known as the nicest person, but I didn’t realize just how horrible he was, at least according to this film. He was vicious with his employees and was disappointed with anything but the best.

This movie painted Jobs as a villain while also showing his better side and his transformation from a truly evil person into an overall halfway decent person. He was a tortured genius, a man who realized how great he was and was willing to do anything, even sever relationships, to achieve his full potential Another major strength of this movie is all of the different relationships that Jobs has with people. My personal favorite one was with his father-figure, John Scully, played by Jeff Daniels. Their battles and happy moments are artfully crafted and interwoven with beautiful editing and astonishing acting, like when Scully and Jobs explode at each other in a very dramatic fight.

Michael Fassbender is fantastic as Jobs. He brings to life all the emotions that Jobs had. He becomes Jobs’ anger and his genius. He portrays the two-faced man who knew exactly how to manipulate his team to get what he wanted, but also knew when he had to be nicer to his peers.

All the other acting performances were good. Nothing extraordinary. Nothing abysmal. Jeff Daniels as Scully and Kate Winslet as Joanna, Jobs’ assistant, were the only other notable performances because they were the only ones capable of reigning in the beast of Jobs. Sometimes Seth Rogen could’ve been more convincing as Jobs’ best friend, Steve Wozniak, instead of a person who was nice to Jobs, Rogen wasn’t able to fully sell the friendship.

The cinematography and directing were both almost great. At times Boyle would use an angle that just didn’t make sense, like the many diagonal angles throughout the movie. They didn’t work with the flow of that scene and were poorly placed The editing and screenplay were where this movie shined. The quick cuts helped shine light on the personality of Jobs and made him look more like a tortured genius. The overlays of some images in certain parts made those scenes exceptional, instead of just routine, like towards the end when Jobs is talking about Skylab, and they had gorgeous overlays of Skylab itself on a wall in the background. I wish they had some more of those scenes, especially the ones with the quick cutting because it was really able to enforce the mood that the scene was setting.

The screenplay is one of the year’s, maybe even the decade’s best. It is smart, witty, and at certain parts I was floored by the things Jobs said, like his remark on how a certain engineer has worse odds than Russian Roulette.

Even the little things that minor characters said raised the movie to another level. The screenplay was breathtaking, mesmerizing and mind-blowing..

Though some parts of the plot were overextended, other parts were so great they made up for it, like Jobs’ confrontations with people. Those scenes were intense and pulled me in close, making me want more and more. The screenplay and editing could have carried the film by itself, but Fassbender was able to turn in a performance that was good enough so that they didn’t have to.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SEGAGMAN

Best shows to binge watch on cold days CHARLIE DENISON’17 // Staff Writer

Paper over plastic because you can count down the pages There’s nothing quite like the feeling of until the next chapter. You are actually able turning the page of a book. It’s just not as to look and hold the bunch of pages you enjoyable and satisfying to swipe the screen have left to read. It’s always fun getting to throw that colorful bookmark into place. of your iPhone, iPad, Kindle or Nook.

With the sales of eBooks decreasing and It’s the whole idea of being able to hold a the sale of print books being up 24 percent physical copy of an author’s work and read since 2014, I think it’s safe to say most from it that makes paper copies worth it.

Readers are able to get involved in people agree with me.

Someone may argue by reading a story, and experience scenes with the electronic books instead of paper, you’re characters. Those reading, are also there helping the environment and saving the through all the nail biters, and are quickly trees. And it might be more convenient to flipping the page to find out more. These are things that can read a book electronically, never be replaced by but I will always be a fan It’s a scary thought that electronic books. of the good old-fashioned bookshelves could one When I was paper books. day be extinct. Or just not younger, I used to read Technology isn’t used for holding books books my mom gave always reliable. What if anymore. to me. They were her your Kindle runs out of favorite books she read battery? How are you KAITLIN NEMEH ‘18 when she was around supposed to read? What Staff Writer my age. I loved being if you’re out of data on able to have those and your phone for the month and you can’t use the ebooks app to read? share the experience of reading the same There are endless possibilities of obstacles old books. The best part was talking about getting in the way of reading when you them.

“What was your favorite part?” rely on technology. With paper books you “Can you believe she did that?” are almost always guaranteed the ability to “I was thinking the same thing!” read. Unless it’s too dark, but that’s what “Just wait until you see what happens flashlights are for!

In the past I have tried to read off next!”

It’s a scary thought that bookshelves of a Kindle, and it did not end very well. I couldn’t focus on the reading. could one day be extinct, or just not used There were too many distractions from for holding books anymore. Either way the advertisements for apps, to the there would be no need for them to do notifications going off for low battery or no their main job.

I will always be a fan of paper books. It’s wifi connection. Eventually I gave up, went to Barnes and Noble, and bought the book. kind of hard to judge a book by its cover Reading a print book is also better when there is no cover to judge.

KAITLIN NEMEH ’18 // Staff Writer

The new HBO hit comedy series “Silicon Valley” was created

by John Altschuler, Mike Judge and Dave Krinsky and stars Thomas Middleditch, T.J. Miller, Martin PHOTO COURTESY OF TRAKT.TV Starr and Kumail Nanjiani. “Silicon Valley” is the story of Richard Hendrix (played

by Thomas Middleditch) and his rise up the tech ladder. Hendrix accidentally creates a groundbreaking compression algorithm and turns down a $10 million dollar buyout to start his own company with his friends, called Pied Piper. Middleditch plays a sociallyawkward character but with more of a comedic twist. This show is a hilarious comedy that is coupled with an enthralling storyline such as “Veep” and “Entourage.” In my opinion, this is the best new TV comedy out there, and viewers should binge watch it to catch up to season three.

“Mr. Robot,” which just wrapped up its first season on USA network, was created by Sam Esmail and stars Rami Malek as Elliot Alderson. Alderson is a hacker ironically working for a cyber security company while concocting plans to cripple the company’s biggest client, Evil Corp. “Mr. Robot’s” timeliness and relevance to today’s issue is reason to tune in on its own. Rami Malek excellently portrays Elliot Alderson as a genius with severe social anxiety. This is not the type of show to spoon feed its viewers exposition. The plot contains several twists and turns which require the viewer to think.

“Narcos” was created by Carlo Bernard, Chris Brancato, Doug Miro and Paul Eckstein, and stars Wagner Moura, Boyd Holbrook and Pedro Pascal. This show is many Netflix subscribers’ new obsession.

Narcos is told from the point of view of a DEA agent attempting to capture the Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar and take down the infamous Medellin cartel. Most of the actors in the show do a decent job. Wagner Moura makes a convincing Escobar and Pedro Pascal as DEA agent Javier Pena performs exceptionally. But the real reason viewers should tune in is to watch something get built and then come crashing to the ground. It’s the same reason people watch movies like “The Wolf of Wall Street.” Before you binge, be prepared for blood, violence and English subtitles because most of the dialogue is in Spanish.

sports // 8

Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015

SENIOR COMMITS TO UVA FOR ROWING

A

HAILEY MURPHY ’16 // Staff Writer fter five years of continuous hard work and dedication, Isabella Strickler ’16, has committed to the University of Virginia (UVA) for rowing.

“Our family loves sports and being active,” Strickler’s mom, Victoria Strickler said, “and our goal has been for our children to participate in physical activities, hopefully play in high school and develop into lifelong sportsmen.”

The sport requires a lot of mental preparation due to the constant practices and waking up before school to train.

Victoria said she is ready for this next step because of the commitment she has for rowing.

“We have been inspired by Isabella’s drive and commitment to this sport.

From the very beginning, she has been dedicated to the challenging training

PHOTO COURTESY OF BELLA STRICKLER ’16

schedules,” Victoria said. years.

The rowing team is required to “There are quite a few things that practice in the water during the make Bella stand out against the people mornings and after school as well. They she competes against,” Macon said, will be in the water at 5 a.m. during the “though the most important is her fall to prepare themselves. attitude.”

Strickler’s mom said she is more Macon insists that Strickler’s modest than ready for this next step in her life. attitude towards her abilities has She has spent the last helped her to not three summers away underestimate her at the National Team competition in any She is willing to work training camp in event. like she is the underdog, Connecticut and last “She is willing to regardless of how summer she qualified work like she is the for the team and went underdog, regardless untrue that might be. to Spain. She also had of how untrue that the chance to race might be,” Macon DAVID MACON ROWING COACH at the Junior World said.

Championships Before Strickler in Brazil. While in made the decision to Brazil, Strickler placed seventh place out go to UVA, she had the task of canceling of 30 boats. out other choices for schools too.

Strickler’s coach, David Macon, has “I visited UC Berkeley, University of coached for her for approximately three Virginia and University of Pennsylvania,”

Strickler said, “but I verbally committed to UVA and will sign on Nov. 1.”

Strickler’s decision to commit to UVA was a surprise to even herself. After visiting schools and learning about their programs, she decided that it was the right fit for her.

“Their head coach happened to be in town over the summer, and he is my favorite coach; meeting him really made me want to go there,” Strickler said.

Even though UVA was not her top choice at first, she said she ended up falling in love with Virginia when she visited. One of her old teammates is attending the school as a junior and was able to get Isabella to consider the school as one of her choices.

Both Strickler’s mother and coach say UVA will be a perfect fit for her.

“UVA offers a crew team that is so fiercely competitive within itself, yet has a team that really seems to support each other without question off the water,”

Macon said, “It really is a perfect fit for Isabella.”

Strickler said she is ready to start this next step and is prepared for the more rigorous commitment that collegiatelevel rowing will bring her.

“Not very many people row in the Midwest. Going to a higher level where everyone is there to work hard is exciting,” Strickler said.

Everyone who is in Strickler’s life is beyond proud of her achievements and everything that she has been able to conquer in her life.

Strickler said she is prepared for this next step in her life and is ready to see how she does at UVA. She doesn’t believe that she can be any more prepared and she thinks that being on the Junior National Team has helped her with that.

“We are so happy for Isabella to be realizing her dreams,” Victoria said,” and she always makes us proud.”

Runners embrace faith within prayer circle

PHOTO BY RACHEL HARRIS

COME-TO-JESUS MOMENT // Three cross country teammates connect with their religion, mentally and spiritually preparing for the race ahead.

HADLEY DIAMOND ’16 // Staff Writer At cross country meets, Hannah Lemanski ’18 and other runners join hands, forming a circle to pray for strength and remember who they are running for.

“Last year, I did it one track meet with two of my girls in the same event who were running the mile with me,” Lemanski said. “I just realized it was something really great, so I started it this year for cross country.”

Lemanski has a passion for the group, but she feels that it’s special because of the positive impact she’s seen in the girls who have participated.

“I’ve had multiple girls come up to me after and say ‘that literally just got me so hype for the race and just got me so excited. I’m no longer negatively nervous; I’m like excited nervous’,” Lemanski said.

At first, the prayer group only consisted of Lemanski, Rachel Harris ’18, Abbey Guevara ’19 and Sarah Bellovich ’19.

The four had already known each other from track, and at the first meet, they made a spontaneous decision to make the prayer circle.

“I felt that it’s good to incorporate some of your faith into running because for certain people, sometimes it gives you more confidence or something to hold on to,” Bellovich said. “It’s something great to participate in with other teammates to gain more

sportsmanship or teamwork.”

Now, before walking to the starting line, Lemanski will yell to the team that she’s doing her prayer circle so that more runners are aware that it’s going on, and then anyone who wants to join it can.

Over the course of the season, the circle kept getting bigger like Lemanski hoped it would.

“One week I think it got up to like almost 100 girls, which was just so amazing to see,” Lemanski said.

Although Lemanski hasn’t found anyone who is opposed to the prayer group, there have been a few who have come up to her and apologized for not participating, but they didn’t have the same beliefs.

It’s good they know that they have the ability to make their own decision on whether or not they want to join, Lemanski said.

“No one feels ashamed or condemned if they don’t join, but everyone feels welcomed and loved if they do join,” Lemanski said. “It’s nothing forced and it’s really up to choice.”

Lemanski says she plans to continue the circle for future track and cross country seasons and hopes it will continue even after she leaves South.

“I’m so excited to see how this can impact girls,” Lemanski said, ”and make a statement to all that I am not ashamed of my faith because without Jesus I am weak.”

SPORTS UPDATE c

SPORT // Boys Soccer Record: 3-7-3 Expectations for the season: Beat North and make it to the district finals Captain’s Quote: “The season started off pretty rough. As we went on we started playing more as a team,”- Jackson Rosati ’16

SPORT // Girls Cross Country Record: 15-0 Expectations for the season: Win regionals and qualify for states Captain’s Quote: “Everyone is a good teammate and we hope to finish the year strong,” -Leonie Leslie ’16

SPORT // Boys Tennis Record: 11-2 Expectations for the season: ”We have a lot of good draws, so we’re working to hopefully be in the top 10 in states.” -Kevin Dietz ’16 Captain’s Quote: “It’s a really good team this year.

We’ve got a lot of younger kids, so it’s interesting.”

-Kevin Dietz ’16

INFORMATION COMPILED BY MAC WELSHER ’17, CAM SMOLEN ’18 AND EMMA RUSSELL ’17 PHOTOS BY JENNIFER MAIORANA ’16, STEPHEN ZARANEK, AND RACHEL HARRIS ’18