issue 24 by The Tower Newspaper

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TOWER

Wednesday, May 9, 2018 Volume 90 Issue 24 @thetowerpulse thetowerpulse.net

A weekly tradition since 1928

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

Declining enrollment may spell potential closure for GPPSS school JACK BELLAMY ’19 Staff Writer

GRAPHIC BY EVA MCCORD ’21

ith a trend of declining enrollment, the Grosse Pointe Public School System (GPPSS) is looking at ways to combat the issue. The School Board has discussed a few potential solutions to help deal with the loss of 100 students a year, one of which is closing a school. According to a resolution submitted to the board for discussion by resident Brian Summerfield, Plante Moran CRESA has projected that the district has a projected decline which follows a loss of 1,000 students over the past 10 years. After Plante Moran released enrollment projections, the board directed the administration to form a community committee to review the enrollment reports and determine whether the report was credible and what funding is needed to sustain the education expected for its students and from the community. In the fall of 2017, the committee drafted a series of recommendations, one of which was to adopt triggers to address the declining enrollment, according to the resolution which allows administration to propose a plan to address declining student. “Right now, (the resolution) is just a proposal but it will be voted on. I’m anticipating on the second regular meeting in May, and at that point those triggers will be a resolution and be in effect.” Summerfield said. “So if those triggers are met, the board is directed to the administration to come up with a plan to address the situation.” The issue concerning enrollment is not new to

the board and has been discussed and addressed for the past few years, Summerfield said. “That’s why we (the board) ended up hiring Plante Moran,” Summerfield said, “To give us some more forward looking projections, and started talking about (enrollment) with the Blue Ribbon Committee and reaching out and talking to the community.” According to superintendent Gary Niehaus, a school closure is not something he sees happening in the foreseeable future, but will be looked at on a year-to-year basis. “We’ll review our population, our incoming

population, our kindergarteners, each year and look at where we are with the total number of students,” Niehaus said. “I would say that if we continue to lose 100 a year in the next five years, I think they’ll be some potential for closure.” Closing a school is not the only solution to deal with the declining enrollment, with some policies already implemented, such as Young Fives, and others being looked at, according to Niehaus. “We’ve looked at early and middle college where we would offer a fifth year of high school, where you would begin to work on your associates degree,” Niehaus said. “One discussion that is more

South band prepares for upcoming annual spring concert ANNE MUAWAD ’20 Page Editor As students are preparing for the final stretch of the school year, South’s band is preparing for their spring concert and senior showcases, which will take place on May 17 at Brownell. According to Owen Chen ’20, the band has been practicing daily and working hard in order to put on a great performance for the community. “We prepare in band class every day, and we are playing three completely new pieces so we are working our very best inside and outside of school to ensure our success in putting on a great show,” Chen said. According to Joey Burgoyne ’20, the concert is worth coming to see and one of the last opportunities for the seniors to perform. “It is a really great time, and a nice way to send some of the seniors off, and there is an amazing program this year,”Burgoyne said. The music performed will correlate with the season the concert takes place in and will be upbeat and interesting, according to Shannon Kerr ’20. “Mr. Takis made a great arrangement for this concert and the songs are lively, which is fitting for our spring concert. The music is really fun and I think the audience will agree,” Kerr

said. According to Kerr, the show has been lots of fun to work on and she is hopeful the concert will reflect the hard work and effort put in throughout the year. “The best part about having a show is being able to look forward to something and setting a goal as a band to be able to perfect three pieces of music within a couple months. I think the process that we go through preparing for a concert makes performing even better because after you're done playing, it's really satisfying knowing all your hard work in class was worth it,” Kerr said.

TEACHING MOMENT Christoper Takis takes a moment to correct the band after playing.

PHOTOS BY ANNE MUAWAD ’20

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This is the last day seniors can buy prom tickets. They are sold during both lunches.

Shakespeare Club to perform a mashup of the writer’s works IAN DEWEY ’18 Copy Editor

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT The band practices their pieces as they prepare for their upcoming concert on May 17 at Grosse Pointe North.

IMPORTANT DATES

controversial that we’ve offered to the board is that you could also charge tuition for those outside of the district.” According to Summerfield, anything the board does or discusses to address declining enrollment will be controversial, but ultimately, they want to do what’s best for the students. “We just need to figure out what’s the best thing to do for the community and the students in particular,” Summerfield said. “Nobody wants to do these things, and while some things we want to do for better programming, we would like to keep everything the way it is.”

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Jests and merriment will be had by all at the performance put on by the Shakespeare Club and various teachers. The performance, scripted from “Merrily Met, Farewell” will be much more informal than most plays, and feature both student and teacher performers. “We thought it would be fun to do a performance with both students and teachers, so we’re going to do a staged reading,” English teacher Danielle Peck said. “So it’s kind of informal, not exactly what you’d see in a play that’s been in rehearsal for a long time, but we’re doing a few rehearsals together.” The compilation won’t have a coherent narrative. Instead, it will draw from many different plays by Shakespeare, mashing up elements from various plays, according to English teacher John Monaghan, who will be performing in the compilation. “It’s a real cool mashup of all sorts of Shakespeare plays, some pretty famous scenes, usually between two people or three,” Monaghan said. “Sometimes there’s even two scenes happening back and forth, like cross-cutting.” “It’s like a Shakespeare sampler,” English teacher Harry Campion, also performing, said. It won’t be just teachers from the English department performing in the compilation. Other teachers who aren’t as experienced with the plays will also be participating, according to Monaghan.

The annual Paint the Window contest will occur in The Village starting at 9 a.m.

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“What’s really fun for me, anyway, is to see the other departments involved, who really don’t know the plays, like Mr. Hecker and Mr. Kim,” Monaghan said. “And they’re really having fun with it and bringing a lot to it.” So far ,the event has no actual name, as this is the first time this compilation is being attempted, according to Ponnette Rubio ’18, member of the Shakespeare Club. According to Peck, much of the focus of the “Merrily Met” script is based

What’s really fun for me, anyway, is to see the other departments involved, who really don’t know the plays. JOHN MONAGHAN English Teacher on farewells and deaths in Shakespeare. However, this doesn’t mean the performance will be a tear-jerker. “I think it’s going to be a great show and very funny. Even the things that are supposed to be pretty serious end up being kind of funny,” Peck said. “For example, Mr. Monaghan and Mr. Campion are Romeo and Juliet, so we are casting in non-traditional ways.” For anyone interested in attending, the compilation will be performed at the South Auditorium May 15 at 7 p.m. and some English teachers may offer extra credit for attending.

AP testing will occur on this day and continue until Friday, May 18.

2 | OPINION

THETOWERPULSE.NET | 5.9.18

SCHOOL’S OUT? Proposal for school closure has been reviewed by school board OUR VIEW || EDITORIAL

ith the Grosse Pointe Public School district losing approximately 100 students per year, the school board has reviewed a proposal that would require the administration to consider a school closure if that school does not currently meet certain conditions. According to the proposal, these conditions include student enrollment decreasing by 10 percent or more than the district projected in any given year or if the school building is at less than 50 percent capacity. Along with these guidelines, student enrollment dropping below 2,909 students in grades K-5, 1,488 students in grades 6-8 or 2,949 students in grades 9-12 is also considered a trigger for the board to consider a closure. “I don’t envision us having school closings at this point in time, but down the road, I think we will always have to consider it as long as we keep losing students,” superintendent Dr. Gary Niehaus said. With the closure of a school, the district would have to redesignate boundaries, causing students to have to attend a new school in the district. We at the Tower urge the district to proceed with caution. While the proposal may be helpful for the district’s budget, students of closing schools would be most affected. Students would have a farther commute to their new school. Relocation would cause a sudden spike in class size, leading to even more limited classroom resources. And what would happen to the teachers of the school? We believe there are too many risks with this proposal, and the district should focus on other options that would encourage enrollment. If the board were to close an elementary school, making another elementary school larger, for example, the district would have more money to use for the programming there, according to Board President Brian Summerfield. However, we worry it may be questionable to rely on this thinking. What if the board has to put that money elsewhere, if something unexpected arises in the next few years? We believe there are too many variables at play to completely commit to this proposal. “It’s hard to anticipate what the overall effect would be and I think that anything we decide to do would be done with the best interests in mind,” Summerfield said. According to Dr. Niehaus, a controversial but possible solution to decreasing enrollment would be charging tuition for outof-district students to attend Grosse Pointe schools. We believe this

GRAPHIC BY EVA McCORD ’21

could be an option if the district can ensure these students would contribute to the great foundation and tradition of excellence in Grosse Pointe schools. The board has also looked at providing a fifth year of high school for students interested in taking steps to earn an associate’s degree, according to Dr. Niehaus. We believe this would be a beneficial program and help increase enrollment in the district’s high schools, and also would be great opportunity for students that may not be able to afford traditional college.

Student calls for return of comedy show despite past controversy MY VIEW

JOHN SCHULTE ’18 Staff Writer

NEWSPAPER

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With new administration comes new policy, and in the last four years at South, for better or for worse, things certainly don't seem to be the way the used to be. Second Suburb used to be a yearly show put on by South students, for South students. A group of students would write and perform a show parodying the misfortunes of students and teachers. Students would rent out a space to host the event and sell tickets all on their own with no involvement from the school. So where did it all go wrong? The spring of the 2015 school year was the last year for Second Suburb. The students who put on the show seemed to be out for blood, with ongoing jokes about South staff and students. In a 2015 Tower Pulse article, students in the show were described as, “(Having) no filter, explicitly calling students out by first and last name. Some of the lower blows include poking fun at special needs students, recalling alleged promiscuous behavior and making false homosexuality claims.” In addition, the students also went after our principal. Fox 2 News Detroit reported the students allegedly referred to our Muslim principal as a

terrorist. As a punishment, the students were not allowed to attend the all night party after graduation and there hasn’t been a Second Suburb since. Second Suburb is supposed to be a fun event poking fun at Grosse Pointe stereotypes and bring events from the past school year to light on a positive note. It’s clear that the last time the show was put on the “jokes” were unacceptable, and it turned into glorified bullying. Second Suburb’s absence in the past years has sent a clear message as to what is and is not acceptable for students to do in future shows. If students want to do it in the future, they should still have the freedom to do it completely independent of the school, but they should refrain from using specific students, teachers and administrators names when poking fun at them. If students were to attempt to put on Second Suburb in the future, there should be no backlash from administration prior to the show. The students should now know the consequences of their potential actions and jokes. I would love to hear about Second Suburb being brought back in the coming years at South, but I would not like to read another news story about how the show went too far. If the show is fun and does not single anyone out, Second Suburb is a tradition that we can bring back to South for years to come.

If the board continues to seriously consider enacting this proposal, we believe the proposal should have an amendment that summarizes the plans and programs in place to help transition and accommodate students and families of closing schools. The Tower appreciates the board’s proactive approach but hopes they will explore other options before resorting to school closures in the future, as we believe there is too much unpredictability with the impact a closure will have on the district and its students.

NEW LOCATION:

Senior class president on prom venue MY VIEW

PHOTO BY LIZ BIGHAM ’18

PROM NIGHT The Fillmore is a multi-use venue in Detroit. Senior prom will be held there this year.

Editor-in-Chief Liz Bigham* ’18 John Francis* ’18

Anne Muawad*, Lauren Nemeh*, Maura Shine*, Aidan Walsh*, Elizabeth Wolfe*, all ’20

Tower Radio Alex Acker* ’18 Zachary Heimbuch* ’19

Online Editor-in-Chief Henry Ayrault* ’19 Grace Reyes* ’19 Associate Editor Alyssa Czech* ’19

Copy Editors Ian Dewey*, Piper Eschenburg*, Phoebe Miriani*, all ’18 Sylvia Hodges* ’19, Elizabeth Flower*, Victoria Gardey*, Claire Sheeren*, Imran Siddiqui*, all ’20

Staff Writers Margot Baer, Solana Bryson, Blair Cullen, Griffin Jones, Harper McClellan, Caitlin Miller, John Schulte, Cameron Smolen, Lauren Thom, Brennan Zihlman, all ’18

Supervising Editor at Large Ray Hasanaj* ’18

Business Managers Evan Skaff* ’18

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

Web Editors Arianna Pagenette* ’18, Kaitlyn Perkins* ’18, Kathleen Carroll*, Katherine Costello*, Claire Koeppen*, Jaqui Mercier*, Audrey Whitaker*, all ’19 Dominic Dulac* ’20

Page Editors Chase Clark*, Kaitlin Nemeh*, JD Standish*, all ’18 Adrian Doan* ’19

Multimedia/Social Media Editors Abigail Due* ’18, Erica Fossee* ’19

John Bellamy, Sarah Bellovich, 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

BLAIR CULLEN ’18 Staff Writer

he Class of 2018 has never been known to follow classes above us. The fundraisers that worked for others never worked for us and yet we made fundraisers like Dancing with the South Stars one of our most lucrative events. When we visited The Fillmore, we knew it was something we wanted and realized it would require much more time from our class, and fundraising, but we knew it would be worth it. We argued as a council to make sure everyone was fully committed, because it meant giving up weekends and mornings to pay for the very expensive venue. One of my favorite parts of The Fillmore is the new experience for everyone. You hear about sophomores and juniors going to prom, and they have partaken in the Roostertail, but the Fillmore is new considering they hav-

“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.

en’t done many proms. The only downside to The Fillmore is students will have to pay for their own parking, but most attendees either carpool to split the price, or take buses and limos. Located on Woodward, The Fillmore has a long history and beautiful architecture. The grand room will not be subtracted of its beauty by prom decorations. It is a room that can stand on its own, with a venue that seems to be a perfect place as one of our last events of our high school career. The rest of the student body seems to be as excited, as tickets were at 400 by Friday after only a week in ticket sales. While the venue has changed, many things will stay the same. The dinner options are between chicken and pasta, doors open at 7 p.m. and then re-open at 10:45 p.m.

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 Opinion Pieces and obscenity. The Editorial Board may edit Editorials represent the majority opinion of or shorten letters as long as the meaning is the Editorial Board and are left unsigned. unchanged. All letters must be signed and Columns represent the opinions of individual include a telephone number for confirmation. staff members and outside contributors. Request to withhold the writer’s name from publication for good reason will be Editorial Board considered. Letters can be sent to the above An asterisk * denotes Editorial Board editors. email address, or dropped off in “The Tower” Room. Advertising Display advertising is sold at a rate of $7 Professional Associations per column inch, with discounts for large or Member of the Columbia Scholastic Press frequent advertisers. Advertising may not Association, National Scholastic Press advocate illegal activities or contain libelous, Association, Quill and Scroll, the Society irresponsible or obscene material. for Newspaper Design and the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association.

THETOWERPULSE.NET | 5.9.18

3 | NEWS

SA donates over 2,000 food items Third annual Food for Friends donates to Marcus Garvey Academy in Detroit IMRAN SIDDIQUI ’20 Copy Editor The annual food drive at Grosse Pointe South took place April 23-27. Called food for friends is a fundraiser which benefits students from a Detroit elementary school in close proximity to South. This year the food drive collected an astounding amount of items. Chris Poleski ’19, one of the chairs for the event, said over 2,000 food items were donated throughout the week. “For the food drive we gave each third hour class a checklist of food with 12 items on it,” Poleski said. “Each class had to bring in everything on the checklist, and whichever class brought in the most (completed) checklists won.” The winner of this year’s food drive was Lisa Kline’s honors algebra II class. Kline said her class used a sound strategy in order to complete the 31 checklists of food. “I passed out a sticky note to everyone, that way they can vote on what they want to contribute, and to what capacity,” Kline said. “A couple of kids just did lists on their own, a couple of kids split up and did checklists together and a lot of the rest was money.” Kline said her class’s goal was always to win. While there is a $100 prize that can be used toward a reward for the class, Kline said her class would have contributed regardless of the reward. “I think the fact that it is a competition was the most important,” Kline said. “The students are competitive, and I am competitive; it (the prize) was just fuel to the fire.”

Joseph Burgoyne ’20 is in Kline’s class and said thier class is considering using the money to fund a pizza party but he noted the best part about the fundraiser was the fact that they were able to bring in all the food for a good cause. “She (Kline) really likes to win,” Burgoyne said. “My favorite part about the food drive was seeing everyone come together. It was really fun for our class.” Poleski added all the food items go to school where students depend on the food brought in as a stable source during the summer months while they are out of school. “Students will be taking the food home for over the summer because for some of the students there-- their parents cannot provide nutritious meals for them over the summer,” Poleski said. “During the school year they depend on the school to get those meals.” Deborah Montgomery, A teacher at Marcus Garvey Academy, explained a little over 100 families rely on the school system to provide meals. Grosse Pointe South has been connected to the school for three years after a South student recognized a problem in our community. “We had a young lady from your school who was volunteering here, and I was the coordinator,” Montgomery said. “She was having a discussion with students and they were just telling her their concerns about how they don’t have food at home. She decided to use the fundraiser you already had in place and specifically target the Marcus Garvey Academy to meet the

needs of the students here.” While the food drive is over, according to Poleski, the event has a lot more work behind the scenes. Poleski has been working with Brooklyn Northcross ’20, his co chair, and their committee since December, and they are happy with the fruits of their labor. “We had to coordinate with the school, make up the checklists and figure out who was going to represent each third hour class from SA,” Poleski said. “During the actual food drive, we had to collect all the food in Cleminson Hall, organize it, load it all up into the car and drive it all to the school.” For Poleski, the best part of the experience was delivering the food. He said the students he saw were appreciative of the extra resources they had been given. “The delivery went really well,” Poleski said. “At the school they had some students come out to help unload, so it was great to interact with them. The food was very well received; people were really happy.” Montgomery said the Parent Teacher Student Association at Marcus Garvey helps identify which families are in need of the extra help. The recipients of the food are always thankful for the assistance they are given. “They are just very much appreciative of being able to see how other communities come together to support them,” Montgomery said. “And for students who are in dire need, they appreciate having additional resources they are able to easily access.”

BUNDLES OF DONATIONS Students at South donated over 2,000 food items throughout the week. This is the third year South has donated food to Marcus Garvey.

CHARITABLE COMMUNITY The numerous amounts of food collected for Marcus Garvey will feed children throughout the summer.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CHRIS POLESKI ’19

As the winner of the Food for Friends event, Kline recognizes the bigger picture the food drive has on South, and she is proud of her class’s efforts in the fund-

SNAPS ALL AROUND CLAIRE SHEEREN ’20 Copy Editor

The Poetry Slam team will be heading to the Michigan Speech Coaches Incorporated Spring Speech tournament at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island from May 18-20. This will be the 12th year South has attended this event. Seven students from South will be competing, according to team adviser Harry Campion. Campion said the students will be competing in a Poetry Slam competition and will be judged by members of the audience. “Poetry slam is a competitive poetry reading; it’s gained a certain following throughout the world, because it appeals to our competitive instincts and you have members of the audience chosen as judges,” Campion said. “They score a poem on a scale of one to ten, and there are five judges, and you drop the top score and the bottom score, with the middle three scores becoming your score.” Campion said the team is prepared to compete against students from across the state. “These poets have been practicing all year to get

their skills up to the point where they can go read their poems and get scored against poets from all over Michigan,” Campion said. Team member Natalie Boehmer ’20 said she loves the whole nature of the competition. “You’re comparing the quality of the poems and their depth against other people’s; it’s very artsy and fun,” Boehmer said. Martha Dawson ’20 Seeing other people’s is excited to spend poetry is really inspiring and it’s interesting hearing t i m e differences from how you with her friends on work to other people. the team during the NATALIE BOEHMER ’20 trip. “ I ’ m just looking forward to being with the people that I know so well,” Dawson said. “They’re just like my best friends and I get to spend a whole weekend

raiser. “It is important to give back to your community and the communities around you. To be able to say that you participated

in that-- it’s just a good thing,” Kline said. “You can’t always be selfish and do things that only benefit you; you must give back to others too.”

Poetry Slam team heads to Mackinac Island for annual competition

with them and it’s great.” Campion hopes the team has a good time at the competition and get a lot out of the experience. “I just want them to have fun, I always want them to have fun,” Campion said. “I don’t care if we bring home a trophy; it’s great when we do, but it’s (the experience) about the poetry and hearing and reacting to it, and recognizing the contributions of others.” According to Boehmer, the trip will be a great way for her to learn from other poets. “Seeing other poetry is really inspiring, and it’s interesting hearing differences from how you work to other people,” Boehmer said.

Tues d ays in room 293.

The poetry slam t e a m m e e t s at 7:00 p.m.

Robotics club takes gold at competition

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ELIZABETH WOLFE ’20 Page Editor The South and North combined robotics club, the Gearheads, attended the robotics world championship in Detroit from April 26-28, which was held at Cobo Hall and Ford Field. The World Championship, sponsored by For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Robotics, also known as FIRST Robotics, features about 400 qualifying robots at the event, with six fields each having 67 teams on them, according to adviser and Grosse Pointe North teacher Jason Wolfsen. “The Gearheads came in thirty second place out of 67 teams in our Field,” Wolfsen said. “We were chosen to be on the fifth seeded alliance for our field’s tournament on the twenty-eigth and we ended up runners-up on the field.”

According to Wolfsen, a team has about 40 students with 11 members to assist them. “I absolutely love the team,” fourth year member Grace Cupolo ’18 said. “I’ve met so many of my closest friends on the team and it brings down walls between North and South.” According to Ponette Rubio ’18, the club meets every Thursday and Saturday, and additionally on Monday and Tuesday during the build season. “We build a robot that is designed to play the game,” Rubio said. “We have the game reveal where we brainstorm and design. After that is the fabrication and build process. Then we compete and often we continue working on the robot as some parts break.” According to Wolfsen, preparing for a competition like this takes a lot of work. The Gearheads had six weeks to build their robot, which this year was named Triton. “(Triton) was designed to pick up cubes and place them on switches and a scale,” Wolfsen said. “The objective was to control the switches and scales to collect points during each match.”

(586) 463-8144 31988 N River Rd Harrison Charter Township MI, 48045

According to Wolfsen, the Gearheads started off the year by competing in two different robotics events. “We gathered enough points as well as won the Chairman’s Award, which is the most prestigious award at a competition which automatically qualifies you for State competition,” Wolfsen said. According to Wolfsen, you must receive a certain amount of points at the State competition to qualify for the World Championship. “We did not fair well at State, but we had garnered enough points to place us in the top 100 spots in Michigan, which gave us our qualification for the World Championship,” Wolfsen said. “The students certainly worked hard this season.” According to Cupolo, the purpose of the Gear-

heads is to introduce students to STEAM - science, technology, art, engineering and mathematics. “You always learn something new,” Cupolo said. “Whether it be how to use Photoshop or how to program, you have the opportunity to learn so much from the joining, and I highly recommend trying it out.”

4 | FEATURE

THETOWERPULSE.NET | 5.9.18

POPPING THE QUESTION South seniors secure dates for their upcoming prom on May 19. Many of the promposals included original and clever ideas.

CAMERON SHOOK AND KATHRYN LEONARD, BOTH ’18 LEONARD: I was sitting near the dugout at the Comerica game and around the third inning is when Cam started approaching me. He had a bouquet of white roses and a baseball in his hands that said “Prom?”

MATTHEW CALCATERRA AND ELIZABETH ROONEY, BOTH ’18 ROONEY: It was a surprise. He kept telling me to reserve 20 minutes after our track meet on Saturday and how it was really important to be at my house for those 20 minutes to try to make me think he was gonna ask me then, but he just wanted to throw me off so actually he asked me Thursday with a bunch of pasta.

CONOR GARVEY AND JESSICA BOEHMER, BOTH ’18

EVAN THEROS AND ALYSSA SHRODES, BOTH ’18

JAMIN MAYS AND CHANDLER DUFF, BOTH ’18

ALEX MCENROE AND MEGAN MACLEAN, BOTH ’18

GARVEY: I knew that we both were really into music and we’ve gone to a couple record stores together, so I figured out a way to kind of incorporate that into my promposal.

MAYS: I knew that April 25th was her birthday so I had a friend of hers take her out to breakfast, so that she would be at her locker at 7:50 a.m.; I met her at her locker and asked her.

SHRODES: I had somewhat of an idea he was asking but I had no clue when it was going to happen, so I was surprised.

MACLEAN: Alex made sure I was picked up by my friends and then surprised me when I came home. He had balloons and pictures at every end, with one card saying “Prom? Let’s make more memories.” PHOTOS COURTESY OF SENIOR STUDENTS PICTURED

Prom takes on a new look

The class of 2018 moved away from the typical location of prom, the Roostertail, and will have it hosted at The Fillmore in Detroit. MAURA SHINE ’20 Page Editor

rom is something that seniors eagerly look forward to during their years of high school. The hallowed decision of where prom is hosted lies in the hands of the student council who vote on the location of prom. This year, the senior prom will be hosted at the historic location of the Fillmore in Detroit. The 2018 class president, Blair Cullen ’18, believes hosting the prom at The Fillmore will be a special experience for the senior class because prom has never been hosted at a location like this. While the infamous Fillmore will be a memorable location for seniors to look back on, it does come with some drawbacks. According to class advisor and English teacher, Katie Parent, They wanted to hosting prom at the Fillexplore their other more meant that some things options because needed to be sacrificed. they believed the Parent states that she reiterated to the class that if they Roostertail had been were comfortable with overdone. making sacrifices, then KATIE PARENT the seniors could host prom Senior Class Adviser at the Fillmore “They needed to know they might not have all the same things they’re used to. As for the venue, they’re getting more than they’re used to but there are other areas where things are going to be sacrificed,” Parent said. In past years, prom has typically been hosted at the Roostertail on

the Detroit River. The draw to changing the location to The Fillmore enough money for hosting prom at The Fillmore, according to Culdue to the senior class wanting to do something different, according len. to Parent. “It required a lot more fundraising and effort by our class but ev“They wanted to explore their other options because they believed eryone was excited so it wasn’t a sacrifice, just a common thing we the Roostertail had been overdone,” Parent said. were all working for,” Cullen said. To seniors such as Kathryn Leonard ’18, PHOTO BY MORGAN SKAFF ’21 the location of prom is not as important as being with friends on one of the most memorable nights of one’s life. The location of prom will not affect the fun experience the night entails. “I’m really excited to be with all of the seniors because everyone is dressed up and having pure fun in a special environment,” Leonard said. For Cullen, hosting prom at The Fillmore wasn’t a sacrifice as much as it was a project for the senior OUT WITH THE OLD For the first time, prom for the senior class will be hosted at The Fillmore. This deciclass. The class had to sion came with sacrifices. work together to raise

THETOWERPULSE.NET | 5.9.18

Racking up the cost of prom JACQUI MERCIER ’19 Section Editor

Prom season is quickly approaching, and with the experience comes a hefty price tag. Between this year’s new venue at the Fillmore in downtown Detroit, the search for the perfect dress and the tradition of gifting corsages and boutonnières, prices quickly add up. According to senior class president, Blair Cullen ’18, the class has planned on hosting their prom at the Fillmore since their sophomore year. “Our adviser really wanted us to know that we didn’t have to stick with what people have done in the past,” Cullen said. Cullen claims that hosting prom at the Fillmore instead of the traditional Roostertail resulted in a significant price increase. However, the prom ticket price remained $50 per ticket, the normal price, due to efforts by the Mothers Club and the senior student council. Prom fundraisers included hosting Coffee House and Dancing With the South Stars. “We knew from the start that the Fillmore meant a lot more f u n d r a i s i n g ,” Cullen said. According to Cullen, the price of the ticket includes a

According to a Tower Pulse twitter poll, most guys are spending between $100 and $500 for prom, while girls are spending over $800.

photographer, a meal and desserts, including a cookie bar. “The only downside (of going to the Fillmore) is that this year, students will have to pay for their own parking, which is $15,” Cullen said. According to Elana Zingas ’18, an additional cost is transportation to the Fillmore, which for many students entails renting a party bus or limousine. However, by splitting this cost with friends, Zingas claims the cost is minimal compared to other purchases, such as dresses. “Some dresses I know people are wearing are really expensive,” Zingas said. Prices for prom dresses on Nordstrom’s website ranged widely from $47.50 to $8,995.00. According to Keagan Mulcahy ’18, in addition to the prom dress, many girls also pay for new shoes, getting their makeup done and are getting their hair done. According to Taylor Chase, an employee at Salon Lou Lou on Kercheval, their salon alone styles the hair of about 100 girls on average for prom and they usually charge between $55 to $85 per girl. She also said they do prom makeup for about 65 girls. Another common prom purchase includes boutonnières and corsages. Gabrielle Reilly, from Flowers By Gabrielle on Kercheval, said her store sell about 150 corsages, starting at $35 each, for South’s prom alone. She also said they sell boutineers for just $12 each. When guys were asked, “How much do you think you will spend in total on all prom related things?” on a Twitter poll run by The Tower Pulse, a majority, or 40 percent, of the 30 voters estimated they’d spend the smallest option of $100-$200 and only 13 percent of them estimated they’d spend the highest option of $800 or more. Inversely, when females were asked the same question on Twitter, only 12 percent of the 33 females estimated they’d spend a total of $100-$200, and a 34 percent majority of voters estimated they’d spend a total of $800 or even more. “Prom is not your wedding, people need to relax,” Zingas said.

5 | FEATURE

The progress of prom preparations MORGAN SKAFF ’21 Honors Journalism Student “Prom”-- a word that causes excitement, stress and planning. Every detail has to be accounted for leading up to the big night. The Grosse Pointe South prom takes place on May 19. It is at a new venue, the Fillmore, from 7-11 p.m. Parts of the planning process extend from the venue to the final touches, such as a dress or hair The venue is one of the first things that is planned in the entire process, class president, Blair Cullen ’18 said. “Sophomore year is usually when you book it (the venue), so that is when we started finding the places we wanted to go to,” Cullen said. “We had presentations for what type of location we had, and we were obviously still fundraising. Once we knew we wanted the Fillmore, it is a lot more expensive, so we had to do a lot more fundraisers.” Cullen added that the amount of money raised is based upon the venue chosen. The senior class has fundraised over the past four years to save up for the expenses involving prom. “Coffee House and Dancing With the South Stars are probably our more memorable fundraisers although we have done dozens more,” class adviser Katie Parent said. Cullen said that a majority of the money that is used towards prom are from the prom ticket sales. Around $20,000 is made from the ticket sales. However, there are many other preparations that are involved, including the appearance aspect of prom. Some students make appointments for hair and makeup. “I’m getting my hair done at Edwin Paul, and then I’m getting my makeup done by this girl named Angie,” Erin Brannagan ’18 said. Preparations are needed to be made way in advance. Girlie Girl Salon was almost completely booked for hair appointments by February, which is three months before prom, according to Stephanie Schervish ’18. Coordination on the transportation, with the rest of your friend group, also has to be made. “It is a little stressful because we have such a big group of friends that it is hard to place everyone you know on a bus or a limo or whatever we are going to do, but I think once we get closer and everyone has their dates and everything is figured out, I think it will be a lot more exciting,” Schervish said. Brannagan said that almost her whole friend group, around 60 kids, are going together. The students who are attending the prom have all been ready to work whenever they need to be Cullen said. “They are such a phenomenal group of kids,” Parent said. “They really make my job a lot easier because they are so proactive and engaged and they want to do well.” Parent said senior students in class council are still eager to fundraise, even though it is the fourth quarter of their senior year. They are engaged in the prom planning. There has been so much planning involved over the past four years for this one day. “We are really excited for the new venue,” Parent said. “We have got some things we are really eager to unveil at prom this year.”

GRAPHIC BY RILEY LYNCH ’18

I am most looking forward to going up north with my friends after the prom dance.

The whole prom dance represents a culmination of our efforts we’ve put in over the years, so I’m looking forward to it.

EVAN NGUYEN ’18 It’s really all the memories that are going to be made, and us seniors will all go out with a bang.

JOEY NAPORANO ’18

I’m mostly just excited to have a good time with all of my friends before we all graduate.

KENNEDY COSMA ’18

LAUREN FLECKENSTEIN ’18

We’ve all worked so hard in the last four years, and now it’s our last hurrah.

INFORMATION COMPILED PHOTOS BY CHARLIE MATTHEWS ’20

A night to remember: What seniors are most looking forward to at Prom

ROCKIM WILLIAMSON’18

Gaining trust in people.

KATIE BRYAN’18

ANNMARIE BENDZINSKI ’18 Some people say if you don’t go to prom you’ll regret it when you’re thirty, so I guess I’ll go.

6 | FEATURE

THETOWERPULSE.NET | 5.9.18

Understanding the importance, impact created by the arts on the student body GRIFFIN JONES ’18 Graphics Manager In elementary school, students learned math and reading, some science and history and were introduced to music by playing an instrument or singing in the choir. But there was also the art class, the time where kids could show their true colors, their creativity and personality to the other kids around them. Whether it was their first time picking up a paint brush or their first time molding clay, kids were given an opportunity to be themselves from a young age. South offers a wide variety of elective courses for students of all grades to choose from. A substantial amount of those options happen to belong in the visual art department. Students can take classes like photography and computer graphics or may prefer more traditional art styles, by enrolling in drawing and painting or ceramics. Students at South have access to any program they put their mind to, whether it’s academic, athletic or artistic. The art program helps students express themselves through the many mediums it offers. According to Emily Wolfe, photography teacher, having the ability to teach students about art and instill a sense of freedom and expression is important because of the template schedule the rest of the day offers for students. “To me, the process of making art and trying and failing or trying something and saying, ‘Oh, that didn’t work, I’ve got to try something else,’ and experimenting is important for students as people,” Wolfe said. “There are so many kids who say, ‘I’ve got to be (perfect),’ and to have the mental stability to say everything’s okay and have that kind of attitude is so much more important to their lives.” According to Donald McGlone ’19, practice is essential to building skill, but some students growing up had a more natural talent for participating in artistic activities. “(With) arts, there’s a lot more literal skill that has

to go into it, some people are just better at it innately, we all know the kid that was really good at drawing when they were little,” McGlone said. “A decent chunk of it comes from practice. But a lot of us, we like the early success in something, especially in a school setting. I feel like that’s a big reason why large amounts of kids don’t apply themselves in arts, it’s because of that fear of failure.” According to McGlone, students like him see themselves succeeding better in athletics and choose to follow a path in sports over art because it better suits their strives for success and victory. “I originally took art as a blow off class. I started with concepts and materials where we just went over the basics, and then I moved onto photo I,” Gabby Miller ’17 said. “Going into photo, I was glad I had the background of concepts because I was able to push myself more with assignments and look at them from a more technical standpoint.” While attending South, Miller received three Gold Key awards and one national gold medal from Scholastics. According to Miller, these awards helped her decide to apply to the College for Creative Studies (CCS) in Detroit, where she is now studying digital film. “All of the art teachers I had (at South) were constantly pushing all of the students to go outside of the box and make their ideas better. This caused me to put a lot of effort into my work and show things that I was technically and aesthetically proud of,” Miller said. McGlone said not everyone is necessarily talented in the arts, so some students choose to take extra credits in certain classes to override the given requirement for an art credit. “The impact of art on me, primarily because I’m not good at them, is getting me to take more English classes, which I enjoy quite a bit,” McGlone said. “It was a byproduct of the requirement that forced me to expand on something I didn’t expect I would ever do, and that was very enlightening in that aspect.” According to McGlone, there’s value in that stu-

dents involved in the arts participate year-round and love what they do compared with the seasonal sports for athletic students, as it reflects similar values he has for football and other sports. Jennifer Toenjes ’16 is now a junior at CCS studying illustration after following a path in art at South. She said art teacher Kit Aro helped influence her decision to focus her efforts into drawing and painting. “I took a bunch of different kinds of art classes like ceramics, photography, drawing & painting,” Toenjes said. “Ms. Aro was actually the photography teacher, but she told me, ‘You’re really good at drawing and painting, you should do this.” She was the one that gave me the nudge to go into drawing and painting. Kit Aro was the person I looked up to the most; she inspired me and she always had my back.” Gabrielle Smith ’18, unlike Toenjes, plans on going straight into industrial metal work as a career after graduation. Smith started drawing when she was young and kept drawing, particularly some characters of her own design and trees, up until she took ceramics with Thomas Szmrecsanyi, which opened up new ways for her self expression as an artist. After visiting a friend in Kentucky a couple times, they introduced her to metalwork and welding, allowing her to think about a new future for herself. “Whatever I’m going through, whether it’s something super hard or the lightest thing in the world, (art) makes me feel good,” Smith said. “It makes me who I am and enables me to connect with everything that I’m feeling.” Smith said words don’t come easy to her, and art is a way for her to express herself through methods that she can understand and show to other people to help them understand. “Art is escapism, it’s therapeutic,” Toenjes said. “It’s a relationship with something, so you’re going to have the ups and downs, you’re going to have the fights. To me, it’s almost like a romantic relationship, you’re working with something. I love it; I love art, but I also hate it at the same time.”

GRAPHIC BY LAUREN NEMEH ’20

Cassie Pinder fosters creativity through art sometimes I’m really into just painting, and sometimes I’m into sewing,” Pinder said. Cassie Pinder ’19 doesn’t specifPinder believes she is best at drawically remember when she became ing and painting, interested in art. Aceven though she cording to her, it was thinks much something she was I usually draw women of her older art always drawn to and wasn’t her best, or people for the most captured her attenthere was propart, so my friends, tion since she started gression from a coloring for fun as a the people I surround lot of practice. child. myself with and see “I usually “Biologically, my every day are things draw women or family has no artistic people for the that inspire me. talent,” Pinder said. most part, so my CASSIE PINDER ’19 My grandpa used to friends, the peosay, ‘she got her talple I surround ent from me, as in myself with and see every day are she took it and now I have none,’ but things that inspire me,” Pinder said. my family encouraged me to foster my When she was younger, Pinder creativity a lot.” said she aspired to be an artist when Pinder attributes much of her best she grew up. However, patches where work to hours of practice. She said she felt uninspired made her realize some things, such as her color palthat art may end up more of a hobby. ette and understanding of composi“I would get into funks where I tion came naturally, but she definitely didn’t have inspirations and I didn’t wasn’t born making nice art. think that was safe as a career, but I GLAM Above is a digital self portrait made by Pinder, but in “It (my favorite artistic outlet) reknow now whatever I choose to do this one she included her mom’s colors, such as her eye and ally changes depending on my mood. I’ll bring art into that,” Pinder said. hair color. She said the shapes were inspired by the Chupa Sometimes I’m really into makeup, Chup logo. AVA MITCHELL ’20 Staff Writer

“THE OTHER AMERICA” In this piece, Pinder wanted to depict how women of color were looked down upon in the past. Today they are closer to being equal, so they are all dressed in purple.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CASSIE PINDERS ’19

SMILE Another one of Pinders’ pictures is a watercolor self portrait. Pinder likes to mainly draw pictures of people.

YEEHAW! Pinder is attached to this piece because it is a graphite still life of cowboy boots that she originally did not have confidence in it but it turned out well.

THETOWERPULSE.NET | 5.9.18

7 | FEATURE

RESTAURANTS

TO VISIT IN

DETROIT

SUPINO PIZZERIA

Located on Russell Street in Eastern Market, this pizza parlor brings in traditional Italian pizza and local ingredients to create delicious pizzas in an updated but rustic setting. The City Wing Thing, a best selling pizza at Supino’s, boasts smoked turkey, smoked gouda, mozzarella, cherry peppers and roasted garlic priced at 13 dollars for a 12 inch and 19 dollars for an 18 inch pizza.

ANNE MUAWAD & EVIE KUHNLEIN BOTH ’20 Page Editor & Staff Writer

RUSSELL STREET DELI

Also located in Eastern Market on Russell Street, this deli has fantastic soups and a breakfast through lunch menu to satisfy any Saturday market shopper. Russell Street, established in 1989, has been serving up a large menu of omelets, sandwiches, and soups along with vegetarian and vegan options in a communal seating arrangement for quite some time. The deli is so beloved that many Saturdays there is a long line out the door full of customers that agree Russell Street is well worth the wait.

4 PARC

With beautiful views on Campus Martius, Parc boasts a plentiful happy hour menu and lots of delicious food. The Parc includes everything from brunch to dinner and ending with dessert. The menu includes a vast range of dishes, such as Lamb Rigatoni and Cinnamon Roll Bread Pudding. Though the cost is a bit pricey, the food is definitely worth it. Large parties are accommodated for and reservations are also available. The Parc claims their food is classic American dishes with French and Mediterranean flavors.

3 MARU Upon entering the Federal Building, the aroma coming from Maru can be immediately detected. Maru serves lunch and dinner daily. Not starting out with the firecracker shrimp would be a mistake. Their sushi menu ranges from your classic California roll to a roll deemed “sexy bacon”. To top it all off, they offer a 20 percent student discount on Thursdays when providing a student ID.

LA LANTERNA

La Lanterna is located on Griswald street in the heart of Capitol Park. The Italian restaurant has a clean and modern setting and makes their own pastas in house. While waiting for your food, you can watch the chefs make your pizza in their brick oven. All menu items are 20 dollars and below, making it an affordable option for a night downtown. The restaurant also offers gluten free and vegan pizza options. Whether you order a pasta dish or neopolitan style (thin crust) pizza, La Lanterna is definitely worth checking out. The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner seven days a week. PHOTOS BY ANNE MUAWAD & EVIE KUHNLEIN BOTH ’20

Student contemplates meatless experience a vegetarian, pescatarian or even vegan diet, I don’t want to be an inconveAUDREY WHITAKER ’19 nience to a gracious host Section Editor or start an argument. A lot of people People always ask me how I have the misconception could live without bacon. The that a vegetarian diet would be truth is, I never liked bacon. difficult to maintain. Sometimes, When I was younger, eating I feel limited with my diet, but meat was always a struggle. My most of the time I’ve found it has parents would have to negotiate opened me up to experimentwith me during dinner. ‘Eat two ing with flavors and trying new more bites of that burger, then dishes and recipes I never would you can have ice cream’. I once have before. Eating vegetarian walked all the at restaurants is way to TCBY generally cheapwith a piece of er, most mark A lot of people have chicken in my vegan, vegetarthe misconception mouth, refusing ian and gluten to swallow. that a vegetarian diet free options, and I was never rewould be difficult to some even have ally in love with separate menus maintain eating meat. or sections dediGrowing up, it cated to vegan or AUDREY WHITAKER ’19 wasn’t because I vegetarian food. really loved aniOn thing I have mals or thought struggled with is making sure I eating vegetarian was healthy have the right amount of iron and or better for the environment. protein in my diet. It’s super imWhile my perspective today has portant to take your health and changed, there was never really dietary needs into account when any reason for me to go vegeyou make such a big change. The tarian other than I thought meat truth is, there are plenty of ways tasted kind of gross. to get the nutrients you need I’ve been a vegetarian for into your diet beyond meat and a little over two years now. I vegetarian standbys like beans, try not to bring it up too often, eggs, dairy and spinach. These because it’s important to me are easy to make a part of many that the people around me don’t meals, but they get old fast and make adjustments to their meals food becomes boring. because of me. While I would encourage anyone to switch to

MY VIEW

Q & A WITH MEG KASPRZYCKI

HYDRANGEA OWNER ABIGAIL WILSON ’20 Staff Writer

Q: How long have you

been here? A: I used to own a boutique where Subway is now and I heard about the current Hydrangea building going up for sale. I jumped on the opportunity. Q: Did you always dream of owning a restaurant? A: I always wanted to be a chef. We had a day where we dressed up as what we wanted to be when we grew up in elementary school and I went as a chef. Q: So you’ve always loved cooking? A: Yeah my fifth grade yearbook quote was “I want to cook good food.”

Q: What’s your favorite part about working here?

A: I love the atmosphere and the people, and I’m always happy cooking for other people.

Q: Do you have a favorite menu item? A: I love the southwestern menu items. My

brother and I developed the menu together and traveled all around finding good recipes for here. Q: Do you have anything that you want to tell the students of South? A: I want to people to not be scared to come in here. It can be really daunting to come here with all the people but it’s really just a nice place to eat and hang out.

STUDENT ESSENTIALS The popular lunch spot and cafe is found right across Fisher from South. It is located between David the Salon and J House Juice. PHOTO BY AIDAN WALSH ’20

8 | FEATURE

THETOWERPULSE.NET | 5.9.18

Rowing team races toward success at Indy Sprints regatta of qualifying for the Midwest Regional level competition later this month in Cincinnati. The team was one of 17 clubs and 193 entries at the event, according to women’s team rower Ruby Mills ’19. “Indy sprints consists of a lot of the team that will be at regionals.

1st varsity eight placed first against some pretty large clubs with many rowers. We are very proud,” Mills said. Some boats on the team were on track for finals level competition, This Sunday, May 6, South’s joint rowing team with the Detroit Boat if not for a severe thunderstorm warning that came later in the day Club (DBC) participated in the Indianapolis Sprints Regatta in hopes to cancel finals. The success at the regatta has reflected a year of improvement and progress within the DBC according to Mills, a club member for three years. “The DBC has improved significantly even though we have lost a few great rowers with graduation. Winter is rough but worth it for spring season when we are able to beat other teams,” Mills said. The men’s team also fared well at the competition, with their novice four man boat finishing first and the eight man coming in second according to team member Thomas Kloc ’20. Kloc also expressed his satisfaction with the team’s progress in his time as a DBC member. “I think considering how many novices we have introduced and how high of a level they are already, plus the varsity guys are consistently getting better and stronger, our progression has been impressive,” Kloc said. Kloc, a relatively new member of the DBC at two months, emphasized the importance of teamwork and effort needed to be an effective team member. “It is a very intricate sport, that even the smallest error can result in an unbalanced boat, so it’s important to have everyone together,” Kloc said. “Hence teamwork is super important, the boat only moves as fast as the slowest person.” Noah Dakho ’20, a coxswain on the men’s team and long time member, offered his view for the club’s success at competition. “The team is always improving. In rowing there are a lot of curve balls thrown at you. I think our team has done a good job adjusting to those things,” Dakho said. The DBC teams still have many more regattas scheduled for the competition season, including regionals, nationals, Club Nats, Canadian Henley, Head of the Grand, Frogtown, Hooch, and the self proclaimed “largest regatta,” the Head of the Charles, just to name a few. “Rowing is not just about racing in a boat to win. It’s about the experiences and things you take away from it,” Dakho said. SUCCESS AT THE SPRINTS The Novice four boat came first in their heat, the men’s varsity eight came in second, and the wom“It’s about getting a bunch of guys to work together to accomplish en’s varsity 8 took gold. The team will now compete in the Midwest regional qualifier. PHOTO BY SEAN HALL ’20 something.” AIDAN WALSH ’20 Page Editor

Girls lacrosse Senior Night: A commemoration of effort and hard work

Student dedicates summer as swim coach

SQUARING OFF Carson Dennis ’17 stares her opponent down at the face off X. Julia Gigante ’19 hopes to use this experience to bring the team closer and use that as they head into playoffs. TEAM SPIRIT Thomas Jogan ’18 poses with four kids from his team. This is only four of the 30 kids he coaches himself. PHOTO COURTESY OF THOMAS JOGAN ’18

DANIEL KLEPP ’20 Staff Writer Over the summer, while many students kick back and relax or spend time playing a sport, Thomas Jogan ’18 has decided to coach one. Jogan is one of the head coaches for the Grosse Pointe Park summer swim team, along with other students, and he coaches some students at South and Pierce Middle School. “I coach with Khalib Rahmaan, Daniel Kuhnlein and other fellow past and current swimmers,” Jogan said. “I coach around 30 kids on my own team

and assist with coaching about 200 overall.” As Jogan is a swimmer himself, it was only natural for him to take up being the Park coach. In the past, he has swam for the Park team and also for the South swim team. He has been through many years of swim teams and coaches, so it was his turn to give back. “My favorite part about coaching is getting to help kids develop a love for swimming and have fun doing it,” Jogan said. According to Jogan, coaching is a bonding experience, not only with other coaches, but with other swimmers as well. This allows for the team to be tightly knit. “I enjoy the camaraderie and friendships that I have with my teammates,” Jogan said. “I would also suggest getting to know the people you are coaching, which makes it more fun and personal.” Although the league is competitive, with teams from the other Grosse Pointe cities, it is ultimately about having a good time and making friends, according to Jogan, and this is the main reason he took up coaching. “I coach to help kids have an enjoyable summer, and I love to see them do well,” Jogan said. Swimming is also a welcoming sport, according to Jogan. He invites those who haven’t done it before to give it a try, as it is a good workout. “I would recommend swimming to people as a way to stay in shape and have a great time doing it,” Jogan said.

NAVYA CHAMIRAJU ’20 Staff Writer Seniors on the Grosse Pointe lacrosse team are moving on to the rest of their lives, and Senior Night is commemorating their contributions and participation to the team, according to Varsity Head Lacrosse Coach, Alycsa Valentine. On May 9, before the game against Bloomfield Hills, according to Valentine, the senior lacrosse players and their families are going to be acknowledged for their work with the team, the school, and receive flowers and applause. “Senior night for us is, (where) all the seniors get recognized in the beginning of the game, and their parents for the contributions to the team,” Valen-

tine said. “They (also) get to say a few things about what they have enjoyed about their whole experience and it’s fun to honor all the seniors that have been around this whole time.” This event gets the team excited and brings them closer together for the game following it, according to varsity lacrosse player, Julia Gigante ’19. “It should be pretty exciting, it’s against one of the hardest opponents we’ve played, we haven’t beaten them since I have started coaching here,” Valentine said. “I think it will be a good build up going into playoffs and get a good feel for them but also have all the girls participate and amped up for the game is going to be helpful.” The players aren’t the only ones excited for this upcoming event according

to team captain, Elise Whitney ’18. The parents are excited to see their children in their final year at South and moving on from High School. “My family is really excited for me and I know that my family, we’ve known most of the seniors,” Whitney said. “I’ve grown up with a lot of them who were on the team, so its sentimental for my family and me too, we’ve been playing together for so long.” Watching close friends and teammates move on is always difficult, according to Gigante, but nonetheless, it is an exciting and fun night for the whole team. “It’s bittersweet to see all the seniors move on,” Whitney said. “And now that I’m one of them, it’s even more exciting.”

GOOOAAAL Captain Elise Whitney ’18 squares up the defender as she protects the cage early in the half. Senior night will take place Wednesday, May 9. PHOTOS COURTESY OF WILL MUAWAD ’17