LongboatVIKING

3.30.16Volume 21 Issue 7

Haslett High School Student-Produced Newspaper

NewsEast Lansing feels the Bernpage 3

OpinionHead to Head: Trump vs. Hillarypage 4

SportsLife after high school athleticspage 11

CenterDevastation of drinking and drivingpages 6-7

PHOTO: RACHEL HAMILTON

page 9

Student Spotlight:Sarah Garrod

vikinglongboat.org

2 3.30.16NEWSThe

Viki

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ongb

oat The Viking Longboat is the

student newspaper of Haslett High School, 5450 Marsh Road, Haslett, MI 48840 and publishes about every four weeks of the school year. It is published by the fifth hour Journalism class. The Longboat is established as a student run public forum circulated within the school, the community and outside the school district. The Longboat is a member of the National Scholastic Press Association, Journalism Education Association, National

Scholastic Press Association and Michigan Interscholastic Press Association. The publication is an 11-time Spartan award winner and CSPA gold medalist. Letters to the editor are accepted at the discretion of the editorial board. Forms of speech not protected by the First Amendment will not be published. Letters must be signed by the author and may be edited for grammar, spelling and style. Direct all questions to the Publications Room, Room 411.

The Staff Staff WritersKenzie AdlerLeona BlosserDerek ChomaHunter DawsonAustin EvelandConnor FrankConner HeinzKatelyn Lee

Khonnor LongendykeKyle LooneyJJ MillerCaleb NewportAlex SadlerMia SalvadorCody Thelen

Editor-in-ChiefKelsey JohnsonCopy EditorHailey PecicFeature EditorMolly GadolaOpinion EditorMolly BradyNews EditorBen Hampton

Sports EditorBrodee GillamPhoto EditorsAshley DyerRachel HamiltonAdvisersJulie PriceCody Harrell

Senior Peter Ecklund is living proof that hard work really does pay off. His determination and hard work led him to an exciting moment when he opened a letter that said he was one of 22 students selected to receive a full-ride scholarship to the University of Michigan.

The university made its decision not only because of Ecklund’s academic achievements, but also for his involvement as a leader in the community.

The Stamp Scholarship, started by Penny and Roe Stamps in 2006, is not like other U of M scholarships. With costs at $20,000 for residents and $40,000 for non residents, the scholarship can be game changing for students. U of M was one of the first to make its partnership with the Stamps, who are now partnered with over 40 universities.

“This will cover everything, which traditionally the scholarship just covered tuition costs,” Ecklund said. “But this year was the first year they will refund the cost of books, tuition and even offering $10,000 for enrichment money for studying abroad.”

Although Ecklund has committed to attend Michigan this fall, the decision was not always an easy one. “I had Michigan and Eastman School of Music for their excellent music programs tied for my first choice for colleges,” he said. “But after getting awarded the scholarship it made deciding a lot easier.”

Ecklund said he will be continuing to work hard and achieve his goals as a performer and student. “I will be studying bassoon performance, which will be my main focus, and also minoring in neuroscience,” Ecklund said.

After visiting U of M’s campus a few weeks ago, Ecklund’s decision to go became even more clear. “Touring campus was really exciting. We got to meet with a lot of professors and I really liked the atmosphere of campus,” he said. “I’m looking forward to being there.”

CODY THELEN | Staff Writer

Senior awarded full scholarship

Freshman Kylie Flewelling has gone to three author visits for the encouragement to pursue her dreams of becoming an author of mystery and science-fiction novels (her favorite genre). “I’ve always wanted to be an author because I have creative ideas and thoughts, like I see the world from a different perspective,” Flewelling said.

Aspiring authors and sophomores Avery Beyea and Eric Jordan also attend the author visits for the helpful mentoring in the writing process and for the safe idea sharing environment.

“It helped me be more determined and explained the writing process,” Beyea said. His favorite genre is fiction fantasy/teardrop fantasy, like visiting author Lauren Kate writes.

Jordan on the other hand wants to be a scriptwriter for movies. “The author visits have given me more confidence to share my ideas with who I am working with,” Jordan said. His favorite author visit was Scott Westerfeld. He enjoys all genres of book but Westerfeld’s are his favorites.

Author visits have been a way for students to expand their reading diversity and writing confidence. It is an environment where students are surrounded by peers and people they look up to.

Teens read into their futureAuthors Susan Dennard and Veronica Ross posed with students in the Viking room Feb. 17 following their book discussion. PHOTO: TYLER GOLDBERG

Author visits are place for young writers to gain encouragementALEX SADLER | Staff Writer

Author Susan Dennard answered several questions about her book, “A Darkness Strange and Lovely,” on Feb. 17. PHOTO: TYLER GOLDBERG

HUNTER DAWSON | Staff Writer

33.30.16 NEWS

The crowd erupted with excitement and energy, proudly bearing red, white and blue signs that read “Bernie 2016.” Bernie Sanders, the democratic senator from Vermont running for the presidency in 2016, is about to take the stage. Nearly 9,000 community members filled Michigan State University’s Breslin Center March 2 to hear what the senator had to say.

Among the 9,000 attendees was senior Camille Norris, who has been a supporter of Sanders for months. “I’ve been a Bernie supporter since November, so I’ve been waiting for him to come to Michigan,” Norris said. “Once I saw that he was coming to MSU I immediately made plans to go.”

Senior Casey Schiebner accompanied Norris to the rally and is also a supporter of Sanders. Schiebner said despite it being a political rally, the environment was exciting and positive. “Everyone seemed super excited about him coming and it was just overall a positive environment,” Schiebner said.

Antsy with excitement, Norris and Schiebner waited for over an hour outside the Breslin Center that cold windy afternoon. “Even though everybody had been standing outside for a really long time and everybody was really cold, the atmosphere was already super energetic,” Norris said. Despite a few protesters outside, the environment remained peaceful, positive and friendly.

Among the quiet protesters was senior Brian Murray, a young man with a voice of his own. Just like everyone else, Murray was there to hear what Sanders had to say, and to do a little comparing and contrasting.

“I had gone to a Donald Trump rally over the summer and I thought it would be kind of fun to go and kind

of see the contrast and listen to his points,” Murray said. Although Trump and Sanders are running under differing party platforms, Murray has found there weren’t as many differences as one might expect when it comes to rallying.

“The way that they both were able to get all their people to just get real riled up was pretty impressive,” Murray said. “At the Trump rally, Trump would say ‘we’re going to build that wall and who’s going to pay for it?’ And everyone would shout ‘Mexico!’ And then at the Sanders rally, he didn’t say it but one of the guest speakers came up and said ‘indict Snyder?’ And then they would all scream ‘arrest Snyder!’ So the energy was very similar,” Murray said.

Murray has never considered himself to be a Sanders supporter, however this doesn’t come without reason. In fact, his view makes for a very unique perspective. “His major thing is you know free education that’s like his huge thing especially at a college campus.” Murray said. “If you taxed every single cent anybody made over $100,000 you wouldn’t even raise a trillion dollars,” Murray said. “That would be able to pay for one year of our expenses and then nobody would have any money and the economy would collapse.”

In protest to this policy and other policies like it, Murray took initiative

and made his voice heard. He attended the rally equipped with a Communist flag. “I just figured I would do it because I kind of wanted to see the reaction from the people,” Murray said. “I wasn’t sure if they would get offended or if they would support it.”

The reaction to the flag came as a bit

of a shock to him. “To my surprise the people sitting around me were kind of OK with it. They kind of like looked at me smiling with thumbs up,” Murray said.

Once the rally was over, many people felt changed. Others, however, not so much.

“When I attend things like that it opens my mind and shows me that there’s more than just the bad stuff you see on the news,” Schiebner said.

Schiebner also describes a change in her personal political views, “I really didn’t care too much until this election and I feel like that’s because Bernie’s really reaching out to the younger people,” she said. “He’s showing us how important it is for us to be involved in politics now because I mean this is our future.“

Sanders is a supporter of education and has stated plans to create a tuition-free system for those wishing to attend a public college or university. His plan also calls for significantly lowering student loan interest rates and fight for equal access to education for all Americans.

“I think it’s an excellent idea,” senior Emily Buczkowski said. “If we all pay a little money we can send millions of students to college. Everyone can get

an education, which is really important especially with the families that are putting themselves into debt just to send one or two of their kids to college.”

Sanders wants to put an end to shipping jobs overseas therefore creating more employment opportunities for

those right here in the United States. Along with creating new jobs, Sanders would like to invest $1 trillion to rebuild the nation’s deteriorating infrastructure. In turn, he said this could create a potential of 13 million new jobs for Americans. The job making doesn’t end there, however. He also hopes to invest another $5.5 million to provide as many as 1 million young Americans with jobs and provide job-training for those jobs.

Sanders has also proposed to create a clean-energy workforce that could

create another 10 million jobs through a 100 percent clean energy system for electricity, heating and transportation.

Investments in other efficient and clean energy sources, such as wind and solar power, will be made. “I think us, as humans, can’t take back what we’ve done to the earth, but we can take steps to improve our future,” senior Brielle Durrance said. “I think Bernie has set up plans to make clean energy a reality.”

Sanders places a big emphasis on environment and working toward bettering the world around us. “We can make a better future for ourselves by cutting back on fossil fuels and using clean energy,” Durrance said.

That is exactly what Sanders plans to do. He contends that by cutting the United States carbon pollution back by 80 percent and by placing a tax on businesses and factories that emit such pollution, they will be forced to look to new, cleaner forms of energy. It’s policies such as these that have proven to be what’s near to the hearts of America’s youth. By catering to the younger demographics’ needs and passions, Sanders has managed to spark what his followers call a political revolution.

Students “Feel the Bern”

AUSTIN EVELAND | Staff WriterKELSEY JOHNSON | Editor-in-Chief

Students express opposing perspectives following East Lansing Bernie Sanders rally

Once I saw that he was coming to MSU I immediately made plans to go.CAMILLE NORRIS

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Democratic candidate and Vermont senator Bernie Sanders speaks to a packed crowd March 2 at the Michigan State University Breslin Center. COURTESY PHOTO

I just figured I would do it because I kind of wanted to see the reaction of the people.BRIAN MURRAY

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He’s showing us how important it is for us to be involved in politics now because, I mean, this is our future.CAMILLE NORRIS

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4 3.30.16OPINION

CONNOR FRANK| Staff Writer

It was a warm May afternoon, and I sat across from Trevor Stirewalt in AP Government. Today was a free day, the exam had already been taken and my teacher Kathleen Burns decided we ought to brainstorm potential candidates for the upcoming presidential election.

Of course, the first person to be mentioned was Hillary Clinton, the obvious frontrunner of the Democratic Party. After 15 names had been written on the board, I raised my hand and, giggling, said “Donald Trump.” Stirewalt laughed, Burns smiled, and other students in the class took notice of the joke. I thought it comical.

Now, nearly a year later, I find myself in fear of that same joke. I fear that, should he be elected, some form of secret police will come to my house and arrest me for writing this article. I know of the dangers of Donald Trump. From the time he was the head honcho on “the Apprentice,” I knew there was something off about the guy. He was smart and cunning, but his ambitions clearly superseded the world of network television.

This election cycle, Trump has shocked the media with his calls for bans on the immigration of Muslims to the United States, execution of captured ISIS combatants with bullets dipped in pigs blood, and labeling the heads of his own party as failures.

But the things Trump proposes aren’t just extremist views. They are views shared by most of the United States. Both blue collars and doctors alike are supporting Trump and, despite his stance on immigrants, he has a 25 percent approval rating amongst Latinos. They support Trump’s campaign because it has been a voice for everyday Americans whose elected officials have repeatedly failed them. According to a poll conducted by RAND, people who responded “yes” to the question “people like me don’t have any say about what the government does” were 86 percent more likely to vote for Trump, regardless of any other demographic. The reason for their response can be found in our

previous Congress, that failed to find a solution to budget woes and could not make a difference in the battle for city streets, nor rectify the wrongs in gang violence and police brutality.

People clenched their fists as they watched their communities be torn apart by the heroin epidemic. The people they elected to positions of power did little more than shout and say sorry. Because the system failed so many people for so long, those same citizens now look to an outsider with radical ideas in the hopes of a changed Washington. People who support Trump have looked past his controversial commentary and instead like him for his tendency to bully those who stand in his way.

Unfortunately for America, hiring someone out of resent for the current political climate could work out to be disastrous. Building a “great, great wall on our southern border” is a senseless and impractical waste of resources. It didn’t keep the Mongols out of China, and it won’t keep the southern half of the Americas from wanting a better life here. Banning all Muslims from entering the United States could be done, but there is

no effective method for determining Muslims from non-Muslim, nor does such a system exist to pick out terrorists from non-terrorists. The result of such a ban would be nothing more than fuel to feed the anti-American hatred, and more tax dollars wasted on symbolic government programs.

Besides, do we really want to be known as the nation who would not admit a member of their own Congress into their country explicitly because of his religion? That doesn’t sound like a value any of our founding fathers would support. Banning Muslims would be a great hypocrisy, with no regard to history. The notion that someone who makes up facts to support himself and blatantly dodges questions about their legitimacy could very feasibly be the next president is disturbing.

This morning I bought an African Autumn Tea Latte from Biggby coffee and sat down. I opened the link I was sent by my father to a 13 minute long video comprising entirely of times Hillary Clinton was caught lying or swapping her views in as little as a month of time.

The Democratic frontrunner has been compared to many fictitious figures such as Bess McCord from “Madam Secretary” (who may have even been based on Clinton), or President Bartlett from the television series “West Wing.” However, I find one character to capture the essence of Clinton in near perfect form: Francis Underwood in “House of Cards.” This sly, conniving character plays the political game like a champ to consolidate power and rule the country as his own. But instead of loudly denouncing his enemies, he simply slips past them and relies on his political strength to subdue those who oppose him.

While it can be assumed that Clinton hasn’t killed a gubernatorial candidate from Pennsylvania, the similarities are striking. Clinton at the most recent debate touted a claim that “Libya isn’t perfect, but we (America) didn’t lose a single person.” This is untrue, as we lost our US ambassador to Libya and several Marines in a firefight in Benghazi, Libya at the same conflict. Though many were quick to point out she probably only meant we didn’t have to deploy ground troops to help overthrow the Libyan dictator. But the notion she helped to conjure an overthrow in Libya that was not damaging at all to the United States is entirely untrue.

The other obvious, related issue is that of her Email server. Regardless of the legal or ethical matters involved with her personal server being used to send department information, her handling of the subject is telltale of how a Clinton presidency would handle controversy; deny and distract. When asked about her server, Clinton gives vague or nonsensical answers. When asked if she had attempted to wipe her Email servers of information that could potentially be classified,

Clinton responded, “What, like with a towel or something?” No, Mrs. Clinton. With a military grade server blanking device that would be damning evidence of concealment of the truth if proven true.

Still isn’t as bad as Donald Trump and his hateful rhetoric, right? Well, allow me to introduce you to Clinton’s thoughts on the “superpredator” theory; a topic of interest during a nationwide crime spree under her husband’s presidency. A quote from Clinton, on the subject of black youth committing crimes. “They are often the kinds of kids that are called ‘super-predators.’ No conscience, no empathy. We can talk about why they ended up that way, but first we have to bring them to heel.” The website idioms.dictionary.com defines the phrase “bring to heel” as “commanding a dog to come close behind its master to similar

control over human beings or affairs. (Second half of 1800s)”. I’m not sure which is more dehumanizing; calling all illegal immigrants rapists, or theorizing that children, and in the context of her speech black children, are sociopathic dogs. I find them equally disdainful.

This election is likely to boil down to Clinton and Trump contending for the presidency. Americans who support Trump

vehemently oppose Clinton, and vice versa. The truth is that Clinton and Trump are nearly identical in their desire to win the election. Trump says anything his supporters would like to hear. Clinton says everything her donors pay her to say.

The race then is between the monster you know and the shape-shifter you think you know. Sadly, there are no ghost-busters in politics. So who do you call when the ghouls of politics have a death grip on the election? Your friends. Your family. Everyone you know. To stop the hysteria and hypocrisy, get educated on political stances. Know your candidates and what they stand for. And please, go end the madness with your vote.

People who support Trump...like him for his tendency to bully around those who stand in his way.

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Clinton says everything her donors pay her to say.

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Frontrunner

GRAPHIC: JJ MILLER

Trump throws pandering punch at blue collar America

Hillary hits back with scandalous server switchhit

fight night

3.30.16 5OPINION

Letters to the Editor are here to help! We know that you all have issues with different things around the school and in our community. We want to hear what YOU have to say.

Have something to say?Angry, frustrated or downright upset about what we’ve written?Want to tell us how well we’re doing?Write a letter to us!Drop the finished product off in the Publications Room, room 411, for consideration to run in the next issue of the newspaper. We do NOT accept annonymous letters. Thank you.

Teenagers are going to drink. Period. They’ve been drinking since the creation of alcohol and it’s nearly impossible to prevent this from happening.

Despite this, instead of being educated on responsible drinking, teenagers continue to be bombarded with facts and statistics in an effort to eliminate drinking all together. Parents have tried relentlessly for generations and no matter what they do teens find a way to drink.

Although most teens have made the choice to drink responsibly, many continue to treat it lightheartedly. This involves drunk driving, intentionally blacking out, and ending up in dangerous situations due to poor planning.

More times than not teens partake in drinking massive amounts of alcohol without even knowing what they’re drinking and aren’t able to function by the end of the night. What’s even more worrisome is most of the time they aren’t thinking ahead and arranging a designated driver or a safe place to sleep. This usually results in catching a ride with someone who had been drinking that night or driving themselves because they don’t want to risk getting caught by their parents. Again, if parents encouraged safe drinking, it’s more likely teens would reach out for help when it’s needed.

In addition to this, it is a parent’s

job to set a good example and practice safe and responsible drinking themselves. It’s not uncommon to see parents have one too many beers and casually drive home. “I know my limit,” they say, as if age overrides the science behind blood alcohol content.

Today we live in a society that romanticizes binge drinking and belligerent partying and the consequences are inexorable. According to the Mothers Against Drunk Driving, or MADD, organization, 27 people every day in the U.S. die as a result of drinking and driving. And according to the same organization, two in three people will be involved in a drunk driving accident in their lifetime.

This wild and irresponsible view on drinking has got to end. Making the decision to drive under the influence not only puts you at risk but others on the road or in the car with you as well. It’s a selfish decision that can kill not only you, but the people in your car and others on the roads. You also run the risk of getting a DUI (Drinking Under the Influence) charge which can result in jail time and a $500-$2,000 fine.

In order to eliminate these devastating situations from happening, we must start by having conversations about safe drinking. It’s time for adults to stop denying the fact that it’s happening and start talking to teens about the decisions they’re making in regards to alcohol. And it’s time for teens to start advocating for this as well.

We are in no way encouraging or defending teen drinking, but what we are doing is encouraging responsibility for teens and parents alike.

With the growing trend of marijuana legalization pioneered by Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska spreading around the country (Michigan being one of several states currently flirting with the idea), it is common belief that national legalization is right around the corner. But even as these pro-legalization beliefs become more popular, incarceration rates for weed related arrests continue to rise in every state with the exception of the four aforementioned. A majority of these arrests are not even big drug busts of kingpins, but simply for possession of the drug, usually not for large quantities. Forty-five years after Nixon declared the “war on drugs,” weed culture seems to be growing more than ever, especially among America’s youth.

It’s no wonder why. With rappers like Wiz Khalifa and Kendrick Lamar, and movies and TV shows like “Pineapple Express” and “Workaholics” that glamorize the party lifestyle, teens are constantly entertained and encouraged to think that marijuana is a wonderful and harmless thing. Certainly it’s not like these are new fads, weed has been a main component of many rap artists’ style, namely Snoop Dogg, and Cheech and Chong pioneered weed comedy with “Up in Smoke” in 1978.

The argument that marijuana is indeed harmless has many avid believers, and it is a solid argument.

The main point of those who are pro-legalization is that there has been to this date zero recorded deaths as a direct result of marijuana. Compare this with the fact that there are an astounding 2,200 deaths from alcohol poisoning every year, and it makes one wonder why the latter is legal and marijuana is not. The only injuries or deaths related to marijuana are usually accidents not directly caused by the substance itself, but the circumstances of use.

Last year a young man in Colorado died after eating six times the recommended dose of a marijuana cookie and proceeding to jump off a fourth story balcony. The man, an exchange student from the Republic of Congo named Levy Thamba Pongi, was actually quoted saying, “This is a sign from God that this has happened, that I cannot control myself. It’s not because of the weed” before his unfortunate death. This is a clear example that marijuana leads

to dangerous situations only when irresponsibly misused.

Six months after legalizing recreational use of marijuana, Colorado saw a 10.6 percent decrease in property crimes and 60 percent decrease in homicides in Denver. There has also been $12-$40 million saved in enforcement costs each year, and over 10,000 jobs created by the marijuana industry. In the 2014-2015 fiscal year, Colorado collected almost $70 million in marijuana taxes, nearly doubling the revenue from alcohol taxes.

However, there has also been an increase in accidents and hospitalizations linked to weed in legal states. Most of these incidents are cases of misusing edible products or incorrectly attempting to perform the incredibly dangerous process of extracting hash oil with butane without taking proper safety precautions. As of February of 2015 there have been new regulations put in place considering the labeling and packaging of edibles, making inclusion of serving size, potency, and warnings required on all labels.

Both the benefits and negative results of legalization are evident. If you consider that most problems could be avoided or eliminated by moderation, responsible self-control and product regulations, the numerous benefits far outweigh the negative consequences.

Write a letter to the editor.Let your voice be heard!

W

A Staff Editorial

Marijuana in Colorado

Statistics reported by endthedrugwar.org.

The societal influence

60% fewer homocides were reported in Denver

Property crime fell a full 9% after legalization

10,000 new jobs created

$12-40 million saved in enforcement costs

The impact of legalizationInfographic: MOLLY BRADY

Irresponsible drinking culture is dangerous for everyone

Hangin’ with JaneLegalized states show good, bad on recreational marijuana

CONNER HEINZ| Staff Writer

3.30.16 LIFEBOAT 7LIFEBOAT6

A tragic intersection

As history teacher Jeff Smith stands in front of his class of 30, tears stream down his face. Trailing away from a normal day of lecturing and notes, Smith has decided to share a haunting memory with his students. Memories of horror and anguish come over him as he rewinds to 20 years ago on a late Sunday afternoon. Newlyweds Jeff and Nancy Smith were returning home from a softball game with their newborn son, Joseph, when they were unexpectedly hit by a drunk driver.

“My son was 6 months old and we were newlyweds when we were hit by that car. The driver was just finishing his junior year of high school and was drunk, he had a friend with him who was going to be a senior that was drunk, and the owner of the car was an adult who was a buyer of alcohol and drugs for the boys,” Smith said. “They had had these somewhat dysfunctional lives leading up to then. They had been going to graduation open houses that day in early June, so you have very high school themes and adult themes intersecting on that roadway.”

Over 20 years later, Smith and his family still deal with the trauma that came with the accident. Smith’s wife suffered from serious closed head injuries, and went through years of rehabilitation as a part of her recovery. Jeff has suffered from some post-traumatic stress disorder and finds it difficult to forget the trauma. The traumatic event of almost watching the two people he loves most in this world die left behind lingering remnants of pain.

“I feel awkward even saying that because I feel like it does a disservice to people serving overseas with living day to day with the trauma they see on a daily basis. But I did deal with some PTSD,” Jeff said. “Every intersection I went through I would get the chills and the sweats. I was really self conscious that I had those feelings that I couldn’t control so I just tried to avoid it.”

Dealing with the symptoms of PTSD, it took Smith years to be able to talk about the accident. Reliving all of the trauma he experienced that day was nearly unbearable and while he continued to deal with his PTSD and his wife’s rehabilitation, he decided to not talk about the accident with anyone. Despite his best efforts, this changed later in his teaching career after seeing a few of his young students lose their lives due to senseless acts by drivers under the influence.

“It was just absolutely heart wrenching to see such a young life, with their whole life ahead of them, taken away because they’re just out partying and just trying to have fun with their friends,” Smith said.

He said that witnessing young people’s deaths as a result of drunk driving inspired him to tell his story. Smith hoped that his story would inspire young people to think twice about their actions

and see a different perspective. “It was almost as if it was haunting me. I just want them to hear

it from someone else’s perspective that’s been through an accident that had drinking as the root cause,” Smith said. ”It was very

difficult sharing my story that year, but the comments the students made, things they shared with me that had happened to family or friends of theirs and just how it moved or touched them made it all worth it.”

Smith says that telling his story all day, for six hours completely drains him physically, and emotionally but it’s something he

feels he has to do. “I decided every year going into prom I want to share my story

and if it just helps one person think differently in the moment it will be worth that one hour or one day out of the year that I have to go through the pain of sharing my story,” Smith said. “And I’ve just been doing it ever since, and it’s kind of become that right of passage in Mr. Smith’s class.”

Smith knows people are bound to make mistakes, but he hopes his story can prevent his students from making the kind that will stay with them for the rest of their lives, like the young man who nearly killed his family.

“Even if a student is new to me, they’ve been working with me all year long and there’s hopefully a healthy, teacher student relationship there,” Smith said. “I’m sure people still shrug it off, we all do that with different things at different times. But I think there’s more open communication nowadays with being careful, I think there’s progress there.”

Even with the progress, Smith realizes kids will go out and let loose with their friends. But he believes there is a much safer way to handle things when you are put in those situations.

He says that when you go into it with a game plan, prepared for any situation you take out the factor of possibly contemplating driving drunk.

“In the moment when you’re having fun and you’re out with friends it’s easy to lose track of things whether it’s how many drinks you or someone else has had,” Smith said. “In the moment you’re not always going to make the best decision or the safest decision. But when there’s a game plan in advance then you can behave and act in a more safe manner for yourself or for others.”

Smith has continued to be an advocate for safe drinking and hopes his students can come to him with any problems or questions. “I think that my goal when I share my story is for kids to think more. Yeah you hear about drugs or you hear about drinking or driving but you don’t really think about it too much,” Smith said. “I hope my story can change that.”

History teacher Jeff Smith tells story of horrifying accident to advocate for student safety

For more information on safe drinking and drinking and driving, here is some contact information:Students Against Drunk Driving 24-Hour Hotline- 877-MADD-HELPMothers Against Drunk Driving Victim Helpline- 1-800-323-6233Alcohol Addiction Recovery Hotline- 1-888-319-2606

Katelyn Lee | Staff Writer Kelsey Johnson | Editor-in-chief

Every intersection I went through I would get the chills and the sweats.

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My goal when I share my story is for kids to think more.

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16 y.o. male160 lbs.

16 y.o. female135 lbs.

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before exceeding the legal limit of .08 BAC.

before exceeding the legal limit of .08 BAC.

3-4 16 oz. beers 2-3 16 oz. beers

3-4 1.5 oz. shots 1-2 1.5 oz. shots

2-3 12 oz. glasses of wine

1-2 12 oz. glasses of wine

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STATISTICS: HEALTHSTATUS.COM INFOGRAPHIC: KELSEY JOHNSON

8 3.30.16FEATURES

As sophomore Alaina Melton sat at the dining room table and stared at the chicken her mother had made on the table, she had a sudden realization that she didn’t want to eat meat anymore. Now over two years later, she is still going strong.

“I wanted to be a vegetarian for so long, but I had so many people tell me I’d only last a week,” Melton said. “Now, it’s over two years later and I’m still with it.”

Melton is part of the growing trend of healthy living making waves across the country, particularly the millennials. Social media has been dominated by vocal vegetarian and vegans, like Melton, who want to spread their message.

“The reason I am so vocal about it is because I love being a vegetarian,” Melton said. “I gained so much energy. It’s just so much healthier for you.”

In a country where over 35 percent of the adult population is considered obese, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, millennials have taken it into their own hands to change their futures with new lifestyle changes.

But, many will say it’s not just about keeping the weight down. It’s about their general health, and the health and protection of animals and the environment,” Melton said. “There are ethical vegetarians and vegetarians that do it for health reasons. I am both, but mainly ethical. I really love animals.”

Melton’s change has been contagious. “Ever since I’ve gone vegetarian, my family has started eating a lot better,” she said. “It’s affected my friends as well because when they see what I’m eating, they see how easy it is to be healthier and

that eating healthy doesn’t have to be some elaborate thing.”

Senior Emma Stevenson, an experimenting vegan, said watching documentaries and seeing celebrities partake in the lifestyle change is the reason so many young people have decided to go vegan and vegetarian too.

“I think it’s becoming more common now,” Stevenson said. “They have definitely shed a light onto all the negative aspects of the meat industry.”

The documentaries she watched, “Forks over Knives,” “Earthlings” and “Cowspiracy,” are what she credits most for her change.

“They were really eye opening because I had no idea of the negative effect animal products have on our bodies and the environment,” she said. Like Melton, she has found her new diet provides her much more energy.

Teachers talk healthLack of energy, a common factor

among many who decide to change their diets, is what led math teacher Tara Erickson to see a nutritionist.

“I am hoping that I can discover which foods—maybe gluten, dairy, sugar —I should avoid so that I feel less fatigued,” Erickson said. “I’m hoping that the result will be something that I can make a permanent lifestyle change.”

Erickson has noticed throughout her time at Haslett that many of her students are changing too.

“We have so much more information

now,” she said. “I hear them (students) talking about making good food choices and working out regularly.”

But despite having more available information, biology teacher Kimberly Snook says even students who want to make changes can have trouble doing so.

“As a teenager, it can be hard

because your folks are more in control of what’s in the cupboard,” Snook said. “I hate to think of teens getting caught up in the whole dieting thing anyways. I believe it is important to live a healthy lifestyle. The key word there being lifestyle and not diet.”

Snook says staying active and starting good habits is key to lifelong health.

“Living an active lifestyle in high school makes it more likely you will value an active lifestyle in the future,” Snook said. “As a result, you will have more energy, productive thoughts, be more pleasant to be around, hopefully live longer and be less sick.”

Snook, who has been open to students about her struggle with an eating disorder, is now healthy and happy because of balancing her health.

“Being active helps keep my eating disorder at bay. The need to fuel myself for the next workout is more important than depriving myself,” she said.

She encourages students to find a balance for themselves too.

“Any exercise or healthy eating is great, as long as you don’t become obsessed about it. There has to be a healthy medium for both aspects or your body will break down,” she said. “You are too important to let that happen.”

Monitoring fitnessLack of balance is what senior

Shyan Goodrich sees as a threat to health among young people. She decided to start tracking her steps with a Fitbit after she saw her dad doing it and his success with it.

“I thought it was really cool. I wanted to keep track of my steps and then I started working out a lot,” Goodrich said. Her overall goal is to simply be healthier, something Goodrich says her generation struggles with.

“I don’t think they’re (her peers) healthy at all. Things like not eating right or not eating enough, and working out too much. There’s unhealthy habits like that,” she said.

Overall, Goodrich says her steps to living healthier have been worth it.

“I feel better. I’m more energetic, but results are coming slowly.” Slow or not, Goodrich is in it for the long run. “I wanna do it right and be successful. Then, other girls can see it that way too.”

Like Goodrich, senior Makayla Casaday has picked up on the Fitbit trend. Casaday says she likes knowing how many steps she’s taken in a day because it helps her stay motivated throughout the week.

“Days that my step numbers are low, I feel extremely guilty. I know the next day I have to work harder,” Casaday said.

Along with knowing the step count, Casaday also enjoys participating in the “challenges” feature of Fitbits. This allows participants to compete against themselves or friends/family and stay active together.

“Having a challenge with someone means you have a week or weekend to see who gets the most steps within that amount of time,” Casaday said. “I love challenges because I’m a competitive person so it helps push me to exercise more.”

Running for reliefFor other students, a Fitbit isn’t

needed to get motivated and isn’t necessarily for health reasons. Junior Andrew Schmidt says he runs because it relieves stress and frustration. He also has found that it’s become a habit.

“When I run it makes me forget about the stress of the day and it helps me release it. It’s kind of a habit of mine to stay in shape and I really enjoy it.” Schmidt said.

Senior Emily Wegenke is motivated to run because she thinks it will benefit her in the future. By running every day, she says she’s setting up a routine that will hopefully follow her when

she’s older. “It’s a good way to relieve stress

and it’s just a good habit to get into because I’ll always be able to run, even when I get older.” Wegenke said.

Like Schmidt and Wegenke, junior Amanda Young enjoys running and

has kept it a part of her daily routine since she could remember. Because of her passion for running, Young’s sister encouraged her to start running competitively.

Since then, she’s made running a big part of her life by participating in the school’s cross country and track teams. She also competes outside of school.

After watching her sister train for a half marathon, Young was inspired to do the same.

After training, Young and her family traveled to Orlando, FL to participate in the Walt Disney World Half Marathon.

Although she was just doing it for fun, Young ended up winning in her age division. Since then she has managed to be a two year reigning champion for the female division ages 14-17.

“There are people announcing your name when you are approaching the finish line and as I was getting there, I heard them say ‘here comes our youngest female runner, 16 year old Amanda Young,” Young said. “It was surreal, I couldn’t help but smile as I ran through.”

Despite her talent, Young says that it isn’t what keeps her running and motivated.

“Running has helped me get over certain things that has happened in my life and that’s why I love it so much.”

Also contributed: Mia SalvadorKelsey Johnson

Running has helped me get over certain things that has happened in my life, that’s why I love it so much.AMANDA YOUNG

““

HAILEY PECIC | Copy Editor MOLLY GADOLA | Features Editor

Walking into a healthier America

Students, teachers on the forefront of diet, nutrition and technology trends

Any exercise or healthy eating is great, as long as you don’t become obsessed about it.KIMBERLY SNOOK

“

“

3.30.16 9FEATURES

While students often rush to the four corners to watch the latest drama go down, Jan Shoemaker chooses to stay in her classroom. She finds fighting to be unnecessary and cruel and would much rather stay ignorant to the latest high school drama.

“Most of the drama is not necessary,” Shoemaker said. “Why do we human beings act this way? Avoiding the drama you can, would make for a happier life.”

Shoemaker says that while she was in high school she stayed out of the drama, “I didn’t go in for that stuff,” she said.

Shoemaker thinks social media has made harassment and bullying

even more of a problem for teens, and is very different than when she was growing up. Because of the social media, she believes it is troublesome and hard to be a teenager in this day and age when the drama follows you everywhere.

“If it’s bad at school you can’t even get away from it when you leave school. I think that would make being a teenager a lot harder than it used to be,” Shoemaker said.

She thinks bullies are mean and hurtful for many different reasons, but she does not exactly know why people are so mean to others. After giving it some thought, she came up with some common reasons such as personal

feelings and trying to be better than the person they chose to prey on.

“Sometimes it’s probably to deflect feelings of unworthiness in themselves onto somebody else,” Shoemaker said.

She also assumes it can just be about control or even about wanting to fit in. “If there’s an outsider it can make you feel very much like an insider,” she said.

Shoemaker believes bullies have problems of their own. Regardless, she thinks bullies can and should control themselves instead of taking it out on others.

“I don’t think it’s acceptable,” Shoemaker said. “I believe we have some amount of free will, and just

because somebody is being mean to someone, I don’t believe it has to turn into ugliness on their part.” Harassment is found around the world, where young teenagers are stuck in all of the chaos of bullies and their cruel behavior. Shoemaker has some helpful advice for any individuals who are getting bullied, whether it is cyber bullying or in person.

Her advice is to go to an adult that they trust so they can tell them about any problems they have at all. “We’ve got lots of them in this building that can help,” Shoemaker said. “People shouldn’t ever feel like they have to suffer alone, it’s a terrible thing.”

Shoemologies: Fights

KHONNOR LONGENDYKE| Staff Writer

The land that senior Sarah Garrod lives on is bordered by nature. You don’t have to step far from her front door to reach a pond, and the backyard stretches out into acres of forest, with small paths trailing through. Not that Sarah needs the paths. From the age of 6 she could be found on any given day tramping carefully through the acres of dense woods, leaving the precarious path in favor of the unexplored forest floor. As she went, she liked to imagine she was going farther and farther into the endless woodland. Sometimes, she wished she could get lost in it.

To 6-year-old Garrod, the woods were an oasis of peace and untouched nature, and she felt as if she could run through it forever. She spent hours searching the woods for birds, deer and squirrels. But, to her great disappointment, the creatures were always too afraid to get close. She made up for the rejection by collecting buckets of snakes and frogs and dragging them home to her mother, who promptly insisted she let them go.

Although she may not have been the biggest fan of snakes, Garrod’s mom, Sally Garrod was nothing but supportive of

her daughter’s love of the woods. “Richard Louv, author of the book ‘Last Child in

the Woods’ wrote: ‘Children who don’t experience nature won’t grow up to cherish or protect it,’” Sally said. “This statement sums up my belief and

therefore exemplifies why I have encouraged all of our children, including Sarah, to get

outdoors, observe, study and respect our environment and the

plants and animals in which we are privileged to share this planet,

Earth.” Inspired by her mother, a botanist

and environmentalist, Sarah learned to love all living things.

“Sarah has always been a lover of animals – not just cuddly creatures such as cats and dogs, but also frogs, toads, turtles, snakes, birds, spiders, mice, insects, bunnies . . .

basically all wildlife. When Sarah was little, instead of playing ‘house,’ she would pretend to be different

animals,” Sally said. “Sarah’s love of nature comes through in the art that she creates. Most of her

paintings and drawings are of nature and/or wildlife. She has written some beautiful poems and stories, based on

the nature she has observed,” Sally said. Sarah has loved art almost as long as she’s loved nature.

“I’ve been drawing ever since I can remember,” Sarah said. “I always loved that I could make my own things, I didn’t

have to rely on somebody else.”

Sarah often looks back to her roots for inspiration in her artwork. “I have a lot of nature-centric work,” she said. “My love of nature definitely comes through in my art. When I see something out there in nature I think, ‘wow I really like that. I could take a photo of it, but I could also paint it instead.’”

In the last two years Sarah has won two awards for her artwork, an honorable mention award and a social media award, and has had her work displayed in multiple shows. But painting is not the only art she’s interested in. To her, all art connects.

“I find that drawing, painting, that sort of art, is also connected to the music side,” Sarah said. “It’s artistic representation. You have to interpret it in your own way, you have to put the emotion in it.”

To Sarah, an important aspect of her music and art is having the ability to affect others.

“One of the most rewarding things for me is being able to impact other people. I could be helping them,” she said. “I could be using my art or music to influence their emotions. I can show you what I’m

feeling and then I can just shove it at you.”Although nature had a huge impact in her life,

Sarah was impacted by more than just nature.“I grew up with my sister who has a mental

impairment. She has a chromosomal displacement. They’re characterizing it as autism. She can’t attend school and has the mental capacity of a 3-year-old,” she said. “I had a different household growing up than lots of people because I had to live with her, I’ve lived with her my entire life.

“My mom says it made me grow up faster than a lot of people but I don’t think it was a bad thing. It has allowed me to mature a lot, which is something I’m grateful for in the end. It allowed me to have a broader understanding of others.”

Thanks to the endless acres of serene wood behind her house, and the lessons taught to her by both her mother and her sister, Sarah has been given the rare

opportunity to experience what most others do not have the privilege to. Her well-rounded love of nature, music and art, along with her unstoppable urge to protect the beautiful nature she grew up in have led Sarah to plan on dual majoring in art and biology, while being involved in orchestra.

“I’m not sure what I’ll do with those yet,” Sarah said. “I’m hoping I can combine them and find something I would really enjoy in the future.”

Whatever it is she decides on, Sarah plans on using the knowledge she gained as a child throughout her life. “I don’t know what I’ll do,” she said. “Whatever it is, I just want to make a difference in the ecological world.”

Garrod finds solitude and inspiration in nature, music, art

Children who don’t experience nature won’t grow up to cherish and protect it.SALLY GARROD

“

“

Endless world, endless wondersMOLLY BRADY | Opinion Editor

Senior Sarah Garrod playing her string bass. She plays this, the symbols and bass guitar in the marching band and wind ensemble. PHOTO: RACHEL HAMILTON

10 3.30.16SPORTS

The 2016 varsity baseball team is looking to redeem itself after losing at Districts to Fowlerville last season. According to senior Luke Sleeper, the team struggled last year due to lacking fundamentals.

“It was just kinda small things, we didn’t really do the small things all that much (and) we never really played well,” Sleeper said.

By improving on fundamentals, this team is looking to win more games this season utilizing their speed and defensive strengths, rather than relying on big hits. By doing so, the team should be able to be more consistent and win more games.

Q: The team’s past success, how are you hoping to replicate it?

Luke Sleeper: “We are hoping to win Districts and win our league, but we haven’t been able to capitalize on our talent. The last couple of years we haven’t been able to get out of Districts. We just want to be able to maximize it this year.”

Stephen Fox: “I think we have a good chance at winning Districts and I’d like to repeat the success of last year.”

Matthew Stephon: “I’d say we have less power like batting wise than years past, but I feel like pitching and fielding are what we are concentrating on. The little things are huge, doing all the little things.”

Fox: “I think if we focus on the little things and we try and we do our best every game I think we will have a lot of success.”

Stephon: “I would like to better it (last year’s season), last year we lost in Districts, when we should have won.”

Q: Where does your team excel i.e. pitching, hitting, fielding?

Sleeper: “We are pretty good in pitching, and then we have solid defense usually. We usually do the little things on offense, bunt, steal, stuff like that. We have never really been a power hitting team, we don’t score runs much.”

Fox: “It’s kinda hard to say because we have had one practice so far so I can’t give a good read on you. But I think we will be a pretty good fielding team.”

Stephon: “ Yeah, pretty strong in the field obviously with Luke.”

Fox: “Yeah, we have a very good pitcher in Luke (Sleeper).”

Stephon: “Luke and Hunter (Ruhstorfer) are pretty good pitchers.”

Q: What has caused you guys to excel in those areas?

Paul Fiorillo: “Probably just working hard, like yesterday we had a three hour practice.”

Q: You say you have strong seniors with Luke and Hunter. Do you have any strong younglings coming up?

Stephon: “We have a sophomore Hayden Garrett. He was on the team last year as a freshman, and put up some really good numbers, and I think he (might) be starting this year. If he can re-create what he did last year or maybe even (get) better he’d be a huge lift.”

Q: Who are the leaders on your team?Sleeper: “Most of the seniors or the guys that

have been on varsity a while” Fiorillo: “Luke Sleeper, Hunter Ruhstorfer,

Cullen Turner.” Fox: “I’d say Luke.”Stephon: “Hunter probably.”Fox: “Luke and Hunter I would say.”Stephon: “Cullen too. It’s really their

team, (since) they have been on varsity the longest.”

Q: Why are they the leaders?Fiorillo: “They lead by example

mostly, (it) helps that they are some of the best players.”

Fox: “I think they kinda lead by example, they let everyone else know what is going on and what to do.”

Stephon: “Yeah they are coming back, but they also have put the numbers up in years past to back up their leadership.”

Q: What are you hoping to do this year? What is your vision for the season?

Sleeper: “Bring more intensity when it come to the games, stay focused and just take it inning by inning. Try to win as many games as possible, hopefully at least 20 wins, that’s usually the benchmark of a good season.“

Fiorillo: “(I) want to get better, become a better pitcher, throw harder.”

Stephon: “Winning the District is huge for me. Because coming so close last year and if you ask any of us we all think we should have won, we should have played better and own that game.”

Fox: “I would also like to win the (CAAC) Red conference too.”

Stephon: “Winning the conference would be huge with DeWitt and St John’s both having (great teams). What they have it would be a big deal for us to win the conference.”

Fox: “Making a run in the Diamond Classic.”

Stephon: “They have a committee that chooses the teams and last year we did alright, but I’d really like to win that.”

Q: What is the Diamond Classic?Fox: “It’s a tournament of the best

teams in the area.”Stephon: “Of all sizes, from small schools

like Portland Saint (Patrick Catholic school), up to Holt and Grand Ledge. It’s really about bringing everyone together and kinda just seeing who is the best without having to go through the Districts.”

Fox: “If you win it (the Diamond Classic) you can say (that) you are the big dog in the area and that’s why Grand Ledge is so prestigious because they have won it a lot.”

Redemption on the diamond

Varsity baseball players give insight on tradition and upcoming season

HUNTER DAWSON | Staff Writer

Senior Hunter Ruhstorfer hustled to field a ball against East Lansing last season. DIXIT YEARBOOK FILE PHOTO

Killer instinct,playful nature

While wrestling, junior Nevin Brittain is relentless, powerful and aggressive. Brittain was the only member of the wrestling team to make it to the State tournament this year. He wrestled in the 189 pound weight class, despite weighing just under 180 pounds, and it’s no challenge for him. But the minute Brittain steps out of the ring, he leaves the aggression and power on the mat and turns into a humble jokester.

“When he’s on the mat he’s just in this different mode, pretty serious, but when he’s off the mat he never stops making jokes,” teammate junior Micah Williams said. “And though he’s super smart, sometimes I’m tempted to ask his parents if they can start paying me for babysitting.”

Brittain’s success isn’t just shown in wrestling, as he has managed a 3.9 GPA and has big plans for college.

“I’m hoping to play a sport in college, and if I do hopefully I’ll get my school paid for,” Brittain said.

As for a field of study, the junior said he “definitely wants to go into sports medicine because I like helping people and and really love sports so to be able to combine those two together would be like a dream.”

His love for both sports and helping people is clear.

“He is a very nice young man, very smart and caring. He is very unselfish in helping the program and helping younger wrestlers,” varsity wrestling coach Tom Heniser said.

Often times Brittain was known to stay after practice to help out wrestlers in the youth program.

Brittain not only excels on the the wrestling mat and in school, but also on the football field. He is unable to pick a favorite between the two sports.

“I like them equally, like two babies. They’re my children,” Brittain said.

Despite not wanting to have to pick between the two, Brittain thinks he will end up playing football in college instead of wrestling.

“Right now I’m leaning more towards football because that’s where more coaches have seen me, I haven’t really looked for many schools for wrestling yet,” Brittain said.

To continue reading, go to vikinglongboat.org/1815/photos/sports-photos/junior-nevin-brittain-dominates-as-an-athlete-and-a-student/

CONNER HEINZ | Staff Writer

Brittain takes over on the field and on the mat

Senior Luke Sleeper in pitching mode last season.

DIXIT YEARBOOK FILE PHOTO

3.30.16 11SPORTS

Girls varsity tennis after Spring Break, 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 13, at Lansing Catholic.

Girls varsity soccer plays after Spring Break, at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 12, at East Lansing.

The varsity boys lacrosse team plays tonight at 7 at Troy Athens High School,

The varsity girls lacrosse team plays after Spring Break, at 7 p.m. Monday, April 11 at Hartland.

Varsity baseball plays after Spring Break at 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 12 at East Lansing.

Varsity softball plays after Spring Break, Tuesday, at 4 p.m. April 12 at East Lansing.

Sports Ticker

KYLE LOONEY | Staff Writer

Seniors struggle to give up high school sports in light of college options

Senior Darek Wroblak has been a figure for Haslett basketball for most of his high school career. While being an undersized big man played to his benefit, his height has put a hold on him playing the usual big man position he’s been accustomed to.

“I’ve been a big man my whole life, usually a four (power forward) or five (center),” Wroblak said. “There’s no one that would want to take me for my height, at my current position.”

The factors that play into being a power forward or a center include being exceptionally taller than the usual person and having the bigger body type to be able to survive down low.

Hope is not all gone though. Wroblak is considering continuing basketball again in his sophomore year at Lansing Community College. He says he needs a year off to get used to the transition of the college life.

“The transition is gonna be a little weird. I’ll probably still play pickup with my friends,” Wroblak said. “I was thinking about taking a year off of basketball, see how my body develops and maybe my sophomore year, see how I do.”

Although some student athletes pursue sports on scholarships, others have to cut ties with being an athlete and focus on what they want to do throughout their college career. For a few senior standout players, athletics is not their main pursuit like it once was.

Unprepared for the next levelSenior William Holton, one of the tennis

team’s top athletes, has had an amazing run within his high school career. Like most of his peers, he will not be pursuing the sport in college despite his love for the game. Because of a foot injury, he was held back earlier this year which prevented him from playing his last tennis season. For any athlete, an injury is an immediate nightmare to even think about. Holton did all he could to get back in action, but the injury was too much to fight against.

“If I had played, I probably would have continued to play after the season so I could have got a little bit better. But you just never know,” Holton said.

Experience has also been huge in his decision not to continue his tennis career. Having started late, he was not able to acquire some of the extra practice that could have been a real game changer for him.

With Holton feeling not quite there to pursue tennis at the collegiate level, he wants to play in smaller leagues with

friends. He runs into the transition of not having constant daily practices and team activities and says that it will be a difficult shift.

“It will be hard and I won’t have much to do, but I can still play recreational because I know a bunch of people that still play,” Holton said.

Up to snuffSenior Harry DeHaven has been playing

soccer since he was five years old, and he said the transition to being without it will be difficult.

“It’s going to be really difficult because I’ve been playing soccer my whole life,” DeHaven said.

DeHaven has accepted the fact that he doesn’t have what it takes to play at a division one level. Despite this, he wants to continue playing soccer, possibly for a club team.

“I don’t think I’m good enough to compete at a division one level,” DeHaven said. “I want to play club, but the competition at a major school is intimidating. Plus, the amount of time you have to commit to practice and having it is like a job.”

DeHaven is making the transition by having to be independent and find his own workouts to do. He’s going to have to find something else to feed his passion other than soccer for the time being.

“I’m definitely going to have to work out on my own now and find a way to fulfill my passion because that’s what always gave me the competitive drive,” DeHaven said. “There’s going to be some empty in my life now because of it.”

Being an athlete missing out on their sport can be heartbreaking, but these seniors are starting to know that their sports careers will soon be left behind.

Now what?

How many high school athletes play in college?

7,151,806

Senior Harry DeHaven will be leaving his high school and club soccer teammates behind and preparing to train on his own when he attends college this fall. PHOTO: ASHLEY DYER

2,899,9594,251,847Only 5.7% of men get to play college athletics

Only 5.9% of women get to

play college athletics

NCAA statistics from NCAA.com

Top: senior Darek Wroblak goes up for a layup against Grand Ledge in the first round of Districts

on March 7. Bottom: senior William Holton returns a ball at tennis practice on Oct. 9. PHOTOS:

TYLER GOLDBERG, RACHEL HAMILTON

Students play high school sports in the

U.S.

Male Female

I’m definitely going to have to work out on my own now and find a way to fulfill my passion because that’s what always gave me the competitive drive.HARRY DEHAVEN

“

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12 3.30.16BACK OF THE BOAT

You Can’t Take It With You Review of the 2016 play

May 2

May 14, apr 25, May 31, July 2016

This year’s play “You Can’t Take it With You” was a decent success. Moments of greatness shown throughout the play were dulled by the first act, but the second act allowed the true storyline to shine.

Roles for this play were cast perfectly. The Grandpa, played by Evan Switzer took the show by strongly fitting into his role and speaking in a manner that reminded me of the typical family grandfather. The Grand Duchess Katrina was portrayed by Maddie Membiela, whose personality was that of the character she was cast and made a somewhat minor character very memorable and left me thinking about the

great casting done. A high point for the show was the

acting, as it was enjoyable to see all the random craziness going on and how individual actors/characters act and react to the situation. From the subtle nodding of the head during a conversation to Essie Carmichael (sophomore Elise Endres) doing her ballet stretches randomly throughout the show made it laugh out loud funny.

The only reason the play wasn’t living up to it’s potential was the structure of the play itself. In the beginning, it was so jumbled and confusing you couldn’t recover in time to enjoy the gut-busting

second act. I got confused during the first act because it attempted to give backstory, but it didn’t explain much and left me wondering how all these odd characters ended up together.

The high point of the play was by far the second act ,full of very funny moments that made the crowd truly laugh, instead of the polite chuckles most plays get. The third act tied together most loose ends that came up during the play, however none of the ones brought up in the first act.

These actors did an amazing job of portraying their characters and it was easy to become fully enveloped in the storyline of the play.

HUNTER DAWSON| Staff Writer

1: Senior Hannah Vogelsang (Penny Sycamore) paints senior J.J. Miller (Mr. DePinna) as he poses for

the painting as Act II unfolds. Senior Evan Switzer (Grandpa) gets ready to play darts and laughs at the

commotion going on in the scene. 2: Sophomore Ethan Bresnahan and senior Aly Homminga played the snobby, rich, married couple Mr. and Mrs. Kirby. They

both wait in disgust while the Sycamore household frantically cleans up in Act II. 3: Junior Lauren Jewell

(Alice Sycamore) leans over her mother, played by Vogelsang, and tells her about the man she is in love

with in Act I. 4: Bresnahan, Homminga, Jewell, Switzer and senior Ben Maines (Tony Kirby) sit at the table

and play a game in Act II. 5: Jewell and Maines talk while Maines opens a drink for them to share in Act I.

PHOTOS: ASHLEY DYER

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