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Dexter High Schools student newspaper, issue 1, 2012-2013
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October 19, 2012. VOL. 18. Issue 1.
Dexter High School2200 N. Parker Road
Dexter, MI 48130www.thesquall.com
Juggling AthleticsAs Interim Coach Ryan Fisher takes over a struggling football program, Mike Bavineau leads a troubled athletic department pages
8 and 9Photo Credits: Miranda Mors, Katie Vontom
Editors-in-ChiefCameron La FontaineLevi Kipke
Head DesignerAbby Mesaros
Photo EditorMiranda Mors
Assistant Photo Katie Vontom
Web EditorTeddy Grammatico
Business ManagerErin Lashbrook
llustrator & DesignDrew Daugherty
GraphicsJordan Romanowski
Center Spread EditorLauren KimmelNews EditorMorgan VanHoofFeature EditorAman-Vir MandairOpinion EditorErin Lashbrook
Entertainment EditorDan EdwardsSports EditorNate NuttleGet Involved EditorCarolin SchadeYOU page EditorAndrea SchefflerDesign TeamBen GroverSydney SwigartJagger DavisBrandon OttoGuy Burke
Staff WritersAman-Vir Mandair
Dan Edwards Kaitlyn EekoffLuke HannahMitch KimballLauren KimmelTracy KoennKenzie MaderBryce PedersonJacob RichCarolin SchadeAndrea SchefflerZac SharpParmeda SokansajMorgan VanfoofZeke BreuningerColin MeldrumScott Rogers
Noah MellifontBen Breutsch
PhotographersJack DonevanCasey HansenKathryn PisanoHaley QuinnOlivia StaggAndrew MilkeyKyle VandusenNate NuttleAubree WhitleyLinday Henderson
Adviser Rodney Satterthwaite
IndexThe Squall Page 2www.thesquall.comOct. 22, 2012
4 NewsThe new requirements for lunches; are they effective?6 SportsA tribute to Greg Zenas on Senior Night.7 SportsGrafton sidelined11 Interactive SpreadLocal and national election coverage.Q&A with the King.12 OpinionSmartboards smart?14 Get InvolvedWhich club is best for you?16 Photostory
Memberships:
The Squall encourages letters to the editors. They can be emailed to [email protected], dropped off in room 407 or given to staff member of The Squall. Letters may be edited for length and unprotected speech. Requests to withhold a writer’s name will be considered by the editorial board.
Letters to the Editor Policy:
Contact us at: 2200 N. Parker Road Dexter MI, 48130. (734) 426-4240 ext: 7407. [email protected]
Staff Editorials:Editorials represent the majority opinion of the editorial board. Editorials are unsigned. Columns represented the opinions of the individual staff members who wrote them.
Staff Policy:The Squall is a student publication distributed to students, faculty and staff of Dexter High School. The Squall is also distributed by subscription to the Dexter community. The Squall has a press run of 1700 copies and is printed by The Argus-Press in Owosso, MI The paper serves as a public forum with student editors making all content decisions. Opinions expressed in the newspaper are not necessarily those of Dexter Community Schools.
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On The webSee the following photo slideshows and more at our website,
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The Squall Page 3www.thesquall.com
Oct. 19, 2012
DEXTER YEARBOOK INFORMATIONJoin the Dexter yearbook and experience fun and capturing all our high school moments!
•Yearbook: $50 until April 26, 2013•Senior ad deadline, payment and art: Nov. 23, 2012 Prices: full page, $150; half page, $100; quarter page, $75; eighth page $50•Senior photos due: Friday, Oct. 26, 2012•Any questions email: [email protected]•Friend us on facebook: Dhs Unsinkable•Follow us on Twitter @DHSunsinkable•Website: dexterhsyearbbook.webs.com
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4699 East Loch Alpine DriveAnn Arbor, MI 48103
734 426 4693 ext. 7734 358 1876 mobile734 426 0255 fax
The state has put into place a new set of rules and regula-tions for school lunch that have upset many students. Various aspects of lunch have been altered, particularly increased cost and the guidelines detailing what constitutes a complete lunch at the price of $2.75 Last year’s complete lunch cost $2.50.
Fries, once a staple of the school lunches, are no longer part of a meal, and the lunch staff has begun turning away students that don’t have fruits or vegetables on their lunch trays, forcing the students to complete their trays in order to get the $2.75 price.
Milk or juice has also become a necessary portion of a com-plete meal.
According to Food Services Director Sara Simmerman, the general rule is that the meal has to have three of the five food groups represented.
If not, a student must complete their tray based on these items in the food pyramid or be charged individually for each item, typically resulting in a higher price than the standard $2.75.
Students have reacted to the changes in multiple ways, ranging from ambivalence to outrage.
“It is a little bit ridiculous, but hopefully it will persuade kids to eat healthier meals,” senior Brendyn Smith said. “I believe that the food is overpriced.”
Students like junior Teddy Walton, however, have taken particular issue with having to have fruits and vegetables to meet the nutrition guidelines.
Walton said he is tired of having to walk all the way back to the salad bar, grab his extra fruit or vegetable and take it back to the register only to quickly dispose of it or give it to someone else after purchasing his lunch.
“It’s a waste of money for the school because certain people throw away their fruits and vegetables right away,” he said.
Dissatisfied with hot lunch options, some students have even switched entirely to cold lunch.
“There aren’t any good healthy choices,” junior Kather-ine D’Angelo said. “The fruits and vegetables you’re now forced to buy aren’t good at all. Plus, it’s a lot cheaper to just bring a lunch from home.”
Simmerman, who is in charge of menu choices, budget, staff training and federal and state compliance for the dis-trict, said that she is fully aware of the plight of her students.
“I have to be true to regulations,” she said, “but I still want to satisfy students. The state visits to make sure we are following requirements. It’s the law to listen to Unit-ed States Department of Agriculture guidelines no matter what.”
Although her conformity to the state’s rulings are ab-solute, Simmerman’s said she understands students frustra-tion.
Rather than discourage consumption of dessert items,
she encourages students to purchase fruits and vegetables. “It’s not what we’re eating. It’s what we aren’t eating,”
she said. “We need more fruits and vegetables.” She is also not a fan of the timing of the cost increase
mandated by the federal government. “The lunch prices are regulated by the USDA,” she
said. “We haven’t raised the prices in 12 years. I don’t believe it’s unfair, but if I had the decision I would want to wait a year or two to in-crease the price.”
S i m m e r m a n also said she is always open to student feedback and appreciates people’s general attitude during this change.
“(I want to say) thank you to the students for respecting us and letting us hear your voice in a re-spectful manner,” Simmerman said. “I have info on what is being debated, and would like to give it to anyone that’s interested in the USDA and Government regulations.”
Simmerman’s email address is [email protected].
The Squall Page 4 www.thesquall.comOct. 19, 2012 News
Jacob Rich & Zeke BreuningerStaff Writers
What It Seems You Need to Pass the Cashier
1. Atleastonevegetable
2. Atleastonefruit
3. Atleastonedrink
4. Atleastoneicecube
5. Atleastoneyellowballoon
6. Atleastfourtoothpicks
7. Atleastoneboombox
8. Atleasttwelvesoccerballs
9. Atleast17purplehats
10.Atleast$1,740topayforitall
Lunch changes upset students
What you really need to pass the cashier
1.Smallerportionsofmeatandprotein
2.Morefruitsandvegetables
3.Fewercalories
4.Lesssodium
5.Notransfat
6.Calorielimitof850permeal
7.Lesscheese
8.Smallerhamburgerandhotdogbuns
Photo Credit: Kyle VanDusen
On average, 15 students try to test out of a class per year, but only about one third of those succeed.
Sophomore Reagan Maisch is one of the two thirds who wasn’t successful.
Maisch tried to test out of Health and Wellness be-cause there was not enough room in her schedule for all the classes she wanted to take due to the switch to semesters.
One of the things that made her mad about her lack of success is the help she said she didn’t get from her counselor.
“They told me that I was sup-posed to get all the information for the class, but they gave me noth-ing,” Maisch said. “My older sister tried to test out, but the counselors were no help for her either.”
Counselor Kristie Doyle, how-ever, said it isn’t a counselors job to give a student extra material before attempting to test out.
“Kids shouldn’t have people help them,” Doyle said. “We give them a syllabus about the course but not a study guide. Testing out is usually for kids who want to exceed in one course.”
When it comes Michigan law, Doyle is right. The law states that schools do not have to give students all the materials for a class before they attempt to test out.
But Maisch wonders if teachers and administrators discourage students from testing out.
Some students who have tried to test out of classes think so. However, Principal Kit Moran said a teacher is within the law if they do this.
“The state says that we can use whatever we want for our test out for credit test,” Moran said.
“It does not have to be the final exam that other students take. It can be different or it can be the same. You must allow a student to test out of a class, and you must offer it more than one time a year. The concept is not like I give you all the ma-terials for a class and you’re going to study it over three months then come in and sit for a test. The concept is supposed to be you just know this mate-rial. We won’t give them all the materials; we will just tell them what’s on the test. We aren’t trying to get them not to pass.”
In addition, Lifetime Fitness and Sports teacher Angie Scott, whose class Maisch tried to test out
of, said many students who test out don’t do well because they legitimate-ly don’t know the material.
“It’s a test out so other than a syl-labus, they are saying they already know it all,” Scott said. “The reason they think it’s hard is because they don’t know the material.”
Twice a year there is an opportuni-ty for students to try to test out. The first opportunity that students have is in June after school gets let out. The next time is in January when the sec-ond semester starts.
The information about testing out is on the school web page under academics, and the state allows schools to decide their own way of going about testing out.
So even though she wasn’t successful, Maisch said testing out can be helpful to students if given the right materials.
And she’d like to see the district be more help-ful to students trying to further their education.
She said, “Testing out can be benefi-cial, but it added a lot of extra stress to my life due to the lack of informa-tion given by my counselor.”
Feature The Squall Page 5 www.thesquall.com
Oct. 19, 2012
Testing out policies called into questionStudentssaytestsaretoohard,teacherssaytheyfollowthelaw
Noah Mellifont & Zac SharpStaff Writers
Bring this ad for $10 off!
They told me that I was sup-posed to get all the information for the class, but they gave me nothing.
“”Reagan Maisch
Sophomore
Photo Credit: Ben Grover
Junior Bryan Tuzinowski focuses in on his test. Students who have tried to test out of classes say teachers make it too hard to do so. But district officials say the school follows all state laws when it comes to test-ing out.
Illustration credit: Drew Daugherty
Q: How do you believe Greg views his role with the team?
A: I believe that to him, it provides a social network that he desires to continue. November is usually hard for him because the season is over, and he doesn’t have access to that.
His whole life, senior Greg Zenas has felt different because of his Down syndrome.
“He’s not as quick to pick up on things,” said Greg’s mother Julie Zenas about her son’s extra chromosome. “It takes him lon-ger to learn; he has to work harder.”
But unlike many with this condition, as the manager of the soccer team, he has had a second family to help pick up the slack.
On Oct. 4, the varsity soccer team’s se-nior night, Zenas dressed and started with the team, playing for the first time.
Zenas’ participation in the game served as a thank you from the organization for six years of work as the team’s manager.
“I had a lot of fun playing for the first time,” Zenas said. “I was really excited when I found out I was going to get to play.”
Zenas’ excitement certainly didn’t go unnoticed.
“He was super happy,” Zenas’ teammate, junior Evan Burke said. “I’ve never seen such a big smile on his face.”
Head coach Scott Forrester made the de-cision to have Zenas play a few years ago, saying that the choice was an easy one.
“He’s a senior, he’s part of the team,” Forrester said. “The tradition I’ve always had is that all of the seniors start.”
Forrester also said ever since Greg start-ed working with the team during his broth-er Steven’s junior year, Greg has been a
true member. After winning a tournament in 2007, for example, the team sent Greg up to collect the trophy.
In addition to helping the team, For-rester also said being part of the group has truly helped Greg.
“I think it’s given him a big sense of responsibility, as well as belonging to a group,” he said. He also said Greg, who will soon be working one day a week at Hackney Ace Hardware, has seized this opportunity to grow outside the classroom.
The support Greg receives from his sec-ond family has not gone unnoticed by his first.
“These boys take care of him like he’s their brother,” Julie said, adding that every year a different player will give her a call, offering to give Greg rides to wherever he needs to be.
“I think whenever you have a young adult with a disability, any opportunity to be nor-mal is extremely important,” she said. “I know it has allowed him social opportuni-ties that he wouldn’t have had access to. It’s allowed him to be just like everyone else.”
In fact, being a manager for the team has been a life-changing event for Greg accord-ing to his mom.
Not only did he receive a once-in-a-life-time experience, but she said he has grown tremendously as a manager, as a student, as a player and as a person.
Julie said, “He very often will say, ‘I wish this would go away so I could be like ev-eryone else.’ With so much difficulty, you celebrate the little successes.”
SportsThe Squall Page 6www.thesquall.comOct. 19, 2012
Soccer team rewards manager’s dedicationScott Rogers Staff Writer
Q & A with Julie Zenas
Senior Greg Zenas moves a ball downfield on senior night. Zenas, the team’s manager played on senior night as a thank-you from his team.
Photo Credit: Lindsay Henderson
Each Friday night, senior Andrew Grafton stands on the sidelines of Al Ritt stadium and watches his teammates battle through all sorts of conditions and op-posing teams.
Although he cannot play with them, he supports them by watching the games and giving them advice.
He’d rather be on the field with them, but on Sept. 7, Grafton was told by his coaches that he would not be able to play for the rest of the season because of a weight lifting injury he received several months earlier.
Because of the intense contact re-quired in football, Grafton was forced to stop playing for the season so that he wouldn’t risk severe or permanent injury.
“I was very disappointed that I couldn’t play on the team,” Grafton said. “I miss Friday nights and battling along-side my teammates for a victory.”
Grafton has a herniated disk in his spine, which is a rupture of the cartilage between the vertebrae of the spine. Al-though herniated discs primarily occur due to age or jobs that require extensive sitting, athletes in a number of sports are prone to lower back injury.
Grafton initially began to feel pain in his back in May while doing weight-ed squats, as part of the football team’s weight lifting regime.
Although the pain persisted, Grafton continued his weight lifting until the in-jury became far too painful.
“I kept working out for a month, but there was too much pain after a while, and I stopped working out the first week of July,” he said.
At the moment, Grafton receives weekly medical treatment from his sur-geons at the University of Michigan hos-pital, who give him localized steroid in-jections in his lower back. These steroid injections strengthen his back and pro-vide pain relief, as well as speed up the healing process of his injury.
In addition to medical injections, Grafton receives physical therapy from specialist Francine Quail. Because Graf-ton’s herniated disk presses on his leg nerves and causes leg weakness and low back pain, Quail does physical therapy treatments and exercises to help his lower back recover from disk injury. Af-ter working with him for several weeks, Quail said Grafton is making a steady recovery.
“He is continuing to improve with de-creasing pain and increasing strength,” Quail said.
Varsity football coach Ryan Fisher said Grafton’s absence has been sorely felt by the team. As a veteran
who has played football for the last three years, Grafton has a significant amount of experience with the game, and accord-ing to Fisher, this experience would have greatly benefited the team.
“Our defense is really young this year, and mostly has seniors that didn’t get into the varsity team as juniors,” he said. “We’re always missing Grafton. We miss his on field leadership and play making, and he would have added that veteran ex-perience to the team. He’s a good player.”
Grafton is also greatly missed by his teammates, many of whom are good friends of his. Senior Ryan Calhoun, for instance, said the team has definitely missed Grafton’s leadership skills.
“He was always a leader on the field, and a morale booster for the team,” Cal-houn said. “He’s still a leader, but it’s hard to lead a team on the sidelines.”
Although Grafton originally planned to play football in college, he says that this is unlikely now.
“I originally wanted to play Division 1 or Division 2 Football in college, but it’s doubtful now,” he said. “Right now, I’m just trying to heal up so I can play rugby in the Spring.”
Although Grafton cannot play with his teammates on the field, he continues to be a leader by being with the team at all of their practices and giving them sup-port at their games.
He said, “I love football and my team mates, and I’m always focused on sup-porting them.”
Sports The Squall Page 7
www.thesquall.comOct. 19, 2012
Grafton injury takes him out for rest of season
Fre
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Sen
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Aman-vir MandairFeatures Editor Professional Athletes
with Similar Conditions
David Garrard-2011Jacksonville Jaguars
Darren Woodson-2004Dallas Cowboys
Mathias Kiwanuka-2010New York Giants
Jerricho Cotchery-2011New York Jets
Photo Credit:Grafton family
Michigan Academyof Dance & Music
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GOOD FOR ONE FREE WEEK OF CLASS
Sophomore Maddie Kurcz, a cross country runner, sat down outside as she waited for her bus to arrive. She was cold and tired. It was a Friday, almost the weekend. She had already been waiting for over an hour and just felt like going home already.
But she still had another half hour to wait due to a miscommunication in the Athletic Department.
And this is only one of the problems that the athletic department has faced recently.
Since the summer of 2010, six athletic directors have resigned their positions, and since John Robinson, who was the AD from 1999-2010, the longest an AD has served at a time is half a school year.
Because of this, the responsibilities of the athletic director have shifted from person to person, sometimes causing unfortunate events like the Kurcz’s cross country bus arriving late to the team’s meet to pick them up. Another incident was when officials were not scheduled for a soccer game.
“Basically those were communication errors,” Interim Athletic Director Mike Bavineau said. “Those happen everywhere, and you have to do your best to limit them. I think once we have a better handle on how everything needs to go, we’ll be able to alleviate all those situations.”
Athletic Directors have many responsibilities, but the most im-portant is to make sure that teams can play and their games go smoothly.
“My main responsibility is game management,” Bavineau said. “That means making sure games are scheduled, that they have officials and making sure that all the contests are going on and the student ath-letes are able to perform to the best of their ability.”
Superintendent Mary Marshall said she is confident that Bavineau can bring stability to the Athletic Department.
“I think things are on a very positive and effective trend, and wouldn’t want to portray the department as troubled,” she said. “Every department has chal-lenges, and I am excited to see the positive direction of athletics.”
Positive or not, the changes in the department are being felt by the coaches too.
“I would characterize all the changes within the system as very challenging for a new team and new sport such as ours,” varsity field hockey coach Craig Flocken said. “In my opinion, changes should be based upon providing a posi-tive, life-enhancing experience for our student-athletes while at the same time striving to provide a sports program that not only benefits the Dexter School District, but also the community from which its players come from.”
However, Flocken is optimistic about the future of the depart-ment.
“I am actually quite pleased with how things are currently go-ing,” he said. “I think the stability and calm Bavineau will bring to the position will help alleviate many of the problems which have prevailed over the past three years.”
Bavineau was hired in August as interim athletic director while the board of education decides what direction they want to go with the department.
According to Marshall, the department will be re-evaluated in March, and she
and the board will start to make long term decisions then.
“In March we will evaluate the structure we have implemented of athletic di-rector for this school year to see if it needs to be adjusted,” she said. “We will also have to determine our long-term leadership in the de-partment as Mr. Bavineau is helping out for the 2012-2013 school year, and right now we are just enjoying watching him bring enthu-
s i a s m
and pride into the department, as well as some needed structure.”Bavineau said he is enthusiastic about the future of the athletic department. Although he says that there are still improvements to be made, he also said he enjoys his new job.
“There are definitely things that I want to do with the department to make it better, and that’s something I’m interested in doing,” he said, “but I completely understand if they need to move in another direction. At this point, I’m really enjoying it. Even with the adjustments in this office, we’ve been able to maintain high caliber athletics. That’s a real testament to the coaches and to the student athletes.”A burning issue: Pay-to-Participate causes conflicts
One of the new decisions affecting the Athletic Department is the change in pay-to-participate price for sports.
The pay to participate fee for Dexter has changed to $250 for the first sport a student athlete plays, $150 for the second and $100 for the third, totaling $500 if a student athlete was to play a sport in all three seasons.
Bavineau was not at meetings to discuss pay to participate, as he was not the athletic director at the time, but this issue has been controversial.
According to Marshall, however, the increase in pay to par-ticipate was necessitated by cuts in funding at the state level.
“School funding continues to be a challenge, and we are try-ing to find a funding structure that does not reduce opportu-nities for students,” she said. “We instituted pay-to-participate fees years ago, and that structure was revised this year as a result
of continued financial challenges.”As the pay-to-participate fee increased, athletic participation has decreased so
far this year. But Bavineau said there isn’t enough information to know if the fee increase caused the drop in participation.
“ W e have seen a drop in participation overall this fall, but we do not know if that is necessarily due to the increase in athletic participation fees,” he
said.Dexter’s pay-to-participate price is higher than other schools in the area, including Chelsea High School, which
has no pay-to-participate fee. Manchester’s fee is $100 to play one sport and
$250 total for a three-sport athlete. Ann Arbor Pub-lic Schools charges $150 for the first sport in high school and an additional $75 for each sport after that.
Marshall said she is sympathetic to the costs as-sociated with playing sports at Dexter but doesn’t see it changing until school funding changes.
“I wish that funding for public schools in gen-eral was not so challenging,” Marshall said, “But right now, under Mike Bavineau’s leadership I think the department is working to improve struc-ture and service to assure the best experience for all kids.”
Interim AD Mike Bavineau deals with coaching changes and pay-to-participate conflicts as he steps in as the seventh AD in 2 years
SpreadThe Squall Page 8www.thesquall.comOct. 19, 2012
The Squall Page 9 www.thesquall.com
Oct. 19, 2012
Lucky Number Seven?
Following his team’s third loss of the season, Brian Baird resigned from his position as head football coach. While there was speculation that the team’s disappointing record was to blame for his sudden resignation, there’s more to the story than meets the eye, according to Baird.
He said his resignation was due to health issues and his doctor advised him to stop coaching the foot-ball team, of which he had been head coach since fall of 2011.
“My health was getting in the way, and it was af-fecting my ability to coach,” Baird said. “It is a per-sonal issue, and it is slowly getting better.”
Although Baird has just resigned from the pro-gram, he has not ruled out a future in coaching.
On Saturday Sept. 8, Baird notified Michael Bavineau, newly-appointed athletic director, of his resignation. The next day Bavineau began arranging a meeting with the players.
Bavineau said Baird’s sudden resignation was just as much of a shock to him as it was to the players.
He also said his first priority was to contact the football players. He called an emergency meeting on Sunday evening following Baird’s resignation.
“I felt that it was important that they hear it from me,” Bavineau said, “rather than rumors, newspapers, or word of mouth.”
Players who were unable to make it to the meeting were contacted by coaches and told the news.
Bavineau said his next priority was filling the head coach position.
Math teacher Ryan Fisher, previously an assistant coach, agreed to take over as head coach.
“The players needed someone they could go to and someone they could rely on. Since Coach Fisher is a teacher in the building, we felt like he would be the best person to step into that role,” Bavineau said.
Fisher said he is interim head coach for the rest of the season.
“After the season, they will start the full search for a new head coach,” he said.
Bavineau said the decision on hiring a new coach is one he will take his time with.
“Once the season ends we will have to take a look at the football program,” Bavineau said. “As we move forward, we’ll make sure we’re making the best de-
cision possible. The job will be internally posted. If it isn’t filled, we’ll begin to check out the external candidates.”
But whether or not the team wins this season will not impact the hiring process, according to Bavineau.
Starting quarterback and senior Andy McWil-liams said Fisher has done a very nice job playing the cards he’s been dealt.
McWilliams also said he was surprised by Baird’s resignation; however, he had noticed changes in Baird from season to season.
“He was putting in more time and effort than last year,” McWilliams said. “He was very committed.”
Such a sudden coaching change doesn’t seem to have rattled the players or coaches, though, accord-ing to Fisher.
“We’re going to work extremely hard, and we’re going to improve every day,” he said.
Fisher said he has also noticed a change in his players in terms of time on the field and the intensity of the practices.
The new head coach also said, “I hope that we can fill the team with student athletes that are proud of their accomplishments, and that they are supported fully by their community, coaching staff and family.”
For his part, McWilliams doesn’t seem too concerned that a change in coach-ing staff will disrupt the team’s rhythm.
“We have the same basic offense and defense,” McWilliams said. “We’ve made some small tweaks, though, like simplifying things, and trying to get back to basics.”
Since Fisher has taken over, the team still has yet to win a game. But he says he sees improvement in the little things.
“We are getting better every day,” Fisher said. “I see it in the way we’ve come together as a team to support one another, regardless of the exte-rior negativity surrounding the pro-gram. The team doesn’t let up from the first whistle to the last of the game, and that is a testament to the character of the players on the team.”
Fisher replaces Baird
Levi Kipke and Cameron LaFontaineeditors-in-chief
Every depart-ment has challeng-es, and I am excited to see the positive direction of athlet-ics.
“”Mary Marshall
Superintendent
Lauren Kimmel and Morgan VanHoofEditors
Athletic Department facts
• The Athletic Director office has gone through six transitions since June 2010.
•Mike Bavineau is a former 5th grade teacher at Creekside Intermediate School and current varsity womens basketball coach.
•Dexter’s pay to participate is $250 for the first sport, $150 for the second sport and $100 for the third sport you play.
•The pay to participate in Manchester is $100 for one sport, and $250 for all three sports and Chelsea High School does not have pay to
Photo Credit: Katie VontomThe football team runs on the field during the homecoming game against Ypsilanti.
Photo Credit: Olivia Stagg
ADs throughout the years
graphic by Jordan Romanowski
Interactive SpreadThe Squall Page 10 www.thesquall.comOct. 19, 2012
THE FIVE BY FIVESofia Sokansanj Freshman
London TrumanJunior
Jason TrinkleSenior
Debora MarshTeacher
Ben Bruetsch, Luke Hannah, & Mitch Kimball Staff Writers
Are you liberal or conservative?
Who would you vote for in congress?
Can you name the two potential vice-presidents?
President Obama: how has he been doing?
What is your stance on border control policies?Shut those suckers down.
He’s a good speaker but a big liar.
Oh my gosh, I know this one.
My sister. She makes good choices.
Conservative. Why do you have to ask such hard questions?
Erik LeonSophomore
Q&A
Closed. Shouldn’t let people in. It’s kinda dumb, like dude, stay in your own country, you know?
I don’t know. He’s a little whip-per-snapper, I think. He does good, bad, good, bad. Like, dude, make up your mind, you know?
Nope. Say, uh, Henry Ford. I don’t know, I don’t watch TV.
The person who plays Eric Cartman in “South Park.” He knows what’s up.
He did alright and bad at the same time. Some good things and some bad things.
Conservative. I don’t know, I like conserving stuff. I don’t know what that is, I don’t watch TV.
No, I forgot Obama’s vice president ... what’s his name?
It’s ‘aight. Open ‘em up and let ‘em in.
I wouldn’t ‘cause I don’t have to.
I don’t know what those are.
A big electric fence.
Ha, don’t get me started.
I don’t know, and I don’t care.
Whoever wins.
Conservative, ‘cause I hate liberals.
I think it should be open to everyone, but maybe give presents to every millionth person to cross the border.
Biden and Ryan.
John Stewart and Stephen Colbert as one chair.
Liberal, because my Facebook status says so.
He’s handsome.
Q: How do you plan to run this school now that you are king?A: I don’t think I actually run the school now, so I don’t plan to.
Q: Now that you’re king, are you running for president too?A: I’m a firm believer in monarchy, and I hate democracy.
Q: Will you treat the peasants fairly?A: They’re peasants for a reason. No. Q: Now that you’re king, will you disband the student govern-ment?A: Yes, and they’re now my royal subjects.
Q: Do you plan to avoid assassination attempts?A: Ben Bruetsch will be filling in as a stunt-double for all public events.
Q: Will you raise or lower the taxes?A: Raise them, putting more money in thy purse (Shake-speare shout out).
Q: Where are you building your first castle?A: In (math teacher Dewey) Scott’s room; it’s now my do-main.
Q: Who will the king’s men be?A: A committee of carefully selected gentlemen, led by Jack Donevan and Colin Hanss.
Q: Are you building gallows?A: Plans are in the works. I’m more of a guillotine man myself.
with DHS’ King NATE MELLIFONT
Interactive Spread The Squall Page 11 www.thesquall.com
Oct. 19, 2011Interactive Spread
OBAMNEY 2012Immigration: Obama is committed to working with Congress to pass the DREAM Act. He believes young immigrants should be able to earn citizenship through pursuit of a higher education or military service, which would become available with the passing of the DREAM Act. He plans to continue to work toward comprehensive im-migration reform.
Abortion: Obama is firmly pro-choice; however, he doesn’t want taxpayer funding used for abortion and embryonic stem cell research.
Health Care: Obama plans to put a stop to insurance company abuses through
Obamacare: His goal is to provide afford-able health insurance for all US citizens. Additionally, he plans for Medicaid to be reformed to help cover more people.
War (Defense Budget): Obama plans to bring the troops home from Afghanistan, as he wants to end the war there in 2014. Furthermore, he plans to make an inter-national effort to secure nuclear materials and prevent nuclear proliferation in North Korea and Iran. There are no dramatic cuts in Obama’s future defense plan, but he does not intend to increase military spending if he is reelected.
Education: Obama’s goal is to give every-one a shot at education. He plans to make higher education accessible for everyone who desires it. Obama also stresses the impor-tance of good teaching in the classroom. Partnering with states to raise standards, Obama is attempting to implement better assessments that will prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace.
RomneyImmigration: Romney’s plan is geared toward stopping illegal immigration but increasing legal immigration. He would tighten border security in order to allow the thousands waiting to become legally admitted to have an easier experience and make it harder for the illegal immigrants.
Abortion: Romney wants Roe V. Wade reversed but would allow states to ban abortion. Romney also wants the federal government to end funding for Planned Parenthood, a provider of abortions and contraceptives.
Health Care: Romney will abandon universal health care and pursue a plan that allows each state to craft a health care reform that is best suited to its own citizens. Also, he believes the role of the federal government should be to create a “level playing field” for competition in the health care marketplace.
War (Defense Budget): Romney wants to modernize and improve the existing equipment used in the Navy, Air Force, Marines and Army. He wants to implement a ballistic missile system to protect against a nuclear attack. Romney wants to increase defense spending in order to improve our current military.
Education (Vouchers): Romney wants to give students stuck in poor schools a fair chance. His plan requires four options. 1.) Alternatives must exist 2.) Parents must be informed on the performance of their child’s school, and the alternatives 3.) Students need to have the option of changing schools 4.) Students need to bring funding with them so the new schools can afford serving these students. Romney’s education plan takes advantage of school vouchers to accomplish
Obama
Michigan Ballot Proposals5. Amendment to the Michigan constitution to limit the enactment of new taxes by state lawmakers: The voters will be asked to amend the constitution to restrict new tax laws that are proposed in the Michigan House of Representatives or Senate without a 2/3 vote or statewide vote by the public; no existing tax laws would be affected.
6. Amendment to the Michigan constitution regarding the construction of international bridges and tunnels: The voters will be asked to pass an amendment that requires a majority statewide vote before the state government can fund the construction of new international bridges or tunnels.
Ben Bruetsch, Luke Hannah, & Mitch Kimball Staff Writers
Photos from candidates’ media sites, used with permission
1. Referendum on the Emergency Managers Act: The voters will be asked if they want to keep the Emergency Managers Act on the books. If voters vote “yes,” it will remain. If they vote “no,” it will be revoked. The Emer-gency Managers Act allows for state-approved managers to take over and run financially troubled school districts and city governments.
2. Amendment to the Michigan constitution regarding collective bargaining: The voters will be asked to amend the constitution to allow private workers the unconditional right to organize labor unions. The amendment would invalidate any existing or future laws that limit col-lective bargaining or prevent workers from striking.
3. Amendment to the Michigan constitution to establish a standard for renewable energy: The voters will be asked to amend the constitution to create a clause that requires electric utilities to provide a minimum 25 percent of their annual sales from renewable energy sources.
4. Amendment to the Michigan constitution to establish collective bargaining rights for home health care workers: Voters will vote to add an amendment that in-home care workers and the Michigan Quality Home Care Council will bargain equally.
This is how Dex-ter technol-ogy seems to operate. We spend all of our tax dollars on some
new, flashy piece of equipment that we expect to revolutionize the art of teaching, and two years later only two teachers in the whole school use the it.
Look no further than the interac-tive white boards in each teacher’s classroom as an example. These boards have a noble purpose.
To help teachers organize and teach their students. But most teach-ers either don’t know how to use them or have boards that don’t work.
The amount of money the district spent on these smart boards could have gone to something much more useful, including signing former sub-stitute teacher Robert Hollenbeck full time.
But if not Hollenbeck, then porta-
ble computer labs are always in high demand and would have been a better way to spend money.
Some days teachers will have a les-son plan that require computers, but all the computer labs will be signed out.
Portable laptop computer labs of-fer a new way to teach a classroom of students that almost always works.
It’s also embarrassing for teachers when their interactive white boards don’t function properly.
I feel sorry for teachers when they act like they know how to use an interactive white board when all they’ve ever been taught to do with it is write on it like a glorified white erase board.
And I’ve seen this a million times. The board and the pen stops sync-ing. Teachers then have to revert to the green screen of death where they frantically try and hit all nine of the circles so the pen will sync.
In one of my math classes my teacher spent a good 30 minutes try-ing to sync the pen with the board be-fore they finally gave up.
As English teacher Zack Lindke said, “The smart board writes well, with markers.”
And if all its other problems don’t make you hate the smart board, the height of it might. Not to single out any of the smaller teach-ers, but the height of the projector is over 6 feet.
As amusing as it is to see my teacher jump and jump trying to reach the power button, it is just another reason we don’t need these.
Seeing a teacher’s stomach in school? Just wrong.
I say bring back the old projectors and throw out the interactive white boards.
At least those old projectors made a humming noise, and as teachers would turn off all the lights when they were running I discovered the true cure to insomnia.
I’ll take my check in the mail, American Sleep Association.
OpinionThe Squall Page 12 www.thesquall.comOct. 19, 2012
The year 2012 is shaping up as a year of change. Students are adapting to a new school year, new teachers and coaches and the upcoming Presidential election.
Change is imminent and change is good; and this year change seems to be hitting the school over the head like the hammer of Thor.
Some of these changes, like the new school-wide grad-ing scale, are OK. Some like weighted grades come straight from the Encyclopedia Self-Destructica and some, a new grading philosophy, still need to be made.
As far as weighted grades go, supporters say a weighted grading system helps students out who challenge themselves by raising their GPAs by .33 if they have taken or are taking AP or IB classes.
For example, if a student gets a B in AP Government, under the old system, their GPA would be 3.0. But with the new system, their grade for that class will be raised to 3.3.
While this does help students who are applying them-selves and taking harder classes, it also hurts other hard-
working students who don’t take advanced classes. If there is a student who takes four AP classes, for ex-
ample, their GPA gets weighed by .33 four times, which will raise their GPA and put them higher in their class rank.
Good for them. They deserve it because they’re work-ing hard. But this also hurts the students who didn’t take any AP or IB classes because it lowers their class rank, even though they may be just as intelligent or bright as the AP students taking four AP classes.
I’m a little more positive about the school-wide grading scale. Now all teachers utilize the same grading scale in their class.
This change clears a lot of things up for students and causes less confusion.
Say in one class, a student receives a 94 percent and that ends up being an A-, but in their next class they receive a 94 percent and they get an A.
Students get confused because they’re receiving the same percentage but are get-ting different letter grades. Now that con-fusion is no more.
Even more importantly, though, the biggest issue the dis-trict hasn’t addresses is late work and how teachers handle it.
In some classes, teachers will either give a student half credit or no credit if they turn an assignment in a day late.
That’s bogus because it makes the student’s grade suffer even though they might actually know the information.
What we need is to adopt a two-grade system. In each class there should be an academic grade that focuses on what the student knows and how well they process infor-mation. And then there should be some sort of work habit grade which will reflect the student’s work habits and how
organized they are.It isn’t fair to students who have a hard
time staying organized to suffer a bad grade because they turn something in a day late.
Maybe they forgot it at their house, but still had it completed. Is it fair to them to suffer because of that? Or maybe they had a busy night and didn’t have time to get ev-erything done before they passed out due to exhaustion.
Why should students’ grades suffer be-cause they’re trying to balance school, athlet-ics, music and their social lives? The answer is, they shouldn’t.
High school/adolescence isn’t all about sitting around doing tedious work all day
and night. It’s about freedom and learning how to deal and balance things in your life.
A grading policy that reflects this would be a more posi-tive change than either a weighted system or a school-wide grading scale.
Colin MeldrumStaff Writer
White boards waste money
Change is goodExcept when it comes to weighted grades
Dan EdwardsEntertainment Editor
Weighted grades can unfairly hurt students who don’t choose to take advanced classes.
“”
Illustration credit: Drew Daugherty
EditorialThe Squall Page 13
www.thesquall.comOct. 19, 2012
Dexter High school made the abrupt switch to a semester schedule this year, after only four short years of trimesters. Students are now faced with less choices, a heavier workload, and a loss of 12 minutes per class. Why fix what wasn’t broken?
While twelve minutes seems like an insignificant amount of time, it most definitely adds up over the course of a 36 week year. Hours are lost and students are the ones hit most with this time crunch. Teachers have been forced to alter their schedules in order to cover the same amount of material they were dealing with before, with weeks less of actual time in the classroom. This time skew has brought even more stress for students, as they struggle to make up for the lost time.
Choices have been sacrificed as well. Students in musical programs and those who take a foreign language can’t take many, if any, electives. Not only does this create more stress for students, it makes it more difficult to reach graduation requirements. Trying to fit in all required classes along with fine arts tends to be big problem when it comes to having six classes and only two semesters.
Many AP teachers have had to cut their course load significantly, and face a loss of crucial hours needed to prepare students for the AP exams. With exam scores on the line, and students receiving significantly more homework than before, why was this switch seen as a good idea?
Administrators say they weren’t satisfied with a trimester schedule for a multitude of reasons, the main one being a gap between classes like math and languages.
Trimesters split classes with students taking Part A first trimester, and Part B in the third trimester. Stronger relationships with teachers can also be developed with a semester schedule, since students have the same teachers for half the year, or its entirety.
The counseling department also has more time to prepare students for college and schedule classes, so the chaos often seen during the first week of trimesters in the office has died down.
Trimesters were faster paced, but the extra time teachers lost is now being made up for by students at home.
It’s difficult to achieve perfection in any circumstance, but semesters aren’t necessarily the answer when it comes to scheduling. While trimesters were fast and furious, it was worth it. More work was done, more preparation for AP exams was given, and students had more choices. Less isn’t always more.
Our view
“It’s weird and different, but it’s nice to not have a gap in between math classes.”
Hannah Foster,sophomore
“I don’t personally like it because I take band and language, so I have the exact same schedule all year around, and there’s no room for electives.“
Louie Kurcz,junior
“I don’t like semesters because I don’t get to take as many electives.”
Teia Mcgahey,senior
Switch to semesters was a bad idea
Trimesters............ 5
Semesters.............1
Not Present.........0
Editors’ Vote
“I haven’t had trimesters since sixth grade, but I like semesters a lot better because there is more variety compared to middle school.”
Parker Brice,freshman
Illustration credit: Drew Daugherty
Get InvolvedThe Squall Page 14www.thesquall.comOct. 19,2012
Leo’s Club, an extension of the Dexter Lions Club, is
a student-run community service organization.
Junior Savannah Krull is the club’s president.
“Leo’s Club’s purpose is to help out the local com-
munity and make a difference by doing community ser-
vice,” Krull said.
In the past, Leo’s Club has helped with local events
such as Apple Daze and the Dexter-Ann Arbor Run.
Leo’s Club also tutors at Creekside Intermediate School
and Mill Creek Middle School and volunteers at Alpha
House, a homeless shelter in Ann Arbor. Every year
they also sponsor a local family in need during the holi-
day season. “Leo’s Club is different (than other service clubs) be-
cause we focus on the local Dexter area and there are so
many different ways to get involved,” Krull said.
Leo’s Club meets at 7:15 on Wednesday mornings in
room 577. Math teacher Al Snider is the club’s adviser.
Krull said, “Someone should join because it’s a good
way to help out your community and really make a dif-
ference in someone else’s life and your own.”
NHS benefits school
O.N.E. club, run by President, senior Han-
nah Ruble and Vice President, senior Erin Lash-
brook, focuses on global issues. In order to raise awareness about issues
like AIDS and extreme poverty, O.N.E. club
holds events such as One-Day-Without-Shoes
and world AIDS day. They do not ask for money
from people, but instead they ask for people’s
awareness about issues and for these people to
involve others to take action about world prob-
lems. There are approximately 30 club members.
Their next event is World Food Day to raise
awareness about malnutrition. The club meets every Monday morning at
7:30 in the library. “We know we’re making a difference,” Ruble
said. “People should learn that one person can
make a difference.”
O.N.E. helps awareness
Key club serves community
Interact goes global
FLA reaches out in little ways The Future Leaders of America club, run by sophomore
Jess Black and sophomore Katherine Martin, works on reach-ing out to the community in what they call, “little ways.”In order to raise awareness about the harms of drunk driv-ing for S.A.D.D., or Students Against Destructive Decisions, the club ties ribbons on the antennas of cars in the student parking lot.
They also make blankets for babies in the Neonatal Inten-sive Care Unit at Mott Hospital. In addition, the club holds a raffle for a student parking spot in the visitor’s parking sec-tion.
By joining Future Leaders of America, students can include their membership towards community service hours. This year, the club has decided not to become part of Fam-ily Career and Community Leaders of America, which is a nationwide foundation that requires payment for clubs to at-tend the National Leadership Conference. Members say they cannot afford to pay these dues. The club meets on Thursday mornings at 7:30 in room 506 and the adviser is math teacher Lisa Burgess. “We’re small and low-key,” Martin said. “But everyone should know that we have a lot of fun doing the activities that we do.”
The National Honors Society is a club that is committed to doing community service projects while promoting leadership skills among stu-dents. Letters of invitation are sent out each year to upcoming seniors with a 3.5 GPA or better.
Students wishing to join the club are required to write an essay explaining why they want to join NHS and why they would be a good addi-tion as a member.
Projects run by NHS include blood drives, ticket sales for school sports, recycling during the day, running photo day for the high school and putting on graduation.
Every member is required to be the chair of a project at least once. Above the chair position are the officers. There are four officer jobs: Presi-dent, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer.
President Joe Wendorf said,“Colleges and employers look more favorably on students who have good leadership skills. We’re the biggest service organization in the high school. We do more than a lot of the people realize. We want students to have an opportunity to help their school and their community.”
Leo’s works with LionsKey Club provides a way to get involved and help
others through community service. The club’s advis-
er is special education teacher Amy Raus.
Some of the things Key Club has done to serve the
community are food drives, volunteering at Ronald
McDonald House and reading with students at Bates
Elementary School.
“We also make cloth dolls for children who are go-
ing to have a procedure done,” Raus said. “The doc-
tor can use the doll to show the child what’s going to
happen.” According to Raus, Key Club is different from
other service clubs.
“They are supported by Kiwanis and there are
many scholarship opportunities,” she said.
The club meets on Thursdays at 7:30 a.m. in the
learning commons.
Stories by Tracy Koenn, Andrea Scheffler and Parmeda Sokansanj; graphic by Jordan Romanowski
Interact is sponsored by the Rotary Club of
Dexter which gives the club an international fo-
cus. Interact does both community and global-
based service projects including food drives, po-
tato plant and harvest, making dresses to send to
Uganda and raising money for micro loans.
Sophomore Emily Kenworthy is the presi-
dent of the club and media specialist Linda Liv-
ingstone is the adviser.
This is the club’s fourth year and Livingstone
says it is still working on building up member-
ship. The club meets on Wednesday mornings in
the library. The only requirement for joining the
club other than contributing to the service proj-
ects, is to show up to the meetings and give an
effort. “Taking part in this club looks excellent on
college resumes especially because it is an inter-
nationally known club,” Livingstone said.
In addition, Kenworthy said the social aspect
of the club is good too.
“There is a really great team relationship;
we’re all friends,” Kenworthy said. “And you get
to meet a lot of great people and learn about the
community and how you can affect it even as a
high schooler.”
The Squall Page 15 www.thesquall.com
Oct. 19,2012YOU Pa ge
Dear Freshmen,
The jump to freshman year is tough on eighth graders trying to make the adjustment from highest to the lowest on the totem pole.
However, if you obey these 10 pieces of advice, you will see yourself creeping up in social status and eventually you’ll be back at the top of the totem pole looking down on all of your sub-par peers who decided they were too cool to follow these simple ways of life.
After four years of high school, us seniors know what it was like to be a freshmen and want
to share our experiences and what worked for us so your adjustment can be as smooth as possible.
1. Standout: Everyone loves the freshman who separates himself from the pack by dressing and acting like a cool cat.
2. Wear headphones strictly around your neck: No need to actu-ally listen to music. Just wear them around your neck for a fashion statement. 3. Act like you’re the bee’s knees: Everyone loves the kid who walks into the high school on day one thinking he runs the joint. It shows you’re ready to hang out with the big dogs and every upperclassmen respects that. 4. Invite yourself over to upperclassmen households: Nobody invites freshmen to their house because their street cred’ would
go down. However if you show up uninvited they will hang out with you.
5. Clog up the hallways: Upperclassmen love dodging little tykes.
6. Try hard in gym: “The Gym Class Hero” runs the school, so go for it, big guy.
7. Be sassy to teachers: Teachers give the best grades to the people who stand up and stick it to the man. 8. Start as many rumors and or drama as possible: It shows you have the “cojones” to step up to the plate and risk it all coming back to you. 9. Don’t actually cheer in the student section: A freshman’s job is to show up and look pretty. Seniors prefer to scream as loud as we can to compensate for the quiet freshman. So just show up, stand in front and be as silent as possible.
10. Be the know it all: Regardless of whether or not you were called on or even if a question was asked, shout out what your input is and argue it whether you are right or wrong. Be loud be proud, and don’t take no for an answer.
With best wishes, Seniors 2013
Ben Bruetsch & Luke Hannah
Staff Writers
Advice for freshmen
Illustration Credit: Drew Daugherty
The Squall Page 16 www.thesquall.com
Oct 19, 2012
Homecoming dynasty continues
The Sokansanj homecoming dynasty was completed when Sofia Sokansanj was named the 2012 Freshman Homecoming Queen.
Sokansanj has two older sisters, Parmeda and Pantea, who have both been on homecoming court. Parmeda was freshman queen in 2010 and sophomore queen in 2011. Pantea was sophomore queen in 2008 and was also on court for her junior year.
With two sisters named homecoming queens, Sokansanj said, “I wasn’t expecting to, but I was definitely hoping to. Who wouldn’t want to be on court? That’d be a great experience. People would ask me about being on court before putting in their ballot, and I would always answer, ‘It’s not a big deal if I don’t, but that would be awesome, really.’”
So what are the personality traits most important to be named on court? “Personality-wise, it takes kindness and welcoming of others to get a
chance to know everybody,” Sofia said. “Be welcoming to everyone in your grade and don’t be a gossiper because people won’t like that.”
All three of the Sokansanj sisters have had success in pageants as well, and Sofia said pageants help develop character.
“It definitely did because it gave me more confidence talking to people and reaching out to others,” she said. “It basically taught me how to be a respectful person; It taught me poise and manners.”
More importantly, Sofia said that the way she and her sisters were brought up has a lot to do with their personalities.
“The way we were raised, we were taught to be nice to everyone,” she said. Sofia also said this upbeat and positive attitude allowed her to enjoy the
homecoming parade and football game, even though it was a rainy weekend. “It was amazing,” she said. “Even though it was raining, I still made the
best of it, getting to be in the parade and seeing the end results of all of our hard work at float-building and seeing all the little kids say, ‘Look, a princess!’ makes you feel special, happy and proud.”
Photo Credit: Katie Vontom
Homecoming queen Alicia Klocek, last year’s queen Polly Washabaugh, king Nate Mellifont and last year’s king Nate KIllian celebrate at halftime of the football game
Photo Credit: Haley QuinnEliza Judge, Mikaela Smith, Mary So and Eden Krull ride the junior float in the parade.
Photo Credit: Nate Nuttle
Photo Credit: Andrew Milkey
Susanna Pilkerton works on the senior float.
The DHS drumline plays during the pep assembly.
Photo Credit: Miranda Mors
Kenzie MaderStaff Writer
Photostory
Sophomore Drake Rusk dresses up for Camo Day.
