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TABLE OFCONTENTS

NEWS A1-A2OPINION A3

FYE A4

SECTION BSPORTS B1-B2

FEATURE B3-B4

SECTION A

IN SECTION A

MOTT TRIPA2HIPSTERS

FALL FEST

A3A4

B1

B4

IN SECTION B

PINK OUTB1A LOOK BACK

JOY&SUCCESS

B2B3B4 ADDICTION

Which modern pressures affect GBHS the most in their daily life? Find out on page B4.

Check out some stunning pink out pictures on page B1!

THE

G B H S S T U D E N T P R E S SOctober 24, 2014vol . 50 issue 2

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A3

Look for some spine-chilling Halloween ideas on A3!

ABDELLA’Slook into the

FUTURE

Photo Credit: HunterBostleyHunterBostleyNEWS EDITOR

Change is on its way for Grand Blanc schools. Superintendent Dr. Norman Abdella has 10 changes planned for Grand Blanc schools to be accomplished by June 2016. One of the changes on this list is moving the start-ing time of GBHS back about an hour. “We’ve been discuss-ing making this change for nearly 10 years now,” Dr. Abdella said. He went on to explain that just 30-45 min-utes later can improve stu-dents comprehension and learning abilities overall. “As a district we’ve shied away from it for so

long, because of the incon-venience of it all,” Abdella said. “You have to worry about bussing scheduling,

and the impact it has on the middle schools and on the elementary schools.” Though sched-uling is a problem, the change may still be possible. “I feel like I know enough about the district to know that we will make this work,” Abdella said. “If it is good for the students at the high school to start later then that’s what we will do.” The students, parents, and teachers have had great responses to the changes. “I’m a little surprised that

this has caught on well at the high school,” Abdella said, “It has certainly be-come a popular item.” There is also a change proposed for year long schooling for the K-5 lev-

els. The year round school-ing is going to be offered as an option to students at the elementary level for the time being.

“We will be surveying parents later this month,” Abdella said, “If there is enough support to go greater than elementary

then we will cer-tainly look into that, but I wanted to start somewhere.” Several schools in Michigan do of-fer this “balanced calendar” or year round schooling. If the community feed-back is positive the middle schools may also see the change.

The high school is less likely to see this year round schooling switch. “Because of the high school’s size and impact on

other programs, we would most certainly have to go district wide with the year round schooling,” Abdella said. “That would be some-thing we would have to take up with the state, and our staff, because they didn’t initially sign on for that.” Overall the response to all of Abdella’s various changes has been positive. This ranges from students and parents, to teachers and other staff members at the schools here in Grand Blanc.

TyGarzaMANAGING EDITOR

Goodbye Textbooks Hello Chromebooks

Technology. Some hate it, others love it, but either way everyone is using it. Grand Blanc has decided to bring even more of it to the high school class-room with new Chromebooks. A Chromebook, is a laptop with the Chrome operat-ing system. The computers use an online cloud, allowing for an in-numerable amount applications for the classroom environment. They were provided to the school as part of a textbook study

through the ACC curricu-lum process. This means all of the money for the Chromebooks was paid for by the curriculum as op-posed to the technology department. The social studies de-partment have seven carts

of Chromebooks to share. Each course, from to World History to Government, U.S. History, or Economics, has an online-based text-book that is easily adapted for use on devices like Chromebooks. “Some teachers are us-

ing the textbook fully online like I am and others are using a com-bination while some are using a traditional format,” World History teacher Marie Bauer-meister said. The goal of the varied usage of chromebooks within the classroom is to provide a good cross section

of the effectiveness the devices for possible future widespread use throughout the school. Students can now do their research online us-ing the educational Inter-net sources now available within the Chromebooks. Additionally the research and work can be saved in the online cloud so that it will be accessible not just in school but at home as well. The chromebooks have been an overall success among the students. “The chromebooks re-ally help us because of the era we live in and we’re always using technology,” freshman Mark Miller said. “They’re easy to use. Small and sleek,” junior Dominic Pavone said. In addition to being a

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much more convenient feature to the average classroom experience the computers are transforming it into a very green option. Teachers using the fully-integrated classroom with Chromebooks need to make almost no copies of hand-outs for students’ lessons. However, with all the good the Chromebooks are bringing there are a few challenges as there often is with new technology. The main issue being students lacking Internet access at home, in which case they are provided a hard copy in class.

If it is good for the students at the high school to start later, then that’s what we

will do.

“

”--Dr. Abdella

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Making Mott a choice

This fall, all English 10 classes are going to visit Mott Community College. The school has planned this trip to make reachable goals for students who may not have thought college was an option and to increase interest in dual enrollment. Dual enrollment is a program where students can take a class at a local college in place of one of their high school courses. Mott is a popular campus to chose, but the school would like more students to take advantage of this opportu-nity. “Dual enrollment isn’t a decision you make over-night,” English department

chair Dana Bleicher said. The tour was intended to encourage students to be comfortable at Mott to dual enroll and engage in the summer programs and classes they have. Another main goal of the tours was to give college options to students that may not even have college on their radar. “Kids who didn’t know where they were going now have a viable option,” Career Resource Center employee Hunter Melton stated. Some students didn’t get all that they wanted out of the experience. “It was really boring,”

sophomore Lauren Perry said. “It was just like a tour, it was supposed to be about dual enrollment, but they didn’t really talk about it.” Perry said that the trip wasn’t too interest-ing, which may have been because she hasn’t began to think about college or careers yet. However, some students found the trip use-ful in some way. “It was useful if I want-ed to take a course while visiting my family, and I didn’t want to do it in my other college,” Marwatah Boub said. Proving students found out about the many uses Mott has even if it is not

a students college pick, which is exactly why the school wanted to go on this tour. “We are looking to broaden enrichment opportunities to stu-dents coming to a more traditional high school experience,” Bleicher summed up the schools intentions best. And then students who may not have been look-ing into college for a number of reasons now can look to Mott as an option for after high school plans.“Before this trip, I wouldn’t have thought about Mott at all,” Perry

said showing the positive side of the trip. Even students who thought that the trip was

The age-old question re-garding the necessity of an extra year being added on to a student's high school career has been tossed back and forth, with each proposition having its own pros and cons attached. Recently, Grand Blanc has finally come up with a new and excit-ing education plan in partnership with the University of Michi-gan - Flint; a Grand Blanc Early College. On October 20, Dr. Jen-nifer Hammond hosted a press conference to official-

ly announce the “innovative collaboration” of the GBEC

that will begin starting in the fall of the 2015-2016 school year. ”The Grand Blanc Early College will allow students

to earn college credit as they attend high school,” as

was mentioned in the official press release handout at the conference. The program shares many similarities with its counterpart, the Genesee Early College, but also many differences that the Grand Blanc Board of

Education believes will benefit the students of GBHS. For example, in-stead of sending students to U of M Flint’s campus, pro-

fessors will be brought to the high school campus to “ensure that the transition to college course work and expectations, is seamless,” Dr. Hammond said. Once students reach their fifth year of the pro-gram, they will then take college level classes at the University of Michigan - Flint’s campus. “We are proud to offer this unique opportunity to Grand Blanc students,” Dr. Hammond told Jen Hogan, the Executive Director of University Relations at the University of Michigan - Flint. “Preparing students to attend college is one of our top priorities, and the new Early College is a innovative way to help our students achieve their educational goals.” The program will start off in its first year with an initial number of 50 students from the class of 2017 to be admitted into the GBEC, with more being added each year. Students looking to enroll must meet certain requirements, including having at least a 3.0 GPA, letters of rec-ommendation, attendance and behavior history, and a personal interview with the administrative staff.

The overall cost of en-rollment into the Early Col-lege - at minimum - is $800 total for books and classes, but is subject to change depending on the number of classes taken. “I would participate in the Early College because it would save my family a lot of money,” junior Cayse Stallworth said. For these students, there are many benefits to com-mitting to an extra year of transitional college work, such as a savings of ap-proximately $20,000 in college costs per family, and completing up to 12 college credits per semes-ter, adding up to one-third of a bachelor’s degree in any academic field. “Grand Blanc Commu-nity Schools and the State of Michigan will provide substantial financial support to offset the reduced tuition costs as well,” according to the official press release handout. “It goes both ways for me,” junior Jeff Eldred said. “Yes, I would like to get a third of the way closer to my degree which will help me later in life, but I don’t want to spend more than four years in high school. I just don’t think I could last another year.” For those who are inter-

ested, there will be informal meetings about enrollment in November, with appli-cations due in January of 2015. Regardless of their academic commitments to the Early College, students in their junior and senior years will maintain the ability to participate in high school sports and after-school activities. “If the credits allow me to graduate college in a shorter amount of time, then yes, I would do that,” junior Lauren Powers said. “But if it’s the same amount of time, I would want to go straight to college from high school because I would want to experience all of college right away.” According to the Coor-dinator of K-12 Partnership programs at the University of Michigan- Flint; Dr. Hahn, who spoke at the press conference, if stu-dents have completed 48 or more credits, they have approximately an 85 per-cent chance of getting their degree over a student who does not. “This innovative collaboration will help make lasting benefits for Grand Blanc students, families, and our commu-nity for years to come,” Dr. Hammond said.

Early college or early graduation?GBHS to partner with University of Michigan Flint for Early College starting in 2015

Sophomores take over Mott looking for future opportunities AndreaNorthrupBUSINESS MANAGER

MeghanOtenbakerNEWS EDITOR

Dr. Hahn, the Coordinator of K-12 Partnership programs at the University of Michigan- Flint, makes a speech at

the GBEC press conference.

Photo Credit: TyGarza

Photo Credit: HunterBostley

Sophomores boarding the bus to their class visit to Mott Community College.

boring, pulled something out of the experience.

The iPhone 6, and the iPhone 6 Plus hit the market on Sept. 19, and as Apple, and everyone else says, it’s bigger than bigger. But is it too big? With the 6 being only slightly bigger than the 5 but the 6 Plus being closer in size to the iPad mini, did Apple make their two new products too big for the gen-eral public? Apple’s biggest competitor is ob-viously Samsung devices, and the gen-

eral layout for those devices have big screens which the general public seem to like. So maybe Apple is onto something by making their screens bigger for their us-ers. It’s a feature that could be useful for senior citizens and the visually impaired. The iPhone 6 boasts of tons of new features like a bigger screen (4.7 inches, 5.5 inches if you get the 6 plus), a better camera (iSight features new Fo-cus Pixels to help you take better pictures), and better sound. The opinions of some re-late that Apple products are all the same and that they

never change, but the 6 and the 6 plus are reported to be faster and more efficient. Apple is getting more inno-vative with their products, but is the bending part a fact or a myth? But lets forget about the fact that it bends or even the fact that the iPhone 6 and the 6 plus are practical-ly the same as the previous iPhone models, just with bigger screens. That’s really not the point here. The point is that Apple has put out yet another product that has people lining up for days and has resulted in a serious back-order of these phones. Even

iPhone 6It’s BIGGER.. It’s bolder. It...bends? aaaaaCyerraHaywoodNEWS WRITER

if people just bought the iPhone 5s and there’s noth-ing wrong with it, a part of them wants to upgrade to the iPhone 6. And why? Because the screen is bigger? Because the camera is better? Be-cause it bends? No. What makes Apple so successful is the fact that they have customers who will religiously buy their products, despite the cost and the recurring design, simply because it is an Apple product. People might as well suck up their pride, save up their money, and seriously consider hopping onto the

bandwagon for this new phone because pretty soon, there won’t be anymore accessories being made or sold for the iPhone 5 or the 5s. Those phones are so 2012.

Junior Mia Ingram enjoys her new iPhone 6 because the bigger screen helps her see better.

We are proud to offer this unique opportunity

to our students… to help them achieve their

educational goals.

“

”--DR. HAMMOND

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October: the only month that builds with ex-citement leading up to the very last day: Halloween. This day is celebrated by modern zombies of all ages, but what are high schoolers supposed to do? Let’s be honest, teens are almost too old to trick-or-treat, but are too young for the adult parties. It is an awkward time to celebrate the spooky day. However, Halloween during the age of high school does not have to be confined to just hand-ing out candy. There are still many options to choose from in regard to Halloween, such as going to haunted houses, hanging out with friends, going to a movie, or just walking around and enjoy

ChaseChismOPINION WRITER

What to do as a teenager on a classic holiday

Co-Editors-in-Chief: Rylie DanielsZach ManesManaging Editor:Ty Garza

Business Manager:Andrea Northrup

News Editors:Hunter BostleyMeghan Otenbaker

Feature Editor:Kelly Grant

Feature Writers:Corrin FancherOlivia WyzgoskiSabrina Jarrah

Opinion Editor:Luc SavoieOpinion Writers:Chase ChismShelby Morrish

Sports Editors:Aliiah EsquivelJake Rogers

Sports Writer:Caitlin JohnsonMaddie Veddar

STAFF LISTINGFYE Editor:Angela Kiester

FYE Writers:Cyerra HaywoodLauren CarrOlivia Wyzgoski

Staff Editorial

Illustrator:Naomi Sauvola

Advisor:Nick Popadich

Photo Editor:Mikayla Gilbert

Highschoolersduring Halloween

the atmosphere. And yes, it is okay to still dress up. If you do not want to put on a bunch of make-up or face paint, you can always buy a mask. They are usually fairly cheap and if you do not feel like paying, you can always make your own. Many stores sell solid color masks that allow you to draw your own designs with markers to really express yourself.

This year, Halloween is on a Friday, so the opportu-nities are endless. The most important thing to remem-ber is to be safe and be responsible, but don’t forget

Photo Credit: RylieDaniels

OPINION EDITOR

LucSavoie

Whenever culture erupts in the world, there tends to be another group of people creating a culture solely to rebel against the first. In America, this is easy to trace back for over a half-century. From beatniks to hippies to grungers, the youthful population tends to dress, speak, and make music differ-ently than any other members of society. In our own so-ciety in the past de-cade, a demographic has been born com-monly referred to as “hipsters.” They can come in many dif-ferent forms ranging from prepsters, thriftsters, metal-heads, skate rats, etcetera. The list goes on and on, simply because we are the first generation to center our counterculture move-ment on past movements. Regardless of what style you’re into, many people relate their fashion and music sense to a particular decade of the past.

It’s kind of funny how so many of us are so nos-talgic of times we weren’t even alive for. But I don’t think that it’s phony imita-tion. Rather, it’s a testament

to the great people and culture that came before us. And as it turns out, a lot of people find that they can identify with the culture of the past much more than they can with the culture of the present. So, this poses the ques-tion, are we stealing the culture of the American past? Also, are people trying too hard to fit into

counterculture movements? The answer to both questions is absolutely not. Just because the culture of our nation has evolved over the years, it doesn’t mean

it’s bad to honor the culture of our parents and grand-parents through replication. And whether you bought your Hawai-ian shirt for $65 from PacSun or for $2 from Goodwill, it honestly doesn’t

matter. Both of them look good to a lot of people and how much you paid for something is your business only. So next time you find yourself telling someone to stop trying so hard, remember to relax and evaluate how silly that is. Everyone wants to look and feel good, so it makes zero sense to make fun of any-one for putting effort into the way they dress or act.

Photo Credit: AngelaKiester

REAL LIFE LAUGHS

By: NaomiSauvola

As high school students, we are told that these four years are in preparation for our future. Every test, every home-work assignment, every sleepless night; they’re all worth it because we will get into a good college and make lots of money (and apparently happiness comes with that). Everywhere that we turn we meet someone who can’t find a job with a college degree or who are still paying off thier debt. We begin to ask ourselves: should we even go to col-lege? It doesn’t even feel like a choice anymore. We start our EDPs in middle school and now sophomores are going on mandatory college visits which are all geared to help them pick a college. There is no time to pick a career. We are constantly ad-vised with what college we

should go to but are given very little advice concern-ing what career path we should follow. Being undecided is okay, but why should stu-dents go to a college and waste all this money and time when they are not sure of what they even want a degree in. These are decisions we should make, and adding pressure on to students to pick earlier and earlier is crazy. The Institute for College Access & Success reports that the average college student debt in Michigan is $28,840. The Class of 2012 has a young college graduate unemployment rate of 7.7 percent. Are there other options than college? Career training is be-coming more and more common. In fact, the Workforce Intelligence Net-

work reports that southeast Michigan will only have a job growth of 1.4 percent with jobs that require more than a Bachelor’s degree in the next five years. That means that middle-skill jobs (careers where you need training after high school, but not college) will increase in demand. Regardless of growth in the area, what should make you choose a career? Your interests, your pas-sions, what drives you to get up in the morning and deal with the day. Whether or not college is worth it is completely up to you. Whatever you want to do after high school should be your choice. Whether that choice is college, working, or what-ever other avenues you find yourself in, it is yours to choose. We should not let the school, our parents, or anyone else make that choice for us.

College is a single option, not the only one

Modern counter- culture

Photo Credit: ChristianLaRue

A lot of people find that they can identify with the culture of the past

“”

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Back to the FutureA mysterious, mighty woman? It must be magic!AngelaKiesterFYE EDITOR

Ilustration Credit: NaomiSauvola

A witch is a very classic Halloween costume and some believe it isn’t just a costume for Stevie Nicks. The singer was called a witch at the peak of her celebrity. Many people have their own suspicions with common reasons, but is there an underlying reason? Throughout history, people have feared indepen-dant, creative, and powerful women. Nicks loved to wear loose fitting clothes such as dresses or shawls and mostly she loved to dance and twirl. A woman be-ing so free really frightens some people. As the season of halloween is spooky, for some, so is a fearless ful-filled female. Stevie started to tone down her personality because of all the accusa-tions. Nicks was very upset that she couldn’t be herself without being connected to witchcraft somehow. A common justification for shunning Stevie Nicks was that she sang songs about witches. Nicks’ first album with Fleetwood Mac in 1975 featured a song writ-ten by Stevie Nicks, “Rhi-annon.” Nicks often intro-duced this song in concerts by explaining it was about an old Welsh witch. Plenty of artists have written about witchcraft, including The Rolling Stones for example. Mick Jagger wrote “Sympathy for the Devil.” Why wasn’t he harshly accused of prac-ticing witchcraft and why didn’t Jagger have to change his persona? Society is much more accepting of a man who is free and wild, and often jealous of their character, but yet women

are shamed for it. Strong women should be seen as stunning, not painted to be scary. Stevie Nicks came out on top even though her originality and strength spooked many. People say that society has changed a great deal in 50 years, but that is not true in many ways. This outrageous ru-mor about Nicks was very prominent throughout the seventies and eighties. For a long time, these accusations were forgotten but they have been recently brought back. Stevie Nicks was featured on FX’s “American Horror Story” as a witch. A main character, Misty Day, was utterly obsessed with Nicks and AHS fans were excited to see Stevie on the show. But Misty Day’s char-acter was seen as a “hippie” and portrayed to be quite delusional as Nicks was in the past. To this day we make jokes and rumors about powerful women and not understanding their ef-fects. Many women don’t understand the hypocrisy that occurs everyday. It is unacceptable for women, girls and young ladies to be told that they should be themselves and then judged for being confident, strong or different. Women are allowed to be free and fearless. We must stand out, speak up and be whatever kind of young ladies we want to be. So let your freak flag fly and be strong no matter what’s said.

With classes, clubs, and sports in full swing, many teams are searching for ways to raise money for their programs. From foot-ball cards, to cheerleading clinics, groups are branch-ing out from the classic cookie dough sales in order to appeal to different ages. The Center for Student Success program spoke with administrators and advisors in search of a fun-draiser that would appeal to their peers. The consensus? A Fall Dance. “With concessions, CSS will be able to raise money for their program,” student advisor Kevin Keilitz said. “With the dance being informal, it will create an opportunity for students to have fun without having to get dressed up.” The dance will follow the last non-playoff football game, (Oct. 24) and stu-dents can come to the gym straight from the stands.

It will begin at 8:30, and end at 11:00. Tickets will be for sale for $5 prior to the event. Food like pizza, candy, popcorn, cider and doughnuts will all be for sale, as well. Students can go casual, wear costumes, or stay in their camo from the game. “We’ll sell tickets at both campuses during

lunches for a lower price than most dances,” CSS student council president Christina Mahon said. “The dance should be a lot of fun with a variety of music. You can dress up, as well, to fit the theme as long as there are no masks.” While CSS has planned the dance, it’s up to the student body to make this

LaurenCarrFYE WRITER

Dance follows football game

event a success. “It’s important that students pay attention to what days the tickets are sold,” assistant principal Gary Goetzinger said. “If there isn’t enough tickets pre-sold, the dance will be called off and a lot of work and planning has been put into this by the students.”

Students have the option of dressing up in Halloween costumes for Fall Fest or enjoying the dance with their casual attire,

Illustration Credit: NaomiSauvola

$5Halloween Dance

Informal

8:30 pm - 11:00 pm

Fall Fest

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Grand Blanc takes on breast cancer

Top Left: Andrew Blakemore and London Hardy with their moms First Row, Second Picture: Janelle Owens, Allison Cheswick, Kate Pilar-ski, Hallie Vanitvelt, Rebecca Chema, Sydeny Vanitvelt, Kailey Steele, First Row, Third Picture: Ryon Ho-nea with his grandma Far Left, Bottom: Cheerleaders pump up the crowd during the game Center Photo: Trent Hall, Robert Mora, Ryon Honea, Jacob Benson Second Row, Third Picture: Bran-don Brackett with his sponsor Third row, Second Picture: Stu-dent section before game Bottom Right: The varisty cheer team together before the game

Photo Credit: CaitlinJohnsonPhoto Credit: LondonHardy

Teams and their fans came together this October to fight a common enemy: breast cancer. The community donated in memory of cancer survivors, fighters and the ones who lost their lives battling breast cancer. “It’s all for a good cause and it gives us another incen-tive to play,” Pearce Skinner, junior kicker for varisty football team, said. The football team ordered pink jerseys that would be dedicated to a significant person in their lives, whether it be a sponsor, family member, or someone that they knew that battled cancer. “They were worth it, and we were glad we all got to show our support,” junior football player Ryon Honea said. As for seniors London Hardy and Andrew Blakemore, not only are they good friends off the field, but they also have some-thing personal in common. The two seniors both know what it’s like to watch someone they love, such as their mothers, undergo of the battle of breast cancer. “The pink out game meant a lot to me because I know what people with breast cancer go through and how they never give up,” Blakemore, wide-receiver, said. It wasn't just another game; the game meant so much more to all the players and everyone in the stands as well.

“It really humbled me and shows me how there’s a lot more to look forward to in life," Hardy said. As for the volleyball team, they throw an event every year called Dig Pink which consists of local businesses donating to the team to be raffled off. Although the girls couldn't wear the bows during the game, the crowd showed its support by surrounding the team in pink. Some of the players had family members who had breast cancer so it meant even more to them. "We donated all the money to the Katie Story and Jim

Daniels families; it's all for a great cause every year," senior Rebecca Chema said. The volleyball team is glad that they could show their support. But that’s not all. The swim team also showed its support by raising money for breast cancer awareness. The team had bake sales and worked their best to raise money. They even

wore pink swim caps to support all the fighters. “The whole point of the game that night was all for the cancer fighters the game was for them,” senior Jillian Heidenreich said. The whole pink out week was all dedicated to the fight-ers, the surviors, and the ones we lost. While the "I Be-lieve" cheer is a popular way to fire up the teams, the "pink out" events assured those with cancer that the Grand Blanc community believes in them.

AlliahEsquivelMALE SPORTS EDITOR

CaitlinJohnsonSOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR

Photo Credit: MeghanOtenbaker

Photo Credit: MeghanOtenbaker

Photo Credit: MeghanOtenbaker

Photo Credit: MeghanOtenbaker

Photo Credit: MeghanOtenbaker

Ph

oto

Cred

it: Meg

hanO

tenb

aker

Think differently. learn differently. Kettering University has the professors, the labs and the experiences that bring

knowledge and practice together better than any place else.

Apply today! www.kettering.edu/differentSept.

It’s all for a good cause and it gives us another

incentive to play.

“”--PEARCE SKINNER

ADVERTISE WITH THE BOBCAT

BANNER

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Teeing off for excellence

Varisty Swim team posing after big win at counites.

“Fore!” The girls golf team has had a solid season and are looking to wrap it up by posting some low scores at the KLAA tourna-ment. “Thursday was our last match against Walled Lake Northern and we won it,” sophomore Hannah Kranz said. “We went undefeated in all our matches and won one of our tournaments.” The girls just finished their last KLAA meet of the

Diving into actionCaitlinJohnsonSocial Media Editor

MikaylaGilbertPhoto Editor It's 5:30 a.m. Where are your children? Parents of the girls swim and dive team know that they are busy at practice to perfect their skills for the next meet. Out of nine meets, Clarkston was the only school to defeat them. After being titled county champs, they are now preparing for divisions and conferences. “We still have a lot of duel meets left, which act as a good practice for our big meets. That is our main focus,” senior, Amanda Thompson said. The team had nine

qualifiers: Emma Cur-tis, Mackenzie Kryska, Jensen Hansen, Amanda Quitos, Molly Roberts, Eryn Scannell, Sydney

Schmit, Lindsey Sieloff, and Hyacinth Villarin. Their top performances came from Emma Curtis and Eryn Scannell in the 200 Medley Relay and the 200 Free Relay. Emma Curtis won both the 50 Free and 100 Free against 100 competitors in each event. This breaks the team’s var-sity records and closes in on All-American times! Emma broke the 50 Free varsity record by almost 0.5 seconds and the 100 Free varsity record by over 1 second. Eryn Scannell finished 6th in diving, earn-

ing All-American consider-ation and closing in on the 11-Dive varsity record; she also earned her State quali-fication in the 50 Free. As the team prepares for the following meets, they remain positive and supportive of each other, like a family. Senior Jillian Heidenreich sheds some light on the situation when asked about the swim and dive family dynamic. “The pool is our home away from home and the team is our second family,” Heidenreich said. The seniors strive to make their last year on swim and dive their best one yet.

Soccer team’s road to victory

The boys varsity soccer team gets together for the national anthem before their game.

regular season last Monday. “We just tied Brighton for the division today,” junior Allison Bruett said. “We ended up winning the KLAA conference.” The girls put up a solid season going undefeated in match play and won one of their tournaments. “We have really good chemistry,” Bruett said. “I feel like that chemistry helps us cheer each other on which helps us perform

better as a team.” The chemistry isn't only on the course. The girls also bond well off the field. "I made a lot of new friends while joining golf," Kranz said. "We've hung out a couple times since the season ended, and I enjoy it!" The girls are now head-ing off to states looking to finish the season strong.

The Grand Blanc var-sity soccer team won the Lakes Conference Champi-onship on October 7, when Aiden Taylor lead the team to victory, scoring with only 13 seconds left in the game. This only means practic-ing even harder and work-ing to be the best. Teamwork is the center of focus for the varsity soc-cer team. Mitchell Metzger and Aiden Taylor showed their teamwork Monday night when they worked to-gether and scored a follow up shot right before half-time. The whole team really

shows their teamwork on and off the field. “We always have a team dinner the night before a game. It gives us a chance to get together and get pumped up,” senior Hunter Hull said. With the season coming to an end, the seniors are especially glad to continue the season by going into the championships “I’m hoping we finish the season with a great win since it’s my last year,” Hull said. The team is working extra hard to have a great

season. That being said, the younger players will soon miss the seniors with the end of the season fast ap-proaching.

“They can never be replaced. They were a great part of the team,” junior Jared Pitser said. The season isn’t over

CaitlinJohnsonSocial Media Editor

JacobRogersFemale Sports Editor

yet. With practices every-day and looking forward to the bigger and better games, the only focus for the Grand Blanc varsity soccer Team

is winning and having fun with their team.

Girls swim and dive finishes the season strong

The varsity soccer team prepares for glory

Photo Credit: JensenHansen

The varisty girls golf team poses for a team picture after winning their last tournament to qualify for states.

Photo Credit: AllisonBruett

Photo Credit: JacobRogers

The girls golf team shows what they can do

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If it’s been eating away at the Petri dish, what else could it be eating away at? It could be eating away at your cell phone, your keyboard, your desk, your light switch. It could be swelling and pulsating and permeating what you own, what you touch, what you casually brush in the hall-way. You could be sitting on it, you could be inhaling it, you could be picking it out from under your nails. Microorganisms. Bacte-ria. Fungus. All growing throughout the school. At least there could be, given the right environment. Armed with their sani-tized gloves and biohazard trash cans, Medical Oc-

cupations 1 students have been swabbing locations throughout Grand Blanc High School in order to check for such growth. Among several others, they’ve sampled locations like office phones, toilet seats, drinking fountains and door knobs. After the swabbing, the findings are taken and placed into a separate environment. Despite this, many individuals, including Medical Occupations teach-er Marcia Gauthier, weren’t particularly shocked at the supposed “disturbing” find-ings. “The students put the microorganisms in an environment that would cause them to most likely grow, which is in a moist Petri dish, in a dark place,

and we wrap them up in a blanket because they like warmth, and then we see what grows,” Gauthier stated. “That’s not say-ing that every place in the school that we pulled those microorganisms from has that environment, but if it did, this is potentially what could happen.” Knowing that, students can put the gas masks and biohazard suits away. Besides creeping out and bringing up the harsh real-ity of biological hazards to the students in her Medical Occupations 1 class, Gauth-ier had specific intentions in mind for the study. “We relate this to the healthcare field; what would happen if healthcare workers didn’t wash their hands or they didn’t dis-

infect objects?” Gauthier said. “We’re talking about what the link is to break this chain of infection. So if a healthcare worker is not disinfecting the stethoscope or the bedframe, the patient could pick it up if they touched it. Or if the health-care worker didn’t wash their hands after treating a patient.” Because of knowledge like this, many students have already changed their own hygiene habits, hand washing in particular. “It’s pretty cool,” senior Nayan Suryavanshi said. “You never really think about how gross things are. You really think about washing your hands way more.” Senior Brianna Klaus had similar thoughts.

KellyGrantFeature Editor

Infections detected at GBHSStudents find fungus growth and bacteria after swabbing school

“It makes you really aware of the germs and everything you come in contact with,” she said. “It makes you want to wash your hands more.” After describing the study, Gauthier emphasized multiple times the impor-tance of precautionary measures such as disinfec-tion and hand washing. When asked what kind of threats germs found in the Petri dishes could pose, she answered: “Very contagious condi-tions. Influenza. Things like meningitis, tuberculosis.” If a gas mask isn’t an option, then perhaps hand washing is. Especially with flu season approach-ing, better hygiene habits and protective measures is something to think about.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), flu ac-tivity can begin as early as October and can continue until May, with most peaks happening in December through February. Symp-toms normally include:• Fever • Cough • Sore throat• Runny or stuffy nose• Headaches• Fatigue All of this normally hits right at once, whereas a normal cold of sorts is progressive. Knowing what could be out there, or even right in our school, some scented hand sanitizer from Bath and Body Works may be a good call.

Left: Marcia Gauthier inspects students’ hands after their medi-cal hand washing inspection. Hand washing is a key element to sanitary conditions in the medical field.Right: Tayyab Ali washes his hands for Gauthier’s medical hand washing inspection. He is one of many students to wash their hands in preparation for the sanitary conditions required in Gauthier’s class and in many professional careers.

Photo Credit: KellyGrant

Success and happiness. Happiness and success. Which comes first? While these concepts might sound related, they’re two sepa-rate ideas that represent two different ways of looking at the world. Happiness is an emo-tion, while success is not. Success is intuitive. People strive for both in their day-to-day lives. However, they sometimes forget the differ-ence in what to achieve. Success comes in many forms and some ideas about success might not be the same as everyone else’s. Ralph Waldo Emerson said his definition of success was “to laugh often and win the respect of intelligent people.” To some people, the key to success is based

primarily by how much money a person earns. Society tells us that it’s important to be rich and to own plenty of things that demonstrate your wealth. On TV, magazines, newspapers, or on the Internet, there are pictures of rich and famous people. Everyone knows examples of some-one who “made it big” but are un-happy. Take Robin Williams for an example. On the screen, the public face of Robin Wil-liams was cheerful, vigor-ous and very successful yet he felt deeply alone. In fact, he was so unhappy, that he became severely depressed and committed suicide.

Robin Williams repre-sents how being success-ful is different from being happy. He obtained success by societal ideals yet not even his riches could make

him happy. On the other hand, some people believe you can find success in hap-piness. “If you are successful, you are most likely living a happy lifestyle,” senior Mairna Ishaq said, “But

there’s no point to being rich if you’re not enjoying yourself first.” In addition, some people also believe that if you are financially successful you

are enjoying life stress-free. “You don’t have to worry if you’re in debt or having trouble providing for your family,” senior Maryanna Rayyan said. “You are en-joying life more be-cause you are given

so much more opportunity compared to someone who isn’t very successful.” Happiness is a subjec-tive concept, thus it has many different interpreta-tions. People define happi-ness in accordance to the

SabrinaJarrahFEATURE WRITER

We often pursue both success and joy. Which is more critical?

way they feel. People have different needs and desires and they all strive to fulfill them in different ways. A wide variety of things can make a person happy and those things might not always be the same from person to person. Everyone wants to be happy, but how ex-actly does one go about it? Research from WebMD Health News shows that the best indicator of a person’s happiness is hav-ing a healthy relationship. Whether it’s romance, a close friendship or fam-ily dynamics, the happier you are with others, the happier you are in general. Besides good relation-ships, researcher Sonja Lyubomirsky, PhD from the University of California, tells that having a career or a hobby that you love and

enjoy is another key factor to increase happiness. “You might have a simple job that doesn’t provide much yet you can still enjoy it,” senior Alexiz Madson said. “I’d rather be poor and happy than be rich and miserable.” Furthermore, many people believe that if you obtain happiness, success will soon follow suit. “I think being happy with yourself is being suc-cessful,” senior Lena Yang said. “You might not like your job but you might have a great life and be genuinely happy.”

Success Happinessvs

Being happy with yourself is being

successful.

“”

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Is college worth it?

CorrinFancherFEATURE WRITER

With the price oftuition on the rise, the value of a college education is in question

Photo Credit: CorrinFancher

With pressues of the new age, students seem to hold the weight of the world on their shouldersOliviaWyzgoskiFEATURE WRITER

He leans forward breath-ing heavily, his muscles are tightening, and his focus is centered. He’s almost completed the mission when… his mom knocks on the door telling him to get to bed. Guess home-work just isn’t getting done tonight. At this point, he is so stressed there’s no where to turn but to say screw it. Every high school student has had this moment; stress takes over and your brain’s

gears are clogged, so the only thing that makes sense is to go sleep, right?

High school is ridicu-lous at times, but it’s also important. Between the stress of studying to excel one day, looking good, and finding that special some-one, where is the time? A common saying is that any student can only choose two out of three things: sleep, good grades, and so-cial life. The shocking part is that it is completely true. Students wake up at 5-6:30 a.m. to get ready

for school. It seems early already, but after spending hours the previous night doing pounds of homework from 6 classes, it seems even earlier. What’s the use of run-ning themselves into the ground in their prime years? Simply, to excel in the future. The prospect of colleges and good grades push students beyond their breaking point to stay up, forget to eat, and spend all day worrying about how they're going to get all of this done in time. This is all if the student chose sleep-ing and good grades. However, say they chose sleep and a social life. As soon as a student gets out

of school, there is at least seven plus hours to do whatever they want to do, either with their friends or on their own. Sure, they are there for their friends, they're happier and well rested, but where did school go? It is almost impossible (there are some exceptional people who can juggle all of this, and major props to them) to handle all of homework, friends, and sleep in the amount of time before the school day starts again. Need an image of the people who chose a social life and grades? Just look for the kid in class drooling on their desk.

up was today’s job market. With so many jobs need-ing such specific knowl-

edge and qualifications, there’s only one place to obtain those. Studies have shown that people with a four year degree make about 98 percent more per hour than those without, according to another article published by TIME.

“I don’t think there’s much you can do today without a college degree, so I do think the cost is worth that,” senior Brianna Klaus said.

Even people who have been through college several times still say the college experience is well worth it. “Not only is the educa-tion worth it, but you’re constantly being exposed to new people, new cultures and new viewpoints on things,” CTE teacher Debo-rah Gibbs-Halm said. At the opposite end, oth-ers argue that the lifetime of debt is definitely not worth the education you are provided with at a college. Some say that personal experience alone can teach you more than a professor at a university ever could. Within the same article, author Dan Kadlec states: “They have been handed the funding and they enjoy the mentorship needed to pursue their dream. Among high school students with that kind of choice, it is believed that the ones who skip college and just get to work on their idea, on aver-age, will have greater life-time income—especially when you back out the cost of tuition, fees and loans.” So it seems to this day, people in the majority still support the ideal of higher education, no matter the cost.

School - 44%

Future - 44%

Relationships - 7%

Looking good - 7%

What pressues do students feel most affected by?

Modern day Atlas

Whether it’s family tradition or dreams to play on sports team, so many kids have aspirations from a young age to attend a certain university. But with recent inflation and lack of funding, college tuition has skyrocketed in the past 10 years, leading people to question if going to college is even worth the cost.

“I definitely think that col-lege is worth the experience you get,” senior Alex Cash-man said.

As it turns out, 86 percent of college graduates agree. Many believe that the education and the personal growth you gain while in college by far overshad-ows any debt students will encounter.

“Yes, I think it is worth it because you’ll get a better job to make more money, and end up paying off the money you spent,” senior Tracy Cook said.

According to a poll taken by TIME magazine, 55 percent of college grads say that it prepares them for a job, 74 percent say it provides intellectual growth, and 69 percent say it matured them. “If you meet new peo-ple, try new things, go to different clubs, then I think you’ll probably mature from it,” Cook said. Another point brought

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Are you addicted to electronics?Maddi Vedder, Feature Writer

to think about their phone all the time even when fo-cused on something else. They think, “What notifica-tions am I getting or who tweeted me or did oomf just text me?” Many of teens spend more time on our phones than they do sleeping at night. Mariana Figueiro, professor at Rensselaer, states that playing on your phone two hours before trying to sleep causes you to have sleep problems, such as not being able to go to sleep right away.Teens should get at least 9.25 hours of sleep in order to be able to function dur-ing the day, according to Teens Health. Not getting enough sleep can cause memory loss and even false memories. Not getting the required amount of sleep can also contribute to acne and other skin problems, ag-

gressive behavior, the ability to learn, the ability to listen, and the ability to problem solve. Many of teens face added stress when their cell phones are broken or de-stroyed. “I feel addicted to my phone,” senior Emily Ben-son said. “I can't leave the room or do anything with-out it. I feel lost without my cell phone. I have gotten a few bad grades because I won't get off my phone to do my homework or other school work in class.” Other teens did not have this problem. “I don't feel addicted,” senior Madison Miley said. “I own my phone; it doesn't own me. My phone helps me do research for my projects for school.” As teens rely more and more on technology, the pros and cons will continue to be debated.

“Bing! Bing!” That’s the sound of a notification from one of the social net-work apps on your phone. Many people today are having their phones woven into their daily lives. More than just being a distrac-tion, however, cell phones and other portable elec-tronic devices can cause health issues and many other problems. The health issues that can result range from loss of memory to even cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute, there are some concerns that the radiofrequency energy from cell phones that are closely held near the head can cause cancer. One of the most com-mon problems for teens, however, are the distrac-tions that cell phones can cause on the road, at school, at work, and at home. Some people tend

Are you addicted to phones?

Maddi Vedder, Feature Writer

$5 dollars off medium pizza

Poll of 295 GBHS students