NEWSPRINT. WHAT DEFINES Your. America?

Transcription

1 NEWSPRINT WHT DEFINES Your meric? Mercy High School // W. 11 Mile Rod, Frmington Hills MI, // Volume 69 // Issue 07 // My 20, 2015

2 Online 2 Cn t wit to her more from Newsprint? Visit us online for regulr updtes: Stff Editors 4 Theres Wlle Editor-in-Chief 4 McKenzie Chill ssocite Editor-in-Chief 4 Molly Schwlm Design Editor 4 Nicole Di Ponio Photogrphy & rt Editor 4 Megn Hse Copy Editor 4 Dny Zizdeh Web Editor 4 Peyton Pwlusik New Medi & Promotions Editor Senior Stff Reporters Ihechi Ezuruonye Jillin Lw Emm Mllon Ktie Schubert Sierr Wngler lyci Wshington Stff Reporters Theres enton Ktie irecki Lilly lke ridgette Conniff Kristen Hiser lli McDowell Simone Rhodes Zynh Siddique Citlin Somerville ln Sullivn Pisley Sutton Chnel Tylor dvisor Lynn Wldsmith Mission The mission of the Mercy High School student produced Newsprint is to report noteworthy events, recognize the chievements nd ddress the concerns of the Mercy student nd broder school community while lso remining n entertining pper tht is plesing both to red nd look t in order to help promote n tmosphere of wreness, inquisitiveness, concern for others, nd pride in one s school.

3 News Fetures 4/5 Demnd for police body cmers incresing Rocky rod to solving pothole problem Shield of fith or tool of discrimintion? News riefs 6/7 Closing the curtin on her teching creer Ms. Mc moves forwrd Ms. Mordenski begins new chpter Student Life 8/9 nd then there were three techer who goes bove nd beyond Sports 10/11 Referee like girl nd five, six, seven, eight One grnd time wits the Forensics tem Fetures 12/13 The birth of holidy Celebrte with pride Students who serve Opinions 14/15 Continue Mercy s legcy Why you shouldn t leve the bllot blnk 5x5 Pro Con 16/17 Should seniors tke finl exms? rt nd Food 18/19 The mn behind the mels River nd Khlo s works return to Detroit Entertinment 20/21 Sweet sounds of summer Relity debuts on television Helth nd euty 22/23 Vccines rise questions with new prents Women bttle body shming My for melnom Lst Look 24 We ll screm for locl ice crem Index 3

4 News Fetures 4 Demnd for police body cmers incresing ln sullivn, stff reporter S Six officers were chrged in the deth of Freddie Gry, 25-yer-old mn from ltimore, erly this month n ction mny round the country hd long been clling for. Gry s deth, resultnt of severe spinl injuries sustined during his rrest by the officers, led to intense protests, riots, nd U.S. ttorney Generl Lorett Lynch nnouncing full-scle federl investigtion of the ltimore Police Dept. The question t the root of the entire sitution, nd tht which would hve determined the six officers guilt or innocence instntly, is: how exctly did Freddie Gry die? If his rresting officers hd hd body cmers, the public would know. Recent dedly lterctions between police officers nd unrmed citizens hve led to the public demnding surveillnce of police, prticulrly in the form of body-mounted cmers. The swell in widespred cries for police surveillnce begn fter the shooting of unrmed 18-yer-old Michel rown by police officer Drren Wilson in Ferguson, MO lst summer. Mny, including rown s fmily, strongly dvocted the use of police body cmers, not only to obtin definite ccount of lterctions between police nd civilins, but lso to discourge excessive force by police officers. Other ftl lterctions between police officers nd unrmed civilins hve recently occurred in cities like New York City, Clevelnd, nd North Chrleston, SC. lthough body-mounted cmers cn be purchsed in mny different forms, the most common re chest cmers nd vrious sorts of hedger cmers. They would cpture sound nd video of ny interctions between the police officer nd ny civilin or suspect they hppen to encounter without the immobility of dshbord cms nd blindness of body microphones. Despite the pprent usefulness nd vlue of body-mounted cmers, not ll people support their use, nor do ll police deprtments utilize them. The most populr resons for this re cost nd privcy concerns. lthough the price of the cmers themselves is not outrgeous, the storge costs pose rel concern. nnul costs to sve dily footge, mintin the network, nd purchse softwre cn stretch into millions of dollrs. In erly My, the Justice Dept. nnounced plns to spend $20 million on implementing body cmers ntionwide, s well s $1 million to study their impct, ccording to CNN. Senior lexis Ferency s mother, police officer for the Detroit Police Dept. (DPD), believes the cost is well worth it. In the long run, the video will tell the truth nd sve the officers, citizens, nd the city lot of money nd cut down on llegtions, sid Officer Kristen Ferency. In certin cities with lrge numbers of nnul lwsuits ginst police deprtments, reduced numbers of complint which coincided with the implementtion of body cmers, ccording to UK study led to fewer expensive trils nd lwsuits. Privcy concerns lso hve mny police deprtments nd cities hesitnt to require police body cmers. Some rgue tht privte converstion between officers should not be vilble to the public, nd tht especilly sensitive discussions- like minor s ccount of n instnce of sexul ssult- should not be permitted to be filmed. s for citizens, instnces such s recorded home invsions, trffic stops, burglry house clls even those where no rrest ws mde could be considered invsions of privcy. In my opinion, if you ren t ptrolling, nswering run from disptch, or intercting with citizen, then there could be certin situtions when body cmer could propose n issue regrding privcy, sid Officer Ferency. For exmple, using the restroom, lunch time, or on breks, one doesn t necessrily need to hve their microphone or cmer on. Mjor cities like Los ngeles, Mimi, nd Ls Vegs hve implemented cmers into their police forces, nd the results seem to be promising. yer-long study by the Police Foundtion in the Rilto (C) Police Dept. found tht instnces of use-offorce by police fell by more thn 50 percent fter body cmers were introduced, nd there were 10 times less citizen complints thn the yer prior to the yer of study. The DPD is currently in the middle of its second tril with the cmers, which begn in Mrch nd will end in June. Once the tril comes to n end, proposl to purchse 415 cmers will be presented to the Detroit Police Commission nd Detroit City Council, ccording to mlive.com. Thirty cmers would be distributed to ech precinct, nd cmers would be compulsory for certin units, like the Specil Response Tem. Grnd Rpids, Lnsing, nd other Michign cities re lso in the process of implementing police body cmers. s more people demnd greter trnsprency in police deprtments, it s cler tht they hope cmer s lens is one wy to chieve it. Rocky rod to solving pothole problem Jillin Lw, Senior stff reporter T The sun is shining, the grss growing, nd Michign drivers re on the move. Unfortuntely, these sme drivers re left swerving round potholes nd doing whtever they cn to void the worst of the dmge from both snow nd ice eroding the rods. Ech yer, the rods seem to get worse. For some, driving on 8 Mile Rod is more like riding rickety old roller coster thn trying to nvigte to school. Michign rods re despertely in need of repir, but there is no money in the budget to fix them. Everybody, from new drivers to the stte government, grees tht solution needs to be found. Recently, however, Michignders voted no to the Michign Sles Tx Increse for Trnsporttion mendment s possible solution, leving mny to wonder wht the stte government will do next. The Michign Sles Tx Increse for Trnsporttion mendment, more commonly known s Proposl 1, imed to rise money to finnce rod construction projects by incresing the sles tx by 1 percent nd incresing the fuel tx to 41.7 cents s well s eliminting registrtion fee discounts nd the sles nd use tx on fuel. bout 1.8 million Michign residents voted on My 5, nd of tht number 80 percent voted ginst Proposl 1 ccording to the Office of the Michign Secretry of Stte. Gov. Rick Synder nd the Michign legislture continue to serch for solution to Michign s ever- growing rod problem. House Speker Kevin Cotter reveled pln he intends to propose to the House tht would include ending unspecified tx credits, evluting if some of nerly $20 billion in revenue restricted for specific purposes should go to rods, ensuring fuel txes rise with infltion to keep pce with construction costs nd improving the qulity of rod work. Other House members suggest hlving Michign s highest-in-the-country limit on truck weights. Due to the sound defet of Proposl 1, it is unlikely tht Gov. Snyder nd the Michign legislture will ttempt nother bllot mesure t this time. Lwmkers my hve to comb through the $52 billion budget to find dditionl money for rods. It is evident to most tht there will be no more quick fixes to the Michign rod problem. I think tht Michign drivers will continue to drive on poor nd deteriorting rods, nd the rods will continue to get worse becuse nothing will hppen until the summer of 2016 t the erliest, sid government techer Mr. rnes. Proposl 1 should hve never hppened. Our elected representtives ren t governing, nd tht s wht we py them to do. Grphic Credit: Ktie irecki nd ln Sullivn

5 News Fetures 5 Shield of fith or tool of discrimintion? Indin Religious Freedom Lw cuses controversy ktie schubert, senior stff reporter Hve you seen the hshtg #oycottindin on Twitter ltely nd wondered wht Indin did wrong? The hshtg hs even been used by severl notble celebrities nd politicins. ccording to Topsy, over 200,000 people hve used the hshtg so fr, nd the reson for this is Indin s recently signed religious freedom lw, Sente Enrolled ct 101. The lw hs been met with intense controversy; some believe tht it llows businesses to discriminte ginst customers bsed on sexul orienttion nd gender identity, while others see the lw s necessry protection of religious rights tht simply mimics legisltion lredy in plce t the federl level. s the debte over this divisive lw rges on, there is no denying tht the clsh between religious rights nd non-discrimintion will be hot politicl topic for some time. Indin s version of the Religious Freedom Restortion ct (RFR) ws signed by Indin Gov. Mike Pence on Mrch 26. It decrees tht stte nd locl governments must refrin from substntilly burdening person s religious freedom unless they cn prove tht they hve compelling reson to do so nd cn do it in the lest restrictive wy. The lw hs been met with intense criticism. In n interview with The Indinpolis Str, Sente Minority Leder Scott Pelth sid tht the lw would undermine the stte s bility to protect ginst discrimintion nd tht it would demote LGT people to second-clss citizens. It bsiclly sys to group of people, you re second rte, you don t mtter, sid Pelth, nd if you wlk into my store, I don t hve to serve you. Gov. Pence, however, does not see the new lw s discrimintory. efore signing the lw, he issued sttement describing the lw s purpose. The legisltion, S 101, is bout respecting nd ressuring Hoosiers tht their religious freedoms re intct, Pence sid. I strongly support the legisltion nd pplud the members of the Generl ssembly for their work on this importnt issue. Once the lw ws signed, Pence ws met with ntionl criticism from business leders, civil rights groups, nd even celebrities, prompting him to sign n mendment. The compromise legisltion, ccording to Sente President Pro Tem Dvid Long in n interview with The Indinpolis Str, mkes cler tht the originl lw ws not ment to support discrimintion. The revision unequivoclly [sttes] tht Indin s [religious freedom] lw does not nd will not be ble to discriminte ginst nyone, nywhere t ny time. The mendment is lso the first time tht Indin legisltion hs included the lnguge sexul orienttion nd gender identity in non-discrimintory context. Ms. Lis Robinet, Mercy government nd history techer, believes tht the lw s intent ws to protect religious freedom, not infringe on people s rights. She did, however, sy tht the mendment ws extremely necessry for the lw to be interpreted correctly. I think tht clrifiction needed to be mde on wht owners of businesses could nd could not do, sid Robinet, becuse the lw ws written in such wy tht people ssumed tht if you hd problem with gy person coming in to your store, you could refuse them service. Tht s not wht the lw ws intended for. Some compnies nd orgniztions do not see the mendment s enough. ccording to The Indinpolis Str, ngie s List ws the first mjor compny to reject the compromise. Our position is tht this fix is insufficient, sid ill Oesterle, CEO of ngie s List. There ws no repel of RFR nd no end to discrimintion of homosexuls in Indin. With the debte over whether the mendment is dequte still rging in Indin, mny hve overlooked the fct tht 19 other sttes hve encted similr RFRs. For exmple, lbm s lw is nrrower in scope thn the Indin bill, but ddresses similr issues. lbm lwmkers re currently considering introducing new RFR tht is comprble to Indin s. Gov. Pence referenced the Illinois RFR in his defense of the Indin bill, sying tht President rck Obm supported the lw when it ws pssed in The Illinois lw, however, is supplemented by sttewide sttute protecting LGT people from discrimintion. The Florid RFR is only slightly less fr-reching thn the Indin lw, yet it ws bcked by both the mericn Civil Liberties Union nd the Christin Colition. Why did these sttes escpe unscthed while Indin ws cught in storm of controversy? Ms. Robinet sys tht there is no definitive nswer to this question, but she hs few theories. I don t know if it s becuse the other sttes lws re more similr to the federl lw, Robinet sid, or if it s becuse the college bsketbll finls were being plyed in Indin during tht week. It s very curious. The federl lw tht Robinet referenced is the Religious Freedom Restortion ct of The difference between this lw nd lws pssed t the stte level is tht the federl RFR only protects citizens from the federl government, not stte governments. Stte RFRs re designed to protect citizens rights from infringement by stte governments. Whtever the reson for the turmoil round Indin s religious freedom lw, Ms. Robinet still believes tht the importnt thing is to mke sure the lw leves ll citizens personl liberties intct. If you own business, being religiously ginst something does not men tht you cn exclude people with different vlues or morls thn you from service, sid Ms. Robinet. I my not gree with something, but I m not going to infringe on your rights just becuse I don t understnd you. RFRs cross the ntion The Religious Freedom Restortion cts (RFRs) of other sttes re often lost in the storm of controversy in Indin, obscuring the fct tht 20 sttes in ll hve encted religoius freedom lws. Here is quick look t the sttes with RFRs, most of which re not being protested. Sttes with RFRs Sttes without RFRs Grphic Credit: ln Sullivn

6 News riefs 6 I I d like to think I helped girls to relize wht they cn do, who they re, nd how to find their voice, sid Mrs. Kthy Sill, who is retiring this yer fter 39-yer creer in the clssroom nd behind the scenes t Mercy High School. Mrs. Sill begn working in the English Dept. in She tught English for some yers before mking her wy to the Drm Dept. She briefly left Mercy in 1975 to rise her dughters nd then returned in 1984 to continue teching. fter returning, Mrs. Sill lso tught Yerbook nd Yerbook Theory nd Design. She helped crete the 50th nniversry book of Mercy High School in lthough she tught the entire study body, Mrs. Sill fvored teching freshmen. I love their enthusism, sid Mrs. Sill. They re so eger to lern nd to plese. They re sponges nd we could lwys hve lot of fun in the clssroom. While Mrs. Sill ws in the English Dept. for eight yers, she hd n opportunity to wtch students grow s writers nd intellectul thinkers. She lwys felt good when she ws ble to mke girl better writer thn she ws when she first wlked into the clssroom. When Mrs. Sill returned to Mercy fter rising her dughters in 1984, she interviewed with Sister Nncy for the prt-time speech nd drm position. The only question Sister Nncy hd for Mrs. Sill ws: cn you direct ply? Her nswer ws yes nd Mrs. Sill hs clerly proven herself. She hs directed 20 musicls nd 30 plys t Mercy. Mny different productions hve grced the Mercy stge, from Peter Pn in 2002 with flying nd stge combt to Crzy for You in 2009 with n extremely difficult set of portble houses nd intense tp numbers, though her fvorite hs been Crousel. Mrs. Sill thinks tht this yer s musicl, Godspell, llowed the school to pprecite musicls becuse it ws offered in the fll nd ws modern tke on religion tht ech student is well wre of. Closing the curtin on her teching creer Peyton Pwlusik, New medi & promotions editor lthough Mrs. Sill is officilly retiring, she will hve n extrcurriculr bsis t Mercy in upcoming yers. Ms. Rogers will tke over Forensics fter Mrs. Sill s deprture. However, Mrs. Sill will remin the Vice President for the Detroit Ctholic Legue for Forensics She will still be directing ll productions in ddition to co-directing the Mercy Mimes. Mrs. Sill is self-described Mercy Girl through nd through. She strted nd ended her creer t Mercy, hd the opportunity to direct productions full of tlented students, met her husbnd t Mercy, nd wtched her three dughters, my, mnd, nd nne (who is now known to students s Ms. Eddy), grdute from Mercy. Mrs. Sill met her husbnd Ron Sill t the now-retired Hrvest ll, which used to be held on the Sturdy before Thnksgiving. This dnce ws hosted by students prents purely for the techers to enjoy night of dining nd dncing. Mr. Sill s dte ws supposed to fly in from Chicgo, but ws unble to. Luckily, Mr. Sill ws set up with Mrs. Sill. The two dnced the night wy nd romnce ensued. They will hve been mrried for 42 yers in June. I ve relly hd n opportunity to experience Mercy more thn lot of techers re ble to, sid Mrs. Sill. I m living proof tht girl cn find guy t Mercy, h! Mrs. Sill nd her husbnd pln to spend some time t their cottge in Cnd nd they re lso considering going on the Irelnd trip this summer. Mrs. Sill is eger bout the possibility of going becuse ctully visiting ggot Street nd seeing firsthnd where Mercy strted would be grnd wy of ending her time t Mercy. I love everything Mercy stnds for: justice, option for the poor, service, humn dignity, nd mercy, sid Mrs. Sill. I just think it s plce where young women cn relly blossom, grow, nd become who they re ment to be. It s beutiful sight to behold. Mercy is simply ingrined in me. Photo Credit: Ktie irecki efore her yers in the Performing rts Dept., Mrs. Sill spent her time s the yerbook dvisor nd teching English clsses. Photo Credit: Ktie irecki Photo Credit: LORE

7 News riefs 7 Ms. Mordenski begins new chpter theres benton, stff reporter M Photo Credit: Theres enton Mercy s English Dept. will lose one of its most beloved members t the end of the 2015 school yer. Ms. Jn Mordenski will be retiring from Mercy fter nerly 35 yers of teching. Ms. Mordenski hs won multiple wrds during her time t Mercy, including the Touchstone wrd nd the Hert of Mercy, which she described s being humbling nd grtifying vetern of the English Dept., Ms. Mordenski helped to orgnize some of Mercy s most populr English clsses. experience. Only in her erly twenties when she first cme to Mercy, Ms. Mordenski reclled her first visit to Mercy. The first time I cme here, I hd to meet with the English Dept., sid Ms. Mordenski. nd of course they were so cool, nd I ws so intimidted this kid brely in her twenties up ginst ll these big guns. Fortuntely, this encounter did not scre Ms. Mordenski off; Mercy s high-stndrd of eduction drew her in. t Mercy, there is just higher cliber of students nd techers, sid Ms. Mordenski. t Wyne Stte I hd met one of techers in the English Dept. nd she knew they were looking for somebody, so she s the one who suggested I try for the job. It ws sort of step-up nd chllenge for me. grdute of the honors progrm t Wyne Stte, Ms. Mordenski ws given the opportunity to study wide vriety of topics, rnging from nturl science to humnities, long with her required eduction courses. Ms. Mordenski sid she took n interest in speech, which llowed her to tech speech clsses t Mercy when she ws needed. Ms. Mordenski plyed n integrl role in the cretion of the Myth, Tle, Legend clss, which ws formerly science fiction course. Ms. Mordenski hs Mster s degree in folklore, nd ws ble to bring her love of it to Mercy through this course. I like lerning bout different cultures nd lerning people s stories, nd I like pssing down tht informtion, sid Ms. Mordenski. Folklore mens wisdom, nd so we pss wisdom mong ech other. Perhps the course most students ssocite Ms. Mordenski with is Poetry. Ms. Mordenski often hngs her students work in the hll nd the girls red their best works t the Fine rts ssembly. [The students] do come up with ll kinds of relly nice projects, sid Ms. Mordenski. I m especilly proud of the booklet of literture we do t the end of the yer with everybody s poems in it. This comes s no surprise, s Ms. Mordenski herself is published poet. long with relesing her own book in the lte 1980s, Ms. Mordenski s poems hve been fetured in collections nd distributed round the globe. eing poet myself, I relly like the ide of getting poetry out there, sid Ms. Mordenski. In her retirement, Ms. Mordenski sid she would like to focus more on her own work, in ddition to her other hobbies. Ms. Mordenski s interests re s vried s the literture she teches. Photogrphy, jewelry-mking, reding, ntiquing, nd plying wide vriety of instruments including the pino, bgpipes, nd penny whistle re ll ctivities Ms. Mordenski enjoys. Ms. Mordenski is lso eger to be ble to do more round the house. long with her husbnd, whom she met when they plyed together in n Irish bnd, Ms. Mordenski sid her West Highlnd Terrier ertie will lso benefit from her dditionl free time. I think wht I ll miss most is the people here, Ms. Mordenski sid. I lern lot from my students. I hve pretty good time with my students. nd I will miss the fculty. These people re friends.... Every dy is something to remember. Ms. Mc moves forwrd fter 14 dedicted yers of service, Ms. Crol McLennn recently nnounced she will be leving her position s pstorl minister t Mercy. For over decde, Ms. McLennn ws the womn who mde it ll hppen. ehind the scenes of the smll Pstorl Tem office, she helped rrnge ech Mss, orgnize retrets, nd led Fith on Fridys (FOF). lthough Ms. McLennn will miss her position s pstorl minister, she sys it is the people in Mercy she will miss the most. I will miss the engging yet chllenging community most, sid Ms. McLennn. The young women nd stff cn tire one out, but lift one up when they shre Christ s joy with you. ffectiontely clled Ms. Mc by mny students, it is cler Ms. McLennn is loved throughout the Mercy community. Ms. McLennn consistently lifted stff nd students up with her wrm hert. I will miss my fvorite time of the dy when I stnd in the hll in the morning greeting those going by, sid Ms. McLennn. [I] enjoy the gret greetings I get from some nd try to bring smile to others, even when they try not to look t you. With her gret kindness, it is evident Ms. McLennn went beyond bridgette conniff, stff reporter the generl requirements of her job, inspiring mny students with her deep fith nd love of God long the wy. Senior Mddy Flyte got to know Ms. McLennn on junior retret nd by leding the Kiros retret her senior yer. I m going to miss stopping by her office nd sying hi everydy, sid Flyte. She is such gret role model nd lwys gives gret dvice when you sk for it. Flyte lso dds tht she ws inspired by Ms. McLennn s kindness nd love for God. I got much closer with Ms. Mc s we prepred for Kiros, sid Flyte. She gve me insight on how I cn deepen my reltionship with God. She is very spiritul person nd showed me how I cn be better Ctholic. Like Flyte, senior Mckenzie Zieru lso becme close with Ms. McLennn through leding Kiros in Mrch. Ms. Mc tught me to do everything in life with dediction nd for God, sid Zieru. God is lwys present in our lives nd ll it tkes is opening the door to our herts to experience his grce nd glory. Pstorl Minister Service Lerning Coordintor Ms. Judi Griggs- Dennis lso lerned lessons from Ms. McLennn tht deepened her Ms. Mc is known for her compssion nd egerness to serve the Mercy community. fith fter working in the sme office for severl yers. Ms. Mc truly loves God with her whole soul, sid Ms. Dennis. She demonstrted the importnce of putting God nd fmily first. lthough Ms. McLennn is leving her position s pstorl minister, she mde it cler tht she will continue to spred God s grce in her life. I hve to continue to chllenge myself to mke sure I m discerning God s will, not mine, sid Ms. McLennn. It cn be scry to put your fte into someone else s hnds but I know tht I m putting my future in the hnds of the one who mde me nd tht mkes ll the difference. Photo Credit: LORE

8 Student Life 8 nd then there were three Mercy recognizes its 2015 vledictorin & sluttorins kristen hiser, stff reporter My nme ws nnounced fter Rchel s nd Molly s so when I herd tht they got it, I ws lredy relly excited becuse they re two of my best friends, sid Vledictorin Emily Crowley. fter time-consuming ppliction process nd multiple dys of interviewing, Crowley ws nmed vledictorin nd Rchel elns nd Molly Murphy were declred co-sluttorins. It hs been tough, four-yer cdemic journey for Crowley, elns, nd Murphy, but they re thrilled tht they get to shre this honor. Vledictorin/sluttorin finlists must ern n impressive cumultive grde point verge nd complete n extensive ppliction. The ppliction sked us questions bout our extrcurriculr ctivities, our ledership in the school, our thoughts bout Mercy, our future, nd who we re s person, sid Murphy. The cndidtes hd 15 minute interview with Principl Crolyn Witte nd Ms. Colleen Rozmn, ssocite Principl of cdemic ffirs. Finlists re recognized for their chievements t grdution nd t Honors Convoction. ccording to Mrs. Witte, ll 26 finlists were very diverse in their services, clubs, nd other progrms. The dministrtion tem collbortes nd lso gets input from the senior clss nd the Mercy stff members to help mke the decision, explined Mrs. Witte. There hd to be something specil bout Crowley, elns, nd Murphy for them to be chosen out of 23 other highly qulified finlists, number significntly higher thn Mercy hs ever hd before. The vledictorin/sluttorin selection process t Mercy is not only bout choosing the cndidte with the highest grde point verge. We hve done this selection process for so long nd it shouldn t just be mthemticl thing, sid Mrs. Witte. I believe it ws minly the rigor of their cdemic progrm nd their extremely brod involvement in nd out of school tht mde these three stnd out, sid Witte. Crowley is involved in diverse group of ctivities in the Mercy community. She is president of the Ntionl Honor Society (NHS), member of science club, Spnish Honor Society officer, member of the Mercy Quiz owl tem, nd hs prticipted in Mercy volleybll for four yers. Much like Crowley, elns is science club member, n NHS officer, Spnish Honor Society member, Youth Mercy ssocite, Quiz owl tem member, nd prticipnt in Mercy softbll nd volleybll her freshmn nd sophomore yers of high school. Murphy, too, is on the vrsity softbll tem, is n NHS member, Ltin club member, Youth Mercy ssocite, nd is on the Quiz owl tem. I think the min thing tht mde the three of us stnd out ws our involvement in Mercy, sid Murphy. long with our grdes nd ttendnce, tht is definitely the most importnt. However, becoming vledictorin or sluttorin ws not lwys gol these three hd in the bck of their minds. Murphy did not work hrd in pursuit of becoming sluttorin, but rther to be n ll-round good student nd humn being. elns lso worked very hrd throughout high school nd hoped one dy she would be nmed vledictorin/sluttorin, but never thought she would ctully chieve the title. I lwys sw the vledictorins nd sluttorins t Moving- Emily Crowley, Rchel elns, nd Molly Murphy (left to right) dress up for the Vledictorin/Sluttorin Te, where they were honored with the other finlists. Up nd thought I ws so different thn them, sid Crowley. She sees her selection s vledictorin s the culmintion of ll the hrd work she hs put into her Mercy creer. Crowley will ttend the University of Michign in the fll to study neuroscience nd Spnish. She hopes to become neurosurgeon. elns will hed to Notre Dme to pursue her drem of becoming doctor. Murphy, who lso intends to study pre-med, will do so while plying softbll t Emory University in tlnt, Georgi. Photo Credit: Kristen Hiser Finls tips kristen hiser, stff reporter Come prepred with t lest three mechnicl pencils becuse the shrpeners will not work. -Sydney Vncker 17 Dress in swets with shorts underneth in cse you get too hot. -Shnnon Gibbons 17 Vitmin D helps you study. Try studying on your front porch. -Cri Pdul 16 I crete ptterns of letters or words to help me remember the informtion I m lerning. -Juli Kleismit 18 Pint your nils while you re studying. The color will remind you of wht you re lerning. -Jill Jennings 15 To do your best, you hve to feel your best. Put on mkeup nd look good. -Kierr Wright 16 I et the sme brekfst every morning of finls bcon, egg, nd cheese sndwich with fresh squeezed ornge juice from Einstein ros. gels. -Megn Stw 18 Hve FceTime study buddy. -Mir Mnsuetti 15 MERCY Grphic Credit: Citlin Somerville

9 Student Life 9 techer who goes bove Photo Credits: Simone Rhodes nd beyond Cindy Richter wins Techer of the Yer wrd Simone Rhodes, Stff reporter Joyous squels were herd throughout the building fter the nnouncement ws mde. Socil studies techer Mrs. Cindy Richter wiped ters from her eyes between lughs nd hugs nd looked round her clssroom s relity set in: she hd won techer of the yer. Despite being in clss, stff nd students like rushed to Richter s room to congrtulte her. Choking up, Mrs. Richter sid how honored, shocked, nd grteful she ws to hve been chosen. I m not just sying this, but I don t feel worthy just becuse there re so mny good people here, nd to be picked s one tht stnds out is unbelievble, sid Mrs. Richter. nd being picked by the students mkes it even more specil to me. This moment ws creted through mny experiences, chnges, nd opportunities in Mrs. Richter s life. nd lthough she never plnned to be techer, somehow she ended up exctly where she belongs. Mercy kind of just found me, sid Mrs. Richter. efore working t Mercy, Mrs. Richter worked s prlegl t the U.S. ttorney s office nd s n nti-money lundering investigtor for Comeric nk. She ws erning good slry, nd generlly liked her job, but ws coming home feeling like something ws missing. She believed there hd to be more to life thn just pycheck. So, she decided to tke lep of fith. She quit her job nd went bck to school full-time to become techer. Coincidentlly, Mrs. Richter ws introduced to Mercy s softbll coch t the time. Mrs. Richter ws lter ssigned to do her student teching t Mercy with Mr. ker nd Ms. Robinet. Hving lredy fllen in love with the stff nd students while student teching, she ws thrilled when Mercy offered her job. She ccepted it right wy, nd hs never regretted it. The thing tht stuck with me since dy one t Mercy ws the techers nd other stff, sid Mrs. Richter. They just tke you in nd relly tret you like fmily. nd the girls do tht too... It s like, you re welcome here, it doesn t mtter, you re fmily. s techer, Mrs. Richter loves to bring the rel world into [her clsses ] converstions, [so] students cn wlk wy nd understnd wht s going on in the world. It is for this reson tht P Government is currently Mrs. Richter s fvorite clss to tech. She loves seeing her students pply wht they ve lerned by nlyzing the news nd opening doors for converstion bout economics nd politics with the dults in their lives. [Teching] is not just bout the clssroom, the textbook, the lerning. It s bout life. Wht I love is being ble to merge the two, sid Mrs. Richter. Her love of tlking of complicted world mtters in down-toerth wy extends outside of the clssroom s well. Mrs. Richter recently volunteered to host medited discussion for students regrding recent events in ltimore. Despite the controversil topic, Mrs. Richter let every student hve sy in respectful nd thoughtful wy. She ws ble to medite lmost 50 girls with ese, direct nd redirect converstions, nd truly let every girl express her opinion without disgreement or rgument. Students nd stff like observe the sme kindness, compssion, nd understnding in ll of Mrs. Richter s interctions, inside nd outside of the clssroom. Senior Christine Clyton dmires Mrs. Richter s nturl bility to engge nd inspire her students while boosting their self-esteem. Every dy she does something to mke you smile or feel better bout yourself, or even gives you pt on the shoulder... she just knows when you need something, sid Clyton. nd honestly, I don t think I ve ever lerned more thn I hve from [P Government]. Senior Morgn Pfff grees with Clyton, reclling fond sentiments of Mrs. Richter s well. [Mrs. Richter] is so humble bout herself, sid Pfff. ll yer we ve told her wht n mzing techer she is, nd she lwys denied it sying she is just norml techer nd not doing nything specil. I think her winning this relly proved to her how much she relly mens to ll of us. Every dy she encourges us nd chllenges us. Students recll one of mny exmples of such encourgement. Mrs. Richter hnded out bgged tootsie rolls with notes sying keep it up, you re on roll to her students one dy in clss. While the cndy ws sweet, Mrs. Richter s messge seemed sweeter. common nicknme for her is simply mom becuse she truly Socil studies techer Cindy Richter ccepts congrtultions nd bouquet from gthered stff nd students fter being nmed techer of the school yer. trets every student like dughter, showing them love, kindness, compssion, nd encourgement when they need it most. Mrs. Richter hopes to sty t Mercy for the rest of her creer nd see her 3- nd 5-yer-old dughters become Mercy girls in the future. With Mercy hving become Mrs. Richter s home wy from home, she pprecites the course life hs tken her on. My dvice would be don t pln too much, sid Mrs. Richter. She wnts students to be oky with chnge, so tht one dy they will find their home wy from home too, like she did t Mercy. She represents ll of wht techer should be, sid Den of Students Elesh Trplin. My experience with her hs been mzing; I m little jelous I ve never hd her s techer, ctully. I know tht s person, she is very pssionte bout her job here t Mercy. She is very much bout being for the girls. Everything she does is very much selfless.

10 Sports 10 Referee like girl I If sked, most Mercy girls would likely dmit to knowing very little bout footbll. side from mild interest in the records of locl high schools or wtching the Lions ply on Thnksgiving Dy s fmily trdition, mny girls often tke little notice of nything footbll-relted. Footbll hs lwys been guy thing. For Srh Thoms, however, the first femle referee in the history of the Ntionl Footbll Legue, footbll is creer. Thoms grew up with two brothers nd spent lot of her time with them. I lwys just plyed with the boys, Thoms sid to Mobile, lbm s Press-Register newspper in It ws her brother who invited her to footbll referee meeting in the first plce. fter going through the required clsses, Thoms begn to referee peewee footbll gmes. She worked her wy up to officiting middle school gmes, then high school. long the wy, Thoms developed reputtion for correctly mking tough clls nd lwys striving to be sked bck for nother gme. She didn t just stop t high school gmes, however. Her finesse s n officil impressed mny people, including Gerld ustin, overseer of Conference US collegelevel subdivision. ustin invited Thoms to trining cmp in Reno, Nev. where she continued displying her penchnt for mking the right clls. ustin hired her, nd she soon becme the first femle to officite mjor bowl gme. Her performnce t the college level then ttrcted the ttention of professionl referee scouts, nd in pril the NFL officilly hired Thoms. This fll, when she steps onto the field during the regulr seson, she will be the first femle to ever referee in the NFL. I think it is like ny other time you re the first one, sid ustin in 2007 fter Thoms ws hired s college referee. If she does good job, I think she will hve very positive effect. If LLI MCDOWELL, stff reporter How one womn tckled the NFL sexism brrier she messes up, some people might sy femles ren t redy. Officiting hs trditionlly been mle-dominted profession, nd not just in footbll. Mercy junior Citlin Delevie hs been refereeing soccer gmes for bout four yers. Contrry to populr belief, I hve found tht being femle in this profession hs been more beneficil thn detrimentl to my creer, sid Delevie. Gme ssigners [those who decide who gets to officite the gmes] re often looking to give gmes to femle referees since there re very few of them. I lmost lwys m refereeing with two guys rther thn nother girl, she continued. It hs tught me to trust myself in position of uthority. I know the rulebook, I plyed soccer for mny yers, nd there is no reson I should be put below ny other referee with the sme experience level due to my gender. Delevie, similr Grphic Credit: Kristen Hiser to Thoms, hs worked her wy up the referee hierrchy in Northville. Only 17 yers old, Delevie hs gined enough experience nd trining to officite up to U19 gmes tems with plyers who re 19 yers old nd under. I still get nervous when I referee the higher level gmes, she sid. It cn be intimidting, nd when I m out on the field the worst thing I cn do is show ny type of trepidtion. In n interview with NPR, sports writer Rick Clevelnd sid tht the worst thing n NFL referee cn do is cll ttention to him or herself. If the ttention is on the referee, Clevelnd sid, then the referee is not doing his or her job. Thoms hs mstered the bility to blend in. The only distinguishing feture between Thoms nd her mle collegues is the blonde ponytil tht pokes out of the bck of her ht. I think her ddition to the NFL officiting stff is mjor brekthrough for ll femle referees everywhere, whether or not they re officiting footbll gmes, Delevie sid. I, personlly, m inspired by her persistence nd disply of unwvering confidence s she tkes the NFL by storm. Not everyone ws s ccepting of Thoms s hiring. Footbll fns, for exmple, took to socil medi nd the mjority of their comments were hteful vitriol. Some clled the Thoms hiring the downfll of the NFL nd worse, while others speculted Thoms ws only hired s n ttempt by the NFL to mend their public reputtion fter former ltimore Rvens running bck Ry Rice ws suspended fter being seen on video beting his then-fincè. However, NFL Vice President of Officiting Den lndino responded by telling reporters Thoms hd been on the NFL s rdr screen for nine yers. The phrse You ply like girl is used by men s n insult. If Thoms continues her impressive trck record in officiting, mybe new, positive phrse will emerge You ref like girl. nd five, six, seven, eight Citlin somerville, stff reporter Photo Credit: Citlin Somerville Junior Mddy oji specilized in hip-hop nd jzz before joining the tem t Mercy. For the first time ever, hip-hop nd jzz dncers hve home t Mercy on its new vrsity dnce tem. Set to begin in the school yer, the tem will give girls who dnce outside of school the opportunity to do wht they love while representing Mercy. For these Mercy girls, it is bout time. Most schools hve dnce tems so I ws surprised when I found out tht Mercy didn t, sid junior Mddy oji who, prior to ttending Mercy, hd been dncing since she ws 3 yers old. There re lot of girls t Mercy [who] do dnce outside of school, nd [the dnce tem] gives them n opportunity to get involved in the school. Tht s why I m so excited bout it. For yers, Mercy s vrsity pom pon tem hs ttrcted mny dncers, s it hs been the closest thing to dncing vilble t the school. Under Coch Lici Cmp, who will lso be coching the dnce tem, the pom tem cme in second t sttes lst yer. I felt like n ll girls school should hve dnce tem, Cmp sid bout her decision to coch both dnce nd pom. She is not picking fvorites, however. I m performer first. When performnce is thrown my wy I give it my ll, she sid. Students cn be on both the pom nd dnce tems, s prctices nd competitions should not overlp. Only one question remins: wht is the difference between the two tems? The dnce tem will do different hip-hop nd jzz routines while pom hs one set routine, sid ssistnt to the thletic Director Kte Sclzi. lso, pom is Mid-mericn bsed, which is whole different style thn UD. The dnce tem will be under the Universl Dnce ssocition (UD), whose mteril nd progrms re centrlly focused on the trditionl role of dnce tems. UD believes tht the primry purpose of dncer is to support thletic progrms nd to provide entertinment to the crowd before nd during gmes. Dnce tems re to lern routines using proper technique nd re well conditioned. Under Mid-mericn, pom hs set guidelines to reinforce the vlue of positive self-imge. Pom routines cnnot include suggestive or seductive movements nd re generlly more conservtive thn dnce routines. There re lso the poms the pom tem must use them in every routine while dnce my use them, but is not required to. Cmp is looking forwrd to next yer s pom nd dnce tem sesons. I m excited for pom becuse I wnt to do better thn we did lst yer, sid Cmp. For dnce, it s just exciting to begin new progrm with the school.

11 Sports 11 One Grnd time wits the Forensics tem Ktie birecki, stff reporter I It s not every dy tht public spekers re told to void mking eye contct, to stnd in one plce, or to crete speech on the spot bout current socil or politicl issue. However, the Forensics tem does just tht. fter competing in five tournments throughout the winter, seventeen Mercy students qulified to compete in the Ntionl Ctholic Forensic Legue Grnd Ntionl Tournment in Ft. Luderdle, Florid during Memoril Dy weekend. For two girls on the Mercy tem, being ble to go to Ntionls is huge honor. Senior Jcqueline Weldy nd junior Lucy Devine plced first t ll five Metro-Detroit re tournments this seson in the Drmtic Duo ctegory. In Drmtic Duo, prtners cnnot look t or touch ech other throughout the ten-minute-long piece. Weldy, who strted her Forensics creer s sophomore fter tking the Orl Interprettion clss, enjoys the chllenge the sport provides her. I like to perform in front of others, sid Weldy. This ws wy for me to ct, but in different nd unique setting. The Forensics tem members perform in six ctegories: Drmtic, Orl Interprettion, Drmtic Duo, Declmtion, Ortory, nd Extemporneous Speking. In ech ctegory, seven competitors present their piece in front of one judge, who scores them on specific points, such s vocl nd physicl delivery. On the dy of the Grnd Ntionl Tournment, students will compete in four rounds two in the morning nd two in the fternoon. Those with the highest scores in ech ctegory will move on to the octofinl round on dy two. [The judges] eliminte bout 80% of the tournment on Sturdy night, sid Forensics coch Mrs. Kthy Sill. To mke it in the top 20 is relly big del. In December, Weldy nd Devine crefully chose nd They Dnce Rel Slow in Jckson, piece tht is both comicl nd hert-wrenching. The pir decided on this ply becuse of the mount of blocking they could incorporte into their performnce. We wnted something with lot of movement, sid Weldy. The wy we go bck nd forth in time llowed us to do just tht. Devine, who portrys the min chrcter, enjoys performing the quirky nd slightly insne scenes. I relly like the prts of our piece in which Elizbeth [the min chrcter] is in her fntsy sttes, sid Devine. It shows how her mind is working nd wht she is thinking insted of just showing wht hppens to her. To be ble to go to the Ntionl Tournment is something every competitor looks forwrd to. In pst yers, student who wnted to qulify for Ntionls hd to plce twice t two of the five tournments held t Metro-Detroit re schools. From there, students in the top four spots t the Ntionl Qulifiers tournment, held t the beginning of spring, were invited to Ntionls tht yer. This yer, since the tournment is held in Florid, the rules hd to be chnged. Out of the five tournments, student hd to plce in the top three t the first three tournments to gurntee spot t the Ntionl Qulifiers tournment, which ws held t Mercy on Mrch 7. t the tournment, competitor hd to plce in the top three once gin to clinch spot t the Ntionl Tournment. fter prcticing four or five times before ech competition, Devine dmitted tht she hd high expecttions set for Weldy nd herself this yer. Lst yer, I got fourth plce t Ntionl Qulifiers nd I ws ble to go to Ntionls s specttor, sid Devine. My gol for this seson ws to be ble to compete in the Ntionl Tournment. Weldy, who went to the Ntionl Tournment lst yer bove, senior Jcqueline Weldy (left) nd junior Lucy Devine (right) in Drmtic Duo with Mercy lumn Kte Sove, ws thrilled received medls for their Drmtic Duo piece t Ntionl Qulifiers. elow, when she found out tht she would be ble to go nd compete 17 Mercy students will dvnce to the Grnd Ntionl Tournment during ntionlly gin. Memoril Dy weekend. Lucy nd I were so excited, sid Weldy. We cn t wit to shre this experience with our other tem members. Photo Credit: Cheryl Weldy Photo Credit: Kthy Sill

12 Fetures 12 THE IRTH OF HOLIDY lilly blke, Stff Reporter prde. brbeque. dy off of In 1968, however, Congress signed school. The weekend tht the locl the Uniform Mondy Holidy ct. This pool opens for summer. The dy you legisltion mde Memoril Dy federl cn strt wering white pnts. Though these holidy nd creted n nnul three-dy re common Memoril Dy prctices, do weekend for ll government employees. This they truly cpture the essence of the holidy? time ws used to honor nd py respect to How hs dy once set side for mourning the militry heroes of the United Sttes. nd tribute spirled into dy filled with fun Fst forwrd five decdes nd the initil nd gmes? idels of Memoril Dy re still t the root of Memoril Dy becme n officil holidy this holidy s celebrtion. in 1977, but the celebrtions dte bck to Prdes re held to cknowledge the First known s Decortion Dy, the lst freedom of our country. Fmilies spend time Mondy of My ws set side by communities together outside to celebrte the beuty of ll over the country to py tribute to fllen life in our country. Citizens visit memorils soldiers of the Civil Wr. nd grves to remember the gret heroes tht ccording to history.com, the ide fought for our country. The summer seson behind the holidy cme from Generl begins, giving the country breth of fresh John. Logn in 1862, when he declred ir. tht the 30th of My, 1868, is designted ut re the trditionl idels of Memoril for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or Dy still ringing true in the celebrtions otherwise decorting the grves of comrdes of tody? re we celebrting for the right who died in defense of their country. resons? On My 30, 1868, thousnds gthered Vetern ir Force Lieutennt nd Mercy t rlington Ntionl Cemetery to honor grndfther Phil Mechling thinks tht ny the 20,000 buried soldiers nd celebrte the celebrtion tht commemortes those who first officil Decortion Dy. Over time, the gve their lives is cceptble nd worthwhile. holidy becme known s Memoril Dy nd [People who fight for the United Sttes] ws held nnully on My 30. give so much. Memoril Dy is n excellent celerte WITH PRIDE chnel tylor, stff reporter For mny Mercy girls, Memoril Dy is just nother opportunity to sleep in, but this holidy is bout more thn prdes nd brbecues. Memoril Dy is bout celebrting nd honoring mericn soldiers who put their lives on the line for our freedom. This yer, tke time to vlue the true mening of Memoril Dy with these ptriotic ctivities. wy to celebrte the profound gift tht thousnds of men nd women give dily to people they do not even know, Mechling sid. Every yer on Memoril Dy, I feel joy. Joy from not only the beuty of the country, but the beuty of those who built this country. lthough Mercy junior Mddy Hintz hs never fought in the militry, her ide of Memoril Dy is essentilly the sme s Mechling s. To me, Memoril Dy is bout celebrting the freedom of the United Sttes tht hs stemmed from the efforts of so mny unrecognized heroes, Hintz sid. To celebrte, Mddy nd her fmily ttend locl prde nd then her dd reds wr stories loud. I think it is importnt to celebrte the holidy with remembrnce nd tribute while t the sme time grtitude nd joy, sid Hintz. However you celebrte Memoril Dy, be sure to remember the brve souls who gve their ll to chieve freedom for the citizens of the United Sttes of meric. Wht re you remembering this Memoril Dy? Grphic Credit: Kristen Hiser Mking Sense of Memoril Dy Students who serve Theres benton, stff reporter n ll-girls Ctholic High School seems like n unlikely plce to find future rmy recruits. The clssic signs of soldier-in-trining--buzz cuts, bulging muscles, nd crisp, clen uniforms-- re rre sights in Mercy s hlls. This my led one to ssume future soldiers re not thriving here. few students, however, re redy to disprove tht ssumption. When I sy I wnt to be [n ir Force] pilot, people tend to be like, You sure bout tht? sid junior Hether Lillystone. girl being pilot is somewht rre, nd it is very hrd to do, but I know tht I cn do it nd get there. Lillystone, long with few of her clssmtes, plns on joining the militry fter college. I wnt to be in the Nvy becuse it hs the widest rnge of creer opportunities, sid junior Kr Wllce. I m thinking of going to either the Nvl cdemy or University of Colordo oulder nd being in the ROTC progrm. ROTC, the Reserve Officers Trining Progrm, is n orgniztion for college students who re plnning on joining the militry. lthough prticiption in the ROTC is not required for militry service, it offers bsic trining for prospective soldiers in their desired militry brnch. Scholrships re lso vilble. fter grduting from the progrm, however, students re required to serve in brnch of the militry for certin number of yers. I m strting the process of joining the Civil ir Ptrol [CP] nd tht s just like Junior FROTC [ir Force ROTC], sid Lillystone. Joining the CP will help when it comes to getting FROTC scholrships for college. Doing ROTC is better thn enlisting becuse... when I enter the ir Force, I would go in s n officer, rther thn being t the bottom. Like Lillystone, Wllce lso plns on getting leg-up with preprtion for her future militry creer. I m going to the Nvl cdemy summer seminr, which is summer cmp t the Nvl cdemy with lots of physicl ctivity, sid Wllce. You go to clsses to decide wht your future creer in the Nvy might be or wht you wnt to study. Contrry to populr belief, mny jobs in the militry do require college degree. Lillystone wnts to mjor in erospce engineering to help rech her gol of becoming n ir Force pilot. nother misconception, ccording to Lillystone, is tht some students ttend free colleges like the ir Force cdemy due to the government-funded tuition rther thn the militry-grde eduction. ccording to the ir Force cdemy s website, tuition for the yer mounted to $0, but it is not quite s simple s it seems. ccording to Lillystone, service in the ir Force is required upon grdution from the highlyselective cdemy. Neither Lillystone nor Wllce sid tuition costs plyed role in their decisions. I strted doing more nd more reserch, nd the more I lerned bout the ir Force, the more I fell in love with the ide, sid Lillystone. It just feels right. It feels like it s Fetures 13 wht I m ment to do. Wllce hs similr feelings. The difference the militry mkes is gret, she sid. The opportunity to be prt of something bigger [is ppeling]. Though students my be comfortble with the ide of joining the militry, writer nd ir Force wife Stcy llsbrook-huismn describes how their prents my feel in n online rticle. You might puse for moment or two to process this decision, llsbrook-huismn stted. Fer would definitely flsh in your mind. Prentl support does not seem to be n issue for Wllce or Lillystone, however. [My prents] re relly supportive, Wllce sid. They relly didn t wnt me to go into the rmy becuse it s relly dngerous, but they ve been helping me lot with the process of pplying to the Nvl cdemy. My dd thinks it s relly cool, nd he supports my love of irplnes nd the ir Force, sid Lillystone. My mom doesn t like the ide of it, but she isn t going to stop me. For Lillystone, her love of flight, mth, nd engineering ws her min motivtion to join the militry. Wllce is ble to pin down the exct moment she knew wht she wnted to do with her life. I ws t this concert with my grndprents, sid Wllce. It ws concert for veterns nd the money rised ws going to them. When they sked ll the veterns to stnd up, I ws like, Wow, they re relly strong people nd did lot for our country. It just mde me relize tht I wnted someone to look up to me tht wy. Field of Flgs new trdition is coming to the city of Monroe clled Field of Flgs. People cn go to River Risin Ntionl ttlefield Prk nd view flgs flown in honor of fllen soldiers who fought there in Fmilies cn lso sponsor flgs for decesed nd/or ctive-duty servicemen. Civil Wr Remembrnce in Greenfield Villge The Henry Ford Museum is known for it s in-depth exhibits nd historicl memorils. This yer during Memoril Weekend it will be commemorting the Civil Wr with live re-enctments, ctors in civil-wr ttire, nd music from tht time period. Tke the entire fmily out to lern bout wrtime during the 19th century nd enjoy with interctive performnces. Tickets re on sle t thehenryford.org Memoril Dy in the D Memoril Dy weekend in Detroit is huge kickoff to summertime on the River Wlk. Movement Electronic Music Festivl in Detroit, one of the world s lrgest electronic music venues, will fill the downtown re. In 2012, over 100,000 people ttended. Other ctivities include bot rides on the river, live music, nd enjoying the beutiful scenery of the Detroit River. Honor meric s rmed Forces t Crossrods Villge nd Huckleberry Rilrod in Flint there will be three-dy tribute to the members of the United Sttes rmed Forces. Those currently serving will be honored with free dmission nd trin ride for themselves nd one guest. Those ttending re encourged to mke cheerful crds for sick nd disbled servicemen nd veterns. lso, ttendees hve the opportunity to help mke quilts for servicemen.

13 Opinion 14 Continue Mercy s legcy Theres wlle, editor-in-chief nother lst. s we come to close on this school yer, I pproch more nd more of these moments: my finl Newsprint editoril, my finl dy in uniform, my 24th nd finl youth orchestr concert, my finl P Gov chpter, my finl off hour...the list goes on nd on. Yet, through these lsts, I tke comfort knowing I do not hve to fce leving Mercy for the lst time; there is more in store. I recently st with my mom who serves s the president of the lumne ssocition nd her collegues s they prepred for Te for Tuition, n nnul event held by the ssocition to rise money for tuition ssistnce. I could sense tone of dishertenment in the ir s the women discussed trends in dontions. Mle schools get more bck, they sid. I ws puzzled. When they explined, it becme cler. Men typiclly give bck more to their ll-mle high schools thn their femle counterprts. When womn mrries, yerly dontions often go to her husbnd s high school over her own ll-femle school. It is not nerly s prevlent for husbnd nd wife to donte money to the wife s high school. Mle sports, footbll in prticulr, tend to crete greter school spirit which lends to lrger donor pools. Why do you think University of Michign is bringing in Jim Hrbugh to turn round their footbll tem? dmittedly, this isn t the only reson, but it certinly is contributing fctor. fter grdution, I wnt women to remin s energetic nd loyl to their high schools s men. I m sking you, current students, to tke ction. Whether you re member of the clss of 2015 or the clss of 2018, this issue ffects you. Do not forget Mercy when you grdute. Red The Mosic. ttend the lumni mss ech yer, if you remin locl. Sponsor tble t Te for Tuition. Most importntly, help the Mercy legcy to continue on in the genertions fter us by giving bck. We ll grudgingly complin bout the lck of ir conditioning, but this is not n esy fix. Wht bout the new sport fields nd new student entrnce? In order to see improvements, we need help from generous supporters who re likely to be Mercy grdutes. Next yer mrks the 70th nniversry of our high school. If every lum would give $70, think of the impct tht would hve; with 175 people lone (smller thn typicl grduting clss) giving $70 ech towrds scholrships, one more girl cn be fforded the opportunity to receive Mercy eduction. Will the young girls you see on the plyground be ble to hve the Mercy experience? Will your own dughters? Mny Ctholic schools re struggling to keep their doors open. Without continuous nd dequte finncil help, Mercy my find itself in similr sitution. While some lumne re more ble to give thn others, every cent does genuinely mke difference. Whether you re poor college student or successful business womn, you cn spre t lest $10 yer. Think of it s one lunch t Pner or couple of Strbucks drinks. When I grdute this June, this is the commitment I will mke. I hope you will consider this sme pledge so tht when you exit the uditorium for the lst time t Moving Up you will not leve Mercy behind, but insted continue on s womn who mkes difference. Why you shouldn t leve the bllot blnk Emm Mllon, Senior stff reporter Growing older ech yer my seem insignificnt, but certin ges hve rights of pssge ssocited with them. Getting one s first bike nd prtking in certin religious ceremonies re ssocited with trnsitions from childhood to dulthood, but these often lck defined times. The first ge-defining opportunity one hs in society is the bility to hve driver s license, yet when one leglly becomes n dult, the right to vote is esily overlooked. Not only do some people hve indifferent ttitudes towrd voting, but others find no point in voting becuse they feel the outcome is not dependent upon their single vote. Though pthy exists bout the privilege of voting tody, this wsn t the cse in the pst, when people hd to fight for wht is now tken for grnted. fricn-mericn men were given the right to vote in 1869, nd women did not gin the right to vote until Yet the bttle ws not won then; mny yers of discrimintion followed these politicl decisions. Restrictions were plced on voting through the grndfther cluse, litercy tests, property tests, purging of registered voters, nd poll txes. ll of these ctions were tken to prevent fricn mericns nd poor whites from voting. Though these ctions were illegl, mny lws preventing discrimintion were not enforced. Often, people physiclly fought their wy to the polls, only to be turned down by flse restriction. Whites were given privilege in mny situtions. Mny whites still voted even if they could not pss litercy test, while even if fricn mericns pssed, mny were turned wy from the polls. It ws not until the 1965 Voting Rights ct tht ll citizens could vote without these restrictions. Most people previously rendered voiceless fought for the opportunity to express themselves nd their beliefs. When the right to vote ws still not gurnteed to ll citizens, people were jiled, ridiculed, nd even killed while struggling to obtin suffrge. Citizens scrificed their lives in the struggle for equlity. Ironiclly, now tht ll mericn citizens hve erned the right to vote, mny young citizens choose not to. llots re left blnk, nd polls re empty. Young dults seem to hve forgotten wht privilege voting is. This bttle ws won not too long go, but ll of the effort nd scrifice mde to chieve voting rights re wsted when young mericn citizens re unwilling to provide their open opinion through voting. Even worse, the resons young citizens chose not to vote re rbitrry. They re too lzy, time-consumed, uninformed, or unimpressed to go out nd vote. It is esy to get cught in the rush of life, but most people find time to see friends, fmily, nd squeeze in whtever ctivities they find importnt. So why do citizens use lck of time s n excuse for not voting? If citizen s right to vote ws truly importnt to someone, he or she would tke dvntge of ech opportunity to vote. Some mericn citizens find voting irrelevnt nd do not express their opinion until they no longer like the leders in power. This tctic is ineffective, s decisions hve lredy been mde nd the dmge hs lredy been done before people relize the difference their vote could hve mde. Young citizens lso lck the proper knowledge to effectively spred their opinions nd mke lsting impcts. People freely Photo Credit: Emm Mllon Voting on politicl issues, right frequently tken for grnted by young citizens, llows the United Sttes to be country governed by the people. express their opinions on socil medi, but young voters re scrcity. These people fil to see tht the problems they complin bout online could be resolved by the U.S. government if only they expressed their opinions in the bllot box. Power by the people no longer pplies in society whose people don t vote. How cn mericn citizens expect perfect government when their bllots re left blnk? How cn someone listen when everyone is speking to the wrong udience? How cn we mke difference when we re unwilling to mke the effort? Should we recognize the gifts we hve been so grciously given, or should we let our voices fde wy?

14 5x5 five by nicole diponio, photogrphy nd rt editor five Opinions 15 nn Wiseley 18 Cir Lopus 17 Croline Remer 16 Pige Spender 15 Lur Merritt Everett 98 ttendnce coordintor I think they re relly cool nd fun. I like Custrd Time or Kilwins. I think it s relly cool becuse I hve lot of friends tht do dnce. It s cool tht they cn be prt of Mercy tem now for n ctivity they do. They re so cute, except lme ones. They cn be relly cute or relly dumb. Wht do you think bout promposls? Wht s your fvorite summer ice crem spot? h tht s so hrd! Custrd Time nd Coldstone, I cn t decide. Wht do you think bout the new dnce tem? We hve dnce tem?! I m probbly too tlented for them. It think they re cute, fun, nice, nd exciting! Custrd Time Even though I don t live in Northville, I like it nywy. I think it s cool tht Mercy [is] doing new things nd I wish I ws dncer, but I m not good t dncing. I get too much plesure [from] them. I feed off of them. Diry Deluxe on Woodwrd. I wish tht I could be here next yer to see wht they re going to do. Wht is something in your life tht you tke for grnted? I think it s cute nd fun! It s relly evolved since I ws in high school. Menchie s. It s super cute nd they hve gret flvors nd tons of fixings. I think tht s net nd I think lot of girls re lredy involved in dnce. My siblings. I like the Greek sld or the subs. meli Dhmer. ked potto, definitely. There s lot of things, but probbly my cr. It s not the nicest cr, but it cn get me plces. Wht is your fvorite Mercy lunch? I ve never gotten lunch from the cfeteri. My reltionships. Pst br. I try not to tke nything for grnted... you re just thnkful for the blessings tht God hs given. ked potto br. Tht ws good.

15 Pro Con 16 Should seniors Pisley Sutton, stff reporter M Mny dreded things hve purpose: going to the dentist, wking up erly for summer job, eting vegetbles, nd, yes, even tking finl exms. While studying for midterms nd finl exms my give students goosebumps, it s for reson. lthough mny high schools hve dopted the policy of excluding seniors from second semester finl exms, Mercy stnds firm with their policy of requiring seniors to tke finls. Excusing seniors from tking finl exms would eliminte the benefits (nd yes I sid benefits) tht they bring. Eduction is chnging nd, in the future, I see the focus being mstery. finl cn be used for tht purpose, sid ssocite Principl Colleen Rozmn. Students lern t different pces. Mybe you got it t the beginning of the yer if not, you hve the chnce to show wht you lerned t the end. One of the min purposes of finl exm is to llow the techer to evlute student s improvement over the course of the semester. Exms, however, benefit the students s well. lthough risky to fll bck on, finls offer students one lst chnce to bring their grdes up. ffecting 20% of student s grde, exms cn drsticlly rise or drop finl grde depending on how much student studies. Finl exms cn be prticulrly influentil for scholrships nd cceptnce to colleges. Even though most seniors hve lredy mde their decision, colleges often check bck up on those ccepted to determine the mount of scholrship money they deserve or, in the worst cse, to reconsider the student s cceptnce. Seniors who hve been slcking off second semester cn use finl exms to boost their overll GP in order to remin in good fvor with their college of choice. Our dt especilly shows students continully chllenging themselves for the rigor of college, Rozmn sid. People believe you get pss s senior, but colleges re sying seniors ren t prepred cdemiclly. If person blows off their senior yer nd doesn t tke finl, it could ffect their focus. We don t wnt to eliminte tht. lthough most clsses test throughout the semester, finl exm gives the student the chnce to recll informtion she might hve forgotten. This is especilly importnt for seniors tking college plcement exms. Studying for finls my be pin, but in the middle of the summer, would students relly wnt to frnticlly compile ll the Spnish conjugtions they ve lerned since Jnury? It would be lot esier to review the study guide completed in My. [Finl exms] re rel big benefit, sid senior Jessic Willims. [They cn] keep me in the zone while I m checking out of Mercy. Seniors getting out of second semester exms could lso ffect other students. Mny clsses re mixed with juniors nd seniors. If senior does not hve to prepre for second semester finl, wht is keeping her focused in the clss towrd the end of the school yer? Lck of focus in the clssroom could esily spred to juniors nd reflect in their finl grdes which re especilly importnt s mny juniors begin the college ppliction process. Rozmn explined tht dministrtion hs informlly discussed the ide of seniors skipping finl exms, however, mny rguments ginst the policy were brought up. While test tht encompssed the entirety of the semester wouldn t be given, techers would still give some sort of finl test tht would bsiclly end up serving s finl. In ddition, techers who hve the sme clss both semesters would dminister finl to one clss but not to the other. Whether or not senior tkes finl would be completely up to chnce. lot of techers felt the semesters wouldn t be equl, Rozmn sid. If someone took clss first semester nd nother second semester, one would tke finl nd the other wouldn t. Finl exms my mke students cringe like seeing doctor holding needle, but like shot, they benefit ll. Grphic Credits: Pisley Sutton C D e C D e C C C C C C C C C D e D e D e D e D e D e D e D e D e C D e C D e C C C C C C C C C D e D e D e D e D e D e D e D e D e C D e C D e C C C C C C C C C D e D e D e D e D e D e D e D e D e C D e C D e C C C C C C C C C D e D e D e D e D e D e D e D e D e

16 Pro Con 17 tke finl exms? Grphic Credits: Pisley Sutton Megn Hse, Copy Editor s she extrcts her physics book from her bckpck, senior Morgn Pfff lets out deep sigh. When ws she going to need to know the formul for kinetic energy or be ble to derive the finl velocity from grueling projectile motion problem? Her nswer: never. Pfff, commit to Michign Stte University (MSU), is lredy looking hed to her future t the Jmes Mdison Pre-Lw Progrm, s she hopes to become lwyer. Still, Pfff soldiers on, nd, despite her high performnces on physics tests throughout the semester, she is required by Mercy policy to tke the finl in the clss lthough she hs secured her grde by proving her understnding of the mteril time nd time gin. Pfff is one of mny seniors t Mercy stuck in the dilemm of hving to tke finl exm regrdless of her performnce throughout the yer. However, mny other schools hve dopted policy tht eses the burden of the hectic end to senior yer. Schools such s Ctholic Centrl, St. Mry s Preprtory, nd righton High School re some tht hve dopted the trend of exempting well-performing seniors from tking finl exms. Some schools go s fr s to sy the policy helps decrese the ever-spreding epidemic of senioritis. In order to meet the requirement for exemption, seniors must work very hrd ll semester to mintin n in the clss. This includes promptly turning in qulity work, studying for tests, nd demonstrting ctive prticiption nd thorough understnding. Not surprisingly, students re mong the strongest dvoctes of this policy. If you hve n in the clss it s clerly proven tht you know the mteril, sid senior Croline lnd. Therefore, there s no point in tking the finl. If you ve proved yourself once, why do you need to tke finl to prove yourself once gin? Likewise, senior nlise Sl rgues ginst Mercy s finl policy. Getting n on the finl doesn t men tht you understood the mteril throughout the yer; it mens tht you studied the night before nd memorized the mteril, sid Sl. lso, your [eighth] semester GP doesn t count towrd your cumultive GP used t grdution or Honors Convoction. So why should you hve to tke finl in your lst semester if it doesn t count towrd grdution? lthough few nd fr in between, some techers understnd the benefits of this policy. One Mercy techer cn sympthize with the incresing student demnd for this policy. If student hs solid in the clss, then I would be willing to exempt her from the finl, sid mth techer nd deprtment chir Ms. Vicky Kowlski. Ms. Kowlski goes even further to comment on things tht she hs experienced in her 37 yers of teching. In the pst, she hs sked well-performing students in the pst to tke the finl without excessively studying s sort of experiment to see how much informtion they hve retined throughout the yer. She proudly reports tht prticipnts usully perform round n 82 percent verge. Ms. Kowlski lso dded: I ve never seen student with solid like 97 percent lose n from the finl. In Ms. Kowlski s little-to-no-studying-for-the-finl experiment, Mercy student with 97 percent in the clss would only need to obtin 74.5 percent on the finl, if it were worth 20 percent of her grde, to mintin n in the clss. t righton High School, dministrtors hve dopted unique policy tht incorportes requirements such s high grdes nd consistent ttendnce in order to qulify for fourth-qurter finl exemption. righton senior Collette Zidzik commented tht she hs significntly benefited from their policy, nd lthough it doesn t erdicte senioritis, it encourges students to put in extr effort nd sty on trck. I like the no exm policy becuse it gives us seniors who try in school some type of rewrd t the end of yer for our efforts, sid Zidzik. It tkes off some of the stress of school, especilly with P clsses nd P tests. t Ctholic Centrl, the boys re exempt from tking spring finl exms if they hve n in the clss. I definitely think tht this policy encourged me to work hrder this yer nd forced me to focus even when I did not wnt to, sid senior Nick Cococcett. I hd low in English s the spring semester strted closing in, but I worked my hrdest to get it up to solid, nd now I don t hve to tke the finl. Opponents of this policy rgue tht high school finls re good prctice for college finls. However, test tking is prcticed throughout ll four yers of high school; it isn t something tht is just exercised during finls week. Opponents lso rgue tht spring-finl exemption policy encourges seniors to fll into the byss of bd study hbits; however, this rgument is foiled by the fct tht students need to obtin nd mintin good study hbits in order to ern n in the clss. dditionlly, Mercy students tke tests up until the finls mortorium ( test-free week before finl exms) nd therefore cnnot let up on their studying. Moreover, severl seniors tke P clsses in which they hve the opportunity to obtin college credit by tking stndrdized test. Here, students must cpitlize on good study behviors in order to perform well on the test. Schools like Mercy should dopt this policy becuse it positively ffects seniors. It should be up to their students to determine how much effort they wnt to put into their finl semester of senior yer, but this policy would only help to encourge more comprehensive finl outcome: high eighth-semester GPs. This policy simply mkes sense, both for the student nd techer C D E C D E C C C C C C C C C D E D E D E D E D E D E D E D E D E C D E C D E C C C C C C C C C D E D E D E D E D E D E D E D E D E C D E C D E C C C C C C C C C D E D E D E D E D E D E D E D E D E C D E C D E C C C C C C C C C D E D E D E D E D E D E D E D E D E

17 rt nd Food 18 The mn behind the mels Photo Credit: Sierr Wngler SIERR WNGLER, SENIOR STFF REPORTER s third hour rolls round nd sweet-smelling roms dnce through the hllwys, you cn her your stomch growling. You could lwys et tht boring lunch you brought to school, but the cfeteri preprtions sound nd smell much better. Kickin chicken, pst br, nd Snt Fe chicken sld re just few of the delicious mels served here. So, who s the rel mstermind behind Mercy s mouth-wtering cretions? Tht would be Chef Michel Crd. Chef Mike cme to Mercy in Februry of 2013, leving his position s executive chef of Okwood nnpolis Hospitl locted in Wyne. He decided to come to Mercy for vriety of resons, the min being his fmily. There cme point in my creer where I ws just trying to hve more fmily time, sid Crd. So, working in school cfeteri hs llowed for n esier work lod nd more time with my fmily. Crd nd his wife Leis enjoy plying with their two dogs, Puly nd Sdie, nd Crd sys he especilly enjoys plying the drums nd cooking. Ever since Crd ws young, he hs hd pssion for cooking nd food. My mom pssed wy when I ws young, he sid. My dd would pln menu nd my brother nd I would strt cooking until he cme home nd finished it. I would sy I strted cooking when I ws 8. Crd went to school for business mngement nd begn to help run kitchens nd resturnts. He hs worked t St. John s Golf nd Conference Center in Plymouth, s well s different resturnts in Royl Ok, including Monterrey Cntin nd Mr. s. Ever since coming to Mercy, Chef Mike hs hd spirtions Since coming to Mercy in Februry of 2013, Chef Mike hs proudly cooked delicious mels, such s the chicken for the Snte Fe Chicken Sld. to serve the best food possible to students. I wnt to cook the food on the menu to the best of my bility, he sid. We hve hd some new ides, some hve worked nd some hve not, but like lwys, I try to cook like I m cooking for my wife or my dd. I relly wnt it to tste good. Thnks to new grill, Chef Mike nd the cfeteri stff hve been ble to serve grilled chicken insted of oven bked chicken, which is helthier option. lthough much of Crd s work is behind the scenes, he mkes it known tht the cfeteri s ppetizing mels re not just ll of his doing. He ttributes much of the cfeteri s success to Ms. Monic, Ms. Michele, Ms. Dwn, nd Ms. nn, who help him prepre nd serve the food dily. It is tem effort nd everyone is eqully s importnt in the kitchen. It is not just one person, it is everybody, he sid. Mny students hve recently prised the lunch stff, sying tht they serve high qulity, delicious mels t resonble price. Chef Mike is wesome! sid senior Skylr Tisko, who dmits she frequently purchses lunch. He is lwys putting new twists on simple lunches nd everyone seems to enjoy them. lso, you get lot of food for wht you py for. Chef Mike even hs two fvorite mels of his own: the pst br nd the Mexicn br. We wnt to bring in s mny helthy items s we cn nd suggestions re welcome, Crd sid. We wnt to serve well-blnced mel. We don t wnt it ll fried, but we lso don t wnt it ll sweet nd sugry. We wnt to serve food tht is good for the students nd promotes helthy lerning environment. This yer, Mercy consumed... Chicken tenders (620 lbs) Chopped romine lettuce (708 lbs) Grilled chicken (860 lbs) French fries (1260 lbs) Kickin chicken (310 lbs) ottle wter (6,912) Pst (960 lbs) lfredo suce (48 gllons) Mrinr suce (46 gllons) Met suce (49 gllons) Rnch dressing (20 gllons) Cookies (12,960) RNCH Grphic Credits: Simone Rhodes

18 rt nd Food 19 River nd Khlo s works return to Detroit mckenzie chill, ssocite Editor-in-chief W Well-known Mexicn murlist Diego River rrived in Detroit in pril of 1932 with his wife, Frid Khlo. Detroit, suffering from the Gret Depression, would soon inspire River to crete one of his gretest works nd shpe Khlo s own rtistic identity. River ws brought to the city by Detroit Institute of rts (DI) director Willim Vlentiner to fresco bre DI courtyrd wlls. Edsel Ford, DI ptron nd son of Henry Ford, pid River $20,889, the equivlent of nerly $250,000 tody. Over the spn of 11 months, River completed Detroit Industry, 27 seprte murls highlighting the bustling utomotive industry. The two lrgest murls offer glimpse into working-life t Ford Motor Compny s River Rouge Plnt. This mgnificent work cn be viewed in the DI courtyrd now known s River Court. Khlo, now remembered s n ccomplished nd interntionlly renowned rtist, ws virtully unknown t the time of her rrivl in Detroit. Here, unfortuntely, her sty ws emotionlly tumultuous. Khlo suffered miscrrige nd lost her mother in Mexico while in Detroit. These trumtic events prompted the cretion of Henry Ford Hospitl, Frid nd the bortion, nd My irth, ll of which would eventully become some of her most dmired works. Diego River nd Frid Khlo in Detroit, n exhibit on disply t the DI until July 12, fetures nerly 70 of River nd Khlo s works from before, during, nd fter their sty in Detroit. The exhibit, just short wlk from River Court, showcses eight of River s preprtory Detroit Industry drwings, which hve not been on disply in lmost 30 yers. Twenty-three of the works on disply re Khlo s, whose work hs never been shown t the DI before. Together, their rt touches on the themes of industry, feminism, politics, nd immigrtion. Visitors cn browse the rtwork while listening to n dult or youth udio tour in either English or Spnish. The exhibit lso fetures two silent films, ech pproximtely two minutes in length. Other events relted to River nd Khlo re tking plce t the DI nd round the Metro Detroit community, including lectures, rt demonstrtions, nd vrious relted exhibits. Frid, n oper presented by the Michign Oper Thetre on Mrch 28, celebrted Khlo s vivcious spirit, tlent, sexulity, nd frgility, with splshes of music s colorful s her rtwork. Colombin-born Ctlin Cuervo, n interntionlly known soprno, portryed Khlo in the production. Cuervo sid she ws inspired by the beutiful exhibit. It ws such n inspirtion for me to see their work, Cuervo sid. Their rt hs no price. lso, the video footge they hd ws fntstic! It helped you understnd them more s humns nd s out-of-this-world chrcters. Cuervo, who found cpturing the essence of Khlo both chllenging nd exciting, sys Khlo s life teches n importnt lesson, prticulrly for young women. e proud of who you re nd where you come from, Cuervo sid. Embrce tht nd don t try to be like nybody else. e uthentic nd love life even under the worst circumstnces. Viv l vid. Photo Photo Credit: Credit: Reprinted Courtesy of with the permission Detroit from Institute the DI of rts Diego River & Frid Khlo in Detroit Informtion On disply through July 12 Hours 9.m. 4 p.m. on Tuesdys nd Wednesdys 9.m. 10 p.m. on Thursdys nd Fridys 10.m. 5 p.m. on Sturdys nd Sundys Cost $14 for dults Tuesdy through Fridy $19 for dults on weekends $9 for youth Free for children under 5 nd DI members Photo Credit: Reprinted with permission from the DI Photo Credit: McKenzie Chill Photo Credit: McKenzie Chill Photo Credit: McKenzie Chill Photo Credit: Diego River nd Frid Khlo in Detroit, c. 1933, DI rchives

19 Entertinment 20 Sweet sounds of Zynh siddique, stff reporter summer Concert Tips zynh siddique, stff reporter O Only few short weeks wy, summertime in Michign brings mny festivls nd concerts, giving music fns plenty to look forwrd to. With so mny options, there re vrious opportunities to get out nd enjoy the music. Summer concerts re the highlight of my summer, sid junior Cydney yd. It s just gret wy to spend qulity time with my friends. These festivls nd concerts which feture vriety of music, from electronic to country to rock re gret source of summertime fun. One cn ttend some locl festivls or even schedule rod trip to see musicins ll cross the country. The options re endless, so it cn be difficult to choose which ones to ttend. Here re some of the most populr nd senstionl summer music festivls nd concerts: Electric Forest: One of the most nticipted events of the summer is the Electric Forest music festivl. For the fifth yer this summer, the woods surrounding Rothbury, Michign will be hosting Electric Forest from June This music festivl offers something for every music fn, from unique decortions to incredible musicins. Wht mkes Electric Forest so specil is tht festivl-goers hve the opportunity to spend ll three dys cmping out, sleeping in hmmocks, or renting cbin. The Forest bosts n impressive lineup, feturing rtists such s Skrillex, G-Ezy, nd Flume. Fster Horses: This yer is the third nnul Fster Horses Festivl in rooklyn, Michign. Florid Georgi Line, rd Pisley, nd Crrie Underwood re just some of the mny strs who will be performing t the the three-dy event slted for July t Michign Interntionl Speedwy. More thn 25,000 people ttended lst yer s festivl to see the long list of country s finest. nother unique spect of Fster Horses is tht ll the festivlgoers cn spend the night on the grounds. I went to Fster Horses lst yer nd m plnning on going gin this yer, sid Junior Leh Quinn. Fster Horses is lot of fun, but it s definitely the music tht mkes it so gret! Lollplooz: Chicgo s highly nticipted Lollplooz returns to Grnt Prk on July 31 - ug. 2. I hope to go to Lollplooz gin this summer if I m not too busy getting redy for college, sid senior Winnie Kroub. It ws lifechnging experience for me nd the best prt of my summer. This yer, Lollplooz celebrtes music of ll genres with diverse lineup including Pul McCrtney, Metllic, Florence + the Mchine, nd Sm Smith. lso mong the 130 bnds nd rtists scheduled to ply over the weekend re Kygo, ssnectr, the Weeknd, $P Rocky, nd Kid Cudi. While the music is primrily wht drws fns from ll over the country, Lollplooz is lso known for its mzing food. Chow Town, which fetures over 30 premier locl food vendors who serve unique fre ll dy long, is well known nd populr with the fns. There is lso Frmers Mrket which offers specil options for fns with dietry restrictions. n enchnted world of music is yours to explore t Lollplooz this summer. DTE Concerts: lthough music festivls hve gined immense populrity in the pst few yers, concerts re lso just s big nd fun. In the next few months, Detroit will be hosting some of the most well-known musicins t one of the most populr venues of the summer DTE Energy Music Thetre. Drke, Ln Del Rey, nd Mumford & Sons re just few of the mny touring rtists who will perform t DTE. Junior lyss bdelnour recounts the time she went to DTE nd described it s memorble experience. I remember the time I sw the Jons rothers, tht ws relly fun, she sid. Wht mkes DTE so fun is the chnce to meet people nd enjoy the music in such lively outdoor venue. One of the resons tht DTE is so populr is becuse of its expnsive lwns where people cn listen to the music nd enjoy the summer wether ll t once. Chrge Everything. Hve your phone chrged 100% becuse it dies pretty fst from ll of the pictures you tke. Isbelle oji 18 Don t wer nything uncomfortble. Mke sure to dress [comfortbly]. You re moving round lot nd you ll be sitting, dncing, wlking so it s smrt to wer n outfit tht s good for ll those things. Luryn Huncher 16 Pck light so you won t be prone to lose nything. I usully just bring my phone nd some csh with me into the ctul concert since I m too frid tht I d lose my purse if I brought one. Emily Fitzgerld 16 ring smll snck or wter bottle. ring sncks becuse the lines for food re so long nd it s usully overpriced nywy. Winnie Kroub 15 rrive erly-especilly if it is generl dmissions. Since you re pying lot of money to be there, it s good to get there on time so you get the full experience. Megn Hutter 18 uy merchndise quickly so sizes don t sell out. just wer tnk top so you cn slip your new shirt on over it. Tht wy you ren t crrying shirt round or wering two t-shirts. Summit Dempster 17 Enjoy nd let loose. Hve fun t concerts. It s relly nice to meet new people. Ctherine Flynn 16

20 Entertinment 21 Fictionl TV plots portry rel events Ihechi Ezuruonye, SENIOR stff reporter Photo Credits: Fir use Due to the protests nd riots occurring in Ferguson, MO., Police Chief Tom Jckson issues sttement on ugust 14, 2014 regrding the lleged murder of Michel rown, n 18-yer-old fricn mericn mn. In n episode of The Good Wife titled The Debte tht ired on Jnury 11, 2015, Illinois Gov. Peter Florrick, (Chris Noth) ttempts to subdue rce riots in the city, mirroring the ctions of Police Chief Tom Jckson in Ferguson. O Often, the truth cn be strnger nd more compelling thn fiction. s result, recent trend in television finds fiction writers incorporting rel-life events into their fictionl storylines. Networks such s C nd CS re incorporting rel-life scenrios into their shows, some going s fr s to depict cses currently in the medi. The television hs given people fst nd esy wy to spred their messge to lrge nd brod udience. n episode of CS s The Good Wife titled The Debte included plot line bsed on the recent protests in Ferguson, Mo. ccording to Flvorwire, the episode ws written nd filmed before the grnd jury decisions regrding the deths of Michel rown in Ferguson nd Eric Grner in Stten Islnd were mde. The episode went into detil, showing numerous video tpes exposed in the pst few months involving officers killing unrmed civilins. Scndl, written by Shond Rhimes, is nother high-profile television show using rel-life events s plot mteril. Scndl recently took its turn trying out Ferguson-inspired plot. The show follows the life of crisis mnger Olivi Pope (Kerry Wshington), who formerly served s White House medi consultnt. recent episode titled The Lwn Chir found Pope surrounded by controversy following the ftl police shooting of 17-yer-old fricn-mericn boy. With everything hppening round the world, [ The Lwn Chir ] ws good episode to get the messge out there tht blck lives mtter, sid senior shlei rooks, n vid viewer of Scndl. This is not the first time Scndl hs incorported rellife current events into the show. ccording to The Dily est, Pope s bduction just few episodes go ws nod to Shond wrote the ultimte thing [tht] becme the epitome of lck Lives Mtter. the mss kidnppings of women in Nigeri by terrorist group oko Hrm.This in turn strted the ring ck Our Girls cmpign which spred worldwide, involving celebrities from Emm Wtson to the first ldy Michelle Obm. Scndl ctress Kerry Wshington believes shdowing current events in populr television drms cn be powerful. t time in this world when we were begging the medi to py ttention to the hundreds of blck girls [who] were missing overses, Shond wrote the ultimte thing [tht] becme the epitome of lck Lives Mtter, Wshington told The Dily est. ccording to the Huffington Post, meric hs found itself t pivotl point in time, s it continues to wrestle with rcil issues concerning police officers. This comes fter the ftl shooting of unrmed Wisconsin resident Tony Robinson nd the U.S. Deprtment of Justice clering of former Ferguson, MO. police officer Drren Wilson of chrges in the killing of Michel rown. oth The Good Wife nd Scndl del with powerful women working in Wshington D.C. nd portry them fcing current problems in meric s cpitl. These shows provide n interprettion of wht might tke plce behind closed doors in the White House nd the court system. Most people shre the commonlity of wtching fvorite television show every week. Television is mjor outlet for shring informtion, nd, for those who do not wtch the news, n outlet for rising wreness bout ntionl nd globl events. Television hs become more thn just source of entertinment; it is n evlution nd interprettion of the events the world is currently fcing.

21 Helth nd euty 22 Vccines rise questions with new prents D Diseses such s whooping cough, rubell, nd mesles were once extremely prevlent. These diseses climed thousnds of victims every yer until vccines becme vilble. Vccines helped wipe out these diseses so thoroughly tht mny people my not even be wre they still exist. However, in recent yers, the nti-vccintion movement hs grown. Mny prents hve chosen not to vccinte their children, leding to dngerous resurgences of these diseses. ccording to US Tody, pproximtely one in seven privte nd public schools hve vccintion rtes under 90 percent rte considered unble to provide dequte immunity, thus putting mny children t risk. In n rticle for the orgniztion Voices for Vccines, Megn Sndlin, mother of two, explins tht she hd once decided ginst vccinting her children. I prided myself on the fct tht [my children] hd never been injected with nything, she sid in her rticle. I even brgged bout how we didn t tke [them] to the doctor until [they were] six months old. Sndlin, however, soon shifted wy from her nti-vccintion stnce fter doing some reserch. Doctors ren t evil, sid Sndlin. Scientists ren t trying to kill your kids with toxins, nd vccine reserchers ren t just trying to scm you out of your money. The rise in the nti-vccintion movement is sid to hve cused notble increse in mesles cses in the United Sttes. ccording to the Centers for Disese Control nd Prevention (CDC), in 2014 there were 644 cses of mesles in 27 sttes. This is drmtic increse from the mount of cses nine yers erlier. In 2005, the CDC reports tht there were only 66 cses of mesles ntionwide, 34 of which sprouted ridgette conniff, stff reporter from single outbrek in Indin involving n infected trveler. Scientists estimte tht 2015 is likely to hve even more cses thn The CDC lso reported tht in Jnury 2015 lone there were 102 reported cses of mesles, mny likely linked to the lrge outbrek in Cliforni s Disneylnd. s result of this outbrek, Cliforni drfted Sente ill 277, which will require students in sixth grde nd older in Cliforni to be vccinted in order to ttend school, despite religious objections. ccording to the Ntionl Vccine Informtion Center, ll sttes hve vccintion lws tht llow children to be exempted from being vccinted for religious or medicl resons. Sente ill 277 will llow children to be exempted from vccintions for medicl resons, but not for religious resons. This bill is expected to be pssed in the next few weeks, hving received overwhelming Sente support. The bill, however, hs sprked protests. In Scrmento, ntivxxers term used for people ginst vccines rushed the Cpitol becuse they believed their rights were being violted by the bill. Sente ill 227 lso prompted comments from the mn ttributed with creting the nti-vccintion movement, Dr. ndrew Wkefield. Mny nti-vxxers cite the work of Wkefield, who published reserch pper stting the link between vccines nd utism in 1998, to defend their decision not vccinte their children. lthough this pper hs been refuted mny times by severl different scientists, Dr. Wkefield nd nti-vxxer prents firmly oppose vccintions, prticulrly the mesles, mumps, nd rubell vccine (MMR). I think MMR contributes to the current utism epidemic, sid Dr. Wkefield. Yet, vst mjority of doctors strongly support vccines. Dr. Mzen Sb of Providence Hospitl in Novi sid tht he hs not seen vst decline in vccintions in his workplce. He lso confirmed tht Dr. Wkefield s study linking vccintion to utism is flse. Vccintions re definitely worth it, sid Dr. Sb. We lmost erdicted diseses like mesles nd mumps. Without these vccines, serious bcteril nd virl diseses would become s public s the common cold. Mercy students lso see the vlue in vccintions. Senior Jordyn Puccio, who plns to pursue pre-med courses t the University of Michign next yer, believes vccintions re very importnt. It s extremely smrt for prents to vccinte their kids, sid Puccio. [Vccines] protect us from ll sorts of diseses. nti-vxxers believe vccintions hve mny hrmful side effects nd protest legistion tht enforces them. Photo Credit: MCT Wire Service Women bttle body shming lyci wshington, senior stff reporter Miley Cyrus chllenges the sttus quo regrding femles hving to shve their rmpit hir by dying hers bright pink. Photo Credit: Fir Use Twitter While t n irport in Florid, sophomore rooklyn Rue stopped by convenience store to purchse tmpons. When she went to checkout, the cshier who hppened to be mle turned towrd the mle employee next to him nd sid, Oh God, of course I got this one while nervously lughing nd voiding eye contct with Rue. Even when I ws wlking wy I felt his eyes on me, sid Rue. It ws terrible becuse there ws long line behind me nd it seemed like he ws trying to embrrss me or mke me uncomfortble simply becuse my body does womnly, nturl things. Unfortuntely, mny women, like Rue, hve experienced wht is commonly known s body shming t the hnds of men. Mny women re fed up with the fct tht nturl things like body hir, menstrul cycles, nd stretch mrks re treted s tboo subjects. Celebrities such s Miley Cyrus nd Chrissy Teigen hve recently used their fme to shine light on some of these perfectly cceptble tboos. t the nnul Rock nd Roll Hll of Fme Induction in pril, socil medi ws in n upror when singer Miley Cyrus debuted rmpit hir during speech bout singer Jon Jett. The comments cite Cyrus s being gross nd sd sck for choosing not to shve her underrm hir. One comment even stted tht the problem with the photo is not tht Cyrus didn t shve, but tht she ws shoving it in others fces. Since then, Cyrus hs further chllenged the sttus quo nd hs tken to Instgrm to show off her now-pink unshved rmpit hir. Sophomore Clre rees-oswld does not believe women should be shmed into believing tht they must shve their body hir simply becuse society hs deemed it necessry. When it comes to body hir, I think it s ridiculous women re ridiculed for not shving, sid rees-oswld. Why, s women, do we feel obligted to chnge our nturl ppernce to conform to society? We should feel free to be ourselves in every wy... There is no rel need to physiclly scrpe hir off of our bodies. Model Chrissy Teigen lso took to Instgrm to showcse her body tboo. In pril, Teigen posted picture of herself tht fetured glimpse of her stretch mrks long with cption tht red, ruises from bumping kitchen drwer hndles for week. Stretchies sy hi! However, insted of receiving bcklsh like Cyrus, Teigen s comments were flooded with words of encourgement. In fct, mny women expressed how positive it ws to see model such s Teigen show off something tht is so commonly viewed s being unttrctive. Lst yer, erie, the sister store to mericn Egle, lunched cmpign in support of not retouching photos. Insted of their models so clled imperfections being diminished through Photoshop, they were completely unretouched. The cmpign sported the motto The rel you is sexy to promote how rel women hve flws nd re not perfect. The flws fetured in the cmpign include stretch mrks nd stomch ft. I think tht there re so mny limittions set on young girls, which is why there re so mny body tboos, sid Rue.