opinion // 2

Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2015

Giving thanks: South offers a plethora of activities, privileges

of extracurricular activities that allow any
student to pursue their passion. Whether
it be through film, community service, or
journalism, each of us can explore and find
our niche, all the while advised by faculty
members and supported by an incredibly
passionate Student Activities department.
If a student doesnt find
what they are looking for
within an after-school
club, many find it in the
athletics program with 60
percent of students participating in a sport throughout their time at South. With first-rate
athletic facilities, and sports programs that
emphasize not only healthy competition, but
teamwork and fraternity, South is recognized
throughout Michigan as the total package.
Finally, let us acknowledge our fortune to
have an administrative staff that constantly works with us and for us to improve the
quality of our education and security of our
futures. Their trust and belief in the student
body shows in not only the big things, but

OUR VIEW //
EDITORIAL

LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

Students voice concerns with
No girls allowed article
Dear Tower facultyWe are writing this letter because we feel there
is a conflict of interest that was not avoided in the
issue published on Nov. 19, 2015. The article titled No girls allowed? South admin deals with
lack of women in leadership (which is not a column or editorial) was written by an editor with
previous biases towards feminism. This is noted
in her two previous columns in which she voiced
her opinion towards the cause. She is also known
through her efforts to spearhead the formation
of Grosse Pointe Souths feminist organization
and her top leadership role in it.
Even before this article came to publish, it
should have been defined that someone of this
stature and popularity to the public in regards
to her views on feminism should not have been
permitted to write on this subject that deals with
gender-gap issues. Many of the readers we have
talked to have said that they believed a bias on
the article could have been conveyed by simply
reading the heading and byline. It may also be a
conflict of interest that while the Tower is writing
about issues involving lack of women in leadership, they themselves have no men in top editor
positions, and only six men in lower leadership
positions.
We believe that the Grosse Pointe Public
School system hires faculty and administration
with the best of intentions, evaluating the intelligence, experience, work ethic, leadership, and
the content of ones character, regardless of gender. Perhaps the writer should have checked recent Grosse Pointe Public School District history. Dr. Suzanne Klein served in the top position
in the entire school district as superintendent
of Grosse Pointe Schools for over 15 years. That
hardly seems like women were left out of the
process. If a woman possessed better qualities
interviewing for our two principal openings in
the past ten years, we are 100 percent confident
she would have gotten the job. In our opinion,
South does not deal with a lack of women in
leadership, we prosper with the most qualified
people in leadership. We would like to thank Mr.
Hamka, Mr. Flint and Mr. Wolfe for their continuous efforts as public servants and educators
in making our school an amazing place to grow,
learn and become people for the world and not
just people in the world.
There has been an increasing amount of concern for this issue and a good number of the student body were in support of writing this letter.
Will Poplawski 16
Sam Genna 16
Luke Davey 16

NEWSPAPER

the

TOWER

STAFF

Editors Note:
Only one male applied for a top Tower editor/
leadership position last year, and he received
it. In addition, the writer of the story did not
compose the headlines.

Senior honors grandpa on spirit

day via wearing WWII uniform
after my Papa found out my grandma was
coincidentally from St. Clair Shores.
From California he was sent to an officer
training school at Washington and Lee University in VA. There my Papa was diagnosed
Alexis
with spondylitis, a form of chronic arthritis
Motschall 16
affecting the spine and joints. He was put
into a cement cast on his upper body for six
In all the chaos of homework, cross coun- months and as a result was not sent to the
try and clubs during homecoming spirit Battle of the Bulge. Instead, as a lieutenant,
week, the last thing on my mind was what he was sent to guard New York City with the
I was going to wear for senior spirit day. anti-aircraft unit. My grandma got a teachAll I knew was that I didnt want to spend ing job there, and thats where they settled
any money, and whenever my friends told until the end of the war in Sept. 1945.
I first tried on the uniform jacket which
me what they were going to wear, I pictured
myself rushing around the night before try- felt so heavy that my dad and I decided to
ing to throw anything remotely patriotic to- weigh it. It came in at a whopping eight
pounds. I cant imagine what wearing the
gether.
On the Sunday before spirit week, I jacket must have been like over a cement
decided to ask my dad if he knew of any- cast. After examining all of the pieces, I was
thing, red, white, blue and better than you especially interested in the red and gold
around the house I could wear. I wasnt patch on the sleeves of the uniform jacket
expecting him to go up into our attic and and shirt.
This patchs official name is a U.S Army
come back with my grandpas (whom we call
Papa) World War II uniform, and I wasnt Anti-Aircraft Artillery Command Eastern
Patch from 42, which I discovered on Amexpecting to feel so proud to wear it.
When my dad started bringing down all azon where many patches from WWII are
of the uniform pieces, it was surreal to imag- sold. At first I was really nervous to even
ine that this uniform was actually worn and wear any of it to school because I didnt want
not some costume made for a movie. The to ruin it, but the pride in my dads smile
only other time I had seen clothing as old was too much to turn down. Having my dad
as this was behind glass at a museum, and talk about his dad to me was special, so I
my whole life this uniform had been resting decided to wear the uniform shirt, dog tags
and belt. When I got to school on Thursday,
above my room.
There were all the pieces of his uniform: any anxiousness about wearing the uniform
a wool outdoor coat, shirt, tie, belt, pants fell away, and that wasnt just because of
and several rusted pins. My dad and I went the, Ive been up since 5 a.m. senior spirthrough all of the pockets to find my Papas it day delusion. I liked wearing something
uniform hat, gloves and several of his dog authentic, and wearing my Papas uniform
tags. Not gonna lie, when I found the dog helped me to feel closer to him and his story.
My Papa passed away in 2003, and since
tags I felt like I was making a discovery in
the next installment of National Treasurer. I was 5 at the time, I only remember some
I knew I wanted to wear the tags around vague images of visiting him with my sister
my neck for spirit day, and seeing my great and sitting on his lap. Hearing a little bit
grandma and grandmas names ingrained about part of his life gives me something
on them made me even more excited to hear new to visualize when his name comes up
and makes me want to learn more.
my Papas story.
If you have a family member you dont
James Motschall was a Detroiter who
graduated from Notre Dame in 1939 and know much about, you should ask your parents or someone close to
enlisted in World War II
you for their story. Even
after the attack on Pearl
though it didnt come
Harbor in Dec. 1941.
from my Papa himself,
He was first sent to Fort
collecting stories about
Custer in Michigan, but
my family made me inthen took a train to a base
terested in learning more
camp that he was sent to
about my ancestry, even
in California.
if the information is limThis is where my Papa
ited.
and Grandma Patricia
So much of who I am
met when she was visitis from my family, and
ing family friends. The PATRIOTIC // Alexis Motschall with
whether a story is happy
friends owned a cantina Katharine Kuhnlein and Emma
Rooney, all 16, on spirit day this
or sad, I know its a part
across from the base camp year. Motschall wore her grandfamy Papa was stationed at, thers WWII uniform to celebrate his of my background and
something to learn from.
and the two were set up memory.

COLLEGE
CONFIDENTIAL:

High ACT score anxiety isnt all

students should worry about

MY
VIEW

Editor-in-Chief
Jennifer Maiorana* 16

Photo Editor
Jennifer Toenjes* 16

Associate Editors
Brenna Bromwell* 16
Emily Fleming* 16

Business Managers
Alexis Motschall* 16
Asst. Mackenzie Harrel* 17

Supervising Editors
Gabi de Coster* 16
Haley Vercruysse* 16
Lauren Pankin* 16
Sydney Simoncini* 16

Online Editors-in-Chief
Allyson Hartz* and Olivia Baratta*, both 16

Page Editors
Maggie Wright* and Zoe Jackson*,
both 16
Claire Yeamans*, Erykah Benson* and
Jack Holme*, all 17
John Francis*, Liz Bigham* and Ray
Hasanaj*, all 18

Online Section Editors

Scarlett Constand* 16,
Adam Cervone* and Ariana Chengges*,
both 17
Riley Lynch* 18

Copy Editors
Brendan Cauvel*, Hannah Connors*,
Julia Fox*, Juliana Berkowski* and
Shannon McGlone*, all 16
Rachel Harris* 18

the little things they do for us, such as the

responsibility of open campus lunches.
This mutual trust is not always available
in other schools, but at South it reinforces
that they have only students best interests
at heart.
We are the sum of our experiences,
and we are fortunate that an educational
experience at this school has been a part
of that. South creates passionate leaders
through student government. It crafts the
next Broadway stars through choir and
musical theater. It molds business innovators through DECA. It shapes sensible
adults through the trust and responsibilities we are entrusted with. South helps us
become who we are together, as a family.
Our school is our extended family, and
although we have our ups and downs, we
are always there to support one another. So this Thanksgiving, as we sit down
for dinner with our own families, let us
not forget the bonds and experiences we
share, and all the gifts and opportunities
South has provided for us.

CARTOON BY ABBY FERRY 16

As Thanksgiving approaches, it is important to take a moment to remember all the

blessings in our lives. From the majestic tower
to the Otis Spunkmeyer cookies, South is just
one of the gifts we should appreciate this year.
South is one of the leading high schools in
not only the state, but the country. In October
2014, the United States
Department of Labor
reported that only 68.4
percent of high school
graduates in the country
went on to attend a college
or university; last year,
South reported that 98 percent of its graduates went on to attend either.
Through dozens of available class selections, the opportunity to explore personal
interests and challenge ourselves has always
been encouraged. Alongside these options
stands a teaching staff that constantly works
to give us the best education possible. It is
easy to see how this has fostered an environment in which students thrive.
Past academics, South offers an array

Online Associate Editor

Preston Fossee* 16

Online Copy Editors

Lindsay Stanek* 16
Lily Kubek* 17
Online Social Media Directors
Emma Andreasen* and Zoe Evans*,
both 17

Staff Writers

MY
VIEW

Emily
Fleming16
The ACT matters a lot. After all, if you dont get the
right score on the ACT, you will go to the wrong college
and have the wrong degree and get the wrong job and
marry the wrong person and live in the wrong house in
the wrong town with the wrong children. Fact.
The ACT determines the rest of your life. It is the
most important thing in the world. Dont believe your
optimistic friends when they tell you that youre more
than just a number. Youre not.
Rolling into the ACT is rolling into the club (probably). All your friends are there, cramped into a small
room that is always 10 degrees too warm, feeling insecure and nervous about the next four hours. You walk
in totally optimistic, because your friend said it would
be easy. They lied. You undoubtedly leave feeling like
you made an awful mistake.
My cynicism surrounding the ACT begins and ends
with comparison. I knew I wasnt good at standardized
testing from the countless meaningless tests we suffered through in
elementary school, so I worked
COLLEGE
with a tutor and took an insurCONFIDENTIAL
mountable number of practice
tests.
I rolled into the ACT in
June of my sophomore year
ready to get all 215 questions
correct. I was shocked, two weeks
later, to find out that not everyone
magically gets a 30 just by showing up. I continued to work with the tutor and take practice tests,
and ended up meeting that benchmark score with my
next attempt.
I was content. Then all of my friends got 34s.
After finding out that my best friend got a 34, the
Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon took over and suddenly 34s were everywhere. I then subconsciously decided
that I simply wasnt smart, and actually believed it.
I couldnt figure out what was wrong with me. I felt
like I had something to prove, so I kept taking it.
I took the ACT six times and only went up one
point. I filled in 1,290 bubbles on six separate Saturday
mornings for absolutely nothing. I never got a 34. For a
long time I thought I was doomed to marry the wrong
person and live in the wrong house in the wrong town
with the wrong children.
The ACT does matter on your college applications.
Schools give out scholarships for high test scores and
often look for certain scores in order to meet their criteria. But schools look at the full picture--extracurriculars, transcripts, rigor, and essays, too.
After all, Brown University only lets in 26 percent of
people applying with a 36--getting less than a perfect
score does not destroy your future.

Rod Satterthwaite

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