The Communicator • A Student Voice

Dance Body dominated the stage of Forsythe Middle School on January 22. With about three weeks notice, Dance Body long-term sub, Alison Hurd, and the dancers managed to pull off an outstanding performance.

Instead of focusing only on the usual contemporary and modern dances, Dance Body spiced it up with a variety of different types of dance. Sophomore dancer Gillian Teall said, “I thought it was a lot more diversified than last year. You know, last year, it was all contemporary and modern. This year it was hip-hop and slow sad songs and fast happy songs, it was a lot more interesting.”
These dances included junior Annie Flynn running around in the upbeat jazz dance titled Awkward Turtle, composed by Squirrel Nut Zippers and choreographed by freshman Adina Nadler. Flynn ran around the stage as the awkward dancer, while the others wore different kinds of bow ties in their hair and danced in sync.
Nama Rivlin choreographed to a song titled “In The End” by James Blunt. In this love song, Rivlin and partner Hailey Keen danced passionately and at the end walked off the stage in opposite directions. On stage right, Rivlin walked to the side where the dancers wore white t-shirts while Keen walked to stage left, where the dancers wore black t-shirts. The black and white t- shirts represented their now separate lives.

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ALSO APPEARS IN The Communicator, Volume 24, Edition 4

IN OUR COMMUNITY, WE ARE OFTEN URGED TO BUY LOCAL, ESPECIALLY IN THE CURRENT ECONOMY. BUT CAN YOU BUY FOOD AT THE LOCAL MARKET FOR THE SAME PRICE AS THE CHAIN GROCERY?

“I’d love to shop at local businesses, but I just can’t afford to.” This seems to be the general belief about local grocery shopping. It’s great for the local economy and for the community, but it’s so expensive that only some families can afford it. This mindset has turned local shopping into a sort of charity – you either pay more to support a good cause, or you make cost the priority and choose the big-box store for the best prices. But how accurate is this perception? Are local businesses really more expensive? If so, how much more?
Here is a “typical” dinner. The prices on the left are those found at Kroger, which is owned by the Kroger Co., one of the largest grocery chains in the U.S. with over 2,400 stores nationwide. The prices on the right are those found for the equivalent items at locally owned and operated Arbor Farms Market, which was opened in 1979

Purchasing the above items at Kroger comes to the total of $21.50. Purchasing the above items at Arbor Farms comes to the toal of $20.71

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As a presidential election year, the 2004 ballots were stacked with representatives, board members, judges, and various referendums and proposals to be voted on. One of these proposals, the Michigan Marriage Amendment (Proposal 2), was a proposal that appeared in several forms across the country that year. Proposal 2, which passed with 58% of the vote, amended the Michigan state constitution to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman. This made marriage between two people of the same sex illegal in the state of Michigan.

During the campaign, advocates for Proposal 2 clearly stated that this amendment would only apply to marriage. They maintained that the proposal was not going to effect civil unions or domestic partner benefits. However, the wording of the amendment was troublesome to those in opposition of Proposal 2: “…the union of one man and one woman in marriage shall be the only agreement recognized as a marriage or similar union for any purpose.” Those final six words — “or similar union for any purpose” — could contradict the supporters’ statements that Proposal 2 would only apply to marriage. “We were concerned… What did these six extra words mean? What else might this amendment be able to prohibit? What about civil unions? What about domestic partner benefits?” said Jay Kaplan, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union who works on the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) project. Kaplan, along with human rights attorney Deb LaBelle, spoke at an event held at the University of Michigan Law School on Monday, February 18th.

The event, “Strategizing to Overcome Legal Discrimination in Michigan”, was based around a Michigan Supreme Court decision about Proposal 2. The decision read the Michigan Marriage Amendment to mean that it did not only prohibit same sex marriage, but also prohibited public employers from providing domestic partner benefits. Among the attendees were University of Michigan law students and ACLU members, as well as community activists. 

“We need to pursue an amendment to Michigan’s constitution, one which would remove that clause ["or similar union for any purpose"] from the Marriage Amendment,” said Joe Summers, moderator of the event and a vicar at the Episcopal Church of the Incarnation. Summers said that while he hopes that same sex unions will one day be recognized by the government as the same as heterosexual unions, the most pressing issue at the moment is rights: “While Michigan may consider marriage to be between a man and a woman, we need to have a domestic partnership ordinance that grants same sex couples and same sex families all the same legal protections and responsibilities that come with marriage.”

Kaplan, LaBelle, and Summers’ stance on same sex marriage all have the same basic principal: marriage is a civil right, and the government has no place taking that right away. “The court has held that [marriage] is a fundamental right,” said Kaplan, citing the Supreme Court decision Loving vs. Virginia which legalized interracial marriage. “Why should you take a select group of people and deny them that right?”

Cuisine n. – A characteristic manner or style of preparing food

Every cuisine found throughout the world has developed over centuries, or even a millennia. Flavor combinations and recipes have been passed down from generation to generation, being tweaked along the way. The best recipes are those that don’t veer far from precedent. Cultures and cuisines have had time to meld together into different cuisine fusions over the course of many centuries.

“Everything is fusion; cultures and cuisines grow up next to each other.” says Duc Tang, chef and owner of Pacific Rim By Kana, a restaurant located in downtown Ann Arbor that serves Pan-Asian Cuisine. Tang considers himself a contemporary Pan-Asian chef. His style of cooking involves taking classic Pan-Asian dishes and reinterpreting them. In some cases, the knowledge of complimentary flavors can make the task of creating a new recipe similar to that of an equation.

California rolls, for instance, are a staple in Asian cuisine. It is well known that avocado and crab meat go well together. It is also known that avocado as guacamole goes well with chips. From this common knowledge, Tang created his own dish by blending together the ingredients of these classic dishes. His dish is a purée of avocado soup, with crab sprinkled on top, and wanton chips for textural balance. “Sometimes I’ll put [an item] on the menu without even trying it, and when the day comes, I execute it.” says Tang.

Tang explains how there is much more to owning a restaurant than just the food on the menu. “Ambiance plus food plus service, it’s about the relationship,” says Tang, “but having good food doesn’t hurt.” Staff love working at Pacific Rim because they are treated like family. There are “family meals” where one staff member is in charge of making dinner for the employees. “The great thing about Ann Arbor is the sense of community. It’s a very satisfying life.” Tang says.

Tang had originally intended to become a doctor and studied at Yale. While in the middle of writing his application to medical school in New York, Tang received a call from a friend asking him to help start a restaurant if he didn’t get accepted into medical school. After Tang’s application was declined, he took his friend up on the offer. “I sent you to Yale so you could cook!?” said Tang’s mother about the surprising transition. “Thinking about all my friends who are doctors now, I wouldn’t trade lives.” Tang says.

Tang is not concerned about the future of Pacific Rim, even though the restaurant business is not always easy. “There is always something to improve on” Tang says, “and I will keep with it as long as I feel challenged.”

Wadler Fleurina

On January 12, the Caribbean nation of Haiti was hit by a devastating earthquake registering a 7.0 on the Richter Scale. Haitian native Wadler Fleurina shares with us his story in regards to the event.

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In the weeks after the failure of the county-wide Regional Enhancement Millage, the Ann Arbor Public Schools, its students, staff, and administrators wondered what would happen next. Speculation was inevitable, but the conversation clearly united fact and fiction to the point where it was impossible to separate valid concerns from unsupported rumors.

The series of budget forums scheduled from January 7th to 19th seemed to attempt the impossible: set the record straight on the budget issue without alienating the district’s members. “This is an opportunity for the public to let the school district know what they value in education. They were able to get information about what it costs to educate students in the Ann Arbor Public schools,” said Jen Hein, Dean of Community.

The Superintendent speaks at a budget forum meeting at Scarlett Middle School.

With possible cuts reaching upwards of 600 dollars per student by the end of the 2011 school year (165 dollars in approved cuts, 230 likely by the end of 2010 and another 300 proposed for the end of next school year), changes are sure to come quickly.

Although these cuts are certainly unwelcome, the
alternative, a projected 19.1 million dollar budget deficit by the end of 2011, is equally, if not more distressing. “I think that the recommendations that were developed by the cabinet are the same recommendations in the same areas that I would take a look at,” said Hein. More…

The failure to achieve a sound agreement at the Copenhagen Climate Conference has rattled many people. World leaders met in Copenhagen, Denmark between December 7th and 18th to discuss the urgent matter of climate change. The United States drafted a resolution with China, India, Brazil, and South Africa. The United States government judged it to be a “meaningful agreement,” but it was not passed unanimously and therefore not adopted, although it was “taken note of.”

Many countries were displeased with the accord. The European Union labeled both the conference and the accord a “disaster;” Great Britain said that the agreement needed to become legally binding before a sound decision could be made. But China was perfectly fine with the accord. “The meeting has had a positive result, everyone should be happy,” said China’s delegation at the conference.

The leaders of countries have the economy, public relations, and other issues to consider in a resolution like this. But the people of the world are simply concerned about their earth, and they feel that political leaders are not doing enough.

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Not all dropouts are dumb and lazy. Spending dollars to attend a four year college right after completing high school doesn’t make sense to many so called “drop outs”. Just as some people might benefit emotionally by taking a break from a relationship, others benefit financially by taking a break from school.

Miles Shaffer, 18, will not be graduating from Community this spring with the rest of his senior class. Instead, he plans to take a semester off before getting his GED. Once he has his GED, Shaffer plans to take classes at Washtenaw Community College (WCC) until he has built up his art portfolio enough to receive a substantial scholarship from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, or SAIC.

“I wanted to go to WCC for a year anyway…Tuition (at SAIC) is like $35,000 or $40,000 a year,” Shaffer explained, “This way I can earn some college credits, and I’ll have a better chance of getting a good scholarship.”

Shaffer may know that he wants to study art, but many others drop out of school because they don’t know what they want to study.

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ALSO APPEARS IN The Communicator, Volume XXIV Edition 3

The military has always been a focal point in Joella Bennett’s life, whether she wanted it to be or not. Her father was stationed in Korea when he met Bennett’s mother, Seong, a Korean civilian. Bennett and her brother were born in a hospital near a military base in South Korea and she spent the first year of her life there. Now Bennett is getting involved in military life on a whole new level – but this time it’s by choice.

Joella Bennet is preparing to attend a military acamenty instead of a traditional college or university.

Bennett is preparing to attend a military academy instead of a traditional college or university.
Before she began training, the first thing Bennett had to do was choose which branch of the military she wanted to be a part of. “It was a joke between my dad and me. He always told me that the marines were jarheads, and I heard that the air force was really snooty. I think I picked the army because my dad was in the army, but I considered the navy because my grandfather was in it.”

Bennett made her final decision when she went to Washington DC for a youth leadership forum on national security last October. There she learned about how soldiers in the army can train with the navy and learn how to fly.

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ALSO APPEARS IN The Communicator, Volume XXIV Edition 3

This is a further edited version of the article that appeared in the January 20, 2010 print addition. The print staff would like to clarify that Option Magnet students are not home-schooled students. They are also not Community High School students. We apologize for any confusion.

Junior Cathlin Sullivan attends only one class at Community High, but she is not simply dual-enrolled. She attends classes at Pioneer, but would have to get a guest pass if she wanted to go to a school dance. She takes online classes at home, but she isn’t homeschooled.

Students at Huron and Pioneer, not just Community, can participate in the options magnet program.

Sullivan is in the Options Magnet, a Community High-based program for high-school students who want to take at least half of their classes in a “non-traditional format,” meaning community resources or online. They receive an AAPS diploma at the end of their four years, but are able to create a personalized education plan.

Susette Jaquette, Options Magnet coordinator, explains that the program stemmed from Community Resource Extension, but “it became the Options program, because no one knew what CRE stood for.”

The Options Magnet allows students to take core classes in the Ann Arbor Public Schools, but have more control over their educational experience. Options students have gained in numbers over the years, now totaling in 36 students.

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