theTROYINDEPENDENTVol. 4 Issue 1 Friday, October 17 thetroyindependent.org

Winter Ball canceledLow attendance and misbehavior resulted in the School Board’s decision to cancel Winter Ball

BY MEG BROKENSHIRE AND HAILEY DAVISON

Flashing lights, loud music and an at-mosphere of sweat, fun and friends. Students sing their favorite songs at the top of their lungs and jump and jive in their fanciest clothes. This is a high school dance. Troy High has had three dances each year, Homecoming, Winter Ball, and Snowcoming. But for the first time in a longtime, Troy High has decided to cancel Winter Ball. School dances are a big part of Troy High culture, and are frequently attended by many students. Out of 493 students, 242 said they have or would attend a school dance. As the news of the change spread through the school, it was received with mixed results. Students such as Abbey Rice were surprised to hear such news. “This is my senior year,” Rice, a senior, said. “There will only be two dances, and that makes me sad.” Katie Banas, says that danc-es are a great way to be around friends. “I love school dances and try to attend as many as I can,” Banas said. “After a long week at school, it’s enjoyable to get dolled up once in a blue moon.”

On the other hand, senior Shannon Smith is not disappointed. “I don’t think having winter ball cancelled is a huge loss,” Smith said. “I go to homecoming because all my friends go, but I don’t go to other dances.” Nina Schmid, also a senior, feels similarly about Winter Ball. “To be honest it doesn›t make a difference anyways,” Schmid said. “Every Winter Ball I’ve been to hasn’t turned out to be all that.” The students who seem to be most in-formed about the change, are the members of Troy High School’s Student Government. Senior Patty Durell, a member of the ex-ecutive board for Student Govern-ment, was very aware of the cancellation. “I was aware winter ball was cancelled,” Durell said. “I am on the [Student Governments] executive board, and I played a part in the decision making.” The question that many students seem to be asking is why. Bobby Hahn senior, believes that low attendance, inappropriate behavior, and lack of funding all could have played a hand, while Katie Banas believes it could

come as a disciplinary action from administration. “In rare cases,” Banas said. “The adminis-trators may need to take disciplinary action against a whole grade or the the whole school.” Senior Emily Fritz, another member of the Troy High Student government, believes that the cancellation was not done in spite. “Administration doesn’t cancel dances to be mean,” Fritz said. “They just have to be practical.” Ryan Werenka, the head of Student Government, knowsspecificreasonsforthecancellationofthedance. “The main reason for Winter Ball being canceled was because not enough people went,” Werenka said.“Thereweremanyconflictswithinthegrades.” The school board’s decision to cancel winter ball was not extended to Troy Athens High School. Ac-cording to Werenka, their Winter Ball will still occur because they do not have a Snowcoming. If the choice was up to Werenka, he would enjoy having the winter ball. “I did not get to choose,” Werenka said. “It was the school board who made the final decision.” For students wanting the winter ball

back, Werenka says it will take a while. “Right now,” Werenka said. “There is no chance of getting the dance back un-less the students change their behavior.” Students at Troy High have their own words of wisdom for students who want the dance back. “Advertise a ton,” senior Fritz said. “Make sure enough people come [to the dances] and show that they are important to you and the rest of the students.” Senior Patty Durell believes that the cancella-tion will have positive impacts on student life. “Good results will come to those who work hard,” Durell said. “Now that [Winter Ball] is cancelled, [Student Government] can fo-cus on some of our other activities and make them even better! There’s always a silver lining.” Abbey Rice extends advice to students to start making smart decisions around teachers, peers, and administrations. “Be smart,” Rice said. “You don›t want to embarrass yourself. Go and have fun, but be responsible and don›t ruin dance opportunities for everyone else.”

Remo Roncone adjusts to being the new principal

BY MINA FUQUA AND KATIE SCHLAFHAUSER

Fireworks exploded across the sky in dazzling blues, pinks, greens and oranges. These were set off in celebration of the Fourth of July, but to Principal Remo Roncone, they were a cel-ebration of being nominated for the new principal position that opened up at Troy High School. “It is everything [I] could want or imagine,” Roncone said, “and when it all [came] together, it [was] one of those moments that

[was] surreal a little bit. It [was] like, ‘Wow, this just happened.’” Roncone has been at Troy High since 2006. He spent a year shadowing administra-tion working in the building, and when the spot opened up, he was encouraged to apply for the assistant principal position. Almost 10 years later, on Tues-day, July 8 he found out he was the new principal of Troy High school. One of the primary differenc-

es Roncone has noticed be-tween the two jobs is the vol-ume of emails he receives and meetings he has to attend. “[I] have a limited time with students and with teachers,” Roncone said, “and [I] could find [myself] getting boggeddown with emails and meetings and miss the students and the teachers, which are the number one reason why we are here.” Traditionally administrators are

assigned certain teachers to eval-uate and work with to solve any issues that arise. However, the new position has allowed Roncone to work with other teachers he had not necessarily worked with before. “To me, it is more exciting that I get to have more conversa-tions with more teachers and see more subject areas in class-es than I have ever seen,” Ron-cone said, “so it has just opened up [contact with] more people.”

In addition to his contact with teachers, Roncone has started to reach out to high school seniors in his 10 for 10 lunch programs. Every Friday, Roncone selects 10 seniors from each lunch to hear their input about the school and how the school year is progressing. “The hardest part about going from teaching to administration is [I] don’t always necessarily build those same relationships with students that to me [are] so im-

portant and vital,” Roncone said, “Now in this new role, I felt like I started to build those back again.” Beingthat this isRoncones’ firstyear as principal, he also said, “Honestly, I am more excited about coming to work than I’ve ever been and I consider myself a pretty pos-itive person. I have always enjoyed what I do. This new job and new role has just invigorated me more than I had expected.”

REAL WITH RONCONEBAND/MUSIC GENRE He used to listen to Pearl Jam and Bear Naked Ladies in high school and college. Recently he has started to listen to country. “My wife has been kind of making fun of me lately because I have started to listen to country since I’ve switched the job,” Roncone said.

COLLEGE Michigan State

HOBBIES Anything outdoors: biking, fishing with kids, water skiing, snow skiing, running, snowmobiling.

FAMILYMet his wife at Michigan State in 1996. They have four boys ages 8, 6, 4 and 1. They also have a dog Molly.“The one child or girl in the family is our dog Molly,” Ron-cone said, “she was our first born as my wife likes to refer to her.”

HIGH SCHOOLAttended Troy Athens

Trick-or-teachBY SOUMEEKA KONERU AND AUJENEE HIRSCH

Principal Remo Roncone talks with senior Bryce Carilse during his 10 for 10 lunch meetings. Roncone started off the meeting with “Would you rather” questions.

Hallow’s Eve is a time for costumes, mischief and of course, candy. For decades, kids all across America have participated in this holiday, but the way students celebrate Halloween now, is different from when teachers celebrated it. Troy High teachers share some of their Hallow-

een traditions.

Assistant Principal Dan House

“Dressing up as a woman was a lot of fun. It was really silly, and [I was in] a whole group of friends that dressed up as women,” House said. “We got a

big laugh out of everyone.”

“We make stone soup for Hal-loween every year,” House said. “[We put in] whatever we have in the fridge, and we grab a couple of stones, wash them and put them in. It was just for

fun more than anything.” Assistant Principal Dan House dressed up with his wife and son as characters from the Wizard of Oz. PH

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What’s Inside?Fall Fun Activities Page 2

Homecoming

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Opinion

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The Troy Independent- thetroyindependent.org Page 2

You ask, Hannah Answers BY DEEPTHI DEVIREDDY AND BHAVYA SUKHAVASI

Erebus

Yates Cider Mill

Bowers Corn Maze

Blake Farms

Zoo-Boo

Cedar Point

From Trick or Teach Page 1 Math teacher Matt Reimman

“I loved when people would have a box full of candy outside and have a sign that would say ‘take one please’ and you would just dump the whole box in your bag, “ Rei-mann said. “I assumed they meant

take one whole bucket.”

“Sometimes there was a little kid walking in front of me dragging his bag and it would get a hole in it. His candy would be coming out and [I] would just scoop it up and put it in [my] bag,” Reimann

said.

Science teacher Rebecca Brewer

“There was a song called the witch’s brew in kindergar-ten. [You] act out you’re a witch and put all these in-gredients in the cauldron,” Brewer said. “I do the same

thing with my son.”

Math teacher Matt Reimann holds a potion in AP Stats

Science teacher Rebecca Brewer dresses as a Native American at 4 years old

Erebus, the four-story haunted house, is located in Pontiac, Michigan and was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records as the World's Largest Walk-Through Haunted Attraction.

Monday - Thursday:7pm-11pm $23 Friday & Saturday: 6pm-1am $28 Sunday: 6pm-11pm $25

A cider mill that has been a local tradition since 1863.

The cider mill is open from 7 am to 7 pm on weekdays and 9 am to 7 pm on weekends, with special timings for the Yates Store at Canterbury, Ice Cream Shoppe, Fudge Shoppe, Apple Tent, and Pony Rides be-tween. Yates also features a pulp car, petting zoo, and river walk.

What to do this FallBY DAN CHMIELEWSKI AND RAHEE PATEL

Asthetemperaturedropsandtheschoolyearreachestheconclusionofitsfirstmonth,manystudentsreacharevelation.

Halloween is fast approaching, and some feel that they are too old for trick or treating shenanigans. For these students, things might be looking a little bleak this fall season.

Luckily,Troyiscenteredinanareafilledwithactivitiestodo.Fromhauntedhousestocreepycornmazes,thereisalwayssome-thing spooky to explore in this eventful month.

A decorated half-mile trick-or-treat trail through the front of the park, live enter-tainment for little ones, Ghouly Games Tent, Haunted Reptile House, Zombie Zone

Fridays from 6pm-8pm Saturdays/Sundays from 5pm-8pm Ages 2+: $8 Parking: $6

The time of year when cedar point is completely decked out for the spooky season. Halloweekends includes mazes/scare zones, a new fright lane with skeleton key, Haunted house dining, gypsy fortune tellers and more.

Halloweekends: Fridays from 6pm-midnight Saturdays from 11am-midnight Sunday, October 12 from 11am-10pm Friday/Sunday night: Saturday night: $45.99 Saturday/Sunday all day: $47.99

A classic fall festivity, picking apples from an orchard. Blakes offers that and more.

Haunted Blake’s Activities-Zombie Paintball Safari ($19.95)-Spooky Land 3D Maze ($10.95)-3 Story Haunted Barn (adults-$13.95, chil-dren-$9.95)-Haunted Hayride (adults-$16.95, chil-dren-$12.95)-VIP Special- for all 4 attractions ($49.95)

BloomfieldHillsSchoolsCornMazeincludes a $15 haunted maze offered on October 17, 18, 24, 25, and 31 from dusk until 10:30. The regular corn maze is open Fridays, Saturday and Sundays through October. $8 per person. Saturday, October 4 through Sunday, November 2, 2014

one of her answers is going to be featured in Quora’s book of the best answers of 2014. When asked what the appeal of Quora is, Chosaid the website “focuses a lot on answers that are thoughtful and effortful and require-you know”. “Most of the people on Quora are actual professionals and adults who have jobs and some credible expertise in their areas,” she said when asked about what kind of questions she prefers to answer on, “but I’m a high school student and I don’t really have an area of expertise, so I have to write about the high school experience. I also do a lot of research for questions so that I can learn something”. Her most popular responses are in the “Life Experience” category of the site. There, she has a large

amount of upvotes, basically the equivalent of Facebook’s “likes”, on each one of her answers. Her answers get anywhere from four upvotes to almost two thousand upvotes. Being selected to be a Top Writer is a direct reflec-tion of her popularity on the site. “They pick between 500 to 600 people, out of the whole world, who have contributed the most and have the best quality content” ChosaiddescribingthejobofTopWriter. Top Writers are users of Quora that regularly post insightful answers that add new perspective or information to each question. When asked which one of her answers she was most proud of, Cho answered: “There was a re-ally cool one I wrote about, like, the college experience and how

it’s sort of messed up, and how competitive it is for high school students to get into college”. As a site that’s full of “nerds”, academic topics especially seem to flourish. In fact, Cho’s mostpopular answer is one that tack-les personal productivity and concentration. Her answer was so popular that Quora is publishing it in their “Best Answers” book. Chosaysthatshedoesn’tjustpostinsightful answers. She says she learns as much from posting on Quo-ra as those who read her answers. “I’m a high school student and I don’t really have an area of exper-tise so I have to write about the high school experience, and I also do a lot of research for questions so that I can learn something.

“There are not too many days in the year that I enjoy more than Halloween be-cause the streets are flooded with parents out with their kids,” Moore said. “It’s such a joy to be out and everyone is

very sweet and nice.”

Science teacher Jeff Moore

Science teacher Jeff Moore gets ready to trick-or-treat.

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GRAPHICS BY JACOB JAISINGHANI AND KATIE MUSIAL

CHRISTY WELCH

CHRISTY WELCH

CHRISTY WELCH

CHRISTY WELCH

Features

Anyone with an Internet connec-tion can add or edit information on question and answer web-sites such as Wikipedia. This lack of reliability makes for a mix of information that has almost zero dependability. A question-and-an-swer website called Quora was made to address this issue. Quora is a platform that was released in 2010 by two for-mer Facebook employees, Adam D’Angelo and Charlie Cheever.It was also made to bridge the gap between “information that has been in peoples’ heads and hasn’t gotten onto the Internet yet”, said D’Angelo in an interview done through Business Insider. Troy High senior Hannah Chowas asked to become a Top Writ-er at Quora this past month, and

Senior Hannah Cho is an avid Quora user. She has one of her answers published in a book.

Junior John Kellogg watches his team play Oxford High.

The Troy Independent - thetroyindependent.org Homecoming Page 3

TROY COLTS VS OXFORD HIGH “We are going to remember this game for the rest of our lives,” senior captain Erik Pa-pandrea said. For players like Erik, this is the final chapter inhigh school football. Homecom-ing has one of the largest atten-dance of all regular season games. “On average games have about 2500 people but Homecoming on average has about 4500,” se-nior captain Jon Hornsby said. Preparation for this game is key for the win and creates a confi-dence needed to play with full force. “We practice week by week,” senior quarterback Nick Brad-ley said. “It is more intense. Ev-eryone is more serious about it.” New plays, harder practic-es, focus and a positive at-titude is the foundation of Troy‘s football team. Without these factors the team would not be able to accomplish the goals they set ahead of them. “The coaches are the hard ones, and we are more the en-couragers,” Hornsby said. “Come Monday, Oxford willbe the only team on our mind,” Hornsby said. Focus is im-portant for winning a game. Homecoming is one of the symbols of high school football, serving as one of the memories of high school. “Anything can happen,” Horns-by said about his outlook on the homecoming game. Large records like Oxford’s is not a discourage-

ment for Troy as they gain more motivation during practices pre-paring for games. During the game theColtsgaveafiercefightagainstthewildcats.Despitethefinalscoreof 42-7 most players morale stayed high.. The halftime score was 14-0 but this did not discourage the team or the student section who cheered them on during the entire game. In the fourth quarter Bradley scored a touchdown for the colts. “Having the football players hear us during the game is our main priority. We know encour-agement keeps them going and thats what we are here for” TCline senior Landon Platto said. However, winning is not every-thing; three hour practices in as-sortments of weather display the commitment the players make towards the success of the team. “Although winning would have been amazing tonight, I think the best part was that the Colts kepttheir heads held high,” senior Ensa Stafa said.

Troy High Homecoming 2014

Troy High bands march on after Homecoming game

As the hot summer transitions intothecoolfall,theTroyColtMarching Band presents its an-nual music production at the varsity football games this sea-son. The theme this year was “Peace, Love and Music” and is based around Woodstock and the 60’s generation of music. Included in the show were the pieces “Mr. Tambourine Man,” “Spirit In the Sky,” “ S p i n n i n g Wheel,” “Light My Fire,” and “ A q u a r i u s (Let the Sun-shine In).” It also featured a trumpet solo by se-nior Johnny D r i n k wa t e r in the begin-ning of “Mr.

Eighmey, and junior Kathie Lee. Students such as Eighmey chose to go through various auditions and intensive train-ing to become a drum major. “Me and my co-drum majors are Mr. Nutting’s right hand men,” Eighmey said. “There was a lot of fear and pressure during the audition – over half the band shows up to the au-dition to watch their potential

BY JARROD FORTNER

Tambourine Man”. “I have spent countless hours practicing and mastering my instrument,” Drinkwater said. “There was fear initial-ly, but I am desensitized to it now more or less.” The march-ing band is made up of color guard, s y m p h o n -ic band and concert band. M a r c h i n g band has a

total of 188 students and is led by teacher Brian Nutting. How-ever the show is conducted by drum majors: students thatconduct the band and teach other students how to march. It is considered the highest leadership position a student can hold in band and requires students to attend various sectionals and week-ly training over the summer. This year’s drum majors are senior Jason Ji, junior Nick

drum majors for next year.” Another division of the band includes the color guard which acts as the visual component

of the band. Like the band, the color guard also goes through various sessions of practice including weekly sectionals on Mondays and Wednesdays leading up to the big shows. The color guard’s role in per-forming is presenting a visual show for the audience while adding variety and fun. Colorguard is not only known for usingflagsaspartoftheirper-formance, but also dancing and costumes that add color to the

band’s black and gray uniforms. “Being a color guard cap-tain is a lot of work. [It is] a lot of commitment,” junior Elizabeth Nutting said. “Even though [it is] a lot of work, it all pays off in the end because the feeling you get when you perform is indescribable.” Working with the drum ma-jors to keep the band togeth-er, the drumline sets the beat

for the band and keeps things in or-der through rhythm and tempo. Like the rest of the band, students in-terested in being part of the drumline must audition and attend sectionals de-

signed to prepare students for playing and keeping the band together. As the name implies, drumline keeps the band in

“line” while playing and plays drums in addition to a variety of other per-cussion in-s t r u m e n t s . “The drum line is like the rock for the band,” se-nior Julia Tu said. “I like to also think we

also keep the spirit up when people get tired, because [we are] pretty loud and intense.” As for the future, the Troy ColtMarchingBandiscontinu-ing to practice for upcoming shows such as their half time performance on October 18 at the University of Michigan Big House football stadium, where they will play with the Mich-igan Marching Band and 12 other high school bands from across the state.

Troy Colts put on pep assembly before the big game

Senior Maya Youness dances with Troy High’s Varsity dance team.

PHOTOS BY KATHERINE MAHER AND KATIE SCHLAFHAUSER

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Junior Kathie Lee, Senior Nick Eighmey, and Senior Jason Ji lead the Troy Colt Marching Band.

Troy Colts Color Guard performs this season’s show “Peace, Love and Music.”

Sophomore Steven Brodzinski practices before the pep asssembaly.

Senior Noelle Blancke sings with the Troy Choir at the Pep assembaly.

Troy Colts Varsity Football gets ready to play Oxford High. Senior Richard DeBeryr watches as the Troy Colts play Oxford.

Senior John Hornsby faces off against Oxford.

BY HANNAH GOROSH AND CHRISTINA LOUKOPOULOS

The Troy Independent - thetroyindependent.org Page 4Sports

Lady Colts take the field in Powderpuff Game Fans cheered wildly from the stands. Two teams faced off across the line of scrimmage. The lights shined down, illuminating the gridiron and revealed twenty-two footballplayersreadyto fight fordominance on the scoreboard. This was not any regular game, though. The players were not from opposing high schools, nor were they boys. The athletes on the field were junior and seniorgirls from Troy High School play-ing in the annual Powderpuff football game. This game was a battle for bragging rights be-tween juniors and seniors, and each team was composed en-

tirely of players from one grade. Powderpuff football is similar to traditional high school foot-ball, but with more focus on the offensive side of the game. There is also less contact be-tween players, although many of the same rules are incorporated. The teams trained daily and the girls received coaching from members of the football pro-gram at Troy High. Staff, as well as other students prepared the girls, helping them learn de-fensive and offensive plays. “We have practice everyday after school,” senior Addison Bouzide said. “We run plays and the de-

fense is learning to play defense and our whole [offensive line] is running our plays and get-ting them down for the game.” Their coaches worked hard to help the girls at practice. “Dave Fracassa is helping us a lot.” said Senior Rachel Grecky. The seniors have taken home the win in the past 5 years and again this fall the seniors believed they are the favorites to come out victorious. Just ask them. “Oh,Ithinkwe[will]win,definite-ly.Definitely,because[weare]bet-ter than the juniors.” said Grecky. Confidence was evidently key,and as this most seniors’ second

year playing, experience accounts for a lot of that self-assurance. “I think we have a lot more ex-perience than last year and we [are] a lot more prepared be-cause we already have our plays from last year,” Bouzide said. Being prepared and orderly were also vital if a team wanted the win. “We [are] more organized than last year,” Grecky said. The juniors, however, felt equally confident.Theypracticeddailyandwere anticipating a good match. “Definitely [the juniors areprepared for the game]. We have the entire varsity foot-ball staff as our coaches.” ju-

nior Victoria Bennett said. The juniors, however, while confident about playing theseniors, were so sure not about winning. Breaking tra-dition is a daunting task. “Maybe [we will win], I do [not] know. The Seniors have a lot of re-ally good athletes on their team,” Bennett said when asked about her outlook for beating the seniors. The seniors, on the other hand, seemed to anticipate an easy win. “Yes, yes, yes. That [is] a strong yes. Quote that. Strong yes. We are [going to] win, it [is] not even a competition,” Bouz-ide said with an excited smile.

The seniors took home the win again on Wednesday, October 1, beating the juniors by a score of 26-6. At the conclusion of the fourth quarter, the senior girls rushed the field, cheering and yelling. The juniors, having played in an official powderpuff gamefor the first time as team,learned a few lessons even though they weren’t victorious. “Yeah,definitely [wehavemoreexperience now]. I feel like it was a learning experience, playing in the game. That’s why the seniors had an advantage, having played last year and all that,” said Shreve.

BY ATHENA COLLINS, LEAH GRAHM AND KATHERINE MAHER

As the weather gets chillier and the leaves be-gin to turn orange, students bundle up and con-quer the stands to support their fall sports teams. So far, Troy High’s varsity boy’s soccer team has had quite a successful season. Coming from lastseason’s rough record of 7 wins and 11 losses, the team has already won more games and even tied their game against Athens with a score of 1-1. So far their record is 9 wins 5 losses and 4 ties. The team dynamics are stronger than be-fore with a much older group of boys. With 13 returning varsity players and out of the 25 team members, only six are underclassmen. “A majority of the team consists of seniors, so we get along quite well,” senior Kunal Garg said. The underclassmen also have an advan-tage of having so many seniors on the team. “[It is] good for me because I can learn a lot from the older guys,” sophomore Daniel Qin said. There is one freshman boy on the team that brought a strong mindset to the tryouts and his abil-

ities awarded him the spot he has now. His teammates believe that he is a great addition and will provide the team as a leader when the upperclassmen graduate. “Trevor Johnson is the only freshman on var-sity,” senior Joe Burns said. “He is number 17 on the field but number 1 in our hearts.” Trevor did not think he was going to make varsity. “I thought I was going to make JV because I was a freshmen,” Johnson said. “I was surprised but I was also kind of worried that I [was not] going to get to play at all. They actually play me a lot.” THS students filled the Athens bleachers withtheir school spirit on Tuesday September 23. The match was competitive and kept the teens and par-ents on their toes while the ending resulted in a tie. “I have never watched soccer before,” senior Ella Teodoridis-Clarke said, “but I got attached tothe players really quickly, and it was impossible to keep my eyes off the ball. It is so much more in-teresting when the game is ongoing without the clock stopping every few minutes like in football.”

“I thought we played quite well against Ath-ens,” Burns said. “It not as hard to refrain f r o m f i g h t i n g with the o t h e r team as it is to argue with the referees.” Although the team is stronger than last year, physically many players are injured. After scoring their first goal, play-er number 6, senior Tyler Porte-ous, collapsed to the ground after pulling his hamstring. However, the referee refused to call the injury. “It was pretty rough for me consider-ing I had to sit out the second half of the game,” Porteous said, “but I definite-ly feel that we were the better team.” In addition, the boys had to deal with a hard hit when the knee injury of senior

captain Adam Zaretti resulted in his absence of playing for nearly the rest of the season.

“In early June, I had surgery because I tore my ACL and it normally takes four to six

months to recover from it,” Zaretti said. “ I still dedicate my time to the team and go to everything to coach them through it.” With a new season, the boys experience new changes like coach Jim Sta- chura taking over as the new head coach Many of the boys claim to get their heads in the game by listening to music and relaxing before they start. However, this team keeps their boasting to a minimum whenever matches end in their favor. Although the student section is not filled to thebrim like it is at football games, the soccer bleachers consist of students adorned in jerseys, ribbons and glitter sparkling with the same amount of hope in the players.

Varsity boys’ soccer team finishes the season with a tieBY SANDRA CUTEAN AND KATHIE LEE

SEASON RECORD9 WINS

5 LOSSES4 TIES

Varsity boys’ tennis team wins regionalsBY LEAH GRAHM AND EMILY HAMILTON

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On September 29, the Troy Colts boys’tennis team played in its league match-es. After a long day of playing match-es, the Colts emerged victorious, win-ning leagues for the fourth year in a row. Both the varsity and junior varsi-ty boys’ tennis teams are undefeat-ed in the league, therefore ranking the varsity team second in the state. Tryouts for the team took place in Au-gust, along with many practices and match-es to help prepare them for the season. Junior Chris Bleich, a JV player, iscompeting in his third year of tennis. “We all work really well together and get along really well,” Bleich said. John Kennedy coaches the junior varsity team. “This was another successful season for Troy High school boys’ JV tennis,” Kenne-dy said. “We finished undefeated for the third year in a row. The season just fin-ished and we were undefeated in regu-lar matches and finished second behind CountryDayHigh School in the Groves In-vitational Tournament, beating a strong Brother Rice High School team 7-1.”

“We have a really strong team,” said varsity player sophomore Ricky Young. “The team always focuses, and they work hard,” Kennedy said. “I nev-er have to worry about them.” As for pre-game rituals, most of the athletes

listen to music and get to match sites early to warm up with teammates. Varsity player senior Vincent Theiu, who has been playing tennis for three years, listens to Lil Wayne to get excited for games. Varsity used a cheer to get each other excited for games.

“The team always focuses, and they work

hard,” coach John Kennedy said. “I never have to worry about

them.”

Seniors Alex Balte and Vincent Thieu hold up their trophy they won during their regional tournament on Thursday, October 11.

Senior Joe Burns prepares to kick the ball. He is a player for the varsity boys’ soccer team.

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Above: Seniors Addison Bouzide and Elyssa Durham prepare for a play during the big game. Right: Senior Samantha Gotinsky watches her team from the sidelines.

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The Troy Independent - thetroyindependent.org Page 6Features

Troy High welcomes new teachersBY SABINA RAVINDRAN AND TOMMY ROWBAL

With each turn of the hourglass, the new sand tumbling to the bot-tom covers up the old, and creates a new layer. The hourglass rep-resents a new school year, and the sand our instructors. With each passing year, old teachers switch places with the new, and the cycle continues to bring fresh faces into our school district. This year, seven new teachers are among the stu-dents in the halls. These are their

stories.

John Recker - English

1) What did you do before you came to Troy High?

After graduating from the Univer-sity of Dayton in 2012, I taught high school English for two years in Dayton, Ohio. My fiancé and I moved to Oakland County this year to be closer to her family as she is a native of Bloomfield Hills. 2) Why did you decide to be a teacher?

I decided to become a teacher be-cause I enjoy working with young adults and having a job that allows me to continue to learn about En-glish every day. My parents were also the first members of their fami-lies to attend college, so I have been able to see firsthand the opportuni-ties they received due to their edu-cations. I want to make sure that every student has the same ability to pursue the education they desire.

3) What is the best part of the job?

My favorite part of the job is when I am able to make learning fun for stu-dents. I want to make sure that stu-dents find the joy in their daily lives. 4) How has your experi-ence at Troy High been so far? My time at Troy High has been won-derful so far. I really appreciate how welcoming everyone has been, and I am enjoying getting to know so many new students.

Noelle Wald - Science

1) What did you do before you came to Troy High?

Before I came to Troy High, I was working at a charter school in Pontiac called Arts and Technol-ogy Academy of Pontiac teaching 8th, 9th and 10th graders. Pri-or to that, I was going to school for my Master of Arts in Teaching Degree, which I earned in Decem-ber 2013. Prior to that, I was a stay at home mom for 7 years. 2) Why did you decide to be a teacher? I decided to become a teacher for a couple of reasons. First of all, it is such a rewarding job. I love the personal connections I make with my students and the relation-ships I form with them. I like to think they can trust me and talk to me about anything. It is also very rewarding watching my stu-dents “get it.” There is nothing like seeing the light bulb go off and knowing I helped in that process. 3) What is the best part of the job? The best part of the job is definite-ly the relationships I form with my students. I do not think they know how much they mean to me. When students I had previously stop by my room just to see how I am doing, it truly makes me hap-py. I love the daily conversations I have with my students and the fun-ny moments that happen in class. 4) How has your experi-ence at Troy High been so far? I long-term subbed at Troy High prior to this school year and I have to say, it is an awesome place to be. The staff and students are definitely top notch and I always feel support-ed. I feel so lucky to be here and am looking forward to a long, mean-ingful career here.

Brian Glynn - Science

1) What did you do before you came to Troy High?

After graduating from college, I worked in Bath, Maine as a Naval Architect at the Bath Iron Works Corporation. I was a member of their engineering department. Navy Destroyers are built at that shipyard, and the naval architects assist in the building efforts. After a couple of years, I decided to go back to school and obtain my teaching certificate in Physics/Mathemat-ics. I have spent the last 14 years teaching physics at Troy Athens. 2) Why did you decide to be a teacher?

My mom, sister, and best friend are all teachers. I think that the teach-ing profession has always been in the back of my mind. I went into engineering because of my love for science and math. I have always enjoyed school and learning new things. Teaching has given me the opportunity to share my love for science and math with my students. 3) What is the best part of the job?

I think the best part of the job is to see the growth of the students throughout the year. In addition, it is great when you hear back from graduates who felt like you had pre-pared them well for the next level. 4) How has your experience been at Troy High so far?

My experience at Troy High has been great. I thought it might take some time to feel at home (having been across town for quite a few years). But, I surprisingly already feel very comfortable here. I am very excited about being a Troy Colt, and I really appreciate the welcome I have received from teachers and students.

Jessica Allio - English

1) What did you do before you came to Troy High?

I was a long-term substitute teach-er at Troy High last year. Prior to that, I was a long-term sub at Dako-ta High School and at the Oakland Opportunity Academy. I have also been a mentor for an online high school program.

2) Why did you decide to be a teacher?

I became a teacher because I want-ed to make a positive difference in the lives of young adults. There is no job in the world like teaching – it is hard work, but also extremely rewarding.

3) What is the best part of the job?

The best part of my job is building relationships with my students and helping them succeed. It is an awe-some thing to have a job that you look forward to coming to each day.

4) How has your experience at Troy High been so far?

[It has been] amazing. I absolute-ly loved my time here last year and was thrilled to become a permanent member of the team this year. Troy High has a truly outstanding staff and student body and I feel so lucky to be a part of it.

Stacey Waldrup - English

1) What did you do be-for you came to Troy High? Before teaching at Troy High, I taught for three years at Kodiak High School located on Kodiak Is-land in the Gulf of Alaska. That was my first full-time teaching position and an amazing adventure.

2) Why did you decide to be a teacher? Ever since I was little, I have loved learning. When asked in kindergar-ten what I wanted to be when I grew up, my response was a teacher - and I have not changed my mind since. There were teachers who had, and still have, a significant impact on my growth. I wanted to be that same positive impact. With teaching, I am given the opportunity to help oth-ers learn, to broaden their minds, and to understand their world. 3) What is the best part of the job?

The best part of my job is when a student comes to a new under-standing and a lightbulb goes off. The phrase might be cliché, but the description is apt. Those sparks of comprehension and connection light up my day.

4) How has your experi-ence at Troy High been so far? Troy High has been very welcoming and enriching. I love all my classes and particularly enjoy hearing all viewpoints on discussion days. I am excited for the rest of the year.

As the years pass communication has developed to meet peoples’ needs. When telephones seemed to exceed peoples’ interest Apple shows the world that technology is expanding. There is always two sides to a story though as stu-dents in troy high see both good and bad in the new Iphone 6. Apple products have been contin-uously improving communications as the years have gone by. Apple has taken technology far from the iP-hone 4s to now the newest edition the iPhone 6, many may joke about the iphone just getting bigger and nothing else. But knowing Apple they bring new essentials to the iPhone to attract customers. The Iphone is now thinner and lighter, the camera now sticks out a little but it provides high quality photos, and now since the screen is bigger it makes everything look beauti-ful and it makes showing family and friends things even easier. “I like that it is a lot bigger and the camera is really good” Junior Frencheska Brikho said. Brikho is one of the many people who like the new phone. Surveying differ-ent classrooms showed that the most used words to describe the iphone 6 were big and cool, most students showed that they have an Iphone and would like to upgrade. The new design for the Iphone now provides you to pick from the col-

ors silver, gold, or space gray and the usual colors black and white. Even though the iPhone 6 has been selling well, many also have nega-tive opinions about the new install-ment. There are now two models to pick from, the Iphone 6 and Ip-hone 6 plus. These two are mainly varied and have raised comments either supporting or destroying Apples take on the phone age. When asked what he thought about the new iPhone, Junior Pra-nav Viajay replied “I think that the IPhone 6 is overrated...it doesn’t supply the advanced software and is kinda lame and the cam-era is better on other phones”. Also mentions that “the price is way too much”. When asked to describe the iphone in one word he simply put it as “over rated”. Junior Charlie Crowell was alsointerviewed.”They have abso-lutely done nothing to improve the hardware,” he says. “Same dual processor and just man-aged to reach 1080p(resolution)”. Charlie and Pranav were onlysome of the few that had nega-tive things about the new model. Although its appearance is col-orful, many are still skeptical. So as the the phone war continues , many are still split on the issue. Only one thing seems to be miss-ing from this competition: Thecompetitor.

iPhone 6 hits the halls of Troy HighBY APRIL RICE AND ADAM SLIWINSKI

From left to right, the iPhone 6, iPhone 5 and a poptart are lined up next to each other. The iPhone 6 starts at $200, and a box of poptarts costs $3.00.

ADAM

SLI

WIN

SKI

Mark-ing TimeBY BIANCA BUCHOLTZ AND CHRISTY WELCH Every year, colleges and univer-sities expect more of their appli-cants, and students are tempted by the growing extracurricular opportunities offered at their high schools. Students are pushed to manage full-time schedules that include rigorous classes, sports, clubs and other activities. At some point, however, juggling every-thing becomes a task and for many students, a choice has to be made. Senior Mark Elinski can attest to this. As baritone section leader and squad leader, president of Project LeadandClubMed,anEagleScout,and member of Student Govern-ment and National Honors Society, Elinski’s schedule is packed. At the end of his junior year, Elinski was in the running for a captain posi-tion on the boy’s varsity tennis team, but he knew that it would be difficult tomanagewithhisothercommitments. Ultimately, Elinski chose band over tennis, giving up his varsity captain position. Both band and tennis have been a part of his life for many years; Elinksi has played tennis since the age of four and been in band since fifth grade. For this reason,it came as a surprise to his team-mates when Elinski, in his senior year, decided not to play tennis. “Band has always been my fa-vorite thing at Troy High,” Elinski said. “When it came down to it, thereweretoomanyconflictsbe-tween band and tennis events. We would have a tennis tournament all day and a band performance at night. I knew I could not do both.”

Though Elinski plans to contin-ue with tennis only recreation-ally, his post high school plans are different for marching band. “Band is my number one pas-sion, and I want to keep do-ing it in college,” Elinski said. Elinski reflected on someof his favorite band mo-ments in the past few years. "My freshman year we went to SanAntonioandwedidafivemileparade in the middle of the night," he said. "It was really cool, there were 4 million people there." Although band is his firstpick, tennis will always re-main a part of his life. "Winning the league cham-pionships and regional cham-pionships were really fun," Elinski said. "At states my partner Kevin Fietsam and I made it to the semi-finals." Despite his choice to give up tennis, Elinski’s senior sched-ule leaves him little free time. “I am taking 5 APs this year so I knew that it was going to be insanely stressful to do all that stuff,” Elinski said. “I have to find time to finishmy home-work and plan ahead for the clubs that I am the president of, and make sure I spend enough time practicing my instrument.” As students continue to load more activities onto their plates, Elinskiofferssomeadvice:“Pick just a few things that you really like and go into them,” Elinski said. “Do not do too many things. It is impossible to

juggle all the academics and ex-tracurriculars. Pick a few things that you really are passionate about, and pursue those things.” AsElinskiofferedhisfinalwordsof wisdom to future students, he smiled for both his past in ten-nis and his future in band. Elinski

will be seen in many upcoming marching band events, including playing at the University of Mich-igan Big House on October 18. "That is going to be our last per-formance,” Elinski said, “so it is go-ing to be awesome.”

Senior Mark Elinski juggles many extra cirricular activities. He decided to give up tennis this year. Above Mark chose to continue with Marching Band.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF MARK ELINSKI

Page 7The Troy Independent - thetroyindependent.org Opinion

Two Sides of the Same PenBY MEG BROKENSHIRE AND TOMMY ROWBALL

Dear freshman: a message from the upperclassmen Where’s the easy mode?BY MEG BROKENSHIRE BY TOMMY ROWBALL

I’ve logged far too many hours to count in this game of education. I finished the “freshman,” “sophomore” and “junior” plotlines, did all of the orchestra and newspaper side quests, and I even leveled up three times in the process. With all the prerequisites done, I can now go into what many call the best part of the game: the senior year. According to the public opinion, movies and oth-er media, senior year is the fun year: you don’t haveto worry about grades or homework and can just focus on being a kid and enjoying yourself. The idea that col-leges don’t care about senior year is pretty widespread among the students, so there are those that just blow off all their academics. I mean, it makes sense, right? Why would anyone do homework and study for quizzes if it really doesn’t matter much? I’m a kid, just like the rest of you (unless you’re an adult reading this). Given the chance to skip out on work without any consequence, I’d do it in a heartbeat. So you

can imagine my excitement once I finally got here. All the sweat, blood and tears I put into succeeding through-out high school have final-ly come back to reward me. But, wait. There’s a no-tification in my quest log. Huh? What’s this? “AP Sta-tistics chapter 4 test” for 100 experience? “GBBE reading quiz” for 25 experi-ence and an extra skill point into “microscope proficien-cy?” Wasn’t I supposed to be done with all of this stuff ? I mean, that’s what all the reviews said. The game is supposed to get easy after the first three acts. I was

I am going to firstly extend my profound congratula-tions, you’ve done it. Some-how, someway, after 6 me-diocre years of elementary school, and 3 painful years of junior high, you’ve made it here. The promised land. But, this happiness doesn’t exactly cancel out the over-whelming terror does it? High School is not going to be easy, but my hope is that after a month and a half of this maze, you are starting to realize how the workload is bigger, and the kids are tall-er. You probably aren’t using your locker, but feel weird carrying your coat around. Believe me when I say, I’ve been there. I’ve been the new student strolling in with a 3 ring binder and matching note-book for each class. I’ve been the timid freshman, afraid to ask the teachers or upper-classmen for directions. I’ve been terrified of not know-ing where to sit at lunch. It isn’t just me who understands these feelings though. High school is not going to be easy. In middle school, there was

a lot of weight placed on who you went to dances with, and what brand of jeans you wore. Materiality was overbearing and people didn’t seem to un-derstand that personalities were the important thing. High School is not going to be easy either though. It is easy for teachers and peers to tell you you’ll breeze right through it but you won’t. It won’t be the workload and the teachers that make it hard. The teachers at THS are phe-nomenal so I don’t think you’ll have trouble there. The biggest problem, is the social ladder.

Where do I stand in ranks to other people? Who can I talk to, who should I avoid? What is the key to being “popular”? What you need to remem-ber, is that everybody under-stands what it is like not to fit in right away. There is no right way or wrong way to fit into the mold, but nobody can help you find your niche. But, you are going to find people who will be your closest friends, because they like you for you. High school, is not going

Sincerely, Someone who has been in your shoes

DearFreshmen:

From the moment most of us step into school our thoughts and actions are consumed by the longing for the moment we step out. We spend each hour with eyes locked on the clock waiting for the next. We spend our day in anxious anticipation of its end. We spend our week desperate-ly desiring Friday’s arrival. We spend our months excessively excited for the next school break. We spend our school year long-ing for that short two and a half month period called summer. Ourmindsarefixedonthefu-ture. We can become obsessed with dreaming of future days, future happiness, future excite-ment, and future relief. Concen-

tration on future wonders causes us to miss the present marvels. As we sit in our classes we can live hating and effectively dis-tancing ourselves from the pres-ent, or we can find the hiddensources of joy that surround us. I personally suggest the latter. There will be a time where we will reflect on our high school days,and we will wish that we would re-member these four years as a posi-tive expierence, instead of a waste of time. A question still remains as to how we can indulge in every mo-ment of our high school existence. I personally am still struggling to effectively complete the task I’m promoting, but there is a solution. Instead of hopelessly staring at the clock and wanting it to move faster,

we can have a quality conversation with a friend. Instead of becom-ing miserably bored, we should share a laugh with new faces. Instead of despising every min-uteofaclass,wehavetofindinter-est in learning (something we are so very privileged to have access to). Yes there are other things we would rather be doing. However, instead of impatiently waiting for lifetogetbetter,weneedtofindthebetter in every moment of our lives.

What are we waiting for?BY GUEST WRITER JENNIFER SCHLAFHAUSER

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Contact us at troynewspaper@gmail.com.

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to be easy. But, it won’t be a tragedy either. Just avoid the main staircase, be nice to th teachers, and for the love of all that is good in this world, do not stop walking in the middle of the hallway: your conversa-tions with your BFF can wait. Keep your chin up, and smile through everything. Enjoy ev-ery minute, and ignore the “stu-pid freshmen” comments, like we said, you’ll learn eventually.

told I could just enjoy the endgame and not worry about much else. So why are all these difficult quests marked as mandatory? …oh. Oh. I see now. I guess the review I was looking at was for an earli-er patch that was released back in the ‘90s. There was a game update that changed the requirements for entering the “college” zone – you now require the “high senior year academ-

ic performance” achieve-ment as well as completing the four major storylines. That’s just a disappoint-ment. All this time, I’ve been preparing for a nice, lazy year where I can actually get away with procrastinating. People kept talking about how it’s supposed to be easy, so I didn’t think much about it . Well, can’t believe every-thing you hear, I suppose. I’d better go grab my gear from my stash and go back to grinding quests. May-be if I level up again and beat all the exam boss-es, I’ll find that ultra rare “graduate diploma” drop.

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The Troy Independent- thetroyindependent.org Page 8Entertainment

Halloween ColtwordBY BRENDAN BATTLE

ACROSS3. It may be full, new, or half7. The fear of spiders10. Frankenstein can’t stand this11.Askeleton’sfingersandtoes12. Pumpkins are one kind of these

DOWN1. Dracula’s native country2. Someone who fears black cats, breaking mirrors, and sidewalk cracks is this4. The father of modern zombie movies5.Whereyouwouldfindamummy6. America’s favorite chocolate bar8. A pesky phantom9.Deathpersonified

Halloween Word SearchBY JENNIFER SCHLAFHAUSER CANDY

FALLMONSTERSSKELETONVAMPIRECOSTUMESGHOSTSPUMPKINSSPOOKYWITCHDARKNESSHALLOWEENSCARYTRICKORTREATZOMBIES

THE FIRST FIVE PEOPLE TO TURN IN A COM-PLETED COLTWORD AND WORD SEARCH TO ROOM 210 (OPALEWSKI) AFTER SCHOOL ON MONDAY, OCTOBER 20 WILL RECEIVE A

BAG OF CANDY :)

the TroyINDEPENDENTThe official student newspaper of Troy High

Schoolwww.thetroyindependent.org troynewspaper@gmail.com

Katie Schlafhauser, editor-in-chiefDan Chmielewski, assistant editor Katherine Maher, assistant editor

Christy Welch, photo editorAuJenee Hirsch, web manager

Jenny Boudon, cartoonist Brendan Battle, staff writer

Meg Brokenshire, staff writerBianca Bucholtz, staff writerAthena Collins, staff writerSandra Cutean, staff writerHailey Davison, staff writer

Deepthi Devireddy, staff writerJarrod Fortner, staff writerMina Fuqua, staff writer

Hannah Gorosh, staff writerLeah Graham, staff writer

Emily Hamilton, staff writerSoumeeka Koneru, staff writer

Kathie Lee, staff writerChristina Loukopoulos, staff writer

Rahee Patel, staff writerSabina Ravindran, staff writer

April Rice, staff writerTommy Rowbal, staff writerAdam Sliwinski, staff writer

Bhavya Sukhavasi, staff writer

Boudon’s BlueprintBY JENNY BOUDON