opinion | 2

Thursday, Feb. 5, 2015

Despite changes, students should embrace the SAT

Saving the state $15.4 million, the Michigan
Department of Education (MDE) and the Department of Technology, Management and Budget
(DTMB) recently announced that Michigan
schools will undergo a shift in standardized testing, providing the SAT to students rather than the
ACT.
Previously providing high school juniors with a
standardized test administered by ACT,
Inc. since 2007, the
state of Michigan
will now be offering the SAT, a test administered
by the College Board, beginning Spring 2016 as a
part of a three-year contract.
While the contract will not impact current
juniors, students graduating in and after 2017
will be taking the SAT through the school despite
years of taking practice ACT exams. The two tests
vary in length and question styles; the five-part
ACT exam includes English, math, reading, science and an optional writing portion while the
SAT includes critical reading, math and writing.
If students are interesting in taking the ACT,
they must now pay $54.50 each time for the ACT
Plus Writing and take the exam outside of Grosse
Pointe South High School, as the school will no
longer offer a free state-administered exam in the
spring.
This change negatively affects students, as those
who will be taking the SAT have been practicing
for the exam for free since 8th grade. Rather than

applying their experience with the practice exams

to the real ACT administered by the state, students
will be forced to disregard their prior experience
in completing the SAT.
To ensure the transition is seamless for students, however, the College Board is granting
schools free testing materials to help students
prepare for the SAT in 2016. But those taking the
SAT through the school in
2016 are unlikely to have
sufficient time to adjust to
a completely redesigned
SAT, let alone a new style of standardized test.
SAT test preparation materials, including online
practice tests, will be available for free this spring
in an effort to assist students in taking the redesigned exam next year. Despite the consequences
of the new contract, the College Boards efforts
will be beneficial to students taking the exam in
2016 or later, providing them with various opportunities to prepare for the college entrance exam
before they take it.
In addition to the aforementioned advancements, the College Board stated it will provide
training through in-person and online courses
given to local test administrators, proctors and
technology coordinators. The testing agency plans
to ensure a smooth transition to their exam by
providing professional development to teachers,
students and parents in understanding the new
SAT format and scores.
Despite the inconvenient consequences of the

Our View | Editorial

Cartoon by GABI DECOSTER 16

abrupt switch, it is essential for students to prepare

for the SAT to the best of their ability and embrace
the change, as the ACT will remain an option
outside of school.
As the College Board devotes itself to ensuring
students are appropriately prepared for the new

SAT, future test-takers should value the assistance

and ultimately not allow this transition to impact
the quality of the scores sent to colleges.
ACT or SAT, students should utilize and will
have access to materials in which provide the
means to be successful on either exam.

SOMETHING THATS ...

ENCOURAGING

KIM JONG UN-ICORN

After people found out a Detroit

man named James Robertson walks
21 miles to work each day, an online
fundraiser raised money to help him
purchase transportation.

North Korean scientists claim

that they uncovered a unicorn
grave and have proven the
existence of the mythical
creature.

Experience at Cass Tech

lends junior valuable perspective
swirling around me in the hallway, I actually felt comfortable.
By the time we walked into Raheidas first hour class,
my mental state had been completely altered. The awkwardness I felt upon arrival had disappeared, and I felt
Jennifer Maiorana 16
Jenn
normal. At South, I typically feel worried about what
others think of me based on my appearance. However, at
Cass, I felt as if people would accept me regardless of how
I looked. To be in an environment where my peers werent
As I walked through metal detectors into a constantly deeming me as unsatisfactory was odd, which
large unfamiliar building, a surge of nervous- made me want more kids at South to look beneath the
ness rushed through me. Even though I was just 10 surface and realize that our appearances dont define us.
miles away from South, Cass Tech High School in
Going into the day, I was worried about being a minorDetroit felt like another
ity, something Ive
world.
never experienced
I became increasingbefore, being a
ly aware of how much
white female and
I stood out compared
life-long Grosse
to those around me.
Pointer. But inPolos were replaced
stead of feeling
with brightly-colored
out of place, I felt
scarves that perfectly
welcomed and acframed many girls faccepted once I met
es, and the brick walls
Raheidas friends
were instead white with
and continued on
wide windows, boastwith my day.
ing an impressive view
This was firstof Detroit.
hand proof to me
Photo courtesy of JENNIFER MAIORANA 16
The butterflies in
that our outward
NEW EXPERIENCES | Maiorana 16 with her host Raheida and
my stomach temporar- friends at Cass Tech. Maiorana shadowed at the school for a day as
appearances dont
ily subsided when my part of Generation of Promise.
matter as much as
friend and host, Raheisociety makes us
da, shot me a welcoming smile. I was able to shadow her think they do. Through GOP, I have learned that instead
through a group Im part of called Generation of Promise. of trying to change ourselves to please others, we should
The program allows a group of juniors from high schools focus on accepting and understanding all different types
around the metropolitan Detroit area to explore other of people. When people can begin to accept that we are all
cultural groups and to become more accepting.
different, there will be much less violence and self-loathe
Raheida and I began to catch up while we climbed in the world.
the endless stairs to her locker. My remaining nervousShadowing at Cass taught me a tremendous amount
ness vanished when I met her friends; their smiling faces about how our actions can affect one another in a positive
were encouraging and put me at ease. Their lighthearted way. The more we experience and learn about different
comments about my height made me laugh and feel less types of people and cultures, the more we can accept one
self-conscious about the fact that I towered over most of another which is what society needs: less judgment and
the girls there. Despite the hundreds of unfamiliar faces more acceptance.

MY VIEW
M

the

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CONCERNING
Fighting between rebels and the
government in Ukraine has resumed
and reached its bloodiest point since
the summer.

Star Wars trailer successful,

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CHARLIE DENISON 17 | Staff Writer
The inner 7-year-old of many South
students came out in earnest over Thanksgiving when the teaser trailer dropped
for the seventh
installment of
the Star Wars
franchise, The
Force Awakens.
The new Star
Wars film will be
directed by J.J.
Abrams, following the success
of the Star Trek
reboot which he
also directed.
Something that fans of the original trilogies in the late 70s and 80s will appreciate is the addition of three members of the
original cast--Carrie Fisher as Leia, Harrison Ford as Han Solo, and Mark Hamill
as Luke Skywalker.
The trailer begins with an ominous
voice narrating over a barren desert saying, There has been an awakening. Have
you felt it?
Actor John Boyega shoots up into the
frame in what seems to be a Stormtrooper
outfit. The trailer then proceed to show a
droid rolling around, intense shots of stormtroopers, as well as a women on a Speeder. The trailer ramps up with shots of the
iconic X-wing fighters flying over a lake.
That ominous voice returns to say, The
darkside, as a character in black unveils a
newly designed light saber. Then the narrator announces and the light, which
prompts the Millenium Falcon to make its
first appearance in decades, flying over the
wastelands of the deserts deep in a dogfight with several tie fighters.
This trailer is perfect.

Staff Writers
Ariana Serventi, Emily Shea, Emma Baer,
Emma Turco, Jack Weaver, Jared Brush,
Paul Attard, Rebecca Chupick, Taylor Peters,
Taylor Wouters, Will Boyce, Christiana
Ford*, all 15
Abigail Warren, Alexandra Boucher, Blair
Shortal, Brendan Cauvel, Christina Ambrozy,
Callista Zingas, Elise Bollenbacher, Elizabeth
Coyle, Genevieve Martin, Griffin Brooks,
Hadley Diamond, Hailey Murphy, Haley
Vercruysse, Hannah Connors,
Jennifer Toenjes, Jessica Whitney, Jonathan
Theros, Julia Fox, Juliana Berkowski*, Lily
Patterson, Lindsey Clark, Lindsay Stanek,
Maddie DesNoyer*, Olivia Frederickson,
Olivia Wouters, Shannon McGlone, Preston
Fossee, Zoe Jackson, all 16
Adam Cervone, Anton Mikolowski, Ariana
Chengges, Ava Majoros, Charles Denison,
Emma Russell, John Froelich, John Holme,
Kaitlin Malley, Lily Kubek, Mackenzie
Harrell, Claire Hubbell, Madeleine Glasser,
Madeleine Paolucci, Michael French, Olivia
Sheffer, Robert Welsher, all 17
Adviser
Rod Satterthwaite

Since this was only a teaser, it didnt

go in depth with any characters or plot
points, which is exactly what all teaser
trailers should do. It just showed a bunch
of cool stuff with no context clues as to
what was actually happening.
With this
combination
of stunning visuals and little
information, it
prompts wild
speculation
and buzz. Part
of that is the
popularity of
the Star Wars
franchise, but the the lack of information
in the trailer allows for a more prolonged
discussion on the actual contents of the
film rather than that looks good.
The opening shot of the trailer with
Boyega gives slight hints on some improvements Abrams tries to make. The
Star Wars prequels were plagued with several issues, one of which was acting.
Hayden Christensen, who played
Anikan Skywalker in the prequels, gave
a wooden performance in every one of
them. However, the facial expressions and
intense feel to Boyegas scene in the trailer
gives some hope that the acting will improve.
The scene which showed the new, threepronged light saber sparked rage among a
few fans who questioned the practicality of
such a weapon. These criticisms seem like
nitpicking and over-analyzing, though.
Its a light saber, not a dishwasher.
The movies release isnt until December 2015, but if the release has the same
amount of buzz as the trailer, then there is
only one thing that is certain--it will make
a lot of money.

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expression.
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Grosse Pointe South High School
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