opinion // 2

Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2015

Spotlight on mental health: strategies for support Adjustment to

Adding crisis hotline cards in the bathrooms
at South sheds a necessary light onto issues that
are typically kept in the dark. In a school where
excellence is expected and struggling is infused
into everyday life, these cards are a first step
towards providing a safe environment for students.
Before the cards popped up, there was no
steady acknowledgment of mental health among
students. The reality is, the South and Grosse
Pointe communities have lost far too many people
to suicide over the past six years. While the sense
of camaraderie and togetherness of the school
skyrockets after we lose somebody, it seems to
disappear after a few months. If we acknowledged
mental health more consistently, it could create a
safer environment for all students.
Administrators do a commendable job
providing grief counseling when we lose a student
or community member, however, it is not enough.
There should be some sort of preventive measure
that increases awareness and sense of community
before its too late.
For instance, in years past, Project Smile
has created positive posters and cards that they
scattered throughout the school. The reassuring
and comforting phrases could provide struggling
students with one of the only positive messages
they hear all day. In addition, the cards put on
lockers by Project Smile that read give this to
somebody who could spark interaction and
support between peers.
More positive and inclusive activities like this
should be implemented at South throughout the
school year. Some ideas are to create a safe space
where students can go to de-stress throughout the
day or to create specific events once
a month that are centered around
mental health awareness. The school
could utilize Link Crew or other
school groups to set up these events.
In order to maintain the academic
excellence South boasts, mental
health issues among students need to be addressed.
With highly-ranked academics, sports teams and
extracurriculars, South is a place where students
can be over committed. However, their struggling
is sometimes envied and coveted by other students;
it is almost a battle of who can do the most. This

life as an only
child proves to
be a challenge
MY
VIEW

Abigail Due 18

CARTOON BY ABBY FERRY 16

stressful mindset can be detrimental and should be

addressed more frequently.
Some ideas to resolve this tension are to set up
time management sessions before or after school
where students are taught how to handle all of the
pieces of high school concurrently. Also, there are
many de-stress events held on college
campuses that might be beneficial
here, like bringing in puppies every
once in awhile.
However, student actions are as
equally important as administrative
changes. High school is a
notoriously gossipy and cliquey part of life, which
often causes internal turmoil. Each student comes
to school with a unique set of circumstances that
cannot be seen on first glance, and it is easy to
judge somebody before getting to know them.
Next time you open your mouth to spread a

OUR VIEW //
EDITORIAL

negative rumor about somebody, we challenge

you to think about the plethora of circumstances
that are unknown to you and think about how
you can impact their day. You control what type
of message you send; you choose whether your
words are supportive or destructive.
In addition, being conscious of social medias
effect on others is important in todays society.
Before posting, think about whether you would
say those words to the persons face or whether
you are just hiding behind a screen. Instead of
scrolling past, pay attention and remember the
impact your responses can have.
Between administrators and students, each
individual controls the type of message they
send. It is vital to strive for a more inclusive
environment for all students so that South can
be a not only excellent, but comfortable and safe
place for everybody.

COLLEGE CONFIDENTIAL

Moving as a child helped prepare for living in new environments

MY
VIEW

Lindsay
Stanek 16

Ive moved four

times throughout the
course of my life,due to
my Fathers job.
At 5, I moved
from Grosse Pointe to
Minneapolis, Minn.
A year later, I moved
three hours away to

NEWSPAPER

TOWER

STAFF

rural Victoria, Minn.

Three more years would pass before I moved to Mason, Ohio, a
suburb of Cincinnati.
Five years later I moved back to GP, where Ive now lived for three
continuous years.
Ill admit I hate moving. Losing your friends and your home, you lose
a part of yourself, because moving changes you. You have to adapt to a
completely new environment. But moving also gives me an advantage
when it comes to college. Lots of kids want to get out of The Bubble
and go to a college states away, blissfully counting down the days until
theyve graduated and gone, without realizing that even though they
go to college in the same country, its a completely different place, with
a completely different culture. Just moving from one state to the next
creates a massive culture shock.
Minneapolis is a Twin City, sitting opposite its counterpart of St.
Paul, divided only by the Mississippi River. Its a system of towering
high-rises with sky bridges providing a sanctuary from the cold that the
seldom-used crosswalks cannot.
Victoria was in the middle of nowhere, with the first snow coming
in October and lasting through April. Yet it was beautiful in a way that
only a place thats been, for the most part, untouched, can be.
Mason was the stereotypical American suburb, with a bit of Southern
mixed in. Youd only get about six inches of snow a year, country music
was incredibly popular, and communities revolved around football.
However, it was incredibly large, with over 1000 students per grade
and a high school the size of most small colleges, and an entire medical
building on campus for athletes.
Grosse Pointe is preppy, spoiled and extremely traditional, with
access to drugs and alcohol ten times easier and more common than
anywhere else Ive lived.
Whereas other students who go to college far away will be in for a
massive surprise when they realize the culture, values and just about
everything is different from what theyve always known, Ill have the
advantage of already knowing how to make myself comfortable in a
place where I know no one.
Moving taught me that as eager as I am to leave, Ill also miss home

CONFIDENTIAL

more than everything. As much as

people say they hate it here, its still
their home. The first time I moved,
I thought I would never fit in like I
did here, but after coming back nine
years later, I didnt fit in here anymore.
The first move seemed like the worst
thing in the world at the time, and at five,
moving was still something unheard of, I was
the first of anyone I knew my own age to do so.
That
was when I had to figure it all out. How to adapt and make friends, the
different trends and mannerisms. The biggest issue was missing my best
friend, Elizabeth Coyle 16, who I had never been apart from before.
She was the girl who lived across the street whose family was close with
mine, and we spent everyday growing up playing together. Luckily, by
the second and third moves, I hadnt lived in the places long enough to
really miss anyone like that.
For my third move, I wasnt upset, just defeated. Moving three times in
four years at such a young age made me feel like I was stuck in this cycle
where there was no point trying to belong because we would just pick
up and leave again. However, after that third move when we ended up in
Mason, it stopped. I had still considered GP to be my true home, but it
changed. Mason was the longest I could remember living in a place. The
fourth move was by far the hardest. It was completely unexpected, and I
had under a month notice. In mid-July we were informed my father was
being transferred to Detroit, and by August we were living here. Mason
had become home and I always expected to graduate there. I miss
Chick-Fil-A, and Kings Island Amusement Park, and the Cincinnati
Reds. Moving in high school was different. Kids were older and less
trusting, less open to new people and things. In elementary school, the
new kid was a shiny toy everyone wanted. In high school, I felt like an
outcast, everyone had been together their whole lives, and while I had
been born here, I didnt feel like one of them. I didnt want to adapt. I
didnt want to dress different or stop saying yall. I liked who I was and
I didnt want to change because I wasnt what people here expected. I
still consider Mason home, and I miss everyone and everything more
than I like to admit. But I dont hate it here anymore, and I dont hate my
parents for moving me around.
Whether you like it here or not, this is your hometown. Going to
college far away may be an escape, but you will miss GP, and sometimes,
youre going to wish you could come back to being a senior here. In
college, everyone is new, some just come from nearby, and some far
away. But now that Im older, I know that moving has given me a distinct
advantage in knowing what it feels like to be in a place where you feel
like an outcast, and learning how to make it work.

Editor-in-Chief
Jennifer Maiorana* 16

Photo Editor
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Associate Editors
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Business Managers
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Supervising Editors
Gabi de Coster* 16
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Online Editors-in-Chief
Allyson Hartz* and Olivia Baratta*, both 16

Page Editors
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both 16
Claire Yeamans*, Erykah Benson* and
Jack Holme*, all 17
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Ray Hasanaj*, all 18

Online Section Editors

Scarlett Constand* 16,
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both 17
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Copy Editors
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COLLEGE

Online Associate Editor

Preston Fossee* 16

Online Copy Editors

Lindsay Stanek* 16
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both 17

Staff Writers
Abigail Warren, Blair Shortal, Callie Zingas,
Christina Ambrozy, Elizabeth Coyle, Gennie
Martin, Griffin Brooks, Hadley Diamond,
Hailey Murphy, J.D. Gray, Jessica Whitney,
Jon Theros, Katharine Kuhnlein,
Lily Patterson, Lindsey Clark, Mac
Cimmarrusti, Madeline DesNoyer, Olivia
Frederickson and Olivia Wouters, all 16
Abby Ottenhoff, Anton Mikolowski, Bridget
Driscoll, Cam Francis, Charlie Denison,
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Jack Froelich, Jack Roma, Mac Welsher,
Madeleine Glasser, Mary Grace OShea,
Michael French, Olivia Sheffer, Sydney Stann
and William Muawad, all 17
Abigail Due, Arianna Paganette, Brennan
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John Standish, Kaitlin Nemeh, Katherine
Bird, Lauren Thom, Maren Roeske, Margot
Baer, Mollie DeBrunner and Liam Walsh,
all 18

My whole life has been consumed with my brothers activities. Especially when I was younger, my
life revolved around what Zach was doing. I always
attended his games and any other school events. I
didnt get the same attendance at my events, but I
never realized it, nor did it ever bother me.
While Zach has been away at University of Kentucky my life has changed enormously when I only
think about what I have to do. This can be difficult
because I want to know what hes doing, but I also
dont want to be a clingy younger sister.
My house is so much more quiet without him,
which is depressing at times, especially when my parents have something going on, and Im home alone. I
usually invite my friends over to seize the silence, but
its not the same. My brother and I bonded the most
when my parents were gone because thats when I
told him what was happening in my life. Zach always
said something funny to make my day better or told
me an outrageous story that didnt seem real.
However, with him gone, I have noticed I can get
my homework done faster. Zach was always interrupting me with questions or making a funny comment about his day.
Zach has never been a morning person, not even
when we were young. So as he got older, waking him
up only became harder. Every morning his alarm
would go off for 45 minutes until he woke up and
turned it off, i he even woke up. If not, one of my parents had to wake him up which basically consisted of
them screaming at him until he got out of bed.
Zach not being able to wake up led to him being
late to school almost every day, and his major case of
senioritis caused him to skip classes too. Every day,
when I came home from school,
Id be greeted with a voicemail from South. By
now I think Ive memorized it. Hello, this is an attendance call from Grosse Pointe South High School.
Your child has been marked absent/ tardy in 1 or
more classes
Without that craziness, my life seems simpler,
but I really didnt notice the small things he did to
improve my day.
As for being an only child now, I do get a lot
more attention which can be really annoying when
theres a lot of family around. Before, I would endure
the 20 questions about our lives from my relatives
with Zachs help, and it was something we could
laugh about later. My parents arent consumed with
both of our lives and when I ask them for them to do
something they dont deny me as often.
Also my parents have became a lot more attentive with school and asking me about my grades. Last
year was a big year for Zach because he was applying
to colleges, so they werent as focused on my grades
.Though, when I need something the attention isnt
so bad. My parents arent consumed with both of our
lives and when I ask them for them to do something
they dont deny me as often.
When summer was ending and Zach was about
to leave, I was expecting to have a hard time maintaining my social life. I assumed my parents would
be having a hard time with Zach leaving and would
want me to fill that gap in their lives.
Surprisingly, they havent been that strict with me
hanging out with friends and going out on the weekends. I think theyre conscious of not being overbearing, so they try to lay off a bit.
Additionally last year the biggest reason I couldnt
go out was to make my brother stay home. My parents knew Zach wouldnt stay in if his little sister was
going out, so my mom would guilt me into staying
home.
I definitely took him for granted, so if you have
a sibling leaving next year, enjoy the time you have
with them now. Especially if youre the youngest last
child, the house is a lot quieter when they leave, and
its really weird at first.
Though it gets a lot easier, it never feels the same
as it was before. Its so strange how I no longer take
for granted hanging out with my brother, but Ive
only spent a weekend with him since he left for UK
in mid-August, so Im sure Ill get irritated with him
when he comes home for a longer period of time.

Adviser
Rod Satterthwaite
The Tower is the weekly publication of the
Advanced Journalism classes at Grosse Pointe
South High School. It has always been a
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Grosse Pointe South High School. Please
contact us at 313-432-3649.

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