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SENIORSAT RISKWhat kind of legacy will HFA’s first graduating class leave behind? 4

+NIGHT OF D-LIGHT 8 HFA FOOTBALL: WHAT NEXT? 15

HENRY FORD ACADEMY : SCHOOL FOR CREATIVE STUDIES • VOL I NO 1 • NOV/DEC 2012

THIS IS THE BACK ì

EDITOR’S NOTEI cannot express enough my excitement and enthusiasm for the first release of Horsepower.

The process for creating the magazine began when I attended the Medill-Northwestern Journalism Institute this summer. It was there, when I immersed myself in journalism and met other students who were serious about the profession, that I decided it was the career for me.

Then, I decided we needed a voice for the students in the form of a student-run publication.

Launching and building the magazine was a slow process. Yet over the past several weeks, everything came together, and I am immensely proud to see the the first issue finally in the hands of students, parents and faculty of HFA: SCS.

Horsepower is not intended to look like any other high school publication. We wanted to reinforce our belief that art is undefined, atypical, unlimited and unassuming. So along with bold photography and stories, the magazine features an even bolder page-turning style.

Thank you for your interest in the magazine and we hope you continue to support us throughout the year.

Matthew D. FordFounder and Editor-in-Chief

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NEWS CENTER: On-site admissions ... Red Ribbon Rally ... Voter Registration ... ArtPrize ... Senior Budget

SENIORS AT RISK: What kind of legacy will HFA’s first graduating class leave behind?

THE POWER OF GIRLHOOD: Ber-Henda Williams’s campaign for dignity

RELOADING WINDOWS: Mustangsexercise creativity in Anthropologie project

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NIGHT OF D-LIGHT: Arts and light bringthousands of supporters to Detroit

CREATIVE: Who says you can’t watch a horror movie at Thanksgiving? + Cabin Fever 2

FORD ON THE FIELD: Where does HFA football go from here?

CANVAS: When it comes to gossip, don’t listen, don’t tell. + A victory for human equality.

HENRY FORD ACADEMY : SCHOOL FOR CREATIVE STUDIES • VOL I NO 1 • NOV/DEC 2012

FORD ON THE FIELD: Eight reasons why the Tigers made it to the World Series, and eight reasons why they lost

STUDIO: Mrs. Shaheen’s lessons in style + Franchesca Lamarre’s fashion commentary

HENRY FORD ACADEMY : SCHOOL FOR CREATIVE STUDIESVOL I, No. 1 • NOV/DEC 2012 • DETROIT, USA

Horsepower is the voice of the students of HFA : SCS. All opinions in the Canvas section are those of staff writers. If you have any concerns about the content, wish to respond to stories or want to join the staff, leave a note in the main office addressed to the Editor-in-Chief.

Editor in Chief: Matthew D. Ford

Reporters & Columnists: Amanda Byrd, Taylor Childs, Demetrius Cornelius, Janay Flournoy, Dareno Johnson, Quintin Johnson, Franchesca Lamarre, James Meadows, Haley Simmons

Photographers: Taylor Childs, Johnathan Glenn, Mark Hall, Breonna Phillips

Advisers: Krishnan Anantharaman, Reha Mallory

Cover Photo: Mark Hall

By Matthew D. Ford

With the presidential election taking place this year, paired with the political theme of the Ambassadors’ Red Ribbon Week, HFA: SCS social worker Ms. Wanda Olugbala felt it was important to bring voter reg-istration directly to the classrooms, ensuring that youth exercise their rights as U.S. citizens.

She took on this mission early in Oc-tober by offering juniors and seniors this easy opportunity to register at the school. She commissioned senior LaVell Drayton and Pat Nolan, 24, a student at the University of Michi-gan and a social-work intern under Ms. Olugbala this year, to visit junior and senior classes to make the offer to students.

Ms. Olugbala used old voter reg-

istration forms as a simple way to expedite the process. All forms had to be submitted by Oct. 9.

Mr. Nolan explained he was excited for students being able to vote this year and recalled his experiences at the time he became eligible to vote.

“When I was 18, I found the whole process very complicating,” he said. “Ms. O made it super easy.”

While visiting classrooms searching for students to register, Mr. Nolan found that some students were al-ready registered, at least one in each classroom.

One such student was senior Camil-lia Durant, who celebrated her 18th birthday in January and expressed great enthusiasm in having her vote count in re-electing the first Afri-can-American president.

“[I was] amazed,” Camillia said. “I felt good about being able to vote for the first black president of the United States …I’m growing up. I’m making a change in the world.”

She laments that many youth don’t take advantage of the privilege to exercise their rights in the country.

“They should [vote] because that one vote could have counted,” she said. “People don’t know what they [especially African-Americans] had to go through to be able to vote.”

Ms. Olugbala echoed that feeling. She said it would be “unfortunate” for youth not to take advantage of this opportunity this year, especially since it was youth who helped Presi-dent Obama get elected for the first time in 2008, “which, despite your opinions about him and his policies, was a historic event.”

HORSEPOWER • NEWS • NOV/DEC 2012

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2012 MGTV MOCK ELECTION RESULTS

PresidentBarack Obama/Joseph Biden (Democratic) - 405Jill Stein/Cheri Honkala (Green Party) - 3Ross C. Anderson/Luis Rodriguez (Natural Law) - 4Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan (Republican) - 23Virgil Goode/James Clymer (US Taxpayers Party) - 3

U.S. SenateDebbie Stabenow (Democrat) - 284Harley Mikkelson (Green) - 35Scotty Boman (Libertarian) - 16John D. Litle (Natural Law) - 13Pete Hoekstra (Republican) - 39Richard Matkin (US Taxpayers Party) - 17

Michigan Supreme CourtMindy Barry - 33Doug Dern - 52Shelia Johnson - 143Connie Marie Kelley -121Stephen Markman - 134Bridget Mary McCormack - 145Kerry L. Morgan - 60Colleen O’Brien - 66Bob Roddis - 29Brian Zahra - 68

District 13 - U.S. CongressJohn Conyers Jr (Democrat) - 137Chris Sharer (Libertarian) - 13Harry Sawicki (Republican) - 18Martin Gray (US Taxpayers Party) - 12

By Matthew D. Ford Photo by Breonna Phillips

Every year, Ms. Wanda Olugbala and her Mustang Ambassadors put on Red Ribbon Week, perhaps the busiest week of the year for Ambas-sadors, taking place the week of Oct. 22.

This year, paired with the typical an-ti-drug message, the event took a po-litical approach, coinciding with the presidential election. This took place by way of Forums assigned one of the six of Michigan’s major political parties. The students in each Forum would then select a representative to speak at the Oct. 25 pep rally.

The rally opened with junior Devon Yancy entertaining the crowd of around 450 students with swift pop-locking dance moves.

Later in the show, Summer Strick-land, accompanied by two other beat-boxing sophomores, worked

the crowd with a rap about main-taining a drug-free lifestyle. Junior Deja Jones also sang “America, the Beautiful,” and two other juniors performed the national anthem.

The highlight of the program came from District 1 State Sen. Coleman A. Young, II, who gave a rousing speech in support of students living a life free of drugs and alcohol and doing their best in and out of school.

Quoting Gandhi, Sen. Young said, “You are the future, and if you want to see change, if you want to make a difference, be the change you want to see.”

The show ended on a high note as senior rappers Jordan Bunch, DeJon McCall, DeShon Mumford and Tra-vis Taylor performed with security personnel Mr. Sharp, who displayed his unknown talent of music produc-tion with an electronic drum pad.

According to a Nov. 17 email from

Ms. Olugbala, “the Red Ribbon Week fundraising initiative netted $874.62 after the cost of bracelets, awards and activities. All proceeds go to support other Ambassador initiatives including NEYIC Adopt a Child for Christmas (where this year, Ambassadors are sponsoring a family of five), International World AIDS Day, American Heart Association, and student training [for the forth-coming] Signs of Suicide.”

Ambassadors carry anti-drug message

Proposal 1Yes - 155No - 83

Proposal 2Yes - 134No - 101

Proposal 3Yes - 150No - 76

Proposal 4Yes - 163No - 66

Proposal 5Yes - 156No - 76

Proposal 6Yes - 139No - 88

Mustangs of age seize opportunity to cast a historic vote

On-site admissionsa reason to celebrate

HORSEPOWER • NEWS • NOV/DEC 2012

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By Matthew D. Ford

Since the start of the school year, se-nior events have been set to a turtle’s pace with the lack of a set budget.

The year began with a low $400, taken from last year’s Varsity Club fundraisers. The year’s first major fundraiser, the annual Icebreaker Dance, was held in early September by junior class teacher Lynn Nowicki and senior class teacher Amanda McCuean-Lough, raking in $1,100.

Since September, senior lead teacher Wendie Holeman has taken over all senior fundraising, holding events such as a silent auction that raised $430 and a $10-a-head Dec. 1 party

at Northland Skatepark.

The administration has promised to pay for graduation and “a significant portion” for other events, yet no spe-cific amounts have been announced.

In addition, a communication issue has emerged among staff and students, stemming from ever-chang-ing positions on the board of senior event planning. “We have a huge communication issue with a lot of things,” Ms. Holeman said.

On Oct. 18, College Transition Officer and co-advisor of the senior event planning committee Reha Mallory (who has since been joined by Principal Faisal as co-advisor) sent

out an email to staff requesting help with fundraising, activities, senior pinning, breakfast, graduation and prom. The committee’s co-chairs are Student Activities Coordinator Akuo-sa Burris, Guidance Counselor Wen-day Edwards, and Ms. Holeman.

Since then, Ms. Nowicki joined the senior planning board, taking over prom (accompanied by Ms. Mc-Cuean-Lough), which no budget money has been connected to.

The Varsity Club, a six-student organization created in 2011 to start senior event planning, failed to meet on a regular basis and raise sufficient funds. The club was replaced in Oc-tober with elected class officers.

Officers also feel left in the dark on many issues and plans. “It’s confus-ing because we don’t really know who to go to for information,” Senior Class secretary Mia Gordon said.

Senior Officer President Quintin Johnson also expressed concerns over how a lot of unconfirmed informa-tion and planning ends up in the rumor mill among students.

“[I hear] casual conversations, hear-ing people, ‘When did that happen?’ or ‘Why did they tell us this if it was never confirmed?’” he said. “We need to have set meetings, not only as class officers, but as a class in gen-eral and make sure that information doesn’t get released ahead of time.”

Changing leadership, poor communcation hamper senior class budget planning

On Oct. 4, HFA: SCS students had the opportunity to visit ArtPrize, an art mecca and world-renowned competition at Grand Valley State University. Each year, lead art teacher Manal Kadry takes students who are serious about an art profession to the event, where tire and wood sculptures created by students are also featured. “I think it’s important to see the connection between this school being an art school and actual art being made,” Kadry said. “It gives you motivation to continue doing what you do.” Above, students posed at the Meijer Botanical and Sculpture Garden. PHOTO BY MANAL KADRY

By Matthew D. Ford

Every fall, seniors enter the grueling process of college admissions. For the first graduating class at HFA: SCS, this process is special with on-site admissions and presentations, which began Sept. 10 with Eastern Michigan University.

Students enjoy on-sites because they can begin planning for college attendance early. “I felt accom-plished and a [sigh of relief] that I was accepted to one of the best schools in the state,” Chryshauna Carter, one of six MSU admits, said.

Admissions representative Jermaine Brown of the University of Michigan-Flint, who first gave a presentation to juniors last year, returned Nov. 13. Brown expressed excitement about admitting students and working with youth.

“Talking with students is really where it’s at for me and admissions is the place to do that,” Brown said. He called his visit to HFA specifically a “great opportunity to capitalize on an untapped market.”

College transition counselor Reha Mallory is unre-lenting in encouraging students to attend on-sites.

“Every time a student is accepted to college or is excited about a grade it makes my day,” she said. “Those moments are truly why I come to work every day. There is so much to celebrate with all my students.”

HORSEPOWER • FEATURES • NOV/DEC 2012

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What kind of legacy will HFA’s firstgraduating class leave behind?

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SENIORS AT RISK

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By Dareno Johnson Photo by Johnathan Glenn

Six a.m. strikes. Senior Justin Gal-limore lets out a tired grunt. He slips out of bed and trudges to the bathroom to get ready for school. Yet another dull morning in the humdrum cycle that never seems to end. But Justin understands he has things to accomplish.

He gets to school, and one thing he can’t get off his mind is that ‘D-’ he has in geometry. He realizes that final exams are looming.

“If I fail . . . I’m going to get an ‘F’ for the semester.”

The day of the test, anxious Justin enters Mr. Chhim’s classroom, fingers crossed. He takes the exam, hoping for the best. He receives a good grade on the test and passes the class with a “B”.

Now a senior, he laments that he didn’t get one ‘A’ on his report card during his freshman and sopho-more years.

“I passed with the bare minimum,” he said. “My grades were average.”

Part of the reason for his average performance was him underesti-mating high school. “The transi-tion from middle to high school wasn’t that much of a difference to me,” he said. He decided to be his

“middle school self again,” which caused his grades to decline.

He figured he had plenty of time to get his grades up. It wasn’t until junior year that his mindset changed. “I’m here for eight hours a day, so I might as well put the effort in,” he said.

Undoubtedly, there are many other seniors who felt the same way that Justin did at one time—that they had more than enough time to improve their grades before grad-uation. This reasoning is reflected in the clear lack of achievement in the senior class.

Only 13 percent of the seniors are in the National Honor Society. Only one-fifth of the class makes the honor roll every quarter. If the senior class were just one student, they would score a 16 on the ACT, which is below the state average and their GPA would be below a 2.7. Based on this, is excellence really our norm, according to the new school motto?

In past spiels to the senior class, Reha Mallory, the college transi-tion officer of HFA, has repeatedly warned that things would get “real real, real quick,” and given the amount of time left before gradu-

ation, this statement holds a lot of gravity.

“If you’re not on track now, it’s kind of too late,” one student said.

Ms. Mallory said she’s pleased with individuals who have made prog-ress, but would like for the senior class as a whole to show growth.

What kind of legacy will the first graduating class will leave behind? Three students gave differing answers.

Senior Caitlyn Clarke, who aspires

6“The halls of the house were silent, and there was no doubt that I wasn’t going to be fully comfortable. The agony of each creep that the toes of my small feet made, made my heart completely shake. I was in the house of an abuser, and I was not safe ...”

By Taylor Childs

A 60-year-old resident of Detroit who wish-es to remain anonymous explains what she had to deal with growing up in an abusive household:

“The strife my father felt for my brother began to spill over to his other five children, and he began to accuse my sister of things she was not guilty of,” she said. “She always and still carries a hatred for my father even today. He even beat me with a switchblade because I broke an egg. The only thing that made him stop was when he sees the red blood dripping from my small arm. He took out his frustration on his five children because his wife, my mother, already ex-plained to him that if he even touched her she would poison him.”

Her father put out his eldest son at age 14 to discover what life is really about. Her mother would set out meals on the back porch behind her husband’s back to feed him. He later became a pimp, and died a horrible death because of what life had done to him.

One would be surprised to see how many

women, as well as men, deal with the trials and tribulations of trying to survive in the world today. Looking at the many profiles of different female figures, one would never guess as to who has a story. Many women’s voices are muted, and you will be surprised as to who actually needs guidance.

A female figure is an essential part of life itself. Without a woman to guide and lead our youth, our society would be in danger. As a society, it seems as though women are underappreciated, taken for granted

and degraded. The Power of Girlhood is a movement that has been brought to Detroit by former HFA: SCS Spanish teacher Ber-Henda Williams to help empower girls and help them understand their self worth.

“I think it’s necessary to have the Power of Girlhood because not all girls have that positive role model in their life, and that’s what the Power of Girlhood does,” HFA: SCS senior Ashley Carrington said.

Ashley helps Ms. Williams with her events such as poetry nights, the Pretty Brown Girls movement, and mentoring young girls.

“We give girls role models they can look up to and say ‘I want to be like her when I’m older,’ or they see what they have been through and they realize, ‘Hey, [they’ve] been through it, but they still rose and I can too,’” she said.

This movement, called Stand Up for Girls by Litworld.org, originally started in New York. The Stand Up for Girls campaign advocates for every girl’s right to a quality education.

Stand Up for Girls believes that, by learn-ing the basic tools for success in life, girls can protect themselves against poverty, poor health outcomes and lifelong struggle. This campaign took place Oct. 11 world-wide.

Protecting the power of girlhood

HORSEPOWER • FEATURES • NOV/DEC 2012

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Join the Movement

Stand Up for Girls has events and online rallies frequently. They also encourage girls to create their own community event, and join in online with the hash tag #standupforgirls for Twitter. For the Power of Girlhood campaign, a supporter can add the hashtag #powerofgirlhood, while holding up the print out sheet (fea-tured here and on litworld.com) on any social media website.

Although the event is over, contribu-tions can still be made with $5.23, $52.30, $520.00 or the equivalent in an alternative currency to help LitWorld as well as the Power of Girlhood campaign.

An A. Alfred Taubman Center security guard, left, and Principal Rashid Faisal, right, stand up for girls. (PHOTOS by Taylor Childs) Ber-Henda Williams, center, is the woman who brought the movement to HFA : SCS.

to go into law, feels that for the most part, the seniors will leave a fairly good legacy behind. She thinks that, as of now, only about 20 percent of the senior class is failing.

“Half of us are decent,” she said. “[I see] some [as] doctors, some lawyers, some out on the street, some in jail, but most successful.”

James Meadows, a National Honor Society member, had an opposite view. He believes the senior class will leave a poor legacy given their track record of failing grades and behav-ioral issues. In the future, he expects half of them to have low-wage jobs.

Another senior, Jacquelyn Owens, said, “Because we’re the first graduat-ing class, that’s a legacy in itself. But because of our academics, it’s going to be an OK legacy.”

According to some students, the rea-son for terrible academics among the seniors is lack of motivation. Others vouched for their peers and said that outside pressures and distractions contribute to failure.

One senior argued that teenagers believe they’re invincible. “I feel that teenagers are lackadaisical because they feel nothing affects them,” she said. “So they don’t take things seriously.”

Still, Ms. Mallory said that she sees small glimmers of hope. Seniors who once did poorly in school are now improving their grades.

Diego Gaines, for example, “abso-lutely hated coming to school in 9th grade” and admitted that laziness got in the way of him doing his best. He snapped to his senses after having conversations with Ms. Mallory and being shown his grades.

“I didn’t like where I was at, so I de-cided to get my life together,” he said.

The average ACT score for seniors at HFA is 16. In Michigan, the average score, as of 2012, is 19.6. For Afri-can-American students in the U.S., the average is 17. The average GPA among HFA seniors is 2.4. Statewide, the average GPA is roughly around 2.7, which is about the same for Afri-can-American students in the nation.

But what about the other HFLI

institutions? Based on the Thompson Foundation 90/90 principle, these schools are committed to gradu-ating at least 90 percent of their seniors and sending 90 percent of those graduates off to a college or university. At HFA in Detroit, about 40 percent of the seniors have been accepted somewhere thus far.

Students must also complete the Senior Mastery Process, a rigorous two-year process devoted to helping students explore, experience and defend a career.

At the first Henry Ford Academy in Dearborn, founded in 1997, more than 90 percent of seniors graduated and for the past few years, 100 per-cent have been accepted to colleges. The average ACT score is 18. In Chicago, at Power House High, schoolwide GPA is 2.97.

However, the Prairie State Achieve-ment Exam results revealed that few-er than 20 percent of juniors at PHH met or exceeded state standards.

In the southwest, at HFA: Alameda School for Art + Design in San An-tonio, Texas, the student population is much smaller than the others, at 250. According to the Texas Tribune, the HFA: Alameda School has been rated “academically unacceptable.” The results of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skill revealed that this school performs well below the state average.

“You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink it,” is the quote on Ms. Mallory’s desk. Irony at its best. The school has put many things in place for the students to take advantage of, including tutoring, online classes and summer school.

“It is upsetting to know that some students don’t take advantage of it,” Ms. Mallory said. “I’ve surmised it to be a lack of motivation on their end ... You can’t teach someone to be motivated.”

Students agreed that there’s only so much teachers can do to lead students to success, but it’s up to the student to make their own path. No one else is to blame.

“It’s possible, it’s doable and it’s doable for everybody,” Ms. Mallory said. “It’s just a matter of them just realizing that it is and taking hold of that.”

By Taylor Childs Photos by Sabrina Nelson College for Creative Studies

Anthropologie isn’t your ordinary clothing store. It’s an artist and fashionista’s heaven for its interior beauty, which is what attracted so many Mustangs to the store this fall.

Anthropologie is located at the Somerset Collection in Troy, where the manager hires artists to decorate the store. This year, thanks to 10th grade art teacher Anita Bates, a group of selected HFA: SCS students were lucky enough to participate in designing the holiday motif design for the storefront.

The visits were split up into two ses-sions: the first session took place on Oct. 30, 2012, and the next session took place on Nov. 13, 2012.

Students used household items such as yarn and chicken wire to make incredible, professional Christmas creatures, such as a fox or a rabbit, to

put in their storefront. They also use ordinary champagne bottles to create a beautiful chandelier that glistens in the shop.

“It was fun,” senior Breonna Phillips, who has an interest in fabrics and fashion art, said. “I liked how we got to work with college students and ask them questions.”

This 2012 holiday theme is “a White Christmas,” so the students created multiple shimmery and white holiday decor to bring out everyone’s holiday spirits.

To make the designs, the students were split into different groups where designated students worked on dif-ferent parts of the project, forming an assembly line. The project was a fantastic opportunity for students to exercise teamwork skills and creativ-ity, as well as hard work and deter-mination. This was an incredible op-portunity presented to our students that most urban high schools do not get to participate in.

Mustangs show holiday spirit and creativity in a project for Somerset’s Anthropologie store

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è SENIORS AT RISK, FROM PAGE 5

NIGHT o f D-LIGHT

By Haley Simmons Photos by Mark Hall

Earlier this fall, Dlectricity: Detroit’s Nighttime Exhibition of Art + Light brightened up the streets of the MotorCity. Held in the Midtown neighborhood of the city, the show featured diversified styles of art and events from art students from several colleges and universities, such as contemporary art, light parades, mobile art, live music, galleries, films, slideshows, 3-D Animation, performances, parties and imagery.

Thousands of visitors witnessed the hundreds of acts and spectacles from some of Detroit’s creative minds--including the Cirque du Soleil Symphonie, short films and a Mikki Olson dance party--beginning Friday, Oct. 5 from 7 p.m. to midnight, and Saturday, Oct. 6 from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m.

The festival took place at local venues and businesses, including the College for Creative Studies campus, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African-American History, the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Detroit Main Library.

“It was great,” photographer and sophomore at HFA: SCS Mark Hall said. “It was so beautiful [and] their art was amazing, great art. I did get photos there and there was so much art to take photos of.”

Johnathan Glenn, a graphic designer and senior at HFA: SCS, equally praised the event.

“I found the show pretty neat,” Johnathan said. “It was awesome seeing how Detroit pulled off an event that just started this year. My favorite thing about the show was the lighting of the museums.”

With all the dazzling expositions

and inviting events surrounding the attendees, not even the cold weather could shut people out. Both days of the exhibit were in the midst of frigid temperatures, and heavy rain poured on the first day.

“The weather was freezing,” Johnathan said. “Still many people managed to come and support.”

Despite the weather, attendees enjoyed themselves and the scenery. It was definitely an exciting and fun-filled

event, and it served as encouragement to the Detroit community for something positive to bring thousands around.

“The people were great, everyone was happy and everyone was very impressed with the art and how well it turned out,” Mark said.

Opposite page: The Detroit Public Library, illuminated for Dlectricity. Above, the Garfield Building aglow along Woodward Avenue.

Brilliant art bring thousands of supporters to Detroit

HORSEPOWER • FEATURES • NOVEMBER 2012

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By Adam J. Taylor

It is no secret that President Obama is a controversial figure. His pro-gay marriage beliefs, his health care initiative, and his desire to remove “God” from the American creed has divided the nation - at least it has from my vantage point. In addition, the election will have a big impact on youth and their perception of America.

For years, gay marriage has been widely discussed in the media and has gained momentum in the past few months. Since 1990, according to lifetips.com, marriage in general has declined and has stayed that way. Ever since President Obama’s spring 2012 interview with ABC’s Robin Roberts about gay marriage, many people have had their hopes up on legalizing gay marriage.

Supporters of Mitt Money say that President Obama did this to gain support of his party and the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgendered (LGBT) community. According to equalitygiving.org the Human Rights Campaign’s 2008 presidential ques-tionnaire released this quote from President Obama, “I believe the Employment Non-Discrimination Act should be expanded to include sexual orientation and gender identity. I sponsored legislation in the Illinois State Senate that would ban discrimination in employment on the basis of sexual orientation.”

Not only is the President worried about equal rights but also the right in having health care for every Amer-ican. A lot of people have been wor-ried about the president’s new health care plan but have they actually took the time to research his plan and the

benefits it has for the middle class? For example, according to white-house.gov, nearly 54 million Amer-icans have coverage for preventive services free of cost. Over 3 million high school graduates have heath care from their parents’ plan and about 50,000 uninsured people with pre-existing conditions have gained coverage because of Obama care.

Youth today had an advantage in President Obama being re-elected.

President Obama is making college tuition cheaper for students along with better education. Also, every person on earth deserves equal rights and the President is clearly making that a statement in his re-election.

If our America keeps going in creat-ing equal opportunities more than it has ever before, youth today will have a different perception of defining America and the future will hold a new era of American citizens.

A victory for equal rights

By Dareno Johnson

Gossip can fill your life with more in-trigue than a movie. Just a slight hint of something said can easily spread like wildfire and become twisted into something completely different. It first comes out as “cat” and by the time it reaches the last person, it’s “giraffe.”

Never is it hard to hop aboard the gossip bandwagon. All a person needs nowadays are a social network-ing account or instant messaging and a bit of evil intent, and they could destroy your reputation in a heartbeat. Usually, online blogs are full of gossip, things that would never be said in person. Gossip is almost always associated with talking neg-atively about someone else. But we question whether all gossip bad.

The word “gossip” is not bad in itself. It could be defined as “idle

chatter” or “casual talk” since that’s essentially what it is. There’s nothing wrong with light conversation and being concerned with the matters of others. Sometimes, this provides new information; you might learn who’s dating whom or which person got on the honor roll. But innocent chit-chat can rapidly turn into harmful gossip.

You’re sitting in the lunch room with your friends and you all are talking about a new classmate who seems a little strange. So far, the conversation isn’t bad or anything. Everyone is just giving their honest first impressions of him without being too harsh. However, one of your friends pipes up and says, “Did you guys see his pants? They were super tight! That dude must be gay!” Right there, you should pause the conversation and steer it in the opposite direction, away from hurtful slander.

You can usually tell when a discus-

sion is veering into harmful gossip. Tip: If you hear gossip, you could say, “I don’t feel comfortable talking about this. He/she is not here to de-fend themselves anyway.” As hard as it may be, use self-control when your friends are engaged in a juicy discus-sion. Think about how potential lies could be spread and devastate the person who was talked about. Words can cut deep and last longer than physical scars.

Before talking about someone, ask yourself: Do I know all the facts? What would be my reason for telling someone else this information? Am I trying to air someone’s dirty laun-dry? How will my gossiping affect, not only their reputation, but mine? Think deeply about that last ques-tion. If you’re an infamous gossiper, this says a lot about your character.

Things to consider: Did you know that just listening to gossip makes you

a party to it? By giving the gossiper permission to continue on, you’re allowing the information to spread. Make a commitment to avoid gossip at all costs. Think about what you’ll do the next time you’re tempted to spread a rumor.

And what if you’re a victim of gos-sip? Don’t be too quick to get offend-ed. Exercise self-control if rage starts to build up. Remember: you’ve said some malicious things about others at least once in your life, whether on purpose or not, so don’t get so upset.

Try to put things into perspective. Perhaps the person is gossiping about you because they have nothing better to do and just chose a random person to talk about. Next week, they might be talking about someone else, so don’t sweat it. Have the decency to steer conversations away from harmful gossip, and if the gossip involves you, don’t overreact.

HORSEPOWER • OPINION • NOV/DEC 2012

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When it comes to gossip, don’t listen, don’t tell

Photo by Michael Ruiz/Flickr Creative Comm

ons

On Tuesday, Oct. 16, Wiz Khalifa dropped his Cabin Fever 2 mixtape. This free mixtape is a follow-up to his previous popular mixtape, Cabin Fever.

Mixtapes are way of holding the interest of fans until a new studio album is released and to express the way an artist feels on a more person-al level.

Cabin Fever 2 does just that as Khal-ifa gets his fans hyped for the release of his highly anticipated sophomore album, Only Negros in First Class, or ONIFC. This move is great for Khalifa’s fans and will probably give his studio album high sales when it’s finally released in December.

The mixtape, 14 tracks long, is great in that it isn’t just some music that wasn’t good enough for his full album. It features several guest appearances from Chevy Woods and French Montana to Juicy J, IAMSU and Problem. Despite mentioning the typical subjects of money, girls and, of course, smoking, the release overall features some cool beats and a few standout bangers like “Tweak Is Heavy” and “Nothing Like the Rest.”

The mixtape is a good mixture of riding music and party songs and will hopefully enjoy as much success as its predecessor.

NO END INFRIGHT

Scary movies aren’t justfor Halloween

By Janay Flournoy There it was again. Time to pull out that ratty Friday the 13th mask, plastic fangs or sparkly fairy wings. Halloween had snuck up on us again! For those out there who are entirely too old to be trick-or-treating, even though many of you still make that trip out to get those life-altering pieces of diabetes, you’re probably trying to make plans for the next holiday. Thanksgiving. How about a movie night?

Horror is the movie genre of the month for October, but who said you can’t eat turkey and watch a scary movie in November? From The Exorcist to Dawn of the Dead, there is a horror subgenre for everyone.

Horror is probably the only genre of movies that are rated by class. You have the top of the horror chain—the ones that you actually go to the theater to see. Then there are B movies, those straight-to-DVD films you see in Walmart. Then there are C and D lists, which probably aren’t even sold in stores. These are exclu-sively shown in the various indie film festivals. To get a better idea of what type of horror movie would appeal to you on Thanksgiving, take a walk down horror movie memory lane.

The very first horror film ever made was called The House of the Devil, a

short film made in 1896. Obviously this isn’t a movie you would be able to find on on Netflix, but after this movie, the genre of horror was born.

When the Roaring ’20s rolled around, horror was much more accepted. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was one of the giants of that decade, though it was slightly overshadowed by the 1926 release of Nosferatu, a silent film featuring the first vampire. Based on author Bram Stoker’s Drac-ula, Nosferatu goes down as one of the greatest vampire movies of all time.

The 1930s produced almost five times as many horror movies as the ’20s. One of the strangest movies ever made was Freaks, which took a circus freakshow to a whole new level. Others from the 1930s include The Mummy and The Invisible Man.

The 1940s brought a great deal of original ideas for horror films. In 1941, cult classic The Wolfman started the era of werewolf movies. The Picture of Dorian Grey (1945) could seriously be a sub-genre all its own.

The ’50s produced some of the greatest horror movies of all time with films like The Blob, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Creature From the Black Lagoon, The War of the Worlds and The Day the Earth Stood Still, most of which have been remade.

The 1960s saw a vast range of horror, much of it etched into movie history. A few of these masterpieces are Psycho, Night of the Living Dead, The Birds, Rosemary’s Baby and 13 Ghosts.

The ’70s became the epicenter of horror films. Many films from this era have since been remade, includ-ing The Last House on the Left, Tales From the Crypt, The Exorcist, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween, The Hills Have Eyes, Trilogy of Terror, Carrie, The Omen and much more.

Some of the 1980s’ most prominent horror classics are still big in film culture today: A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Child’s Play, Killer Clowns From Outer Space and The Thing. By the 1990s, movies and technology were much more advanced than even just decade years before, as illustrated in films like Scream, Cube, Stir of Echoes, Candyman, From Dusk Till Dawn are among them.

Other worldly technology and some ugly outside-the-box innovation have turned the new millennium into an abyss of terror. Many people feel the genre has gone downhill, but not ev-eryone. From slasher flicks to the su-pernatural, horror touches every base of the movie world. Whether you’re into zombies, vampires, werewolves or ghosts, there is a horror movie out there for you. You just have to know what dark corner search in.

HORSEPOWER • ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT • NOV/DEC 2012

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MUSIC REVIEWDEMETRIUS CORNELIUS

Khalifa teasesnext album

Photo by Adriene Hughes/iStockPhoto

What exactly do the students at HFA: SCS define as fashion? Where does their “swag” max out? Is it what their friends wear?

The students of HFA: SCS fill the multicolored halls and stride across the abstract-square carpet every morning with the same sense of who they are internally, and externally. They are rebellious, passionate and deliberate, but the length of their rebellious instincts has yet to be explored.

HFA is building the future creators, artists, in-novators and designers of the world through an art and design culture. As an artistic school, it is

the students’ instinct to be creative. It is downloaded into their minds and flows through their veins.

We either can’t help it, or the artist in our very being is what we should first be skeptical of.

Many students at HFA: SCS measure their style by the labels they wear on their backs. “Materialistic,” as one student describes fashion at HFA: SCS. If these descriptions are true, then what does this say about us as artists?

A single student does not define the school. It is the collaborative effort of all the students that makes a lasting impact of that definition. Some students are creative in their attire, some are not, and others do not care what they wear.

“A person who gives some thought into the way they dress has more of a sense of who they are as a person,” one student said. Another argues that some students simply don’t care about what image they display to others. This rebellious spirit lies in the earth of its frustration, originating from within.

Students rebel because they want to bring notice to their existence. They are passionate for the art they create, but are frightened to display it. The ques-tion is not whether they are or are not who they are, but whether they are displaying their images truthfully.

Fashion at HFA: SCS is nothing more than a dis-play of decisions—some more liberal than others. Whether or not we are true to ourselves, we are part of a demographic that impacts tomorrow.

Next time you go shopping or dress up for school, make sure you capture an original essence that causes others to see a new vision of who you are.

LABEL THISFRANCHESCA LAMARRE

HORSEPOWER • LIFESTYLE • NOV/DEC 2012

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WHO’S GOTTHE FATTEST SWAG?

Q: What is your process of selecting clothes every morning? A: I don’t. I go to my closet and I pull things out in the dark using my cellphone as a flashlight, usually. Luckily, all of my outfits are mix-and-match pretty much.

Q: You wear a lot of black. Why is that? A: Black goes with everything. And black looks professional.

Q: What or who inspires your personal style? A: My sister buys a lot of my clothes for me because she works in fashion in New York City so she has a good eye for what looks good on me. For workwear, I kinda like J. Crew, Theory (my sister works for Theory). My casual wear … is much less designer-y and [is] more things that are fun like patterns and stuff that I like instead of just things that look good ... My workwear is not really things that I like but things that look good.

Q: What are your favorite patterns and colors? A: I love yellow. And I love things that I don’t have to iron. I don’t own anything that I have to iron, and no clothes that I can’t put in the washer and dryer.

Q: How has your style changed over your life? A: In high school, I used to wear old men’s pants, like plaid, and then button-up shirts—cuffed, with the sleeves rolled up. And then I would wear bowling shoes and flip-flops—those are the

only two shoes I would wear. And then in college, I wore blue jeans and things that fit better. But I’ve always really liked colors and patterns.

Q: How has pregnancy changed what you wear? A: Maternity clothes suck, especially the pants, but I’m trying my best. My husband’s cousin sent me a huge box of hand-me-downs. I don’t have to buy all the clothes.

Q: You used to model. De-scribe that experience. A: Five years ago, I used to

model kimonos for a lady who sold them out of her house in upstate New York. That is the extent of my modeling.

Q: What do you think of HFA students’ fashion and the way they wear clothes? A: I love how you guys try to express your style within the boundaries of the uniform, like the guys who wear the skinny pants with the uniform shirt [laughs].

Interview by Matthew D. Ford; Photo by Johnathan Glenn

‘Bowling shoes and flip-flops’

LESSONS IN STYLEQ&A WITH MICHELLE SHAHEEN

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By James Meadows Photos by Mark Hall

Although, the Tigers lost the World Series in four games to the San Fran-cisco Giants, making it to the Fall Classic is still a momentous achieve-ment. It was the Tigers’ first major success in six years. They were riding high until the World Series, when the team thought to be the people’s favorite crashed and burned in a crushing defeat streak.

1. Justin VerlanderJustin Verlander is the ace pitcher of the Detroit Tigers. The major league’s best off-speed pitches are all electric. When the Cy Young winner doesn’t throw a breaking ball, he can simply over power anyone with his fastball which tops at 102 miles per hour. Detroit’s Number One also

led the MLB in strikeouts, so don’t expect a walk out of him.

2. Anibal SanchezAnibal Sanchez is the fourth and final pitcher in the Tigers postsea-son rotation. Though he is not as overpowering or skilled at throwing breaking balls as other pitchers in the rotation, the resourceful pitcher has found ways to get many good hitters out. In one Oct. 15 game against the New York Yankees, Sanchez caught a ball from the batter while his back was turned.

3. Delmon YoungDelmon Young was the designated hitter of the Detroit Tigers. Though during the regular season he is a little shy of average, during the postseason, Detroit’s own slacker does a complete 180 and turns into

an absolute beast. This monster of a postseason performer has two home runs and has an 8 RBIs (runs batted in) in the postseason.

4. Jim LeylandJim Leyland is the skipper of the Detroit Tigers. Skip handled the problem with failing closing pitcher Jose Valverde and even found his replacement in Phil Coke. Detroit’s very reserved manager also plays on his team’s strengths and ignores their weaknesses such as their inability to turn easy double plays. Though many wanted this World Series vet-eran’s head on a platter, he managed to persevere and get the team to the final destination.

5. Miguel CabreraMiguel hit a home run in his at-bat in the major leagues and has been

doing so ever since. The Triple Crown winner and captain of the Detroit Tigers is primarily the reason why the Tigers are here. When the Tigers are not performing offensively, the Tigers’ best offensive player takes up the slack and carries them on his back. Cabrera is the best hitter in the majors by a large margin and is the reason the Tigers made it this year.

6. The Oakland Athletics and their rookie teamIn the American League Division Series, the Detroit Tigers entered a bout with Oakland Athletics. Though Oakland is a great team and full of talent, many of them did not have experience in the postseason. However, the Tigers were in the postseason last year and used that to their advantage.

7. The Jeter FactorAfter Derek Jeter hurt his ankle in the second game in the Ameri-can League Championship series, the Yankees lost their leader. The Yankees then were like a chicken with their heads cut off and had no direction. Their leader was also responsible for 30 percent of their runs, resulting in a huge loss.

8. The Home FansThe Detroit Tigers are a whole different team when they play at home. Luckily for the team, most of their postseason games were at home so they played much better. Having home field advantage is great for the Tigers because the fans are so supportive and Comerica Park is always packed.

Eight Reasons Why the Tigers Lost the World Series

1.The Crazy Giants FansFan is short for fanatic and if you looked up a picture of what fanatic meant in a dictionary, you would see a picture of Giants fans. Giants fans love their team and when they come home to play they are the loudest fans in all of baseball. This would made Tigers a little uneasy while playing in San Fransisco.

HORSEPOWER • SPORTS • NOV/DEC 2012

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8 REASONSWhy the Tigers made it to the World Series this year, and eight reasons why they lost

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HORSEPOWER • SPORTS • NOV/DEC 2012

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2. The Lethargic Tiger After sweeping the Yankees in the ALCS, the Tigers had over a five day rest before playing in the World Series so they may have been a little off their game. However, the Giants were playing their hearts out because in both the NLDS and NCLS, they had to come back after losing some games.

3. Kung Fu PandaPablo Sandoval is the third baseman for the Giants and during the postseason he has actually been like the Poh the Dragon Warrior. This guy hit two homeruns off Justin Verlander in one game. Verlander barely gives up two hits, let alone home runs, so this guy came ready to party.

4. The Defense of the GiantsThe Tigers would have won at least one World Series game if it was not for the superb defense of the Giants. The Giants robbed the Tigers of so many hits that it was sometimes sad. For instance, Prince was robbed the chance of even getting a hit

because of the Giants’ superb defensive skills.

5. Teamwork The Giants acted as a team and all played their roles very well. Tigers were not much of a team and relied on their three and four hitters for runs.

6. Hunter Pence’s EyesThe Giants’ right-fielder has the scariest eyes in baseball. I think as some of the Tigers were coming up to bat, he stared them down to scare them.

7. No help from the Prince of the LongballPrince Fielder did not hit any homeruns in the postseason. Without his bat, the Tigers really suf-fered and lost many potential runs.

8. Good Giants PitchingAll of thepitchers pitched deep into game and kept each game close. Speaking of close, their closer Romo was nearly unhittatble in the World Series which helped quell a few potential rallies in the 9th inning.

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By Quintin Johnson

On Saturday, Oct. 20, the HFA:SCS varsity base-ball team members and hopefuls began to prepare for the upcoming spring season. Overseen by physics teacher and coach John Conway, athletes have been going through a series of Saturday conditioning exercises to get their bodies ready for the season start.

Seniors James Meadows and Felix Sawyer were accompanied by juniors Adari Barpenly and “Ball-Magnet” Tari Caldwell. Hopeful seniors like Pete Hawkins and Lorenzo Jackson have joined in on the training, trying to prove that they belong on the team at the season’s start.

Coach Conway has created a rigorous routine for both the hopefuls and returning students. Athletes are following a college level baseball workout that includes jumping jacks, heavy running, sprinting and exercises from the previous season’s practic-es. Recently, he has also incorporated a series of workouts known as Biometrics into the routine. Biometrics is used heavily in the off-season by both student and professional athletes as they try to remain in shape.

The second season officially begins in March 2013 and the Mustangs have a slew of talented teams to face on the schedule.

The highlight of the season will be when the team suits up to play against former Mustangs ace pitch-er Reginald King and the Communication Media and Arts High School Pharaohs.

Until the season begins, each member who makes it onto the team’s sophomore outing will be re-sponsible for raising at least one hundred dollars in order to help supply the school with better equipment, including pitching machines. Team members will also be responsible for finishing work on local Reggie Mackenzie Field, the future home of Mustangs baseball field.

Students interested in joining the team should speak with Conway. Conditioning is held every Saturday in the Thompson Gymnasium from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.

GETTINGWARMED UPBaseball players spend fall preparing for spring

EIGHT REASONS WHY THE TIGERSLOST THE WORLD SERIES è FROM PAGE 13

By Amanda Byrd

No one would have ever thought of an “art” school having a football team but HFA: SCS did. The school’s first football team consists of freshmen through seniors who have been practicing hard none stop since June 19th. This team has become the team of the year 2012. Play after play these young men have tried their hardest to become successful as a team, but find it rather hard when their side of the bleachers are empty. The absence of a support system has heavily impacted the first Mustang football team.

People who want something go get it and that’s exactly what these young men have done. This team has been put together with players who feel they can contribute with leadership, dedication and hard work. The players feel good about their team-mates when it comes to the game, knowing that each and every one of them has tried their hardest.

This is the way upperclassman DaVonte’ Lately feels about his team. Even though the score board shows that the team has made no progress, he still has faith within his team.

Players feel that their scrimmage games are totally different from their official games. Players are not as intimidated in practice as they are when it comes to the real thing. This may also become a disap-pointment to the team and fellow supports. Team members who are inexperienced may have this feeling and its okay since no one is perfect.

“The intensity of the game is different, it has a different vibe, and the game feels like a practice”

senior Dahmon Barnes said about the scrimmage games that they have won.

HFA: SCS’ football team started with Coach Man-ica, the school’s athletic director, who has given the students of this school what they have been asking for. Not the official football team for the school, the Mustangs are with a program called “Healthy

Kidz”from an organization established to provide schools with sports when they don’t offer them to the students.

Now that the school has sports, they have seemed to be failing. Both male teams, football and basket-ball, have failed to have a constant record of wins. Fellow students speak poorly of the players and what they should have done as a team, but there’s no “I” in team.

Grades are a high standard when it comes to being selected for and maintaining a position on the team, yet players took no responsibility for their actions as far as grades and behavior, paired with a lack of time management.

“The kids weren’t used to being held accountable for grades and behavior,” Coach Manica said. “We inherited their lack of management ... but now

they know to work and are ready.”

With teachers and adults on players’ heads to follow these rules, they can prepare for next season. The standards are being set higher, coaches are provided with professional development, and the players are being held accountable for grades and behavior. This way the Mustangs can have a better season.

However, Coach Jr. of the football team wants to lead his team to success. Even though winning isn’t everything to him, the enjoyment of the sport is what counts. He has players who are dedicated to the team and sport, serious about school academi-cally and have a good attitude.

He also feels comfortable using inexperienced play-ers because it gives them the basics of the sport. It’s a learning experience for the player so they can understand the sport, have fun while doing it and be ready for the future.

“Yes I want to win but over time they get bet-ter and build confidence,” Coach Jr. said. “Also, staying focused on grades is important and it’s an opportunity for scholarships and colleges to look at senior players.”

Seniors Jaleel Clark, DaVonte’ Lately and Dahmon Barnes have already been looked at by colleges to play. Though the Mustangs have become a place for opportunities that lead to achievement, players still have no support along the way.

The last game played by the HFA: SCS Mus-tangs took place Oct. 19, 2012 at Grosse Ile High School. Unfortunately, they did not gain a win. However, these young men tried their hardest to prove that they are a willing team and are ready to play this sport anywhere at any time.

The journey they took to get where they are now was not easy. Game after game they couldn’t seem to get a full side of bleachers. Fellow students haven’t really supported their football team, raising questions why a school like HFA hasn’t done so. Students who have attended have tried to encour-age others but find it hard when the team hasn’t seemed to make any progress.

“I think students don’t attend the games because of the team’s record and rumors of the team losing constantly,” senior Felix Sawyer said.

Players also try to encourage others that attend the school but convincing them isn’t the easiest thing to do when they are constantly bringing up the games that have been lost. So why not give this team sup-port because they are honestly trying?

These young men, these soldiers, wear those jerseys to represent the school and practice long, hard hours to complete plays to try to win games for the Mustang name. They try to answer the question “Who would have ever thought of an art school having a football team?” So that you could laugh and say “HFA: SCS Mustangs did.”

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HFA FOOTBALL:Where do they go from here?

Game after game, they couldn’t seem to get a full side of bleachers.

Photo by Oez/iStockPhoto