News
CHS Awarded With a National Blue Ribbon Award for Education
Oct. 2, 2019: On Sept. 26, 2019, Community High School (CHS) was recognized as one of this year’s National Blue Ribbon Schools. At 1 p.m., classes throughout the building watched a video released by Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos congratulating the 362 national recipients.
The National Blue Ribbon award is the highest federal recognition given out for education in the United States. Applications are received from up to 420 schools per year from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Department of Defense Education Activity and the Bureau of Indian Education. CHS is now one of more than 9,000 schools to have received the national accolade since the program’s founding in 1982.
CHS Celebrates Black History Month Through the Arts and 'Black Panther'
Feb. 28, 2019: For the CHS Black History Month celebration on Feb. 27, 2019, staff and students walked to the Michigan Theater to watch "Black Panther." This event was categorized under a Not School As Usual Day, and students were able to immerse themselves in Black culture and history during their school day.
I covered this with a fellow journalist, highlighting the full scope of the event. In addition to watching the movie, the lobby of the theater highlighted important figures and events throughout Black history. Students were greeted by CHS jazz band Unified Field Theory, covering pieces by important Black jazz musicians. This article was very fun to write. I was able to provide my readership with an insight to CHS's events, as well as the importance my school places on Black history.
Unity: This year's Martin Luther King Jr. Assembly
Jan. 20, 2019: On Friday, Jan. 18, the Black Student Union (BSU) hosted their annual assembly in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church. At around ten a.m., students shuffled into the pews of the old church for the hour long assembly and were greeted by the top CHS jazz band, Unified Field Theory.
For the third year in a row, two singers performed “Lift Every Voice and Sing” with the jazz band, accompanied by the American Sign Language (ASL) classes signing the lyrics. “Lift Every Voice and Sing” is considered the Black National Anthem, and all CHS students were asked to stand. This year, Terrance Vick and Nora Berry sang, and Tim Kohn finished the piece with a saxophone solo.
Saline Goes Global: A Racist Reality
Feb. 13, 2020: In early 2020, a small town in Washtenaw County, Mich. gained viral attention after a few white students called their black peers racial slurs. In the aftermath of the incident, school administration held listening sessions to discuss how to move forward. But at one of the listening sessions, local resident Adrian Iraola was told to "Go back to Mexico" as he was showing his solidarity with the black students that were affected.
In this article, my fellow journalist Dan Gutenberg and I talked to Iraola, as well as student activists on the general racial climate of their school and where to go next.
For this article, I won second place in the 2020 Michigan Interscholastic Press Association (MIPA) conference in the News Analysis Category.
BSU's First Soul Food Wednesday is a Success
BSU's New Plans for the Upcoming Year
Oct. 25, 2018: Community High’s Black Student Union (BSU), run by Janelle Johnson and Kevin Davis, held a meeting on Monday, Oct. 22. They collectively set the date for their first Soul Food Friday on Nov. 7, and decided what food to make and by whom. But this year, BSU is trying something new: they will also incorporate vegan options into their cuisine so that they can offer food to as many people as possible.
Not only did BSU plan out their Soul Food Friday, but they also discussed possible field trip options. They hope to go see “The Hate U Give,” as a movie field trip, along with visiting Detroit to check out museums like the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History and the Motown Museum. Although it is only October, they are discussing their plans early for the annual Martin Luther King Jr. assembly in January.
Nov. 13, 2018: On Wednesday, Nov. 7, CHS’s Black Student Union (BSU) hosted their first Soul Food Wednesday of the year during lunch on the third floor. Starting around 11 a.m., students formed a long line by the foldable tables, excitedly awaiting their food.
“We tend to get more and more people each year when we do Soul Food Wednesday, and I think it’s just a good way to meet new people,” senior Quincy Jenkins said. “It’s nice to serve food to others.”
For this article, I won an honorable mention in the 2019 MIPA conference in the Social Media Coverage category.
Skyline Men's Variety Soccer Tops Pioneer
Oct. 3, 2018: Skyline High School men’s varsity soccer team took on cross-town rival, Pioneer High School, on Sept. 27, 2018. It was a cold Thursday night, and fans gathered in the stands of Pioneer’s Hollway field to watch the two teams compete on the pitch.
This was the second time the two teams played each other this season. Their first game, in late August, resulted in a 0-0 tie, and both teams played with heart and intensity.
Protestors March for Justice
at Sheriff's Office
June 6, 2020: As the Black Lives Matter movement gained a resurgence in the summer of 2020 following the national attention from instances of police brutality, Washtenaw County followed suit with the rest of the country with protests. However, the protests occurring at the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Deptartment were in response to a viral video of a local instance of police brutality against a Black woman. Protestors gathered to decry the violent video, as well as demand the woman to be released from jail.
This article was incredible to cover, as it had been my first in-person reporting in months. During the demonstration, community members volunteered to speak out on the current issues, and I was able to interview many protestors and leaders. I even got the chance to interview the woman that was assaulted, taking photos of her and her family as they walked down one of Washtenaw County's busiest roads.
Listening Session Held in Saline
due to Tense Racial Climate
Feb. 11, 2020: "Listening Session Held in Saline due to Tense Racial Climate" was a brief my co-journalist and I published to our website as the story was unfolding. In a town adjacent to ours, racist remarks made by students in a group chat were brought to attention, and a listening session hosted by the local School Board was held to discuss the event. At this session, a parent expressing their support to the victims of the comments was met with a racist comment by another parent.
This article covers a second listening session held by the town to address the racist comments. In this meeting, we listened and talked to community members coming forward and expressing their experiences with racism in the local school system. This was an important article to cover, as I got to listen to the stories of racism that another community faced. It then made me realize the parallels between my own school system and theirs, pointing to the feeling of "otherness" and racist experiences that many of my peers of color and I experience.