NOCTILUCA Spring 2016 Vol.XXI Issue 11

NEWS Appleton, Wisconsin Spring 2016 Volume XXI

Issue II Page 2

Ms. Reed reflects on her career path

H umans of n ortH

North history teacher leads effort to help Siberian youth deal with chemical weapons

held at Appleton North every three weeks) the student pleads guilty, not guilty, or no contest to truancy. The Judge then has the ability to require students to do community service to make up for the missed school. If the student continues to miss school they would pay the $200.50 fine. On northnoct.com Read the letter AASD sent to families regarding policy changes. So the kids constructed an evacuation plan for them. They worked with the city council in Appleton to get the city to donate old sirens--there were no warning sirens. This village was so backwards, they didn’t even have a telephone, half of the time there was no run- ning water, there’s no electric- ity. No internet. So, an archaic city. Maybe the United States in 1885...and then chemical weapons, right next to each other. But they took us to the weapons deconstruction plant; we were able to get the whole tour. The kids got maps to try to figure out an evacuation plan, and my friend Mosha asked, “Where did you get those? We can’t get those.” It was weird. And then we trained a team of Future Problem Solvers in Chuchee so that they knew how to do this too. That was part of it as well, education, training, and safety. They [the Chuchee locals] had to feel safe enough to accept that. Then there was the International Conference, and all of the Russians came here. That’s when we met Gor- bachev. And last March, the last chemical weapon from the depot was destroyed. But, be- fore we left Chuchee, we went to Mosha’s flat to eat, because there was no place to stay that had running water. We came in, and her father had just picked wild strawberries. I mean, they lived like it was fifty years ago. And he had just milked the cow. So we had this warm, fizzy milk and strawber- ries. And people were toasting to each other. Mosha’s mother, she went to toast and said, “If you had told me anytime in my life, that I would have Ameri- cans, sitting at my table in my home, I would have never be- lieved it.” That was profound. If you lived through the Cold War...that was so powerful.

By Maeve Salm

The Noctiluca: What are

you most proud of?

In the February issue of the Noctiluca there were inaccu- racies in the article regarding AASD attendance and truancy policies. All students have up to ten unexcused absences. To be absent for a full day a student would have to miss more than two thirds of a day or have excused absences accu- mulating to two thirds of a day. If a student were to accu- mulate a total of 10 excused absences a medical note would let, and he said, “I wish my PhD history students could do this.” And that’s all he said. Which you know, planted this little seed, like “Oh. I guess I’m kind of good at history.” It’s funny…all of the junc- tures through life. So, my first two degrees are in music, and I have hundreds of extra cred- its. I had gone back to school to become certified in history, and went back again to be- come certified in broadfield social studies. I’ve really never stopped going to school. So, I think I’ve found the right field...I’m in the right field. By Nora Ptacek For North U.S. history teacher Ms. Marlyce Reed helping students solve global problems is just as important as teaching history. In an effort to explore the story of a well- respected and erudite faculty member of Appleton North, the Noctiluca conversed with Ms. Reed. The Noctiluca: Describe your collegiate pursuits. Mrs. Reed: I was a clari- netist in college. I practiced so much that I actually destroyed my embouchure. To this day, if I put a clarinet in my mouth, my mouth, it just shakes and quivers. So, I was forced to find another passion… . That was kind of a bad time. Then I ended up here. It was really a circuitous path. When I obtained my mas- ter’s at Northwestern, you know, you have to sit in front of a panel of professors. I’ll never forget the music history professor. See, I was a compo- sition major at the time. He just took my test book-

be sent home to the family and the school would work with the family and student to help them with whatever their needs may be, said Assistant Principal Mr. Patrick Lee. Even if the family would have no medical reason for the ten unexcused absence the school would work with the family, taking vacation and conferences into hand as each circumstance is unique, Mr. and ears open for a circum- stance where they could apply these skills to the real world. One night, I was at dinner at a friend’s house, and they were involved in the Sister City Proj- ect in Russia. One of them was the head of ThedaCare, one was the head of Boldt, one was a doctor, one was a big business construction owner, one was a hospital administrator; they were people in the community that had great influence. They had definite, tangible things they could provide, and I sat at the table thinking, “What do I have to contribute?”And then it was like a lightning bolt. Future Problem Solvers. The kids. But I never expected even at that level for it to end up as it did. I still can’t believe their par- ents let me take them all of the way to Siberia, near a chemical weapons depot. But they did. They were awesome. And this small village of Chuchee, it correction Mrs. Reed: So, I coached this program called Future Problem solving. And the kids got really good; they were just really talented kids. They kept winning, winning, winning. They’d win state, and then they’d win internationals. Well, in the program, they’re given topics of global significance, and futurists, like people from MIT, would prepare scenarios with respect to predicted future problems. And then the kids would generate problems and solve them. It occurred to me after awhile, that it was all kind of academic. They had all of this talent here; why didn’t they actually solve a real problem? So I was keeping my eyes

Ms. Reed, left, stands with members of Future Prob- lem Solvers near the chemical weapons stockpile in Chuchee, Siberia. This image is a part of a series of infographics detailing the team’s efforts to help villag- ers. See all the infographics at northnoct.com. Graphic courtesy of Ms. Reed

Lee said. An inaccuracy in the previ- ous article referenced a shift from minutes based recording to periods based recording but this does not affect students be- cause their absences will still be measured by periods. Only in the system will the minutes missed be recorded and purely for the Department of Public Instruction’s data col- lection purposes. After every unexcused ab- sence (this could be all or part ons depot. It was full of Cold War chemical gas canisters. And my friend Mosha that I met on an exchange; she was from this village. Her father was in charge of the railroad in the village. And for all of these years during the Cold War, train load after train load of these chemical weapons were coming in. And even Mosha’s mother didn’t know. Nobody knew what was on those train cars. But it was all chemical weapons...and they were being stored two kilometers from the town. So the Soviet Union dis- solved, and all of a sudden, no- body was guarding the chemi- cal weapons anymore. This old, run-down, barn-like build- ing from the 1940s or 1950s had a wire fence around it, and you could walk around it and see places where it had been cut. People had been in and out. The lock on the front was a padlock sealed by a wax-like stamp, similar to stamps used to seal legal documents in the Middle Ages. They put a piece of wire through it and melted was just two kilometers away from town. There was this huge weap-

of one day), the parents are called and the student speaks with the dean to try and work through any problems causing an unexcused absence. After four unexcused ab- sences, the student’s family will receive a letter requesting a meeting with Mr. Lee where they will work to help the stu- dent attend school and inform them that if they have one more unexcused absence they will have to appear in truancy court. In truancy court (which is senators, Nunn and Lugar, got a bill passed in the Congress where the United States donat- ed 248 million dollars to build a weapons deconstruction plant there. But the people who lived in Chuchee who had just, for the first time, found out those weapons were there--which is mind boggling--were just ter- rified. Because they [the weap- ons] were going to be handled, and there was the threat of po- tential accidents, and so forth. So, the kids’ project was to con- vince the village that this was a good idea. And to do that, they set up a program called SASY, Save a Siberian Youth, where people could buy any student at the school or anyone in the vil- lage a gas mask. They used to tell the kids to put a scarf over their faces. Which is like tell- ing us to dive under the desk. It wasn’t going to save anybody. wax. That was how they knew if someone had broke in. The guard didn’t carry a weapon. And inside, there was enough serine gas in this one place to kill every human being on the planet three times. In other words...no security. So, these two American

Attendance policy change redefines full day of absence

OPINIONS Appleton, Wisconsin Spring 2016 Volume XXI

Issue II

Page 3

Noctiluca Editorial

Peer grading hurts more students than it helps

When taking a small quiz or turning in a homework as- signment in class, it’s com- mon practice for a teacher to allow students to grade their peers’ work. Whether it be to save time, avoid grading stacks of papers, or to give quick feedback on a student’s performance, it is completely unnecessary and invasive to allow students to see others’ grades. In 2002, the Supreme Court ruled that allowing students to grade others’ tests and quizzes and even call out test scores did not violate FER- PA, or the Family Education Rights Privacy Act. This law- suit was brought forward by a concerned Oklahoma par- ent, who believed that allow- ing other students to see her child’s scores and grade her student’s work embarrassed her child. While the court’s ruling al- lows for the continuation of these grading policies, many people still believe that they are unfair and invade on stu- dents’ privacy. In Appleton North, many teachers use this system of peer grading to provide quick feedback on small quizzes Citizenship is precious, par- ticularly American citizen- ship. Those of us born and raised in this country are be- yond fortunate to be provided with the liberties outlined by the American Constitution. Personally, I cannot imagine the insurmountable stress as- sociated with the naturaliza- tion process; there is so much on the line. Not only is one vying for individual liberties when ap- plying for citizenship, but she is also searching to secure the potential for her children to prosper as well. As a child, I often wondered why native- born Americans never needed to pass a citizenship test to prove they are educated about the mechanics of their own government; I felt it unfair that immigrating individuals were required to know more about my government than I did at that time. My scant comprehension of government made me feel By Maeve Salm

or homework assignments. While providing a fast way to learn from your mistakes, many students feel that this opens them up to scru- tiny from other kids. “When teachers let other kids grade my tests and assignments, I feel like I’m being judged by my peers on my scores,” said junior Kamy Veith. “I think that grades should only be be- tween you and your teacher, not other students.” While some teachers may argue that the benefits given by a quick score turnaround outweigh the potential dis- comfort some students will experience, many students believe that there are ways to bypass the embarrassment of having your peer grade your test while still receiving rela- tively quick results. “I understand that teachers are busy and sometimes quiz- zes take a while to grade, but they do have options like us- ing scantron sheets to shorten their grading times,” said ju- nior Yasmeen Ashour. “Let- ting other kids see students’ tests makes students uncom- fortable, and it’s not fair for a teacher to put a student in that situation if there are other

Many teachers allow students to grade small quizzes or assignments to provide faster feedback. Photo by Olivia Molter

alternatives available.” With numerous options such as Scantron grading, self grad- ing, and personal work reflec- tions available to a teacher to provide relatively quick test- ing results, there is no need to share out a student’s work has upheld the right for teach- ers to allow peer grading in public schools, this does not mean that this is the best means for correcting provid- ing both assistance and com- fort to students. New citizenship test will create more responsible citizens for peer grading and reflec- tion. Through the use of these alternative means of grading, teachers can work to create a safe learning environment for all students, without sacrific- ing educational value. Even though the Supreme Court

ments, though. Taking it junior year during my APUSH class, I could not have been in a bet- ter position to complete the exam. Granted, Civics did cover some of the more trivial infor- mation inquired about within the test, such as the length of time contained in one presi- dential term, but the exam was much easier than I had antici- pated; it encompassed the very basics of U.S. government and geography. Passing the exam with a C is more manageable than you may be led to believe. Ultimately, we should all be thankful the AASD is requir- ing its students to complete this task prior to graduation. At least a basic comprehen- sion of government should be mandatory for all citizens of the U.S.; ignorance can be the root of many illogical deci- sions. Ensuring students pass this exam will hopefully result in more educated and produc- tive individuals that will make positive impacts on the world.

Currently, eight of the fifty states require a citizenship test to graduate high school. Wisconsin adjusted graduation requirements this past year to include passing the test with at least a C. Graphic by Kate Bennett

guilty. How come I was al- lowed to possess liberties that others had to stressfully test for to obtain in America and dangerously petition for in other areas of the world? Ultimately, I came to the conclusion that a citizenship test composed for native-born citizens would be a beneficial implementation into society, but effectively executing this

task would have been incred- ibly difficult. So, I left this concept alone, not aware that I would bump into it again in the future. This year, the AASD and the state of Wisconsin have adjust- ed graduation requirements to include passing, with at least a C, a model citizenship exam, with the intention that it be taken during the Freshman

Civics course. This year’s se- niors do not have to try to find time prior to graduation to take this exam, but 2017 graduates and beyond will have to com- plete this requirement. Initially, I was taken aback at this new request made...pri- marily because it was another exam to add to the books. This exam is quite a great addition to our graduation require-

OPINIONS Appleton, Wisconsin Spring 2016 Volume XXI Issue II

Page 4

Students should not opt out of consent lessons By Carl Zuleger According to the Rape,

Noctiluca Mission Statement The Noctiluca and north noct.com are the student-run news sources of Appleton North High School. Noctiluca and northnoct.com are designated public forums for student ex- pression. Student editors make all content decisions. Noctiluca’s mission is to publish information relevant to its readers and its commu- nity. Its goal is to maintain high ethical standards and provide a designated public forum for free and responsible expression of views. The newspaper and website welcome diversity of scope, depth and breadth of cover- age in order to heighten mutual understanding and awareness through our entire community. Appleton North High School 5000 N. Ballard Road Appleton, WI 54913 Phone: (920) 832-4300 Mr. Ramponi, staff advisor, at: ramponiaaron@aasd .k12.wi.us. Editorial Staff Senior Editor-In-Chief Megha Uberoi Co-Junior Editor-In-Chief

member, decided to take an op- portunity to educate freshmen classes on what consent is and why it is important. According to the Wisconsin Legislature, consent is words or overt ac- tions by a person who is com- petent to give informed consent indicating a freely given agree- ment to have sexual intercourse or sexual contact. The Legis- lature cites two cases in which a person would be considered unfit to give consent, the first being “A person suffering from a mental illness or defect which impairs capacity to appraise personal conduct,” and the sec- ond being, “ A person who is unconscious or for any other reason is physically unable to communicate unwillingness to an act.” So essentially, if some- one says no, or is unable to say yes, then the answer is no. It’s that simple. This information is crucial to the betterment of society. It is vital for all to have a working understanding, which is exactly what club leaders were working to achieve by visiting freshmen classes. The catch, however, is that students had an option to not attend the presentation due to its sensitive subject matter. This allowance was unaccept-

Abuse, & Incest National Net- work (also known as RAINN), every 107 seconds, someone experiences sexual assault. On average, there are 293,000 people above the age of twelve victimized by sexual assault each year. 68 percent of those sexual assaults are not reported to the police, and 98 percent of rapists will never spend a day in jail. Each victim is a real per- son, one with thoughts and emotions. Each one is a person like you. What they experi- enced, to have their basic hu- man rights invaded in a cruel and abusive manner, is irrefut- ably awful and unacceptable. Now, there are numerous ar- ticles that have been written about how one can protect themselves from rape, but re- cently the focus has shifted. The goal, the endgame, is to stop people from raping others in the first place, which starts with a clear understanding of the term consent. Consent is the key aspect that determines whether or not a sexual act can be considered rape, which is why Gender Equality Club, of which I am a

One in four girls and one in six boys are sexually abused in the U.S. Statistic by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. Graphic by Kate Bennett

able, for a few reasons. First of all, by allowing students to not attend, it de-emphasizes the im- portance of consent. It gets the students thinking “well, con- sent must not be that important, if we don’t have to go...” Sec-

ondly, if attending the presenta- tion is optional, it implies that asking for consent is optional. Not only is it morally wrong to have sex with someone against their wishes, but it is illegal as well. In order to keep in line with the law, one must know what the law is. And thirdly, if freshman health can spend an entire unit talking about sex ed- ucation (which only touches on consent), they can surely han- dle a presentation that doesn’t even last an hour. The only reasonable in- stance in which it would be acceptable for a student to re- fuse to be educated on consent would be if they have already been a victim of rape. Then talking about the issue of con- sent may be a trigger to them, and it is very understandable if they would like to avoid that situation. But for everyone else, education on consent is too important to have the op- portunity to opt out of it.

Nora Ptacek Erik Bakken Managing Editor

Elise Painton News Editor Katharine Hackney Opinions Editor Kate Bennett Features Editor Rachel Flom Co-Centerspread Editor Fatima Ali Leah Dreyer

Culture Editor Maddy Schilling

Sports Editor AJ Floodstrand Photography Editor Sofia Voet

Copy Editor Abby Davies Advertising/Social Media Rachel Brosman Graphics Editor Morgan Stuedemann Online Editor Abby Plankey Advisor Mr. Ramponi Contributors Fatima Ali

Freshman classes attend presentations, hosted by various clubs, every late start Wednesday. Photo by Adison Cole

H umans of n ortH

Erik Bakken Kate Bennett Rachel Brosman Maddie Clark Rachel Flom AJ Floodstrand Caroline Holmes Olivia Molter Salma Abdel-Azim

“When I was a little kid, I really struggled with math until my dad taught me how to add and subtract. Now I’m in Calculus BC, and I am planning to study applied mathematics in college.” - Rishi Pawar

“My first show at North was the Tempest; I played a younger ver- sion of my sister, and I was so afraid of the di- rector. Now this is my twentieth show at North, and I am the student di- rector. In my position, I get to see everything from a different per- spective. It’s a very empathetic role; I can’t participate in anything going on onstage, but I still feel everything that’s happening good or bad.” - Molly Biskupic

Circee Novick Elise Painton Ally Price

Nora Ptacek Maeve Salm Maddy Schilling Morgan Stuedemann

Molly Biskupic is an assistant director for the musical . Photo by Kate Bennett

Rishi Pawar is a senior at North. Photo by Kate Bennett

Sonia Tallorth Megha Uberoi Sofia Voet Carl Zuleger

FEATURES Appleton, Wisconsin Spring 2016 Vol. XXI Page 5 Will Scheffler brings Irish dancing to North By Jacob Zajkowski H umans of n ortH Issue II

“The World Champion- ships is something that Irish dancers always dream of going to, and it is the equivalent of the Olympics to us.”- Will Scheffler over, they invited kids up to the stage to learn an Irish jig, and I loved it,” said Scheffler. “They had a booth in the lob- by that day where you could sign up for a free couple of weeks of classes in Appleton, so I begged my mom to let me try it. She said that I could try it, not thinking that I would still be doing it 9 years later.” Being an Irish dancer has been a great commitment for Scheffler. “I guess the crazi- est thing that I do with Irish dancing is driving to Milwau- makes noise, while the front doesn’t,” Scheffler said. “My family and I went to this concert and the Trinity Irish Dancers were there per- forming. When the concert was

All of the information he receives from the pieces of technology transfer onto his computer, and it describes the temperature, pressure read- ings, and other basic statistics occurring in the atmosphere at that time. Besides using a weather program at home, Mr. Shad- ick’s “closet hobby” involves being a trained weather spot- ter for the National Weather Service. There is a free class offered in the spring every year where people are trained to provide accurate reports that the Na- tional Weather Service can use. “You basically get a spe- cial access number where you can call the National Service and report snowfall totals. They train you how to spot tornadoes, so if you ever see on the news that a trained weather spotter reported this, that’s what that is.” The class is about 3-4 hours long, and Mr. Shadick has taken it in the past. “It’s fun. It’s a relax- ing and different thing for me to do outside my daily norm.” Anyone can take the class, in- cluding high school students. the competitive side of Irish dancing. “Doing well at this com- petition means that you can qualify for the National and World Championships. This “She said that I could try it, not thinking that I would still be doing it 9 years later.”-Will Scheffler past November I placed 4th at the Mid American Champion- ships which qualified me for the National andWorld Cham- pionships. I will be compet- ing in the World Champion- ships this March in Glasgow, Scotland. This will be the second time I have been to the Worlds. The World Cham- pionships is something that Irish dancers always dream of going to, and it is the equiva- lent of the Olympics to us.” Scheffler has seen success in his time as an Irish dancer. He loves doing it and plans on continuing for the foreseeable future.

teacher at Appleton North, has a special interest in me- teorology. Meteorology is the study of the atmosphere, and more specifically, the study of weather patterns and condi- tions. The person on the morn- ing news who describes the weather forecasts for the week is known as a meteorologist. Those people analyze data and try to predict how certain parts of the earth will be af- fected by weather phenomena such as wind currents, storms, and precipitation, among oth- er things. A meteorologist is a fairly general term for anyone who is in the profession of me- teorology, but there are actu- ally many different kinds of meteorologists that focus on specific aspects of the atmo- sphere. Mr. Shadick, although he is not a meteorologist, has had an interest in meteorol- ogy since he was young. His hobby began after he had taken an interest in a spe- cific hurricane that hit Loui- siana and Florida in 1992. “There was a huge hurricane named Hurricane Andrew, “I started when I was five years old,” said freshman Will Scheffler as he explained his experiences as an Irish dancer. Irish dancing is a kind of dance traditional to Ireland and is incredibly athletic. There are two types of shoes that are used for Irish dancing: Soft Shoes and Hard Shoes. “Hard Shoes are the ones that make noise when you dance because they have a resin based bottom. Soft Shoes don’t make noise for the girls, but for the boys the heels have a resin bottom that

Will Scheffler has been an Irish dancer since he was five years old and he competes competitively, having danced at the National and World Champi- onships. Photo by Sofia Voet.

kee at least three days a week after school. Right now we are driving down on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday.” Irish dancing is not only fun, it is also very competi- tive. “I go to small competi- tions pretty regularly that are

usually in Milwaukee, Chica- go, or Minneapolis, however in November there is a re- gional competition called the Oireachtas. This is a major competition that draws danc- ers from all over the Mid- west,” Scheffler said about

H umans of n ortH Teacher’s unique hobby sparks interest at North By Rachel Flom Andrew Shadick, a history

Andrew Shadick has had a love for meteorology since he discovered he shared his name with a deadly hurricane. Photo by Mr. Ramponi.

The category 5 hurricane was one of the costliest hurricanes at the time, about fifteen years before Hurricane Katrina tore apart the southern United States in 2006. Hurricane Andrew was what had inspired Mr. Shad- ick to study meteorology as a hobby, and his interest contin- ues today. Although he considers me- teorology to be interesting, his passion for teaching his- tory is stronger than his pas-

sion for meteorology.

which is my full name, that hit the southern coast of Flor- ida, and I thought it was the coolest thing that a storm was named not after me, but had shared the same name as me.” “You can have a pas- sion about something and not have to be a professional for it. I’m not anywhere close to being a professional.” -Mr. Andrew Shadick

In his free time, Mr. Shad- ick reads message boards pro- vided by the National Weath- er Service and has his own personal weather station at home where he can keep track of weather patterns. “I basi- cally have a rain gauge that is digital. I have an anemom- eter, which is a wind sensor, and it sits on my roof, which my neighbors think it’s funny when I climb on my roof to charge it or fix it.”

See Flom , page 9

Humans of A

Liliam Ocampus, Cuba “My name is Liliam, I am 16, and I was born in Via Clara, Cuba, but I lived in Havana, Cuba for 7 years. “[In Havana] I lived in an apartment. “The problem is, you have no money to go

“My family, my fa- ther, and my mother got ap- proved to be political refugees. My brother does not fall under the status of a political refu- gee, but he is here too. “It took us a year to be approved. My dad had tried before but didn’t get approved. This is the second time he tried. “Appleton North is pretty diverse, there are a lot of different cultures. I feel at ease here. I don’t feel discrim- inated here. “I would like for peo- ple to know that I have an edu- cation. We are very similar. We are not exactly same because I come from a different back- ground and different culture so I have different values, but it doesn’t mean that I am much different from others, the other people here. I don’t want peo- ple to think that because I am from a different country I am less educated. When I came here, I thought I would not be able to fit into the system. Mostly, I thought it would be very hard. I feel like I can defi- nitely [handle school].”

anywhere, but there are places you can go for free. We went dancing a lot. “I arrived here May 20, 2015. I spent a day in Miami, and then I came to Appleton. We are political refugees, and we were told to go to Appleton, assigned by the World Relief Program. Po- litical refugees are people who have a choice, having been in disagreement with the political regime in Cuba, or the govern- ment. “These are the people that participate in protests and all kinds of manifestations of your disagreement, openly. You can apply to be a political refugee, and if you are approved, they bring you here and assign you a place.

“In my case, I am not a political refugee. I came here fleeing poverty and vio- lence, because it is a really violent situation in Hondu- ras. It is not safe. My mom and I came with my little sis- ter trying to flee the violence in Honduras and look for bet- ter opportunities here. “It’s mostly, like, a kind of violence. Gangs that are absolutely out of the law, but they have power, they have weapons, there is a lot of drug trafficking and narco- war. There are drug lords that have a lot of trouble and no one is safe.” “It is very hard to make friends as a community because of the language bar- rier. I want people to know that I am a good per- son. It is really hard to make friends, but there are a lot of good people in this area who help you a lot.”

Vera Meza, Honduras “My name is Vera Meza, and I come from Hon- duras; I am 16 years old. I was born in Juticalpa. Like a small city, there are many places you can visit that are nice. There are rivers. No beaches, but lots of rivers and hills and high places you can go up and see the whole view of the city. I used to go to school, and after spend time at my grandmother’s house. I used to go out a lot with my friends.” “I arrived here July 4, 2014, and spent one day in Texas, and then I came here on a bus.”

The Noctiluca had the opportunity t view various international students, fellow North students would be able their incredible stories that brought t this seemingly distant little hub in Ap Wisconsin. These are the stories of who shared.

pletonNorth

Claude Muhire, Rwanda Claude’s parents were refugees from the Congo (Dem- ocratic Republic of the Congo). “There is a conflict in the Congo that forced them to leave. I was born in Rwanda and I grew up in Rwanda. Be- cause you are a refugee you have to wait to study in middle school and high school. There were 2,000 people in the school

FEATURES Appleton, Wisconsin Spring 2016 Vol. XXI

Issue II

Page 8

H umans of n ortH

Flom, Shadick’s love of meteorology, from page 5

“All kids, all teach- ers, all adults, anybody should continue to learn about things that they find interesting.” -Mr. Andrew Shadick tween a trained weather/storm spotter and a storm chaser, which some have heard is the hobby that Mr. Shadick has. “I have gone out and followed storms, but I’m not a trained storm chaser. That’s some- thing that you would have to go to a trained meteorol- Martin Poretti is used to moving around the Western Hemisphere. He was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and has moved twice since. Recently, they found out that they’re moving, yet again, back to Georgia next July. He lived in Argentina for six years before being moved to a rough part of At- lanta, Georgia in the United States. “When I first moved to America I stayed in a hotel for a week because I was too young to help my parents set up boxes, but when I moved here we got rid of all the boxes and unpacked in around three days. Not only did I have no friends but I also was trying new foods.” Twelve years later, he moved to the house he lives in here in Appleton, Wisconsin. He likes moving because of the experiences you get out of it, meeting new people, and the new cultures. The cultures of the places that the Poretti family has lived have differed a lot. In Argentina, there wasn’t as much technology as there is in other parts of the world. It’s much colder here then it is in Argentina and Georgia. The food is very different between the countries. In Ar- gentina, they eat homemade The National Weather Ser- vice needs spotters so that they can receive accurate in- formation that can be relayed to the public. When aver- age snowfall is reported, it’s based off of the numbers giv- en to them by the trained spot- ters, and they take the average of those numbers and release it to the newscasters to report. There is a difference be-

America, “I went to a school where they thought I was stu- pid because I didn’t read as fast as the others even though I knew Spanish and was the best in the class for math. I had a hard time adapting but I didn’t give up, making it worth it in the long run,” Poretti said. Here we play video games for fun because of the lack of good weather, whereas in Ar- gentina they’re outside play- ing soccer all of the time. Argentina and Georgia were sunny and warm all of the time, and there were lots of things to do. Wisconsin, however, is the polar opposite, and he likes it because of that. “In Wisconsin, it was eas- ier because I already knew how to make friends and start over. I had many new friends and experiences everywhere I have been and I never regret- ted moving. I only hope that when I move to Georgia I will have fun,” said Poretti. Martin doesn’t plan on moving back to Wisconsin, at least not with his family, be- cause he doesn’t think they’ll be moving back within the next three years. However, he thinks that they will visit, seeing that they visit Georgia and Argentina every so often. ogy has sparked the interest of other teachers as well. Mr. Shadick says that he loves to talk about the weather and that other teachers at Apple- ton North have conversations with him about his interest. Some teachers have jokingly given Mr. Shadick a hard time about meteorology. He was embarrassed by the hobby at first, having been given the nickname “T-Storm” by the history teachers, but now it has become a fun joke for the staff. Mr. Shadick encourages people to do research on the imaging. Professionals like analytical chemists, oceanog- raphers, and climate scientists gather information for people like Mr. Shadick to see at no cost. The NOAA focuses on education to help restore the environment and even aims to protect environmental sanctu- aries in the United States. The hobby of meteorol-

Martin commented that, “I probably wouldn’t want to live in Argentina as I wouldn’t be at their level of reading and writing”. “I went to a school where they thought I was stupid because I didn’t read as fast as the others even though I knew Spanish and was the best in the class for math. I had a hard time adapting but I didn’t give up, making it worth it in the long run. -Martin Poretti Martin misses his friends in Atlanta and Argentina, but he just makes new ones so he doesn’t have to hold onto the past. He doesn’t really mind moving, just because he’s so used to it by now. He just has to find the right friend group wherever he ends up. Martin’s liked all of the places that he’s lived. Martin would like to move to some- where in Europe because it seems fun over there to him. His favorite memory out- side of the United States is “visiting my family which we do about every other year” in Argentina. ing to Mr. Shadick because just about anyone can form a hobby around it. He says, “You can have a passion about something and not have to be a professional for it. I’m not anywhere close to being a professional.” He believes in the importance of having hob- bies and interests because of what they can do for people. “All kids, all teachers, all adults, anybody should con- tinue to learn about things that they find interesting.” topic. “I think it’s something fun because people always care about the weather. I mean, what’s the first thing a lot of us do in the morning? What am I going to wear to- day? We check the weather to find out.” Storms in particular fascinate the public, includ- ing Mr. Shadick. “They’re fun… well, not fun when they cause damage, injury, or loss of life, but I just think they’re intriguing.” Meteorology is interest-

Mr. Shadick owns a weather detection device that allows him to track Appleton’s weather. Photo by Mr. Shadick.

ogy school for, and that is not what I do.” Mr. Shadick uses noaa. gov, the website of the Na- tional Oceanic and Atmo-

spheric Administration, to receive his reports. The web- site provides the public with basic weather services such as forecasts, radars, and satellite

H umans of n ortH

Appleton North student reflects on differing cultures By Adison Cole

Martin Poretti has moved from Argentina to Georgia to Wisconsin, and his family is returning back to Georgia next summer. Photo by Sofia Voet.

foods whereas in America we

Argentina due to bad govern- ment spending, although there is a new president who was recently elected, according to Martin Poretti. The school system is also completely different there. The curriculum did not really differ between Atlanta and Appleton, but he only expe- rienced pre-K in Argentina - which was pretty easy in his opinion. When he first moved to

“I had many new friends and experiences every- where I have been and I never regretted moving. I only hope that when I move to Georgia I will have fun. -Martin Poretti

purchase ours.

People are less educated in

CULTURE Appleton, Wisconsin Spring 2016 Vol. XXI Issue II

Page 9

By Maddy Schilling Cosplay: A blossoming community and artform

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cosplay you can choose whomever you want; you can be your favorite char- acter and you can be strong or sneaky or cute or what- ever you think embodies that character. An added bonus is that you’ll prob- ably meet other people who are interested in a lot of the same things you are. Noctiluca: Are there any favorite cosplays of yours? Novick: Honestly most of my previous cosplays have been trash and I hadn’t put much effort into them, but most recently I cosplayed Delirium from The Sand- man at Fall Ball. Noctiluca: Have you found that there are certain stereotypes and miscon- ceptions regarding the co- splay community? Novick: I think one of the biggest misconceptions is that cosplayers are huge losers who have no friends or social life and that only nerds are into it. I think a lot of people who don’t re- ally know anything about cosplay might have a men- tal image of some kid in a cheap polyester Halloween costume, and while there are “bad” cosplays, that’s not what it is. Many co- splayers invest incredible amounts of time, effort, skill and money into their costumes.

In the area, there’s Kit- sune Kon. It’s not huge but it’s nearby in Green Bay and it’s pretty cheap, twen- ty to thirty dollars depend- ing on when you buy the tickets. On a national level, some of the most popu- lar conventions are Anime Expo, Otakon, Comic con, Anime Central and many others. Noctiluca: In seeing such a wide variety of people who cosplay, is it some- thing you would recom- mend to others? Novick: I would defi- nitely recommend cosplay if it’s something you’re interested in. There are so many options in terms of characters to cosplay and there’s bound to be some- thing you’re interested in. With box office smashes like Star Wars: The Force Awakens , Deadpool and the impending Batman v Superman: Dawn of Jus- tice films flooding theaters, a new wave of moviego- ers are being introduced to the cosplay scene with the introduction of fresh, popular characters in the media; the opportunity to be a cosplayer is becoming increasingly more attain- able and, to the pleasure of Novick and countless oth- ers, more acceptable to the mainstream.

With the growing popu- larity of the internet comes an inherent growth in the accessibility of media cul- ture; from video games, to YouTube channels, to com- ic book universes, to tele- vision streaming sites, the generation of today is expe- riencing a surge in new and exciting ways to share their mutual interests. Though it has existed as a hobby since 1990, a certain type of expression has made its presence known globally in just the past few years: the art of cosplay. Indeed, cosplay contin- ues to draw interest from global communities as the artform itself has grown. Cosplayers like twenty- one-year-old Jessica Nigri from New Zealand, for in- stance, have accumulated hundreds of thousands of followers on social media websites like Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram and DeviantArt with their in- tricate interpretations of characters spanning from the Marvel Universe to the anime world. This rapid development has spawned hundreds of cosplay- themed conventions. To answer questions re- garding the definition, community, and miscon- ceptions of the artform, the Noctiluca sat down with Appleton North sopho- more and cosplayer Circée Novick. Noctiluca: Before we get started, what exactly is co- splay? Novick: Cosplay is a mix of the words “costume” and “play,” but I think the easiest way to describe it is simply dressing up as a character. Noctiluca: Why is it im- portant to you? Novick: It’s important to me for some of the same reasons that theater is. It allows you to be someone else for a while. Except that unlike theater, where you’re kind of stuck in whatever part you get, in

Photo by Olivia Molter

“The core of the town was up on a hill and...all the buildings in the top town were either original or made to look like they were from the 14th cen- tury.” -Circ é e Novick Circée recalls her French home

By Olivia Molter

that the town put on every year. Vendors lined up along streets and sold handcrafted medieval goods and people dressed up in elaborate me- dieval costumes. She went on to describe a specific memory that particularly stood out: “It was one of my first festivals, I was may- be 10, and I was walking around in the moat (really just a dried narrow channel surrounding the ramparts at this point). There was an ar- row fletcher (a person who makes arrows) there, and he gave me one of his arrows for free. And it was a real arrow, with a real tip and everything,” said Novick. Circée also mentioned her old home, recalling that her house was the only one made of wood in the whole town. “The property actu- ally used to be a cherry or- chard, when we bought it, it had these two strange, kind of run down houses on it, so we ended up tearing them down and rebuilding, then our house was the only one like it, the rest were stone.”

Circée Novick, a sopho- more at Appleton North, was 14 when she moved from Provins, France to the United States. “[Provins] is a medieval city,” she said. “Also it’s a Unesco world heritage site, so it’s protect- ed.” The historic town was once a major center of trad- ing in France, a power al- most as great as Paris. “The core of the town was up on a hill and was walled by ram- parts and all the buildings in the top town were either original or made to look like they were from the 14th Century,” Novick said. She elaborated and talked about how the “Top Town” was the historic, medieval part of the town within the ramparts, while the “Lower Town” was the more mod- ern part of the city sur- rounding the ramparts. When asked about her favorite part of living in Provins, Circée described the annual medieval fes- tival, an anticipated event

Novick modeling in cosplay outside of her home. Photo by Circée Novick.

CULTURE Appleton, Wisconsin Spring 2016 Vol. XXI Issue II Page 10

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By Caroline Holmes Behind the stage with KamyVeith andMaddy Cuff

biggest [skill needed] be- cause a lot of people will ask you questions that you don’t have the answers to, but they kind of expect you to, so you just kinda gotta roll with the punches! Maddy: It’s also really helpful to be organized... Kamy: Yes... Maddy: We are also full time students, so you need to organize theatre as well as organize yourself, and it’s always good to know what’s going on, so you need to understand what you need to know. Every- day for rehearsal we get it set up by taking attendance of people who are sup- posed to be there, and mak- ing sure all of the props are ready...and, if we have the set pieces, we make sure that they’re ready to re- hearse with. Kamy: And if people aren’t there who are sup- posed to be there, we have to call them and find out why they aren’t there and if they’re coming. I enjoy it, usually. I think it’s fun to be in kind of a role...in an “in-charge” role. It’s kind of funny to watch everyone scurry around, and you ac- tually know what’s going on, it’s good! I like control, so I like to kind of be in control, so I can make ev- erything else kind of flow nicely. Maddy : It’s good work

Jack Russell, a senior at Appleton North, possesses the rare talent of perfect pitch. “You can name any key in music theory, know ev- ery note in the universe, and be able to recognize “I can’t view most live shows without being bombarded with audio-sensory mayhem.” The Appleton North High School theatre program harbors quite the reputation not only within the com- munity of Appleton, but throughout all of Wiscon- sin. Having won seventeen consecutive Critics Choice Awards for their one act plays at the annual Wiscon- sin State High School The- atre Festival, maintaining such a standing seems dif- ficult to maintain. Maddy Cuff and Kamy Veith are up to the task as the two current stage man- agers for Appleton North theatre. So far, they have taken lead on the “ Alice and Wonderland” one act and straight shows and have assistant stage man- aged “ Mary Poppins ,” last year’s springmusical, while Maddy has assistant stage managed for the “ Journey to the West” showcase and one acts and the “ Romeo and Juliet” one act play. Both Cuff and Veith were also stage managers for this year’s spring musical, “ The Little Mermaid ,” and were able to give the Noctiluca a little insight on not only their past years’ experience with stage managing, but on the job as a whole. Kamy : Patience! Maddy: Patience is good! (laughs) Kamy: It’s probably the By Nora Ptacek

ANHS juniors and Lightning theatre stage managers Kamy Veith, pictured left, and Maddy Cuff, pictured right, show a small glimpse of The Little Mermaid’s set. Photo by Caroline Holmes

analyzing musical perfor- mances because of his keen ear. “If a vocalist sings a song in a different key than it was written, or if a single string is perhaps two cents sharp, it may not seem like such a big deal to the aver- age person. My brain says otherwise—sometimes it is difficult to act or speak when such occurrences happen,” said Russell. “I can’t view most live shows or productions with- out constantly being bom- barded with audio-sensory mayhem. The performance may be absolutely fantas- tic regardless. Perhaps the biggest drawback is large crowds. To me, every hu- Yasmeen: Not only do they keep everyone from panicking in times of high stress, they work unbeliev- able hours to keep high stress situations under control and to make every- thing work evenly without putting extra stress on in- dividual people. They’re meen Ashour is the student costumer for the Apple- ton North theatre depart- ment. She [has worked] on “The Little Mermaid , ” and has done costuming for the “Journey to the West” showcase, “Mary Poppins , ” “The Tempest , ” the “Alice in Wonderland” straight show, and the “Al- ice in Wonderland” one act.

man voice has a distinct timbre and pitch. Ever heard an orchestra, in ca- cophony, warming up? Anytime I’m at a pep rally, that’s what I hear—and I want to run, hide, or curl up into a ball.” “My performance kids, both solo and groups, are aided greatly by this skill,” Russell said. “I can tune an ensemble, provide starting pitches, and instantly rec- ognize when a key change is imminent. Perfect pitch is a remarkable blessing, but also a mind-numbing curse. It allows me to be the gifted musician I am to- day as well as on the edge of being absolutely nuts.” the ones who take it on in order to ensure the suc- cess of the show. Without the stage managers’ ex- pertise, and willingness to take on this responsibility, our show would fall apart. Without Kamy and Maddy, there would be a lack of moral support, a lack of ethics and a lack of judge- ment and control. A lot of people would rather look at [the show] and not want to be as dedicated, but seeing them [Maddy and Kamy] and how dedicated they are, no one wouldn’t want to please everyone the way that they do. They lead by example, and they contrib- ute more than they even un- derstand.

experience because it’s lots of fun, but it’s also a really good learning experience for how to communicate professionally, because we need to, as well as organiz- ing the kids, correspond with the adults. There’s a lot of adults who volunteer with the program, and we need to make sure that they are all in the loop as well. Kamy: [On behalf of all stage managers,] if it’s not yours don’t touch it, just in general! Maddy: Headsets are a wonderful invention of mankind/womankind, and we love headsets a lot! Communication is key! Joining Kamy and Mad- dy behind the scenes, Yas-

Pitch perfect: A North senior and his musical superpower

Appleton North senior Jack Russell helps the Varsity Women’s Choir find their pitch during a pre-concert rehearsal. Photo by Maddy Schilling

“The Little Mermaid” as Prince Eric; his ability to sing every note with mi- raculous tune was an unde- niable asset to his perfor-

mance. His uncanny superpow- er-like ability is not always an asset, however. Russell often finds himself over

colors and hues that each pitch gives off,” said Rus- sell, who starred in North’s