SEAHOLM HIGH SCHOOL’S STUDENT VOICE 2436HIGHLANDER W. LINCOLN RD. - BIRMINGHAM, MI 48009 Thursday, may 21, 2015 WWW.SEAHOLMHIGHLANDER.wordpress.COM Seaholm Women off to West Point Seniors Natalie Nepa and Lauren Hudak join the West Point (USMA) class of 2019. Kelly Martinek on a mandatory fitness test. well above their peers.” said. Editor-in-Chief Lynch works with prospective cadets in According to Lynch, less than 10 letters of After that, she spent the summer studying [email protected] Michigan as a volunteer. He met with both assurance (LOAs) were sent out in Michigan- to raise her ACT score to make herself a more Nepa and Hudak during the application two were received by Seaholm students. competitive applicant. In September, she got Women make up only 14 percent of the process. He said that both girls were well- “I can’t say it happens often,” he said. in touch with a field force officer who worked active Army and less than a quarter of the qualified based on their academic and athletic The application process starts early, as closely with her throughout the rest of the student body at the United States Military achievements, as well as demonstration of applicants must get let- ters of recommen- process. Academy at West Point, numbers reported by leadership. dation not only from their “I sent him emails about everything,” Hudak the Army itself. At Seaholm, counselors and said. “We probably exchanged 200 emails Seniors Natalie Nepa and Lauren Hudak are Nepa was NHS teachers, but also from September to December.” about to join those ranks, two of only about president. She be recommended by At the senior awards ceremony on May 14, 300 women in the West Point class of 2019. played basketball for a senator or congress- Ray Williams said that Seaholm has histori- “It has to be close to a record, if not a record, one year, vol- man from their cally supported the academy with a supply of to have three women come from the same leyball state. This qualified applicants. Lynch said the number high school,” Lt. Col. (Retired) Tom Lynch, a for four recom- of female graduates from Seaholm who ma- Michigan representative of West Point’s “field years men- triculate to West Point is particularly notewor- force” admissions team, said. He referred and da- thy. to Hudak and Nepa as well as Calla Glavin, was a tion Both spoke specifically about Glavin, who Seaholm class of 2010 and West Point class of cap- pro- graduated from West Point last year and is 2014. tain cess currently studying at Oxford University in the West Point reported preliminary figures of the must United Kingdom as a Rhodes Scholar. Glavin for the class of 2019 which estimate that 303 var- be was contacted for an interview but could not members, or roughly 23 percent of the class, sity volleyball completed by be reached before press time. will be female- a record for the school, which team twice. Outside October or No- But whether male or female, there are obvi- only began admitting women in 1976. The of school, she was vember of senior year, ous challenges that come with being a cadet at rise in the number of women enrolling in the involved in the com- according to Nepa. a military academy rather than a student at a military academies may be due to the increase munity, specifically in Hudak said her ap- traditional university, Lynch said. in the number of opportunities for women her church. plication process started “This isn’t just someplace to go to get a good in the military with the removal of the com- Hudak played bas- even earlier, in March of education,” he said. “You have to understand bat exclusion law in 2013, according to West ketball for three years her junior year, when she you’re living quite a different life than you Point superintendent Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen. and was a captain for two decided to apply to West would on a typical college campus.” “The guy to girl ratio is definitely daunting, years. She also ran cross Point’s Summer Leadership Cadets are paid over $1000 a month to go to but from my experiences with West Point country for two years and Experience (SLE). Originally, school, in addition to having their four years cadets it is not something I have to worry was a camp counselor. she said she wanted to attend of school paid for. But along with that comes about,” Hudak said. “Everyone is so support- Both Nepa and Hudak had the SLE to boost her application a long list of responsibilities and restrictions. ive and willing to help out.” ACT composite scores above the for a four-year ROTC scholarship at “You’re getting up at six in the morning, West Point receives almost 16,000 applica- academy’s average. According to an in-state school. Once she was there, you’re going into formation, you’re going to tions each year, according to Lynch, to fill a Lynch, these qualifications made them though, she said the week she spent with breakfast, you’re wearing your uniform to go mere 1,250 spots in a “plebe,” or freshman, competitive applicants. her squad and the environment on campus to class, you have mandatory physical fitness class. Admissions decisions depend 60 per- “Both girls got what’s called a letter of assur- convinced her she wanted to go to West Point. classes, you’re playing an intercollegiate sport cent on an applicant’s academics, 30 percent ance, which basically said if they get a nomi- “The summer program, one hundred per- or you’re involved in intramurals,” Lynch said. on extracurricular activities, and 10 percent nation they’re in,” Lynch said. “So they were cent, is the only reason I decided to go,” she See WEST POINT / Pg. 4 E-Cigarettes Pose Health Risks Bond Proposal Passes Tessa Banks McKenna Ross places for our students and staying at 3.9 mils because it student, who smokes e-ciga- while e-cigarettes are margin- Opinion Editor Editor-in-Chief of Web their learning while we’re passed.” rettes semi-regularly, said. ally better than traditional [email protected] [email protected] keeping the amount of taxes According to the BPS bond In a survey conducted by cigarettes, the best option is the same,” Nerad said. “It’s website, renovations specific Birmingham Public Schools E-cigarette use tripled the Highlander, no students not smoking at all. one thing to have debt, but to Seaholm cover a wide vari- will be receiving a $66-mil- among middle and high reporting smoking e-ciga- “Neither are good for it’s another thing to have debt ety of departments through- lion bond, thanks to a propos- school students between 2013 rettes as an alternative to you,” pediatrician Dr. Isabel structured in the appropriate out the building. Repairs to al in the May 5 election. and 2014 according to the traditional cigarettes, while Holland-Davis said. “It’s not way.” the building and site include The community said ‘yes’ Center for Disease Control 66% of respondents reported a safe product, it’s an in- The creation of a new bond roof, flooring and ramp to the proposal by a vote of and Prevention. The same smoking them for mainly between. It is definitely worse has been discussed for over replacement, and updating 10,044 to 5,405. data reports that e-cigarettes social reasons. for young people to use them a year, although Nerad said various aspects of the athletic The bond will be spent have surpassed all other An e-cigarette, or electronic than adults.” the administration and the department, including new on building and site infra- tobacco products in terms of cigarette, works when an The Food and Drug Ad- Board of Education have been outdoor scoreboards and structure, safety/security, use by the entire population, atomizer vaporizes a liquid ministration (FDA) has not considering it for longer. He baseball and softball dugouts. instructional, and technol- not just teenagers. containing nicotine and approved e-cigarettes as a de- said they proposed the bond Major projects include remod- ogy infrastructure. The bond Just as traditional cigarettes other substances that can be vice that can be used to safely to voters on the May 5 special eling the auditorium, replac- comes with a zero increase were a staple in the teenage inhaled by the user. It was quit tobacco, saying that they election because they wanted ing classroom technology and to the millage rate, meaning lives of the previous genera- designed to look like a con- are not safe alternatives to to ensure no increase in taxes, hardware, and the creation of there will be no tax increase. tion, e-cigarettes are ingrain- ventional cigarette and has tobacco. Due to this ruling, a which were due to change on a secured entry vestibule to BPS superintendent Dr. ing themselves into the lives been marketed as a healthier Michigan state law has pro- July 1. the main office. Daniel Nerad said BPS has of the modern-day American alternative. The liquids come hibited them to marketed as a “We had this window of Possibly the largest portion worked diligently to ensure teenager as an option that in different flavors that are means of quitting smoking. opportunity that ended with of the bond will go towards the bond won’t cost the com- is perceived to be safer and especially attractive to young Even though there is no this July 1 property tax bill,” technology improvements.