Fight Food - Central Stampede

Stampede
Follow Us On Twitter!
C E N T R A L
Oct. 2, 2015
Vol. 22, Issue 1
centralstampede.com
@CentralStampede
Portage Central H.S. l 8135 S. Westnedge Ave. l Portage, MI 49002
Federal and
new state
regulations
conflict over
food sales
Food
Fight
3
page
What’s Inside...
Alumna Dahlia
Yehia murdered in
Nepal
page 10
Oct. 4, 2013
New copy
counter
keeps tabs
BY LU CY F ORS TER &
OLI V I A OLES
Editor-in-Chief and View Editor
School clubs are reeling after they
were told in August they could hold
bake sales as fundraisers, but the offer
was recently revoked, leaving them to
scramble for precious dollars.
In the past, bake sales have been a
major source of funding for clubs not
supported by Portage Public Schools,
raising hundreds of dollars annually for
everything from the art department to
the Gardening Club.
However, as of last year, all public
schools began implementing new federal food regulations under the Healthy
Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, or “Smart
Snacks.” This act restricts schools from
selling all high-calorie food items. Due
to regulations under the act, certain
fundraisers, such as bake sales, are not
allowed. To provide relief, Michigan legislators passed the “Cupcake Law” this
summer to help retain the federal guidelines while also allowing school districts
additional freedom.
The law allows schools to have foodbased events, such as bake sales, twice a
week that do not have to follow the federal guidelines, such as bake sales. This
would also give Vinnie’s and the muffin
cart the ability to sell items with higher
calorie counts.
According to Susan Livingston, director of dining services Portage principals
were informed about the change to the
regulations and were asked to give feedback in August. After informing the principals, Livingston asked them whether
or not they would want to “complete
the additional paperwork required on
a weekly basis to maintain compliance
with the [Cupcake] Law.”
Principal Eric Alburtus said that in
mid-August, all Portage principals were
told they would have decision-making
power to comply with the law.
“We do want people to eat healthy,”
Volleyball team
wins chocolate
milk grant
BY ISA BELLA WILS ON
Staff Writer
Shawna Huang/STAMPEDE
Caffeine Craze: Freshmen Zoe Reyes and Derrick James purchase beverages from Vinnie’s. Although there are still many
regular customers at Vinnie’s, sales have greatly decreased since the introduction of the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act.
Alburtus added, “and we kind of want to
have some fun, and we want to support
extracurriculars and clubs so they can do
the things they want to do.”
Livingston, who is not a Portage Public Schools employee, is a representative
for Chartwells, the company the school
district has hired to manage the school
lunch program. Livingston’s role in the
district is to ensure that schools follow
the previous federal rules instead of allowing the two-day-per-week exception,
however according to Alburtus she “is
very honest about her opinion.”
“All but one building did not wish to
do the required additional paperwork
to have the exemption,” Livingston said.
“The principals voiced their opinions
that it would be sending the wrong
message nutritionally to the students.
They were also told that their opinions
would be taken back to the district wellness committee for a decision as to the
direction the district would go with the
exemptions. The [wellness] committee
then decided that they would not allow
exemptions for any of the buildings and
would follow last year’s Smart Snacks
regulations.”
“Where the conversation ended was
that schools were going to have latitude
to make their own decisions,” Alburtus
said. “However, elementary principals
felt they should maintain federal guidelines, and I don’t disagree. Elementary
students are not high school students,
but I am still disappointed.”
Last school year, Vinnie’s was restricted to selling 12-ounce drinks under
60 calories. That includes regular coffee,
tea, sugar-free hot chocolate and sugarfree hot cider. According to Joe King,
an art teacher and the manager of Vinnie’s, without bake sales and with strict
regulations, Vinnie’s and other student
organizations noticed a definite drop in
revenue from the previous year.
“It’s not just about selling coffee.
Vinnie’s is also a culture here,” King said.
“It’s what sets us apart from Portage
Northern and apart from other schools
in other districts. It’s one of those extra
little things that make it special here, and
I think students see that.”
Livingston claims that students can
hold fundraisers with food items as long
as they follow the USDA regulations.
“The muffin cart is an excellent example of successful fundraising while
following the regulations,” Livingston
Someone
PLEASE make
election season
shorter!
said. “There are also a lot of very successful non-food related fundraising ideas
that schools across the U.S. are implementing.”
However, Cheryl Tucker, foods teacher and Muffin Cart adviser, said it took
more than 16 hours to re-make the muffin cart recipes to fit the federal regulations. In addition to that, Tucker said
Muffin Cart sales took a serious hit with
last year’s federal regulations.
Alburtus said clubs are becoming
anxious as to how they are going to replace funds that originally came from
bake sales, and that he shares their anxiety.
“One of the most important things
that happens in high school is that students make the real transition from being told, ‘this is what’s appropriate’ and
turning into adults and making their
own decisions,” Alburtus said. “But that’s
what high school is for: for students to
explore their own values and compare it
to other people’s so they can decide, ‘this
is how I want to live my life.’ I become
anxious every time we don’t let students
make reasonable decisions... Students
can be thoughtful about the foods they
choose. “
Pro/Con: Is the
presidential
election cycle too
long?
5
page
Though people can’t control the
amount of money spent on gas, Portage school leaders can control the
amount students and staff are willing
to spend on copies. This is why Portage
Public Schools has recently enabled a
copy counter that pops up every time
one logs onto his or her PPS account or
chooses to copy something. The counter
includes information such as the cost of
copies made, an environmental impact
board and a balance activity graph.
History teacher Sue Hoffman said the
pop-up is helpful, but it can be an annoyance when she’s teaching. “It will even
pop-up on my main TV screen for all the
students to see,” Hoffman said.
Different staff members have costs
from as low as a few dollars, to more
than $50 spent on copies already and
are concerned as to whether they will be
charged for such quantities.
Senior Chelsie Morgan said, “I don’t
know why they put it there, because if
I have to print my homework, I should
be able to print it, not worry about how
much it’s costing me.”
Daniel Vomastek, director of information and technology services, said
that “PPS prints an average of 16 million
pages a year, totaling $120,000 in service
fees alone. By making the students and
staff aware of their copy amounts, it will
reduce the amount of money spent in
the district.”
According to, Vomastek the district
has no intention of billing students or
staff, or setting limits as to the number
of copies they are allowed per year. However, if totals become out of hand, slight
punishments may be enacted. The counter will serve as a reminder to be aware of
the number of copies everyone makes.
Classic movie
franchises are
making their
comebacks
page
9
2
Bag ban starts at
sporting events
news
New adviser for StuCo
BY JORI GELBAU G H
Focus Editor
Effective immediately, bags other than purses
and wallets are prohibited from McCamley Field
during football games to “[make] sure that nothing’s
coming in [to the field] that shouldn’t be there,” according to Principal Eric Alburtus.
Although the ban has been effective for nearly 12
years, Alburtus admitted that the limits on bags may
not have been as enforced the past two or three years
“because we’ve had students make great decisions,
and when things are going well … we [tend to] stop
paying attention.”
A reminder of the bag ban through announcements during the first week of school surprised students who were curious as to the reasons for the
ban; many were unaware that it had been in place for
years.
“The ban seemed kind of sudden. I don’t think it
will affect much about the games, though,” sophomore Emma Kite said.
In a large-scale effort to prevent alcohol and drug
abuse, the ban on bags, as well as the ban on outside beverages at sporting events, was originally accompanied by the drug dogs that monitor the school
once every two to three weeks. The restrictions came
about after several tragic incidents which caused
the death of students as a result of drug and alcohol
abuse.
“The last thing we want to do is make someone
angry,” Alburtus said. “We just want to be clear that
our job is to make sure [students are] safe, and this is
one of the ways that we want to make sure [students
are] safe and explain that in a way that’s respectful,
that is not condescending in any way, and actually
tell people so that they know.”
Students who bring bags to the games will be
respectfully asked to take them back to their cars, as
they have been in the past. Alburtus doubts that the
stricter enforcement of the bag rule will have any effect on attendance or support at the games. Super
fans, such as senior Allison Denison, were unaware of
the ban’s specifications prior to the announcement of
its enforcement and agree that it won’t change the
super fans’ enthusiasm.
“It’s going to be an inconvenience for some of us,
and they should’ve given us a purpose as to why they
were banning them,” Denison said, “but I don’t think
it’ll change the attendance or support of our team.”
This semester, students and teachers alike in the
IB program have been noticing a strange phenomena: some of their IB classes have upwards of 30 students enrolled in them in a given hour, while other
hours for the same subject have fewer than 20 students in them.
This isn’t just limited to one subject area, either.
IB Spanish, English, math and science courses have
all fallen victim to the issue of unbalanced class sizes.
Counselor Todd Tarnutzer offered some insight
into the scheduling process.
“Student requests drive the master schedule and
from there individual student schedules are developed. There are many IB courses offered here as well
as elective, but some of these classes have only one
section,” Tarnutzer said. “The drop and add period can
sometimes skew the IB sections a bit because there
in brief
School’s first blood drive
deemed a success
Last week, students and staff saved 180 lives during the school’s first blood drive of the year. Specifically, 80 students and staff registered to donate, 70
showed up to donate and 60 were able to successfully donate. Twenty-two were first-time donors. The
donors also went through 14 dozen doughnuts, 12
cases of water, six gallons of juice, 10 dozen cookies
and five pizzas, according to Kent Baker, National
Honor Society adviser. The next blood drive is scheduled for early December.
Debate team hopes to
compete nationally again
Sharwari Salvi/STAMPEDE
Home Sweet Home: New Student Council adviser, Robert Hoopingarner, strategizes with students last
week to prepare for the arduous task of managing the Homecoming parade.
BY A LY SO N KO H
Staff Writer
While there is much going on with each student,
much more is happening in Student Council, including everything from taking stock of fall Homecoming
dance to preparing for Breadlift in November.
This year, senior Natalie Liou is president, senior
Danny Saba is vice president, junior Gillian Eichman
is parliamentarian, senior Joseph Stewart is treasurer
and junior Devin Jaqua is secretary. Throughout the
course of the year, “StuCo” hopes to become more
involved with the student body, not only planning
and organizing events, but making sure everyone is
welcomed into Portage Central with a great year according to President Liou.
“Our main goal this year is to improve on what
changes StuCo can do for the school, and give a
better impact for each student’s life and to see that
change come into life,” Liou said.
StuCo also hopes to achieve more communication between the grades and encourages students
to be more involved in clubs, events and fundraisers.
Students can participate in clubs like Rotary to earn
service hours, go to events like the winter Homecoming and help the school with fundraisers such as the
former bake sales.
A difference between the past year and the upcoming year are changes in the music students hear
in the hallways on Fridays. Instead of StuCo heading
the soundboard, senior Adam Lutz has taken over
managing the Friday soundtrack. Lutz has a wide
range of musical experience and he said he plans to
play all kinds of music, including more songs people
generally haven’t heard but will still enjoy.
“Maybe an ‘80s theme Friday, and next an overly
pop theme next, then change it up,” Lutz said.
Senior Della Steenstra is one student who welcomes the change. “Music was a little ‘laggin’,” she
said, adding that “less Disney music might help.”
Of all the new StuCo happenings, there’s also a
new advisor in charge this year. Math teacher Robert
Hoopingarner is stepping in to learn the ropes of the
past advisor, social studies teacher Mark Sutherland.
Sutherland had been the Stuco advisor for 10 years.
“It was one of the best parts of teaching here,” said
Sutherland. “ I’ll be involved anytime they need me.
Council is such a great group, and Mr. Hoopingarner
is a perfect fit, with new ideas, and a fresh set of eyes
on the events. That job requires time, dedication,
and a young spirit.” Though StuCo misses its former
Advisor, they believe Hoopingarner is another great
leader.
Unbalanced IB classes frustrate teachers
BY BRI A N N A MA RT I NEZ
Staff Writer
Oct. 2, 2015
isn’t a lot of flexibility to move IB courses and balance
them perfectly, especially when students are on the
IB diploma track.”
Some teachers are enjoying the smaller classes.
“Smaller class sizes are ideal for IB. As an instructor, when I have smaller class sizes, it allows me to
spend more time with each individual student and
do some things that aren’t feasible with larger numbers,” English Teacher Theresa Mills said.
Smaller class sizes allow teachers to experiment
with material, and lengthen the time they spend on
certain activities, too, according to Mills. But she cannot recall IB classes ever being as uneven as they are
this year.
“From what I can remember, it does seem that in
the past the IB classes were more balanced,” Mills said.
“We seemed to be sharing the student load more
equally and there didn’t seem to be as many schedule
hurdles to overcome.”
Though the dramatically different IB class sizes
weren’t the intention of counselors when scheduling
students for classes, it certainly has created an interesting dynamic. Smaller classes have a more personal
feel to them, while bigger classes are more social.
Junior Kaela Frailing has a few large IB classes
along with some smaller ones, and she definitely notices a difference among them. Her IB Math SL class
has about 28 kids enrolled in it, which has made it difficult to get through material at times due to all the
questions that need to be answered and one-on-one
time necessary.
“Mrs. Rearick is really big on getting one-on-one
time with everyone to make sure they’re understanding everything, and she hasn’t been able to get
around to all the students,” Frailing said. “And sometimes we don’t have enough time to do all the things
on the agenda.”
Students are encouraged to adapt to the various
class sizes and do their best work in the environments
they’re in.
At one time, the Portage Central debate team
was ranked in the top six in the nation. Now, Randy
Borden , a Central Middle School teacher, who in
past years has coached four national champions for
forensics and debate, is back and ready to coach
on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3-5 p.m. Amerifirst Mortgage sponsors the school team, and this
year they will be traveling to compete in California,
Florida, Chicago and Iowa, as well as at Harvard University. Debate team members write, research and
debate specific topics. There is a novice division for
first-year competitors and another varsity division
for those with more experience.
PSAT testing for juniors
begins on Oct. 14
On Wednesday, Oct. 14, juniors will be taking
the PSAT test from 7:35 a.m. to 11:24 a.m. There will
be no classes during this time, with a delayed start
scheduled to begin at 11:29 a.m. with fifth hour. All
students should report for fifth, sixth and seventh
hours on Oct. 14.
Tour of facilities helps
prepare for bond proposal
In preparation of the upcoming bond proposal
vote there will be tours of facilities. On Oct. 13 a tour
of Central Middle School and McCamley field will be
held. The Central Middle School tour will be held
at 6 p.m. and the McCamley Field tour will follow at
6:30 p.m. As well, a tour of North Middle School will
be at held on Oct. 14 at 6:30 p.m.
District calendar shows
some half-days coming
On Monday, Oct. 12, there will be a half-day
of school throughout the school district. Teachers
will spend the afternoon engaged in professional
development. First through fourth hours will meet
that day. On Thursday, Nov. 5, there will be another
half-day to mark the end of the first quarter. Fifth
through seventh hours will meet. There will be no
school on Friday, Nov. 6.
Briefs compiled by
STAMPEDE Staff
news
Oct. 2, 2015
3
Portage Central alumna murdered in Nepal
BY JORI GELBAU G H
Focus Editor
Portage Central lost beloved alumna Dehlia Yehia,
25, over the summer when she disappeared on Aug.
6 during a trip to Nepal to support earthquake relief
efforts. After a month of searching, her murder has
since been confirmed as the community mourns her
loss.
“Obviously, it’s a tragedy when anyone dies, especially when anyone’s that young, but how she died
and how young she was when she died it’s still… I’m
not sure I’ve quite come to grips with it yet,” Principal
Eric Alburtus said.
Following the end of the 2015 school year, Yehia
left her job in Austin, Texas as an art teacher to volunteer her time to helping the thousands of people affected by the April 25 earthquake in Nepal. According
to the Washington Post, after leaving Grokha, Nepal,
the epicenter of the earthquake, she travelled alone
to Pokhara, Nepal, a city not far from Grokha, and
went missing shortly after her arrival.
“She knew who she was, and she knew how she
wanted to live her life, which was touching other human beings,” Alburtus said. “... I’m still having a hard
time talking about it in the past tense. She was an
amazing young lady.”
Yehia graduated from Central in 2007, and later
from Kalamazoo College in 2011 with an art degree.
She immediately left the state and travelled to Phoenix, Arizona after graduation.
“[She had an] open heart and adventurousness in
the face of so much need in the world, both up close
with her friends and family and globally,” said former Portage Central art teacher Jill Waskowsky, who
taught Yehia. “She had a very giving heart. I think she
would want others to remember her by doing good
in the world in her place.”
Courtesy of WOOD-TV
Yehia was last heard from on Aug. 6 around 10
p.m. through a texting app and had been “[keeping]
in regular contact with friends and family for the entirety of her trip up until [Aug. 6],” according to the
Find Dahlia Facebook page set up by friends and family.
By Sept. 1, the U.S. Embassy and State Department sent personnel to investigate and Nepali media was notified of Yehia’s disappearance. The family
had plans to travel to Nepal to aid in the search, but
on Sept. 4, they received news of Yehia’s death from
the U.S. Embassy. According to the Facebook page,
there was a memorial service in Boston to mourn the
“senseless loss of a beautiful life”.
It has since been confirmed that she was murdered by suspect Narayan Paudel, a man who was
hosting her while she was travelling in the area. Yehia
connected with Paudel through couchsurfing.com, a
website that allows travellers to search for potential
hosts who can offer them lodging during their travels; the site has been ridiculed for its dangers due to
previous incidents. Paudel was also a teacher and
had been communicating with Yehia through the
couch surfing website for nearly six months before
she arrived in Pokhara.
Investigators were finally able to track and arrest
Paudel on Sept. 2, who claimed that he beat Yehia
in her sleep in order to steal her iPhone and money.
Authorities are still searching for her body.
While here, Yehia made an impact on countless
students and staff members, including Assistant
Principal Jason Frink, who taught Yehia in his Theory
of Knowledge class.
“I think one of the things that really stands out
was that she did not allow herself to get put into
any boxes,” Frink said. “She was an athlete, she was
an artist, she was a scholar, and she never really took
that on as her identity. ... any one of those things are
something that people allow to define themselves
solely and she didn’t do that.”
As a former art teacher at Central, Waskowsky
shared a close relationship to Yehia while she was
here, as Yehia was an avid artist who “brought passion to her artwork, ideas and through her actions,”
Waskowsky said. Alburtus and Frink agreed that one
of the most memorable aspects about Yehia’s time
here was her ability to touch people through her artwork. “It wasn’t just that she had good technique; she
created art that had meaning,” Frink said.
Although the memorial service on Sept. 9 was
held in Boston for family members and close friends,
talk of memorializing her in Portage is still circulating.
Frink hopes to hold a gallery in her honor featuring
high-quality pictures of her artwork, but said that the
details of such an event are more of a hope, as the
community and staff members are trying to give Yehia’s family space while showing their support.
“It was art that was led by a real, thoughtful social
conscious in terms of how Dahlia saw herself and the
world and how she connected with other human beings,” Alburtus said.
She will be dearly missed by a community that
she touched so deeply, not only through her artistic
talents, sportsmanship and academics, but through
her compassion for the world around her.
“I think that she would want to be remembered
as she was,” Frink said, “which was someone who felt
that it wasn’t enough just to talk about changing the
world, [who had] to do it and then [didn’t] look for the
spotlight, just continue[d] changing the world.”
Portage schools bond
vote looms in November
Sharwari Salvi/STAMPEDE
New mural brightens Commons
BY BELLA PEDR AZ A
News Editor
As students strolled into school on the first day of
school they were greeted by a new addition to the
Portage Central commons, a mural of three hikers
climbing a road to “Mount Mustang”. The mural is a
mystery to most students and many questions have
arrived regarding the mural including, “What mural?”
from sophomore Shray Rastogi.
The idea for a mural in the commons was introduced in the 2012- 2013 school year to now former
student Chris Cole from Principal Eric Alburtus. Cole
was chosen to paint the mural after helping former
art teacher Jill Waskowsky create the mural of the
mustang over the Welcome Center during his freshman year. Cole asked Waskowsky to inform Alburtus
that he would be interested in creating a mural of his
own for the school.
Cole’s wishes came true and he was asked to create the mural as a sophomore, to be put up before
the 2015 school year. The theme of the mural was left
up to the artist, so Cole drew from outside inspirations to create the artwork.
“I swam for coach Jim Schafer and one analogy
he used all the time was climbing the mountain in
reference to working hard throughout the swim season to reach your goal, or the top of the mountain,”
Cole said. “I thought that analogy could be applied
to more than swimming. It could be applied to any
person who has goals to reach and I thought that was
something that needed to be represented in the high
school.”
Painted on the mural is a sign which reads,
“Mount Mustang Elevation: 2160m”. According to
Cole this represents approximately the number of
school days a student will encounter from kindergarten through their senior year of high school. The
pathway to “Mount Mustang” is painted using the
footprints of the students of Moorsbridge and Lake
Center Elementary School. The three hikers symbolize “any student who has a goal and the drive to
reach that goal” Cole said. The mural occupies the
once plain wall above the commons and is seen by
students and staff every day.
“I think it’s a really cool addition to our school, I
think it makes it look better and a lot less plain than it
used to be,” junior Mackenzie Elliott said.
BY LU C Y FO R S TER
Editor-in-Chief
On Nov. 3, Portage citizens will vote on two
bond proposals that will update Portage Public
Schools if approved.
Proposal one will allow Portage to build
two new middle schools, renovate West Middle
School, construct pool buildings at each high
school, replace school buses, update technology
and make necessary safety upgrades.
Sophomore swim team member Sophia Maddux thinks this is the way
to go.
“If you go to any other high school you can
see we don’t have what
they have,” Maddux said. “Our pool is a lot smaller
so we can’t host big meets. The stands need to be
updated too. The whole pool is just gross.”
However, junior football player Austin Duff
is in favor of the second proposal, which will allow Portage to build multipurpose outdoor athletic facilities and structures at both Northern and
Central.
“McCamley is in really bad condition,” Duff
said. “We have really strong athletics, and I think
that should be reflected in our facilities.”
Although Principal Eric Alburtus is obligated
not to share his political opinion on the issue, he
did reveal insight on each proposal. Alburtus calls
our swimming pool “an ancient mess” while also
stating that the visitors’ bleachers at McCamley
are “scary.”
“Something needs to be done about the safety issues at McCamley, no doubt about it,” Alburtus said.
Both proposals together cost $144 million. All
together, proposal one will cost $126.8 million,
with the middle schools costing the most at $99.3
million for sitework, design and construction.
Proposal two will cost
$16 million. Whichever
proposal is passed, there
is an additional $1.2 million bond issuance cost.
To help see for yourself and make an informed
decision, Portage is offering tours of the different facilities. On Oct. 13 at 6 p.m. a tour of Central Middle School will take place and at 6:30 p.m.
there will be a tour of McCamley Field. On Oct. 14
at 6:30 p.m. there will be a tour of North Middle
School.
For more information, visit www.portageps.
org.
view
4
Oct. 2, 2015
Outsiders should not have authority over bake sales in schools
There is a sizable number of people
in this country who firmly believe in the
saying “that government is best, which
governs least.” We tend to agree when it
comes to food choices and teens. Students will never learn to be personally
responsible as long as the government
mandates what kids eat.
That’s why we were relieved over the
summer when state legislators stepped
in to allow schools to bypass part of the
ridiculous federal legislation that requires
schools to be hyper-vigilant about what
students are eating.
The legislation has also been disastrous
for student clubs who made money off
bake sales and other
food-based fundraisers, resulting in fewer
dollars for those
organizations.
We understand there needs to be
healthy choices in the cafeteria to send a
positive nutritional message to elementary students, but there is no need to
deprive high school students the choice
of eating an innocent cupcake to support
school clubs.
Teens are at the brink of adulthood and
schools should help prepare us by encouraging us to make our own decisions, not
make them for us.
The Central Stampede publishes approximately one
publication a month, primarily by the Journalism
II class at Portage Central High School, 8135 S.
Westnedge, Portage, MI 49002. It also uses work
from Journalism I students.
The Central Stampede is a member of the Michigan
Interscholastic Press Association (MIPA). The
purpose of the Central Stampede is to act as an open
forum for students of Portage Central. The staff
will achieve a balance between informing and
entertaining our readers.
Editorials
Staff editorials are unsigned and represent consensus of the staff. The opinion of the staff is represented in the “Our View” column. The opinions
of the editors, staff writers and guest writers will
have bylines and will carry their own views.
Letters
As an open forum, the Stampede welcomes all
members of the Portage community. However,
the staff reserves the right to edit letters based on
length and content.
Sydney Laurencig, 9th
Portage Central High School
8135 South Westnedge Ave.
Portage, MI 49002
Jake Spanhak, 10th
Rebecca LeFevre, 11th
Ben Orwin, 12th
Ms. Bowen
1. What do you think about the mural in the Commons? (p. 3)
I think it’s interesting. I
don’t know what the
point of it is, but it’s still
cool.
I think it’s pretty cool.
It’s pretty good.
It’s pretty cool.
Honestly, I haven’t really
spent much (really any)
time in the Commons.
But I will be sure to look
at it next time I’m there!
2. What is your opinion on “Netflix and Chill”? (p. 5)
I think it’s kind of weird.
But I still like Netflix.
I don’t know.
I don’t watch Netflix, so
I don’t really have an
opinion.
I guess it’s pretty stupid,
but it’s kind of funny.
Well... I dont have Netflix.
And “chill” isnt really a
part of my vocabulary.
3. What do you like most about haunted houses? (p. 6)
Going with friends and
getting scared by the
people who jump out
at you.
The rush you get when
you get scared.
I’m not much of a horror
person, so I don’t like to
go to haunted houses.
When people pop out at
you in the dark.
A haunted house is like
a good book. You’re
unsure what’s coming
up, but you’re invested
and can’t turn back.
4. What is your favorite classic movie? (p. 9)
“Jurassic Park.”
Phone: (269) 323-5218
Fax: (269) 323-5290
Room: 2116
The Central Stampede
have the power to influence decisions
that affect hundreds, if not thousands of
students?
Student organizations and staff were
told the first week of school that there will
be a return of bake sales. Then we were
informed that there will be no bake sales
after all.
Many student organizations began
planning for the year with the financial
support of bake sales in mind.
This is not teaching kids about responsibility or nutrition. It is taking away our
right to choose what we want to eat and
raise money for things that mean a lot to
us.
five on five
Stampede
C E N T R A L
Shawna Huang
Lucy Forster
Editors-in-Chief
Dayton Juday, Bella Pedraza.................News Editors
Olivia Oles..................................................View Editor
Jori Gelbaugh............................................Focus Editor
Dakotah Lilly...............................................Vibe Editor
Zach Franks..............................................Sports Editor
Kelsee Ha, Sharwari Salvi.....................Photo Editors
Staff Writers: Brianna Martinez, Theo Kizer,
Alyson Koh, Ben Miller, Kyle Palmer, Gabe
Pedraza, Allison Sachwitz, Jack Shinabarger,
Camille Smaling, Samhita Sunkara, Mark
Williams, Isabella Wilson
Business Manager: Ethan Dunlop
Adviser: Cheryl Braford
It makes sense
that the laws were
created in hopes
of preventing child
obesity. However, it is ridiculous to monitor everything a student consumes down
to the individual coffee cup size (especially when all the proceeds to that coffee
cup go to our own art department.)
We are also concerned by a possible
conflict of interest. The director of food
services, Susan Livingston, is an employee
of Chartwells but is also in a position of
authority at Portage Public Schools. The
question we have is why does a person
who is not even a Portage employee
staf f editorial
“Christmas Vacation.”
“Breakfast at Tiffany’s.”
“Pulp Fiction.”
I like Katherine Hepburn
flicks, like “Desk Set”, but
I also like Humphrey Bogart in “Casablanca.”
5. What would be a fun company to have as a sponsor? (p. 10)
Apple.
Nike.
Something with animals.
Nike.
I think Disney would be
the most fun.
view
Oct. 2, 2015
Is the campaign season too long?
Long political
season needed
for American
democracy
Many people, including me, enjoy
reading endless Twitter fights about politics. Luckily, there will be many more opportunities to sit back with some popcorn
and bask in the ignorance of others for
over another year until Election Day. The
United States’s presidential campaign
season kicks off almost two years before
the actual election, when pompous politicians announce their intentions to run
for the highest office in the land. While
to some, American elections may seem
drawn-out and exhausting, they are an
essential part of our democratic process.
The campaign season that we currently have allows underdog candidates
to gain support and allows the voters to
learn more about the candidates running for office. It would be very difficult
to gauge a politician’s true positions and
intentions without this period of time. For
example, a candidate like Senator Bernie
Sanders of Vermont (Democrat) would
most likely not be gaining on front-runner
Hillary Clinton in the polls if it weren’t for
the longer campaign season.
Likewise, Donald Trump (Republican)
probably wouldn’t be the fron-trunner
by such a wide margin if he had less time
to garner support and get his message
out. Without having so much time, we
would probably be stuck with the status
quo election, this would probably be Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush dueling for the
presidency, which, let’s face it, wouldn’t
be nearly as energizing for the American
people.
The length of our campaign season
gives journalists more time to dig into
BY BEN MI L L E R
Staff Writer
the pasts of the candidates in order to
discover informative stories that could
educate voters on what types of decisions
that person would make as president. An
example would be the controversy surrounding Hillary Clinton’s private email
server where, instead of using her government email server from while she was
Secretary of State, she is using a private,
personal email server. Voters worry this
shows she is secretive and untrustworthy.
Clinton announced her candidacy in April,
and it was widely known that she would
probably run months before, giving journalists and the media plenty of time to
uncover this story that is making many
Americans question Clinton’s judgement.
If the campaign season were to be abbreviated, impulsive voting would come
into play as well. Between school and
work, a lot of Americans don’t have time
to research the views of every candidate.
Many would simply vote for the person
with the most name recognition, and
that would hinder the chance for a lesser
known candidate such as Trump or Sanders to come out of the shadows and gain
support. Americans need a time of reflection to see if the vote they are making is
a right one. A true democratic election
requires a lengthy campaign season in
order to obtain the most genuine results
come election day. With about 13 months
until Election Day, you have plenty of time
to judge and analyze the important issues
before us like taxes, education, foreign
policy or whether or not Donald Trump’s
hair is real (We can make an educated
guess and say it isn’t).
BY SHA R W A R I S AL V I
Photo-Editor
Four male students were robbed at
gunpoint on Jan. 9. These four Kalamazoo
college students were roobbed within the
100 blocks of Academy Lane.
Assault and burglary is a growing issue, in not only in many colleges, but also
in our very own streets. With the upsurge
of the feminist sexual assault movement
and the increasing popularity of crime
investigation television shows on Netflix,
our attention has been called to the issue
of safety.
‘Netflix and Chill’
has gone too far
We must
shorten our
presidential
campaigns
B Y S H AWNA HU ANG
Editor-in-Chief
B Y G AB E PEDRAZ A
Staff Writer
Somewhere in the world tonight, an
egg will be fertilized. It will split into two
cells, then four, then continue to divide
until it forms an embryo. That embryo
will develop into a fetus, which will slowly
develop into a baby. That baby will eventually be thrust out into the world for the
first time, and it will start to cry, presumably over the current state of American
political discourse. This baby, which has
not yet been conceived, will be 4 months
old before we actually elect a president.
I will be six days short of 18 on Election Day next November. No matter how
angry this makes me, I can’t change the
fact that I will not be able to cast a vote
for president. Nonetheless, I do my best
to follow the campaigns, even though I
technically have no obligation to. Not that
I have much of a choice when, 13 months
away from the election, the media is already shoving it all down my throat. I’ve
honestly grown a little tired of the debates and the rabble-rousing and the talk
of whether Donald Trump’s hair is real or
not.
I know I’m not the only one who’s
annoyed by the extreme length of the
American presidential election cycle. By
dragging on election cycles, not only
do citizens like me get tired of following
every candidate and issue, but costs also
skyrocket. According to opensecrets.org,
more than $2.6 billion was spent on the
2012 presidential election alone. Estimates from thehill.com suggest the 2016
presidential election could cost as much
as $5 billion.
This exorbitant spending seems un-
necessary, especially when compared to
elections in other countries. According to
spectator.org, the 2008 Canadian prime
minister election cost $333 million and
took 37 days. Few countries have election
cycles longer than 100 days, and several
limit campaign spending and donations.
Yet here we are, 403 days from the 2016
presidential election, and we’ve already
been talking about it – and spending millions – for months.
You might say a longer election cycle
gives voters more time to learn about the
candidates and issues. But do we really
need two years and several dozen candidates to pick a president? How long does
it take candidates to communicate their
positions on a topic? Are they worried
that the American electorate is too dumb
to quickly understand the issues and so
feel a need to drag their campaigns out
for two excruciating years?
If we shorten our election cycle, we
may be able to cut down on campaign
costs and put more of that money toward
dealing with the federal debt or funding
new laws. Presidential hopefuls may finally be able to spend less time campaigning
and more time actually governing.
But of course, knowing the American
political system, that’s not going to happen any time soon. Despite my wishes for
the contrary, the American presidential
election cycle is only going to grow longer and more expensive.
It seems that many of us will have to
join that future baby in weeping for the
state of political affairs in this great nation.
Do you like someone, but think you
have the social skills and looks of a potato? Do you crave a relationship that
involves putting in absolutely no effort,
to complement your “eccentric” Portage
lifestyle? No need to worry, as the instant
“bae” delivery system Netflix has you covered. With the simple three words of “Netflix and Chill,” you can expect your likely
future spouse to arrive at your doorstep in
10 minutes or less to binge watch several
seasons of “Pokemon.”
The real mystery is: why has this
phrase become so common? My first
look into this social anomaly has brought
some answers, but many more awkward
situations.
Adolescents are always looking for the
most creative ways to get their bae over.
So what has lead to the exponential use
of this magic spell derived from a simple
video streaming service, and how is it so
effective?
Netflix is the perfect network for ambient noise to distract you or your “chilling
companion” from the otherwise boring
and awkward time of sitting on a couch
for hours doing nothing. I found that the
primary users of “Netflix and Chill” are
high school students. How have 17-yearolds unlocked the method to awkwardsituation-free dating that has plagued
this age group for centuries?
Then it occurred to me that this generation has been learning to encounter any
social situation with a skill set like that of
a Navy Seal. From a strong rebuttal to an
insult on you or your Nikes, the response
is obviously “your mom”... genius. If you
find distaste in a peer’s footwear, the appropriate protocol is to bring the problem
up front by pointing, and at a low screech
ask, “What are those!?” So it’s not surprising that people have shortcuted how we
mingle with companions of the opposite
sex.
The issue at hand is: have we gone
too far with “Netflix and Chill?” Some intting situations arose recently. Last week,
when I was chilling with my male group
of friends, I asked if they wanted to watch
Netflix. The response I received was one of
confusion and irritation. Is Netflix off the
table for downtime, reserved only for certain romantic encounters? It shouldn’t be.
“Netflix and Chill” represents how
lamely transparent we have become in
asking our crush to come over. This Internet phrase is a perfect distillation of this
feeling. So next time you are going to
“Netflix and Chill,” just Netflix and don’t.
Stop turning something fun into something dastardly. “Netflix and Chill” should
be “Nesquick and chill”, so I can watch a
movie with my bros without kissing them.
Students have to be safe now and in the future
The most frequent place safety has
become an issue are college campuses.
Although some may not encounter a
scary experience, some may where the issue of safety is prevalent.
According to the U.S. Department of
Education, 34,355 criminal cases have
been reported on campus. This includes
burglary, robbery, arson, forcible and non
forcible sexual offenses and manslaughter. Even larger numbers were found in
the years before on campus.
In order to establish a safer world, the
issue of safety needs to be confronted
in a more ambitious way. Campus security needs to deal with issues and push
for greater punishments for offenders.
Schools need to teach different basic
safety mechanisms to keep students protected. Most importantly, people should
feel comfortable to disclose information
about an incident. If their situation is in
the right hands and taken care of well,
5
more victims will come forward.
To make yourself and college campuses safer, one can carry noise systems, such
as whistles, that can easily be attached to
backpacks. The use of pepper spray and
other defense mechanisms can also be
efficient.
While in the midst of a social gathering and upon hearing about a party rape
or a sexual assault, it is advised to report
such events. In reference to the growing use of the phrase “consent is sexy,”
consent is a crucial part to safety. One
should always ask consent before pursuing anything, from minor things to major.
What isn’t sexy is when you’re the cause
of someone’s trauma when you don’t ask
for permission.
The app ‘Companion’ is a new free
tool that can be used to ensure your safety. The app was created by five University of Michigan students to give its users
virtual “companions” when commuting
home through destination locators. The
students had heard of people going missing. One co-creator, Lexi Ernst, would be
scared walking home from late nights at
the library, like many of her friends.
“Hopefully the release of this app will
start a conversation about safety,” said
Lexi Ernst, co founder of Companion.
The app also includes features such as
“I’m nervous,” which marks the spot of areas with concern and, in the case of emergency, alerts campus police, 911 and your
chosen companion. The creators hope to
extend the app to alert all campus police
in the nation. This app is available for all
iPhone and Android users.
With the amount of assaults people
face in our world, our attention needs to
be diverted to public safety, and action
needs to be taken, not only to protect students, but also to protect every citizen in
America, no matter where they are.
focus
6
Oct. 2, 2015
Central Air replaces S.A.I.D. video broadcasts
Crew of students
produces
advertising and
news broadcasts
BY DAYTON JU DAY
News Editor
Last year, Portage Central tried to
start the Sports and Activities Information Department (SAID), an organization
created to give students some extra
information about the school and sports
through short news broadcasts and
online articles. After shortcomings with
the former club, a new organization,
called Central Air, was created this year to
take its place.
This is similar to the SAID program
last year, but it is more organized and
consists of only short videos highlighting
events throughout the school year. The
videos will be publicized on Twitter as
well as on YouTube.
The program currently consists of
Courtesy of Twitter
Lights, Camera, Action: Junior Jack Shore directs Theresa Mills as he shoots for the club’s second broadcast about teaching.
three students and an advisor. Juniors
Cameron Raedy and Jack Shore are coowners, junior Aheer Alvi is chief editor
New staff members add
talent to the classroom
BY JACK S HI N A BA RGE R &
MARK WI LLI A MS
Staff Writers
Throughout the years, teachers come
and go, and Portage Central is giving a
warm welcome to a
number of new staff
in the building. New
teacher James Phillips
is starting off his teaching career for the first
time. Phillips began
his career working in
the computer labs and
assisting teachers. He
is now an English instructor who teaches
9th, 11th and 12th grade, taking over for
Jeff Rehm, who moved to Florida. To Phillips, being a new teacher feels “hard, but
it is not as hard as it would be in another
district because you have a lot of support
from colleagues and administration. The
students here are
very respectful and
understanding that
I am a new teacher.”
Phillips graduated
from Portage Central
in 2003. To him, being
a Mustang means being part of a team.
To teachers such as Ashley Bowen,
being new is something she doesn’t
mind.
Bowen teaches English and Drama,
most recently at Portage Northern. She
has been teaching for nine years.
“Starting something new is always
an exciting challenge and I love meeting
new people,” Bowen said.
Bowen focuses on creating a warm
and welcoming but challenging environment for her students. She hopes
to build relationships with students
in order to create a better learning
environment.
“If we don’t talk and find a common
ground it is difficult to move forward,”
Bowen said. To Bowen, being a Mustang is “running with a loyal and protective herd,” which she considers very
important. Lending support to other
fellow Mustangs is the “Mustang Way.”
Much like Bowen, Andrew Iasci has
been a part of the teaching system for a
while, teaching in Michigan and around
the country, but he ended up back in
Michigan.
“This was always
the district that I
wanted to teach in,”
he said. “For me, 11
years later to travel
everywhere and land
here proves that
things work out the
way they are supposed to sometimes.”
Iasci stated that no matter how long he’s
been teaching, there is still much to learn
and new relationships to build. Currently,
Iasci is a special education teacher, and
he also co-teaches Modern American
History and Government.
and IT Director Chris Marusek works as
their advisor.
As co-owners, Shore and Raedy both
work to produce the video, while Alvi
edits the video to make a final product.
“My favorite part is creating new
ideas and watching it all be pieced
together in a video,” Shore said.
The group schedules meetings to
review future plans and ideas and then
come up with a production agenda.
Most of their work is done after school,
including production meetings, filming
and editing.
Central Air’s first video came out at
freshman orientation on Aug. 31. The
video included a tour of the whole
campus in first person view so freshman
could get a feel for the school. It can be
viewed on the Portage Central YouTube
channel.
The program doesn’t have a set
schedule for when videos will be released, but plans to produce and release
them as big events happen at school.
The events could include anything from
sporting events against Portage Northern to a recap on a forensics meet.
“There are so many interesting
aspects you can do when making a video
and you can make a video on almost any
topic you want,” Raedy said.
After the program starts running
smoothly, Central Air’s goal is to release a
two to three minute video each week for
the rest of the year.
Freaky fun for your fall
BY B E L LA P E DR A ZA
News Editor
Phobia House
Location: 84 North Douglas, Plainwell,
MI 49080
Opening Date: Currently open
Price: $15 (cash only)
Description: This bloodcurdling experience features only your deepest and
darkest fears. A tour guide will lead you
(and a friend, which is highly recommeneded) through the horrifying house
while your scariest nightmares jump
out and chase you. 2015 is the 15th anniversary of the Phobia House which is
90 percent re-done from previous years
to provide guests with an even more horrific experience.
Rating:
Niles Scream Park
Location: 855 Mayflower Rd, Niles, MI
49120
Opening Date: Currently open
Price: Package of all attractions $30, individual attractions vary from $3 - $7
Description: This chilling scream park
offers six different horrifying attractions
to choose from. These include Kingdoms
End, Field of Screams, Ashes to Ashes,
House of Horror, Haunted Hayride and
performer Victor Novikov in the interactive show “The Ploy.” The park features
professional Hollywood sets and is recognized by Haunted Attraction Magazine
as one of the “Top 31 Must-See Haunted
Attractions” nationwide.
Rating:
Ratings Key
laughable
childish Psycho Ward and Nightmares at Kalamazoo Speedway
Location: 7656 Ravine Rd., Kalamazoo,
MI 49009
Opening Date: Oct. 9
Price: Package of Nightmares and Psycho
Ward $15, Clown Chaos $10, Psycho Ward
$10, Nightmares $10
Description: This haunted place includes
three main attractions. Psycho Ward
features actors portraying escaped
insane asylum patients; Nightmares
features the creepiest monsters and evil
creatures that haunted your childhood;
and Clown Chaos allows you to finally get
revenge against those creepy clowns in
your nightmares by shooting them with a
paintball gun.
Rating:
spooky
horrifying
scarred for life
Oct. 2, 2015
focus
7
Students bike Michigan for Activewater
BY DAYTON JUDAY
News Editor
Over the summer, seniors Alex Hufford and Max
Newsome took a long journey around the state on
a bike trip, but this wasn’t an ordinary bike trip. On
their trip, they visited four of the Great Lakes around
Michigan.
Yet the trip wasn’t just to
go biking or to try to stay in
shape; it’s primary purpose was
to raise money. The money
that was raised went to Activewater, a non-profit organization that helps people in need
of water. Activewater is trying
to get enough money to make
a water well in Cambodia.
“It was great to help out
other people in need, and
watching more people learn
about the cause and be willing
to help out,” Hufford said.
They started the trip with a goal of $6,000 but
they exceeded that goal by $500 making it a successful trip, according to Newsome.
They raised money by selling custom tee shirts
and wristbands. Also, they had a website where they
asked for donations, as well as using facebook and
twitter to promote their trip.
The trip started on Aug. and went 13 days until
Aug. 15. The tour started in Portage and the two
travelled around the state touching Lake Michigan,
Superior, Huron and Ontario.
During the trip, they both visited many different
towns throughout the state. They stayed at many
different campgrounds and
hotels each night.
“It was great to hang out
and meet new people in the
different towns after we were
done,” Newsome said.
As the trip went on they
both had to consume a
certain amount of calories
and drink a certain amount of
fluids. In total they combined
to drink 4,600 ounces of water and 2,640 ounces of gatorade. They also combined to
eat 194,800 calories in their
13 day trip.
Many businesses also helped sponsor and donated to the trip including Crossfit Azo, Centerpoint
Church, American Screen Printing, and Team Active
Fitness and Cycling.
Courtesy of Alex Hufford
Geared Up: Seniors Alex Hufford and Max Newsome prepare for their trip by biking throughout
Portage. The pair spent two weeks biking around the Great Lakes.
Host families provide new experiences
BY TH EO KI ZER
Staff Writer
should host a foreign exchange student can be
a tough decision. For the Backers, it was quite
simple.
“We have a family friend that works for the
For every foreign exchange student that has
foreign exchange company, and he suggested
come to Portage Central, there has been a family
Daniel for us because we have a lot of similar
here in the community, who has been more than
interests. We decided to host Daniel around midhappy to host them.
July,” Backer said.
Junior, Andrew Backer, and his family are among
Before Gomila-Alcina arrived, Backer anticiof the lucky people in the community that are hostpated that life at home wouldn’t be quite
the same. He thought he would have to
help Gomila-alcina communicate with
others, but Backer says that the transition
for Gomila-Alcina has been easy and he is
learning english at a very fast rate.
The Backers knew Gomila-Alcina was
going to be a great kid, but Backer still had
some fear that they might not be the best
of friends.
“I was kind of nervous because I have
a friend who hosted an exchange student
and they did not get along at all,” Backer
said.
However, now that he has had the time to
get to know Gomila-Alcina, he has become
good friends with him and has schooled him
on aspects of our American culture, including
football and baseball.
“I highly recommend hosting an
exchange student,”said Backer. “Not only is
it a great way for you to experience a new
culture, but you’re helping make a student’s
wish of coming to the U.S.”
Like Backer, Senior Dan Bowditch was forCourtsey of Andrew Backer tunate enough to host an exchange student
last school year. During winter break of 2014
Beachin’: Junior Andrew Backer and Daniel
Bowditch became a host to Norwegian exchange
Gomila-Alcina pose at South Haven.
student Karl Lundekvam.
Lundekvam was first assigned to a different faming this year. Backer is the host of Daniel Gomilaily at the beginning of the school year but towards
Alcina, an exchange student from Mallorca, Spain.
the end of the first semester he decided he needed
For some people, debating whether or not they
a new host family.
Courtesy of Dan Bowditch
Dinner Time: Senior Dan Bowditch and exchange
student Karl Lundekvam eat dinner together.
“He wanted to experience America in a more
fun way and we had always wanted to do foreign
exchange as a family, we were just hesitant,” said
Bowditch. “After hearing about Karl who I already
knew was a cool guy, we decided to jump on it and
take him in”
Bowditch and Lundekvam became super close
and spent much of their time together. That time
was spent doing everything from going on late
night Taco-Bell runs to relaxing together on their
spring break cruise.
Bowditch appreciates the exchange program
due to the fact that he learned so much about European culture and created a great friendship as well.
“Now, I basically have a long distance brother,”
Bowditch said.
Kyra Hall
BY K ELS EE HA
Photo Editor
“It started in the summer of 2013 I believe. They
think I have a type of neuralgia where the nerves on
the back of my head and down the top of my spinal
cord are inflamed and are causing pain throughout
my skull, face, and down my face. Usually the injections help get rid of it, but I have to have injections
for the rest of my life to help with the pain. They
numb the nerves so that I can’t feel them. I’ve been
in the emergency room a few times. especially in the
past two weeks because my headaches have been
so extreme.
Photos in logo courtesy of Steph Gonser, Sophia Huitema, SmugMug, and Portage Central
Volleyball
8
Reviews Stampede
vibe
from
the
‘Destiny: The Taken King’ is too little, too late
“Destiny: The Taken King” is an expansion for “Destiny” that claims to have fixed many of the core problems
plaguing the series from the start. Unfortunately, it seems to have suffered from trying to fix too much at
once, and it comes off as a bit too eager. The “light levels” have been changed to directly reflect the quality of
a player’s gear, the voice acting has been entirely redone, and a new area has been added, along with a wealth
of cutscenes and what the developer “Bungie” seems to think is meaningful content. Unfortunately, none of
these changes have really made the game stronger. The new voice actor doesn’t manage to add any spice to
the lackluster writing. The additional story provided by cutscenes doesn’t really serve much of a purpose as
almost nothing gets accomplished during the missions. Other problems arise simply from the development
of the game over time.
The boss fights are still nothing more than larger versions of previous enemy types, the missions still follow a basic “go here, shoot this” structure that rarely changes and the music has gotten worse without Marty
O’Donnel at the helm. The only things that takes away from the expansion’s issues are some minor gameplay
changes make it slightly less of a chore to play through and grind for better gear. At the end of the day, “The
Taken King” really is an expansion for the fans -- it does almost nothing to bring players in, but it gives plenty
of cookie-cutter content for the hardcore fans to put another hundred hours into. If you liked “Destiny,” then
you’ll love “The Taken King;” but if you didn’t like it before, nothing in this expansion will change your mind.
-REVIEWED BY DAKOTAH LILLY
‘FIFA 16’ could be one for the ages
When players first turn on FIFA 16 they are invited into an intriguing world of virtual athletics as they play in a friendly match with the team of their choice. Whether
they decide to play in the championship game or skip ahead to the main menu, plenty
of other game modes await them. For 16, EA has done a fantastic job in bringing back
almost all of the features that were present in “FIFA 15”, as well as a few new exciting
game modes. For the first time in FIFA players are able to play with twelve different
Women’s National Teams in FIFA Franchise, Kick Off Mode, and online friendly matches.
Along with the new Women’s National Team feature, there is a new “FIFA Ultimate
Team Draft” mode. This allows players to draft their own squad and challenge opponents in a tournament to win coins, as well as new player packs.
The creators worked extremely hard on the graphics in this game because they
are phenomenal. In past years the graphics haven’t been very crisp, however with 16, -IMAGE COURTESY OF EA
a ninety year-old grandmother will be able to recognize which player is which.
Although 16 is loaded with brand new game modes and features, and has beautiful graphics, it does lack
diversity in its soundtrack. It seems like they are using the same type of music over and over again. It has its
flaws, but I would recommend it to every FIFA player out there unless they are more of a traditional player and
don’t care for all the new changes. It is certainly the greatest FIFA game to ever hit the market, so don’t sleep
on it.
-REVIEWED BY THEO KIZER
‘Straight ‘Outta Compton’ comes packing heat
“Straight ‘Outta Compton” is a movie that tells the story of the rap group “N.W.A.” as well as the artists that
were a part of it. Starting from the individual lives beforehand, it follows through their most influential and
controversial album, “Straight ‘Outta Compton,” and proceeds to tell the story of how they went on to perform
their music despite several instances of abuse from the police, to when the more influential members parted
ways to pursue their own endeavors.
The movie manages to be both historically accurate, as well as entertaining over a much longer runtime
than most films. While two and a half hours is a lot of time to commit to a single movie whether it be in theatres or at home, it can’t really be said that the time is wasted. Every scene is great from beginning to end and
it’d be difficult to argue that any scene’s removal would add to the movie in a way that would justify trying to
cut down the length. In other words, it’s a long movie but it uses that length to engross its viewers in a film
that’s worth watching, as opposed to leaving the audience wanting more or stretching itself out with filler
material.
It’s also notable that the film practices a certain level of restraint. Both when it comes to the explicit and
controversial material, as well as presenting the musical performances of the groups, it never feels as though
these aspects are being shoved in the viewer’s face tastelessly. It could’ve very easily derailed itself by showing too many performances or by focusing on the drug use and sexual aspects of their lifestyle, but the great
directing prevents it from distracting from the overarching story. The directing is great in general with great
camera shots and some fantastic contrast between certain scenes of the movie.
-REVIEWED BY DAKOTAH LILLY
Ratings Key
terrible
very bad
average
very good
incredible
Oct. 2, 2015
Interview with video game
composer Damjan Mravunac
BY DA KOTA H LILLY
Vibe Editor
“The Talos Principle” released last year to critical
acclaim from the developer of “Serious Sam,” Croteam. The game itself was fantastic, but the soundtrack
shines in particular. With that in mind, we set out to
interview the game’s composer Damjan Mravunac.
Central Stampede (CS): "The Talos Principle"
(TTP) is in a very unique situation of being a puzzle game that came out of an action-focused firstperson shooter. With that being the case, was it
difficult to adjust to composing the music for the
title?
Damjan Mravunac (DM): It was a complete
180-degree turn from music I did for “Serious Sam”
(SS). We tried initially putting some old SS music inside, but it simply didn't work out. What we learned
is that the action-packed rhythm of SS music style
doesn't fit at all with the contemplative mood of “The
Talos Principle”; hence, we had to think of/invent a
new style. After several trials and errors, we came to
a mix of ambient and electronic music with ethnic
roots, that worked perfectly for the game.
CS: What was the inspiration for the various
tracks within the game? For example a specific
game or movie that was helpful.
DM: Rather than style, we went for specific 'feel'
this time. We love the “Blade Runner” soundtrack
(done by Vangelis), where he blends synths and classical instruments, so that was one of my biggest inspirations for TTP. After I composed the first two to
three tunes and we found out they work within the
game environment, the rest was easy. I just continued
in the same style and finished the soundtrack quite
quickly. As for hub levels (medieval church, Egyptian
sand castle...) - we wanted to give them specific sacral
vibe, turning them into places where God would listen to you, so we used mostly vocals for that parts.
CS: The game itself released to critical acclaim,
but just recently you released the "Road to Gehenna" expansion. How smooth was the release of the
expansion in terms of the development process,
as well as the reception with users?
DM: As smooth as it can be. While Gehenna was
indeed delayed a bit, the reasons for that were not
within the expansion, but rather on the planning
side. We released Talos for Android in the meantime
and we had to shift focus back and forth, thus delaying the expansion. But thankfully, players were patient enough and in return they got something really
good, if we are to trust comments from gamers and
press reviews, which are totally positive!
CS: Focusing more on your role in development, how did you go about composing the
tracks? Many big AAA developers use a full orchestra, while Darren Korb used a closet for his
tracks. What is your process?
DM: It would be nice to use a full orchestra,
though I manage to work with virtual ones with very
good results. Music that I compose often blends several styles, and classic orchestration is just a part of
it, so with careful programming and good production, I can make players believe they are listening to
a real orchestra. And yes, I work from my spareroomturned-into-studio just like Darren. Closets are great!
CS: With "The Talos Principle" being as successful as it is, has there been any talks about a sequel,
or more expansion packs in the future?
DM: Road to Gehenna was the only thing planned
so far, but if Jonas and Tom (the writers for TTP) come
up with a story worth another expansion, why the
hell not!
CS: Is there any information you can share
about the development of “Serious Sam 4?”
DM: We are back working on SS4 full force. Things
we developed for Talos, like our photogrammetry
studio will be extensively used in making of SS4, we
will scan as many objects as possible, just to speed
up development time and add a certain dose of realism into new SS4 levels. And in terms of gameplay,
we are looking more towards “Second Encounter”
than SS3, which we presume many players will greet
with smile!
CS: Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions Damjan!
DM: The pleasure was mine, big cheers to your
readers and all our fans, with a promise that we’ll deliver SS4 as fast as we can!
‘Harlem Hellfighters’ author Max
Brooks speaks at Portage schools
BY OLIV IA OLES
View Editor
On Nov. 12, best selling author Max Brooks will
visit Central and Northern to give a talk and answer
questions.
His first talk is at 9 a.m in the auditorium, with the
next at Northern. His last talk will be at 7 p.m. for the
community with the addition of Brooks signing copies of his books. The location is not yet determined.
Some of his famous works are “World War Z,”
“Zombie Survival Guide” and his latest creation “The
Harlem Hellfighters.” “World War Z” was converted
into a film last year.
He is the son of comedy filmmaker Mel Brooks
and actress Anne Bancroft. Brooks is also a former
member of the writing team on Saturday Night Live.
His talk will mostly focus on his graphic novel
“The Harlem Hellfighers,” which has been purchased
by Sony Pictures to be made into a film.
There will be a small presentation followed by a
question and answer session.
While the entire school cannot attend as an
assembly, several teachers have agreed to take their
classes who have discussed and reviewed the book
ahead of time.
Individual students are welcome to attend as
long as they are eligible and see Media Specialist
Sara Brown ahead of time, she said.
Last spring a few students and teachers Skyped
Max Brooks and did a similar question and answer
session about his writing experiences. Through some
generous grants and donations, Brooks is now able
to come in person.
“He’s a really great author,” senior Hasaan Hayat
said. “I think personally that having him here at the
school will be a really great thing for the kids here.
Last year, it was a lot of fun talking to him. He has a
nice personality.”
Oct. 2, 2015
’90s movies making a
comeback
vibe
BY S HAWN A HUANG
Editor-In-Chief
Though we were but wee infants in the 1990s and
early 2000s, many of us still remember “Star Wars,”
“Indiana Jones,” “The Lion King” and other franchises
as classics of our childhood. We often associate such
movies with nostalgic memories of our youth, of a
time when Mufasa’s death was the most tragic thing
to ever happen to our fragile little minds.
Yet, decades after their moments in the sun, dozens of movie franchises and TV shows from the late
20th century are making a comeback from our memories to both the big and small screen.
A “Ghostbusters” reboot, starring women in the
main roles instead of men, has been scheduled for a
July 2016 release. “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” got
its remake in the summer of 2014, and “Star Trek” got
its reboot several years ago, filled with technobabble
and dramatic lens flares, courtesy of J.J. Abrams.
There has even been talk of an “Indiana Jones” reboot, starring Hollywood’s new favorite action hero,
Chris Pratt.
Other franchises are getting sequels in an attempt to bring them back into the limelight. The biggest blockbusters this summer included “Terminator:
Genysis” and “Jurassic World”, the fifth and fourth installments of their respective franchises. Rumors of
a sequel to “The Goonies” have been confirmed by
Chris Columbus, the film’s original screenwriter, but
no final script has been written.
Several TV shows are also coming back after
over a decade dead, including “Full House” as “Fuller
House,” “Boy Meets World” as “Girl Meets World” (centering on Cory and Topanga’s daughter, Riley), “The
X-Files” and “Twin Peaks,” among many others.
BY DA KOTA H LI LLY
Vibe Editor
Jurassic World, the sequel to Jurassic Park
After 13 years of waiting, “Finding Dory” is set to
finally premiere next summer as a sequel to the beloved “Finding Nemo.” Other sequels to Disney classics are currently in the works, from “Incredibles 2” to
“Toy Story 4,” or have already been released, such as
“Monsters University.” Even “The Lion King” is coming
back into action, with an animated television series
titled “The Lion Guard” set to premiere in November
and focusing on Simba and Nala’s son, Kion.
And of course, who could forget the eagerly anticipated seventh episode of “Star Wars”?
Who knows why Hollywood has suddenly decided that every franchise from our parents’ childhoods
and our own must be revamped, recasted, renamed
to sound more epic (because apparently, misspelling
“genesis” is cool)? Why has the entertainment business decided that the endings they left us with many,
many years ago suddenly aren’t good enough anymore and that the stories must be continued?
More likely than not, Hollywood wants to capitalize on our nostalgia for “the good ol’ days,” for a time
when life was less instantaneous, less accessible, less
complicated. Perhaps they’ve found that exploiting
our childhood memories is a good business model.
Regardless of Hollywood’s never-ending quest for
money, the sequels and reboots are on their way. So
sit back, relax, and enjoy the show - and the nostalgia
that will inevitably come along for the ride.
Fall play, ‘Dear Phoebe,’
coming later this month
BY SAMHI TA S U N KAR A
Staff Writer
Mark your calendars to come see this year’s fall
play, “Dear Phoebe.” The play entails a journalist, Bill
Hastings, who wants a job at a company called “The
Daily Star.”
He discovers that the only available job opening
is as a columnist who gives love advice to the people
who reach out to him. He takes the job and uses the
fake name “Miss Phoebe” when writing. Later on, he
finds himself trying to solve a gambling ring as well
as a murder.
Director Tyler Baas has been working as a primary
director of the fall play for two years. Baas explains
the play as a fast-paced, witty comedy where both
the characters and the storyline are very lively.
“I wanted to do a show that was exciting and
high-energy, and this one certainly has both of those
things!” Baas said.
Baas also explains that the audience can expect
to be entertained, to be held in suspense, and to be
impressed by the excellent acting skills of the cast.
Bill Hastings (Miss Phoebe) is played by junior
Darius Ledbetter. He is looking forward to performing his first lead role in the fall play, as well as being
able to cross off wearing a dress on stage from his
bucket list.
Konami’s abuse of
Kojima Productions
9
Shawna Huang/STAMPEDE
“I like how I pretty much know everyone, because
there’s 14 of us, and most of us have done other performances together” Ledbetter said.
Mickey Riley, the love interest in “Dear Phoebe,” is
played by senior Maddy Kindler.
She meets Bill Hasting while working at the Daily
Star, and they end up solving the murder and gambling crimes.
“I like that we’re all just a big family. We help and
encourage each other to work to our full potential,
and everybody bonds well with one another,” Kindler
said.
Kindler says that she is most looking forward to
performing at the shows and having people come
support and watch the play.
The play’s show dates are Friday, Oct. 30, Sunday,
Nov. 1 (afternoon matinee), Friday, Nov. 6, Saturday,
Nov. 7, and Sunday, Nov. 8. Make sure to buy tickets
for this must-see fall production of “Dear Phoebe!”
“Konami” is a video game publisher of several
series that have been influential throughout gaming
history including “Castlevania,”“Contra,” and naturally,
the acclaimed “Metal Gear” series. The series’ director,
Hideo Kojima, has always been incredibly involved
with the development of the games, - fine-tuning the
experience to be exactly what he wants. However, recently, Kojima and Konami appear to have had a falling out, with his studio “Kojima Productions” (KojiPro)
taking some heavy blows as a result.
From e-mails being changed at random to prevent communication, to cameras monitoring their
every move. The KojiPro employees have even had
to work in offices with no lights on. They’ve been
experiencing horrid working conditions despite the
games they make pulling in millions for the publisher.
The problems don’t stop there. When a programmer
or artist is deemed not useful, they’re switched from
their current employed position to being a janitor
or factory worker. Computers for KojiPro don’t even
have Internet access; they can only send messages to
other devices on the local network.
These kind of practices are disgusting and are definitely part of the ongoing battle between Konami
and Kojima. Before the release of “Metal Gear Solid V:
The Phantom Pain,” the publisher has been scrubbing
the marketing material of the director’s name and
taking every step to remove the mark he’s left on the
company, which was no doubt a positive one. This
isn’t the first time we’ve seen issues like this in the
gaming industry. Most popularly we had Rockstar’s
“L.A. Noire” go so far as to remove staff from the credits for “not working hard enough.” It’s unfortunately
common for crunch time near a game’s release to involve heavy amounts of overtime, and poor working
conditions in a effort to ship the game on time.
However, this particular instance goes a step further, as the company is stalking its employees over
social media, restricting their ability to do their job,
The logo of Kojima’s development studio
and relocating them to go build pachinko machines
when they’re arbitrarily deemed not-useful for the
project. Kojima spent years building a legacy that’ll
last for generations and making his team to be what
they are today. He lovingly crafted the “Metal Gear”
series for almost 30 years, and the way Konami repays
him and his team, is to kick him out, abuse his staff,
and ultimately end “Metal Gear” as we know it today.
It’s embarrassing to see a large publisher pull
these kinds of tricks over a reknowned AAA development studio, but even worse is that they’re likely to
get away with it, too. Konami announced a focus on
mobile game development, and while they’ve since
stated that their AAA studios won’t stop producing
games, it’s very clear any true games they produce
will have a myriad of microtransactions.
It’s very likely that with Kojima gone, we’re going to see “Metal Gear” forced into the mobile market.
It’s hard to see another mainline entry coming anytime soon with how many mobile games that rake in
millions despite being low-quality versions of other
titles exist. It’s a truly depressing end for such an established and acclaimed series.
sports
10
Oct. 2, 2015
Volleyball program nets chocolate milk grant
BY A LLI S ON SA CHWI T Z
Staff Writer
The volleyball teams are rewarded after tough
games and tournaments with chocolate milk courtesy of a grant Sheryl Zook, sophomore Mackenzie
Zook’s mom, earned for all three teams.
Zook has worked with the United Dairy Industry
of Michigan (UDIM) before, and said she applied for
the chocolate milk grant last spring for the fall season. The winners of this grant were decided based
on the completeness of the application and how
well the school would be able to provide chocolate
milk to the team after practices and games in the
future.
UDIM is dedicated to making sure athletes make
up for lost nutrients after games and practices and
wants to inform youth on how much better chocolate milk is for your body than regular sports drinks
after a run or workout. Chocolate milk is also very
hydrating, as it contains 90 percent water.
Additionally, the UDIM informs athletes how
chocolate milk is “nature’s sports drink” and provides
nine essential nutrients: calcium, potassium, phosphorus, protein, vitamins A, D, and B12, riboflavin
and niacin.
“Probably the most fun part about the grant was
having our team photos taken with the volleyball
girls sporting a chocolate milk mustache!” Zook
exclaimed.
The grant is for $2,000, and the money must
go toward providing the volleyball team with milk;
however, they can coordinate this however they see
fit. Zook worked with the Susan Livingston, Chartwells food service director, to provide the chocolate
milk to the teams.
Two insulated milk coolers and rolling carts were
also purchased with some of the grant money to
make storing and transporting the chocolate milk to
games and tournaments a lot easier.
There is no company directly affiliated with this
grant besides the UDIM which promotes all the dairy
producers in Michigan; however, there is promotion-
The volleyball teams are rewarded after tough
games and tournaments with chocolate milk courtesy of a grant Sheryl Zook, Sophomore Mackenzie
Zook’s mom, earned for all three teams.
Zook has worked with the United Dairy Industry
of Michigan before, and applied for the grant last
spring for the fall season.
The UDIM is very dedicated in making sure
athletes make up for lost nutrients after games and
practices. They want to inform youth on how much
better chocolate milk is for your body than regular
sports drinks after a workout.
"Probably the most fun part about the grant was
having our team photos taken with the volleyball
Photo Courtesy Sue Block
Got Milk?: A grant from the United Dairy Industry of Michigan allows all players in the volleyball program to rehydrate with chocolate milk after games.
al literature and prizes needed to be given away with
this grant. This is a one-time grant, therefore the
volleyball team will not be able to apply again. Next
season, it is up to the team and boosters to decide
how to provide chocolate milk to the players.
The United Dairy Industry of Michigan is provid-
Athletes of the Month
ing grants such as these to more than 200 fall, winter
and spring high school sports teams in Michigan.
While this grant is open to many kinds of teams, only
one sports team per school is allowed to win the
grant.
The UDIM is more likely to choose another
school sports team instead of a Portage Central team
in the future to make this grant fair for all schools to
achieve.
Zook hopes to see other sports teams apply for
grants like this one in the future so they can benefit
like the volleyball teams have.
Poll results: PC’s Top Superfans
Jawad Aqueel
Sophia Lentz
Maddie Jump
Women’s Diving
Grade: 11
Age: 16
Sport: Women’s diving
Biggest achievement of the season: Spartan
Relays Sept. 12, broke six dive varsity record
set in 1992. Portage Central vs. Kalamazoo
Central (Sept. 15), broke previous personal record again, setting the six dive varsity record
again. Broke two records twice in one week.
Quote: “I love diving because it’s a beautiful
sport that requires strength, coordination,
rhythm, courage and determination. I can’t
even put into words how accomplished I feel
when I come up out of the water after ripping
a particularly high difficulty dive and see my
coach’s huge smile of pride. I owe all of my
success to my coach, Dr. Ollie Barnes.”
Bill Duo
Men’s Tennis
Grade: 10
Age:14
Sport: Men’s varsity tennis, singles
Biggest schievement of the season: Undefeated without dropping a set
Quote: “I love tennis, I love the competition,
and I love how it’s an individual sport. But it’s
even better when you have a great team like
I do here at Portage Central supporting each
other on and off the court like a family.”
Vote for next issue’s ‘Athlete
of the Month’ on Twitter!
@CentralStampede
Follow @CentralStampede to
get invloved in the next poll!
sports
Oct. 2, 2015
11
Football team remains undefeated
BY ZA CH F RA NKS
Sports Editor
Five weeks into the season, the football team
remains undefeated at 5-0, ranked among the state’s
elite Division 2 teams and have high hopes for the
remainder of the season.
The team attributes a lot of its success this season to its defense. Having a large number of seniors
who know the defense and have experience playing
has helped them out. In their first five games,
they’ve only allowed an average of 10 points a game.
Junior linebacker Ben Alvarez emphasizes just how
important defense has been for this years team.
“ We’ve been playing very hard on the defensive
side,” Alvarez said. “ We’ve had lots of turnovers and
have managed to keep the opposing team off the
scoreboard in most situations.”
A pivotal player in this successful defensive
scheme is senior cornerback Jacob Roth. Roth
had a key interception that he returned 25 yards
for a touchdown on a Sept. 11 matchup against
Stevensville-Lakeshore. This play, along with hard
work from the rest of the team, resulted in a tough
7-6 win. Roth said he seeks to improve his leadership
role as a team captain as the season progresses.
“Being a captain this year is pushing me in different directions, and is helping me become a better
player and teammate,” Roth said.
The defense cannot take all of the credit for this
undefeated season. The offense has been putting
big numbers up, averaging 35 points a game so far
this season. Running-backs Thomas Hatfield and
Brandon Sturgeon have been moving the chains and
NOTABLE WINS: Cougar Falcon Invite (Men’s)
TALENT TO WATCH: junior Gannon Folley, junior
Nathan Mack (Men). junior Chelsea Whelhama, freshman Alana Richmond (women)
BIGGEST CONFERENCE COMPETITION: Portage Northern
Football
CAPTAINS: Brandon Sturgeon, Jacob Roth, Davin
Renda, Daniel Bowditch
RECORD: 5-0
TALENT TO WATCH: Seniors Jack Eichman, Kyle
Kesler, Thomas Hatfield, Andrew Gabel and Juniors
Austin “Bama” McCullough, Austin “General Master”
Duff, Raine Potts, Justin Mcintyre, Elliott Ryan
UPCOMING HOME GAME: Rivalry game against
Portage Northern! Oct. 9
INJURY REPORT: Ben Alvarez, Even Tabor, Ian
Creech, Zach Meddaugh
Soccer
Sharwari Salvi/STAMPEDE
Unstoppable: Running back Brandon Sturgeon smashes through the line during the Sept. 25 matchup
against Gull Lake.
setting up opportunities to put points on the board.
Sturgeon alone scored four rushing touchdowns in
the Aug. 28 matchup against Mattawan. Sturgeon
is confident in the team’s ability to continue playing
successfully.
“ Every week when we’ve been practicing,
everybody’s staying focused,” Sturgeon said. “It’s
been tough but as a team we’ve been able to push
through it and win some games.”
The team faces off against Niles (away) tonight,
but is back home on Oct. 9 to face crosstown rival
Portage Northern.
Meet
Karen, the
new
trainer
CAPTAINS: Seniors Brady Robertson, Brandon
Twiehaus, Neils Verleum
RECORD: 13-1
TALENT TO WATCH: Senior Brady Robertson, senior
Preston Boshoven
UPCOMING HOME GAME: Battle Creek Lakeview on
Sept. 29
Tennis
CAPTAINS: Senior Ben Orwin, senior Sahil Tandon,
Junior Cameron Raedy
RECORD: Undefeated
TALENT TO WATCH: Everyone has a winning record
INJURY REPORT: none
Volleyball
CAPTAINS: All seniors
RECORD: 13-10 (7-0 in SMAC)
TALENT TO WATCH: Freshman Julia Semler
UPCOMING MEET: @Niles on Oct. 7
BIGGEST CONFERENCE COMPETITION: Bridgman
HS
INJURY REPORT: none
Women’s Swimming
and Diving
BY KYLE PA LM ER
Staff Writer
Portage Central Athletics hired a new trainer
named Karen Burrows. Burrows attended the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh before working at Portage
Central.
Burrows said, “The best part is seeing someone
who has been injured, watching them go through
all the different stages of not being able to do
something, being able to do something halfway, and
then seeing them play on Friday night and do what
they want to do.”
Burrows spends her days at PC helping athletes
recover from injuries. She said that she is helping
student athletes from 2:45 to 4:50 every day.
Burrows spends most of her time helping
athletes, but when she isn’t she is attending Portage
Central sports games. She also tries to find and follow up with athletes that are no longer recovering to
see how they are doing.
Sophomore Jessie Zesiger said that even though
it takes her a little while Burrows always gets to the
Cross Country
Asking
Sharwari Salvi/STAMPEDE
the right questions:
Trainer Karen Burrows checks in with student-athlete Grayson
Plew about his recent injury.
volleyball practice when she is needed.
“She was really caring, she got me through all the
steps, it was fun working with her. I would trust her
if I was injured again,” said sophomore Kyle Dotson,
a football player. Dotson believes that Burrows did a
“wonderful” job with his recovery.
Burrows said that which games she attends
follow a certain pattern. Higher impact games take
preference of lower impact, and varsity takes preference over junior varsity. Burrows decides with the
athletic director which games she attends.
CAPTAINS: All seniors
RECORD: 5-0
TALENT TO WATCH: Freshman Julia Semler
UPCOMING MEET: BC Lakeview on Oct. 7
BIGGEST CONFERENCE COMPETITION: Bridgman
HS
INJURY REPORT: none
Mustang Meal Deal!
$5.00 8-inch sub, chips and fountain drink!
7886
Oakland
Drive
(Corner of
Oakland and
Centre. Next to
Full City Cafe!)
We cater
open
houses!
11 a.m.-4 p.m. ... School days only!
(Must show valid student ID)
stampede
12
Oct. 2, 2015
H AV E YO U R N E X T
F U N D R A I S E R AT Y ’ O PA
lYi ’mOi PA
t 8 oTzO f rGeO
e
OGO
$B 1
OFFR EFE
Y
Y ’’ O
O PA
PA T
TO
O G
GO
O
not
not valid
valid with
with other
other offers
offers
equal or lesser value
not
not valid
valid with
with other
other offers
offers
equal or lesser value
$5 ALL
YOU CAN FILL
2 for $8
ALL YOU CAN FILL
16oz cup only
not valid with other offers
16oz cup only
not valid with other offers
FREE 8oz cup with any GIFT CARD
purchase of $10 or more.
Y’OPA Frozen Yogurt. Not valid with other offers.
EXPERIENCE
CULTURE
F r ee Samples
th e
OGO
$B 1
OFFR EFE
165 W. Centre Ave | Portage, MI
www.yopafrozenyogurt.com
LIKE US
FOLLOW US
GET 10% CASH BACK WITH OUR CASH BACK GIFT CARDS