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Issue 1 SeptemberVol 2

Freshmen guide to WSH

Photo HighlightsThe creatures are back and crazier than ever!

Help design a new logo for The Occidentalist! See page 5 for details.

IssueSchool

Remembering 9/11Where were you?

11 unspoken “rules” of West Senior High

Over the summer, both us became avid “yogis”, a term meaning one who practices yoga. From hot yoga to Vin-yasa, we tried it all. Some we liked more than others. How-ever, we tried them anyway. In each class, the instructor encouraged us and the other students to push ourselves to the limit, but not too far; to adjust and modify as needed for your own body; and to always focus and try hard at whatever posture, flow, or breathing exercise we may be learning. We were forced to challenge ourselves, but only until the pose became uncom-fortable, stopping before the point of pain. We learned a lot not only about ourselves, but

the ways we approach things in life and accomplish them.

Everyone knows the age old saying, “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” And that is exactly the motto we are living by this year, not only when it comes to learning new and tricky yoga poses, but to publishing our paper as well.

And yes, we did just com-pare our student newspaper to practicing yoga.

We’re acknowledging that the paper hasn’t been exactly what it could have been for the past few years, but we’re moving on, and so should you. We’re trying again, modifying for what our school wants and needs and focusing on mak-ing the paper and our staff the

best it can possibly be.As the most dynamic duo

you may ever meet, we’re go-ing to try our best to make The Occidentalist one of the best student publications in the north.

We’re back, we’re in print, we’ve got a new design, an (almost) new staff, a kickbutt adviser and we’re better than ever. Get ready for another great year at West Senior High School and stick with The Oc-cidentalist for the latest on our school. Good luck and have fun this year!

The Occidentalist Letter from the editors2

We’reBack!

Meg SheehanChloe Foster

Editors in Chief

Photo on the cover: C. Foster.

on the cover

11 unspoken “rules” of WSH

Design our new logo!

CREA

TUR

ES

getcrazy! pg. 14

6Where were you on 9/11?5

8

extras

11 Back to school playlist

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What should be in your closet this fall?

Kevin Cronin: super athlete?

Photo highlights14

The OccidentalistTable of contents 3

Photo: M. Sheehan.

He sends the ball through the uprights as the crowd roars. He launches the ball past the goalie’s outstretched fingertips. Two sports. One season. An average fall for Kevin Cronin ‘12.

Kicker for the football team. Forward and team cap-tain for the soccer team. He

pulls double duty every fall, giving both sports his all everyday.

He gets off the bus at midnight, helmet

and shoulder-pads in hand, and an hour of homework waiting for him at home.

Shin-guards and cleats stuffed in a duffel bag

slung over his shoulder, he enters his house and sits down to start his homework, the night

half over, but his home-work just started.

For the past three years this has been his routine.

Balancing the demands of his coaches, teachers, friends, and family, he perseveres, attempt-ing to please everyone.

His season never ends. When the games end, he’s in the gym or the weight room, working to become just a little better the next time autumn rolls through.

To most, the load may seem overwhelming, but to Kevin the demands have their re-wards.

The praise of those close to him and the desire to become even better are his rewards and motivation.

He dreams of playing foot-ball in college so with every game, every hour spent prac-ticing, and every second of effort, he gets one step closer.

He loves these sports and excels at them, both on the field and on the pitch. Football is where his future lies, but soccer is where it began.

Ever since he could walk, he’s been playing soccer, and his affinity for football only grows with each passing day.

The ball flies through the uprights as the referee raises his arms. It surges into the net, another goal. The crowds

cheer. Just another day in the life of Kevin Cronin

BalancingActTrey Hines Guest Writer

The Occidentalist Feature4

?The Occidentalist is looking for a new logo to rep-resent us at school functions, journalism confer-ences, and much more. Going with the theme of, “Watching over the West,” we want you to de-sign something for us that embodies this “mot-to,” whether it be a Titan himself or some other representation. Please submit your work to us by PDF at theoccidentalist@gmail.com, in Mrs. Wosek’s mailbox in the main office, or in the publications room, A116 during 4th hour, with your name and grade by September 23. If we de-cide to use your logo, you will be recognized with a feature about your talents and given credit in evey issue.

Attention talented artists:

Guidelines:We would be using the logo in our masthead on the front cover, so make it a single fig-ure, not a landscape or anything else that wouldn’t be able to fit there.

The OccidentalistDesign a logo 5

‘’I was in new york because I lived there at the time, and I lived 45 minutes away from the city. We got sent home from school.’’Kari Cannon ‘15

Chase Wagner ‘12

‘’I was in 2nd grade in my class in Washington D.C. Kids started getting picked up by their par-ents. I didn’t know what was happening because the teach-ers were told to keep quiet but I remember waiting and thinking if my parents would pick me up. Sure enough they showed up to take me from class with the rest of my siblings.’’

“I was in second grade at West-woods and my mom told me on the way home from school.”Courtney Bailey ‘12

Where wereyou?

The Occidentalist News6

S e p t m e b e r 1 1 , 2 0 0 1Remembering

Abigail Skibowski ‘12, remembers that fall day per-fectly.

“I was in Mrs. Hoffman’s second grade class at Willow Hill Elementary,” said Ski-bowski. “She sat us all down and we just talked as a class for a while.”

September 11th, 2001 started out just as any other day would. There was no reason to believe that anything was going to be different or out of the ordinary that day. But by mid morning, America was under attack, and it was obvious that that day would be one of the darkest moments in American history.

On that fateful morning, four commercial airliners were hijacked by Al Qaeda operatives and crashed into the World Trade Center in

New York City, the Penta-gon in Washington DC, and one crashed in a field in rural Pennsylvania after the pas-sengers valiant attempt to overtake the hijackers saved the Capitol Building from at-tack. At the end of the horror, nearly 3,000 American citizens were dead in the worst ter-rorist attack in history. The moment the news broke is one that is frozen in time for any-body old enough to remember it, an unforgettable moment of shock, horror, anger, and grief.

Like many Americans, Skibowski’s first thought was “Why? Why Us?’’

“Nobody really understood and many people were ask-ing ‘why?’ and ‘is that going to happen to us?’ Naturally, it was a little overwhelming for us and Mrs. Hoffman [our sec-ond grade teacher],” said Ski-

bowski. “It’s hard to explain hatred on such a cast level to a group of 7 year olds.”

Through the pain and suf-fering in the months after the attack, Americans bonded to-gether and moved on, but will never forget that tragic day. The attack had an impact on American Society. The differ-ence in airport security is night and day and American citizens are much more security con-scious than they were a decade ago. Skibowski, like others in a time of tragedy learned an important lesson- don’t take anything for granted.

“It made me realize how important it is not to take things for granted,” Skibowski said. “I know it sounds cliché, but it could happen to anyone, these people had newborns, just graduated college, just got home from vacation, or found a job. Nobody is excluded.”

Chase Schelling Chief Staff Writer

The OccidentalistNews 7

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1 2Accept the fact that you are

a freshman.We all had to go through it. Trust me. Realiz-ing the fact that you’re at the bottom of the food chain and not at the top will help your year go a lot smoother. Just swallow your pride and get on with it; you’ll meet a lot of people in your mixed-grade classes who may not even realize you’re a freshman and make a lot more friends than a student who lives up to the freshman stereotype. It’s really,

Don’t be the stereotypereally easy to just fit in and automatically blend with the school. Once again though, some people have a lot of trouble with this. All it takes is being respectful, to everyone: other students, teachers and faculty. Honestly, no one likes a person who thinks they’re better than everyone else. Being quiet in the halls and class will help, as well as what was stated earlier, accept your freshman status.

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Welcome to West Senior High. Since you are brand new, you have a clean slate. Your slate is not only clean, but it is also empty. You are faced with an ideal opportu-nity to completely start over. At West Senior High, you gain whatever reputation you make for yourself. Everyone was a freshman once. Everyone knows how you feel. But no matter how afraid or uncom-

fortable you feel in this new, large school, it is no excuse to forget your manners. Be kind, act mature, have an open mind and your freshman year will be a lot more enjoyable.

Everyone is aware of the so called stigma against fresh-man. However, they person to change that is you. As Gandhi said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

Gain respect

Seven helpful tips for a smooth and successful freshman year at WSH.Freshmen guide to West Senior HighMeg Sheehan Editor in Chief

Getting involved is what high school is all about. Yes, it’s cheesy and maybe a bit overrated, but by the time you’re a senior and you look back at what you actually did to make your mark on this school, you’ll be glad. Whether you broke a sports record, joined 7 different clubs, marched with the band or col-ored in the coloring club, you

Be involved!will have met a whole slew of new people and learned things about yourself you never even knew you were capable of. If you’re shy, try and branch out and overcome (easier said than done, we know). If you’re out-going, take advantage of that! Probably one of the easiest ways to get involved and feel apart of this school is to join the creatures and get rowdy!

You know those friends you’ve had every since el-ementary school? The ones who are (for whatever reason) your best friends, even though they lie to you? Stab you in the back? Go all psychotic and bipolar on you? This is your chance to get rid of them. You’re in a whole new school, with almost all new people. You can be friends with anyone, sophomores, juniors,

Don’t be cliqueyseniors. It doesn’t matter! Branch out and make some friends who actually care about you and you like being around. Join different clubs and sports to get to know all kinds of people that you can surround yourself with. Everyone says high school was the most un-forgettable years of their lives, so don’t let poopy friends hold you back

The Occidentalist Freshmen guide8

Walking in the hallways real-ly isn’t that difficult. However, some people just seem to have a hard understanding how the “traffic” flows. Understand-ing the simple rules of West’s hallways will save you a lot of dirty looks, snide remarks, and help you on your way of NOT becoming a stereotypi-cal freshman. When walking in the halls or up the staircases, stay on the RIGHT side at all times. This counts the caf-

Go with the flow, literally

eteria, the wings, everywhere. Things will go much more smoothly, everyone will get to class on time and no one will be trampled, physically or verbally. And when you stop to talk, DO NOT DO IT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HALLWAY. Move to one side of the hall so as not to disrupt the flow and make everyone around you automatically hate you. Or step on you.

PDA, or Public Displays of Affection, is gross. It’s prob-ably grosser than the cat disec-tion in Anatomy and Physiol-ogy. No one wants to see...that, from anyone, freshman and seniors alike. Just save it for somewhere else, and don’t subject the rest of the school population to your and your significant other’s nastiness. Please.

PDA?No way

For some reason, freshmen come in each year dressing like...I don’t know what. Not appropriate. Yes, the shorts dress code is a bit of a pain, but if you just put up with it and follow it you won’t have to deal with the school admin-istration. Most of the time no one wants to see that anyways.

Keep it classyAnother thing, ladies, there is such a thing as too much cleavage. Just cover it up a bit and save our eyes. Guys, pull up your pants. Honestly. Stay-ing classy outside of school is also an important aspect to a successful high school career. You don’t want to start out your freshman year with all of

Seven helpful tips for a smooth and successful freshman year at WSH.Freshmen guide to West Senior High

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your drunken summer pictures on Facebook. It’s not impres-sive. I don’t think you’re cool. I think you’re dumb and prob-ably a bit trashy. This sounds like a lot, but really it isn’t. If we all behave like humans instead of animals, we all might be a bit happier and less annoyed with each other.

The OccidentalistFreshmen guide 9

4. Throwing away garbage seems to be a huge chore at our school that many stu-dents don’t like to do. It’s quite easy, there are garbage cans EVERYWHERE, and you just toss it out on the way to class. It saves the cafeteria staff a lot of work and makes our school look a lot nicer to visitors.

Lunch “Rules”The Commons of West has a few unspoken rules that, for the first time ever, are going to be spoken.

1. A bag or item of any type in a chair means it’s taken. It doesn’t mean you can put that item on the table and snatch the chair for yourself, because

it’s not yours. It can sometimes take a really long time to find an

available chair, and when you do, do you want to come back to your table

with your tray of yummy pasta, starv-ing, with nowhere to sit? No? Neither

do the rest of us.

2. In the lunch lines, the right side is for students with I.D. cards to scan, and the left side is for students without I.D. cards to punch in their I.D. number on a keypad. Knowing this before the first makes things go a lot faster for

3. There are certain days of the week/month featuring certain food. Monday is Hungry Howie pizza day, with some sort of potato side, the first Wednes-day of the month is Gyro day, every Thurs-day is Pasta day, the best day of the week, and Friday is grilled cheese and soup day.

The Occidentalist “Lunch Rules”10

Meg Sheehan Editor in Chief

Back to school playlistRise and Shine -- The Little Ones

We’re Going To Be Friends -- The White Stripes

No Such Thing -- John Mayer

Express Yourself -- Nathan Dennen

Lights -- Ellie Goulding

Campus -- Vampire Weekend

Grade 9 -- Barenaked Ladies

Expectations -- Belle & Sebastian

Never Miss A Beat -- Kaiser Chiefs

Wordplay -- Jason Mraz

Dog Days Are Over -- Florence + The Machine

Kids -- MGMTRock ‘N’ Roll High School -- Ramones

Tightrope (feat. Big Boi) -- Janelle Monae

The Cave -- Mumford and Sons

Don’t Be A Dropout -- James Brown

Comeback Kid -- Brett Dennen

Wake Up Everybody -- John Legend and The

Roots

The OccidentalistEntertainment 11

What’s in your closet?Southwestern

Must-have fashion trends for fall

Lovely LaceIf you’re looking to sass or class up an outfit, lace would be a great addition to your wardrobe.

Sweeping the school already, the southwestern look, with its deep, vivid colors and eye-catching geometric patterns is the way to go for a smooth fashion transition into this fall season. This style has definite-ly made a comeback and from shirts to backpacks and other accessories, there is bound to be something southern and stellar perfect for you!

Chloe Foster Editor in Chief

The Occidentalist Fashion12

Purple Pizazz!

Feathers

Ponchos & CapesAdding to the southwestern look, ponchos and capes have returned and are once again fashionably accept-able and desired. As the temperature cools down, ponchos are the perfect ad-dition to any wardrobe. They are easy to throw on as you walk out the door into the frigid Michigan fall weather.

Toss in a pinch of purple with any outfit and you’re sure to stand out in a crowd!

Tying into the southwest-ern theme, feathers are a great addition to any out-fit, or hairdo. Although the trend began in the summer, feather hair extentions are still a superb way to make a statement this fall. Feathers aren’t just for hair! Feather prints on clothing is also very “in” this autumn, so get those feathers!

The OccidentalistFashion 13

Go BIG or go home!From football games to staff assemblies, TCW Titan students and staff are there and shining bright!

Photo: M. Sheehan.Photo: C. Foster.

Photo: M. Sheehan.

Photo: C. Foster.

The Occidentalist Photo highlights14

Photo: K. Hansen.

Photo: K. Hansen.

Photo: C. Foster.

Photo: C. Foster.The OccidentalistPhoto highlights 15

Photo: C. Foster.

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