THE
HURON EMERY
@THEHURONEMERY
HURON HIGH SCHOOL, 2727 FULLER RD., ANN ARBOR MI 48105
VOL. 8 ISSUE 3
Navigating vision disability ASHLEY KIM STAFF WRITER
NEWS
For some people, reading a sign comes naturally. Sending a text takes a mere second. Cooking a meal is a simple task. Doing the laundry is easy. But for others it’s different. All throughout the world, many people struggle with various disabilities. Disabilities can make people’s lives more challenging and can negatively impact the way they act, think, and live. Although it may not seem very common, about 650 million people in the world live with a disability. This includes some students in the Huron High School community. Juniors Brandon Kim and Alex Harris both have a disability that affects their vision. Harris has a condition called visual snow. The cause isn’t currently known, but current information points to a neurological disorder of the visual processing in the brain cortex. Kim has a hereditary disease called stargardt’s. This causes exponential loss of his central vision. “It’s not easy living with this condition,” Kim said. “Everything takes longer, whether it is school work or just simply finding and locating objects. My vision
briefs
Huron football head coach Antaiwn Mack announced that he will be stepping down as head coach of the football program in an email to players and families in November. “I’m truly blessed to have had the opportunity to build so many positive relationships with students and student athletes in such a
Coach Antwain Mack speaks to the team during Huron’s loss to Saline on Sep. 1. PHOTO BY ZAIN CHARANIA
short period of time here a Ann Arbor Huron High School,” Mack wrote in his email. “I’m looking forward to pursuing my long time dream of coaching division one college football and spending time with my family.” Mack turned around the program from a winless 0-41 stretch before his arrivin 2019. Mack posted a 18-17 in his four years with the program, which included three straight playoff appearances,
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See VISION DISABILITY, PAGE 2
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also severely limits what I can do, whether that is just simply read a poster or look at a white board.” Members of the Huron staff go above and beyond to help out students with disabilities. Bruce Popejoy is a Visual Impairment TA who works with Kim and Harris. “Working with students with disabilities can be rewarding, very enjoyable and sometimes stressful,” Popejoy said. “ My job is to try to make it for Brandon and Alex to have the best education possible with the vision they have.” Popejoy helps Kim and Harris by scanning in classroom materials, typing when needed, and being in class to help the teacher meet their needs. He also helps brainstorm ideas as needed for assignments or projects. There are accommodations, such as striping on door mullions, lines on steps and special locks for lockers, for visually impaired students at Huron as well. Students also have individual accommodations, to ensure equity and to help disabled students succeed academically. “Accommodations that I use are things such as extra time allowing me to do the same amount of work just with extended time,” Harris said. “I also use things like an iPad so I can enlarge any work
the program’s first playoff win and best record (8-2 in 2021 and an MHSAA top 10 team) which were both the firsts in two decades of Huron football. Even though he is no longer the coach, Mack will continue to help Huron’s football student athletes with their college recruitment before signing day on February 15th. Mack helped a total of 43
See MACK, PAGE 2
OPINION PAGE 7 The holidays: Heartwarming or overrated?
RIDHIMA KODALI & DANIEL LEE PRINT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF & NEWS EDITOR On Dec. 2, the Ann Arbor Public School district announced in an email that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) community level has dropped down to “Low/ Green,” the lowest of three community levels. “It just seems kind of normal now,” freshman Bea Harss said. “It seems weird to not be wearing a mask, or worrying about getting sick, or someone coughing.” No less than a week later, on Dec. 9, the AAPS
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district announced that the Washtenaw County community CDC level is at the Medium/Yellow community level, again, due to a rise of COVID cases and other illnesses. Executive director of the AAPS community health division Jenna Bacolor and Superintendent of AAPS, Jeanice K.Swift released a district health advisory — by email — on Thursday, Dec. 15, due to an increase in illnesses in students and staff across the district. In fact, Burns Park Elementary closed the same day, due to the number of staff illnesses. Burns Park closed again on Dec. 16, alongside
See SICKNESS, PAGE 2
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