For the past decade, the Dexter community and the surrounding area has seen the Dreadnaught football team as one that cannot perform. From losing every game from 2014 through 2017, they were a football team that could not win, let alone compete.
Now, in 2018, the Dreads are 4-2 (through September) and have no plans to let up on the incredible new performance against any team. How does a team that endured a 42-game losing streak win four games (and counting?) with a one-year turnaround.
How a fierce college admissions process is destroying us as students (and what those in charge should do about it)
Hop on the Common Application bus where stress, anxiety, and competition are all just a part of everyday college admissions. Some will land with a parachute and others go up in flames. (Drawn by Paige Turner)
By Tate Evans
To any up-and-coming high schooler cursed with the dreams of attending a select college when they graduate high school, the statistics are truly gruesome. Roughly speaking, selective institutions—schools which only accept half of all their total applicants—regularly accept 1/5 of the nations incoming freshmen, but are the end destination for 1/3 of our collective applications. Top schools such as Harvard and Stanford regularly report admission rates hovering around 5%, or numerically, just a measly 2,040 incoming students out of a hefty 47,450 applicant pool (2018) in the case of the latter.
In what is essentially an academic battle royale with an ever-increasing pool of competitors, it is easy to see the inherent flaws in the system. There are hundreds of thousands of students, from the quaint DHS to top-tier prep schools 7,233 miles over the pacific in China, who all yearn for the exact same prize. Stress, anxiety, sleep deprivation, and depression are all logical conclusions of this system, where emotionally inexperienced teens are thrust wholeheartedly into an international arms race of extracurriculars, GPAs, and SAT scores. To people who have barely scratched the surface of what life really means, this slog for prestige represents their only means of true validation, the ultimate path toward true social acceptance in our society.
Arms races usually revolve around overreactions, and in college application terms, that is represented by the ever rising amount of applications the average student sends out each year. According to the National Association for College Admission Counseling, 36 percent of first-time freshmen applied to seven or more colleges in the fall of 2015, roughly 19 points higher than in 2005. Within that same timeframe, most selective colleges saw their acceptance rates decrease. It seems as competition increases, students feel incentivized to apply to as many colleges as possible, as to widen their chances of getting into an agreeable school. Ironically, this over applying is what has caused the plummeting acceptance rates, with school inboxes becoming flooded with letters that only years before would never have been sent. Continue reading “The Academic Battle Royale”
With two transfers and a change at quarterback, the Dreads resemble a team Dexter hasn’t seen in a decade
The Dreads pride themselves on their defense, and they have a new middle linebacker to anchor down that defense. Junior Jordan Watson, a transfer student from Huron, is an amazing defensive talent. He was added to a group of strong and experienced linebackers and fit right in. He is effective against the run and is second on the team with nine tackles for a loss. Watson also leads the Dreads in tackles through the first five games. Editor’s note: Watson dislocated his elbow in the sixth game and is out for the season.
Ending the student debt crisis begins with free four-year college for all students despite socioeconomic backgrounds.
By Bruna Meister
For most high school seniors, college means independence and the beginning of adulthood. Those of influence in our lives cement the idea that those college years spent in a tiny dorm and eating cafeteria food 24/7 will be the best of our lives (which is absolutely terrifying), as well as determine the paths that we will take later in life. Many like to think that the college that you go to won’t matter in the end, but really, the school we choose has a much more substantial effect than we are comfortable with. College is where people find their lifelong friends, future employers, possible spouses, themselves, and ultimately crippling debt.
Reviews of some of the most popular albums from September.
By Zach Bagbey
Kamikaze-Eminem 3/5
The legendary rapper and lyricist Eminem, dropped his surprise album “Kamikaze” early last month, where he addressed and responded to the backlash he faced after the release of his previous album “Revival”. With Dr. Dre listed as a producer, it’s no surprise every track has a phenomenal beat.
The Dexter school board recently decided to install new Elkay water
fountains. This was due to the ineffectiveness of the previous water
fountains, which had problems ranging from low water pressure to being simply inoperable. They have finally updated them with a completely different design and function. The new fountains have better working traditional faucets. In addition, they have added a sensor fountain for those with refillable bottles. These have proved much more effective, as they all work, and are more useful for everyone in the school. -Summer Waltz
An inside look into one of The Squall staff members’ favorite restaurants off the beaten path
BY: JORDAN MAISCH
Next to a liquor store and a gas station in a small shopping complex, Juicy Kitchen is the definition of a diamond in the rough. Their focus is health food using all locally-sourced ingredients.
This charming breakfast and lunch cafe first started as a home delivery service in 2010 by Susan and George Todoroff. After two years, they purchased the cafe.
“I feel like a lot of people think healthy food is just raw vegetables,” Susan Todoroff said. “I wanted to show people that healthy food can be both filling and delicious.”
Tristan Lorincz is an up-and-coming water polo athlete, and coaches have noted his savviness for his age. Lorincz racked up five goals at the Dexter JV Tournament, where the team ended up winning the tournament in a dominant fashion, going undefeated through their four games. Lorincz also had a four-goal game against Huron. He usually plays the wing position and scores a majority of his goals from this area. “I’m proud of myself for being able to put up those numbers, but I’m really just trying to get better and play a varsity game this year,” he said, noting the varsity team is currently on a 22-game winning streak.
Advising worried seniors and giving underclassmen the how to’s of surviving high school
By Eliza Brown & Evelyn Maxey
Dear Eliza & Evelyn,
“I’ve been working on college applications and I’m feeling overwhelmed! After going on countless campus tours and looking into colleges, I’ve selected my top schools. I want to go to these schools so bad and if I don’t get into them, I don’t know what I’ll do. How do I handle waitlist and rejection letters?”
