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NEWS THE RUBICON - FEBRUARY 2020
MLK ASSEMBLY (from p. 1)
“I thought it was really interesting and eye-opening what the speakers had to say about equity because I didn’t really know much about the definition and depth of equity,” sophomore Katherine Bragg said. Martin Luther King Jr. was a very influential figure in the mid-twentieth century but, in the discussion, was framed as the catalyst for starting a legacy instead of being the focus of the assembly. Still, “[MLK day and King himself] relates to the way I want to build community with people different than me and who come from different backgrounds, ethnicities, races, sexes and genders.” Pauly said. US History teacher Aaron Shulow agreed with what the speakers had to say during the assembly: “I think the best reminder came at the end [of the assembly] when they were talking about how we have to take time to pay particular attention to the contributions of the marginalized communities to the American story, while still knowing that they are not separate...That’s really important for me as a teacher; to try to bring in as many distinct perspectives into our story while emphasizing to students that this is the whole story because what is American is very diverse.” The assembly was followed up with advisory discussions Jan. 29. During that time, advisories were asked to commit to one of the values and determine ways they could focus on that value this year.
Nie awarded top 300 Science Talent Search scholar ELOISE DUNCAN THE RUBICON
On Jan. 8, senior Melissa Nie came to school like it was just a regular Wednesday. However, during her advanced physics class, she left to go to the bathroom, checked her phone, and found out that she was one of the top 300 scholars in the national selected as a finalist in the 2020 Regeneron Science Talent Search. The Regeneron Science Talent Search, hosted by Society for Science and the Public, is one of the most distinguished and oldest math and science competitions in the United States. Each year, approximately 1,900 high school seniors from around the country apply for the Regeneron STS. From there, 300 students are selected based on their academics, research skills, and strong potential of being a scientist or mathematician, and both the student and school are given a cash prize. “I was super excited not only because of how cool it is but also because they give you money. They give the top 300 $2,000, and they also give the school the student goes to $2,000, so that will go into the [Advanced Science Research] budget. I was talking to Ms. Baker and she said that the last time they got it they spent it on some cool equipment, and so it is really cool to know that my research was able to give the
school more opportunities,” Nie said. Last year, Nie submitted a research project titled “Applying Thermopile Array Sensors and Machine Learning to Detect Falls of Older Adults” to the International Science and Engineering Fair, and won third place in the biomedical engineering category.
WAS REALLY “ITCOOL TO
KNOW THAT MY RESEARCH WAS ABLE TO GIVE THE SCHOOL MORE OPPORTUNITIES. Melissa Nie
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“I chose to pursue fall detection because falls are one of the leading causes of injury for older adults--it’s very important for people who have suffered falls to get the help they need. That’s why surveillance systems are necessary, especially in places like nursing homes. However, those systems are often camera-based, which raises a lot of privacy issues. Thermal sensors are a good alternative because they can collect quality data while operating at a lower resolution, offering
PHOTO SUBMITTED BY: Melissa Nie Senior Melissa Nie posses for a photo at an ISEF convention, where she submitted a project used to help detect falls in elderly adults. She then applied for the Regeneron STS with the same project. more privacy. From that, I used machine learning to develop a platform that could quickly and accurately detect falls with information collected from the sensors,” she said. To apply for the Regeneron STS, she went through an application process similar to college applications. “This all started with my ISEF project, which I did the winter of my junior year. Basically, it was using thermal sensors and artificial intelligence to find a way to detect when people fall down. So I competed at ISEF with that, and then I had to write a paper going into the Twin Cities Regional Science Fair. I wrote the paper,
and on Nov. 13 the Regeneron application was due. So I had to submit my paper and fill out a bunch of other things about myself. It was kind of like a college application because it asked for my SAT scores and other stuff like my extracurriculars, and I had to write a bunch of personal statements about why I did my research, the implications, who helped me, and if I had any mentors, and then I had to have two recommenders. It was a whole process, but it was kind of fun because I have a bunch of friends from ISEF who were also applying to it at the same time, so we were all rushing before the deadline together,” Nie said.
Former campaign volunteers hope for Klobuchar presidential success JENNY RIES
THE RUBICON
FAIR USE IMAGE @amyklobuchar on Instagram On this post from Oct. 15, Klobuchar wrote “Excited to take the stage tonight in Ohio for the #DemDebate! Let’s build on our momentum...” Volunteers hope that she can continue to do just that.
CORRECTIONS POLICY:
The Iowa Caucus Feb. 3 marked a new stage of the presidential race, as the number of democratic candidates was further reduced when some did not come through with the required 15% support. In a break from the traditional single-candidate endorsement, The New York Times endorsed Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar for the democratic presidential candidate on Jan. 18. Warren has had consistently high support from the left since the beginning of her campaign, while Klobuchar has slowly built up her backing. Klobuchar’s profile in the race has raised particularly quickly in the last few months,
Corrections are printed at the bottom of News p. 2. Corrections will be published in the month following the error and, if the story is also published online, it will be corrected following the online corrections policy.
OCTOBER:
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AS A FORMER VOLUNTEER, SEEING KLOBUCHAR GAIN SUPPORT MAKES ME FEEL HAPPY. Annika Rock
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with her campaign claiming about 6% of Iowa support in December, twice what it was in September. In the fourth quarter of 2019, her campaign raised twice what it had raised in the previous quarter. Sophomore Olivia Szaj volunteered for Klobuchar’s campaign this past summer, primarily doing campaign research for its events manager and doing phone banking.
“I really like her and supported her already, and I agree with her stances on a lot of things and I wanted to be involved in a political campaign… I especially like her stance on the Paris agreement, health care, and I think she is a very smart person,” Szaj said. “I think she would do a great job as president.” Junior Annika Rock, who also volunteered for Klobuchar’s campaign this summer, said, “As a former volunteer, seeing Klobuchar gain support makes me feel happy, considering I know she works very hard, and so do all the people on her campaign… They work hard to get her message across and spread her name around.” While her standing is solidifying, she has often not made the top tier of candidates in terms of overall support.
“I think that a lot of people like her, but she’s not the first choice for enough people for her bring her polls up. She’s been doing really well recently though, and I think that the NYT endorsement will help,” Szaj said. Rock said, “I feel like… considering the republican party and a couple of the democratic candidates, there are some people on two ends of the spectrum,” and Rock believes that the fact that Klobuchar is a moderate candidate is in her favor, as she can appeal to people on both ends of the political spectrum, and potentially bridge the gap between them.
P. 16 PHOTO STORY: Fall Play review was truncated; read the full story at RubicOnline; Parisa Ghawami’s name was spelled Gavami