Rubicon, November 2011

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St. Paul Academy & Summit School 1712 Randolph Ave. St. Paul, MN November 2011. Vol XXXIX. Issue II.

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St. Paul Academy and Summit School

November 2011. Vol XXXIX. Issue II.

Book Fest celebrates reading, ideas Saif Ahmed

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Co-Feature Editor

The annual Book Fest returned to campus the week of Nov. 7-11, 2011. This year’s theme is happiness.

The Book Fest is organized by the Middle/Upper School Parent Associations, and the event is led this year by co-chairs Kathleen Novak and Peg Hansen.

The Keynote speaker on Monday was St. Paul native Dan Buettner, a nationally known explorer, author, and public speaker.

They selected Buettner this year “because he writes a different type of book -- non-fiction lifestyle books -- and also because he is nationally known,” according to Novak.

Buettner is the author of the na-

tional best seller, The Blue Zones and of his latest work, Thrive. In previous years, speakers have included local writers, mystery author Julie Kramer and storyteller/ playwright Kevin Kling.

Daily book signings were scheduled with guest authors, including SPA faculty members.

Upper School Counselor Susanna Short signed Bundt Cake Bliss cookbooks on Tuesday, and US English teacher Andy Hueller, signed novels on Thursday of Skipping Stones at the Center of the Earth, a young adult novel, and Dizzy Fantastic and her Flying Bicycle.

Nationally known author, Wang Ping, signed several of her books -- including poetry, short stories, and a novel -- and worked with Poetry: Criticism and Practice students on Wednes-

day. Their work will be part of the Kinship of Rivers project, a collaborative project that Ping has designed.

“In the past few years we have tried to get more people in the school involved. We ask the faculty for their ideas on books to order for the Book Fest... and we sponsor a poster contest open to all Middle and Upper School students,” Novak said.

However, the committee is hoping to get even more involvement with the community for the future while planning for the Book Fest.

“We’d like more input on books from the students, possible involvement with Book Club and possibly student volunteers to help with the books during Book Fest week,” Novak said.

Photo Credit: Kathryn Campbell

Wang Ping works with students from Poetry: Criticism and Practice during their in-class field trip to understand more about her project, The Kinship of Rivers. “As I was writing it, the idea just started expanding,” Ping said about her project.

Ping connects two rivers

Q& A

The Rubicon’s Andy Monserud sat down with Wang Ping to discuss her project, The Kinship of Rivers.

Q: How did your life inspire The Kinship of Rivers project?

A: I was born in Shanghai, which is at the mouth of the Yangtze Photo Credit: Hannah Ross

Dan Buettner educates students, faculty, and parents about the happiest countries in the world and their sources of happiness. “Living a long life misses the point if you aren’t happy with it,” Buettner said.

Buettner studies and educates about happiness Hannah Ross

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Webmaster/Videographer

For many students, seeing a speaker during an expected free period can be tedious, but this year’s Book Fest speaker, Dan Buettner, was an exception. By making everyone stand up to find out who was “the most happy,” Buettner kept the audience engaged throughout assembly.

Buettner emphasized that happiness doesn’t come from a high salary, material goods or things usually associated with success. “[I want the students to] realize that success is not about good grades or a good college or a high-paying job.”

Buettner originally studied longevity, but found that “living a long life misses the point if you aren’t happy with it.” By studying happiness, he was able

to incorporate it into his own life.

He knew what would make him happier and followed through.

“I have an excuse to go out at night, exercise is sacred and I spend more time with my kids,” Buettner said. Outside of speaking to groups, Buettner tries to get cities to implement the things that make areas “blue zones,” or especially happy places. Buettner has written two books on these areas: The Blue Zones and Thrive.

River...I moved to Minnesota and my first apartment was on the Mississippi.

Q: How did The Kinship of Rivers project start?

A: I started going back to do my research along the Yangtze River...I

started combining my research into my teaching. I started bringing my students to the Mississippi, St. Croix, and Minnesota Rivers, and I thought ‘Okay, I have all these photos and all these poems about the [Yangtze and Mississippi], and I’d like to do something like multimedia installation... as I was writing it, the idea just started expanding.

Q: How did you become interested in photography with this project?

A: I went to the Yangtze river to interview people and a photographer

friend said, ‘Take some pictures’ and I said, ‘No, I’m not a tourist!’ He said, ‘Just take some pictures.’ So I started taking pictures and I realized that cameras never lie. The camera has its own eye and the hands have their own eye. Our eyes are trained to see what we’re supposed to see...I was shocked at how much I had missed. And I just got really into it from there.

Students and teachers join a growing occupation for voice to be heard

Liz Rossman

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A&E Editor

Occupy Minnesota, a subgroup of Occupy Wall Street, began protests as early as Oct. 7 at the Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.

Occupy MN states their mission is “to start an occupation of our own in Minnesota. We need to let the people who run this country know that the 99% have a voice, and we intend to be heard!” in a press release on www.occupymn. org.

“I understand what they’re trying to do, and where they’re coming from...but the message has

started to change. Before it was peaceful, and people were just chilling in front of the building,” junior Peter Driscoll said. Driscoll attended the Occupy Minneapolis protest at the State Capitol. “The Minneapolis march will target the banks for their role in damaging the economy, jobs, housing, the environment, and people’s lives, while continuing to rake in record profits,” Occupy MN stated on their official web site.

Protests have remained largely non-violent, despite a few bloody incidents nationwide. According to CBS News, Scott Olsen, 24, was hospitalized after suffering from a fractured skull obtained

from having projectile fired by police at in front of City Hall, in Oakland California.

When asked about the violence in Oakland, Driscoll said, “It wasn’t the direction I think they were originally going for.

It’s sort of a shame that it has gone that way.”

Occupy Wall Street leaders stated on their official web site, www.occupywallst.org, “Occupy Wall Street is fighting back against the corrosive power of major banks and multinational corporations over the democratic process.”

Photo submitted by Peter Driscoll

Protestors gather at the Occupy Minneapolis movement to show their frustration with both the government and large corporations. “the message has started to change. Before it was peaceful, and people were just chilling in front of the building,” junior Peter Driscoll said.

News 3 November 2011. Vol XXXIX. Issue II

St. Paul Academy and Summit School

Journeys in Lit’s Shakespearean shift Newsbrief Opportunity to see Much Ado prompts change in a ninth-grade curriculum staple

Photo Credit: Ellie Fuelling

Actor Nathan Tylutki helps freshmen Samantha Linn, Jackie Olson, and Aliza Rahman with a scene from William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. Actors helped students with their scenes for the “Fest” once again this year, though the scenes students performed changed from Macbeth.

Ellie Fuelling

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Co-Feature Editor

A desperate king is replaced by two sets of foolish lovers this year as the English department substitutes long-running Macbeth-fest with Much Ado-fest.

In the past, freshmen performed a series of scenes from Macbeth for their class. The best performance from each class period was performed in front of the whole grade and anyone else who

wanted to watch. This format will be basically the same this year, but with a different Shakespeare play at the center, and at a different location. “I’m mostly looking forward to getting to do the scenes with my friends,” freshman Olivia Black said.

“It’s the same idea as Macbeth-fest,” Upper School English teacher Eric Severson said, “We’re just utilizing Much Ado about Nothing.” In Macbeth, William Shakespeare tells the tale of

a desperate man climbing to the throne with a trail of bloodshed and deceit in his wake. Much Ado about Nothing is the story of two sets of lovers, both with blunders and misunderstandings to sift through before they can reach the altar.

Severson said the reason for the change was mainly due to Guthrie Theater. This year the theater will be performing Much Ado about Nothing, and Severson said, “We wanted to have

students to be able to see the play and read the book.” A desire for change was another factor in the decision. Freshman Carrie Jaeger is glad for the switch away from Macbeth because, “I actually understand this play.”

Much Ado about Nothing tells the story of a bickering pair, Beatrice and Benedick, who realize they love each other after being set up by their friends. At the same time Beatrice’s cousin, Hero, is passionately in love with the visiting Count Claudio, but their engagement is put to an end after the evil Don John tricks Claudio into believing Hero is cheating on him. In the end, the miscommunication is cleared up and both couples are happily married.

This is not the first time the curriculum has diverged from Macbeth: in the 2006-2007 school year, ninth-graders performed scenes from The Merchant of Venice in Merchant-fest. These periodic changes are usually because of the times of Guthrie performances and a need for change.

Ninth-graders and students in Classical Dramatic Literature, who are also reading Much Ado About Nothing, saw the show at the Guthrie on Nov. 1. After the performance, ninth-graders and upperclassmen in Classical Dramatic Lit discussed the performance together. “I think it will be awesome because we’ll be leaders in discussion,” Nick Zelle, a junior in Classical Dramatic Lit, said before going to see the show.

Much Ado-fest will ideally be performed on Nov. 21. The location has changed to the Sarah Converse Auditorium because of limited space in Bigelow.

Odyssey continues a tradition in the canyonlands

Photo Credit: Charlotte Hughes

Sophomores Kaia Findlay and Chloe White, junior William Brower and US English teachers Haseena Hamzawala and John Wensman negotiate a rocky ledge in the canyonlands of Utah.

Eva Perez-Greene

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Staff Writer

“They chewed a hole in my bag to get my Chex Mix,” sophomore Kaia Findlay recalled of the mice that infested her tent on day three of Odyssey, a wilderness trip for St. Paul Academy and

Summit School students.

This year, the fall Odyssey trip was led by US English teachers Haseena Hamzawala and John Wensman, who returned from his sabbatical to lead the expedition into the canyonlands of Utah.

Students and leaders travelled Oct. 21-29. This year’s

campers were sophomores Kaia Findlay, Chloe White, Charlotte Hughes, and Hannah Baker and juniors William Brower and Peter Driscoll.

Prior to the trip, the participants underwent a three-week training program. They learned survival skills including how to build a shelter, start a fire, and pitch a tent.

The first day in the canyon got off to a rocky start when the team got briefly lost going into Polly’s Canyon. The second day followed the same pattern with the team’s water supply running low. The team hiked nine miles that day. “I just had to tell myself I could keep going,” Findlay said.

The third and fourth days constitute the solo portion of the trip.

During their solo, participants reflected on their lives and enjoyed the silence. “I’d like to use that time to think about things I want for my sophomore year… Time to think about stuff I normally wouldn’t think about because I’m always busy,” White said before the trip. Findlay also hoped the solo experience would provide time for personal reflection. “I

wanted to see how far I could go and challenge myself,” she said.

The biggest challenge of solo is isolation. “The thing that really got me was how quiet it was...I talked to myself a little bit and I sang a lot.” To keep busy, she cooked, explored the canyon, and sometimes sat and did nothing.

The silence was shattered on the first night by a thunderstorm. “It seemed like it went on forever. I sang songs to pass the time and the rain and thunder were so loud [that] no one could hear me,” Hughes said.

The team spent the fifth and sixth days without adult leaders.

Findlay said that “The sixth day was really great....In the morning we explored ruins and pictographs.”

The Odyssey program has existed at SPA for almost 40 years.

In addition to giving students the opportunity to see the beautiful but remote canyonlands, it allows them to form relationships with people they might not usually interact with. Students interested in Odyssey can also participate in another trip to the canyonlands over Spring Break.

Mississippi takes action on abortion issue On Nov. 8, the state of Mississippi voted down on the inclusion of an amendment to their state constitution that defines embryos as human at the point of conception and will give them civil rights, hence classifying abortions as murder. Almost all elected officials in Mississippi support Amendment 26, as do both candidates in Mississippi’s upcoming gubernatorial race.

“This is the first significant battle of a revolution,” Amendment 26 campaign director Brad Prewitt said in a Washington Times article. Most Mississippians support the amendment, but Stan Flint, a Jackson-based political consultant, told The Wall Street Journal that “This is the most extreme and dangerous intrusion in the lives of women and families in the history of the Republic.” Movements in a handful of other states are pushing for a similar amendment to be voted on in 2012. Amendment 26 could also pose a challenge to the Supreme Court’s 1972 ruling in the famous Roe v. Wade case.

Reaccreditation team evaluates community This week, thirteen educators have stepped through the doors of St. Paul Academy and Summit School to perform the Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS) Evaluation. Every seven years, an independent school must undergo the evaluation to remain an accredited school. Teachers and administrators from across the nation will gather on campus for four days to check on classes and talk to students, teachers, administrators, and board members. “Really, what they’re checking on is, ‘do we do the things a good independent school is supposed to do, and do we do all the things that we say we do?’” US Principal Chris Hughes said. Hughes says there’s no doubt that SPA will be reaccredited. At the end of the evaluation, the ISACS team will give feedback on what SPA does well, what it needs to improve on, and what the school’s plans for the future should be.

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4 Opinion/Editorial

St. Paul Academy and Summit School

November 2011. Vol XXXIX. Issue II.

Editor-in-Chief Rebecca Xu

Managing Editor Online Editor-in-Chief Rachel Kinney

Chief Visual Editor Dani Andrusko

News Editor

Andy Monserud

Op/Ed Editor Ibad Jafri

Sports Editor Aditi Kulkarni

Cover Story Editor Allison Wang

Feature Co-Editors Saif Ahmed Ellie Fuelling

Sci/Tech Editor Lucy Li

In-Depth Editor August King

A&E Editor Liz Rossman

Music Scene Editor

Noah Shavit-Lonstein

Online Visual Editor Nick Scott

Illustrator & Photographer Alicia Little

Webmaster/Videographer Hannah Ross

Staff Writers

Hannah Johnson Eva Perez-Greene

Adviser

Staff Editorial

A call for civility in trying times

All individuals, students and adults alike, should not be quick to judge when the verdict’s still out Humans naturally judge others based on first impressions.

From the beginning, mankind was set apart from the rest of the animal kingdom for its ability to form patterns, analyze data, and respond in a logical way to this information.

Humans are pattern makers.

Our minds calculate trends and correlations from the data set in front of us whether we like it or not.

In fact, a 2006 Princeton University study found that “people respond intuitively to faces so rapidly that our reasoning minds may not have time to influence the reaction -- and that our intuitions about attraction and trust are among those we form the fastest.”

We live in a society that places a heavy weight on appearances and is unforgiving to past wrongs. Mistakes are made, news is spread quickly, and people make their judgments based on this information.

People make first impressions, and although they may be accurate judgments at first, the judged individuals can change. People adapt and learn from their mistakes by improving and transforming their selves.

But it’s hard to escape the mold of the judgments and impressions first imposed on one’s self. Society makes its judgments and steadfastly holds a person to them. It does not forget a person’s past.

Going to a small school like St. Paul Academy and Summit

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Kathryn Campbell

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the student newspaper of St. Paul Academy and Summit School 1712 Randolph Avenue St. Paul, MN 55105 Memberships Minnesota High School Press Association National Scholastic Press Association Columbia Scholastic Press Association Awards JEM All-State Gold, 2004-2008 JEM All-State Silver, 2009-10 MHSPA Best in Show, 2004-2008, 2010 NSPA First Class with 3 marks of Distinction 2010 CSPA Gold Medal, 2010

Used with permission from Eva Rinaldi

Kim Kardashian, Queen of Hearts

When Kim Kardashian left her $17.9 million marriage to NBA player Kris Humphries on Aug. 20, many didn’t expect the union to last very long. But few predicted such epic marital inadequacy.

Their wedding lasted for 72 days.

For every hour they were married, Kardashian, 31, and Humphries, 26, made $10,358.80. "I do want to make clear I would never marry for a TV show, money. I think that that's really ridiculous I have to even defend that," Kardashian said on The Kyle and Jackie O Show.

While Kardashian may have had good intentions, it doesn’t stop the fact that she made $17.9 million off of a disaster of a marriage. Moreover, her claims of innocence are completely implausible. Kim Kardashian ought to be ashamed of herself for having staged this sham of a marriage not for love or even money, but in all likelihood for tremendous attention.

Editorial Cartoon: Alicia Little

Humans have a sometimes-tragic tendency to rapidly draw conclusions about the people around them.

School should facilitate a community where each individual is known for who they are now and not who they were before.

At larger schools, a sense of individuality can easily be lost in the mass of students, but a smaller school creates an emphasis on the individual.

Therefore, the school environment should cater to the individual instead of forcing them to adapt to community norms and the community’s perception of them. However, this is not always the case at SPA. Most students at SPA don’t “judge a book by its cover.” Instead, students read a short synopsis of the book and base their judgments off of that. In other words, while appearances usually do not hamper interactions

between others, initial judgments can harm the SPA community. Students judge, label, and remember people based on incidents that happened one, two, or even three years before.

First interactions define the relationships people have with each other at SPA. People label and categorize those with whom they interact and make their judgments off of that.

They ignore the changes people go through as they mature.

It’s hard to firmly establish an identity during freshmen year and stick to it for four years at SPA. High school is meant to be a time for exploration. Students discover passions, delve deep into coursework, and meet people with whom they are

For presidency, Cain is unable Used with permission from Gage Skidmore

Herman Cain, former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza, led the race for the Republican nomination in polls two weeks ago and seemed to be a viable candidate. He has been backed by many Tea Party members because of his conservative fiscal views. But in light of recent sexual harassment allegations, Cain’s popularity dropped from 66% to 55% among Republican voters and from 37% to 32% among all registered voters, according to MSNBC. Two women who worked for Godfather’s Pizza during the 1990s allegedly received paid severance after accusing Cain of sexual harassment.

Cain’s popularity cannot rebound after this scandal because voters won’t elect a president who disgusts them. Along with political views, voters take a candidate’s personal life into high consideration, and this scandal has inflicted irreparable damage on Cain’s popularity and his standing as a potent candidate.

The 99% is 100% lacking in direction

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STAFF the rubicon

Used with permission from Paul Stein

The Occupy Wall Street movement has flooded the media, and with every interview of a protester, you get a new definition of “the 99%.” This movement lacks a clear, organized, and direct message. Yes, one of its more prominent motives has been to expose financial corruption in big banks, but so far no political action has taken place.

Occupy Wall Street needs specific goals to move forward so that politicians can acknowledge the movement just as they have accounted for the Tea Party, which sits on the opposite end of the political spectrum. Love them or hate them, the Tea Party movement has clearly defined messages which have attracted a tremendous following among Republican politicians. The movement should not alter their views for political appeal, but protesters and organizers should clarify their views if they hope to impact politics.

compatible. Nobody comes out of high school as the same individual. We all undergo transformations.

Therefore, dealings with others shouldn’t be defined by labels placed on a person years ago. Instead, we should be open to the changes people make to their identity. We must accept and rediscover transformed individuals.

We should take the time to visit individuals we may not have talked to before. A barrage of prior judgments should not cloud our interactions.

This is something we can do now. We must simply be willing to accept change in individuals. A junior retreat should not be necessary to create a milieu of acceptance.

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Editorial Policy

The Rubicon editorials are representative of the opinions of the Staff Editorial Board, which is made up of all students in the Journalism and Editorial Leadership classes. All other opinion pieces are the opinions of the authors themselves.

Letters Policy The Rubicon welcomes letters to the editor. All letters must be signed and should be limited to 150200 words. Letters may be edited for length and grammar and are published by discretion of The Rubicon staff. They can be mailed to us or e-mailed to rubicon.spa@gmail.com.

Opinion/Editorial 5 November 2011. Vol XXXIX. Issue II.

St. Paul Academy and Summit School

Seniors sacrifice sanity for a competitive edge

Early decision and early action programs force high school seniors to act desperately

Rebecca Xu

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Editor-in-Chief

When colleges created early action and early decision programs, they gave high school seniors an opportunity to get ahead in the race. Undergraduate applicants could now fully express their dedication to a particular college, and admission officers could now separate the truly zealous from the lukewarm applicants. At the time, it seemed like the ideal system. However, drawbacks to this system are imminent. When colleges initiated early programs, they didn’t just give applicants an opportunity. They presented seniors with the chance to gamble their future.

Early decision binds a student to a particular college.

Students who receive an acceptance letter from a college after having applied for early decision are obligated to attend that college. While some relish the competitive edge early decision offers, others stress over the restrictive choice. Early decision forces students to make a commitment which many seniors aren’t ready or completely willing to make.

Single-choice early action resides a tier below early decision.

With this option, applicants can apply early to one school, and make their final decision after they’ve heard from all of their other choices. Although single-choice early action is a little looser on its reins, it doesn’t quite give the same edge to applicants as early decision. Schools admit more students through early decision than through single-choice early action.

Both early decision and early action can aid seniors in their application process, but does that mean these programs should continue? College early application programs, especially early decision, place heavy restrictions and burdens on seniors. They abridge our freedoms and eliminate the notion of a fair playing field. Yes, early de-

“

cision gives a sometimes-decisive advantage, but it also obligates seniors to make hasty and difficult decisions.

The most apparent flaw of the early decision and early action programs lies with the deadline. Whether it’s Nov. 1 or Nov. 15, the deadlines are too early. These deadlines fall two months before regular decision deadlines. On the SPA calendar, early deadlines are only one week after the end of the first marking period. During this time, seniors should be worried about maintaining their grades, not writing piles upon piles of supplements.

High school seniors should not have to feel so rushed in the college application process, and they definitely shouldn’t have to choose between their academic course work and introspective college essays.

This brings us to the next point of interest – the fact that college application process should not be rushed.

Consider the question: when do you produce the most powerful and intellectual academic essays? Two weeks before their due date, or at 2 AM a night in advance?

College applications, especially in regards to personal essays, are quite similar to school assignments in how they force an individual to budget their time. On these essays, seniors sacrifice quality to gain a slight upper hand. How can someone produce their best results when they are rushed?

Must seniors now choose between quality and competition?

While a few seniors have finished their applications long before the looming November deadlines, the vast majority have not. High school seniors are not ready to hastily make this commitment, and no system should allow them to. If college admissions want to objectively judge an applicant, they must do so with one official deadline and no required rushing. We are all supposed to stand on an equal playing field when it comes to college applications. It’s time we take the action to allow that equal playing field to become a reality.

When colleges initiated early programs, they didn’t just give applicants an opportunity. They presented seniors with the chance to gamble their future.

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Information provided by Jill Apple. Illustration credit: Nick Scott

Infographic of the Month

The Sweet Truth

Starting this month, The Rubicon will provide a infographic regarding the opinions of the student body. Recently we asked students about their tastes regarding chocolate.

Each week, the vast majority of students consume some amount of chocolate.

We asked.

You answered!

Don't Like Chocolate

Favorite Brands

Other White

Other

Is chocolate better by itself or with other ingredients?

Nestle

By Itself W/Other

Milk Dark

Mars

Students and their chocolate consumption habits

49%

51%

Ghirardelli

60

Number of students

168 students were surveyed.

Some answers indicated preferences for numerous foreign brands including the German Sprüngli, Swiss Teuscher, Italian Ferrero-Rocher, and British Cadbury.

Students’ Chocolate Preferences

more than 8

50

Hersheys

6-8

40

3-5

30

1 to 2

Fun Fact

The third most popular “other” brand of chocolate for SPA was Toblerone, which is owned by Kraft Foods.

20 0

10

20

30

40

50

60

10 0 1 to 2

3 to 5

6 to 8

>8

Number of times per week

Illustration Credit: Aditi Kulkarni

6 Sports

November 2011. Vol XXXIX. Issue II.

St. Paul Academy and Summit School

Photo Credit: Aditi Kulkarni

Senior blogger Nick Volpi ponders about his next topic while surrounded by equipment used in the sports he writes about. “I want you to be able to go to my blog and get all the details you want and to know what happened in the games,” he said.

Volpi keeps students updated on sports through blog Allison Wang

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Cover Story Editor

With extracurricular, academics, and other prior commitments, it’s hard to make it to all the sporting events St. Paul Academy and Summit School has to offer. Senior Nick Volpi makes it easier for students to get a glimpse of missed games through his blog, the Classic Spartan Blog.

Since Sept. 1, Volpi has been updating the SPA community through his blog on SPA sports.

Dedicated to only Spartan athletics, the Classic Spartan Blog gives students the chance to catch up on missed sporting events, while also having fun reading about SPA sports.

“Let’s say you really wanted to be at a sporting event, but you had a big family dinner or something,” Volpi said. “I want you to be able to go to my blog and get all the details you want and to know what happened in the games.”

The Classic Spartan blog also focuses on timely coverage. “It’s the only place that really does that,” Volpi said. He snaps his finger and says, “updated just like that.”

Volpi’s unique voice adds to the Spartan blog as well. His humorous quips and informative style gives a personable, yet descriptive overview of the games he attends.

Originally, his interest in blog writing started during Volpi’s sophomore year when he and a couple of friends started working on a blog on professional college sports. However, the group disbanded.

Later on, by the suggestion of junior Cameron Causey and the support of numerous SPA students, Volpi started writing the Classic Spartan Blog.

“I started doing the blog, and I’ve loved doing it,” Volpi said.

“And I’ll tell you why: I love sports and I like to write so it really works for me.”

For him, it’s the audience that’s most important when it

comes to blogging.

“As long as people like reading and enjoy the blog, I’ll keep doing it,” he said. He adds that he wants people to have fun reading his blog and feels that a trip to his blog gives students a necessary break from SPA’s vigorous academics.

Senior Erica Miller enjoys keeping posted with Volpi’s blog.

“Even if you don’t go to the game, you can still read about it,” Miller said. “And it’s funny.” Miller appreciates Volpi’s humorous writing and the fun nicknames he’d give to SPA athletes like junior Josh “Slim Shady” Gray or junior Peter “Woody Allen” Wood.

“I hope it’s enjoyable for people to read,” Volpi said. “I’m always striving for that - taking feedback from people if there is something they didn’t like or something they wanted me to fix.”

The Classic Spartan Blog offers a way for the SPA community to connect with its sports teams and recognize the many accomplishments SPA athletes have

achieved.

“Student athletes put so much time and effort into these sports, and I feel like they deserve the support like [the support] academics [receive],” Volpi said. “I think it’s important that they see that their hard work pays off and people really appreciate what they are doing.”

Rebecca Xu

and championships in national volleyball tournaments. Playing on the Northern Lights 13-3’s sparked Grinfelder’s newly found dedication in volleyball and initiated her successful athletic career.

While 13-3’s allowed Grinsfelder to strengthen her skills and talent, 14-2’s took Grinsfelder to a whole new level. Grinsfelder joined the Northern Lights 14-2’s in 8th grade. That year, the 14-2’s team placed fifth or above in every tournament they participated in, and Grinsfelder made the Northern Lights AAU All American Selections. She was the only one on her team to make be an All American.

Although Grinsfelder has bestowed glory on both her team and herself, she doesn’t view her medals as her greatest achievements. Along with her successful season, Grinsfelder is also proud of the close friendships she’s made. “[Volleyball] is a fun team activity, and I make a bunch of new friends through it.” With this attitude and interest in volleyball, Grinsfelder easily transitioned into St. Paul Academy and Sum-

To read Volpi’s work, visit The Classic Spartan Blog at classicspartanblog.blogspot. com or scan this QR code with your smart phone.

Some of Volpi’s Nicknames for the Spartan Boys Soccer team: “HarG Knock Life”

James Hargrens “Cappuccino”

Lorenzo Pavoloni “Chicken Kiev”

Paul Micevych “Woody Allen”

Peter Wood “CC”

Cameron Causey “the Decapitator”

Francesco DiCaprio “The Good German”

Ben Kachian “Giggles”

Ryan Hobert “Beast”

Ben Braman “G-Unit”

Gabe Brennaman “Slim Shady”

Josh Gray “Bulldog”

Sam Forsgren “Seppi”

Tyler Seplak “the Immunization”

Emun Solomon “Curly”

Sam Wood “ICE”

Matt Fiedler “Swan”

Nico Olson-Studler “the Baby Faced Assassin”

Ikey Forsgren “the File”

Mason Mohring “Messi”

Gabe Chang

Freshman phenom Mira Grinsfelder dominates volleyball court r

Photo submitted by Mira Grinsfelder

Freshman Mira Grinsfelder dives to volley the ball in a game for the SPA Girls Varsity Volleyball team. “Volleyball has always been a small part of my life, and I recently decided to make it a bigger part of my life,” Grinsfelder said.

Editor-in-Chief

Tenacity, focus, and fun. Practicing for long hours, dedicating time to one activity, and making new friends. This is what volleyball means to freshman Mira Grinsfelder, and this explains why she became a Varsity volleyball player in 8th grade. “Volleyball has always been a small part of my life, and I recently decided to make it a bigger part of my life,” Grinsfelder said.

Volleyball has stuck with Grinsfelder ever since her youth.

However, she didn’t develop a personal or concrete relationship with this sport until two or three years ago. “Instead of focusing on a bunch of smaller things, I decided to focus on one big thing,” Grinsfelder said. What big thing?

Volleyball.

Grinsfelder was not your average middle schooler. In 7th grade, she made the cut for the Northern Lights Junior Volleyball Team in Burnsville, MN. Northern Lights is renowned for its recognitions

mit School’s Girls Varsity volleyball team as an 8th grader.

During the fall season, Grinsfelder dedicates about 10 hours of practice each week to Varsity volleyball. When overlapping with club volleyball, this number can boost up to 15 hours a week.

Grinsfelder admits volleyball has placed some strain on her academic life, but it has ultimately altered her routine for the better.

“When you have a busy schedule, you’re more aware of your time,” Grinsfelder said.

So how does volleyball fit into Grinsfedler’s future? “As I increase my skill level, I want to continue playing at a high level,” Grinsfelder said. Due to her recent volleyball experiences, Grinsfelder is considering attending a Division-1 college. After college, Grinsfelder plans on subduing volleyball to a social activity. Grinsfelder doesn’t know the exact direction she’s heading in her volleyball career, but she knows it will continue to stick with her.

Sports 7 November 2011. Vol XXXIX. Issue II.

St. Paul Academy and Summit School

Soccer and tennis end with success in state

Photo submitted by Sarah Hays. Photo Credit Tom Hays

Junior Sarah Hays prepares herself to win the point as her doubles partner junior Gina Nguyen serves the ball. “I’m really glad I got to experience [State],” Nguyen said.

Photo Credit: Aditi Kulkarni

The boys react to the Benilde-St. Margaret’s goal that was scored early in the second half. The boys tried to get an equalizer goal, but were not able to come through. “It was a very good experience and I’m happy with the result of fourth in the state,” junior goalkeeper Ben Braman said.

Boys go to dome 2nd year in a row Saif Ahmed

r

Co-Feature Editor

Athletes of the Month

After a long and arduous soccer season, the Boys Varsity Soccer team finished fourth in the state of Minnesota on Nov. 1, 2011. After a close game against the BenildeSt. Margaret’s Knights at the Metrodome on Oct. 31, the Spartans went down in a 0-1 loss.

When the boys took on Benilde-St. Margaret’s, with the help of the St. Paul Academy and Summit School fans, they didn’t allow the Knights to score any goals within the first half. Unfortunately, the Spartans were not able to meet the back of the Knight’s goal.

“I thought it was a lucky goal

and if we pulled it together we could have gotten a goal,” junior striker Lorenzo Pavoloni said.

Going into the second, the Spartans defense played hard, not allowing the Knights a chance at scoring. But the Spartans defense was no match for the amount of pressure the Knights were placing on junior goalkeeper Ben Braman. The score finally changed when one of the Knights’ strikers shot the ball from outside the box into the goal. Sadly, the BVS offense was unable to break past the Knights’ defense.

The next day, Nov. 1, the Spartans went up against the Rochester Lourde Eagles. The Spartans put up a good fight, but lost 2-1.

“I think after the [Benilde-

St. Margaret’s game] our mental state wasn’t quite as high as it should have been,” Braman said.

The Eagle’s offense was able to break through the Spartans’ defense and scored two goals within the first half. The next half went slightly better, though they were only able to score one goal.

The 2011 BVS team has a lot to be proud of; they have gone to the Metrodome two years in a row, despite having lost 11 seniors from last year.

“It’s a once in a lifetime occasion,” Pavoloni said. He then proceeded to immediately change his mind. “Well not for us; we’ve been there twice.”

Tennis takes 2nd and 3rd in state Aditi Kulkarni

r

Sports Editor

The Girls Varsity Tennis team ended a stellar season by sending sophomore Sonya Das to the finals of the State Singles Tournament and juniors Sarah Hays and Gina Nguyen to the consolation round of the State Doubles Tournament. Das ended up taking 2nd in the state of Minnesota, while Hays and Nguyen took 3rd.

This particular team had great chemistry that created strong bonds on and off the court, adding to the success of the season.

“The team had a great season.

We were just talking about this for our end of the season dinner, but we felt like our team was the closest its ever been. Everyone was really supportive of each other, so I thought that was really good,” Nguyen said. “[State] was really fun and I

was glad I was able to go,” she said. “I always love that tournament because I think it’s a really good experience to have for future situations where you have to deal with that kind of pressure.”

Das also had an outstanding match. Playing against 6-time state winner senior Amber Washington of Mounds Park Academy in the final, Das showed stamina and perseverance.

“Sonya’s amazing. She had to play against Amber. Amber’s one of the best players in Minnesota. She played Amber 3 times throughout the season, and each time she improved, so the finals really showed how much she has grown as a tennis player,” Nguyen said.

It will be hard to top such a successful season for the Girls Tennis program, but they hope to continue this success for next season.

Senior Ryan Hobert captains his way to the Dome November Events complish this and in doing so he has snagged a spot as a November Athlete of the Month.

Hobert was introduced to soccer when he was 4 years old. He currently plays center midfield on the varsity soccer team.

“I love being able to see everything and kind of decide and see plays work out in my head and see if they work by placing the ball in the positions and seeing how it goes,” he said.

Like last year,the team made it to state this season. “We’re a young team but that also kind of helped our team chemistry,” Hobert said.

Hobert hopes to keep playing soccer and is looking at the possibility of playing Division III and intramural soccer in college.

Spartan Boosters Captaining a young team and making to state two years in a row is not an easy feat. and But senior Ryan Hobert has managed to acThe Rubicon Sophomore Sonya Das takes 2nd in the state In the finals match this season, sophomore Program. Last recognize two Sonya Das played six time state winner Amber year, her team Washington. Washington was later quoted in made it to the players each The Pioneer Press saying, “This was by far my national chammatch of the season.” pionship and month for athletic toughest Das ended up losing the match but took won. in the state of Minnesota Class A ten“Practice talent, fantastic second nis singles. makes perfect,” began playing tennis when she was she advises to stats, and six Das years old. She enjoys tennis because it any other tennis a lot of self-motivation and indepen- players. “The team leadership involves dence. “How well you do depends on how only way to get much hard work you put into it so it’s pretty dependent on yourself,” she said.

Out of school, she’s part of USTA’s (United States Tennis Association) Junior Team Tennis

better is putting in the hours and practice to get better,” Das said.

Hobert and Das information compiled by Lucy Li Hobert photo credit: Aditi Kulkarni. Das photo submitted by Sonya Das. Photo Credit: Gladwin Das

Nov. 17: Girls Hockey vs.

Holy Angels @ SPA Nov. 25-26: Spartan Cup Spartan Boosters will be hosting events during the Spartan Cup, a hockey tournament held on Friday and Saturday.

The hockey games this weekend include:

Friday

Girls Hockey vs. Mahtomedi HS @ SPA Boys Hockey vs. Redwood Valley HS @ SPA

Saturday

Girls Hockey vs. Fairbault @ SPA Boys Hockey vs. TBD @ SPA

Nov. 29: Nordic Skiing vs. TriMetro Conference @ Theodore Wirth Golf Course Nov. 29: Girls Basketball vs.

Maranatha Christian Academy @ SPA Nov. 29: Boys Hockey vs.

Simley High School @ SPA

8

Cover Story

November 2011. Vol XXXIX. Issue II.

W

St. Paul Academy and Summit School

Ellen Swenson, Junior

hat you see may not always be the whole picture.

To allow others to get a better sense of who they are, students decided to reveal an often overlooked part of their persona.

Students at St. Paul Academy and Summit School revealed a secret or a fact that many peers may not know from normal interactions. They fessed up to secrets ranging from enjoying classical music to loving Spongebob.

To learn more, look to the right and below for examples.

Peter Coetzee, Senior Sandhya Ramachandran, Freshman

Jenna O’Brien, Senior

Charlie Rosenblum, Sophomore

9

What’s your secret?

Thomas Evans, Junior

Hannah Ibele, Senior

Ayo Jones, Senior Isabel LaVercombe, Senior Philip Swanson, Sophomore

Zoe Burton, Senior

Caroline Blanchard, Senior

Max Brown, Senior

Maggie Johnson, Senior

Peter Wood, Junior

Brian Jing, Senior

Emma Chang, Sophomore

Photos Credit: Alicia Little, Rachel Kinney, Noah Shavit-Lonstein

Jenny Niedenfuehr, Senior

10 F e a t u re

St. Paul Academy and Summit School

November 2011. Vol XXXIX.Issue II.

Clara Stahlmann Roeder will save the world, one polar bear at a time

Arctic expedition focuses on polar bears, the tundra, and the effects of climate change on both Polar Bear Facts In 2008, scientists estimated the polar bear population to be between 20,000 and 25,000 bears.

Polar bears mainly eat ringed seals which they can only hunt on sea ice.

Polar bears evolved 200,000 years ago from their brown bear ancestors.

Adult male polar bears weigh between 775 and 1200 pounds.

A polar bear has long, sharp, and widely spaced teeth so they can seize and hold prey.

Facts used with permission from the Polar Bears International website Illustration credit: Alicia Little

Photo submitted by Clara Stahlmann Roeder

Arctic Ambassador Clara Stahlmann Roeder took this picture of a polar bear when it was standing only 10 feet away from the Tundra Buggy, a large bus used for viewing wildlife on the tundra. “We all know polar bears exist, but we don’t exist to polar bears,” Stahlmann Roeder said.

Photo submitted by Stahlmann Roeder

Clara Stahlmann Roeder took a life-changing trip this fall, studying polar bears and climate change.

Noah Shavit-Lonstein

r

Music Scene Editor

“We got interrupted during a video conference once by a polar bear. We said, ‘one second,’ and showed them a polar bear.”

Moments like these happened frequently during the five days that junior Clara Stahlmann Roeder visited northern Canada. She attended a Teen Leadership Camp with the environmentalist group Polar Bears International (PBI).

Accompanied by sixteen fellow teens, she headed north to tundra the week of Oct. 10-14.

The team studied the tundra firsthand, met live polar bears, and observed how Global Warming threatens both. Stahlmann

Roeder was selected for the camp by the Como Zoo and Conservatory, where she volunteers during the summer. As an Arctic Ambassador Center, the only one in St. Paul, the zoo gets to select one student annually to attend the camp. Stahlmann Roeder, one of seven applicants, received the honor.

Stahlmann Roeder’s group stayed in a lodge outside of Churchill, Manitoba, a town of 923 residents known as the “polar bear capital of the world.” The group travelled daily out onto the barren tundra to explore the flora and fauna.

Though the students travelled thousands of miles to work to save polar bears, they were forbidden from actually coming in contact with them. The group explored the land in Tundra Buggies, vehicles that travel on eightfoot wheels to keep them out of contact with polar bears. Their only moment of exposure to the bears was a unenclosed walk-way connecting the buggies with the lodge.

Still, the students felt a stark emotional connection with the bears. Stahlmann Roeder recalled her first contact with a bear, a female the group saw out on the tundra.

“She looked at me,” she said.

“We all know polar bears exist, but we don’t exist to polar bears.

There’s something really profound about that bear knowing I exist.”

The program put a special emphasis on students’ first personal encounter with a bear. “They [the bears] don’t know about climate change. They just know that

they’re hungry and they’re polar bears. I don’t know why, I just didn’t realize that beforehand,” Stahlmann Roeder said.

In another incident, the group’s leader asked students to think good thoughts for a sleeping bear lying outside their Tundra Buggy. “She told us to tell it how you’re going to help,” Stahlmann Roeder said. “The bear got up, looked at us, yawned, but when we rushed to get our cameras, it laid back down. Maybe some of the messages reached it.”

Both in their buggies and at the lodge, students learned skills to serve them as environmentalists. They learned how to talk about climate change, especially to large groups of people, with an emphasis on tailoring messages to their audience. They were advised on the best way to motivate people, described by Stahlmann Roeder as a “balance between depressing facts and go-get-em action plans.”

Stahlmann Roeder’s action plan as an activist consists of working with local businesses to make them greener. She’s offered free energy efficiency evaluations to members of the Grand and Highland Business Council. She has hoped to become an environmentalist since childhood, when a third grade wolverine project sparked interest in animal preservation. Her career has already taken off, with interviews on the local Fox News and Kare 11 television stations.

“It’s very difficult to come back and not have the same level of support [for ending global warming],” Stahlmann Roeder said.

Photo submitted by Clara Stahlmann Roeder

Clara Stahlmann Roeder stands by Hudson Bay in Churchill, Manitoba with twelve other students interested in environmentalism.

Photo submitted by Clara Stahlmann Roeder

A polar bear stands near Hudson Bay in Churchill, Manitoba. Clara Stahlmann Roeder was able to view polar bears daily on her arctic expedition.

Still, she is hopeful, because “any little thing that you do to lower your carbon footprint will help,” Stahlmann Roeder said.

The facts surrounding global warming are grim. One student on the trip asked whether short or long term goals were more important. An adult in charge responded that adults should work on short term goals to buy time

for the teens.

“That was the hardest thing to hear,” Stahlmann Roeder said.

Stahlmann Roeder will be giving a presentation to the St. Paul Academy and Summit School community on Nov. 28 on what she learned and how the students can help fight global warming.

F e a t u re 11 November 2011.Vol XXXIX.Issue II.

St. Paul Academy and Summit School

Dorfsman named state’s German Teacher of the Year August King

r

In-Depth Editor

The elements of a foreign language -- vocabulary, grammar, and vocalization -- challenge the mind in ways the study of math, science, English, and history may not. When St. Paul Academy and Summit School searched for a new German teacher for the middle school in 1998, Upper School German teacher Jutta Crowder advised that the new faculty member should bring a new kind of energy to the school’s German program -- someone who could effectively teach students that learning a second language doesn’t have to be hard. She found Jenni Dorfsman.

An alumnae of SPA from kindergarten to eighth grade, Dorfsman struck gold in her mind when she was hired here. “I had always dreamed of teaching at SPA,” Dorfsman said. “My experiences as a student at this school were positive and I felt it was the optimal teaching and learning environment.”

Commonly known by the SPA community as “Frau D” (German for “Mrs. D”), Dorfsman was recently named Teacher of the Year by the Minnesota chapter of the American Association of Teachers of German “for her contribution to German language education through classroom teaching,

curriculum planning, and enthusiasm and love for language learning” according to the SPA website.

Frau Crowder brought the suspicious but unaware Dorfsman to the AATG meeting where the award was presented to her. “I had a feeling there was something awry the night we attended the AATG meeting and dinner, but I was very surprised when I was given the award,” Dorfsman said.

“This was a huge honor and a touching affirmation of the work I do at SPA.” Dorfsman’s relationship with German didn’t begin until her college days at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, when she decided to take it as an accessory to a business economics major.

“It wasn’t until I began to hear the language that I felt more connected to my roots,” Dorfsman said.

Excited with the language, Dorfsman went on to study in Germany, inspiring her into switching to a German major.

“A few of my friends thought it was impractical to take German because they didn’t see how it would be useful…[but] speaking German is an asset not everyone possesses, so it gives you a marketable edge.”

Dorfsman describes her classroom as active and structured in a way to engage the minds of equally active middle school

Photo Credit: Alicia Little

Middle School German teacher Jenni Dorfsman administers a speaking test. “I create activities which give them opportunities to learn and practice material while moving and interacting,” Dorfsman said.

students. “Students are unable to sit and listen attentively for long periods of time if they are not allowed to get out of their seats,” Dorfsman said.

Junior Sammy Karon, a former student of Dorfsman’s, reminisces positively on her experience in middle school German. “I liked Frau D’s class because we played a lot of games and always had fun,” Karon said. “Frau D is the best because she is so nice that I don’t think there is anyone

who she wouldn’t be nice to, and that makes her an especially great teacher for middle school students who don’t like to listen to anyone.”

Dorfsman gives credit to Frau Crowder, who mentored her to the point of excellence. “[Crowder] is a master teacher and mentored me closely my first few years by inviting me into her classroom and meeting with me regularly to look at what and how we teach,” Dorfsman said. “Together, we

created an experience which flows logically in grades 6 to 12.”

Dorfsman believes the German program at SPA excels because it is student-centered. “I rely on the kids to give me honest feedback, something I truly believe makes my relationships with the students stronger,” Dorfsman said.

“I hope to create an environment where making mistakes is just part of the learning experience.”

Dorfsman adds. “A sense of humor doesn’t hurt either.”

As the days get shorter, fake tans make an appearance Spray Tan by the Numbers

$20-40:

average cost of a spray tan package

5-10:

average number of days a normal spray tan lasts

11%

of substances in cosmetics that are tested and approved by FDA

1 out of 20 women believe fake tans will protect them from the sun and skin cancer

11% of American

teens have used sunless tanning techniques Information compiled from CNN.com and spray-tan-byron-bay.com/spray-tanning-tips. htmldailymail.co.uk/health/

Hannah Johnson

r

Staff Writer

Snooki has one. Lindsay Lohan does too. Today, spray tanning has become a new and fast way to make that summer glow last. As this method of tanning becomes more and more popular, some have questioned: how safe is it?

Living in Minnesota does not give the average St.Paul Academy and Summit School student an opportunity to have a year-round tan.

As Fall progresses, many have turned to spray tanning to fight paleness. “I only choose to get spray tans in the winter, if I’m super pale and then normally only for special occasions,” senior Maggie Johnson said.

“I wanted to look tan for the beginning of school,” sophomore Sarah Goetz said.

How it Works:

According to the Mayo Clinic’s website, there is a common denominator in most spray tanning solutions, dihydroxyacetone (DHA).

“When applied to the skin, DHA reacts with dead cells in the outermost layer of skin to temporarily darken the skin’s appearance.

The coloring doesn’t wash off, but it gradually fades as the dead skin cells slough off — typically within a few days.”

Tanning Bed vs.

Spray Tan:

Spray tanning has become an alternative to the more traditional indoor tanning method: tanning beds.

Which is more effective depends on the individual. Goetz preferred the tan she received from the tanning bed, “It’s your natural pigments, so it makes you have more of a brown color and a way more natural tan,” she said.“The spray tans, sometimes they come out orange...it always has a bit of an orange undertone.”

Freshman Sarah Romans, who doesn’t use either spray tans or tanning beds agrees. “Sometimes [spray tanning looks natural],” she said. “but not usually,” Johnson had a bad experience tanning in a booth, which has led her to spray tan more. “I tried going into a bed, and I broke out in hives and rashes,” Johnson said.

“It’s so bad for your skin that it’s not worth it,” said Johnson. Allergic reactions aren’t the only affects beds can have on your body. Ultra Violet A rays, used in tanning beds, can cause wrinkles, skin cancer and premature aging.

What the experts have to say:

Physician Ed Zimney, MD, assures that spray tanning is harmless. “The effect is temporary, because as the dead cells naturally slough off, the color fades, disappearing within a week unless the

lotion has been reapplied. DHA is the only FDA-approved skin-tinting additive. Products containing this chemical don’t photo-age the skin or contribute to skin cancer,” said Zimney.

Dr. Andrew Weil, an internationally-recognized expert on healthy living also agrees that tanning products are safe. “Self-tanners the lotions, sprays and gels that you apply for a sunless tan - aren’t dangerous. The effect lasts for only a few days because the skin naturally sheds the dead cells that have been colored. Except for rare cases of irritation and allergic reaction, the products are safe,” Weil said.

Sunless tanning may be an effective “harm-reduction strategy for event tanners and those who tan because they feel it looks good,” Dr. June K. Robinson, M.D., a Chicago based dermatologist said.

To Tan or not to Tan:

Some students never think about sunless tanning while others have tanned for years.

Goetz would recommend spray tanning as an option: “Yes, It’s really fast and spray tans are under five minutes and its easy,” she said.

“I think it totally depends on if that’s what you like and if it interests you,” Johnson said.

There are over 240 more days until next summer. If waiting that long for a nice glow is too agonizing, getting a spray tan is the best bet.

12 S c i e n c e & Te c h n o l o g y

St. Paul Academy and Summit School

November 2011. Vol XXXIX. Issue II.

The issue on climate change heats up Brrr...how to make frozen bubbles

Glacial retreat

Rachel Kinney

Editor rOnlineManaging Editor-in-Chief

Increase in floods

Decreasing snowpack in mountains

More floods and droughts

Less snowfall and winter tourism

Increase in heat waves in cities

Increase in cyclone activity

The mercury is dropping every day, and the novelty of swapping your flipflops for furry boots and tank tops for sweaters has probably worn off by now.

Less freshwater available for use

Decrease in water resources Decrease in agriculture production

Savannah replacing tropical forests

To take the edge off this not-so-favorable temperature change, here’s a fun experiment that can only be done when the grass is brown and you can see your breath outside.

Increasing acidity in oceans Decrease in ice mass Illustration Credit: Lucy Li Information compiled from NASA

Signs of climate change around the world include extreme weather, warming global temperatures, and an increase in sea levels. Because of this, many species become endangered and extinct, such as polar bears (see Feature) in the Arctic.

Ellie Fuelling

r

Feature Editor

After an onslaught of green products, green stores, green everything, the fluorescent light bulb of climate change awareness has begun to dim.

But that doesn’t mean the issue is any less pressing. In the last 20 years, the Arctic has warmed two times as fast as the rest of the earth, and in 2007, 60% of the sea ice had melted since 1970, according to the Union for Concerned Scientists. This climate change is more drastic in the poles, but all across the globe changes are occurring due to the warming of earth’s atmosphere from the release of greenhouse gases.

Sophomore Charlotte Hughes, copresident of the Thursday group People for Environmental Protection (PEP), is passionate about taking action and combating climate change and has ideas to combat it locally. “It’s very possible for people to walk and bike everywhere, so it’s unfortunate that everyone thinks they need to get to places as fast as possible,” Hughes said. Hughes also admonishes the lifestyles of many Americans. “In America our way of showing wealth is through items, but the amount of things you have doesn’t show worth.” For students who want to do their part, she suggests using the compost and recycling and compost bins in school. “That definitely will cut back on our waste,” she said. Hughes also

recommends carpooling because “it’s easy, your parents don’t have to drive you, and that’s one way to cut down on CO2 emissions.” Why should students care about climate change? “Because it’s your world!” Hughes said.

Another view is that we are beyond the tipping point. We are at the point where climate change will take longer to reduce even with environmental initiatives than we could have ever imagined. At least that’s what Upper School Earth Science teacher Dan Ertl believes. Ertl is passionate about climate change and believes the political reasons for climate change are more pressing than the scientific reasons.

“I know what the biggest threat to the environment is. It’s the congress-controlled party that wants to disable the environmental protections that have been in place now for pushing 40 since environmental laws were passed in the early 1970’s,” Ertl said.

Ertl agrees that environmental protection is paramount, but he has a different view on how to combat it. Ertl believes a person’s individual carbon footprint is not as important as their political awareness. “If people are more aware they won’t have to worry about their individual footprint as much as the much bigger [concerns] about national energy policy,” Ertl said. The United States emits 5,388 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year according to the Union of Concerned Scientists.

As Ertl has explained to students every year in Earth Science, carbon dioxide

and other greenhouse gases help capture solar rays and warm the lower atmosphere of Earth. This is a natural process, but with the excess greenhouse gases being emitted by factories and cars, the atmosphere is capturing too much heat and changing global climate patterns.

It is not possible to remove 100% of carbon dioxide from any existing power plant right now Ertl concedes, but with one-third more carbon dioxide in the air than a decade ago, environmental protection laws need to be established. Ertl believes the key behind creating lasting environmental changes is becoming politically informed. “I want to see balance and compromise from congress, and unfortunately balance and compromise has not been possible for the last three or four years.

But I am being very political here,” Ertl said. “It’s your world. You have to become politically active to make policy changes.” The message Ertl wants to leave with the students is one of activism: “Things will not change until you make them change.”

Both individual and drastic changes will help our planet heal, and hopefully come back from the tipping point. For now, the arctic ice is still melting, polar bears are still dying of starvation and drowning, and sea levels are still rising.

It’s time to take a stand as Clara Stahlmann Roeder did as Arctic Ambassador, (Feature 10), and remind ourselves that our world is our own.

What YOU can do about it - Educate yourself about climate change - Replace incandescent light bulbs with fluorescent bulbs - Write a letter to a local government representative to encourage more political action on climate change - Select energy-saving settings on home appliances - Turn off lights and electronics when you’re not using them - Carpool or take the bus to reduce the number of cars on the road Information compiled from WWF

1. Make your bubble liquid. You can buy

premade bubble liquid or mix water and liquid soap (dishwashing detergent is best) in a bucket.

2.

Take a

straw or a bubble

3.

wand and dip in the bubble solution.

Blow a bubble

right over a plate and lower it down slowly until it sticks on the plate.

This may take a few times in order to work.

4.

Put the plate out-

side (if it is colder than 5 F)

or in your freezer, ensuring the bubble stays on it. Let it freeze for 30-60 minutes, checking on it about every 10 minutes.

5.

Take it in-

side, or out of the freezer. It will last about 10 minutes before deflating.

Bubbles pop because of dryness, evaporation, or air turbulence. To minimize the chance of your bubble popping: - Make your bubble in a shady place.

- Don't make bubbles in a breeze or wind.

- Blow bubbles right after it rains.

- Get the straw or bubble wand very wet with bubble liquid before blowing.

You can also try:

• Putting food coloring in the bubble solution to make a colorful, frozen bubble • Use more than one bubble • If it is -13 F or colder outside, blow a bubble and watch it shatter as it hits the air.

Photo Credit: Ellie Fuelling

Natalie Grant, Daniela Tiedmann, Kaia Findlay, Charlotte Hughes, Andrew Chuinard (unpictured), and Ellen McCarthy (unpictured) make up the student group People for Environmental Protection.

Illustration Credit: Lucy Li and Alicia Little

I n - D e p t h 13 November 2011. Vol XXXIX. Issue II.

St. Paul Academy and Summit School

Photo Credit: Rebecca Xu

Construction off of Randolph Avenue will reach completion soon. Workers relined sewage pipes in the surrounding neighborhood and refurbished streets and sidewalks.

CAUTION :UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Minnesota government races to complete projects before the cold months ahead Andy Monserud

r

News Editor

Minnesota has only two seasons: winter and construction.

The joke is so old, it’s become an adage. This year, drivers have had to be even more aware of that than usual.

In the Twin Cities metro area alone, the Minnesota Department of Transportation undertook 80 construction projects this year on city streets and highways, a number that seems unusually large compared to last year’s 63.

Part of this is due to the 2009 Recovery Act, which gave billions of dollars to a number of institutions, mostly public ones, in an effort to create jobs. Most of these jobs were in manual labor such as road construction.

The package is estimated to have created some 2367 jobs in Minnesota at expenses of nearly $2.8 billion. Many streets are also being blocked up by the expansion of the metro area’s light-rail lines through the Central Corridor, begun in the wake of the stimulus in 2010.

The central corridor line,

which is expected to open for public use in 2014, will connect downtown St. Paul with downtown Minneapolis. While this will ultimately make travel back and forth between the Twin Cities easier, faster and cheaper when it is completed, construction in the meantime has all but totally closed down such thoroughfares as University Avenue. University Avenue resident and Metropolitan Council Transportation Committee member John Commers is optimistic about the light-rail construction. “The Central Corridor line is part of the intended building out of a 21st century transit system,” Commers said, but “there’s no question that construction in an urban environment like this is challenging.”

If the light-rail project is completed on schedule, construction in St. Paul is expected to be ongoing into 2013, but the construction scheduled for this year should wrap up in November.

That includes all sections of the Central Corridor line between Hamline Avenue and the St. Paul city limits. Commers, who represents district 14, the portion of St. Paul west of highway 35-E,

noted that the construction is “not as linear as many of us were expecting.” Still, Commers said, the fruits are worth the time and labor, especially considering the rapidly growing ridership of Minnesota public transportation systems such as the light-rail lines, bus system and commuter rail lines. Ridership recently rose over 80 million.

In the meantime, construction is often disruptive to commuters, and St. Paul Academy and Summit School’s widely dispersed student body magnifies this, with some students coming in to school from such distant areas as Edina and Stillwater. It can also be dangerous to drivers and to workers, who are frequently killed or injured while doing road construction.

The effects of construction are seen most in long commutes, such as that of freshman Assad Masood, whose commute from Rosemount takes about a half an hour on average. Due to construction on Highway 35, the drive is now closer to 45 minutes.

Once, unaware of the construction, he was forced to take a detour, resulting in a drive of a full

hour. “That was a bad day,” he said. Now, he reads construction reports from WCCO to stay up to date.

But construction can cause disruptions in even the shortest commutes. Junior Ariana Amini, who lives only a couple miles from SPA, biked to school on Fairview Avenue until it was closed for construction. The first time she tried to bike to school, she forgot there was construction, she said, and had to take a long detour to Snelling Avenue. Now, she has adjusted her commute for the construction, but it still causes her frustration. “It’s really annoying,” she said, “because I have Summit Singers (girls morning choir starting at 7:20 a.m.), and I can’t bike the way I want to go.” While Amini recognizes that road construction is unavoidable at some point, she points out that “Roads in the U.S. are made really cheaply” compared to other countries, particularly in Europe, and in Minnesota’s wild climate, they often do not remain in good condition long. “I feel like the way they make the roads could be improved,” Amini said.

Map Key Xcel gas

sewage relining county construction city overlay

lighting Illustration Credit: Aditi Kulkarni

Photo Credit: Noah Shavit-Lonstein

A bulldozer works at the upcoming Light Rail on University Ave.

Photo Credit: Noah Shavit-Lonstein

Workers close sidewalks around the construction on University Ave.

Photo Credit: August King

Workers at Mattocks Park stack signs as construction finishes.

Construction Types Xcel gas: mandatory inspections, replacements and additions of gas pipelines by Xcel Energy Sewage relining: the strengthening of the exterior of sewage pipes so they do not leak or burst County Construction: reconstruction of county roads City overlay: the laying or relaying of concrete over pavement in need of repair Lighting: the replacement or addition of city lighting and it’s power source (lamp posts, power lines, etc Information compiled from Minnesota Department of Transportation

14 A r t s & E n t e r t a i n m e n t

St. Paul Academy and Summit School

November 2011. Vol XXXIX. Issue II.

Euripides show tailored for modern wars

Greek tragedy The Trojan Women uses monologue and movement to tell a story of unrest

Ibad Jafri

r

Op/Ed Editor

When the lights go up, the stakes are high. Upper School Theatre director Eric Severson expects strong performances in this fall’s production, a modern adaptation of Euripides’ Greek tragedy The Trojan Women.

Senior Emily Upin, who plays Cassandra in the show, said, “There’s always been a dark side to the [fall] shows, and in that sense, this one isn’t really very different.”

But it’s the first time in years that Severson has selected a Greek tragedy, and in searching for variety and further expansion of creative borders, it may be the last Greek tragedy this stage sees for a while.

The themes of personal conflict and the profoundly negative impact of war on innocents resonate strongly in this play. “[The women] are going off to now fight their own war…They’re going to fight their own new battles, and that’s the piece I love,” Severson said.

The Trojan Women is Severson’s 12th fall play, and proves to prominently showcase allegory and many real-life parallels. “To drive the war piece home, I’ve created a small chorus of male soldiers,” Severson said. “I’m finding four specific moments that mirror what’s going on with these ancient Greek myths and finding firsthand soldier accounts from different wars.” “[The show is different from others] in the sense that the leads in the show have huge monologues instead of dialogues and are thus going about learning their lines differently,” Upin said.

“In that sense, it is very different from other plays, because being monologue-based requires us to do a lot more work one-on-one.”

All Photos Credit: Hannah Ross

Members of the chorus of The Trojan Women begin rehearsal in the Choir Room by practicing ritualistic gestures. This is the first time in years that the US Fall Play will be a Greek tragedy.

“Following Euripides’ original text, this [play] is a very large critique of war. And Euripides was” Severson pauses, “incredibly brave at the time because the way he paints the male characters, particularly these ancient Greek heroes – Menelaus, Odysseus, Agamemnon, Achilles, Ajax – so many of these heroic Greek men are painted as cowardly, horrible, heartless individuals.”

Severson points to this translation in particular as a brilliant vehicle with which a director can convey such modern, timely ideals, specifically those decrying war.

“The adaptation and version that I found done in 1993 by [famed Irish poet and translator] Brendan Kennelly really brings a more active personification

of these women in doing what I think is a beautiful anti-war [interpretation] as well as a beautiful honoring of the courage that these women possessed,” Severson said. “It’s about the pain and the courage and the power of these women in the face of absolute devastation.”

In spite of the many differences, The Trojan Women presents for the cast that some constants remain in Severson’s shows, including the nature of the themes. “[The Trojan Women still features] the themes of death and destruction causing pain and suffering,” Upin said.

The Trojan Women shows at the Sarah Converse Auditorium on Nov. 18-19 at 7:00 p.m. Admission is free.

Junior Liat Kaplan conveys the mood of a scene through movement.

The Trojan Women is “about the pain and the courage and the power of these women in the face of absolute devastation.” said US Theater director Eric Severson.

Guthrie Theater’s Much Ado falls short in acting; plot remains entertaining r

Co-Feature Editor

As fall begins and brings with it cold and dreary days, The Guthrie Theater’s performance of Much Ado about Nothing, directed by Joe Dowling, is the perfect way to warm the heart.

Classical Dramatic Literature students and ninth graders at St. Paul Academy and Summit School attended the production on Nov. 1 after reading the play in the previous weeks.

The first act of the 3-hour play was full of loud colors, loud dancing, and loud jokes. The funniest scene of the entire play comes when Benedick [Daniel Gerroll] is tricked into believing Beatrice [Dearbhla Molloy], his bantering counterpart, loves him.

Gerroll was the highlight of

“

“

Ellie Fuelling

Hero is the most interesting character to study when reading Much Ado, but on Dowling’s stage she is dull and lifeless.

the show, seamlessly tying together Shakespearean puns with modern humor. The cocky air that Gerroll gives his character is perfectly timed, making it easy to root for Benedick from the very start.

The use of age was an important factor in The Guthrie production, as Benedick and Beatrice are older than most castings for these characters. The other set of lovers, Claudio [Bill McCallum] and Hero [Michelle O’Neil], are also played by an older couple. However, their chemistry doesn’t work

the way the Benedick and Betrice pairing does because Claudio is supposed to be innocent and full of puppy-love, something the old actor can’t quite pull off.

Hero is the most interesting character to study when reading Much Ado, but on Dowling’s stage she is dull and lifeless. Because Hero is mostly silent throughout the play, there are may opportunities for the actor to give more depth to the mysterious center of the play than can be interpreted through reading. O’Neil did not take any of these opportunities,

vying for the obvious instead.

The second half of the performance began to drag as evil plots were fulfilled and the color and humor of the plot seeped away.

When Hero and Claudio are about to be married and Claudio calls off the wedding, the background begins to upstage the actors. The church scenery consisted of four wooden chairs and a brilliantly painted background of horses in battle.The mural was so out of place and so beautiful, that I found myself studying it during the dramatic break up scene instead of focusing on the dramatic action. When reading Much Ado, the humor is often hard to understand, but Dowling makes the humor seem easy like it was meant to be. Much Ado about Nothing is funny and beautifully designed, and is a great way to cheer up on a dreary fall afternoon.

Used with permission from The Guthrie Theater

M u s i c S c e n e 15 November 2011. Vol XXXIX. Issue II.

St. Paul Academy and Summit School

Björk is taking over your iPhöne

New Biophilia album designed with apps Andy Monserud

r

News Editor

Innovations in technology and music often go hand-in-hand.

Musicians find ways to use new platforms to sell or promote their work, with effects often gimmicky but sometimes revolutionary. The most recent of these experiments comes from Icelandic singer Björk: an album designed as an app for Apple’s iPhone and iPad. The iPad, though it was released only last year, is already no stranger to the music industry. Among its most basic purposes is storing and playing users’ personal music collections It has already been used to record albums, most notably hiphop group Gorillaz’s The Fall.

Björk herself is known for her eclectic, spacey electronic music and ambitious projects. She broke with her band The Sugarcubes in 1993 to release Debut. Albums like Homogenic and Vespertine challenged the dance-ability of electronic music with complex, weaving soundscapes. She also starred in the lo-fi Danish film Dancer in the Dark (2000), for which she received a Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival. “Whenever I hear Björk, I think of what she must have been like when she was eight years old,” US Math teacher George Leiter said. “She must have been a really weird kid.”

Björk’s album, Biophilia, is named after the concept of innate connection with nature. It was recorded only partially on the iPad, but released in October as a series of ten apps for the device, each accompanying one of the songs. The album was also released on CD and vinyl. The ten apps provide entertainment of all kinds.For example, “Crystalline” involves tilting the iPad to guide a fast-moving crystal down a tunnel, and “Thunderbolt” allows users to create their own sounds by making lines with their fingers to create anything from single notes to complex arpeggios.

While the idea of an album on the iPad is undoubtedly cool, some critics feel it leans more towards

Playlist

Kailey rocks across two continents Freshman Kailey Wendlandt includes music from Canada and Lebanon on her playlist.

1. Sheikh Al Shebab >> Nancy Ajram Because it is fun and energetic, it makes me want to dance.

2. Collect Call >> Metric It has a beautiful melody and it’s lyrics really speak to me. It evokes sorrowfulness which is what a good song does.

All photos and screen shots credit: Rebecca Xu

Juniors Steven Olson, Karl Hommeyer, and Matt Littler play with the Björk app connected to the song “Solstice”. Hommeyer (center) marveled at the complexity of the album’s interface, which includes a menu in the form of a vast galaxy: “There’s so much going on.”

3. Nimbooda, Nimbooda >> Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam While it belongs to a sad movie, the song itself is very playful.

The dancing in the music video is phenomenal.

4. Gold Guns Girls >> Metric I feel like it speaks to a lot of female teenagers about struggles, relationships, and not being appreciated.

5. Insomnia >> Wintersleep The melody is very powerful and the lyrics are unique.

6. Enta Eih >> Nancy Ajram It explains the pain that most girls feel; it speaks to me.

7. Party People >> Winter Gloves Because it is such a techno-y and entertaining song.

the gimmicky side of musical innovations. The majority of the apps are little more than games with only a small connection to the song associated with them.

Student reactions to the apps were generally positive, but often confused. “I don’t really get it,” sophomore Willa Murphy said, “but it’s fun.” A few other students raised objections. Junior William Brower, an avid Björk fan, was a little skeptical of the platform. “I think it’s a little limited because not

Sophomores Willa Murphy (left) Alicia Zhang, and Sophie Pressman try out the app for the song “Virus.” Murphy voiced a recurring opinion of the apps: “I don’t really get it, but it’s fun.”

everybody has an iPad,” he said.

“But at the same time, it’s pretty cool.” Junior Spencer Egly asked questioned whether the iPad concept was useful: “What’s wrong with having music on your iPod and listening to that?” Sophomore Nick Thorsgaard particularly liked “Thunderbolt” because it provided an opportunity to create music, but thought it could be improved by al-

lowing users to change the sound further. “The more customization, the better,” he said.

The application is currently on sale at the iTunes store. The platform itself is free, but the games are sold seperately as in-app purchases for $10. Certain games can be purchased by themselves for $2 each.

8. Satellite Mind >> Metric The melody of this song moves me. It is hauntingly beautiful.

9. Ah W Noss >> Nancy Ajram This song is an amusing song about pressure and first love.

10. Fog >> Wintersleep A hopeful and bittersweet song describing the pain of a lost love.

Compiled by Lucy Li

Spears’ remix disc hides a few gems but mostly flops Ibad Jafri

r

Op/Ed Editor

The current generation is not known for producing immortal, high-quality music like its proAlbum Review genitors did. But if there is one modern artist who has been able to withstand the test of time and leave a profound mark on music history, it is none other than Britney Jane Spears. Spears continues her onslaught on the music industry in her newest compilation, B in the Mix: The Remixes Vol 2.

The album opens with the radio mix of Spears’ 2011 hit, “Criminal.” Spears boldly ventures into uncharted territory by midwifing the love child of an infectious pop beat and a folk-like flute melody.

The results are popular radio station fodder with a dash of that love-it-or-hate-it, nasally, distinctly “Britney” quality. There is more hate than love to be felt on this track, however, as a well-designed song is dragged down by a flute that never quite finds a purpose and vocals that only appeal to the most die-hard Brit fanatics. Clearly, this album is meant to appeal to them (and their wallets).

The mediocrity continues throughout the album with few

exceptions, the most notable of which includes Tiesto’s highly welldesigned remix of Spears’ 2007 megahit “Piece of Me.” This club remix is accompanied by a beat that fits perfectly with the vocals as Spears’ croons, “They’re still gonna’ put pictures of my derriere in the magazine,” auto-tune and all.

The most strangely satisfying trait of this song is found in its vaguely ‘80s-esque beats found after the three-minute mark.

But the most disappointing track of all is, ironically enough, Spears’ most recent chart-topper: the acclaimed “I Wanna Go.” For this closing track, British DJ Gareth Emery valiantly attempts to construct a quasi-dubstep piece

with echoes of a heavy bass, but ends up removing the most addicting aspect of the song – the unbearably catchy whistling – and is too heavy-handed with his use of the bass, resulting in a song that lacks the ebb and flow of its original counterpart.

“I Wanna Go,” proves to be doubly disappointing given that it succeeds the gem of the album; Cobra Starship bassist Alex Suarez’s wonderfully-crafted club remix of Spears’ famed “Till the World Ends.” Suarez begins the track with a heavy, throbbing bass, and deftly transitions into the unbearably catchy hollering that is perhaps Spears’ finest chorus. Suarez utilizes his bass and synthe-

sizer in such a way that allows him bring out the best aspects of Britney’s critically-acclaimed whining; not quite overshadowing her vocals, but forcing them to keep up with a comparably addictive bass line and keyboard riff.

Overall, Spears does what she set out to do in creating this album: she has created yet another collection for the masses to listen to as they go clubbing, albeit one mostly devoid of quality. But money will be made, the critics will praise her as the ultimate comeback story, and she will be satisfied with the vitality that seems to constantly accompany her newfound image.

Congratulations, Brit. Everyone loves you... again.

Boys Varsity Soccer

Front Cover Design: Dani Andrusko Back Cover Design: Rebecca Xu Photo Credits: Aditi Kulkarni, Hannah Ross

Memories of the Dome 1. The bright and early trek At 6:50 am, cars flood the St. Paul Academy and Summit School parking lots. It is more than an hour before school starts, but hundreds of students have already gathered around the school. 10 minutes later, the engines of several school buses start, and the school once again becomes vacant. Where did everyone go? To the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.

ds y frien an m e e hm to s ,” fres s cool “It wa on the field g playin kins said. ar Roy L

3. And the victory goes to...

2. A sea of navy at the dome On Thurs., Oct. 26, the Spartan Boys Varsity Soccer team defeated Mankato West for a spot at the state semifinals. A sea of navy covered the Metrodome on Mon., Oct. 31, as SPA faculty, parents, and students came to cheer the team on bright and early in the morning.

“I though t we really put up a g until [the o g another o oal]. I thought we od fight could get ne and tie th into overt ime,” junio e game to put us r Ben Bra man said.

to the ed hard, but lost The Spartans play ret’s Knights 0-1.

Benilde-St. Marga

The match was against the BenildeSt. Margaret’s Knights. The ball went back and forth for the first half of the game without entering either side’s goal. Going into the second half, the Spartans kept up their strong defense, but it apparently wasn’t enough. The fate of the game was determined when one of the Knights’ strikers kicked the ball into the goal.

As the timer dropped down to zero, the game ended 0-1, with a Knights victory.

4. All great things come to an end

one, and that our goals except of l al ed ev hi ac “We ptain Nico dome,” senior Ca e th at ng ni in w was id.

Olson-Studler sa

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The Spartans played the Rochester Lourdes Eagles the following day. The season ended with a 2-1 loss, placing the Spartans fourth in the state.

Even with the loss of 11 former seniors this year, the Spartan Boys Varsity Soccer team proved to everyone that they haven’t lost their spark. “We achieved all of our goals except one, and that was winning at the dome,” senior Captain Nico Olson-Studler said.

Congratulations to Sp artan BVS for a truly inspirational and succe ssful season. ♥ Your Spartan Fans

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