March 2018 Issue

the student news of St. Paul Academy and Summit School 1712 Randolph Avenue - Saint Paul, MN 55105 Volume 45. Issue 6. March 6, 2018

LIFE ON MARS P.9 SCI-TECH

INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES P.4 NEWS

CAT CAFE P. 15 A&E

Expanding Expanding horizons horizons IN THIS ISSUE: 2-4 NEWS • 5-8 EDITORIAL/OPINIONS • 9 SCI/TECH • 10-11 IN DEPTH 12-13 FEATURE • 14-16 SPORTS • 17-18 A&E • 19-20 AROUND TOWN

MODEL: Maya Shrestha

DESIGN CREDIT: Jonah Harrison

the student news of St. Paul Academy and Summit School 1712 Randolph Avenue - Saint Paul, MN 55105 Volume 45. Issue 6. March 6, 2018

•international Exchanges p. 4 newS •Life on Mars, p. 9 Sci-Tech •Cat Cafe, p. 15 A&E

Expanding Expanding horizons horizons

2

IN THIS ISSUE: 2-4 NEWS • 5-8 EDITORIAL/OPINIONS • 9 SCI/TECH • 10-11 IN DEPTH 12-13 FEATURE • 14-16 SPORTS • 17-19 A&E • 20 BACK COVER

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ABOUT THE COVER Expanding horizons is the theme of this issue, with stories centered around leaving comfort zones and expanding horizons.

Chinese New Year celebration hosted by Intercultural Club

Students that walked into the portable classrooms on Feb. 21 were able to catch the scent of something cooking. If they followed their noses, it would have led them into the Chinese classroom where music, candy, calligraphy, dumplings, all put together by Intercultural Club and upper school Chinese teacher Tian Wang, commemorated Chinese New Year.

Read the full story at

RubicOnline Photo: Kelby Wittenberg

THE RUBICON • MARCH 2018

International Womens Day events planned

Illness epidemic hits classrooms

MELISSA NIE

The Rubicon Editor

HerSpace has organized a bake sale and History of Women in the World students have designed a quiz for International Women’s Day, Mar. 8.

Senior Lillian Pettigrew, copresident of HerSpace, trusts that the bake sale will educate students on the significance of gender equality.

“International Women’s Day is important because I think it gives us a chance to refocus, become aware of all the different issues that different women are facing in the world, and try to bring some sort of international effort to help those who need it the most,” Pettigrew said.

HerSpace has chosen a local organization that will make considerable changes in the lives of women.

“We hope that students will be able to see that their money is going to a good cause,” Pettigrew said.

History of Women in the World teacher Andrea Moerer explains what the Kahoot game and other activities will achieve.

“The goal is to raise awareness...to remind all women and men that the struggle for equality and justice for women continues, and that it transcends gender to include race, class, geographic location, and sexual orientation,” she said.

Pettigrew shares her hopes for the future in terms of gender equality.

“I hope that we can get to a point where female voices and stories are valued and listened to as much as men’s are, and that can also translate to an acceptance of people who don’t fall within the gender binary,” Pettigrew said.

This is the third year SPA classes and affinity groups have planned events for IWD. CORRECTIONS POLICY

13

influenza deaths in the 2017-18 season occurred during the week of February 17th.

1

Usually,

1% of Upper School students stay home sick.

Lately, it’s been

1-2

Kids are usually sick for days.

Lately, it’s been

5%.

2-4.

Infographic: Quinn Christensen

CONTAGIOUS. SPA students and faculty have felt the effects of the nationwide flu epidemic, with more students missing school due to sickness.

IYA ABDULKARIM Editor-in-Chief

The geographic spread of Influenza activity is categorized as widespread, the greatest on the scale, across 48 states, Minnesota included.

Additionally, 43 states experienced high ILI activity in the week ending on Feb. 17.

Influenza positive specimens reported by U.S. Public Health Laboratories for the 2017-18 season indicate that 2 subtypes of each influenza A and influenza B are in circulation. The proportion of circulating viruses is unavailable due to specimen submission guidelines implemented in 2010 under the “Right Size Roadmap” for influenza virologic surveillance.

A total of 588 school outbreaks of influenzalike illness (ILI) according to the most recent weekly report from the Minnesota Department of Health. MDH defines a school outbreak as

During the post-critique process, staff members will identify innacuracies and report on feedback from readers. Corrections will be printed in the next edition of the newspaper in the News section.

“when the number of students absent with ILI reaches 5 percent of total enrollment or three or more students with ILI are absent from the same elementary classroom.”

Long-Term Care facilities also report to MDH when they suspect ILI in their facilities, and a total of 160 have been reported thus far.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s most recent weekly report, a total of 97 pediatric deaths have been attributed to influenza activity in the 2017-18 season, 13 of which occurred in the week ending on Feb. 17, 2018. Four pediatric deaths have been reported since the beginning of the influenza season in Minnesota.

Upper School Dean of Students Max Delgado shared the impact of the influenza on attendance.

“On average we’ve had six to eight kids sick a day, but lately it has been more like 15 to 20; additionally, kids are

“On

average we’ve

had six to eight kids sick a day,

but lately it has been more like to

20.”

15

— DEAN OF STUDENTS MAX DELGADO

often sick for one to two days, but the new average is now two to four,” Delgado said.

Sophomore Ethan Richman, who contracted the flu, stayed home from school to recover and suspects he got sick from other members of the boys basketball team.

“I missed six days of school because of the [flu],” Richman said, “I had a fever, cough, sore throat, stuffy nose, and headaches.”

Senior Sorcha Ashe experienced similar symptoms, including a “high

FEBRUARY CORRECTIONS

fever, coughing, dizziness, lethargy, runny nose, bad migraine, phlegm, and chills.”

“I missed four days of school because of the flu, though I was sick for about a week,” Ashe said.

Sophomore Griffin Thissen, who also contracted the flu, said “I didn’t get my flu shot.

While my family was getting their flu shots I was busy and just never got around to doing it after.”

Discussions around the spread of the flu this year stem from revolve around speculations of the effectiveness of this year’s flu vaccination.

The interim estimates from the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report published on February 16th report that “the overall estimated effectiveness of the 2017–18 seasonal influenza vaccine for preventing medically attended, laboratoryconfirmed influenza virus infection was 36 percent.”

NEWS-Nasty woman photo credit to @rfremson on Twitter. Time’s Up photo credit to NBC Broadcast.

Winter dance photo credit to Sharee Roman. IN-DEPTH-#metoo screenshot from Instagram explore page. Dear Sisters post from timesupnow.com. ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT- Agra Culture story by Ellie Nowakowski. BACK COVER- Tilney-Kaemmer misspelled.

Nation grieves 17 killed in Florida school shooting

@delaneytarr on Twitter #STONEMANSTRONG. Marjory Stoneman Douglas student Delaney Tarr captioned her Feb. 16 post on Twitter: “Positive, Passionate, Proud. #StonemanStrong”

After the shooting of 17 high school students in Florida on Feb. , the nation is rallying around the issue of gun control, in addition to mourning the 17 lives lost to the 5th(?) deadliest shooting in United States history.

Students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School have implemented social media in order to try and effect

change. A group of students have scheduled walk outs and conferences with various members of Congress in an attempt to prevent another school shooting Read the full story at @therubiconspa on Snapchat

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THE RUBICON • MARCH 2018 What is Science Olympiad?

MISSION: Science Olympiad is a national non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of K-12 science education, increasing student interest in science, creating a technologically literate workforce and providing recognition for outstanding achievement by both students and teachers. These goals are achieved by participating in Science Olympiad tournaments, incorporating Science Olympiad into classroom curriculum and attending professional development workshops.

For more information, please visit soinc.org.

Science Olympiad team to compete at state Mar. 3 JASPER GREEN

The Rubicon Editor

For the second year in a row, the St. Paul Academy and Summit School Science Olympiad team is going to state to compete against students from all over Minnesota. “[On Feb. 3 we went] to Regionals, which we just got third in. [For the competition], you go and take some science tests. There are also building competitions, and you build the robots on your own time. It’s kind of fun because you learn about stuff you normally wouldn’t,” senior Libby Woodson said.

Woodson describes how during the testing portion of the competition, teams split their students into strategic pairs to take tests on different subjects in the realm of science.

“People are assigned to certain tests, so I did “dynamic planet” at regionals, which is about tectonic plates, and my partner for that was Adnan[Askari]. Other people

work together in pairs on the other tests,” Woodson said.

Senior Larry Chen, who shines in the building competitions, details what takes place in the building competitions.

“I enjoy the building events more because taking tests isn’t super fun and when you get to be creative and solve problems it feels rewarding. Last year I built a wind turbine: I 3D printed some turbine blades and put them on a CD, and then the [Science Olympiad] competition was to see how fast they could spin. And, this year I built a car using mouse traps... it had to go to certain points and the competition was how close it could get to those points,” Chen said.

Woodson is able to engage with her classmates and science in a unique way when she is competing on the Science Olympiad team.

“It’s really great being on the Science Olympiad team because I get to hang out with people that I usually wouldn’t be able to hang out

RUBICONLINE PHOTO: Peter Blanchfield COMPETITION. The Science Olympiad team poses for a picture.

Science Olympiad is a way for students to demonstrate their knowledge about different disciplines of science.

with otherwise. Also, we’re all interested in science and it helps to surround yourself with people who have similar passions. [Science Olympiad] is a competitive way to interact with science. By being on the team I am able to push the limits of what I know and what I’m able to do,” Woodson said.

Chen explains that while on the team, students are able to go in depth into topics which they would otherwise never learn about in school.

“It’s a lot of fun because when I go to competitions I can see a lot of my friends from other schools, and also it’s just fun to build stuff and test to see if it works. [On the Science Olympiad] you get to learn a lot about science that you normally wouldn’t learn in school like alternative energy… thermodynamics,” Chen said.

The state competition will be held Mar. 3 at Bethel University.

SSJ plans week of activities to bring awareness about genocides JENNY SOGIN

The Rubicon Editor

Hoping to plan an interactive and educational workshop about genocides happening in the world and how students can help prevent them, Students for Social Justice partnered with the organization World Without Genocide to dedicate a week focused on educating students about genocide.

Looking back on previous years, SSJ club president Elea Besse wanted to expand the club’s service and educational opportunities.

“We really wanted to do something that was educational and more than just bake sales, which SSJ has done in the past,” Besse said.

“We planned to have themes for each quarter, and one of the themes was genocide awareness, discussion, and education,” Besse said.

This year, Genocide Awareness Week at SPA was comprised of several events

which took place the week of Feb 26. These included showing a documentary and hosting a relevant discussion after school on Tuesday, bringing in Dr. Ellen Kennedy to talk to students about the different genocides during Thursday tutorial, organizing a bake sale on Tuesday and Thursday (whose profits will be donated to the World Without Genocide summer scholarship fund , and arranging a volunteer opportunity for students, The speaker was scheduled during Thursday tutorial as “an optional [event], so people who come are really interested and aren’t just there because it’s mandatory,” Besse said.

SSJ was not the only club planning the events; they invited members of the Intercultural Club and the Muslim Student Alliance to contribute.

“I hope that [students gained] more awareness about what constitutes a genocide, where these things typically

THE RUBICON PHOTO: Emma Sampson ACTIVISM. The student club Students for Social Justice hosted a bake sale during the lunch periods of Feb. 27 and 29 to raise money to donate to World Without Genocide’s summer program scholarship fund.

happen and that they continue to happen,” Besse said.

“We want people to continue the discussion after the week is over, and wanted

to present students with an action plan they can take after the week is over,” Besse said.

For that reason, SSJ has handed out information

pamphlets on how to volunteer or attend a class at World Without Genocide.

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THE RUBICON • MARCH 2018

Trips over break encourage intercultural connection CLAIRE HALLAWAY The Rubicon Editor

The two weeks of Spring Break provide not only a time for rest and relaxation before the final academic quarter begins; several students will travel with faculty to learn firsthand about

the history and culture of places they’ve seen in textbooks and on classroom posters. Four international trips will take place between Mar. 10-25.

This year’s China exchange features many of the same activities and places as last time, except a new city has been added. Over two weeks, the group will visit some of the largest tourist cities in China: Beijing, Shanghai, Xian, and Changsha, where they will stay with host families.

World Languages Department Chair Neil Bray

leads the trip. To prepare, they have talked about what the change in culture will be like for them.

“We have sat down with the kids and talked to them about what it would be like to go for five days without having very much English at all. Also having no access to a lot of familiar things that they know and how they are going to do that,” Bray said.

Junior Elea Besse looks forward to seeing how the life in China is compared to her everyday life.

“I’m most looking forward to staying with a host families just because I think it’s really fun to see what the students life is like there and how it compares to ours,” Besse said.

Bray explains the reasoning behind the new city was to further cultural and historical experiences.

“I added an extra city [this year], we’re going to Xian

The German exchange is redesigned so students have more time to explore Berlin in depth. The students studied political issues and the history of Germany in preparation.

“There’s basically two parts to this trip: we’re gonna spend several days in Berlin, where we’ll go first[...]and then we’ll take a high-speed train and go to Hamburg, where our partner school is,” US German teacher Jutta Crowder said.

This trip focuses specifically on the political and social atmosphere in Germany.

“We’ve already studied a lot about the political system in Germany; the EU, the elections, the changing political landscape. So when we go to Berlin, we’re going to visit the Parliament and we’ll actually sit in a session in the bleachers and watch the whole debate and watch what’s going on,” Crowder said.

The trip highlights many different areas so that students gain a greater experience of what life is really like in Germany.

“We’re also going to do a lot of on-foot city exploration to see the history of Berlin and current life and culture.

We’re specifically interested in how multi-cultural Berlin has become and also how the city and city-state have approached the refugee influx

The India trip this year was redesigned so that by visiting specific groups, students will have a more meaningful and deeper understanding of what they are seeing. The students were put into specific study groups in the fall and will prepare a website on what they learned by the end of the trip.

“We’re doing both the rural and the urban, so they’ve been reading articles about the current political situation; I’ve also divided them up into pairs [...] They’ll do some initial study before they go, and they’ll interview people and we’ll share them when they get back,” Upper School History teacher and trip leader Sushmita Hodges said.

The trip has a strong focus on ethnography and

understanding the importance of each site the students will visit.

“There’ll be some similarities [from last year], but we’re meeting up with a lot more NGOs and grassroots organizations around specific issues so that people actually get a better understanding versus going to an architectural site. So we have the history component, but we also have [the part]

of looking at communities that don’t necessarily have all exactly the same experience,” Hodges said.

Students will be visiting the cities of Ahmedabad and Gujarat.

“I think everyone has a different take. A lot of people have never been to that part of the world, but I think one student who is traveling has.

And that’s different this year as well, that there’s at least

one person in the group who’s traveled to India, just by hearing her talk about it, I know she’s excited for [...] being around a culture that is very vibrant and very different from the west,” Hodges said.

The Spanish exchange will follow a very similar routine and itinerary to the years past; students explore Madrid and Seville. The students will get to experience what a school day is like in Spain along with touring different areas of the cities.

“There are no changes this year since this is the fifth time we’re doing this exchange with the school, so we kind of have a set routine when we

go there,” US Spanish teacher Rolando Castellanos said.

Castellanos has led the trip all five times, and has decades of experiences with exchanges and travel at SPA. “I think the group activities we have for them in Seville and in Madrid will be very exciting. Seville is a beautiful part of Spain with a lot of Arab, Jewish and Spanish history. So there is a lot to see, and there are all kinds of

places that we will visit that you will see evidence of the presence of those different cultures,” Castellanos said.

Sophomore Max Soll hosted a student from Spain this fall: “I’m looking forward to getting to see my exchange student and also just getting to see Spain because I’ve never been there before,” Soll said.

“It’s supposed to be a lot different [from our routine here]. I’ve heard the school is

supposed to be a lot easier and more fun there,” he added.

Ultimately, Castellanos hopes that his students will greatly improve their Spanish language skills.

“I’m looking forward to the point when we come back and get to the point where they realize that they know

more than they thought they knew, and that their Spanish really improved with this experience, he said. “That’s the ultimate goal: as educators we hope to see evidence that they were able to manage, and also that they realized how much they really can do.”

THE INDIA EXPLORATION

because I felt like it would be really important to go see all the Terracotta warriors.

Every single one is different [...] there’s just an incredible history,” Bray said, Bray looks forward to the student growth that he gets to see over the weeks and how the work from the classroom is able to come to life.

“I hope that they will feel like they can comfortably have a conversation in Chinese.

Not only will their language be stronger, but they’ll have

some appreciation for China and Chinese people,” Bray said.

Besse also hopes to that the trip will further her fluency.

“I hope to improve my speaking a lot because I haven’t really spoken in a year and a half and I’m kinda worried about how that’ll go, but I hope I’ll fluent by the end,” Besse said.

and what they are doing for people who are refugees or asylum-seekers,” Crowder said.

Crowder hopes that the trip to Germany will show students how different people live in a European city.

“I think for the students to be in a large European city,

where you can go any place by public transportation, where the city is always moving and there’s always things going on and that’s very diverse, it’ll be really eye-opening because it’s so different from how we live, especially how we live here in the Midwest.

Follow The Rubicon blogs over Spring Break at RubicOnline

E ditorial 5

THE RUBICON • MARCH 2018

MINI EDITORIALS

Advisory should be used to instill time management skills

Editorial Cartoon: Melissa Nie EXPLORE. Break out of your typical routine and experience personal growth to promote an open mindset and encourage curiosity.

Seek discomfort to expand your horizons Routine is a comforting phenomenon to many people.

A daily schedule helps keep people on track with their day to day lives and can serve to help people feel more comfortable and in control.

During the school year, it’s easy to fall into a normal routine. We love to do the same things over and over again because they’re familiar and normal, but how do we grow if our only mindset is to generally do the same thing every day?

As young adults, now is one of the most crucial times to create a mindset that allows us to grow as we move onto greater life events.

To grow as people can mean several different things that require little to a lot of effort.

Put simply, we need to stay curious and take the more difficult, yet rewarding path.

Not only does staying curious give us a better mindset for us to grow from, but it also makes us more well-rounded people. As children, some of us asked weird questions simply because we were curious and didn’t worry about how we sounded. As we got older, we began to worry about how others perceived us, which pressured us to strip ourselves of our curiosity.

Now, we go about mundane routines. When we learn things, we don’t care or know how to take the information we’re learning a step further.

We’re so focused on having the answers, we’ve forgotten how to ask questions.

However, while working to foster a growing mindset by staying curious is important, it is also important to put a growth mindset into

We’re

so focused

on having the

answers, we’ve

forgotten how to ask questions.

action. With spring break approaching, now is a good time to start thinking about how you’re going to spend it and think about it. For those who are traveling for their spring break, avoid doing typical touristy things. Talk to local residents and learn about what life is really like at your destination. Create a more holistic picture of your travel location. You never know what you’ll learn or gain simply from talking to people.

For people who are staying home for break, don’t be afraid to do try something

new. No one can possibly do all that there is to do even in their hometown. Instead of watching Netflix and hanging out with friends, go to a yoga class, go skiing, go thrift shopping, eat different foods, do something new. Break your routine and be uncomfortable.

Additionally, get to know those who are closest to you.

Oftentimes, we get so used to a person we’ve spent ample time with, we forget to ask them about their lives. There’s always something you don’t know about someone, even if they’re your best friend. While routine is often necessary to create a sense of stability and organization in our lives, we can’t let it be the only thing that runs it. We won’t grow unless we stay curious, and the first step to becoming curious is to simply ask a question and go from there.

No one debates whether the amount of homework that is assigned creates stress, especially for students who do not know how to manage their time well. This is why advisors should use the time during advisory to teach students good time management habits. This would significantly benefit students in the long run. If this was something that advisories spent time working on starting in 9th grade, it would hopefully make SPA a more stress-free environment that benefits the students.

This all starts with students going to their advisors and asking them to teach tips on how to better manage time.

Upper School should provide fitness electives Having fitness electives in the upper school would be beneficial to students because students would have options if they wanted a break, but also be active.

What might fitness electives look like? There could be an option to do workouts in the weight room, or to just play different sports. The administration could hire part time teachers that have expertise, such as in yoga.

Having this option gives a mental break for students that also promotes an active lifestyle.

These electives wouldn’t be mandatory if individuals didn’t want to participate.

This decision would result in a positive approach to exercise, and students would have a break in their day.

THE RUBICON

St. Paul Academy and Summit School • 1712 Randolph Ave St. Paul, MN 55105 • rubicon.spa@gmail.com • www.RubicOnline.com • @TheRubiconSPA EDITOR-IN-CHIEF CHIEF VISUAL EDITOR MANAGING EDITOR COPY EDITOR NEWS EDITOR OPINIONS EDITOR FEATURE EDITORS IN DEPTH EDITOR ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR SPORTS EDITOR SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY ILLUSTRATIONS/INFOGRAPHICS

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DIRECTOR OF RUBICONLINE CREATIVE DESIGN MANAGER PRODUCTION MANAGER SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER NEWS EDITORS OPINIONS EDITOR FEATURE EDITOR ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR SPORTS EDITORS CHIEF VISUAL EDITOR PHOTOGRAPHER VIDEOGRAPHER RUBICONLINE TV: EXECUTIVE PRODUCER ILLUSTRATIONS/INFOGRAPHICS

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Will Rinkoff, Isabel SaavedraWeis STAFF WRITERS

Michael Bagnoli, Julia Baron, Izzy Brooks, Eloise Duncan, Rylan Hefner, Tristan Hitchens-Brookins, Elizabeth Kristal, Liv Larsen, Maren Ostrem, Aman Rahman, Lynn Reynolds, Jennifer Ries, Tommy Stolpestad, Bobby Verhey ADVISER

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THE RUBICON • MARCH 2017

Field trips are essential for engaged learning CHLOE MORSE The Rubicon Editor

SPA is known to have a bubble that protects students from experiencing anything new or unwanted. While not in of itself negative, this bubble prevents students from learning how their classes are relevant to the outside world and confines students to only one mindset.

As a way to minimize the impacts of this bubble, classes need to engage with the outside world and teach students how their education has an impact on them, and eventually the world around them.

The easiest way for classes to connect with the world is through class field trips, but besides Environmental Science and History of Refugees, classes at SPA don’t have field trips that complement what’s happening inside the class.

Field trips offer a way for class learning to be more expansive, and can reveal how the topics being discussed in class are relevant to the real world. Taking students outside of the classroom opens up many more opportunities through more

experiential learning and real world application. For example, if a history class is learning about the history of factory labor, they could visit the Mill City Museum for a more comprehensive experience. Or, if a math class is learning about geometry or trigonometry, they could visit a building known for its complex architecture and use their skills from class to find certain measurements of that building.

Furthermore, students who struggle in a traditional sit down classroom would be able to have a more engaging, and therefore more educational, experience. Learning on field trips would rely on other strengths besides mental, such as how to work well with others and find information that isn’t easily provided in an academic setting. Therefore, not only would struggling students succeed more through using different skills, but they would also be able to better engage with and understand the content. As these students would be able find more success in a nonacademic setting, their esteem would build as a result of their increasing success rate.

Finally, classes would

Fast Facts Students who go on field trips have better grades and higher graduation rates from high school and college.

89 percent of students who went on field trips said that the trips made them more engaged, intellectually curious, and interested in and out of school.

SUBMITTED PHOTO: Ned Heckman SQUIGGLY WORMS. Junior Bailey Donovan holds worms that she collected for a sample on an Environmental Science field trip to Crosby Farms.

develop a stronger community, as students would engage with each other on a more personal level, and ultimately have a better, more positive experience.

Out of classroom learning needs to be incorporated into SPA’s curriculum for the benefit of class development, and students. However, teachers can’t act alone in this initiative; the SPA administration needs to develop an expedited process

for teachers to bring learning outside of the classroom.

Without a supportive program for field trips, classes won’t have a standard expectation for experiential learning, and therefore will not incorporate it. Only by creating a conducive environment for field trips will learning at SPA be revolutionized to support everyone and maximize their skills.

From the National Education Association (neamb.com) A study from EducationNext found that a field trip to an art museum improved students’ critical thinking, historical empathy, tolerance, and interest.

Seek meaningful volunteer opportunities, don’t fall victim to Voluntourism ANDREW JOHNSON The Rubicon Editor

The concept of Voluntourism, while relatively new to the minds of students at St. Paul Academy, is ageold. “Voluntourism,” per Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is the act or practice of doing volunteer work as needed in the community where one is vacationing. In public places like the workplace and schools, people seem to believe that they are able to seamlessly combine the fruits of vacation with the dedication of volunteer work, ultimately forming a bestof-both-worlds scenario for world travelers.

Fortunate students, like students from SPA, often take advantage of “Voluntourism” during seasonal breaks from school and even long weekends, often traveling to developing countries such as Nigeria and Nicaragua in order to help communities by building houses or schools,

The

reasoning

for volunteering should be geared towards helping these people because they

genuinely care,

rather than for a resume booster.

engaging with the community, and donating old supplies to residents, all while exploring what foreign nation have to offer.

Conceptually, there seems to be no problem with partaking in these adventures, but realistically, it is impossible to successfully balance each scenario.

Ironically, the formal dictionary definition accentuates the balancing problem the term creates in teenaged environments like

SPA. More often than not, students travel to developing countries on vacation, and while they are there, they choose to volunteer in the community as part of their vacation experience rather than as a specific reason for travel.

Yes, any sort of volunteering is by all means appropriate and valuable to people in harsh environments, but the reasoning for volunteering should be geared towards helping these people because they prioritize and genuinely care about the work that they are doing, rather than for a resume booster.

In order for the experience to be as valuable as possible, students and faculty of institutions such as SPA should plan trips to global south nations with either the

sole intention of volunteering to improve communities, or at the very least, come with a detailed and specific plan on how to make the most of the experience.

By being American and attending a school with wealthy students such as SPA, “voluntourists” have ample resources to make the most of the trip simply by being surrounded by a developed and

advanced society that is at risk to falling into the marketing trap that is voluntourism.

Choosing either

vacationing or volunteering is vital and necessary prior to making the trip. The impact Americans have on the lives of impoverished people on developing countries requires undivided attention and trying to split that attention in two should not be an option.

If you are searching for travel opportunities, keep in mind the difference between being a voluntourist and a volunteer.

Illustration: Lucy Sandeen

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THE RUBICON • MARCH 2018

Women face harsh and unfair path to STEM careers Gender discrimination starts in the classroom

JENNY RIES Staff Writer

Stereotypes and societal norms are sometimes causing over half of the population to shy away from the study of STEM-related topics outside of mandatory school courses. Namely, the female half. Picture a mathematician or a scientist. If your image matched the one that the media and society in general has normalized over the past few centuries, then you were likely picturing a male scientist. Where is this stereotype coming from?

Look around, it starts at school, where female voices are already being stifled and sometimes ignored in STEM classes.

“I have noticed a frustrating disparity where obviously the girls on Science Team and in ASR are just as, or sometimes more, engaged and organized and frankly, smart, they’re sometimes sidelined and talked over,” said senior Adnan Askari, captain of SPA’s Science Alliance and a former participant in Advanced Scientific Research(ASR).

Because of this unfair treatment, some girls step away from STEM, towards humanities subjects, where they are often given more respect. And this trend doesn’t end in high school.

According to a 2016 article in the online addition of Dartmouth College’s newspaper, “STEM and humanities fields see gender disparity” by Carter Brace, “In an undergraduate student body evenly split between men and women, men still make up the disproportionate share of science, engineering

Belittlement

and

disrespect from

male members of the community

Condescension

Representation Respect

are shrinking

girls’ confidence

Belittlement

STEM

HUMANITIES

STEM potential.

in their

and mathematics majors while women still make up a disproportionate share of arts and humanities majors.”

From there, lack of female participation in STEM classes and clubs becomes a lack of female representation in STEM fields. Take the Nobel Prize, for example. From 1901 to date, there have been 206 Nobel Laureates in Physics, yet only 2 or about .9% of which were women. Out of 177 past Nobel Laureates in Chemistry, 4 or approximately 2.3% were women. Of the 214 past Nobel Laureates in Medicine and Physiology, 12 or about 5.6% have been female. Overall, about 2.9% of Nobel Laureates in Physics, Chemistry, and Medicine were female. Compare this to the fact that 14 out of the 114 Nobel Laureates in Literature have been female, making up about 12.3% of the winners in that category.

From this, the conclusion can be drawn that the percentage of female Nobel Laureates in humanities-related categories is more than four times that of the percentage of female Nobel Laureates in STEMrelated categories.

Those percentages start in the classroom, where belittlement and disrespect

Disrespect

Appreciation

THIS WAY

Illustration: Lucy Sandeen (concept by Jenny Ries) STEM DISCRIMINATION. Women often face hardships in the STEM field that are not as prevalent in the humanities.

from male members of the community are shrinking girls’ confidence in their STEM potential.

So how are we meant to repair the damage caused to our society by centuries of inequality? By starting small, within the SPA community.

To begin this process, two things need to occur. Firstly, the dismissal and disrespect of girl’s ideas and opinions regarding STEM, and other subjects for that matter, needs to stop.

“It’s definitely a problem that extends beyond STEM, for sure, the idea of girls who are very smart and talented being talked over and kind of sidelined and silenced, and I think the easiest thing [for male students] to do is just stop talking and listen, be respectful. And that

isn’t something that comes naturally to people, it’s actually something that you have to be aware of and be conscious of,” Askari said.

Secondly, some girls are not even aware of opportunities open to them in STEM, because they are not being informed of them.

“I don’t know much about it, all I know is that it’s a club at SPA,” 9th grader Mina Mandic said about the Science Alliance. Many freshman girls know very little about the Science Alliance, and some haven’t even heard of it.

“I don’t really have a perception of the Science Alliance because I don’t really know a lot about them,” said 9th grader Isabel Toghramadjian.

It is vital for girls to know that they are valued on

STEM-related teams, clubs, and activities, which will only occur if students and faculty in leadership roles on these groups make an active and conscious effort not only to get them through the door, but to cultivate an environment where they are treated with respect.

“It isn’t just an ‘out there’ problem, it’s a problem I’ve seen at SPA and in science classes at SPA,” said Askari.

The bottom line is that sexism in STEM starts here, at school. Is there a better place to work towards ending it?

I challenge male students to see their role in perpetuating sexism in STEM. Stop talking.

Start listening.

with reporters listed alphabetically by last name. Stories that include supplemental materials include a credit at the bottom that states “Additional reporting provided by” followed by the name of the reporter.

UPDATES AND CORRECTIONS

PUBLICATION AWARDS

POLICIES, MEMBERSHIPS AND AWARDS PUBLICATION INFO The Rubicon

is published eight times a year. We distribute 750 copies of each issue to the Upper School which are available for free.

ADVERTISING The Rubicon does not accept advertisements.

EDITORIALS articulate the

collective opinion of The Rubicon staff, while mini-editorials, opinions pieces, arts reviews, and columns belong to the author of works published in the Opinions section.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Opinions are welcomed as Letters to the Editor or Submitted Opinions and may be published in the print or online edition. Letters to the Editor should not exceed 400 words and Submitted Opinions should not exceed 650 words and may be edited for style. All pieces must be submitted with a full name.

BY LINES credit the individual who conducted interviews, drafted, revised and fact-checked an assigned story. Double bylines are given to joint effort assignments,

ANONYMOUS SOURCES

Although it is always preferable to use names when reporting, there are times when it is necessary to protect those we report on. In the case of a student, the use of grade level as a name designation will be the preferred method of anonymity.

At time, stories will be updated as new information surfaces, and verified inaccuracies will e corrected.

POLICIES detailed The Rubicon policies are published at RubicOnline.

MEMBERSHIPS Columbia

Scholastic Press Association, National Scholastic Press Association, MN High School Press Association, Quill and Scroll Society

NSPA All-American, Pacemaker (Online) and Finalist (Print) CSPA Gold Medalist (Hybrid), Silver Crown Award (Hybrid), SNO Distinguished Site JEM All State Gold

8

O pinions

THE RUBICON • MARCH 2018

COLUMN NO RIGHT ANSWER

Is ignorance blissful?

ISABEL SAAVEDRA-WEIS Columnist / Blogger

I don’t know what I don’t know. But when I do learn something new, I feel smarter, well-rounded, and… sadder. Because not all the information we learn is good.

Yes, some knowledge I gain is wanted. I want to know skills that will help me succeed and reach my own potential.

But in that learning process, I also learn about racism and sexism and discrimination. It’s important to know about these things. Talking about hard and sad issues brings them into the light, and therefore makes it easier to fix them.

But it’s a double-edged sword.

I took a writing class this year, and we spent a lot of time practicing how to analyze things through different lenses.

It was really fun at first. We sat at a table, with an ad by Coke or Guess projected in the front of the class, and we’d all hurl our criticism to the screen.

The girls were skinny, and pale, and blonde, which means the ad wasn’t selling jeans, it was selling a body type and diet culture. Then we started pulling apart books. Curious George became a story about colonizing a monkey, Grease was full of sexism innuendos, and I started to see problems in everything. The books and movies from my childhood looked different now, and were harder to enjoy. I couldn’t look at an ad without analyzing the position of each person in it, or the color of the product. Nothing looked the same as before, and even though I knew the knowledge I gained was important, I sometimes wished it could all go back to the way it was.

Maybe this is all a smaller instance of what it’s like to grow up. You get older, your perspective changes, and everything, even truths that you thought were set in stone, shift. I guess it can be painful at first, just like any loss. But you get used to it, right? I was sad at first when I realized my beloved dolls were sitting on a shelf more than in my arms, but I eventually accepted that my interests are going to change. I’m not really sad about it anymore… and most adults I know aren’t moping about because they know the hard truth. They must get used to living with it, too.

Political talk condemned when unpopular AMAN RAHMAN

THE CURRENT (EVENTS)

How do we resolve gun control in America?

Staff Writer

Political talk in the halls and classrooms come with a common social risk, the fear of your opinion being “wrong”, or the unpopular opinion that most of our liberal school wouldn’t agree with you. People can react to political talk in many different ways, with positive and negative reactions. It becomes difficult to be aware of everyone and to know how others will take your comments on particular political subjects. These topics can be very controversial and are all over the news, but talking about them in class or in the halls isn’t as common as they are on the news. I can’t relate to how those feel with the “unpopular” opinion, or also known as conservatives/ Republicans, but as students we all should still be sharing our thoughts and opinions because we can do that at our school. I have moments where I am afraid to speak up because I hear my classmates who have different views make snarky remarks to what another classmate said about a controversial topic.

People associate with those who have similar views, or they don’t talk about their opinions with friends who do have different views than them. Talking about politics isn’t always good or needs to happen, but it isn’t healthy not to when it is such a big part of our lives everyday. The divide between Republicans and Democrats is at the highest point in 25 years. It has been proven that Donald Trump’s presidency has separated the two parties farther apart. This has definitely had an effect in our own SPA community.

In the SPA community, the one side of views don’t seem like they have a chance or space for them to be heard. In our classrooms, teachers and students shoot down that one side of views. Teachers do this so there isn’t an argument, but students do this because they don’t want to hear the other side, or they’re too and narrow minded to hear a different opinion than theirs. I would and still act narrow minded to hear others opinions, but I try to make a better effort to hear out another perspective. The SPA community looks down upon opinions that don’t correspond with theirs, but also other SPA students don’t

COLUMN

JACK BENSON

The Rubicon Editor

Illustration: Lara Cayci SPEAK OUT. We can’t silence ourselves when it comes to politics. Everyone must speak up for there to be a positive outcome.

give the opportunities to hear out their classmates because the SPA community does that themselves.

Students

in

the community look down upon opinions that

don’t correspond with their own, but also don’t hear out their classmates.

An example of political talk being looked down upon is the opinion board. The actual opinion board itself is used appropriately, most of the time. The opinion board is ran by the USC, which already gives it a student perspective, rather than an adult’s perspective. It is a good outlook for students to share opinions and thoughts on anything they desire. It can be political, controversial, humorous, informative or just an announcement. It allows for a platform to speak up, but by writing a piece about it. It can be easier to express your thinking in writing. It isn’t right when others take down pieces, or when the person who speaks their opinion is teased or looked down upon for their opinion. We can’t discourage their opinions and thoughts, we can only learn and grow our minds.

Yes, there is a difference when someone can be saying

something offensive and reacting to that is fine, but it has to be done with respect for the other person.

To help this cause of speaking out and sharing our thoughts and ideas, the encouragement starts in the classroom. Teachers should be addressing current events in classes when there is a big news story that is all over the news, that also relates to that class. Taking 10-15 minutes to address the news can make a real effect and get the students on task because the story has already been addressed.

Students also need to speak up, but others should keep their thoughts so themselves, unless they do have a question or an appropriate comment that isn’t asked to shame or embarrass the student.

Our opinions and thoughts should be spoken clearly and well. Students should keep speaking their mind, but in a mannered way. We will only learn from each other if we explore different thoughts, perspectives and opinions.

We also need to be respectful to each other in the SPA community. In the US, the two major parties are very split from each other, but we can’t let our views separate us and make us ignorant. If someone has a different view than you do, then engage in a respectful conversation about it. If you know that you can’t handle it, then walk away and don’t engage in it.

Respect others, keep speaking your mind mannerly, and be open to other thoughts and opinions.

In the chaos that followed 9/11, one idea for better safety on planes was to arm pilots, allowing them to bring guns into the cockpit. Sound familiar? My dad has a close friend who was a commercial airline pilot during the aftermath of the 911 attacks and told my dad a story about what that looked like from the inside. My dad relayed it to me.

“Yeah, the pilots went through training and brought firearms onboard planes,” he said. “On one flight a pilot was playing around with his gun and it went off and shot a hole right in the side airplane.”

No one was hurt after this incident, but it was an incident nonetheless. If the bullet had pierced the shell of the airplane, it could have crashed.

Now that many members of congress and the President himself want to arm teachers, a similar situation arises. More guns means more danger even in the hands of people who receive “proper” training.

Solving the issue of gun violence in the U.S. difficult because of how deep gun culture is rooted in society.

However, it is one that needs to be solved. It is paralyzing to imagine hiding in a classroom, when an AR-15 fires through the door while the shooter stands in the hallway where just a few minutes earlier students were carrying their books to class. The only way this problem will be solved is if young people work relentlessly to shape a safer future.

The students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School have been doing just that. They are using their position, experiences, and tireless drive to make sure no other student, rather person has to go through something like this again. They are an example of the power of students and a model of how we should fight for what we believe in.

S ci -T ech 9

THE RUBICON • MARCH 2018

SpaceX plans to begin Mars colonization in 2025 ANDREW JOHNSON The Rubicon Editor

Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, and one of the world’s leading rocket and spacecraft manufacturers, believes that in order for the human race to survive the life threatening possibilities of the future it must become a multi-planet species.

Thus, Musk looks to have humans land on Mars in seven years and colonize the planet in stages. Initially, a small habitat will be set up for humans to live in as well as enough greenhouses to support the colony, which will use algae as a fertilizer to grow different types of crops.

According to SpaceX, the main goal of the first mission is to create a solar powered factory on Mars that utilizes the water and carbon dioxide in the air combined with the soil of the planet to generate fuel for the rocket, which has been engineered to consist of methane and oxygen.

Thus, the rocket will be able to travel to Mars and be refueled for the trip home.

With more trips, and further expansions of the build, according to coaxicom.com, the colony on Mars will grow to become a fully sustainable domed city

by 2050 and self governing by the 2080s.

Through

the

creation of the reusable launch system,

SpaceX

has taken a

huge step in transforming the expensive one-

trip-only rocket industry into... the comercial

aircrft industry.

In the beginning, SpaceX attempted to land the Falcon 1 by parachute, but the parachute burnt up during the re-entry into the atmosphere. Eventually, SpaceX switched its focus to develop a powered descent landing system which involves strategic uses of the engines and steering fins in order to land the rocket.

In the Falcon Heavy mission, on Feb. 6, 2018, SpaceX successfully launched and landed the structurally strengthened Falcon 9 rocket core as well as the two strapon boosters.

According to National Geographic, through the creation of a new rocket, which has been nicknamed the “Big Freakin’ Rocket” by Musk, humans and supplies will be able to be sent to Mars. The rocket’s boosters dwarfs those of the “Falcon 9”, and Musk has already begun designing a slightly smaller version of the “BFG” called “BFG 2.0,” which can hold a cargo load roughly eight stories tall, and will be constructed within the next year.

Through the creation of the reusable launch system, SpaceX has taken a huge step in transforming the expensive one-triponly rocket industry to more closely resemble the comercial aircraft industry on earth. According to SpaceX, the main expense of space missions is spent

on the creation of rockets, but if new rockets did not need to be manufactured for each mission, like SpaceX envisioned, the cost of space travel would be significantly reduced.

Many ask what the reason for prioritizing a mission that is not guaranteed to be successful and costs billions of dollars. According to National Geographic and Lucianne Walkowicz, the chair of astrobiology at the Library of Congress, the main motive for the expedition is to gather information and progress current knowledge of how to transform inhospitable places like Mars into places in which humans can thrive as well as to further our ability to preserve the environment on Earth through new strategies.

Rocket Landing Strip

Greenhouses Solar Panels

Habitats

Fuel Propellant Plants

In De

10

THE RUBICON •

Truman refl KAT ST. MARTINNORBURG

double

The Rubicon Editor

For many high school students, studying abroad for a year is something that is reserved for college.

However, for senior Emma Truman, she got a chance to do it when

life

she was a “I stud in Spain Septemb to May o city called Z I had been Academy a School] for years, and I wanted to c little bit, I f was a lot of My mom d same progr brother did they both h positiv so t

SUBMITTED PHOTO: Justin Hla FAMILY PHOTO. Junior Justin Hla and 9th grader Ethan Hla pose with their father. “I have friends whose family dynamic is much different than my own,” Hla said.

H la ta lks g rowi ng up a s a second generation immigrant JASPER GREEN

The Rubicon Editor

As a second generation Burmese immigrant, whose parents moved to the United States in the late 1990s, junior Justin Hla has grown up being a part of two distinct cultures. Over the years, Hla has watched his family’s sushi business, Sushi Avenue, grow from its founding in 2004 to operate in over 32 states and 600 retail locations nationwide. In 2011, Sushi Avenue opened the Masu Sushi and Robata restaurant in the Mall of America and downtown Minneapolis. And, in 2013, two locations of One Two Three Sushi opened at the IDS Center on the University of Minnesota Campus.

“My parents came here separately to the [United

States]; my dad [went to] work in South Carolina with my uncle’s business Hissho Sushi and my mom and dad met while working there,” Hla said.

“Then, my dad broke off to form a new sushi company and eventually run several successful sushi restaurants,” Hla said.

Hla has taken charge of his own educational pursuits and his path in life because he cannot rely on his parents to help him. Both his mom and dad grew up in a different school system than that of the United States, and culturally, in Myanmar students do not often go on college searches.

“Schooling can be difficult because I have to rely on myself to learn the information. My parents don’t understand the schooling system here and the curriculum is a lot

different from what they learned in high school.

They don’t really know what to do in the search for colleges so it’s up to me to navigate that on my own... but I’m up to the challenge,” Hla said.

While observing other non-immigrant families, Hla notices how the parents raise their children differently from his and notes that this might be because of cultural differences.

“I have friends whose family dynamic is much different than my own: their parents have completed high school.

Sometimes I think my family doesn’t seem as socially connected or nurturing compared to some of my classmates’ and I think that is because of cultural differences.”

After Burma gained independence from the

United Kingdom in 1948, the internal conflict to control the country, according to CNN, has become the world’s longest running civil war, filled with human rights violations and decades of violence. Many refugees have fled the country since the conflict began.

“My family is more laid back about some things that my non-immigrant friends’ parents are, but with schooling my parents are often more harsh.

[The other parents] want their kids to do as well as they can, and that’s okay, because they already have a stable history of family that they can rely on. But, my whole life I’ve been told that I need to get good grades, and I understand why: I need to blaze a trail for my own future,” Hla said.

“My

family is more laid

back about some things

than my non-immigrant friends’ parents are, but with schooling

my parents are often

more harsh.

[The

other

parents] want their kids to do as well as they

can, and that’s okay, because they already

have a stable history of

family they can rely on.

But,

my whole life

been told that

I

I’ve

need

to get good grades,

and

I

I

understand why:

need to blaze a trail

for my own future.”

— JUNIOR JUSTIN HLA

11

epth

• MARCH 2018

lects on biggest takeaways from year in Spain

a junior. died abroad from ber of 2016 of 2017 in a Zaragoza. at [St. Paul and Summit r 10 or 11 I kind of change it up a felt that there f sameness. did the ram and my d it too and had a really ve experience that also inspired me to go.”

Truman had been to Spain multiple times before, and had been learning Spanish since in kindergarten. But, that was her first time ever living there, and there was more than just the language to learn about.

“I definitely thought it would be difficult but I didn’t think it would be as difficult as it was.

I thought it’d be hard to make new friends and I thought it’d be hard to live in a whole new language and culture but I think the level of culture shock for me was so much greater than I’d anticipated. I thought that because it was a Western European country it would be in some ways similar culturally to America, but in a lot of ways, it wasn’t. For example, the daily life at SPA you get up go to school maybe do sports and come home and talk to your family and get up the next day and it feels very automatic, and in Spain I felt my life was a lot more spontaneous and I did what I wanted, and also the pace of

life was much slower.

It didn’t feel like the routine was as regular and I wasn’t expecting that and I loved it,” Truman said.

The daily life in Spain wasn’t the only thing that surprised Truman.

“I didn’t think that there would be as much sexism and racism as there was, and more antisemitism. I lived in a really traditional city, it’s very old so I think some of those ideas are kind of unique to where I lived, there was more traditional gender roles than in America.

I felt like there was a strong tradition of a Spanish woman staying home and cooking and cleaning and doing all of these very traditional tasks,” Truman said.

Truman also noticed that Spanish values and American values are very different when it come to day to day life as well.

“There just isn’t as much of an emphasis on work in Spain so the whole idea of work equality and closing the wage gap, they definitely have one but it’s just not as prevalent in their society because work

2students, cultures 3 UP ABOVE THE CLOUDS. Senior Emma Truman poses at a lookout while studying abroad in Spain. “I felt my life was a lot more spontaneous,” Truman said.

SUBMITTED PHOTO: Emma Truman

isn’t as big of a deal,” Truman said.

Studying abroad helped Truman grow in ways that she wouldn’t have been able to in St. Paul.

“I really grew up. I had to make all new friends, I gained a new level of social maturity.

I had to deal with stuff that I didn’t like, there were people from all over the country and it was a really volatile political year.

I learned a whole new language and there’s such incredible value in that. I also learned a lot about Spanish people and how working hard isn’t always the best option, like in America we think that to be successful a lot of us feel like we have to work really hard and make a lot of money and in Spain it’s not that way and it kind of opened my eyes to a whole new way of life and that you’re allowed to consider yourself successful and not live by these definite criteria,” Truman said.

After coming back from Spain, Truman feels

that one of the most important takeaways was redefining her definition of what it means to be successful.

“Before I went I thought either Spanish culture would be better or American culture would be better but after traveling and going abroad I felt like they can coexist and be good for different kinds of people in their cultures. I totally see the value of spending time with your family and caring less about work and having some of these more traditional ideas. But I can also understand trying to be extremely successful in your work and achieve economic success and professional satisfaction.

I feel I became less close minded on what it means to be successful and also how you can be in the world, there’s so many good ways to be, it just depends who you are,” Truman said.

“Before I

went

I

thought either

Spanish

culture

would be better or

American

culture

would be better

but after traveling and going abroad

I

felt like they can

coexist and be good for different kinds of people in their

cultures...

I

became

less close minded on what it means to be successful and also how you can be in

the world, there’s so many good

ways to be, it just

depends on who you are.”

— SENIOR EMMA TRUMAN

F eature 12

THE RUBICON • MARCH 2018

Reading across continents: Intercultural books reveal real, subtle and complex relationships between people, countries, and cultures

CHINA

MELISSA NIE

The Rubicon Editor

NIGERIA

Bound by Donna Jo Napoli

Books have always been a way to delve into another world, but they are especially effective when they focus on different cultures.

Learning how to appreciate intercultural books can expand one’s world view.

Sophomore Savita AvathiYopp shares her favorite intercultural books, ranging from topics like grief and loss to magical worlds. Her first recommendation is Chasing Shadows by Swati Avathi.

“I have to publicize my mom a bit because she wrote a book called Chasing Shadows,” Avathi-Yopp said.

“She is an Indian woman and one of the characters in it is also Indian. We get to see that she’s a first-generation [immigrant], and something of the cultural differences between her and her friend.

Although it’s not a huge highlight, I appreciate the subtlety of it.”

Chasing Shadows is about a group of three friends who are struck by tragedy after a gunman attacks their car, leaving one dead and another in a coma. The survivor must struggle through her grief and

Akata Witch

by Nnedi Okorafor

support her friend as she wakes up from her coma. The book incorporates Hindu mythology and is packed with action.

“Akata witch focuses...on the relationships

Americans Nigerians...in

between and

a way that makes it seem realistic”

— SOPHOMORE SAVITA AVATHI-YOPP

Another book that AvathiYopp recommends is Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor.

“Akata Witch focuses on a girl in Nigeria and on the relationships between Americans and

Nigerians, again in a slightly subtle way, but in a way that makes it seem realistic,” Avathi-Yopp said. “It features very interesting, very complex, very realistic magic systems. So I think there’s also the draw of the fantasy.”

Aside from its unique world-building, Akata Witch also appeals to readers with its humanity.

“Most people have felt alienated before, and the main character feels that. So we get to see ourselves pretty clearly in that. In addition, she makes realistic, human mistakes. We get the draw of a protagonist which we can relate to,” Avathi-Yopp said.

9th grader Anja Trierweiler enjoys reading books such as Night by Elie Wiesel and Bound by Donna Jo Napoli.

Night is about a Jewish teenager living in Germany during World War Two, and Bound is a Cinderella adaptation that focuses on a Chinese girl with bound feet.

The Rubicon Photo: Melissa Nie

NIGHT. 9th grader Anja Trierweiler reads one of her favorite books, Night. “Others would be interested in it, because I was, and I don’t get interested in things,” Trierweiler said.

Chasing Shadows

by Swati Avathi

INDIA

Trierweiler found herself captivated by the descriptive words in Night and the plot line of Bound.

“Others would be interested in it, because I was, and I don’t get interested in things,” Trierweiler said.

Many may have the misconception that intercultural books must focus on themes of race. However,

that is not the case.

“Race doesn’t have to be the defining characteristic of a relationship,” Avathi-Yopp said. “Just because two people come from two cultures and they’re in a friendship, that does not mean the friendship is defined by those two cultures. It’s defined by the individuals.”

The Rubicon Photo: Melissa Nie

Night by Elie Wiesel CHASING SHADOWS. Sophomore Savita AvathiYopp delves into her favorite book, Chasing Shadows. “We get to see... the cultural differences between [the main character] and her friend,” Avathi-Yopp said.

GERMANY

F eature 13

THE RUBICON • MARCH 2018

Stuck in a plane, train, or automobile?

Michel and Shrestha conquer travel downtime with friends Games to play to pass the time if you ever find yourself stuck waiting, try the following activities s

uestion Twenty Q

ks Someone thin place, or of a person, lls everyone thing and te se three which of tho falls under. categories it e can ask 20 Everyone els ions to try yes/no quest t it is! to guess wha

W hile You Were Sleeping

QUINN CHRISTENSEN The Rubicon Editor

Time flies when you’re having fun - but it can drag along when you’re traveling.

From delays to missed flights to endless car rides, SPA student travelers know the ins and outs of travel and the waiting games that come with it. When senior Maya Shrestha was returning from the Costa Rica research trip with 15 other students, their flight from Costa Rica to Houston was delayed.

“I believe we were stuck in the airport for like 5 hours,” Shrestha said.

However, even if there isn’t a delay, travel time can require a fun activity or two to pass the time.

“I remember on one long plane ride to Italy when I was eight, the plane had those screens you could watch movies on but you could also play games on them. Me and my brother both played this game called Bejeweled and

tried to beat each other’s scores,” sophomore Peter Michel said.

Games are one way that is guaranteed to help time spent waiting go by a little more quickly.

“We passed the time by playing card games and talking,” Shrestha said.

“[The delayed flight] ended up

being one of the most memorable

parts of the trip” — SENIOR MAYA SHRESTHA

One other way that Michel passes the time on long trips is listening to different podcasts. “[Another time] we were going to Colorado which is a 14 hour drive and I remember listening to 3 “Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me” podcasts in a row,” Michel said.

With a collection of ideas to pass the time, Shrestha’s delay was almost fun minus the airport cuisine.

“The best thing was getting to spend time just hanging out with other

students, [but] we had limited food choices in the airport which wasn’t fun.”

Unfortunately, by the time they finally made it to Houston, they had missed their connecting flight back to the Twin Cities.

“Only seven students could be sent home the next day, and the other nine of us would have to spend two days in Houston,” Shrestha said.

However, the mishap started to show a silver lining when one of the students suggested staying with their family.

“Luckily, one of the students had family there so we got to stay in a house where we spend two extra days going to the mall (to buy clothes that didn’t smell like the rainforest), waking around Houston, watching movies and going swimming,” Shrestha said.

Despite the seemingly endless wait, the delay and missed flight turned out to be an unforgettable shared experience, bringing the students closer together.

“It ended up being one of the most memorable parts of the trip,” Shrestha said.

While someone is sleeping, everyone else makes up a story. W hen the person wakes up , try to make them belie ve your story. For each one someone makes th em believe, they get a point.

Fortunately/ Unfortunately

One person starts a story with “fortunately.”

The next person adds with something that begins with “unfortunately,” going back and forth until someone messes up.

The Quiet Game

For when all else fails. The first person to talk loses. You can raise the stakes by having the loser do a dare, or some other unpleasant activity.

Would You Rather

One person asks “Would You Rather…” and offers two things that are either equally good or equally unpleasant. The other players must choose one, and explain why.

r y Game The Sto

n begins One perso upon a with “Once s…” wa time, there n gets to Each perso nce to the add a sente story.

tion The Ques

Game

ersation Have a conv of made entirely e questions. Th y sa first person to at isn’t a something th s. question lose

The Alp habet R oad Sign Ga me

The first pla yer must find a lette r A on a ro ad sign. The s econd play e r must find a B, and so on until you have completed the alphab et.

e Game The Nam

gory Pick a cate ls). The (ex. anima names first player in that something x. A bear.) category (e layer says The next p that starts something st letter of with the la

SPOTIFY PLAYLIST: Music energizes boys hockey on the ice

14

ANDREW JOHNSON The Rubicon Editor

S ports

From the soothing sound of “Let Her Go” by Passenger to the aggressive beat of “First Day Out” by Tee Grizzley, the boys hockey team combines varying genres to form a unique relationship with PHOTO VIA SPOTIFY music. Instead of using music for the pure enjoyment of the particular artist or rhythm, the team uses music as a

motivational tactic to ensure the team gives it their all every period. In turn, music brings the players closer together on the ice. Junior captain Adam Zukowski has a unique perspective on the impact music has on the team due to his status as a leader on th team.

“Music helps motivate our team to give our best effort each period, and to bring us

together as a team,” junior captain Adam Zukowski said.

Listen to the full playlist on Spotify @TheRubiconSPA, and read the full story at:

THE RUBICON • MARCH 2018

ATHLETES ABROAD LUCY SANDEEN

Pursuit of athletic passions leads these Spartans out of the country

The Rubicon Editor

Walker gains worldly perspective on European volleyball journey A chance to travel the world—that’s not what sophomore Arie Walker was expecting when she joined club volleyball in seventh grade at the encouragement of her mother and middle school coaches.

Walker started playing recreational volleyball at eight years old. As she entered middle school at SPA, her mother urged her to become more serious about her sports career and pointed her towards tennis.

Instead, Walker intensified her love for volleyball.

When her seventh grade coaches recommended club volleyball, she joined Northern Lights Volleyball, a Minnesota traveling volleyball team. Since then, Walker’s tournaments have brought her to states all over the country.

The trip that stood out to her the most, however, was the world trip her team embarked on in January that took her to Austria, Germany, and the Netherlands. Walker didn’t know about the trip until her “fifteens year,” and she learned that to go on the trip, she had

“The

focus on

the trip was

definitely more about learning and experiencing

something that’s not part of the

United States”

— SOPHOMORE ARIE WALKER

to be on a “one” or “two” team; at the moment, she was on the “three” team.

“This year I worked really hard in high school season to accomplish that goal, and I ended up making a twos team,” Walker said. “That was super cool, and now I get to tell everyone that I went on that trip.”

Over the entirety of the trip, Walker and her teammates met volleyball players from all over the world, including from Belgium, Germany, and Holland. While the trip

consisted of a long and intense volleyball tournament, the focus was on the experience of learning about different cultures.

“The focus on the trip was definitely more about learning and experiencing something that’s not part of the United States. It was amazing to see how other people interact… how, culturally, what people do is different than in the U.S.,” Walker said.

Walker’s team had time to explore Amsterdam and the different cities that they traveled to, and the different teams had time to meet in a lunchroom and get to know each other through asking questions.

“Do you have Snapchat?

That’s a big one that everyone asked. What do you like to do, what’s the driving age, all kinds of stuff,” Walker said.

The only downside to the trip was the physical exhaustion of the tournament.

“The last country we went to was Austria, and it was tough because we were all kind of homesick, and a lot of people were just irritated

SUBMITTED PHOTO: Arie Walker CELEBRATE. Sophomore Arie Walker plays in a volleyball game during a tournament in Europe. “It was amazing to see how other people interact,” Walker said.

and kind of complaining, and I felt like that was ruining the experience. That tournament was hard too…. Our level of energy and trying to compete with such a high level of competitors was kind of tough,” Walker said.

The trip inspired Walker to think differently about the way she lives her life.

“I’ve never been out of this country before... seeing someone speaking a completely different language but at the same time knowing and understanding everything they’re saying is super cool,” Walker said.

Green hones soccer skills and gains cultural insights in Sweden Junior Tessah Green started playing soccer for the St. Paul Blackhawks at nine years old.

While she has been traveling to different states across the country for years, she had been anticipating her twoweek trip to Sweden with her team ever since that young age.

“Every year the U16s go on the trip, so you hear stories from other teams and that gets you really excited to go,” Green said.

When her time finally came, Green and her team SUBMITTED PHOTO: Tessah Green traveled to Sweden to play in the Gothia Cup, stayed with HOLD STILL. Junior Tessah Green (3rd from right, middle row) host families in Denmark, and and her U16 St. Paul Blackhawks soccer team pose for a picture had a layover in Iceland. during her soccer trip to Stockholm, Sweden. “We won one game because we weren’t really thinking about playing soccer “We all didn’t go with our in Sweden...For a lot of us, that was the first time going out of parents [to Sweden], and we the country, so that was really fun,” Green said. got to see people from all over

the world, so that was cool.

We won one game because we weren’t really thinking about playing soccer in Sweden….

For a lot of us, that was our first time going out of the country, so that was really fun,” Green said.

While for some teams the Cup is an intense competition, for Green’s team, the trip was more about the adventure than playing soccer.

“There’s been other teams that had a better chance of winning, but my team, we didn’t think we were going to win. It was still fun playing against different countries, but I would say [the focus of the trip] was mostly on new experiences,” Green said.

Some of the highlights of the trip for Green were seeing

the Blue Lagoon in Iceland and staying with host families in Denmark. Four of the girls from the families that the teammates stayed with traveled with Green’s team to Sweden, where they played on the Blackhawk’s C1 team.

Green found it interesting to see how other teams practiced.

“We practiced with the Denmark girls, so that was fun seeing how different teams trained,” Green said.

The trip was a valuable bonding experience for Green’s team as well, and the girls found it difficult to say goodbye to Europe.

“We all became a lot closer after the trip. [The hardest part of the trip was] not wanting to go home.” Green said.

From Spartan to Olympian: Harts skiing journey leads to PyeongChang

FLANNERY ENNEKINGNORTON The Rubicon Editor

The Olympics represent the pinnacle of athletic achievement, and those select few who qualify are revered as elites; almost superhuman.

Few high school athletes set their sights beyond the scope of collegiate-level competition, let alone

international competition. St. Paul Academy and Summit School alum Annie Hart ‘10 was one of those athletes, until her post-collegiate success paved the way to PyeongChang, South Korea where she will compete for Team USA in the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Read the full story at:

SUBMITTED PHOTO: Annie Hart WINNER. SPA alum Annie Hart (‘15) crosses the finish line during in the skate pursuit race at the 2009 state meet.

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THE RUBICON • MARCH 2018

COLUMN JAKE ME OUT TO THE BALLGAME

Junior Hockey shouldn’t shorten high school for hockey players JAKE ADAMS

The Rubicon Editor

SUBMITTED PHOTO: Marlee Baron PLUNGED. Senior Marlee Baron partcipated in the Polar Plunge at the state fairgrounds. “Shock is the only way to describe it. The water shocks you and suddenly you are laster focused on getting the heck out of there and into the warming hut,” Baron said.

Polar Plung raises funds for Special Olympics to be inclusive MARLEE BARON The Rubicon Editor

Shock is the only way to describe it. The water shocks you to your core and suddenly you are laser focused on getting the heck out of there and into the warming hut.

Flash back a few weeks to deciding to sign up. I was on Facebook and I saw that one of my friends was raising money to do a polar plunge so I looked into it. The Special Olympics is a cause I really believe in so I figured I could raise money and get a cool story out of it. I signed up and shared a link on Facebook asking people to donate to the Polar Plunge and

“It

was a little

hectic and a fairly short

event, but still fun.”

Special Olympics. In order to participate you need to raise at least $75. My family and friends were very generous and I ended up raising about $175.

The day of the plunge arrived so my mom and I drove down to the state fairgrounds, where the plunge would be taking place. The temperature was about 15

degrees when we got to the plunge. After taking a quick peek at the pool we’d be jumping into, we ran into the warming area. We checked in, picked up our t-shirts and started getting ready. It took a little while to get going but once it started it went very fast. There were about 50 plungers in total. It was a little hectic and a fairly short event but still fun.

When we had finished plunging and were in the warm car in dry clothes. After a few days my mom talked to one of her friends about the event and her friend had a unique view. The polar plunge raises money for the Special Olympics, a very inclusive

event, however, the plunge itself is not very inclusive.

Many people with physical and mental disabilities would not be able to participate in this event. Raising money in a way that is not inclusive of everyone, regardless of ability, seems counterproductive and toes the line of showing off. In addition, while the polar plunge does raise a lot of money for the Special Olympics, not all the money donated through the polar plunge goes to the Special Olympics. If you really want to support the Special Olympics and the inclusive atmosphere they promote, consider donating directly to the Special Olympics.

Kijewski talks National Athletic Trainer Appreciation Month JENNY SOGIN

The Rubicon Editor

PHOTO: Jenny Sogin HOLD STILL. Upper School athletic trainer Lauren Kijewski tends to a student.

I like working with the kids. I love talking with [them] and hearing about their days...

They always come in and keep you laughing,” Kijewski said.

This March will mark the annual National Athletic Trainer Appreciation Month.

Run by the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA), the month serves to educate the public about the country’s athletic trainers and all they do for their schools.

Athletic Trainer Lauren Kijewski has a similar definition of the recognition month. “[The month is] set up to recognize what athletic trainers do. Not a lot of people know that we are stationed in a school or help with preventative care,” Kijewski said.

As an athletic trainer, Kijewski does many of the things one would expect an athletic trainer would do at a school.

“I treat and evaluate injuries. I help with preventative care. Basically, an athlete comes in with an injury, I then assess them and help them get back to their full strength. I hopefully speed up the recovery process,” Kijewski said.

However, there are many parts of the job people are unaware of.

“We get mixed up a lot with physical therapists. We do a lot of similar things in the training room as physical therapists do in a clinic. So sometimes, maybe people

aren’t aware that we actually do rehabilitation in our own setting,” Kijewski said.

The job is also not easy.

“The hardest part is when you get stumped. Athletic trainers are seen [as] having all of the answers, but sometimes we don’t… [It’s hard] to stay positive even when you don’t know all the answers,” Kijewski said.

However, Kijewski loves her job. The best part her job is interacting and connecting with the students.

“I like working with the kids. I love talking with [them] and hearing about their days...They always come in and keep you laughing,” Kijewski said.

As the hockey season comes to a close, certain student athletes have a choice to make that can seriously affect their future. The students can either stay at school until the end of their senior year and then try and catch on with a junior team or sign with a junior team when they turn 16 and get a head start on their potential hockey careers.

While it may be tempting to play hockey in a different town to get a jump start on the future, players should stay in high school until they graduate. When students go off to play hockey in other towns, they put the quality of their education at risk and if hockey doesn’t work out for them, their future outside of hockey is uncertain.

It would be more reasonable for junior hockey teams to start pursuing players after they finish their senior high school season. The Minnesota High School Coaches Association has already proposed that they extend the season by two games and add three minutes of playing time to each period, thereby giving them the experience of a junior game.

This isn’t enough; if the MHSCA wants to prevent students athletes from leaving school, they can do so by raising the age of players for junior hockey from 16 to 18.

Let student athletes finish their high school education and honor their commitment to the high school team by removing the option (and the pressure) of Junior Hockey.

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THE RUBICON • MARCH 2018

Olympics in Review How many medals did the US win?

9 24 year-old Mirai Nagasu became the first person ever to complete a triple axel turn in the Olympic figure skating event.

6

8

22 athletes who competed

in the

2018

Olympics were from

S

Minnesota

17 year-old Red Gerard took home the gold medal in slopestyle snowboarding, winning the first gold for the US.

HINKS T PA “It was really cool to see a lot of asian athletes represented in the olympics like Chloe Kim and Adam Chen.”

-Senior Zach White

“It was sad that Lindsey Vonn didn’t win becaause she practiced so much but she was still fun to watch.”

-9th grader

Isobel Alm

“I really enjoyed Chloe Kim. Shes only a seventeen year old and she is already winning medals at the olympics.”

-Junior Gemma Yoo

“I loved figure skating because I used to skate so it is really interesting to watch. Nathan Chen landed a quadruple axel and that was awesome.”

-Sophomore

Sonja Henze

MEET THE MASCOT

“I was really annoyed that the guy from america didnt win for figure skating because he deserved it.”

-Junior

Nik Lehtin INFOGRAPHIC : Jonah Harrison

A rts & E ntertainment17 THE RUBICON • MARCH 2018

ARTIST PROFILE OF THE MONTH: ZACH DYAR Dyar strengthens passion through All-State orchestra Reprinted with Permission: Koji Gutzmann NEW VIEWS. Junior Koji Gutzmann captures unique images with his very own drone, “I like drone photography because you gain an entirely new perspective on something,” Gutzmann said.

Gutzmann combines passion for photography with technology NITYA THAKKAR RubicOnline Editor

While many students pursue digital photography, junior Koji Gutzmann combines technology with that art form through capturing images with a drone.

“One day, I impulse bought a drone and it was one of the best decisions I’ve made. I watched a lot of videos on how to take and edit drone photos, and it was pretty easy for me to learn how to take photos with it,” Gutzmann said.

Gutzmann is currently a part of SPA’s advanced photography class and recently won first place for his aerial photography at the High School Honors Exhibition at Concordia University.

“I like drone photography because you gain an entirely new perspective on something. Regular photography captures things that the human eye can already see, but using my drone I can get a birds-eyeview of a place or event that can really change how people see the Earth,” he said.

Gutzmann’s advice for other students that want to pursue drone photography: “Aerial photography provides a unique take on a subject from a completely different perspective. Anyone who is interested should do it because it is super cool.”

See a gallery of more drone photos at

THE RUBICON PHOTO: Quinn Christensen ALL-STATE BASS. Sophomore Zach Dyar takes on new challenges with his acceptance to the All-State orchestra, “The learning experience was quite different than what I’m used to, grinding out all the peices in a week long camp,” Dyar said.

QUINN CHRISTENSEN The Rubicon Editor

For sophomore Zach Dyar, music plays a role both in his SPA experience as well as his life outside of school.

“In school I’m in H Sinfonia, and also occasionally will play with the band if they need a bass. Outside of school I’m a member of the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphony (GTCYS) and work on my own solo music outside of that,” Dyar said.

Although Dyar now plays the bass, he started off with a

more common instrument for younger kids - the piano.

“My parents had me start playing piano when I was 5. I picked up the bass In 3rd grade, when my parents encouraged me to pick up a second instrument, and let me pick,” he said.

Just a year later, he became a member of the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphony and quickly moved up through the different orchestras.

“I dropped piano after 7th grade so I could focus on bass more,” Dyar said.

After that, it was only a year before he jumped to the highest orchestra, symphony.

“I won the first seating audition of that year so I was first chair,” he said.

That year, he also got to go on tour to Argentina. In 9th grade, Dyar was accepted to the All-State orchestra.

“All state was very interesting, the repertoire was incredibly challenging even compared to the full Symphonies we play in GTCYS,” Dyar said.

Performing with the AllState group was different from performing with the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphony in a variety of ways.

“The learning experience was quite different than what I’m used to, grinding out all the pieces in a week long camp,” he said.

However, with a dedicated group, the pieces came together rapidly and with relative ease, given the difficulty of the selection.

“Since the group was all so talented, we played together very well and adjusted quickly to each other,” he said.

Although music has now played a role in his life for over ten years, Dyar hasn’t

always felt as drawn to music as he does now.

“Before I was in Symphony, I wasn’t very appreciative of music, but as I slowly started to play more with a high level orchestra I appreciated the sound we were making together more and more,” Dyar said.

“I

think the first

time we nailed the concert program

Argentina perfect, I

for the tour

really realized

how special music was.”

—SOPHOMORE ZACH DYAR

There was one moment in particular where the realization of music’s power felt especially striking to Dyar.

“I think the first time we nailed the concert program for the Argentina tour perfect, I really realized how special music was,” he said.

Fabletics sells affordable and high quality “athleisure” LIZZIE KRISTAL Staff Writer

Fabletics is a fresh athletic wear company designed mostly for women. They sell a huge variety of leggings, sports bras, athletic tops, jackets, shoes, and accessories.

They call their products “athleisure,” which means all of the products they sell can be used for athletic purposes, as well as non-active purposes, like going to lunch or relaxing at home. One of the biggest concepts that this company has captured, is the idea of affordable and high quality athletic clothes.

On average, every top is $25, which is a $50 difference from popular Nike tops. Leggings average $40 each, which is a whopping $70 difference from Lululemon leggings.

The in-store shop at the Mall of America, which is directly across from Lululemon, has a positive and welcoming energy. The workers were

easily willing to help, and the products were organized, although they were only offering a small variety of what they created. The online shop shows everything they offer. Many of these items have been on there for a few months, so then they discount those products and mark them for final sale. This opens the door even more, because the already discounted clothes are even cheaper.

Although the clothes are cheap, they have great quality.

The leggings are snug and aren’t see through, like many other cheap leggings. The fabric is super soft, and is the best part of the product. The lower waisted ones can tend to fall down, but buying the high waisted will easily solve this issue. They aren’t going to be as high of quality as pricier brands, but given the price, the quality is extremely impressive.

Fabletics was co-founded by JustFab, a popular clothing

THE RUBICON PHOTO: Lizzie Kristal ATHLEISURE. Fabletics develops the idea of products that can be used for both athletic purposes and non-active purposes.

and accessory shop, and Kate Hudson, who starred in many famous movies. The reason she helped to create this brand, was because she wanted an affordable brand of clothes that could be used for working on set, playing with her kids, and keeping her active. She also wanted to create a community for

women who support each other in their goals, and inspire each other towards self-improvement. All of these criteria have been well met, and this is a store that is well worth a visit.

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A rts & E ntertainment

THE RUBICON • MARCH 2018

Cats and coffee make the purrfect combo

Fair use image from Hi-Lo Diner website WELL FED. The Hi-Lo Diner offers HI quality food for a LO price. The classic diner offers new twists on favorite dishes.

Hi-Lo Diner offers classic diner foods with a twist

THE RUBICON PHOTOS: Jonah Harrison

RYLAN HEFNER

2323 Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55405

Staff Writer

When approaching the HI-LO Diner, located just across the river from St. Paul Academy and Summit School, the first thing you notice is the classic diner style and aesthetic of the building.

The HI-LO Diner combines classic diner foods with more chef-inspired foods, creating a unique dining experience for all to enjoy.

The service at the diner is fast and friendly, with several servers making the rounds to check in on the various tables and booths.

The HI-LO Diner offers many delicious appetizers to start off your meal with a bang. Their signature appetizer, the Yuca-betcha Cheese Curds, offer a wonderfully spicy alternative to your everyday deep-fried cheese glob. The HI-LO serves many classic entrées with a twist including fish and chips, a burrito bowl, and one of the best veggie burgers available in the Twin Cities.

Our bill, covering one appetizer, three entrees and one Hi-Top, came to $65. We had plenty of food for three people with lots of leftovers that will keep us full for days.

The HI-LO Diner offers a fun mix of high and low dining in a cozy dining car located between the Hiawatha and Longfellow neighborhoods.

The food is delicious and not too expensive, with an enjoyable experience for everyone.

Read more on

10$ Reservation fee for an hour with the cats JONAH HARRISON Chief Visual Editor

Cafe Meow opened its doors for the first time on Feb. 16 after four years of planning. Co owners Danielle Rasmussen and Jessica Burge had the idea in early 2014: “We started working on the idea in 2014, with an initial goal of opening in the fall of 2016, but these things always take longer than you expect, and we had never opened a business before, but now we

are here and we are so happy to be finally open,” Rasmussen said.

There are two sides of the cafe. First, when walking in, customers will see a fully functioning coffee bar, with a full menu of beverage options, and even many treats as well.

Then, looking to the left, there are two large windows looking into the room that holds the main attraction: cats.

“Right now we have thirteen cats from three different rescues; No Kitten Left

Behind Minnesota, Minnesota Animal Rescue, and Ruff Start Rescue,” Rasmussen said.

If you were wondering, yes, all of the cats at Cafe Meow are up for adoption. In the first weekend, the owners reported four inquiries for adoption.

Although the concept may seem straightforward, the owners have received many calls from confused people.

“The most common question that people ask is if they can bring their cats to the cafe to

play, and people also don’t seem to understand that you do not need a reservation to come into the building,” Rasmussen said.

However, if you are looking to spend some time with the cats, there is a $10 reservation fee, and it is easiest to reserve a spot in advance on the cafe’s website, because spots will fill very quickly, and only about three walk ins are allowed each hour.

Dunk Line provides hours of fun and hours of ads

Fair use image from iTunes

BOBBY VERHEY The Rubicon Editor

Ketchapp is a company that has cranked out many addictive apps in the past couple years notably including 2048, Stack, and Stick Hero.

Because of Ketchapp’s strong reputation, it was no surprise when Dunk Line, released on February 19th, reached

the top of the charts for free games in a matter of days.

Dunk Line is a game where a basketball pops up onto the screen, and you have to draw a line for the basketball to bump on, roll on, or bounce off of into a hoop that changes position. Add inconvenient bombs, bumpers, a limit of lines, and harder levels as you get a higher number and Dunk Line quickly becomes very addictive.

When first playing Dunk Line, it was clear that the game was very well thought out. As you progress, it becomes harder, and excruciatingly more painful when coming short of your record, making you want to play one more round. This game is so addictive that one

check of your phone turns to at least ten minutes of playing. While playing, you also learn a lot as you don’t even notice that you are using physics and geometry to get ball in the hoop. After the first week, Dunk Line had an update allowing for creativity in colors and objects. This update allows you to change the backdrop to night, the basketball to something else, or the line color. However to unlock these extra , you need gems that you get in game by making baskets, giving you another reason to hit the retry button.

The game in Dunk Line is perfect as it feels easy and hard at the same time.

However outside the game, Ketchapp quickly swarms ads

on the screen. From asking if you want to watch an ad for a second life, to having an ad play every third death, Dunk Line’s addictive power quickly diminishes. Without or with minimal ads, Dunk Line could reach the lore of apps like Flappy Bird, Temple Run, and Jetpack Joyride. However, if Ketchapp continues to put money over what the consumer wants, Dunk Line could lose its popularity before it really becomes huge.

The game inside the app is worthy of a five star rating, however the never-ending ads degrade Dunkline to a still solid 3 out of 5.

A round T own 19 THE RUBICON • MARCH 2018

AUTHENTIC RESTAURANTS

ETHNIC TASTES IN THE TWIN CITIES

&

Zait and Za’atar provides Middle-Eastern eats CLAIRE HALLAWAY The Rubicon Editor

Zait and Za’atar fosters a warm feel and offers fresh and delicious Middle-Eastern food at a great location. Only about two miles down from St. Paul Academy, it’s a perfect place to quickly grab something to eat after school.

The service is great and it’s clear as soon as you step into the restaurant that the workers really care that the customers have a positive experience.

When I first walked in, the owner introduced himself and helped explain the menu; what was really popular, what each dish was like and even

offered samples of various teas and lemonades.

The falafel I later ordered was only $3.49 for 5 pieces and was unmistakably fresh. The outside was just crispy enough without being too dry and the flavor was delicious.

The Chicken Shawarma sandwich came within just a few minutes and was still steaming hot. The chicken was flavored excellently and the sandwich was more of a wrap, as the chicken was wrapped up in pita bread.

The sandwiches can be paired with fries or special Za’atar Fries, which are flavored with imported za’atar,

which is a blend of thyme, marjoram and oregano mixed with toasted sesame seeds.

There are also plenty of great dishes that would be available to those who are vegetarian and are clearly marked on the menu. Gluten free options are also clearly marked on the menu and it offers many unique dishes.

The restaurant is easy to order from and can be a really casual restaurant depending on what you order. If you’re looking to try food outside of what might be served on a normal day, Zait and Zaatar offers a great opportunity to find a new favorite for a great price.

Rating: 4.5/5

Hours: Tues-Sun: 11AM-9PM Mon: Closed Address: 1626 Selby Ave, St Paul, MN 55104 Price Point: $

THE RUBICON PHOTOS: Claire Hallaway

FRESH, FROM FALAFEL TO FRIES. The Middle-Eastern deli and market on the corner of Selby and North Fry Street offers fresh food and options.

Rainbow serves chinese food rich with tradition CLAIRE HALLAWAY The Rubicon Editor

Nestled right in the middle of Eat Street in Minneapolis, Rainbow is an authentic, family-owned Chinese restaurant with amazing food, service and a special history.

Some of the most popular items on the menu are the egg rolls, the Szechuan wontons and the pineapple and basil chicken. I ordered all three to try and each one was delicious.

The wontons came only about ten minutes after we ordered, still steaming hot.

The wontons are pork and shrimp dumplings with

scallions and a black bean sauce. They were slightly spicy and the black bean sauce gave it an incredible and unique flavor. The dish was only $10 for the plate of about 9 large dumplings.

The chicken egg rolls came next and it was clear why they were a signature dish.

Along with the chicken, the rolls were filled with delicious onions and carrots, giving a really fresh flavor.

The outside of the roll was crispy without any of the oily feeling that some egg rolls have and it came at the perfect temperature. The cost for two large egg rolls was $8.

The pineapple chicken came last, it was lightly breaded chicken, pineapple, bell peppers, onions, and basil in a tangy sauce. Just like the other two dishes, the unique combination of flavors was incredible. The dishes were also completed by their presentation; each dish came on a beautiful and unique plate or bowl.

Rainbow is also unique in the way it was founded. The restaurant was run by a large Chinese family that started the business in 1987. The oldest son in the family, Murphy Wong was born in Canton, China and later moved to

Vietnam. His family came to the U.S. and stopped in both New York and San Francisco before finally settling in Minneapolis when he was 16 years old.

The first restaurant they started was actually across the street from its current location. When it was first started by his parents, Wong said that he and his siblings told their parents they would stay and help at the restaurants so they didn’t have to pay for labor and could instead focus on paying the rent.

Over the years, the restaurant has changed a lot; it has

THE RUBICON PHOTOS: Claire Hallaway

become more polished and the design is different, but it is still held together by the work of a family.

Wong described that his favorite part of working is cooking, but the best part is being able to try to create new, special things and keep customers happy.

Rating: 4.5/5 Hours: Tues-Fri: 4-9 PM Sat: 11AM-10PM Sun: 11AM-9PM Mon: Closed Address: 2739 Nicollet Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55408 Price Point: $

TRADITION. Since being founded in 1987, Rainbow has relocated across the street but maintained their traditional dishes.

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THE RUBICON • MARCH 2018

Hola Arepa offers specialty arepas and Venezuelan options CHLOE MORSE The Rubicon Editor

The first thing to greet you at Minneapolis-based Venezuelan restaurant Hola Arepa is a cozy patio style room, lit with firefly lights and scented with the smell of arepas.

Once seated, the turquoise walls and simplistic design lend you a relaxed and comforting atmosphere especially conducive to eating.

The menu, while short, hosts diverse options, from fried yuca to ten different types of arepas to arepitas

(arepa balls filled with jalapeño and goat cheese).

As you could possibly tell by the name however, arepas are their specialty.

The original three arepas served on the food trucks are simple: one roasted pork, one chimichurri chicken, and one beans with queso fresco.

However, the other seven types of

arepas successfully play with and blend more complex flavors such as arugula, chorizo, and chipotle.

Each item has obviously been carefully crafted, from the delicately balanced blend of ingredients in the salad dressing to the crispiness of the fried yuca. The drinks menu, again, is not long, but the

house-made sweet and sour papaya lemonade is delicious and unique enough that you don’t need to look at many more options.

When ordering, the service and cooking time is extraordinarily fast; it took about ten minutes to get four servings of arepas, and one of fried yuca and arepitas.

Once served, the food doesn’t last much longer either, as it’s too hot and

THE RUBICON PHOTOS: Chloe Morse

delicious to stick around for more than five minutes.

Be warned however: the arepas are messy, some of the middle will fall out, and your hands will get covered in sauce.

However, it’s small price to pay for even five minutes of explosive flavor. After your plate is cleared, you’ll think back on your meal and only be met with memories of simple satisfaction.

Rating: 4.5/5

FLICKR CC PHOTO (wood): Bart Lumber

ECLECTIC, ETHNIC FOOD. Hola Arepa is a Venezuelan restaurant and food truck with a short, yet well-rounded menu.

Hours: Mon: Closed Tues-Fri: 3PM-12AM Sat-Sun: 10AM-12AM Address: 3501 Nicollet Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55408 Price Point: $

Fasika serves traditional Ethiopian dishes in cozy atmosphere CHLOE MORSE The Rubicon Editor

Hidden behind a slightly ominous doorway and a worn sign, Fasika Ethiopian Restaurant hosts a cozy, communal, and delicious eating experience. The walls and ceiling are decorated with

THE RUBICON PHOTOS: Chloe Morse HOME-Y. Fasika is an Ethiopian restaurant with a cozy and warm interior.

Ethiopian art and the colors of the Ethiopian flag.

The space is small enough to feel cozy, but the tables are spacious, and there’s plenty of space to walk. Once seated with a menu, one might be overwhelmed. The menu has 38 delicious-looking entrees, including nine vegetarian options.

The waitresses are happy to help you decide which one to order, but if you’re still having difficulties, you can just order The

Ultimate Combination, a combination of nearly everything on the menu with spicy lentils, saucy tibs, savory key wot, and other flavorful men items. The meat is simmered in a sauce loaded with spices, and the vegetarian options are filled with flavor as well.

Once ordered, the food unfortunately takes a long time to reach your table.

However, the wait is worth it once a steaming hot plate of Injera (Ethiopian sourdough-risen flatbread), and a giant serving of savory, aromatic food is placed before you.

The entrees are enormous, so be prepared to split one unless you’re

exceptionally hungry. You can try eating your food the traditional Ethiopian way by tearing pieces of Injera to pick up whatever saucy concoction you ordered, eating the Injera in your bite as well (Be warned: your hands will get very messy), or you can ask the waitress for a fork. In the end, you’ll be stuffed to

oblivion, and not really sure you if you want to consider the desert menu.

Rating: 4.5/5

YUMMY, MESSY EATING. The ultimate combination platter is a great way to sample many options and is best served with Injera, a traditional Ethiopian flatbread.

Hours: 11AM-12AM Address: 510 Snelling Ave N, St Paul, MN 55104 Price Point: $$