School Offers Various Quiet Study Spaces

The top picks for calm, distractionfree workspaces

Jason Rotenberg | Food Editor

Picture this: you are in your free block actually doing homework, something that rarely occurs for many, and you can’t focus. I’ve found myself surrounded by noises and distractions while trying to get work done, so here is a lineup of some of the best study spots around the school. First, let’s address the lounges. They are great spaces, don’t get me wrong, but they are terrible spots to study. On many occasions when I am in the lounge areas, they are packed with noise, friends, and endless distractions. Occasionally, there are blocks where no one is in the lounge, meaning no distractions that create the ideal study spot; however, most of the time when you have a pressing assignment to get done, avoid the lounges like coughing classmates during COVID-19. Josh Berger ‘24 doesn’t like the junior lounge because it is “so open... Everyone is always passing through. Also, there are no tables and there are couches. You go to the junior lounge to lounge, not to work.” Currently, my goto study spot is the library. In the morning, the library and the commons are filled with noise and students, but once classes start, the loudest sound you will hear is the occasional drop of a pencil. I enjoy coming here to do my work because the comfortable furniture and minimal distractions allow me to reach maximum productivity. Berger also often goes to the library to study. He says, “This is my favorite place to study in the whole school.” Last year, my go-to study spot was the chairs outside the orchestra room. I enjoyed this

On Paper or Paper-less?

Value of print and physical copies stays

Bennett Wieland | Staff Writer

Does anyone read newspapers anymore?

While you are reading a physical newspaper right now, how do you consume most other forms of media? Chances are, your absorb other news online. Is print media a relic of the past? Are screens replacing paper in all areas of our lives or only some? Is there room for both to coexist?

Frequent paper reader and printmaking teacher, Brian Sago, states, “People like books. Also, writing is the most significant invention that has led to our explosion of human knowledge. Computers are making that increase in knowledge accelerate because we can easily duplicate and share knowledge. Before computerization, it was books that retained our knowledge and let us pass it on to others.”

For Sago, it’s a part of his passion for reading. He says, “Computers may look clean, but the manufacturing process is toxic,”

Sago continues, “At best they smell like nothing.

At worst they smell a bit of burned plastic. Books retain smells and evoke memories. Additionally, books gain value as they age and computers lose value rapidly over time.

A ten year old computer is essentially treated as trash. A 1000-year old book is of immeasurable value.” Sago is a proponent of books instead of computers because of the wisdom they carry and the longevity they have.

Anatomy teacher Jim Arnold has a very similar position. During his eighteen years at Blake, he’s seen the evolution from paper to digital in an educational setting. Arnold speaks to his area because the tall windows created good lighting and the chairs were super comfy. In retrospect, if your free block is during choir or band re hearsal, you get a sneak peek at the upcoming concerts. The music, however, can make it hard for some to focus on work, leading to minimal productivity. Often, the chairs are occupied so I just stopped going there. However, other students such as Matthew

Sun ‘24 enjoy this study spot. Sun says, “typically it’s really quiet, and there’s a bunch of light and a bunch of windows”

An underrated study spot is the tables up in the English wing. These one-to-two-person tables create a perfectly silent environment to get some homework done. If the entire school is noisy, you can count on the English wing to be quiet.

Student journalists face lack of legitimacy sentiment

munity are setting the next generation of journalists up for a lack of experience when it comes to pursuing a future career in media.

experience with print as a child, stating, “Well as a little boy, I learned how to read a lot from my father.” He adds, [I read] the newspaper to him, and [I read] my comic books to him. We would read back and forth to each other, but I’ve always been a newspaper reader.” Like Sago, print reading is preferred to online.

Print media may be the traditional form of media, but it’s not a thing of the past yet. There’s a reason businesses like the Star Tribune haven’t gone out of business. For example, in 2022 the Star Tribune reported a $540M annual revenue. Pew Research says the newspaper industry was worth $9.6 billion in 2020. Why is that? It’s people like Sago and Arnold. For the foreseeable future, print media isn’t going anywhere.

Journalism, the process and product of gathering, assessing, creating, and presenting news and information, is generally a highly respected field and profession, so why is it that student journalism often receives a more negative reaction, even within our own school community?

Sometimes, it seems as though community members are unsure about engaging with Spectrum out of fear that their words might be misrepresented or that they might slip up and say the “wrong thing.”

This fearful attitude is not only detrimental to our publication, but the school community as a whole.

By being hesitant to cooperate with student journalists, the community denies our writers the opportunity to practice essential skills, such as reporting, gathering information, and presenting journalistic prose. By denying student journalists these valuable opportunities, we as a com-

In order to truly embrace the school’s values of love of learning and integrity, it is vital that community members engage with student journalists. Interviewees have every right to request that a certain section be off the record, but only if they ask before saying it. This is standard practice for most publications, so it is the same for ours. Being student-operated does not decrease the legitimacy of the publication.

Not only is refusing to cooperate with Spectrum a missed opportunity for writers, it also deprives community members of the opportunity to express their voice in the most direct way. By providing a quote during an interview with a Spectrum writer, interviewees are given the chance to say exactly what they want. This opportunity is too often passed up by teachers, administrators, and students alike for fear that their words will be misrepresented. When a Spectrum staff member requests an inter- view, the goal is always to gather facts and information to help staff members write a compelling piece. Interviews are one of the most efficient ways for Spectrum to directly connect with the community while engaging in productive conversation about events taking place in the school. Interviews also help staffers learn how to be professional in a formal setting, and interact with people they may not usually talk to. Staffers of the Spectrum truly want to cooperate with interviewees in return for their appreciated provision of information and insight. As the staff of Spectrum, we hope that community members recognize the genuine good intentions of our publication, and treat interviews and other requests for information as opportunities to share personal experiences, opinions, and insights. The Spectrum Staff never has the intention of exposing people or painting them in a poor light, but rather we hope to connect and inform the community so that and students can to learn how to be authentic journalists through real life experiences in school.

Wordle Fad Ends, Few Players Remain

Previously popular game loses traction

Kaining Zhang | Staff Writer

LikeI’m sure many other people have, I used to play Wordle daily and compare my results with friends. However, over time, I completely forgot about it, despite having a consistent streak for many months. In fact, so did most of the world. Wordle peaked around late 2021 and early 2022, but quickly died down after.

Josh Wardle, a software engineer, created

Wordle for his partner as a guessing game. After introducing it to the rest of his relatives, who loved the game, he decided to release it to the public. After a few months, hundreds of thousands of people were playing the game. The game itself is simple. You have six chances to guess a five-letter word, and every word you input, the system tells you which letters are in the correct spot and which letters are in the word but in the wrong spot.

I believe there’s something simply eye-catching about games that limit your playing, like having a certain amount of “energy” that refills with time. The original Wordle can only be played once a day, and must be played everyday to maintain a “streak.” This was especially popular during COVID-19 as most people could definitely find a few minutes in their day to play. Chloe Ursu ‘26 agrees, saying, “It’s something that will take five minutes that you can do everyday and it’s still different and enjoyable.” I remember feeling the satisfaction after completing each Wordle, and I was always searching for websites that allowed me to play Wordle unlimitedly, or past archives. Personally, some of my all-time favorite words are flout, pinto, and tryst.

Raiden Chen ‘26 says he enjoys Wordle “because of the social implications of dominating your friends.” This is also a common reason for people to enjoy Wordle: trying to complete it using less guesses compared to your friends. Wordle only started to blow up after Wardle added the ability to copy-paste your daily Wordle results into emoticons, allowing people to post it on social media. This was especially done on Twitter. It’s always fun to start friendly competitions with friends, and Wordle was a perfect way to do so. This daily renewal and sociable competition seems to be what kept players coming back, if only just for a while.