The Spectrum Newspaper November 2022

Clue Play Exceeds Expectations, Overcomes Hurdles

character this stupid before. I have to think less on stage quite honestly. It’s a break!”

Anna Tao | Contributing Writer

The play attracted a mass of people, bringing one of the first full houses from the past two years on opening night, Friday, Nov. 19.

Blake’s production “Clue” exceeded any high standards set by the movie and game’s popularity by providing a fast-paced, witty storyline with excellent acting and unique set designs. Consist-

The play ran very smoothly, despite issues that arose before the performance. There were major script changes because the wrong set of sound cues were sent to the production, which didn’t align with the scripts that were initially given to the cast and crew.

Declan O’Connell ‘23, who played Colonel Mustard, mentions how the script changes “basically

sets you back to square one,” which was incredibly inconvenient because the changes were made “about three weeks, three or four weeks before we were set to perform.”

There were even more difficulties, Truman Morsman’ 23, actor of Mr. Boddy, says, “a lot more people [were] sick. [The week before the performance] of the seven main characters, two…were sick.”

That didn’t stop any of the cast or crew from the excitement of the final performances. O’Connell explains that “this is the show that I’ve been most excited for since my freshman year musical” because it has “a bit of name recognition, where you hear it and you don’t immediately think, what the actual hell is that?”

He also explains his passion for playing his character, “I haven’t played a

Most actors took the opportunity to use the Clue movie as a large reference point for their characters.

Anika Rodriguez ‘23, who played the major role of Wadsworth, expresses how watching the movie, “really helped me get a sense of these characters because they’re really iconic to people who have seen the movie.” Each actor truly brought their best to each character.

The set itself consisted of four moving doors surrounding one huge main door in the center, and a kitchen door located on the far right of the set. The four moving doors were spun around when characters moved from room to room.

Frank Nutsford ‘24, lead manager of the set design, also stated that the set was designed to have “a board game look,” which paid further homage to the original board game aesthetic.

This fall’s production of Clue was reminiscent of pre-COVID-19 theatrics, which have now allowed an increase in spirit towards upcoming plays, musicals and productions from the whole community.

Senior Speech Censorship Sparks Student Frustration

often cut short by administration

Mackenzie Higgins | Food Editor

“Word for word, there was nothing from my first draft that made it into my final speech,” says, Julia Enebo ‘23. Enebo is not alone, but rather many seniors this year would agree that they’ve experienced some sort of censorship when creating their speech.

Abby Ziehl ‘23 explains, “They told me that if I did give my [original] speech, I wouldn’t be able to graduate.”

newsfromdapimpz’s Instagram incentivises students to attend more of their classmates’ sporting events to be in the account’s videos or pictures.

tity of the administration. Lily Erlandson ‘23 explains, “I don’t know who it was. [Sandy] Berkowitz just said ‘the school’ so it was unclear who was in charge of that.”

Enebo agrees, adding, “Specifically, Sandy Berkowitz was the one who censored me, but I get the vibe that it was more her job to be the one who said I couldn’t. I don’t think it was her fault ... I got the impression that [the censorship] was coming from higher ups, people higher up than Joe [Ruggiero] and Sandy [Berkowitz].”

Director of the Upper School, Joe Ruggiero, clar-

ifies that Berkowitz, who leads the Senior Speech Program, consults with Associate Director Sarah Warren, the counselors, or the grade deans when she comes across “concerning topics that could impact the audience in some detrimental way.”

The general consensus from seniors is that these “detrimental topics” that were reviewed and removed from speeches by administrators were mostly specific and explicit details about mental health struggles.

Ruggiero explains that the administration welcomes and encourages discussions on mental health topics, however, he explains that “the issue is when people get up there and talk about

Check out the vision behind “The Play Place” Bennett Gallery art exhibit.

events that could be triggering for people in the audience.” He elaborates, “People talk about censorship, but the issue is that students are captive in [the auditorium]. When you watch a TV show, go to a movie, or attend a speech, that’s voluntary ... But we require students to be in [assembly]. You have to attend, so it’s not fair to have a captive audience and say things that could be triggering or detrimental to several people in the audience.”

Berkowitz echoes this saying, “I try to work very hard with the students so that they can give the speech that they want to give while at the same time being mindful of the

needs of the audience and the needs of the school. I recognize that there are some people who feel like they’re being censored. I try

Christian Hovard ‘25 picked up cooking over COVID-19 and even crafted dishes for a bridal party.

to make it so that they can still give the speech that they want to give within the parameters.” (Continued on Page 2)

The Clue cast ran through their performance days prior to the offcial performance dates. In this scene Truman Morseman ‘23, playing Mr. , playing a cook, fall victim to the mystery murderer as they act dead by laying motionless on the foor. The rest of the characters are left fguring out who among them is guilty for all the murders which leads to high tension and suspicion.

Yoni Zacks

The production achieved great success with a huge turnout

Remy Abraham ‘23 gave her speech on how students ought to take adavantage of the opportunity to give a senior speech in front the entire school and to speak about something you’re passionate about. Some students argue that they are being stripped of that very opportunity due to censorship from the school administration.

Cleo Kilpatrick

“This is the show that I’ve been most excited for since my freshman year musical”Declan O’Connell ‘23

The Blake School 511 Kenwood Pkwy

Editor-In-Chief: Rowan Wallin

Managing Editors: Amelia Bush | Zoey Ueland

Creative Director: Charlotte Opp

Photo Editor: Cleo Kilpatrick News Editor: Sam Tomczik

Speech Censorship Leaves Seniors Stiffled, Edited at the

SENIORS acknowledge the potential impact their speeches could have on the audience. Gaurav Haldar ‘23 adds, “I wanted to reference cuts and specific self harm things that I have done to myself and [Sandy Berkowitz] didn’t want me to do that because she thought it would be a sensitive topic for a lot of people, which I completely get. I proposed the idea of putting a trigger warning at the beginning of my speech and she didn’t really agree with that and thought it would be better if I just used the word ‘self harm.’”

Enebo agrees saying, “They said it could trigger people in the audience who don’t have the same help that I have. But that was the extent of what I was told.”

She continues, “people that aren’t going through what you are speaking about are not the people to tell you what is triggering and what is not ... The whole [idea that] talking about suicide is triggering or can cause depression to worsen is completely false and that narrative is literally why it is not talked about now.”

about providing a service to the community because you have a captive audience for however many minutes your speech is. So it’s really about giving something back at the end, and it’s what the purpose should be.”

Seniors acknowledge that their speeches are meant to help the community. Zoe Edinburgh ‘23 says, “I think we need to be giving these speeches because it actually does help our student body.

I got a lot of text messages and emails after saying things like ‘thank you for giving this speech.’”

of their speeches that could have helped the community. Erlandson explains, “I had to cut out some parts that show my story that I would have liked to have shared.

I think a lot of people could have related to it, but I wasn’t able to do that.”

Other speeches that

was protecting him.”

Ruggerio, however, clarifies that, “people can talk about Blake all they want, even if it’s disparaging. I think we need to hear criticism. That’s how you get better. To hear what are students’ experiences good and bad. You wouldn’t be allowed, for example, if you had a grudge against a particular teacher, to get up there and name the particular teacher and say why you don’t like them. That’s not appropriate.”

Ziehl

be -

able to talk about the fact that [they were] experiencing something traumatic ... is important, so the school is constantly balancing those two things.” He continues, “What happened last year, split the community so deeply, and especially the [Class of ‘22]. So what was the purpose of that? So one person gets to speak their truth, but then you spend a year with a community in shambles? I don’t think that’s worth it.”

Regardless of the reasoning for censoring speeches, seniors feel deeply frustrated about not being able to say what they want, the entire premise of the senior speech program.

Ziehl explains, “We were told that we could give a speech about whatever we want. A lot of people choose those [harder] topics because they’re really important to them. So it’s just really annoying that those are the same topics that they don’t really want us to give.”

STAFF WRITERS: Lily Anderson, Rhea Balachandran, Shruti Balachander, Clare Cao, Kaylee Chen, Raiden Chen, Ahan Devgun, Ethan Klaiman, Sonia Lerner, Ava Mittra, Ainsley Pfaum, Kate Rekas, Eva Redmond, Andrew Richardson, Payton Smith, Jack Ulland, Max Yousha, Klarrisa Yu, Faith Zhao, and Kaining Zhang

STAFF ARTISTS: Julia Everett and Melody Lee

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Ruggiero explains that the purpose of senior speeches is to give something to the community. He continues, “It’s not about your own personal gripes or a cathartic movement to let people know what your opinion on something is. It’s

Haldar agrees adding, “I didn’t write it to bash Blake or bash the Blake community in any way. I did it to raise awareness because I want to see that improvement in Blake and see Blake become a more inclusive space for BIPOC students.”

According to the seniors, however, they were told to take out many parts

were commonly flagged by the administration were those that had to do with the school. Ziehl explains, “I was told that I was not allowed to give the speech because it mentioned Blake.”

She continues, “Blake needed to be in my speech. It was [about] a Blake student who isn’t here anymore ... It felt like the [administration]

lieves that the censorship she received was a result of one of last year’s speeches, and Ruggiero seems to confirm this. He says, “[There’s] a whole history with last year where we had a student who wasn’t named [in a speech], but who, for all intents and purposes, was called out. That was bad. At the same time, having a student be

Ellie Nixon ‘23 adds, “It’s not fair to people who want to convey an important message that half of what they say or more than half of what they say, they can’t say. There’s no point in their speech if they can’t actually say what they want.”

Enebo concludes, “The fact that it is hard to hear is the point. The fact that it is hard to hear should not be the reason in which you don’t give it.”

The Forum's Forum: Puppies, New Class, Advisory, FLEX

was a better time for clubs to meet. Someone suggested that moving FLEX up in the day would be a good opportunity for clubs to meet as it would force attendance. Krelitz responded by mentioning that there is already a FLEX time before school on Wednesday that isn’t used. Krelitz proposed that the start time of school would change so that FLEX could be later; however, that would cut class time. When Sophia Perri ‘23 asked if advisory could be sacrificed for an additional FLEX period, the topic of the advisory curriculum was reintroduced.

motivates the younger classes to give a great speech and returned the attention to how time is spent.

Kaura mentioned that many schools have a home education class and suggested that this could be incorporated into the curriculum. Krelitz said it would be a huge conversation and Cady added that it would be a cultural shift.

combining the two would be a good solution. Cady said that it would be hard to do because health is a graded class.

No-homework weekends rejected, new Home Ec class proposed

Nov. 11, Student body president Justin Krelitz ‘23 led a Forum meeting that began with the announcement of a new club to support mental health for student-athletes called “Morgan’s Message.”

Next, the plans for finals week were brought up. Bringing puppies to school for pet therapy was suggested.

Then, they discussed the possibility of a textbook exchange between older and

younger students. There was a debate on if money would be involved. The conversation ended with the decision that they needed to talk to the business office.

The advisory curriculum was then mentioned. The consensus was that the intentions were good, but they got repetitive, unproductive, and boring. Ben Cady suggested that the curriculum should be grade specific.

The Nov. 18 meeting began with Krelitz encouraging play attendance before starting the conversation with the topic of the schedule. Krelitz asked the rest of the Forum what people were talking about. When no one spoke up, Cady wondered if there

Next, social studies teacher Stacey Helmbrecht-Wilson asked why there were still senior speeches. Krelitz shut down the idea of removal by adding that getting rid of senior speeches would upset Alum. Junior Class President Karn Kaura ‘24 said that listening to senior speeches

Julia Zhang ‘23 liked the idea but compared it to the required senior seminar course, stating that it should be optional because many people have other academic courses that they are interested in taking but can’t. Krelitz disagreed, stating that people can always be more empathetic, suggesting that this would help.

Sophomore Class President Zellie Olson ‘25 said that the topics during health class would be repetitive in a life skills class and suggested that

The next topic was the possibility of a Writing Skills Lab. Krelitz said he would email Rick Cawood and Beth Calderone and cc. Chris Robinson (Heads of English, social studies, and math departments) to start communication. According to Krelitz, Director of the Upper School Joe Ruggerio said there should be a trial run.

After, the topic switched to having a possible nohomework weekend for early decision college applications. Krelitz dismissed this possibility saying that there are already too many no-homework weekends and that it would be too burdensome to have another.

The meeting was then adjourned.

Amelia Bush | Managing Editor

Student body president, Justin Krelitz ’23, gives Sarah Hasday-Erbsen ‘24, Kai Haung ‘25, and George Stockwell ‘26 free tickets to see the school play, “Clue,” to boost school spirit.

Jalen Wilson ‘23 delivers his senior speech during assembly on November 17. Along with the other seniors, Wilson recives feedback about his speech from teachers and advisors.

Rowan Wallin

Cleo Kilpatrick

Cleo Kilpatrick

Amelia Bush

Finals Reinstated for 2022, Subsequent Special Schedule Dec.

Students, faculty return to pre-COVID-19 obligation

Zoey Ueland | Managing Editor

The structure of finals week has significantly changed throughout the past four years. Prior to COVID students would have “penultimate week,” a week which they spent studying without the added weight of homework. Then as finals began, students would pack into large rooms with their classmates and take large cumulative finals. But Assistant Head of the Upper School Sarah Warren notes, “research doesn’t necessarily support high stakes testing.”

During the pandemic, finals significantly changed.

Kiana Poul ‘24 explains, “Last year I thought it was really nice how [finals] were broken up; like you’d have your math and science and language tests one week and then your other tests the other week.”

However, Warren explains that both students, teachers and the administration ran into problems, “There was a sense that [the previous final model of the past two years] had not gone as well as we’d hoped it would because teachers still referred to having [finals] towards the end of that two week period. For teachers that didn’t, students felt like they had a bunch of classes that were not particularly meaningful or beneficial.”

With the resurgence of a far more normal school experience than the past years, finals have altered

With Wednesday deemed an “At-Home Study Day,” students might fnd time to go through Snapchat, YouTube, TikTok, lay in bed, or–what a parent would hope their child to do–crack a book and study for their remaining fnals on Thursday and Fri-

form. Now, according to an email sent out in October, students will have a five day week with one study day on Wednesday, effectively splitting up testing. As Warren puts it, “This model better reflects what students will experience at the collegiate level.”

Martha Hughes ‘24 is a fan of the new schedule. She explains, “I think it’s good because it’s a day in the middle of the week to take a break and study for your finals the next two days.”

Ainsley Pflaum ‘25 exclaimed, “I’m honestly

just a bit surprised because it seems like we already have several opportunities for office hours before class and then FLEX, not that I’m complaining, I think it is nice to have more of that time.”

Cynthia Lyman ‘24 agreed that she was happy about the impending schedule but added, “I think it’s really beneficial but I also think it’s not beneficial. If you have two finals on the first two days and then you just have a day in the middle, like what am I supposed to do with it?”

As a solution, Max Vezmar ‘26 proposes, “It’d be a helpful time to talk to teachers and maybe just be at home and rest and work by yourself.” Although he isn’t sure whether or not he’ll come in, “it kind of just depends on my situation.” According to Warren,

“students are welcome to come to campus but not required.” She adds that, “It is an opportunity, especially for students whose major assessment might be an essay or a project, for them to come in and get some feedback on that when they’re in the later stages.” However, some students, like Leighton Pittman ‘24, predict they won’t come into school and will instead remain at home; “To be completely honest I’m not going to come in at all, I’m just going to stay at home and do work.”

For students that have extended time or miss an exam, Wednesday provides relief. Warren explains, “[Wednesday] creates an opportunity for those makeups without putting an undue burden on the student or faculty.”

Thanksgiving Show Captures Audience, Tradition Persists

Acts vary from groups to solos

Julia Zhang | Business Manager

SIAC’s annual Thanksgiving talent show was back for another round of performances! The talent show took place on Nov. 22 during assembly in the JNA and featured a wide variety of students’ abilities, from singing to playing the didgeridoo. Before the show, however, SIACs and performers were preparing. When asked about what was being done behind the scenes, Alexa Hatcher ‘23, a member of SIAC, explained, “We’ve been talking about this for weeks. We met, planned out everything, had an announcement in assembly, and the google form. We recently did auditions for people who wanted to perform to make sure everything

was school appropriate and the acts were good.”

Maggie Bowman and Sarah Warren, SIAC’s faculty leaders, helped organize the show, and SIACs Ruby Arlowe ‘23, Rowan Wallin ‘23, and Eloise Walsh ‘24 were the moderators and introduced each performer.

The talent show opened with The Jazz Express performing the jazzy song “Superstition” by Stevie Wonder with a couple of solos throughout. The opening performance was followed by a Van Halen Cover Medley with William Anderson ‘23 playing the electric guitar, Tyler Girk ‘23 on the drums, and Aidan Tao ‘23 playing an electric guitar solo that stunned the audience. When asked about how much preparation had gone into this, Tao said, “I did a lot of learning over the summer, but then I took some

shortcuts to emulate it. I was more doing a tribute to it, but not a straight up replication.”

Next up was Blakers Dozen, the boys’ a cappella group, performing the entertaining “Man or Muppet” from “The Muppet Movie,” with sock puppets on their hands. Similarly, Blakers in Treble, the girls’ a cappella group, sang “when the party’s over” by Billie Eilish, with Lily Erlandson ‘23 bringing out the main vocals.

Felix Riedel ‘24 stole the show and gave an inspiring cover of “HOLO,” a Korean song by Lee Hi. Riedel said, “The meaning of the song hits home; a lot of it is about being okay with being alone. During that time, I was going through a hard time, so it has a significant meaning to me.”

He plans on performing at next year’s talent show.

Following Reidel was Meri Harkins ‘25, who sang

“Nothing New” by Taylor Swift on her guitar. The girl group Pretty Average performed “Weak” by SWV, with a few minor slip-ups and waves of laughter and encouraging applause among the audience. Saleya Scott ‘25, a highly-anticipated act after her rap performance last year, was supposed to perform with Pretty Average’s other members, Aani Bedi ‘24 and Anna Craig ‘25, but was unfortunately sick and couldn’t perform.

The penultimate performance was the Woody Woodwinds, who played the Blake Alma Mater. Alex Chiesa ‘23 played the didgeridoo, Charlie Weyerhaeuser ‘23 played the recorder, Andrew Starkman ‘23 played the bongos, Oscar Walsh ‘23 played the gourd flute, and AJ Khan ‘23 played the rain stick. While they were playing, Weyerhaeuser’s recorder broke, so

Instagram account popularized among students

Andrew Richardson | Staff Writer

newzfromdapimpz, the Instagram account run by the trio of Eva Stegic ‘23, Julia Rasmussen ‘23, and Price Glover ‘24, has gained a mass following, with one video accumulating a staggering twentytwo thousand views. Stegic expected their videos to “maybe reach one-hundred people,” not the thousands they consistently achieve.

that the “appeal of the SMB games is that the audience is not just people at Blake.” The interviewed students include those from Minnehaha Academy and SPA.

he sang for the rest of the traditional tune.

The final act was the faculty act. Several teachers participated and each one represented a different Roman numeral and invited the audience to stand up and follow along. The show concluded with the annual SIAC Thanksgiving video.

This year’s Thanksgiving talent show demonstrated how talented students in our community are. Sydney Dorvil ‘23, another SIAC explained, “[The talent show] gives everyone a chance to grow our community, laugh together, and enjoy some time of appreciating everyone in our space.”

Student Sections

himself to be an “avid watcher” of their videos.

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of Dec. 1 2022,

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In their most popular video, they toured the student section at an SMB Wolfpack game, asking students to identify pictures of retro items, such as boomboxes, CDs, and vinyls.

Rasmussen believes

What first started as a photography account for Stegic’s digital camera eventually transitioned into their interviews with students at Blake sporting events. Rasmussen said they got the idea from a “TikTok… of other people doing interviews.” She continues, “One day [Stegic, Rasmussen, and Glover] were at a SMB game and [she] had her wired headphones,” so they decided to start interviewing their peers.

Due to their humorous questions and because the interviews are “more funny if it is someone [I] know,” Noah Goodman ‘23 finds

The dedication of fans is so high that Marina Battig ‘24 has gone so far to say that she has “memorized all the videos,” and insists they should “receive more attention.” This viewership could stem from the freshmen class, who, upon polling, were unfamiliar with the account, which Sarah Costa ‘23 asserts is because “[the freshmen] don’t have school spirit.”

The fun atmosphere that Stegic, Rasmussen, and Glover provoke “definitely” encourages Alex Chiesa ‘23 to attend the events; Chiesa says that the videos “are another reason to go.”

“After releasing the first couple of videos,” Stegic heard peers tell her that they would now attend games, which is an-

other incentive to produce more videos. They promote this goal in their Instagram bio, where they tell people to “come to games and be featured [in the videos].”

Stegic, who “wants to make videos all the time,” finds herself anxiously waiting for the hockey and basketball season to create more content.

In the meantime to fill the gap in between seasons, the three account holders proposed the idea of expanding into “fit checks,” as said by Glover.

Even during the fall seasons, they thought of making a Halloween costume video, but did not follow through on their plans. However, with the winter rapidly approaching, Rasmussen and the rest of the trio are hoping to release “multiple [videos] each week.”

As

newsfromdapimpz has accrued 185 fol

lowers and made 48 posts. In the account’s biogrohpy, it urg

es students to participate in spectatorship at sports games.

Rowan Wallin

Yoni Zacks

Bedi (left) and Craig (right) sang “Weak” by SWV, a hit 90s song, as a duet. The group called Pretty Average was meant to be a trio, but last-minute Scott was too ill to perform, requiring Bedi and Craig to sing as a duo.

Katie Lattin

Bennett Gallery Proudly Displays The Play Place

Students interested, inspired by

childlike art

Kate Rekas | Staff Writer

The Bennett gallery recently displayed one of their most unique shows yet, a fun, colorful, inviting, and immersive experience. In the past, the Bennett gallery has often simply been a space that students walk by on their way to class without a second thought. Despite the frequent installments of new and interesting shows that appear monthly, these displays are often left without

much of an audience. “The Play Place” show however, was quite the opposite. Students flocked to the gallery during their freetime. Evie Doran ‘23 said, “I think it’s fun to have an exhibit in an intense school environment like ours, like a playful exhibit and a fun place to hang out.” Overall she rated the exhibit “a ten out of ten.”

Sarah Costa ‘23 a co-curator of the show explains the process for coming up with show concepts. She says, “The curators usually think about what is going on in the lives of students during the months for each show.” For

this show Costa and her co-curator Ryan Thrasher ‘23 noted that “November is a very stressful time for seniors.” In hopes of combatting this stress, Thrasher came up with “The Play Place.” He says that the original inspiration was the “Mcdonalds play places” and that the goal of the exhibit is to “make you feel like a kid again.”

The colorful balloons lining the windows of the gallery had drawn a crowd better than some of the previous shows, and since “The Play Place” opened, plenty of students have been enjoying it. A fan favorite of both the show

and curators is the ballpit exhibit in the center of the gallery. Key word, exhibit. Originally Costa and Thrasher had planned for the ballpit to be an interactive piece, much like the coloring wall and “kraft korner.” The week the show was set to be created, the interactive ball pit was vetoed by administration even after it was already paid for. The reason for shutting down the interactive experience was cited as “safety concerns.”

Despite the ball pit debacle, the curators quickly adapted to the change and repurposed the ball pit into a viewing piece that Costa

said was intended to “challenge people’s perception of art.” All in all, the play place exhibit will be one to remember. Even without a dip in the ballpit, the exhibit has been a smash among the student body. Costa states, “the whole goal of the [gallery] club is to get people to know about the gallery. I think students should appreciate [the gallery] more, it’s a fun space that we have, [and it] takes a lot of effort to put together [a show].”

These efforts paid off as evidenced by the “I visited the play place” stickers that can be seen on laptops and water bottles around the school. While the show has concluded and the pool floaties have been deflated, the exhibit left a palpable aura of fun while it occupied the gallery.

Rihanna Debuts “Lift Me Up” Taylor Swift Strikes Again

Charlotte Opp | Creative Director

R ihanna has always been an extremely reliable artist, but will her new single “Lift Me Up” hold up that reputation?

Released October 28th, the pop song was used for the super hero film Black Panther and already has more than four million streams on Spotify. The song features peaceful instrumentals along with Rihanna’s beautiful voice. She sings about a plea to be kept safe in a relationship that Rihanna calls a, “hopeless love.” The song encapsulates her fear of heartbreak while wanting to stay in love forever. “Lift Me Up” showcases Rihanna’s impressive range of tones and notes.

Other people don’t think that Rihanna fully delivered with this song. Macy Gregor ‘24 explains her dilemma, “I like Rihanna so it’s hard to dislike stuff she puts out but I feel like this is a more experimental track of hers. I also understand its value though because it’s a soundtrack so it makes sense and for why it’s different from her regular stuff.” Gregor follows up by comparing “Lift Me Up” to one of Rihanna’s most popular albums, “This morning I was listening to Anti and you know that’s like one of my favorite albums of all time and that’s definitely more her style.”

As for the hype surrounding the release of Rihanna’s single “Lift Me Up” Gregor “didn’t hear any hype” because Gregor explains, “I heard a lot

of hype for other artists dropping albums and I just heard that Rihanna was dropping a song but there wasn’t much hype behind it.”

Lacking new song disappoints Swift celebrates album journey

Sofia Perlman | Sci-Tech Editor

For the hype for Rihanna’s song, or the lack thereof, Gregor thinks that the lack of attention was warranted, “I think its hype was val -

Taylor Swift’s recent album, “Midnights,” is a reflection of all of her work and a culmination of her career. “Midnights” is a blend of Swift’s previous albums, combining elements from

fan since 2012, noted that “it reminded me a lot of ‘reputation’ and ‘Lover,’ it felt like she’s going back to those eras which I liked.”

In her official album announcement, Swift writes, “This is a collection of music written in the middle of the night, a journey through terrors and sweet dreams,” setting the scene for a reflective and introspective album. Because late and sleepless nights are a common theme throughout Swift’s songs, “Midnights” is the perfect resolution to the past troubles and struggles Swift has sung about. Since the number 13 is Swift’s self proclaimed lucky number, “Midnights” concludes Swift’s discography as it contains 13 songs (not including the 7 bonus “3 a.m. edition” tracks), fittingly ending with “Mastermind.”

I can still make the whole place shimmer,” displaying Swift’s evolution and growth as a person. As well as the transformation from Swift’s earlier album “Red” to “Maroon” in “Midnights,” showing how a brighter, newer love becomes a deeper, more mature shade of red as she grows and learns what true love is. Tao mentions that her current favorite songs on the album are “Lavender Haze,” “Sweet Nothing,” “Karma,” and “Glitch.”

Despite its masterful lyrics and instrumentals, Midnights underwhelmed some listeners. Tao believes that this negative reaction is because “people only listen to ‘folklore’ and ‘evermore,’ and then they expected it [“Midnights”] to be that kind of sound, but it wasn’t.”

id because there wasn’t much talk and the song wasn’t that good.”

each distinct era to create a versatile and innovative album. Anna Tao ‘25, a

In “mirrorball” from Swift’s eighth album folklore, she sings, “I’ll get you out on the floor shimmering beautiful.” In “Midnight’s” “Bejeweled,” Swift says, “When I walk in the room

Tao states, “I think it’s one of her better albums…one of her best albums…it’s a really good album with good songwriting.” Overall, “Midnights” is an amazing album full of clever lyrics and unique sound.

Reach for the Basics: Neutral colors are the “clean girl’s” uniform. This girl doesn’t stick to the basics, dressing how you want to dress is always the best way to showcase your personality and outlook; wear what makes you feel best!

Soft & Signature Fragrance:

The “clean girl” always strives to smell good in a clean environment. In one's bedroom, candles make everything from your clothes to sheets smell good. With the holiday season quickly approaching, sweet scents from peppermint to pumpkin spice warm any room.

Sleek Slicked Back Hair: One of the most popular trends that has manifested from the “clean girl” aesthetic is the revival of the popular 90s look: the claw clip. Functional and e ortless, claw clips are an easy way to pull back hair with a fun, and sleek accessory.

De ne Natural Features:

Charlotte Tilbury’s products such as “beauty light wands” are popular in creating a glowy look. Tik Tok has also popularized radiant blushes from Glossier and Rare Beauty. The point is to define and elevate your natural features in a way that makes you look like, well, you.

Spend Time on Yourself:

As the weather gets colder, we are all in need of a little self love. A “clean girl” always prioritizes herself. Make sure to hydrate and read before sleeping to feel renewed. Getting exercise releases endorphins and energizes your body in time to focus on homework and fall into bed.

Rihanna, outlined by her favorite color and two representative symbols.

Katie Lattin

The artwork, Sealed Moment, in the gallery reminds people of their childhood experiences.

Amelia Bush

Taylor Swift, outlined by her favorite color and three representative symbols.

Young Chef Cooks Up Big Plans for Future in Food

Christian Hovard ‘25 uses love of cooking to help others

Cleo Kilpatrick | Photo Editor

Some students play sports or music as an escape from the stress of school work, but Hovard cooks. He says, “It helps me get away from my daily life.”

He started cooking at the start of the pandemic, he explains, “I went down a rabbit hole [watching] Gordon Ramsay YouTube videos. Then I found one of his burger [videos] and the next morning I was like, ‘Mom can I make this?’ And then it just kinda evolved from there.” Hovard enjoys mak-

ing food for his friends and family because it’s a way for them to bond and build memories. Hovard expresses, “We come together and spend an hour just talking about food and hanging out together.”

Hovard has already envisioned a future for himself, he explains, “I’m planning on doing private catering and private meals for small groups of people and using whatever profits I make to donate to charity. I want to use my love for cooking to help people.”

Earlier this year, he and some of his friends organized a food drive at the Upper School for VEAP which is a nonprofit organization that helps to provide food to people in need. Hovard has spent over 200

hours volunteering there the past two summers. He says, “It’s a food shelf where we give out food and we take in orders. I use my Spanish knowledge to help those that can only speak Spanish or have very limited English.”

This past summer Hovard also helped to cater a bridal party for his neighbor’s niece. This experience was quite a process; he spent a lot of time with the menu to get everything just right. He says, “We talked through the entire menu, like what flavors would work well together and just how many people there were and what I should do.” He continues, “Then two months later, I had tried every recipe that I was going to make at least once.” He adds, “I made salmon, open faced rus-

tic sandwiches, shots of cold pea soup, and lavender lemonade.” His idea behind this menu was to have a consistency of flavors throughout the menu. Lemon, garlic and rosemary were his staple flavors for this palette.

Cooking is very special to Hovard, he says, “I think everyone should try [it] because it’s something that you’ll need to learn eventually and using it as a hobby instead of as a chore makes it more fun to do.”

Untraditional Foods Create New Culture Around Thanksgiving Mixing up menu expands

holiday experience

Sam Tomzcik | News Editor

“My favorite Thanksgiving dish is always the mandazi,” says Rania Abdullahi ‘25 . Though many may not be expecting the traditional Somali sweet bread to be served during their Thanksgiving

meal, Abdullahi explains that she enjoys the blend of cultures and new history that a non-traditional Thanksgiving provides. “The origins of Thanksgiving have such negative connotations, and [the holiday] has such a negative background, so being able to experience Thanksgiving in my own cultural way is a very unique experience, and I’m very thankful for that,” says Abdullahi.

Though her fam -

ily still eats traditional Thanksgiving food, Rossalyn Moore ‘25 explains that she gets really sad whenever she eats animals, so she doesn’t eat the turkey. Moore says, “I usually eat the cranberry sauce, or stuffing, and corn.” Though she’s experimented with eating vegan turkey alternatives she “did not love it and… would not try it again.”

Despite her encouragement of mixing

up the Thanksgiving menu, Abdullahi still promotes the usual turkey, sides, and pies that many students enjoy at their Thanksgiving celebrations. However, she still recommends making the holiday “a day of thankfulness rather than a ‘Thanksgiving.’ A day more about spending time with family rather than the traditional foods. It’s about what we have now versus what’s in the past.”

Three Fan Favorite Foods You’ll Go Wild For at the Next Game

Payton Smith | Staff Writer

You can’t go wrong with the classic cheese curds. Although they may not meet the nearimpossible state fair standards, Xcel Energy Center’s cheese curds are one of the best food items available during a highenergy hockey game. They’re the perfect greasy food to enjoy while cheering on the Wild. Due to their popularity, these cheese curds can be found at any of the main concessions placed all around the arena.

If you’re a fan of smoothies, your life will be changed by the favorful Maui Wowis. This food cart near Section 105 offers mango orange, strawberry, and piña colada favors, and includes the option to mix them together. If you’re feeling festive, you can even upgrade to a tiki cup and take it home with you as a souvenir. Regardless of purchasing a tiki cup or not, your smoothie will be accompanied by a cocktail umbrella.

Since going to a game feels like a treat, you can’t leave the stadium without eating one too. The classic softserve ice cream that you’ll fnd in Section 115 is the way to go. Whether you prefer vanilla, chocolate, or a swirl, you will not be disappointed with the quality of this soft serve. To make your experience even better, it’s served to you with style, using a small plastic Wild helmet rather than a bowl or cup.

To Tip, or Not To Tip, That is the Pressing Question New technology

Jason Rotenberg | Sports Editor

Picture this: you are at your favorite smoothie shop and the barista asks you to answer “a couple of questions” while you are paying. We’ve all been there in this awkward situation, whether it is at a smoothie shop or somewhere else. You buy your food item and then are presented with the “opportunity” to tip the worker for doing virtually nothing. Should you really tip the workers at these shops?

It really depends on

who you talk to. Josh Berger ‘24 says, “I think they should be tipped. I worked at Dairy Queen for a year and a half. [When people tipped me], it made me feel really good about myself when I was serving someone because they showed me appreciation for what I was doing”.

Berger goes on to say, “[I] think baristas especially are overlooked because people think ‘Oh they are just making coffee’ or ‘They are just making blizzards’ like [I] do, but [baristas] actually put in a lot of effort, and it feels good to get recognition for what [baristas do].”

According to Berger, Dairy Queen does not ask for tips and a small portion of his salary was tips,

but tips or recognition in general makes workers like Berger “feel really good about [themselves]”.

Luke Lentini ‘24, a customer, states he only gives tips when he gets “direct service, and they take my order, they deliver my food to me, they get me water and all of that.” He doesn’t tip “at fast food [when they are] grabbing my food and heating it up.”

On the other hand, Nico Valiente ‘23, who works at Starbucks, thinks that customers “give us way more than we should.” At Valiente’s Starbucks, tips are only accepted in cash, not forced in your face, and will be “based off the amount of hours you work.” He says, “You get tips weekly, and

so [the employers] will distribute the tips based on the percentage of hours worked.”

Valiente also states that “[tips] are not included in our pay.” This creates an interesting parallel between restaurants not forcing the “tip question” in your face and the fact that workers do not have tips included in their pay.

Sam Broz ‘23 also made a “fair amount” when working at Starbucks, stating that a quarter of her salary was tip money. After being on the receiving end of tips, Broz states that she feels “guilty enough to tip a lot” when she goes out to eat.

When there is an iPad asking for tips, she also feels “guilty enough to tip

at least 20 percent.” The guilt causing her to tip is “partially because I worked somewhere, and I’ve also heard a lot about the places that don’t pay enough.”

It is safe to say that tip-

ping depends on the person and the restaurant. Personally, I think you should never feel pressured to tip someone, but do what makes you feel comfortable. The choice is yours.

poses difficult dillema

Bottom left: Hovard made elegant ham and cheese sandwiches for the kids in attendance. Top left: Hovard’s creations decorate the table at the bridal shower. Top right: Hovard’s open faced rustic sandwhiches are ready to be enjoyed.

Jonah Yousha

Faced with an iPad, Jason Rotenberg ‘24 is forced to decide whether he thinks the scoopers at Sebastian Joe’s deserve a tip.

CynthiaLyman

Cynthia Lyman

Cynthia Lyman

Submitted by: Christian Hovard

Cleo Kilpatrick

Julia Zhang

Bears Before They Were Bears

Athletes’ origin stories

Klarissa Yu | Staff Writer

M any students play sports at school, but how did they start?

Students in 9th and 10th grade are required to play one seasons of sports. It can either be two seasons of the same sport,

or different sports. Many of these students start at a young age, and they explain the benefits of playing a sport early in their childhoods.

Loraine Pidot ‘26 has been playing golf since “[she] could hold a club.”

Starting at four years old, Pidot’s inspiration to start golf came from her mother. She states, “she played golf for a

long time and was like ‘I think you would love golf’, and then I started playing golf and really decided I loved it.” Starting her sport young has

Omar Kaba ‘25 has loved basketball since he was in second grade. He explains how his father, who played in college, encouraged him to play

When asked about his future in the sport, Kaba stated he can see himself playing in the future, potentially in college.

influenced her development in golf and other sports such as tennis. She plans to continue her golf career, as she also stated, “I’m definitely aspiring to play college golf.”

basketball, “He took me to a rec center once we started realizing I’m tall, and that was the first time I ever played basketball.” Now, Kaba plays competitively all year

round at Blake and with a club team, Minnesota Heat.

Through the influence of his grandpa, Fuzz Aafedt ‘25 started playing hockey and has gotten more serious with it throughout the years. He talks about his inspiration, “My grandpa played hockey in college.” He still remembers the quality time he spent with

his grandpa because of hockey, “my best childhood memories are skating outside my backyard or just hanging out with my grandpa cause that was always something we would bond over.” To this day, he continues to carry on his family legacy by participating on his club team, Tier One and hopes to continue playing in his future years.

Bearstangs Bring High Hopes November's Mystery Athlete

Max Yousha | Staff Writer

A fter an amazing season last year, the Bearstangs have a lot to live up to this season. The team ranked second nationally last year, and first in the state, the best in school history.

During the offseason, they lost some incredible senior swimmers, including James Pan and Charlie Crosby. But captain Charlie Egeland ‘23 is optimistic about this season, stating “We won’t

be as good as last year because our senior class was so good, but we’ll still definitely be the best again in the state here and probably pretty highly ranked nationally.”

A good swim season starts with good preparation and readiness for the season, which comes from a good off-season. Most of the varsity swimmers for the Bearstangs swim year-round for club swimming, which helps them stay in shape for the high school season and also helps them lower their times.

Teammate Luke Lentini ‘24 comments on the readiness of the team, saying, “From what I’ve

seen with the team, it’s looking really good, even in the offseason. I see a lot of kids showing up to club practice and putting in the work, and they’re cutting down on their times.”

Another key component of a good swim team are the practices. Egeland says that the team practices once every day of the week except for Sunday. That is a very rigorous practice schedule, but it helps the team stay in shape and achieve the excellence that they have been achieving in recent years.

Josiah March ‘24 expresses the rigor of practices, stating that “practices are pretty intense … you have to be conscious the whole day about recovering, what you are eating, how much you are sleeping so that you can swim hard the next day.”

Overall, the team is very excited for this upcoming season, which they hope will be as fantastic as last season.

Can you guess this studentathlete?

Jack Ulland | Staff Writer

This month’s mystery athlete is a captain for two of the three sports he plays. Regarding each of the sports, this month’s athlete says that the thing he enjoys most about all of them is, “Just the community and being around my friends.”

The athlete plays hockey, lacrosse, and most recently joined the football team for their rookie season, and he almost immediately became a starter on defense. When commenting about the season, the athlete says “I enjoyed it, I wish it would have gone a little longer though.”

Through all of the three sports, this month’s athlete is quite busy, whether it’s a hockey captains practice, a football game, or lacrosse off-season training, “I feel like I have something every night, pretty much an

hour each night for whatever sport [is] in season.”

While he may be very busy, the athlete is still a force to be reckoned with on the field or ice.

According to teammate Grady Rannow ‘24, “On the field he has a great quickness as well as an unmatched grit and determination.” Rannow further states “he is very competitive and a hard worker.”

In addition to his strength and speed on the

field, he is also a great teammate off the field, Rannow notes “He’s always positive, he sets a good example for the younger players to follow and helps build team chemistry”.

Overall, this month’s athlete is a great teammate and an even better player. His speed and strength in combination with his good attitude makes him someone many people look up to.

This month’s athlete slides across the ice, ready to do whatever it takes to lead his team to a hard fought victory.

Banquets Create Great Opportunities to Reflect and End Season

Food,

things done, there’s also a really fun communal aspect to it all, of like just being able to hang out with your friends one last time as a team.”

Faith Zhao | Staff Writer

Banquets have been an integral part of Blake sport seasons, with traditions varying from each team. Banquets are usually at the conclusion of each season.

Sam Hardy ‘24 explains that the banquet is the last time being with the seniors as a team, and that “Along with it being business oriented, getting

During the banquet, food is served, and then captains and coaches give speeches about the season. Hardy says a tradition specifically practiced by the lacrosse team is “someone, primarily a junior, will give a 1-2 minute speech just about the seniors and what they did, how they impacted the team. [I] played JV in 7th grade, so that’s something I’ve

always looked forward to.”

Hardy further explained how the SMB wolfpack coaches set goals before the season that are tracked from game to game and at the banquet, the wolfpack reflects if they have met those goals or not. Hardy

says, “there’s something to be said about learning from history and applying that to the future. That’s kind of what banquets are for.”

Catherine Lin ’25, captain of the volleyball team explains how the coaches from each team

would “prepare a little blurb about each player” and that the team members vote on who fits the ‘best athlete’ or ‘most persistent’ type awards. Awards are both serious and silly, MVPS, Most Improved, Best Athlete, All State, and All Honors are common awards that span from all the sports.

goes to bed [really] really early…We gave [Max Vezmar ‘26] a one pound weight so he can work out…just stupid things like that.”

Athletes and captains all noted that the banquet is a great time for reflection. Ivy Besikof’ 23, captain of the girls swim and dive team, says “I just hope that [the banquet] will be a time to regroup after sections, for everyone [to come back] together, like JV and varsity, just one more time to wrap up the season and look at the highlights.” Besikof,

Specifically in the boys soccer team, pictures of the players in a game and special gifts specific to each person are given out. Marcus Hedlund 23 explains “We gave [Erik Jung ’24] pajama pants because he

Submitted by: Henry Webb Henry Webb ‘25, a freshman at the time, had the need for speed while racing at an intense swim meet, striving for victory.

Submited by: Kaba

Submitted by: Jack Ulland, Photo Illustration: Jason Rotenberg

Aafedt encourages everyone to start a sport at a young age as he said great friends come from it, and it is an overall fun experience.

Submited by: Aafedt

Pidot currently plays for the Blake team and at her country club.

Submited by: Pidot

Boys’ swim optimistic after being nationally ranked

awards, and senior sendoff

Loraine Pidot ’26, Gabby Geer ’27, Zhao, and Reagan Schoen ’26 celebrated their season last spring with a banquet.

Submitted by: Zhao

Athletes Look Forward to Their Final Seasons as Bears

Seniors reflect on legacies they will leave behind

Rowan Wallin | Editor-in-Chief

As the winter sports season begins, seniors reflect on their last season as a Blake Bear. Nico Valiente ‘23, a senior swimmer for the Bearstangs, is hopeful to “reconnect with the team.”

Valiente wishes his peers would recognize the boys’ swim team for its accomplishments. Valiente explains, “I don’t think the rest of our school understands how good our swim team is, honestly. As a school we need to be more excited.” The boys’ swim team is half Blake

and half Breck swimmers, so “it makes the team feel like it’s its own entity; not just a Blake thing or a Breck thing.”

Catherine Hardy ‘23, currently the only se-

nior player on the girls’ basketball team, says, “I’m looking forward to being the leader as a senior.

Having been on varsity for four years, I’ve been with this team through a

lot. I’m hoping to guide all of the underclassmen to love the sport.”

With a light roster, Hardy urges her peers to consider joining the team. Hardy says, “It’s a fun

and safe space and you don’t have to be good at basketball to be there… We have a lot of young kids, specifically seventh and eighth graders, who are interested in the program… There’s just a large gap of interest for grades ten and nine that needs to get filled.”

David Carlson ‘23, one of seven seniors on the boys’ hockey team, remarks, “In past years, there have been older players which have set the tone of the team. They really create a fun environment.” But embodying the role of a senior on a team is not always fun and games; Carlson adds, “[Seniors] need to hold other, younger, players accountable.”

Carlson, as a senior, feels nostalgic about this

year being his last formalized hockey season. Carlson concludes, “It’s strange to think that I’m going to be part of [fulfilling seniors’ responsibilities] this year. When I was younger—in on-ice and off-ice situations—I would look up to older players and linemates; now that older player is me.”

Zoe Edinburgh ‘23 , a senior on the ski team, feels “really sad knowing that [this season holds] my last practices and races.” Edinburgh will mostly miss “just being on the team, my friends, the coaching… Just all of it.” As a senior, Edinburgh acknowledges her responsibility to “set a good example and tell the younger kids what to do.”

JV Girls’ Hockey Team Returns A Day in the Life of Abby Turbes

BGH merges with Providence and Minnehaha

Allyson Jay | In-Depth Editor

As the chilly fall weather quickly turns into brutal winter days, the girls’ hockey team begins to ramp up into their 2022-2023 season. With the start of the season comes the usual tryouts and scrimmages, but this year, there is one difference: BGH is merging with Minnehaha and Providence. Last season, BGH only had one large varsity team. This year, the team is led by five Blake senior captains: Remy Abraham ‘23, Suzy Higuchi ‘23, Jackie Wethington ‘23, Ellie Morrison ‘23, and Sam Broz ‘23

Abraham explains the new system, saying that “the past few years, we haven’t had a JV team, and this year we had the opportunity to merge with those two teams and create a bigger pool of girls so that we’re able to have a JV team.” The union of all three schools opens up many doors to new connections and a larger hockey community.

Higuchi describes the new dynamics of the merging, noting, “I think it’s been a really smooth transition into it, I think mostly because all the returning players have been really good at being accepting and welcoming to the new girls and I also think that the new girls who have

room and a part of the program makes it a lot better.”

Higuchi remarks that there is a very large senior class on the team - there will be 12 senior players leaving the program this year. Because of this impending absence, Higuchi states that “it’s a lot more fun and really cool getting to know

Turbes finds balance between work, family

Ali Hecker | Opinions Editor

joined us have been really outgoing and they’re challenging themselves to get to know us more, so I think the team dynamic is really good.”

The separation of a single team into a varsity team and a JV team this year, brings many benefits to the girls’ hockey team.

Abraham continues, “having a JV team that will be able to support you and come to your games will definitely be nice and just having more people in the locker

so many new people, especially the younger girls because we haven’t really had that experience in the recent years.”

As Abraham and Higuchi embark on their last season with BGH, they hope to continue a positive legacy for all the players and the program. Abraham elaborates, “We just want to keep it a positive space and inspire the other kids because we’re all leaving next year but they’ll do great things.”

Abby

Turbes, athletic trainer, plays a huge role in the health and success of our athletes.

On a regular day of practices, Turbes arrives at the middle school campus at around 2:00pm and begins to prepare for practices. This includes checking the ice machine, updating medical notes, and depending on the season, filling water coolers and ice chests before athletes arrive. Turbes explains that the first wave of athletes is reserved for more first-aid things like taping and band-aids, whereas the second wave is typically new evaluations tbat might take longer to complete.

On game days, especially if it’s a home game, her schedule is much busier. Football games require the most time and preparation. Turbes says, “If

there’s a 7:00 football game, football players are rolling in by 5:30, so I’m usually laying out tape and before that, I’m actually prepping the field with water coolers and ice chests for injury ice. A lot of times, I have a portable treatment table I’ll put out so if I have any extra taping or evaluations I need to do out on the field, it’s easy for them to hop up on the table.”

Turbes explains that for other sports, there is

tense — I kind of have to get amped up for it myself,” she says.

AndersonBlum

much emergency equipment required. For those games, she is likely to check in with athletes before warm ups start and do the routine taping. Out of all sports, football is the most time and energy intensive. “Football nights are more in-

Outside of her job as our athletic trainer, Turbes has two sons, one four months old and 18 months. Balancing home life and the commitments of an athletic trainer, she explains, “It does get a little tough. Especially weekends…almost every Saturday in the fall and winter, I’m working, so it does get tough because you don’t see them as often.” Although game days can be rough, Turbes adds, “On a normal practice night with no games, I’m usually out of here by 5:30 or 6:00 so I’m able to get home for dinner and I’m with my family then, for most of the evening.”

Despite the demands and commitment of the job, Turbes explains that the most rewarding part is interacting with the athletes on a daily basis. “Just interacting with [the athletes] and watching you guys succeed on the field, court, ice, pool, whatever, is the most rewarding.”

Sections Wrap-Up : Bears Fight

Riley Canfield | Contributing Writer

Our Fall sports teams fought very hard in sections these past few weeks.

The Cross Country girls’ team finished third in sections, with Cleo Kilpatrick ‘24 and C allie Arthur ‘26 qualifying for state. The boys’ team finished in sixth.

The SMB Wolfpack took a tough loss against Benilde 25-7. The girls varsity

soccer team played Delano and lost 4-1, and the boys’ varsity team fell to DeLaSalle 5-2.

The girls’ volleyball team beat Breck 3-1 before losing in the quarter finals to Annandale 0-3.

In girls’ tennis, the Bears lost to Edina in the section finals.

However, Allyson Jay ‘23 and Nana Vang ‘24 made to the state finals before losing to the top team from Rochester Mayo.

The girls’ swim and dive team performed

well with Karin Lund ‘25 , Molly Seidel ‘24 , and Carly Bixby advancing to state as individualsw. While there, Bixby won both the 100 yard butterfly and the 100 yard backstroke. Lund placed 15th in the 500 yard freestyle, and Seidel placed sixth in the 100 yard freestyle. A 4x400 yard relay team and a 200 yard medley team competed as well, placing fourth and fifth respectively. The team overall finished fifth in the state. Great job, Bears!

Forward Samantha Negaard ‘23 dumps the puck into the zone while Abraham and Malika Chebaclo ‘25 tag up.

Submitted by Edinburgh

Cleo Kilpatrick

Submitted by: Grace Gullickson

Ski team seniors pose for their team pictures at Aamoth. Back: Phillip Mariano ‘23, Gaurav Haldar ‘23, William Connor ‘23, Oscar Walsh ‘23, AJ Khan ‘23, Tyler Girk ‘23 Alex Chiesa ‘23 Jackson Moon ‘23 Alex Ha ‘23 Carl Mariano ‘23, and Josh Smith ‘23. Front: Edinburgh, Lily Erlandson ‘23, and Kate Rekas ’23

THE BLAKE NEWSPAPER: A

1916

The Blake School’s newspaper was founded as “The Torch,” following its establishment as a preparatory school for boys in 1907.

1974

The Northrup Collegiate School and the Blake School merged into a co-education institution, giving birth to the Blake School’s co-ed newspaper, “The Spectrum.”

2022

This year marks the Blake School’s newspaper’s 106th year of committment to providing highquality student journalism and to serving as the voice of Blake.

1900

The Northrup Collegiate School for girls was founded and the students created their school newspaper, “The Spectator.”

2010

Spectrum launched its website, allowing its readers and the Blake community to access newspaper content online.

AENTURY LONG JOURNEY

“THE TORCH” REVEALS CULTURAL CHANGES, VALUES

Kaining Zhang | Staff Writer

Our school newspaper at Blake has changed a lot since it was founded in 1916 as “The Torch.”

Sigurd Ueland ‘55 says through email, “I believe just about everyone at the high school level read “The Torch”--we had a much smaller enrollment than exists today.” This leads us to wonder about the big changes between “The Torch” and “The Spectrum.” Many of the differences that stand out are differences in the culture at Blake.

A very distinct cultural change “The Torch”

reveals is the dress code. In the past, Blake has had a very strict dress code, in contrast to today. Students at the boys school were forced to trim their hair or they’d be suspended until they did so. In fact, on Jan. 24, 1969, an article named “Hair Dispute: Quale Won’t Cut Hair, So Headmaster Cuts Quale” was published. Junior Bart Quale refused to trim his hair, which led to his expulsion from Blake.

The change that affected Blake and “The Torch” the most is co-education. Before the merger,

**Read

there were many articles in “The Torch” about coeducation. Back on Nov. 15, 1968, an article titled “Attempts at Coeducation Coordinate Three Schools” was written. It said, “Coeducation…is not being considered by Blake, Northrop, or Highcroft… It is more a cooperative educational plan.”

However, this topic continued to appear in following articles, and on Oct. 30, 1970, the article “Union Discusses Coeducation” was published in “The Torch.” It talked about how meetings were

being held to further discuss the topic, and even “seven students from SPA, recently merged with Summit, attended the meeting to help with the discussion of co-ed.” SPA and Summit had joined as a co-educational school the year before, and their students offered opinions on the topic to help the three schools.

From its transition from “The Torch” to “The Spectrum,” to the many different topics it has, “The Spectrum” has changed a lot since its foundation.

PREVIOUS NEWSPAPERS EXPOSE, EXHIBIT SIMILAR CORE ISSUES TO TODAY’S

Amelia Bush | Managing Editor

If you’ve ever told someone that you go to Blake, you’ve probably heard a response somewhere along the lines of “oh so you must be rich.” But have you ever wondered what these topics were like for people a decade ago? And what about the 1970s, when Blake was still two separate schools? While modern issues and topics of discussion may appear to be things that only our generation deals with, this is not the case. Many issues, complaints, and normal things that are present in our daily lives were also present in the 70s.

It seems as though everyone at Blake has heard the stereotype of Blake being filled with rich, stuck

up kids, and as it turns out that stigma stems from Northrop. One article in “The Torch” entitled “Is Northrop a Snob School?” states, “We believe that a vast majority of public school students tend to classify Northrop as a ‘snob school.’ Hopefully this attitude stems from the fact that most Northrop students lie in quite a high income bracket, and not from what they observe in our behavior towards other people.”

However, “The Torch” had a solution to this issue. The article says, “It is about time someone spoke out in favor of what is not yet a lost cause: our desperate need for school spirit...We can prove that we

are not snobs in our actions and attitudes.” The lack of school spirit is still a topic of discussion, and it being a solution to the “snob” issue is an idea that as a school we must employ.

In an article written in December 2021 in “The Spectrum” entitled “School Spirit Lacks, SIAC Plans to Improve” states that “SIAC Luke Sugalski ‘22, claims, ‘Blake’s school spirit is not great compared to a lot of schools and that’s a problem.’ Aidan Krush ’23, fellow SIAC, agrees and says, ‘Honestly I think we’re lacking a little bit.’”

One event that was a major topic of discussion in 2021 was the creation of the Blaker Space and as

odd as it may seem, technology also addressed in “The Torch.” An article published on Jan. 29, 1971 called “New Computer Installed In Multipurpose ‘Pub’ Room,” comments on the new computers installed in the “computer facilities,” remarking, “The noise you might have heard as you passed by the old Torch office wasn’t any ordinary typewriter. It was a teletype machine, part of the new Blake computer terminal.”

A similar event occurred on Feb. 3, 2022 with the unveiling of the Makerspace. An article titled “Makerspace Unveiled in Library” reveals, “Blake has recently put in a Makerspace in the library, provid-

ing students with space to work on physical projects.

Nat Gilsdorf, the Upper School’s student innovation coordinator, explains, ‘The idea [of the Makerspace] is to allow teachers to feel more comfortable assigning projects instead of papers or tests and to make it more equitable for students to work on those projects.’”

Although Blake has changed throughout the years, “The Spectrum” and “The Torch” represent the same core issues, whether that’s school spirit or “snobbiness.” The persistence of our issues provide a sense of unity and comfort – something that, without “The Torch,” wouldn’t exist.

**Read the full version of this article online at blakespectrum.org!

NEWSPAPERS REFLECT EVOLUTION, PROGRESS

Sam Tomczik | News Editor

s Blake and the world around us have continued to evolve, so have its newspapers. These changes in our community include coeducation, sports, technology, and the latest trends.

Through “The Torch,” it is evident to see that the newspapers have captured the evolution that our school has endured. Though a short article summarizing the girls’ soccer team, like the article found in the October 2022 issue, may not seem new, you wouldn’t have been able to find any stories like it in the all-boys “The Torch” newspaper.

Furthermore, many ideas we now commonly

view as obvious are, in fact, new. Archivist Neva Fuller cites an example of these being the now infamous Blake v. Break rivalry. The Defend the Den event led by Forum last May, featured in the June 2022 publication, promoted this rivalry . However, as Fuller explained, “Last spring, Forum was looking for evidence of a rivalry between Blake and Break, and I was having a hard time finding any evidence of that,” yet they were “able to find evidence of a rivalry between St. Paul Academy.”

Additionally, the introduction of technology as a part of daily life both in and outside of Blake has

been reflected through its newspaper. Articles about news apps are now possible, such as in the September 2022 article about BeReal, “[The] new social media app that teens and young adults are obsessed with.” The April 2022 article about Finch, “[an] app that motivates the user to do positive things for their mental health,” further highlights this new technology.

While outside of the Blake community, “The Spectrum” includes some of the latest fashion trends and popular new aesthetics, from the “That Girl” aesthetic featured in the February 2022 to fall street style inspiration. Not to say

that those who attended the Blake School for boys didn’t want to emulate the styles of their current favorite celebrities; moreover, it’s simply very doubtful that Kendall Jenner’s loved fleece zip-ups or Hailey Beiber’s chrome nails, seen in the October 2022 issue, were their inspiration.

The archives allow us to view our school’s progression through the contrast in various publications in Blake’s history, such as the differences between “The Torch” and “The Spectrum.” This journey, encapsulated in the archives, portrays the changes in the Blake community and the world around us.

A page of “The Torch” issue published in 1972 depicts an old tradition of homecoming, revealing their Homecoming queen, the three attendants and their escorts from Blake with a small blurb next to their picture.

Allyson Jay

The front page of “The Blake Torch” issue published in 1970 includes descriptions of the “Glee Club” and its Music-Art festival, new faculty, and a new photography course that was introduced that year. This page of “The Torch” evidently illustrates the changes of Blake culture.

Allyson Jay

The front page of a 1971 “The Blake Torch” highlights the boys’ hockey team’s victory, defeating Hill’s pioneers in Duluth.

Allyson Jay

the full version of this article online at blakespectrum.org!

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE

Oscar Walsh | Opinions Editor

WUZZLES

Allyson Jay | In-Depth Editor

WORDS OF ADVICE:COMBATTING WINTER DEPRESSION

Remy Abraham | Contributing Writer

“I try to think of super small things that I am grateful for” - Sally Countryman ‘23

“It helps to listen to music, stay warm, sleep, and read” - Xavier Gomez ‘25

“I tend to go to sleep a lot earlier than usual. I also highly suggest therapy. But also doing stuff that you like to do in the winter like skiing or snowboarding” - Sophie Peterson ‘25

“I make sure to include things I like to do in my schedule, not just things I need to do.”

- Evie Doran ‘23

skating on ice white christmaqs bundle up downhill skiing

Students’ Preferences Differ Between Handwriting or Typing Notes

Different notetaking methods hold benefits

Tara Reddy | Contributing Writer

Taking notes during class is one of the most commonly used study techniques practiced by students in ranging courses, being required in a significant number of classes at Blake. Students are asked to take notes during class and annotate their reading assignments, making this studying practice a mandated occurrence. Over time, different methods of taking notes have popularized, like the well known Cornell Method, or various color coding plans marketed for memorization. These useful writing strategies are all beneficial to those who handwrite their notes, but

Davandre Campbell

Campbell is a student that writes by hand for all of his classes, and according to him, he “[fnds] it easier to remember stuff if [he] writes it down.”

with the modern technology of the 21st century, students are also able to easily type their notes for class on a computer.

Typing notes online has been a huge success for students like Sophie Chester ‘26. Chester provides examples of why the switch to typing was essential, in-

cluding taking advantage of spell check, and the uniform fonts as opposed to disorganized handwriting, saying, “It’s just easier to read.” She also hand writes her notes alongside typing, Chester saying that she “[uses] both...depending on the class and the teacher.”

For Chester, teachers

Horoscopes Deemed Unscientific

Ancient beliefs in astrology debunked

Ava Mittra | Contributing Writer

Students and teachers often dismiss horoscopes as being archaic when asked to consider their zodiac signs and horoscopes in Clare Gibson’s “The Complete Book of Birthdays.” Mad -

dom from Mesopotamia. These ancient peoples noticed groups of stars or constellations reappearing in the skies in certain months. They paired 12 of the constellations with their gods and their personalities, gave them names like Capricorn, Taurus and Leo, and they arranged them into a wheel with the Sun at its center. Interestingly, other ancient cultures like China also settled on ex-

and I do tend to throw myself into the pursuit of my interests with boundless enthusiasm.” She noticed a few new things about herself that she hadn’t thought about before.

While Dana Specht (Capricorn) was reading her horoscope, I realized that we had the same birthday and we began to analyze the horoscope together. Specht disagreed with her vice of being

have been very accommodating with her preferences for note taking, except if the assignment is on paper. In her opinion, her teachers are definitely in favor of hand writing notes, because there “is no distraction of other tabs,” but she says her teachers never stop her from opening her computer.

“Sometimes it’s a distraction, but other times when I’m taking notes I’m very focused.”

While Chester believes that her teachers prefer one method of note taking, Davandre Campbell ‘25 thinks the opposite. He says, “No, I don’t actually think they have a preference because like a lot of the kids in my classes computer type.”

Campbell is a student that hand writes for all of his classes, and according to him, he “[finds] it easier to remember stuff if [he] writes it down.”

Director of Learning Support and 9th Grade Learning Specialist Mary Kirchoff mentions that there is a lot of debate on what method students should use for their note taking. For “typical students,” handwriting is beneficial because there is research that links writing to memo-

rization. Kirchoff uses the example of dysgraphia, the writing disability characterized by illegible or distorted handwriting, when discussing alternative options to the method these typical students use. “Writing helps recall… Some students with an identified learning difference like dysgraphia, [they] benefit from word-processing.”

The advantages for typing notes on the computer are seemingly endless, with writing applications such as Word or Google Docs having numerous font options that are legible, different colors you can write or highlight with, different font sizes, and more. Whatever your learning needs are, there is most likely a notetaking technique out there to help with your understanding, that you can adjust to suit your preferences.

Music Streaming Modes Conflict

Students disagree about Apple Music and Spotify

Gabi Marmet | Arts & Culture Editor

Do you prefer Spotify or Apple Music? There is an ongoing debate as to whether Apple Music or Spotify

listen to. Although you do have to pay for Apple Music, many users explain that it’s worth it, and they also offer a free seven-day trial.

Spotify is a social platform. Spotify can be free, if you are willing to have occasional ads, or you can subscribe to Spotify Premium, which costs $10 per month, and is ad free. Spotify also offers family plans,

like what if you were an Apple Music user, but then all of the sudden you get a Samsung, what are you gonna do then? You don’t have music!”

A survey sent to Blake students asked whether they liked Apple Music or Spotify better. With an even age split of students who responded, 73.5% of kids prefer Spotify, and

Apple Music vs. Spotify Users at Blake

die Raih ‘26 (Capricorn) said, “I think some of it is correct, but I’m not unapproachable, I think I’m very approachable.” Cory Tao (Libra) found very little to agree with in her horoscope, dismissing its description of her as “attention-seeking, naturally combative and a natural leader.” But, Tao agreed she had “concern for others” but in an “abstract rather than a personal form.” Despite these inaccuracies, horoscopes and zodiac signs are extremely popular in today’s pop culture--on TikTok, as conversation starters and as necklaces. The zodiac signs we recognize in Western culture were named by the Greeks and Romans, who drew on even older wis-

actly 12 zodiac signs, but based them on animals like the tiger and monkey, and years instead of months. The Chinese arranged their zodiac signs in a tree, controlled by the moon, and believed people were powerfully tied to their animals.

Every single Blake student and teacher asked to read their zodiac sign and horoscope shrugged off this ancient thinking. Lucia Heathcote ‘25 (Gemini), disagreed with much of her personality description; “I don’t think I’m very stubborn, but I think that I like to be alone sometimes. But I don’t cut myself off from society…I like to relax with friends and family members and ensure that everyone has a good time

Specht allowed that she could be mistaken as unassertive because she doesn’t always express her opinions loudly. When Specht read her virtues as being “reliability, unconventional mindset and team-oriented.” Specht agreed these were accurate.

While horoscopes are certainly not 100% correct, and modern science has made celestial bodies and animals less mysterious than they were in the ancient world, horoscopes continue to hold sway over us. They allow for the mystical idea that our personalities can be fully known, even specially designed by hidden forces.

Out of 170 students surveyed, the majority responded that they use Spotify. One

mous student explained that, “There is every song choice and I can make as many playlists as I want. Also all my friends use Spotify so I can see what they’re

is the better music platform. The dispute has continued for years, and a majority of people will defend that the platform they use is better. Both platforms have different, unique benefits.

Apple Music, a $5 a month platform, is superior to Spotify because it has the better sound quality. Apple Music also allows users to learn about the songs/ artists and offers live radio shows for users to

which is another way of getting Spotify Premium. Customers are able to add their friends, look at what they’re listening to, as well as make collaborative playlists. Spotify Wrapped is a new addition to Spotify, it shows user listening data and trends. Anna

Tao ‘25 , a diehard Spotify user explains another benefit, “What if you don’t have an apple phone? You know? What if you switch phones,

only 20% prefer Apple Music. An anonymous student who preferred Spotify wrote, “The majority of my friends use Spotify, so I like being able to create collaborative playlists and share the music I am listening to with them.”

Another person who favored Apple Music wrote, “The sound quality of the music is really good and I like the way it’s organized better than [S]potify.”

Melody Lee Gabi Marmet

anony

listening to.”

“unassertive,” and insisted she’s actually “very opinionated.”

Ye’s Comments Outrage

Fans continue to support artist on social media

Yoni Zacks | Sports Editor

Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, has made national headlines recently for his controversial statements, specifically regarding Jews. As a Jewish teenager in the modern day, this is nothing new.

Several celebrities have made anti-Semetic statements recently, including Ye, Kyrie Irving, and former president Donald Trump. These statements are unacceptable, and what’s worse is the continued support they receive or the minimal consequences some of the celebrities face.

The issue stems from social media, specifically Twitter. Elon Musk, who recently bought Twitter, unbanned Ye’s account. This shows how little Elon Musk cares about what people say, and that is unacceptable. As the new CEO of a social media company, he has to be wary about who he supports publicly, as that will have a trickle-down effect

showing younger kids who listen to Ye’s music that they have no consequences for their actions.

None of what I just said would matter as much if Ye just apologized. Instead, he has been digging himself further and further down the rabbit hole of stupidity, as he continues to make anti-Semetic comments. He never actually apologized for his statements, nor has he tried to make amends for what he said.

Last month’s, Spectrum did a deep dive about whether or not you can separate the art from the artist. At first, I was able to still listen to Ye’s music without feeling anything wrong. However, since he has not apologized, dug himself deeper in the hole, and is now a repeat offender since he has been in the news a lot before, I do not feel right listening to Ye’s music since he has affected so many people and groups, including one very personal to me.

I am Jewish, and I am proud to be Jewish. Ye cannot take that away from me, but I can take away a listener of his music.

Media Endlessly Seeks to Divide Women

Justin Bieber, a Canadian singer, in 2011. After dating on and off for seven years, the two finally split up in 2018.

Tara Reddy | Contributing Writer

modern media, the center focus always seems to be on women and their relationships, either between their partners, or with other women. Women have tolerated this invasion of privacy for years, the gossip and drama that comes with the fame.

Recently, there has been some internet drama surrounding Hailey Bieber and Selena Gomez, who had been “feuding” for years prior. American singer, Selena Gomez began dating

During their relationship timeline, Gomez and

lives.

Now, Justin is married to Hailey Bieber, an American model. Fans began pitting Hailey Bieber and Selena Gomez against each other, when there does

the first time, perhaps an attempt to diffuse gossip and tension.

The media forcing these two prominent women to turn against each other, when there was no hate in the first place (as proven by the photographs at the AMG), was useless and unnecessary. There was blame put only on the women, with Justin Bieber not receiving any backlash. Men in the acting and singing industries get praised for their relationship hopping while women are reprimanded for doing the same.

Bieber both dated different people, these flings sparking internet fights, increasing the spread of gossip and people trespassing on their personal

not seem to be any hard feelings between the two. At the 2021 Met Gala, Hailey Bieber and Gomez were photographed together for

The issue is the media caring a great deal about the personal lives of the famous, specifically with the intentions of shaming the woman in the situation.

Cancel culture alive and well in our community

“C ancel culture” is a buzzword that gained traction around the 2010’s and has come to define our generation. When a person is “canceled” they are publicly shamed, hated on, and practically banished from society. Tweets resurface, old videos come up and words are twisted. While social media undoubtedly elevates scandals, it uncovers deep misogyny, homophobia and harmful beliefs held by powerful people. Thus comes the question: is “cancel culture” about ostracization or accountability?

Cancel culture isn’t just pervasive on global

scale, it occurs and is dealt with within highschools. As teenagers our opinions are constantly changing. While growing up, we latch onto the opinions of our parents and families. As we mature and become exposed to popular culture and a broader view of the world, new ideas and opinions begin to form.

While this may have been okay years ago, the shift in culture that has surrounded social media (moving at the speed of light) has altered what it means to grow up. Whether it be a job interview 10 years in the future or our college applications in the present, it seems we constantly live fearful that opportunities will be taken away or we will be shamed based on a

split second comment or a belief that you held (and may have publicized) when you were younger.

These deep rooted fears dominate our own analysis. We now never want to say anything that could be deemed controversial. Which, let’s face it, is any opinion under the sun. We must recognize that we all have different opinions and outlooks on life that will undoubtedly blossom and change as we mature. Rather than hating each other, we must empathize and be open to conversation. For it is open and honest communication that fosters growth.

Cancel culture, while harmful to some degree, is also about accountability. There is a fine line, that is so

often blurred, between someone’s outlook and an opinion that is damaging to a group. When someone does showcase such behaviors (name calling, making ignorant statements, dressing up in culturally appropriated costumes) we must learn to educate our classmates and learn with them. While we shouldn’t be quick to excuse these behaviors, we also shouldn’t immediately cancel someone. It is far more impactful to explain to someone why what they’ve done is wrong and how to fix it than to attempt to turn everyone against them. At the same time we mustn’t write off someone’s behavior as plainly ignorant, it is our responsibility to stand up and say something.

Appreciating Culture Rather Than Appropriating

pared to other schools, but the international foods they serve are not 100% traditional or “accurate”. This doesn’t necessarily make the food bad, just different.

think those are the two that people get really pumped about.”

Rhea Balachandran | Staff Writer

F ood is a very important aspect of many cultures. With Blake being a very diverse school, it only makes sense that Blake’s lunch menu would have lots of foods from different cultures on it. Ranging from Italian to Korean, Blake has a pretty good selection of cultural foods — but how accurate are those foods? Should the chefs even be making these foods?

The school’s lunch food is very good com -

The large selection of food allows people to try foods that they wouldn’t normally make or buy.

One day at lunch, I tried beef rendang, an Indonesian dish, for the first time. I really enjoyed it. The introduction of this dish inspired me to learn more about Indonesian cuisine and try to find Indonesian restaurants close to me.

Anil Chandiramani says that when he thinks about “the sorts of meals [his] students get really excited about, it’s like chicken tenders, grilled cheese sandwiches… I

While this could depend on the students’ palates, it could also show that the chefs might want to try to up the quality of their cultural food to promote students to try foods from other cultures.

Another thing the school could do to encourage students to learn about new cultures is to serve cultural foods on the holiday they would be served on. For example, they could serve Indian food on Diwali.

So is it cultural appropriation to make and serve food not from your culture?

I don’t really think so, and the five people I interviewed seemed to agree with me. In fact,

they seemed to think the opposite.

People should try to make food from different cultures to learn more about a specific culture or to expand their knowledge about food.

I encourage our chefs to try cooking foods out of their comfort zone, as long as they don’t claim that their version is the only correct way to do it.

Culture appropriation for me means making fun or trying to profit off of the culture. While a couple of things could be improved, such as the accurateness or quality of the food, overall I think the school and our chefs do a very good job of appreciating culture rather than appropriating it.

Ali Hecker

Cafe Blake attemps to recreate several traditionally cultural

Successful women pitted against each other online

In

After making numerous Anti-Semetic statements, Ye’s Twitter remains unbanned. Many fnd this toleration unnacceptable.

Cafe Blake serves Chicken Fajitas, a dish originally created by Mexican ranch workers in the 1930s. The Fajitas were accompanied by vegatbles and rice.

Ali Hecker

Julia Everett

Many developmental benefits to learning and playing an instrument

Shruti Balachander | Staff Writer

T here are many different instruments that people could consider to play and I personally believe that it’s a good idea to pick one up during your time at high school. Currently, I play the piano and violin and I’ve found that through my experiences, it’s had an overall positive impact on my lifestyle.

Not only can it provide a way to spend your time as an extracurricular activity but there are ways in which your thinking and emotions are improved. Comprehension and awareness are directly correlated to learning an instrument and according to the Science Daily, “several studies have reported positive associations between music education and increased abilities in non-musical (linguistic, mathematical, spatial) domains.”

These benefits aren’t

limited to improving your intellectual abilities as emotions of enjoyment and happiness can be gained through music. From my perspective, I’ve seen that it’s also had an impact on my social life because I gain the ability to connect with other people and form communities

when we play or listen to music.”

However looking at the other side of the argument there are some health dangers that can arise from playing an instrument, such as chronic dermatitis, cramps, soft tissue damage, etc. While there are only a few dangers attributed to each type of instrument,

and ultimately means that the benefits outweigh the negatives.

Another undermined part of learning an instrument is the difficulty because being able to properly play one requires a significant amount of training and practice. It takes serious dedication and focus to be able to play an instrument proficiently, however, I think that it’s a challenge worth undertaking because the results are worth all the effort that you put into it. An NPR article summarizes this frame of thinking as it says, “playing music is a great mental exercise and can keep brain cells alive that would otherwise wither and die. It may be hard - and humbling - but playing music with someone you love or pursuing a lifelong goal can be infinitely rewarding.”

To Say What the Law Is

New Supreme Court decisions to affect state voter laws

Kevin Bizily | Columnist

This term, Supreme Court cases Merrill v. Milligan and Merrill v. Caster challenge Alabama’s redistricting plan under the Voting Rights Act. Although the black population has increased since 2010 (currently ~25%), the new boundaries include only one black-majority district. In response, a league of Alabama voters sued over the redistricting plan.

ways. In this case, the trial court applied the test and found the Alabama districts constitute illegal vote dilution.

In contrast to the plaintiffs’ argument, Alabama contests that Section II only requires equal opportunities to vote and not a proportional number of majority-minority districts. The text of the Act reflects this; while it prohibits any practice which “results in a denial or abridgement of the right… to vote on account of race or color” but no mention is made of proportionality or vote dilution. Further, Alabama claims deliberately redistricting to add another majority-black district would be racial gerrymandering in of itself and could violate Amendments XIV and XV.

that are based on the medium of instruments. According to the Musical Arts Center of San Antonio (MACSA), “Happy hormones are released through our bloodstream

they can still impact your overall health and should be seen as a sign of caution. Nonetheless, these health dangers will mainly arise from being unsanitary or overplaying which are in your control

Expecting Improved Pluralism

Following religious holidays causes missed work

Ethan Klaiman | Staff Writer

Y ou are being lied to. Pluralism, a word plastered along the halls you travel from 8:45 am-3 pm every day, is defined as “a condition in which two or more states, groups, principles, sources of authority, etc., can coexist.” (Oxford Languages). Who, attending The Blake School of Excellence, fits this criteria of the capability of “coexist[ing]”? Perchance, it is displayed in every available space in this school to demonstrate how well the students get along with teachers, because pluralism at Blake is not based on equal representation of students’ identities. Since students are unequally represented, they cannot follow the term “coexist” which lives in the very word that Blake is committed to.

Blake’s commitment to pluralism should allow students to participate in events so crucial

to their religion, but the way it is now, if students wanted to follow their identities, they would have to miss a day of school. Missing a day of school would lead to an unrecoverable amount of work build-up.

Pluralism, a term shoved down the throats of whoever is misfortunate enough to view the surplus amount of propluralism propaganda, does not exist for its students. For example, even in moments mandatory to certain religions, like the expectation of arriving at school while participating in the Jewish High Holidays (the most important holidays in the Jewish religion) students are still expected to show up and school and complete work and tests.

Blake’s lack of adaptations for students they claim to represent is a clear and gross exemption of their pluralism. In order for Blake to truly be able to claim the Commitment to Pluralism they have written in the JNA for those to see two or more times a week, they must cancel school on days in which students need to follow their background.

Blake exemplifies their pluralistic policies, not just in school, but in the handbook. In the Blake student handbook, the second paragraph in the 100-page book clearly expands upon how Blake “values students, families, and employees with a wide range of backgrounds, identities and life experiences. We strive for understanding across differences in an inclusive environment where everyone can belong, contribute and thrive.”

This quote shows how Blake strives to create an “environment” where everyone no matter what “background” can “thrive.”

If Blake is attempting to create such an environment, then why must students be expected to attend school when it requires them to detach from aspects of their background?

Students need to have days off when there are these large holidays/ religious events in order for Blake to truly claim a commitment to pluralism. Pluralism is an extremely valuable term and will lead to a more equal world, but the term means nothing if it is not applied.

The main thing to take away is that learning an instrument is a choice worth considering because there are many ways in which it will improve your life. What I’ve found to be the hardest part is getting started, however, if you can find the means to pursue an instrument, then it’s a decision that

Plaintiffs supported by the Biden Administration argue that Section II of the VRA requires the creation of a second majority-black district in order to match the population, as per Thornburg v. Gingles, a 1986 case applying the Act. Under this case, a dilution claim would succeed if there are enough black voters in relatively compact area(s) to form two districts, if they vote similarly, and if the white majority votes in opposite

Although the decision will not be released until spring, the Court’s textualist leanings suggest they will permit Alabama’s plan. Currently, it does not seem like Gingles will be overruled, however the test could be modified. It appears most probable the Court determines using race as a primary criterion for redistricting is either unnecessary under the VRA or prohibited by the Constitution, and thus permit the redistricting plan.

Record-Low Precipitation Levels

Early snowfalls curtail dry spell, harmful precipitation patterns

Claire Cao | Staff Writer

Right now, Minnehaha falls is drying up and the Mississippi river is at its all-time low. Unfortunately, this drought isn’t just unique to Minnesota as according to the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS), approximately 60% of the US and 52% of Minnesota are experiencing drought. 2020-2022 has been the driest 3-year period ever and according to MPR, September was the driest month on record within the Twin Cities. It is eminent that this drought is especially abnormal.

In the past century, droughts have become increasingly prevalent across the globe and it is estimated that they will only continue to increase; an effect of climate change. Warmer temperatures allow evaporation to occur within the soil and transpiration from plants. These lead to extreme droughts in some regions and floods in other areas. Warmer temperatures also increase the intensity of droughts. A

mild drought could easily become extreme when water is constantly evaporating due to rising temperatures. This is especially dangerous as it means droughts will only get longer and more extreme as both time and climate change progress.

Extreme droughts wreak havoc on supply chains and the economy. For example, the Mississippi River is essential for exporting crops globally. However, these exports are in crisis due to the river drying up in certain areas. Without these exports, investments and imports cannot be made, taking a toll on the US and global economy. It is likely that the entire world will greatly suffer, famine will be more prevalent and other nations’ economies will falter without US trade. Unfortunately, if extreme efforts aren’t made, these effects will worsen and this will slowly lead to our extinction.

However, there are many short-term and longterm solutions to mitigate the effects of drought. Currently, the U.S. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is giving financial and technological assistance to areas most affected. This includes emergency assistance and loans for any crops, livestock, trees, and

farmland that have been affected.

Long-term solutions include investing in infrastructure or making strategic choices to switch to more sustainable crops or varieties. Efforts are also being directed into capturing and storing more water for future droughts.

While these do help mitigate the effects of drought, in order to completely solve the problem, we must target the root cause –climate change, of which many solutions already exist. President Biden created the first-ever National Climate Task Force which aims to reach 100% carbon-free electricity by 2035, reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 5052% by 2030, and obtain a net-zero emissions economy by 2050.

Despite these large strides to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, climate change is still unavoidable and individual actions must take place to reduce emissions.

These span from small changes such as reducing water consumption or recycling to installing solar panels or buying an electric car. These efforts will drastically change the trajectory of climate change and prevent any effects such as drought from escalating.

The Value of School Security

School’s Approach Made of Many Steps

Gabi Marmet | Arts & Culture Editor

The Blake Upper School has a very strong secuwalk leading to the student parking lot at the end of the day. Everyday after school, they stand there making sure that the students stay safe as well as wishing them a great rest of their days.

Hanson and Henning monitor the area of people coming and going as well as

help with the traffic flow. Hanson explained, “I like to yell at cars who speed through the crosswalk and hit my students, I watch how many students run over

school.

The ALICE (alert, lockdown, inform, counter and evacuate) procedures at Blake are also very important. With rising violence in schools around the county, it’s vital for students to learn and understand how to act when confronted with a threat.

Students’ Safety Requires Further Discussion

Charlotte Opp | Creative Director

In the last 20 years security around the school has ramped up exponentially. Although

security staff, Rio Hanson and Bentley Henning came to help right away after being notified. Sabre recalls, “They stood outside the door and kept an eye on her the whole time.”

people actively trying to steal cars from the nearby student parking lot who are able to gain access.

first lines of defenses, and important to have to make sure that nobody unknown is able to get into the school. The badges can be tiresome to have to swipe every morning, but they are effective in preventing intruders from getting into the

if she thought the drills were ef fective, “I can understand them, but I don’t think that people take the drills seriously enough. The thing is that like people just mess around and barricade the door.” The drills assist with planning for the future and how people would respond to certain situa tions such as evacuations or school shootings. The life of each person also won’t just be dependent on how people act with the ALICE drills but Henning explained, “Even though the students have what they do in classrooms, security is already on top of our plan to [help save them].”

2018...

Team Promotes Key Cards, Community

Bennett Weiland | Staff Writer

At Blake, we are blessed to have such a great security team. Our Head of Security at the Upper School, Gene Paulauskas, came to Blake having previously served in numerous military and governmental roles. The head of security at Blake, Mike Feinberg, came from Homeland Security as a criminal investigator. After years of service, both thought it was time for a change, and thus began their careers at Blake. With the threat of crime, it can be argued that Blake needs to increase their level of preparedness and security but I’ll assure you, Blake is secure.

Jocelyn Jim ‘26 feels similarly. She says, “there’s never been a situation at school where I’ve been worried about safety. They do a good job making sure we know what to do during intruder situations, like ALICE drills.”

The threat of intruders is one potential situation. Paulauskas feels very strongly about the importance of key cards to enter the building each day so he knows exactly who is in the building at all times. By badging at the door in the morning, you are going a long way to helping protect our school.

Keeping cards on you at all times is another sim-

ple security measure and is important for the security team. Paulauskas explains, “The proximity cards we use at Blake are expensive, at just under $4.00 per card. This becomes a huge drain to Blake’s security budget.”

Paulaskas also wants to draw attention to competitive traditions such as Assassin which can easily get out of hand (especially with modern technology and vehicles) and have proven to be deadly for students across the country in years past. Such games pose as a challenge to the security team who want to prioritize student safety. However, Paulauskas remarks, “We really have a responsible student body here at Blake…it’s the rare occasion when security has to intervene.”

Furthermore, Paulauskas explains, “Blake security has a great relationship with our Parents Association and since most instances of games like tag take place away from Blake campuses, it’s very important for families to have discussions regarding par-

ticipating in these games.”

Paulauskas stresses the importance of teamwork to create a safe and welcoming learning environment. Part of creating such an environment is the ability to connect with faculty and staff. Paulauskas exclaims, “My office is always open for anyone who needs to vent, take a mental break or grab a piece of candy.”

their free block saw a woman walk into the courtyard without a problem. ‘24 was outside grabbing something from his car and, “saw her walking towards the math wing door” and after alerting security at the front door “saw her pulling on the door and banging on the windows.” Obvi ously Sabre and other students who saw the event were concerned for the woman and their safety as they thought that she might try to break into the school. Who knows what the woman’s intentions were and she could’ve just as likely been someone who wanted to break into the school. When faced with such a surprising event, it’s hard to know the best course of action, but thanks to our great

As far as we know this woman’s intentions weren’t to hurt anyone but the fact that she was able to come right into our courtyard is concerning. Nobody should be able to waltz onto school grounds without a connection to the school.

Comparably, Tyler Vandersall ‘24 , whose car was stolen from the student parking lot earlier this year, recalls how he responded. He notes, “I just

Unfortunately, our security team can’t do much about this issue since the parking lot isn’t owned by the school, but students need more security (whether it be via school or city police) for their vehicles so that students can feel safe parking there for the school day. The school’s efforts to keep people out of the parking lot and prevent break-ins isn’t effective.

In terms of ALICE drills, there is an overarching consensus that they wouldn’t be that helpful in a real situation. Nick Witzke ‘24 explains, “The biggest problem with the ALICE drills is that [the security team] send[s] out the procedure beforehand. If

Julia Zhang

A l ly

son Jay A l ly son Jay

Rio Hansen (left) and Bentley Henning (right) are part of Blake’s extensive security team who prioritize students saftey.

In

Blake both upgraded its security system and added a proximity card system

In 2019...Blake began ALICE drills which were fully impli- mented during theyear.2021-22

Security cards used badge into the Blake campuses cost around $4 to repalce creating a drain on the budget if not taken care of.

Due to recent crime in the student

parking lot, there seems to be an overwhelming need for more oversight and percaution.

JuliaZhang

SENIORS REFLECT ON COMMITMENT PROCESS

Yoni Zacks | Sports Editor

“It was super scary, I’m not gonna lie. I was nervous. But the coach, he was a younger coach, he was a super cool guy.” Nam Truong ‘23, a future Division I swimmer, described his recruiting experience. Truong has committed to Virginia Military Institute (VMI) for swimming next year. He has always wanted to go to a military school: “I have a bloodline of service. My dad, my uncles, and my grandpas all served in Vietnam and they lost, so they came over here. There are a few reasons I wanted to serve. The first is that I wanted to give back to the country that gave my family a second home, a second life. The second is to uphold

TROUNG: VMI SWIMMING

the freedom and the values of the United States. One big thing is the mentality of not me, then who. It’s not right for me to sit on my couch and fight for my freedom when I am perfectly capable of doing so myself. It’s an honorable thing to do.”

VMI is not the only military school Truong visited, but it felt right from the start. “[VMI] felt special. I went to a few other schools, I visited a few other schools, and I’ve had guys that I competed with that went to the other school. When meeting the whole team, it didn’t feel connected in a way that VMI does. They were all friends, but at a military school it’s more of a brotherhood

than a friendship. It was a lot closer [of a team].”

That connection was a key factor in Truong’s decision. “I loved the team, that’s the reason why I decided to swim. For me, when I was looking at colleges, it came down to their military program. That was the one thing the school had to have was a strong military program and everything else was secondary… When I went on my official [visit], I went up unsure if I wanted to swim or not.

When I met the coach and when I met the teammates, I knew that I wanted to swim for the coach and train and compete alongside the cadets that I met. The team made a big impact on me.”

Troung describes his feelings when he frst got to VMI. “It felt like home, I saw cadets marching in formation [and] I saw the freshmen getting yelled at by upperclassmen. A lot of [schools] they say they’re a military school and that they do this and that but, you dont’ know if they actually do it until you see it right before your eyes. It was like, this [school has] what I want to do and this is what I want to be.”

HIGUCHI: YALE HOCKEY

Suzy Higuchi ‘23 is one of two seniors committed to Yale for a sport. She will be playing hockey for the currently ranked 6th best women’s hockey team in the country.

Before June 13th, the first day of communication between coaches and recruits, she felt nervous: “A lot of coaches and older people who have gone through that process tell you very frequently to enjoy the process. It seems stressful [in] the moment, but it’s something to look back on. It’s a very exciting process, but at the moment

it’s very stressful. Looking back on it, I agree it was eventful and something that was pretty fun now that I see the bigger picture.” That stress was described as “There’s always that fear of ‘oh, I won’t get any offers’ or ‘I won’t get an offer from the school I really want to go to.’ Once I got into the actual process, just because the coaches are experienced and know what’s going on, once I got into it was very exciting.”

That excitement led to an unofficial visit. Those include a tour of the campus and a Q&A session

with the coach and potentially some players. Higuchi chose to ask about the academic-athletic balance at Yale. “There was definitely a really good balance. I know through talking with the students that they do a good job of prioritizing academics but still excelling in athletics, so I thought it was a very good fit for me.”Her parents agreed that it was a good fit: “They’re people who know me, maybe even more than I know myself. I knew that their opinion in the decision would be a factor, but they were all for Yale as well.”

EGELAND: YALE SWIMMING

Charlie Egeland ‘23, also plans to swim in college. For him, swimming is a family affair. “my parents swam so that’s why I started and I liked it so I just kept doing it.” It paid off, and he was recruited by schools like Georgia Tech, Harvard and Yale. “The first day D1 Schools can start talking to you is June 13th [the summer before] your Junior year, so a bunch of schools reached out to me over text and email… you wake up and you have five, 10, 15 texts and emails from schools and coaches, it’s pretty cool.”

Egeland knew from the start that he wanted to go to an Ivy League school. He said, “[I’ve wanted to

go for] basically forever. Academics, going to Blake it’s just my main priority… I don’t want to go to a fast swimming school that only focuses on swimming because, swimming [is] eventually gonna end for me, it’s not like I can go to the NFL. I want to be set up for later.”

After his unofficial visits, Egeland narrowed his list down to two schools: Princeton and Yale.

After his visit to Yale, it was an easy decision.

Egeland expresses, “I just liked the culture of the team the best. [...] and I felt like I connected with Yale the best…I just felt more at home at Yale.

I remember when I was leaving my visit to Yale,

on the plane, I missed it and wanted to go back. That was something I remember before I made my decision, where I was like ‘yeah, this is the place I want to be’.” He added that “[the culture] was probably the deciding factor. I went to Yale in the fall of Junior year, and I went to Princeton in the spring of Junior year, so there was a long gap between my two visits. It’s a long process, a year and a half of two years even, so I just wanted to make sure that I got to know the team as well as I could, see their performance and stuff…Missing the team was something that made me feel like this is the place I want to be.”

Egeland expresses how he creating many connections was very meaningful to him throughout this process. He says, “Just getting to know all the coaches, they’re all in the Ivy League so I will see them a lot at meets. Now I’ll have these relationships with them and it’s super cool.”

Athletes express how they knew which school was right for them

Higuchi’s piece of advice for future athletes going through the commitment process, “Just taking the time to get to know yourself and what you are looking for in a college experience and taking that into account when making your decision.”

Submitted by: Egeland

Submitted by: Higuchi

Submitted by: Troung

Yoni Zacks

Cleo Kilpatrick

Cleo Kilpatrick

Cleo Kilpatrick

Voyages Provide Life Experiences, Preparation for Future Travel Through Chloe Lipham's Style

Sonia Lerner | Staff Writer

Travel has always been important to Chloe Lipham ‘23’s parents, and after they passed the tradition onto Lipham herself, she, too, has grown a love for travel. In addition to short-term visits to places around the world, her mother grew up in Malaysia and her father has periodically lived outside of the United States as well. Ever since she was little, Lipham has traveled regularly, almost every school break. She says, “I kind of just grew up with it,” then adding that her parents’ existing love for travel is the main driver in her many trips. From her parents, the larger purpose of her family’s travels is especially evident; “they’ve always emphasized the importance of seeing new cultures.” Aside from amazing food, city life, and sightseeing, Lipham has gotten to see more specific parts of global cultures, for example seeing sumo wrestling and food markets, among other things, during a trip to Japan when she was younger. Her cultural immersions haven’t been random, rather Lipham puts in effort to experience more of a place’s culture, saying, “I always try to do some things that are more culturally enriching [so] I can learn more about the place and the history.”

Lipham’s experiences with travel and seeing new cultures have given her more than just good memories. “[My travels have] definitely allowed me to have a greater world perspective, just recognizing that there are different perspectives and different types of normal that every person has.” She says that her nuanced perspective has “also just made [her] very grateful to travel because [she] knows [traveling is] something that a lot of people would want to do…it’s really meaningful for [her].” Additionally, Lipham says that her more full perspective on the world will come in handy later in life, as she’s planning on pursuing a career in international business. “I think I’[ll be] able to incorporate a bit of that perspective that I’ve learned about into, just, how I interact with others and having an open mind for different situations.” For now, Lipham will continue to travel and learn more about the world, beginning with a trip back to Japan this winter break.

England

Streetwear to Classic Style: How To Make It Blend

and seeing all the different clothes and everything is really great.”

In terms of her own style, Lipham likes to experiment with different aesthetics, but she turns mainly to neutral or mild colors, and keeps her accessories simple. Many girls in France “[wear] the same reiteration of everything. So like a certain type of jeans, a certain type of shoes, a certain type of shirt.”

it myself,” says Lipham.

Besides traveling, Lipham also takes great interest in fashion. Her travels have allowed her to “gain inspiration from styles

from all over the world.”

Lipham looks at styles that’s trending in Asia and Europe adding “I really like to look at, kind of, a broader view

for style and then kind of make my own.”

Specifically, Lipham’s trips to global fashion hubs, such as London,

France, Korea, and New York have heavily influenced her style. She recalls her two trips to Korea, saying that “getting to look around Seoul

Lipham, however, has chosen a different route, picking clothing that appeals to her rather than following trends as they come. “I don’t have, like, a set style or aesthetic for every day, it’s kind of just what I’m feeling. So I might look really preppy one day with, like, skirt and loafers and everythings and then look more streetwear with, like, joggers and sneakers the next day…I don’t like to lim-

Lipham’s travels didn’t initiate her love for fashion, but rather magnified it adding, “I think I would still be interested [in fashion without my travels], but not as aware as I am now.” Lipham continues saying, “Without going to New York so many times, or London, [she] wouldn’t really have an appreciation for [fashion] as much.” Lipham’s mother’s Malaysian descent has affected how much she cares about fashion. “In Asian culture, it’s always emphasized, like, how you present yourself to others, especially in the workplace or school…so that’s always been with me since I’ve grown up,” says Lipham. Although the message originated from her family, she recognizes that, “I don’t think I would’ve gotten [that message] as much without [traveling].”

Malaysia

Singapore

South Korea

All photos submitted by Lipham. Graphic based off of photos submitted.

Julia Zhang

Amelia Bush