AUREUS
The Feature Magazine of The Rubicon Vol. 3, No. 1 | Fall 2018
Walking in Your Shoes
ISSUE #1
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WALKING IN YOUR SHOES
CONTENTS What makes us love our favorite kicks ....................................................................................................4 10 questions with Tyler Christensen ..........................................................................................................6 The psychology of shoes...................................................................................................................................8 Quotes that keep us moving forward ...................................................................................................10 Stepping outside .................................................................................................................................................12 From first steps to final steps (parents of ‘19) ..................................................................................14 Team Dincer and Romans ............................................................................................................................16 Immersion at SPA ..............................................................................................................................................18 Otto honors love for fashion through Instagram ............................................................................20 A chance to dance ............................................................................................................................................22 There’s no place like home ..........................................................................................................................24 The truth behind Van Gogh Shoes ..........................................................................................................26 Baby steps ..............................................................................................................................................................28
Letter From the Editor: We always talk about how we wish we knew each other better. Our lives intersect in so many ways, yet often we don’t truly know much about each other. Through this issue, I challenge each of you to step into the shoes of those in your lives. Think about what kind of experiences others go through and how those experiences shape their lives and perspectives. Also, included in this issue are some fun stories about shoes, from inspirational quotes along the theme of “keep moving forward” (p. 10) to the history of Van Gogh’s painting of shoes (p. 26). I hope you enjoy the issue and ponder the deeper messages in it. Nitya Thakkar Aureus Editor In Chief
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ISSUE #1
WHAT MAKES US LOVE “They’re comfortable, they remind me of the India trip because I got them for the India trip.” - Sophomore Elise Parsons
“I like them because they’re sparkly and they make me really happy whenever I look at them.” - Senior Isabel Dieperink
“I like these shoes because they’re extremely comfortable and also because they’re red.” - Sophomore Sean Stevenson 4 - Aureus
WALKING IN YOUR SHOES
EEOUR OURFAVORITE FAVORITEKICKS KICKS “They remind me of fall and fall is a season that I really like.” - Junior Ananya Narayan
“Whenever I take a test it’s a self confidence booster because I feel like I look nicer.” - Sophomore Isabelle Wolpert
“They’re very comfortable, and I like Jordans.” - 9th grader Isaiah Eby Written by Kat St. Martin-Norburg Designed by Quinn Christensen Photographs by Kat St. Martin-Norburg Aureus - 5
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10 QUESTIONS WITH 9th GRADER TYLER CHRISTENSEN
1
Walk me through your mornings.
I get up early on days that I have Summit Singers because I live far from school and so I have to wake up at 6. I usually wake up at 7, sometimes have breakfast when I have enough time to, do all my stuff really quickly so I can get out the door and get to class on time -- which sometimes happens. My mom or dad usually drive me in the mornings, sometimes my grandma.
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What’s a normal day for you?
I go to school and don’t have that much free time except study halls. Then I take the bus after school, go home, stretch, practice dance, and get my homework done if I have it.
3
You’re on the dance team?
I just joined last Wednesday, so it’s pretty new. I danced for a really long time -- about 5 years of competitive dance, but that was really intense so I quit. Now I’m on the school team and it’s been really fun so far. It’s a lot of people that I don’t know, which is intimidating, but it was like that at my last dance school. I’ve always liked dance and performing.
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What’s the best part of your day? The best part of my day is probably relaxing at home after a long school day. Stretching, because I’m constantly sore.
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Do you do any extracurriculars?
Yeah, I’m really into art. I went to art school over the summer for two weeks in California. Art is definitely a big deal in my life. I like to paint, and I do a lot of drawing and sketching. What I like the most is painting.
Written by Melissa Nie Designed by Noah Raaum Artwork by Tyler Christensen
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When did you start drawing?
I’ve always drawn and been interested in art and creating art. But I started really trying to get into it and doing it regularly for the past three years.
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What’s your process? I really like drawing reference photos: pictures from celebrities that I like. Singers, actors, and adding my own stylistics onto that drawing; enhanced highlights to make it less realistic. I like drawing portraits and faces the most because I’m really bad at drawing bodies. Then I might add some watercolor or lineart to deepen stuff, or accents of paint. I also like drawing landscapes for colors.
8
Are you in any art classes?
I’m in Ceramics right now. It was my third choice because I have to have a portfolio put together by the end of the year. I haven’t ever been into ceramics but it’s fun because I can take some of my sketching and painting skills into ceramics. You have to paint and create designs for things, which is fun and calming. But I’m excited for Painting and Drawing.
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What’s something you’d want others to know about you? I think I want them to know about how much I like music: having it as a part of my life, how I connect to it and the community around it.
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What are some of your favorite bands or artists I really like Twenty One Pilots and Paramore. I like all genres, I’d say.
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THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SHOES “What do our shoes say about us?” Written by Andrew Johnson Designed by Will Rinkoff
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WALKING IN YOUR SHOES
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o most people, the concept of wearing shoes is simple. Shoes serve to protect feet against the ground, showcase a sense of fashion, among other reasons. People wear shoes because it’s the acceptable thing to do: If you aren’t wearing them, you are an outsider to society. The most commonly asked question is: “What do you say about your shoes?” Are they bright? Worn down? From a designer brand? We view our shoes as a representation of us, but there is another way of thinking about it. Instead, we can be a representation of our shoes. Our shoes can reflect what kind of person we are, and what kind of person we hope to be. The new question is “What do our shoes say about us?” The concept of the psychology baehind the shoes we wear provides as good of an answer as we could hope for. According to researchers at the University of Kansas, after surveying sixty-three students, results indicated that a more calm and relaxed person typically wore shoes that were worn-in, while people that were more concerned with their physical appearance and susceptible to attachment anxiety and fear of abandonment wore more “pristine” looking shoes. While not all people with clean-looking shoes fall under this blanket of social anxiety, it is interesting to note that people whose
shoes are not in as good of shape tend to be more sure of themselves. ABC News offers a similar viewpoint. Their study maintains that people who wear high-top shoes tend to be “standoffish” and “introverted,” while wearers of bright colored and brand name shoes are more emotionally stable, and less likely to have a fear of attachment anxiety, which was associated with having “pristine” looking shoes in the study conducted by the University of Kansas. While some may may argue that a correlation could be formed between simultaneously having clean-looking and brand name shoes, the study reveals one large takeaway: Wearing shoes that differs from the societal norm shoes that person is more sure of themselves. People won’t think much of people who were pristine, basically colored shoes in public, and people who tend to struggle with social stability are usually the wearers of those shoes. However, people whose primary objective of wearing shoes is not to impress other people tend to wear the opposite: heavily worn shoes that catch the attention of others. It is important to note that while a study can pinpoint what a majority thinks about a subject, it does not represent everyone’s interests. At the end of the day, do what is best for you.
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ISSUE #1#1 ISSUE
QUOTES QUOTESTHAT THATKEEP KEEPUS US MOVING MOVINGFORWARD FORWARD “You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.” — Maya Angelou “Do the one thing you think you cannot do. Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time. The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire. This is your moment. Own it.” — Oprah Winfrey “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” — Mahatma Gandhi “I avoid looking forward or backward, and try to keep looking upward.” — Charlotte Bronte Quotes complied by Maren Ostrem and Tana Ososki Designed by Maren Ostrem 1010 - Aureus - Aureus
“It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all - in which case, you fail by default.” — J.K. Rowling
“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” — Winston Churchill “Everything is hard before it is easy.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
“Feet, what do I need you for when I have wings to fly?” — Frida Kahlo
“I believe every human has a finite number of heartbeats. I don’t intend to waste any of mine.” — Neil Armstrong
WALKING IN YOUR SHOES
“The reality is: sometimes you lose. And you’re never too good to lose.You’re never too big to lose.You’re never too smart to lose. It happens.” — Beyoncé “Don’t bend; don’t water it down; don’t try to make it logical; don’t edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly.” — Franz Kafka “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” — Albert Einstein “Don’t let your happiness depend on something you may lose.” — C.S. Lewis
“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” — Thomas A. Edison
“And know that you don’t have to be perfect, you can be good.” — John Steinbeck “A champion is defined not by their wins but by how they recover when they fall.” — Serena Williams “Read a thousand books, and your words will flow like a river.” — Lisa See
“We are cups, constantly and quietly being filled. The trick is knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out.” — Ray Bradbury “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” — Barack Obama “Everything you can imagine is real.” — Pablo Picasso Aureus -11
STEPPING OUTSIDE ISSUE #1
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tudents know Upper School English teacher Haseena Hamzawala for teaching the Bible in Lit and Writing Seminar classes. But, what many current students may not know is that she is also an avid outdoors-person. Hamzawala first started getting into camping and hiking in college. Since then, it’s grown into a lifelong hobby. “I actually came to camping and outdoors stuff pretty late because I grew up in a big city. The first time I went on a real camping trip was in college because I had a boyfriend who was super outdoorsy and I really stupidly wanted to impress him, so I pretended I knew what I was doing and he rock climbed and I went rock climbing for the first time and I really loved it, which is weird because I’m afraid of heights,” Hamzawala said.
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“I figured since I was already in Asia I might as well go around to different countries, so I did.” - US English Teacher Haseena Hamsawala
In addition to rock climbing, Hamzawala also enjoys camping and hiking. She spent a few years while she was in grad school traveling around to different countries and camping in them. “I was in Peace Corps in the Philippines for two years, and before that I taught in India for three months. I figured since I was already in Asia I might as well go around to different countries, so I did. That’s what you do when you’re in grad school, right? You just travel around with friends and live cheaply and eat mangoes.” After years of hiking in different states and countries, one of Hamzawala’s favorite memories and places to hike is in Utah while leading the SPA Odyssey trip. “It’s about an hour away from Moab, and it’s not a national park it’s a Bureau
of Land Management so it’s really off trail, it’s beautiful. Utah looks like the moon. Like the rock formations; it doesn’t look real.” In addition to finding a beautiful place to camp, Hamzawala found that the Odyssey trips provided a rare opportunity to see her students in a completely different light. She lead the trip for six years. “I started doing them [Odyssey trips] after I had been working here for two years. I was scared to do them because I had never taken students camping before. Honestly, it was one of my favorite parts of working at SPA because you totally get to see students in a different element. So students who might be really, really bad at writing a paper might really be amazing at navigating with the map or having another skill that I don’t usually get to see, so that is fantastic,” Hamzawala said.
WALKING IN YOUR SHOES
“You totally get to see students in a different element.” - US English Teacher Haseena Hamsawala
Living in Minnesota makes it a little more difficult and expensive to do outdoors activities like camping or hiking since most of the big trails and sites are a significant distance away from the Twin Cities. A few of Hamzawala’s favorite places in Minnesota are in Red Wing and North Minnesota. “Climbing in Red Wing is really beautiful, and [for] hiking, I don’t think
you can beat the Superior Hiking Trail, it’s pretty awesome. I like hiking on flat ground and hills, I’m not an extreme hiker, I’m not in it for the adrenaline,” Hamzawala said. One of the most valuable things that being in nature has taught Hamzawala is the need for conservation. She hopes that by going outside and experiencing nature, more people will realize how important conserving the environment really is. “I consider myself a want to be environmentalist even though I’m a huge consumer. I think it’s so much easier to try to save what you see, and it’s so much easier to protect places you’ve been. So especially with what’s going on right now with the environment in the United States, I think the more people that can get outside and go camping and hiking and look at nature, the more you’ll want to protect it,” Hamzawala said.
Written by Kat St. Martin-Norburg Designed by Maren Ostrem Photographs submitted by Haseena Hamzawala Aureus - 13
ISSUE #1
Will Swanson, Kathy Spreitz admits the convulsion of feelings regarding her soon of seniors stand opposite of US Principal to be graduated son. The emotions, she Max Delgado to accept their diplomas, believes, mix together: footsteps henceforth will no longer be “Doctor [LS Psychologist/Counselor from a high school student, but rather, Tim Elchert] taught kindergartners an independent adult. The anticipation that it is possible to entices students. have seemingly very The enthusiasm for I f eel both different feelings at graduating from the same time and I sentimentality but also a St. Paul Academy think that’s true here great deal of excitement. and Summit School because I feel both I actually look at my son couples with the sentimentality but nostalgia students as a culmination of the also a great deal of find in the crevices experiences he’s had. ” excitement. I actually of their classrooms. - Kathy Spreitz, mother of senior Will Swanson look at my son as a No longer will they culmination of the have a locker, free experiences he’s had. periods, their favorite It’s a privileged sneak peek into what’s teachers, or their closest friends in the to come because I think the seniors are same building. ready,” she said. Yet the nostalgia for graduating As a lifer parent, the magic of the becomes multiplied for parents. No early years lingers in Spreitz’s memory longer will they wave goodbye in the of SPA. Traditions like the Valentine morning, attend teacher conferences, Village to the end of year play permeate mediate homework troubles, or take the Spreitz’s experience of raising an SPA first day of school photo. graduate. She is fond of Swanson’s Mother of senior and SPA lifer journey and affirms its fairy dust.
When the excited feet
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“I think any kindergarten year is magical for a young child, but there was something special in the magic at SPA. SPA represented a completely safe, colorful and creative environment in which kids could find their celix and find out what it was like to be a student.” Senior Jennie Verhey knows the senior process all too well. While her sister, Allie Verhey (‘18) resides at college, mother Nancy Verhey prepares for the repetition of a familiar experience: waving farewell to her high school child. “As a parent, going through the college search process was a bit intimidating the first time. I learned a lot going through this process with Allie last year. It is much easier and more relaxing the second time through. I was amazed and grateful at how, after all the planning, discussion and stress, Allie landed in a great place that seems like a perfect fit,” Nancy Verhey said. Two years ago, senior Jane Brunell hugged her older sister, Kate Brunell (‘17) goodbye as she headed to college. Just as Nancy readies for the second
WALKING IN YOUR SHOES
FROM FIRST STEPS TO FINAL STEPS As the class of 2019 prepares for graduation, parents discuss memories, nostalgia and growing up.
Written by Mimi Geller Designed by Noah Raaum
year through her daughter’s senior process, Brad Brunell feels prepared to watch Jane receive her high school diploma. “It does seem like yesterday that we were in Katie’s senior year and Jane was a sophomore. Even though we are going through senior year a second time, we also know it will be a very unique experience enjoying it with Jane,” he said. Nancy confirms that SPA has helped their children mitigate their long commutes to school. The family and student directory prompted her to search for families to carpool with. “Sometimes we simply can’t attend some meetings or events, due to our schedule and limited drivers in the house. I was grateful for the online SPA directory, that enables you to search for families in your same area for potential carpools. I also think the buddy family system is helpful for families when they first join the school community,” she said. Reminiscing on their children’s academic life prompts all three parents to fondly remember their early years. Spreitz attributes much of Swanson’s
Senior year, with its traditions, social and academic success to the SPA milestones, and memories, permeates community. Spreitz, Verhey and Brunell’s vision of “I think that SPA is more than a their child’s experience. place where students go to school “It really does fly for 12 years, it’s a by, especially with community and It does seem like all the college and a culture that we post high school can build on if yesterday that we were planning. I was a we choose. It’s in Katie’s senior year and little bit nervous actually very mind Jane was a sophomore. broadening to watch about all the big Even though we are events that needed how SPA educates going through senior year to be planned, but its kids today because there are it flowed really well, a second time, we also and it helped to take definite similarities know it will be a very one event at a time,” and adherence to unique experience. ” Verhey said. academic standards, - Brad Brunell, father of senior Jane Brunell “Even as I say it’s college prep, amazing teachers, the last time, there’s and that’s what you hope the school will so much folklore and legend around senior speeches and senior seminars always be about,” Spreitz said. Brad Brunell vividly recalls Jane’s and art shows so everything feels like middle school graduation: “I was it could be a capstone experience, I’m so proud of Janie, and I got pretty very excited that parents get to be a emotional as I chatted with parents, fly on the wall. It’s exciting to see how teachers and friends about the prior 3 you all grow as peers and it’s a feeling years and the high school years yet to of pride between all the parents who’ve come.” been on this journey,” Spretiz said.
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ISSUE #1
TEAM DINCER AND ROMANS
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ew high schoolers can even dream of leading a biomedical research team at a globally renowned university, but for Ethan Dincer and Betsy Romans, it’s their reality. The two seniors are currently engineering orthotic accommodations for patients with Charcot Marie Tooth Disease; a hereditary neurodegenerative disease which causes muscle deterioration in the legs and feet, which can hinder patients’ ability to walk. The disease is incurable, and current treatment consists of pain medication, physical therapy, and orthotic devices. “The main treatment for this is the use of orthotic braces, but a patient sent a complaint into the [University of Minnesota] about the bulkiness, cost, appearance and other issues with these braces,” Romans said.
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In response to patient feedback, senior Ethan Dincer began to look for alternative solutions over the summer of 2017. He and a team of high school interns sent out surveys to CMT patients to conduct patent searches and market analysis. Now, he finds himself leading a team of graduate students to create an actual product. “I take on the role of project manager for the research, and my team currently is doing the nitty gritty of patent searching and market and competition analyses,” he said. After a summer of hard work, however, Dincer found that he was short on hands and needed a bigger team. Romans was quick to jump at the opportunity.
WALKING IN YOUR SHOES
What started as a class is now a goal to support those with Charcot-Marie Tooth Disease “I loved the idea and thought it would be cool to do a group project for a change this semester so I signed up to join,” she said. Romans is also particularly excited for the chance to engage in a professional research setting. “I hope to get a better understanding of the engineering process as it’s one I’ve never participated in before. I’ve already learned how to identify the consumer’s need and discover the gap on the market, but I’m super excited to learn how to actually prototype and eventually make something,” Romans said. In addition to being an incredible learning experience, Dincer and Romans are optimistic that their research could potentially result in a patented product. Their orthotic device could facilitate life for Charcot Marie Tooth Disease patients. “I hope to achieve and design a product that will help CMT patients out. It’s a quite common disease that has severe symptoms, so anything that my team can do to alleviate some of those symptoms will be fulfilling,” said Dincer.
“I hope to get a better understanding of the engineering process as it’s one I’ve never participated in before.” - Senior Betsy Romans
The two seniors will continue their work through Advanced Science Research Seminar, and their progress will be displayed at the end of semester research showcase.
Written by Izzy Gisser Designed by Isabel Saavedra-Weis Photographs by Nitya Thakkar
About Charcot-Marie Tooth Disease or CMT • CMT is a genetic conditions that affects the nerves in arms, legs, feet, hands • Symptoms include: loss of muscle mass or sensation, high foot arches, and trouble walking • CMT disease is heriditary, and those with a victim in their family are at higher risk for developing it as well Data from Mayo Clinic website
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ISSUE #1
IMMERSION AT SPA F
or 9th grader Eleanor Chen, life at St. Paul Academy and Summit School is incredibly different than the educational experiences she has had in the past. Until 9th grade, Chen had gone to Yinghua Academy, a Chinese Immersion school focused on learning Chinese, contrasting with SPA’s more western academic approach. “[The academics] are so much different here. In English here we’ve already had to write two essays in the span of a month, but at my old school we would get two, or even three, months to write one essay,” Chen said. Despite the tight knit community of SPA, with around 100 students per grade, Yinghua Academy fosters a similar, if not greater sense of connection, with half of that per grade. “We had the same teachers for three or four years in a row, so the start of the year wasn’t as nerve-wracking as it might be with different teachers every grade.” “We had the same English teacher for four years because we only had one English teacher in the whole department,” Chen said. The faculty and students have expanded since then, with more than 70 kids in each grade. Going to a Chinese Immersion school incorporates a lot of cultural elements not seen in regular private and public schools, the most significant being the different language. When learning new languages, schools typically immerse students in the dialect when they’re young, hence the name “immersion.” “In kindergarten, you start off in an 18 - Aureus
environment where Chinese is used almost 100% of the time. When you get to middle school, its 50-50 Chinese and English,” Chen said. Strength in English are still really important at the immersion school. Not many other elements of Chinese culture were incorporated into the learning environment at Yinghua. School lunches were the same concept as any other school, not with exclusively Chinese food, and core subjects are taught in English for maximal understanding, but other ways were found to celebrate Chinese culture. Chinese New Year was always an event that Chen remembers as being very popular. “We always loved and looked forward to the Chinese New Year Celebration. It was really fun and a nice break from our studies.” An extravaganza of well prepared performances by the students is hard to not appreciate. The celebration is one thing that Chen will miss about going to an immersion school, along with the diverse environment of teachers. Most teachers came from Taiwan or China, and some came for only a short time because they came from Chinese speaking countries to study English.
WALKING IN YOUR SHOES
9th grader Eleanor Chen recounts her experiences at a Chinese immersion school, which she had been attending since kindergarten before joining St. Paul Academy.
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于 9 年 级 学 生 Eleanor Chen 来说，圣保罗学院和峰 会学校的生活与她过去 的教育经历截然不同。直到9年 级，陈才去了英华学院，这是 一所专注于学习汉语的中国沉 浸 式 学 校 ， 与 SPA的 西 方 学 术 方法形成鲜明对比。 “[学者们]在这里有很多 不同。在这里，我们已 经不得不在一个月的时 间内写两篇论文，但 在我的旧学校，我们 将有两个，甚至三个 月的时间写一篇文 章，“陈说。 尽 管 SPA紧 密 结 合 ， 每 个 年 级 约 有 100 名学生，但英华学 院培养出一种类似 的，即使不是更大 的联系感，每个等 级的一半。 “我 们连续三年或四年 都有同样的老师， 所以今年的开始并 没有像每个年级的 不同老师那样令人 头疼。” “我们有四年的英 语老师，因为我 们整个部门只有一 名英语老师，”陈 说。从那时起，教 师和学生已经扩大， 每 个 年 级 有 70多 个 孩 子。 去中国沉浸式学校 融入了许多普通私立
和公立学校所没有的文化元 素，其中最重要的是不同的 语言。在学习新语言时，学 校通常会在学生年轻时沉浸 在方言中，因此称为“沉浸 式”。 “在幼儿园，你开始在一个 几 乎 100％的 时 间 都 使 用 中 文的环境中。当你上中学 时 ， 50-50中 文 和 英 文 ， “ 陈 说。 在沉浸式学校，英语的优势 仍然非常重要。中国文化的 其他元素并没有被纳入英华 的学习环境。学校午餐与其 他学校的概念相同，不仅仅 是中国食品，核心科目以英 语授课，以便最大程度地理 解，但其他方式也被用来庆 祝中国文化。 中国新年总是陈记得非常受 欢迎的事件。 “我们一直很 喜欢并期待中国新年庆祝活 动。这真的很有趣，也是我 们学习的一个很好的休息时 间。“学生们精心准备的表 演很难不被欣赏。这次庆祝 活动是陈水扁想要去浸入式 学校的一件事，以及教师的 多元化环境。大多数教师来 自台湾或中国，有些老师来 自中国，他们来自华语国家 学习英语。 Written by Lynn Reynolds Designed by Noah Raaum Photograph by Ethan Dincer Aureus - 19
ISSUE #1
OTTO HONORS LOVE FOR FAS W
hile most students and faculty know him as the College Counseling Assistant, over seven thousand people know Carey Otto as @ottonomous1, the Instagram fashion blogger and influencer. This Instagram account, filled with photos of Otto modeling clothes and shoes, has been a hobby of his since 2012. “[My account] was something I was deeply invested in for quite a long time. It was wonderful, it was very rewarding, it actually provided a lot of opportunities,” he said. Some of these opportunities included walking in a Minnesota Fashion Week show and modeling for the 2015-2016 Canadian and European Red Wing Heritage catalog, which Otto thought “was great, because I got free boots!” However, Otto was reluctant to open an account at first, unsure what Instagram specifically could offer him. “I started to identify the fact that Facebook was much more about maintaining relationships with people from my past. Instagram, to me, was more about making connections with like-minded individuals that I have yet to meet. And I found that very alluring,” Otto said. Otto was able to connect with followers, as reflected in his multi-digit likes and follows. But the relationships he has made with followers go beyond the screen. When reflecting on some of the best parts of being an Instagram influencer, Otto recalls moments when he met people that in real life that used to only exist in his life on a screen. “I think the [biggest] highlight for me is finding some of my very best friends
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WALKING IN YOUR SHOES
SHION THROUGH INSTAGRAM in my thirties through a social media platform. It’s really strange how you can go to an event and run into someone you’ve had superficial conversations with through [Instagram], but then you really hit it off,” Otto said. After meeting at an event, Otto and a group of other St. Paul Instagram-ers became good friends, and get together every Friday night. Otto is still in close contact with many of these people. “I would have never met these people if it wasn’t for Instagram,” Otto said. There are instagrams for everything: health, fitness, food, pets, babies, dancing, travel. Otto’s Instagram reflects his passion for fashion that started at a young age. “I fell in love with shoes during the spring of 1985 when the first Air Jordans came out. My best friend and I were always eager to get the new shoes. We’d sit at home and draw them out, and we had so much fun with footwear. It started to carry out into my teenage years and my early adulthood. I’ve always liked to dress up,” Otto said. But Otto is cautious with his social media platforms. He’s seen too many people on Instagram lose sight of reality in a swirl of photo filters, face editing and perfect snapshots. When people think of “fashion blogger,” they think of a very saturated, edited version of a person. But Otto tires to counteract this stereotype. “I think [perfectionism] is the danger of social media. We provide people with a filtered window into who we are and I’m very careful that the real me is conveyed in both worlds. I don’t want anyone to get an impression of me, and then meet me in real life and find out that impression is completely wrong,” Otto said.
Written by Isabel Saavedra-Weis Designed by Nitya Thakkar Photographs submitted by Carey Otto
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A CHANCE TO DANCE S
ophomore Rylan Hefner has a busy schedule. Balancing school with dance
“When I was eight I started a summer theater program...That was kind how I found my love of dance.” - Sophomore Rylan Hefner
lessons, piano, violin, theater, and life is a juggling act, yet Hefner skillfully manages his time to fit in everything he wants to do, especially dancing. While he only started taking official classes this summer, Hefner discovered his love of dance years ago. “When I was eight, I started [attending] a summer theater program, run by Mr. Severson, called e3 and that was kinda how I found my love of dancing. Each summer we would put on a musical…We did Crazy for You, which has a lot of tap numbers, which is kinda how I discovered my love of
Sophomore Rylan Hefner performs in a production of “The Boy Friend” in 2016 at CAMP!. 22 - Aureus
“I do occasionally have to miss a class or two to do my homework. But with theater, I have found that these last few years I have been able to make it work with my school schedule.” - Sophomore Rylan Hefner
tap,” Hefner said. While Hefner first discovered dance through tap, he enjoys many varieties of dance. “I think [my favorite type of dance is] anything I can use in theater,” Hefner said. Although Hefner is now taking dance classes, he hasn’t given up theater and dancing in theatrical shows. This fall, he is dancing in the fall play, Every(man), and regularly attending jazz and tap dance lessons at Zenon Dance School. On Tuesday nights however, Hefner has both theater rehearsal and dance class, which makes an already hectic day even more busy. He starts prepping the night before by getting his dance clothes and shoes ready so he doesn’t forget them in the morning. Once at school, Hefner has orchestra practice during tutorial. After school, he immediately goes to theater rehearsal.
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and only then is he able to go home. While school sometimes compromises his ability to go to dance class, Hefner is still able to attend it most of the time. “I do occasionally have to miss a class or two to do my homework. But with theater, I have found that these last few years I have been able to make it work with my school schedule,” Hefner said. While some people may be put off by Hefner’s busy schedule, Hefner’s love of dance carries him through it. He seeks the opportunity to dance whenever he can, even if it means a busy and exhausting day.
Hefner performs his tap dancing rendition of “Perfect Day” by Hoku in the annual Homcoming Lip Sync Challenge in the fall of 2018. Rehearsal lasts until 5 PM, and from rehearsal Hefner drives straight to his piano lesson. In the time in between rehearsal and his lesson, he eats dinner. Once at the dance school after his lesson, Hefner has 15 minutes to change into his dance clothes and get ready for class. He finishes at 8:30 PM,
Written by Chloe Morse Designed by Maren Ostrem Photographs by Rylan Hefner
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THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Written by Isabel Gisser Designed by Quinn Christensen
WALKING IN YOUR SHOES Dorothy’s famous ruby slippers strayed far from the yellow brick road when they were stolen from the Judy Garland Museum 13 years ago. However, fans of the 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz were overjoyed to hear that the slippers were recovered by the FBI and are now safe and sound in their hometown of Grand Rapids. On Aug. 28, 2005, the slippers were snatched after their display case was smashed and the security system failed. All that was left behind was broken glass and a single red sequin. The slippers had been on loan from a private collector and were insured for $1 million. To make matters worse, the thief escaped the museum with the Hollywood memorabilia, not leaving a trace behind. The slippers symbolize the timeless classic The Wizard of Oz, but also the prosperity and fame that Garland, the Minnesota actress who portrayed Dorothy, brought to her hometown of Grand Rapids. The small town was devastated by the loss of its cultural icon. The number of slippers is unknown, making the disappearance of Minnesota’s pair a hot topic in the Hollywood collecting community. As Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios cleared out its property in 1970, a costume worker stole into the storage room and found a row of sparkling slippers lined up toe to toe on a dusty shelf. Instead of taking one pair to be sold at auction and destroying the rest as
he was told, he instead walked off set with the entire multi-million dollar collection. The pair that sold at the MGM auction now resides in the Smithsonian. The original auctioned heels are regarded as the least impressive of the set, because the shoes vary by a half size and their ruby luster has faded with time. Another pair cropped up in Tennessee in 1970 after a high schooler won them in a contest in 1939, and held onto them for several decades. The third pair was purchased by Leonardo DiCaprio, and sits in the Academy Museum of Motion Picture. A fourth was gifted to Lady Gaga for her 25th birthday. And the fifth and final known pair was displayed in Minnesota’s own Grand Rapids. What makes the slipper theft particularly baffling is that the thief is still unknown. From 2005 on, authorities suspected that local teenagers had broken in, stolen the shoes, panicked, and thrown them into an abandoned quarry. However, a search of the Tioga Mine Pit in 2015 yielded not even a single sequin. Due to the mysterious security failure, some theorized that the theft was an inside job - perhaps the collector who had put them on loan hoped to rake in the insurance money. After years of searching, the slippers were seized by the Minneapolis division of the FBI in a sting operation. They are now valued at $2-3 million. Though the thief is still at large, the slippers found a way to tap their heels three times and return home.
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THE TRUTH BEHIND VAN GOGH’S SHOES
A Pair of Shoes, 1886 by Vincent Van Gogh (photo credit: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam)
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hat can a pair of shoes say about truth? One pair, painted by Van Gogh in 1886, may give us insight into our views on stepping along. The subject of the painting – two disheveled and old boots, isolated in the middle of an earthy brown canvas – appears relatively benign to a modern viewer. Surprisingly, these shoes are the center of one of the most hotly contested debates in art history. Anyways, whose shoes are these really, or are they merely fictional? Would you want to step in them? In the nineteenth century, shoes were a symbol of status, not usually portrayed in paintings without a wearer. Van Gogh’s painting was revolutionary in this sense, but did it redefine truth? German philosopher Martin Heidegger thinks so. Heidegger’s 1931 essay “The Origin of the Work of Art” was partly inspired by a visit to an Amsterdam showing of Van Gogh’s “Two Shoes.” Heidegger saw the dull browns and worn leather of the boots, and formulated a distinctly materialistic view of “truth.” He visualizes the imagined owners of the shoes – a peasant women – in a Socialist countryside: “In the shoes vibrates the silent call of the earth, its quiet gift of the ripening grain and its unexplained self-refusal in the fallow desolation of the wintry field.” Though the shoes in the painting are merely gear, Heidegger paints his own narrative over the still-life in which shoes are not even the center of attention. This analysis reveals that truth can be a free creation – the shoes, upon further examination, do not show any signs of mud. So, is Heidegger’s association to a peasant women, walking back on a field at dusk, the “wrong” truth, or one of the many possible ones? Meyer Schapiro, a Lithuanian-born American art historian, goes back to the “facts” to disprove Heidegger’s
WALKING IN YOUR SHOES interpretation. In his 1968 “The Still Life as a Personal Object,” Schapiro attributes Heidegger’s social outlook to his “heavy pathos,” pointing to the fact that the shoes in question were actually Van Gogh’s. As is commonly known now by art historians, Van Gogh bought the workers boots at a flea market in Paris, painting them only after “roughening” them up: taking many long and rainy walks. For Schapiro, the truth is found from merely what is on the page: old shoes are old shoes, not a rhetorical tool for satisfying a philosophical goal.
“Van Gogh’s painting was revolutionary in this sense, but did it redefine truth? ” Enter Jacques Derrida, the powerhouse of the deconstruction movement in the late twentieth century. In essence, he makes everything more confusing. Responding to both philosophers in the 1978 essay “Restitutions of the Point in Pointure,” Derrida deconstructs the truth in painting, as you may have guessed. Derrida puts Heidegger and Schapiro on a mock trial – a winding one, in which Derrida asks the reader to compare a tour guide to art historian (they both want the audience to believe in a singular truth), and to read the German, French, and English translation of Schapiro’s criticism of Heidegger. If we look past the seemingly incoherent rambling, we glean a new version of “truth” from the Van Gogh. Namely, why should we attempt to insert ourselves into the shoes when they are really the painting’s shoes? How do we even know the shoes are
a pair? As Derrida noted, the more we look at the shoes, the more the untied laces “sketch the form of a trap.” Both Heidegger and Schapiro succumbed to this trap – they projected their own experiences of peasant shoes and city shoes. And maybe Derrida also became entrapped in his own system: for the method of deconstruction or “unlacing” never allows the author to fully determine a meaning of a text. Who would have thought that shoes could be so eluding? As the French writer Georges Bataille said, “Vincent Van Gogh belongs not to art history, but to the bloody myth of our existence as humans.” Still want to try his shoes on? At least you know what you are getting into. Works Cited Derrida, Jacques. “Restitutions of the Truth in Pointing [Pointure] (1978).” In The Art of Art History: A Critical Anthology, edited by Donald Preziosi, 301-315. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009. Heidegger, Martin. “The Origin of the Work of Art (1935).” In The Art of Art History: A Critical Anthology, edited by Donald Preziosi, 284-295. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009. Schapiro, Meyer. “The Still Life as a Personal Object: A Note on Heidegger and Van Gogh (1968).” In The Art of Art History: A Critical Anthology, edited by Donald Preziosi, 296-300. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009. Georges Bataille, “Van Gogh as Prometheus,” trans. Annette Michelson, October, no. 36 (Spring 1986).
Written by Sam Hanson Designed by Nitya Thakkar
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BABY
Shulow and Kerman reflect on
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here is always something magical about bringing a new life into the world for the first time, and the ability for teachers to take parental leave and spend time with their newborn opens up a new world of possibilities. US History and Social Studies teacher Aaron Shulow describes going on parental leave for a few weeks after the birth of his daughter Afton. “It was brief but full of joy and a little bit of anxiety, but ultimately it was this
really profound experience of bonding with not just my daughter but my wife, and the three of us experiencing life as a family for the first time,” he said. Afton is Shulow’s first child. “It was a lot of unknowns, but out of those unknowns came a lot of excitement and looking forward to the experience without knowing specifically what it would entail. My wife and I have many friends who have children and we watched how it changed our friends’ lives but you can’t put into words what
it feels like until you’ve experienced it,” Shulow said. “You’re missing the most important piece of information, and that is how it feels to interact with your child.” For Shulow, since his allotted time was so short, having to go back to his job and leave his family at home was especially tough. “The hardest part about it is separation. It’s leaving this person that you’ve been thinking about for so long and that you’ve only spent a small amount of time with,” he said. The ups and downs of parenting aren’t the only issues that affect people when they have children. Parental leave can be complicated, especially since paternity leave differs so much from maternity leave. “I think that paternity leave is almost an afterthought or something that is considered discretionary,” Shulow said. “I think that sends the wrong message to men. Women have already taken on so much of the obligation of caring for and bearing a child. To not think that the male partner should be there to help with everything is a really bad message to send to everyone. Men should be expected to help, encouraged to help, and resources should be put in place to make that a reality because they need to take care of children and to support their partners.” All of the hard work is definitely worth it, however, especially because of heartwarming baby sneezes. “The funniest moment for me was when Afton sneezed. It was this tiny little sneeze and it was so cute. That made me laugh,” Shulow said.
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n their parenting experiences
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pper School French teacher Sophie Kerman’s son Remy was born at the end of February, which allowed her to be on leave for a long time and gain parenting experience. “As a whole, it was very positive. Having a kid was a very dramatic life change and being able to be on leave for almost six months based on the timing of the summer was incredibly lucky,” she said. Kerman is a first-time parent, and she says that there’s really nothing that can prepare you for it. “It’s totally life-changing. People say that and I thought I knew what they meant, and then I had a kid,” Kerman said. “There’s a lot of really overwhelming emotions, feeling love, responsibility, and extreme sleep deprivation.” Parenting is a huge responsibility and it isn’t exactly easy. Many parents will tell you how difficult it is to wake up in the middle of the night to care for a crying baby, and Kerman is no different. “There was this stretch of 46 hours where he woke up every hour to eat. That was extremely hard on a physical and psychological level,” she said. In addition, although the length of her leave gave Kerman plenty of time to interact with her son, it became monotonous at points. “In a broader sense, the hardest thing about being on leave was missing interaction with other people, especially other people who had verbal skills. Just feeling like as much as I love my baby, I was slowly losing brain cells and that was challenging,” she said. Maternity leave is often insufficient for people around the country and the world.
“It’s pretty shameful how little we prioritize not just women, but families.” - US French Teacher Sophie Kerman
“On a national level, we have worse maternity leave than every other developed country that I can think of,” Kerman said. “I feel like it’s pretty shameful how little we prioritize not just women, but families. One thing that we can do on both a national and a
local level is be thinking about parental leave and not just maternity leave, and include adoptive parents too.” However, parents are rewarded for their hardships by getting to see their child grow and develop. For example, a baby’s first smile or laugh is sure to melt a parent’s heart. “For me, Remy figuring out how to laugh was a big game-changer. Seeing him get to a stage where he recognizes his parents and where we can make him laugh and really interact with him as a person was definitely a highlight,” Kerman said.
Written by Melissa Nie Designed by Lucy Sandeen Photographs submitted by Aaron Shulow and Sophie Kerman
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STAFF LIST EDITOR IN CHIEF Nitya Thakkar
DESIGNERS Quinn Christensen Maren Ostrem Noah Raaum Will Rinkoff Isabel Saavedra-Weis Lucy Sandeen Nitya Thakkar WRITERS Mimi Geller Isabel Gisser Sam Hanson Andrew Johnson Chloe Morse Melissa Nie Tana Ososki Lynn Reynolds Kat St. Martin-Norburg Isabel Saavedra-Weis COVER Design: Nitya Thakkar Model: Adrienne Gaylord ADVISERS Kathryn Campbell Kate Glassman
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