December 2012 by SPA Publications

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St. Paul Academy & Summit School 1712 Randolph Ave. St. Paul, MN December 2012. Vol XXXX. Issue IV.

What’s on YOUR list?

(Cover Story)

SPA’s Zombie Zamboni (Sports 12)

Directing the One Acts (A&E 10)

2 News

St. Paul Academy and Summit School

December 2012. Vol XXXX. Issue IV.

Seniors plan for Reading Day Optional review day prepares seniors for college

Photo Credit: Aditi Kulkarni

Senior Amanda Hotvedt completes end-of-term English homework. Seniors will have the opportunity to forgo classes on Friday, Dec. 14 in order to simulate a college environment. The day “allows seniors to choose how they need to prepare for their exams,” Dean of Students Judy Cummins said.

August King

Pop Culture

“Seniors get a day off during exam review week?” junior Frank Nahurski asked, a bit startled to learn the fact of the matter. “I guess that doesn’t seem unfair,” Nahurski said. Among other senior traditions

Students share advice as exam week draws near

like the Senior Brunch, Senior Project and carving pumpkins with Lower School kindergarteners, St. Paul Academy and Summit School’s class of 2013 get to enjoy a day of independent study (or relaxation, so they choose) on Friday, Dec. 14, putting just that and the weekend between their final first semester exams.

Senior Reading Day “allows seniors to choose how they need to prepare for their exams,” Dean of Students Judy Cummins said. Cummins cites a parallel between Senior Reading Day and how the seniors will study for exams once they attend college. Often, professors will not call class for a day and in some cases, a week before their

The Rubicon

Senior Melanie Luikhart said that “it helps to make my own study guides. writing everything down gets it solidified in your brain.” Sophomore Neerja Thakkar suggested: “Go through your old unit tests for each class - they will give you a really good idea of what you know and what you need to review.” It’s not too late to to take study advice from peers. As junior Yusra Murad said, “meet with teachers and also try not to cry.”

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Midterm Exam preparation began in earnest last week as Quarter 2 ended. Freshman and sophomore classes have exams, while junior and senior classes vary their final assessment as either exam, paper, project, and/or presentation. Several seniors attended review sessions on Friday, which all other grades were required to attend, in preparation for this week’s exams.

final exam in order to give students time to study on their own. Not all seniors are eligible to take the day off from school, however:only those in good academic standing may be off campus for the day. Some teachers may end up calling their students anyway if the class needs to finish up some final presentations or if they think the students need extra instructed review. Senior Liat Kaplan is excited for the opportunity to study by herself on the cusp of her final exams. “I want to stay home so I can focus on certain subjects for longer,” Kaplan said. On the other hand, Kaplan expresses some anxiety as to how productive her review days will play out to be: “I always think I’ll be more productive at home, but I end up watching pirated episodes of Criminal Minds on some Ukrainian website,” Kaplan said. “When I try to be productive at school, I end up talking to friends. So really I need to take my senior reading day in a cave in Mongolia where the internet has every distracting site blocked.” Whether their Senior Reading Day is spent at school, at home, or in a Mongolian cave, seniors look forward to their second to last set of final exams before their highly anticipated graduation.

The Exam Schedule Monday 9:00-10:30 - Science Exams 1:00-2:30 - English Tuesday 9:00-10:30 - Math 1:00-2:30 - Language Wednesday 9:00-10:30 - History 1:00-2:30 - Make-up Exams Thursday 9:00-10:30 - Make-up Exams

School rewrites mission statement

New work will reflect how school has evolved

Saif Ahmed

Columnist/Blogger

After a review from the Independent Schools Association of the Central States review, St. Paul Academy and Summit School decided it was time to revamp the mission statement. Director of Communications Ami Berger agreed with the ISACS criticism: “We need a statement that reflects the exceptional experience that is SPA,” Berger said. The ISACS review stated “Judging from the aspiration reach of the school’s strategic plan...there is a gap in rhetoric and ambition between the existing mission and

the version that will be needed to properly reflect and drive SPA’s trajectory into the future.” According to Berger, the SPA administration is currently “compiling information, from a wide range of constituencies within in the school, together into a concise statement that reflects the SPA mission and experience.” The next step for the administration will be to release the mission statement, which is expected in spring 2013. Throughout the the process of compiling feedback from faculty, staff, students and the Board of Trustees, it is indeed true that a new mission statement is needed. Dean of Students Judy Cummins

believes the mission statement needs to be changed. “Right now, it’s too long and generic,” Cummins said. “It needs to be more focused and more specific to the school.” Faculty, students, and members from the board of trustees have all come together to work on it. After multiple meetings, ideas have popped up but no final decision has been made yet. The current mission statement, created in the mid-1990s, reads “In pursuit of excellence in teaching and learning, St. Paul Academy and Summit School educates a diverse and motivated group of young people for leadership and ser-

vice, inspires in them an enduring love of learning, and helps them lead productive, ethical and joyful lives.” But many things have changed in terms of the SPA experience, and it may take a while to compile a mission statement that incompases the 21st century SPA experience. Between the release of the mission, the administration has begun to incorporate the phrase “make it amazing,” within open house seminars and throughout the website. However, a new statement is still needed to permeate the SPA direction and experience.

Israel and Hamas call ceasefire after brief but bloody conflict

Ibad Jafri

Managing Editor Online Editor-in-Chief

After a brutal eight-day war, Hamas has claimed victory over Israel despite a high Palestinian death toll. The nationalist group and Israeli government agreed to a cease-fire, hoping to negotiate a deal for the opening of the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel. Long-standing tensions between Israel and Palestine became inflamed in rec ent weeks, culminating with Palestine’s promotion to United Nations Observer State amisdt protest from the Israeli and American delegations. The recent conflicts began with Operation pillar of Defense from Nov. 14 to 21, during which the Israeli Defense forces killed Hamas’ military chief Ahmed Jabari. Hamas then declared that Israel had “opened the gates of hell” and attempted to intesify rocket fire on Israelis. However, the Israeli attack had a decidedly stronger impact, killing 160 civilians where Hamas rocket strikes felled six. The difference in death tolls has a strong influence on the opinionsof outsiders. “[The United States] shouldn’t be involved at this point,” senior Asher Szachowicz said. “We’re spending too much money giving Israel aid they don’t need. The disparity in death tolls indicates this; it’s as lopsided as the difference in weapons being used, and the Israelis have continually violated an assortment of international laws.” Although the Gaza Strip lies in ruins, Palestinians show signs of becoming more united in the wake of the conflict. Leader of Hamas Khaled Meshaal and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas of the rival Fatah party have reportedly conversed via telephone, discussing the prospect of Palestinian unification. This may signal a new era in relations between the longestranged groups. Meshaal was present at Palestinian victory celebrations in Gaza, a hazardous region for a man who narrowly escaped assassination by Mossad agents in 1997. Although the cease-fire may only represent the calm before another storm, the aftermath of the war may usher in a new era in the volatile Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

News St. Paul Academy and Summit School

December 2012. Vol XXXX. Issue IV.

Fiscal cliff approaches

News in Brief

Time grows short for a deal to be made Substitute dismissed after criminal allegations unrelated to school Former St. Paul Academy and Summit School substitute teacher Joseph Machlitt was arrested on Nov. 21 on charges of third-degree criminal sexual conduct and one count of attempted fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct, both of which are felonies. The charges stem from an accusation from a former student of Machlitt’s when he taught at Shattuck-St. Mary’s School in Faribault, MN in the 1980s. The charges are unrelated to SPA. In a statement released to the SPA community, Head of School Bryn Roberts said that “At the time of his employment, we were unaware of any prior complaints involving Mr. Machlitt and we are unaware of any complaints about his conduct during his brief time at SPA. Mr. Machlitt, who will never work again at SPA, filled in for absent teachers principally in the Upper and Middle Schools and on one occasion in the Lower School.”

Illustration Credit: Ava Gallagher The American economy stands to suffer greatly by then Fiscal Cliff, with a projected decrease of 4% in Gross Domestic Product. “I’m not very satisfied with the with way [Congress and the president] have handled the issue. They haven’t gotten anything done.” Junior Nick Cohen said.

Nina Zietlow

Staff Writer

When pundits discuss the impending Fiscal Cliff, it sounds like a confusing disaster, largely out of control of policymakers and politicians. However, the Fiscal Cliff is a very simple situation that came about by laws passed in Congress. During the summer of 2011 Democrats and Republicans struggled to come up with an appropriate debt ceiling ultimately raising it to 16.4 trillion dollars. However, in an attempt to control the pace of federal spending, Congress passed the Budget Control Act, mandating significant cuts to the deficit by 2013. If the deficit is not reduced, automatic spending cuts and tax increases will automatically be imposed. The so-called “Fiscal Cliff ” is merely the imposition of these tax increases and spending cuts if Congress fails to act. The automatic spending cuts legislated by the Budget Control Act of 2011 will hit at the new year, causing the government to cut spending by 109 billion dollars a year until 2021. Along with these cuts comes the end of the Bush Era Tax Cuts resulting in a higher income, estate and capital gains taxes. Along with this Obama wishes to raise taxes on the wealthiest 2% of Americans. The automatic spending cuts and tax increases associated with the Fiscal Cliff are meant to lower the deficit by 560 billion dollars. It is predicted that these drastic changes will cause the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to drop by four percentage points causing a recession that will hurt small businesses and raise the unemployment rate. With the end of the year approaching Congress has been working fast to come up with a plan to try to avoid going over the Fiscal Cliff. A deal has to be put on

“

The Republicans in Congress are going more towards a solution while the president has prepared himself to go over the cliff.” freshman Patrick Commers the table by December 15 before congress breaks for winter break; if a deal is not reached by this time the automatic tax increases and spending cuts outlined in the fiscal cliff will kick in. For the most part Republicans and Democrats are very divided on this issue. Democrats are pushing for additional tax raises for the wealthiest 2% for Americans. Republicans on the other hand do not want to end tax cuts, but instead wish to further reduce government spending. though they are divided many congress members are willing to compromise for the good of the country. Founder of Americans for Tax Reform Grover Nordquist has gotten 95% of Republican Congress members to sign the “Taxpayer Protection Pledge” promising that they would not vote to raise taxes. Now many Republican congress members are going back on that pledge and saying that they would rather compromise to help their country than serve a pledge they signed 20 years ago. These sacrifices have seemed to represent the bipartisan collaboration between the two parties on this issue. “I’m not very satisfied with the with way [Congress and the president] have handled the issue. They haven’t gotten anything done.” Junior Nick Cohen said.

On Dec. 4, events took an unexpected turn, President Obama turned down the plan offered by the Republican speaker of the house John Boehner. The Republicans had proposed a plan to raise revenue without raising taxes on the top two percent of wealthiest Americans. “Boehner’s fiscal plan doesn’t go far enough” said Obama (Bloomberg), he believes that eliminating the tax increases on the rich won’t raise the revenue enough to cut the deficit by the necessary 4 trillion over the next decade. This recent event represents the urgent need for Republicans and Democrats to compromise. “It’s really important that we avoid the Fiscal Cliff.” said Cohen, “It could throw this country into a recession.” Freshman Patrick Commers, agrees with Cohen that more should be done to avoid the cliff. “I think that both [Congress and the President] are being very stubborn.” said Commers. “I think the Republicans in Congress are going more towards a solution while the president has prepared himself to go over the cliff.”

Four debaters qualify for national tournament The St. Paul Academy and Summit School debate team turned in another successful performance at the National Qualifying Tournament for the Central Minnesota District. During this tournament, over 30 teams from schools scattered across the Metro fought for three invitations to the National Speech and Debate Tournament, to be held June 16-21 in Birmingham, AL. Two of three spots went to SPA teams, one to the team of seniors Hagop Toghramadjian and junior Sam Wood, another to senior Ibad Jafri and sophomore Thomas Toghramadjian. This marks the second consecutive year that SPA has qualified two teams to Nationals, a feat unmatched by all other schools in the district. Other schools sending four teams to compete for the spots included Apple Valley Senior High School, Eastview High School, Blaine High School, and many other schools viewed as Minnesota powerhouses. SPA’s two other teams at the tournament - seniors Michelle Cass and Sarah Hays and senior Jeron Mariani and junior Mason Mohring - also advanced into the later rounds.

Students for Social Justice puts child brides in the spotlight The student organization Students for Social Justice held a campaign against the issue of child brides at the beginning of the month. As the group discussed, in Asian nations such as India and Afghanistan, prepubescent girls are sometimes married off to far older men. The group set up a television screen on December 5 in a common space, along with photographs and written of girls suffering from the convention. The following two days featured a fundraising bake sale for the anti-child bride group Women for Afghan Women, which raised more than $900. The marrying of excessively young children is illegal in most nations and banned by international law, but still affects about 10 million girls worldwide.

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4 Opinion/Editorial December 2012. Vol XXXX. Issue IV.

STAFF the rubicon

Editor-in-Chief Aditi Kulkarni

Managing Editor Online Editor-in-Chief Ibad Jafri

Chief Visual Editor Nick Scott

News Editor

Thomas Toghramadjian

Op/Ed Editor Andy Monserud

Sports Editor Hannah Johnson

Cover Story Editor Lucy Li

Feature Editor

Noah Shavit-Lonstein

A&E Editor Ellie Fuelling

Around Town Editor Liz Rossman

Food & Nutrition Editor August King

Illustrator & Photographer Ava Gallagher

Columnist/Staff Writer Saif Ahmed Nick Cohen

Staff Writers

Boraan Abdulkarim Netta Kaplan Kieran McDonald Gita Raman Dhara Singh Nina Zietlow

Adviser

Kathryn Campbell

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St. Paul Academy and Summit School

Staff Editorial

Internet poses problems of etiquette Students must take care when posting T he Internet doesn’t forget. Too often, people ignore this when expressing opinions on the web. Tweets or Facebook posts are often made casually, but posts on social media sites are much more on-the-record than reallife conversations. Anything posted online can be traced back to its source, and consequences for virtual speech are very real. Social media sites have become the place where students vent anger or frustration about uncomfortable situations, usually with humor. But these jokes, no matter how funny they may seem at the time, will remain on the Internet for much longer than the minute of thought put into the joke. Tweets are primarily intended for entertainment. But the same joke that has one person busting a gut can leave someone else cringing, making them even more uncomfortable. That doesn’t mean students shouldn’t express their opinions. But there are healthy, appropriate ways to

Editorial Cartoon: Ava Gallagher

What we say on the internet can easily spread, despite our best efforts to contain it. vent. Making broad, one-way statements to unknown numbers of strangers isn’t one of them. Upper School counselor Susanna Short recommends caution when using social media. “Social media is so public. Just because someone has a certain relationship with a friend that may involve sarcasm does not mean that it is going to have a positive impact on others who read the

post or tweet,” Short said. Public forums like Twitter and Facebook should be treated differently from casual conversations. The audience on Facebook or Twitter is infinite. Once a tweet or post goes up, it can be retweeted and shared without the consent of the original poster, and it will always have their name on it. It’s important to express

ourselves when we have something to say, but it’s also important that we say it in the appropriate settings. Make thinking about long-term consequences a top priority when using social media. Take a minute to think of the audience and how something will come across days or weeks later, and pause before you post.

Opinion Holiday giving Wild weather should happen raises climate suspicions year-round

Anti-Assad threats too little, too late

Upper School Council president Hagop Toghramadjian ended a recent assembly with the statistic that charitable donations increase 40 percent over Christmas. While it is nice to hear that people are opening their pockets more to those who need it, it is unfortunate that this level of giving does not exist over the other 11 months of the year. It is imperative that we realize that charities do not only need donations for the month of December; they have to survive for the rest of the year. The summer months are especially tough. Schools cannot provide food to their students in the summer, so poor families find themselves in deeper need. Additionally, summer tends to be a time when people forget about charities with more vacations and relaxation. Holiday spirit shouldn’t be the only way to put people in a giving mood. It is up to each individual to periodically remind themselves of the hardships people face yearround.

Two years after the birth of the Arab Spring in Tunisia, onlookers may view all rebellions in the Middle East in the same vein, imagining peaceful, democratic, and heroic causes. In any nation where a ruthless dictator kills his own people, it is hard not to sympathize with a movement against him. But in the ongoing Syrian revolts, the rebels have proven themselves as dangerous as current Syrian President Bashar al-Assad ever was. The various groups opposing Assad have as much blood on their hands as he does, slaughtering minorities like Armenian Christians and Alawite Muslims. In the early days of the Syrian Revolution, American support could have tipped the balance and made the revolution a success. Now, the movement is beginning to embrace foreign aid of another kind: trained jihadists. America missed the boat. We sat on our hands when we had the chance to intervene. Perhaps we should have acted then, but now we have no choice but to live with our decision.

Snow is a common sight during Minnesota winters. But rarely do temperatures fluctuate to the extent that they have recently, ending in massive snowfalls like those seen on Dec. 9. The City of St. Paul declared a snow emergency and many St. Paul Academy and Summit School students anticipated a snow day. This is no coincidence. Over the past 100 years, average temperatures in Minnesota have increased by 2 degrees, with many climatologists expecting a more rapid increase in the future. Such changes present tangible proof of climate change, and should be distressing not only to Minnesota natives but to individuals impacted by climate change worldwide. While it may be convenient to regard climate change as a phenomenon only seen in select regions at select times, it is currently an omnipresent reality in Minnesota, and as such should be addressed immediately.

The Rubicon Editorial Policy: The Rubicon editorials are representative of the opinions of the Staff Editorial Board, which is made up of all students in journalism/Editorial Leadership. All other opinion pieces are the opinions of the authors themselves.

The Rubicon Letters Policy: The Rubicon welcomes letters to the editor. They can be mailed to us or e-mailed rubicon.spa@gmail.com. Letters should be limited to 150-200 words and published by discretion of The Rubicon staff.

Opinion/Editorial 5 December 2012. Vol XXXX. Issue IV.

St. Paul Academy and Summit School

Conflicting dress codes arouse discussion Hannah Johnson

“

r Sports Editor/ Broadcast

Leggings and yoga pants made headlines recently when Minnetonka High School administration sent an e-mail to parents asking that students “cover their butts up.” The e-mail and its subsequent press attention brought forth a discussion of SPA’s own dress code regarding form-hugging clothing. In the Upper School, many female students wear leggings or yoga pants. But only a few yards away in the Middle School, virtually no girls wear them in the same fashion. Rumors have circulated for years about a legging and yoga pants ban in the Middle School. Many students believe that the Middle School’s rules are strict and confusing. These different standards of dress bring difficulties for two schools sharing combined space. Everyday, middle schoolers walk through the Upper School to go to gym class, lunch and the library. Additionally, upper schoolers walk through the MS wing for art, publications and other classes. Many members of the freshmen class come from the middle School and must adjust to the different rules and schedules. Others come to SPA from schools that had uniforms or different dress codes. How do students know what is appropriate? How can school administrators monitor their student’s

Students need to understand that the two schools have different rules for good reasons.

dress when two systems are constantly blended every day? Middle schoolers are actually allowed to wear leggings and yoga pants, but they need to have a shirt that reaches their fingertips and covers their behinds. Were this rule applied in the Upper School, students would breach it constantly. Every Middle School student has the Middle School Handbook, which includes the dress code, in their planners and have conversations with their advisory about clothing rules. MS principal Dr. Jill Romans explained that the separate set of rule exists for developmental reasons. It is imperative that Middle School students dress appropriately for a learning environment. Tight and revealing clothing such as leggings are not just distracting for other students, but everyone. “It’s boys, it’s girls, it’s teachers,” Romans said. Romans explained that she

Illustration Credit: Ava Gallagher Upper School and Middle School students are held to different standards when it comes to dress code, leading to some confusion and protest.

thinks that it can be hard for the younger students to see the high school students wearing different and more revealing clothing, but they are not trying to change their own dress code. “I don’t think that it is so much about what they can and cannot wear, they do definitely look at the high school and wonder why it is that they get to have a different dress code,” Romans said. Rules regarding clothing in the Upper School are different for many reasons. While the middle school dress code is well defined, the upper school code is more open to interpretation and creates general guidelines for dress. While the middle school dress code is reg-

ulated by adults, the Upper School dress code was a collaboration of the administration and the Upper School Council over 15 years ago. According to the Upper School Handbook, this rule states that “all clothing must be neat, clean and in good repair, appropriate to the activity and not a distraction from learning environment for fellow students or faculty. In all instances, modesty is expected.” This rule has stayed almost the same for many years. Dean of Students Judy Cummins said that Upper School and Middle School students are at different developmental stages, which justifies separate rules. Similarly, in

the Upper School, freshmen don’t get to leave campus while seniors can. If everyone had the same rules, there would be no sense of distinction between different age groups and grade levels. More choices in what clothing one wears is a privilege that Upper School students enjoy because of their age. Students have the right to make their own decisions regarding their appearance, yet the administration will step in if outfits are too distracting or inappropriate. Regarding leggings, Cummins stated that “we do monitor [students’ clothing choices]. Everyone knows there is a norm of leggings, and there are those who are outside the norm.” Students need to understand that the two schools have different rules for good reasons. Upper School students are fortunate that the administration allows them to wear controversial clothing such as leggings. Many other private schools have uniforms that limit students expressing their style and personality. We are privileged enough to make our own decisions regarding what we wear. While there’s nothing wrong with using that privilege, it comes with the responsibility to respect the dress code and to keep our clothing appropriate. The rules are what they are for a good reason. While it’s important that we know what those reasons are, we should also respect the decisions of the administration and follow the rules.

Infographic Whether in the car or studying, students find time for music. Although students do not all like the same genres, most enjoy it to some degree. This month, The Rubicon conducted a poll asking 94 students how they listen to music.

What music do we listen to?

Pop 67%

Country 28%

Film/musical/etc. soundtracks 37%

Electronic 26% Blues 11%

Hip Hop 62% R&B 36% Folk 14%

Other 14%

Religious 12%

Jazz 22%

Rock/Alternative/ Metal 56%

Where do we get it?

Vinyl records 5% Cassette tapes 3%

Spotify 37%

iTunes 64%

LIBRARY CARD

Libraries 8%

Pandora 49% Other sources 21% Youtube 75%

CDs 37%

Where do we keep it?

Classical/Opera 17%

How much money do we spend per month on music? $0 41%

$1-$10 41% $10-20 51%

$20-$50 3%

CDs 24% Other places 12%

Cell Phone 46%

iTunes 67%

Vinyl records 7%

6 Fe a t u r e

St. Paul Academy and Summit School

December 2012. Vol XXXX. Issue IV.

Hockey player takes to coach’s chair

Senior Emily Nasseff teaches Stillwater kids’ team

Ellie Fuelling

A&E Editor

Blades screech on ice. Breath comes out of mouths in soft puffs of white. A puck shoots into the net as the buzzer blares. These sights and sounds are second nature to senior Emily Nasseff, who has spent her whole life on the ice rink. But this winter, instead of scoring goals for her team, Nasseff will spend time after school teaching. What started off as a summer volunteer opportunity for Defending the Blue Line, a program that helps children of military servicemen learn how to play hockey, has grown into a passion for Nasseff, who now teaches hockey to girls under the age of eight through Stillwater Area Hockey Association (SAHA). Defending the Blue Line is a national organization based in Hastings. The group works to give children of military members hockey equipment and the opportunity to play. So far they have been able to give 300 children all the equipment they need to play hockey. “I really wanted to coach this season because I volunteered for

Defending the Blue Line this past summer and I loved helping out and coaching little kids,” Nasseff said. She contacted the head of Defending the Blue Line and he assigned her to three girls’ hockey teams through SAHA. During practices, Nasseff tunes into her childish side by playing fun games with the girls, usually starting off with red light green light and ending the practice with noodle tag, trying to tag each other with foam noodles, which happens to be her favorite part. After playing games they spend their time practicing with the boys’ team and scrimmaging. “One time the girls wanted to scrimmage against the coaches,” Nasseff said. “It lasted about two minutes and the girls gave up. We never did that again.” Nasseff feels she has made an impact when she helps a girl out if she struggles with a certain drill or maneuver. She will pull her aside and help them out one on one, making sure they understand so they can improve. “I love doing that because, most of the time, after I tell them how to do something right, they fix it right away,” she said. Another favorite part of teach-

Photo Credit: Ellie Fuelling Nasseff coaches her team of girls under eight years old at the Lily Lake Ice Arena through the Stillwater Area Hockey Association. She has used the opportunity to learn “how to be a role model and a leader, and how to be patient with people.”

ing, Nasseff said, is “playing tag with [the students] at the end of practice because all of them gang up on me and try to get me. They never can, though.” With her time taken up teach-

ing, Nasseff no longer plays hockey on a team, but said that she still watches a lot of hockey. The greatest skill she has learned from teaching these kids is “how to be a role model and a leader,” she

said, “and how to be patient with people.” Nasseff now gets to share her lifelong love of hockey with a new generation, inspiring them to find joy in the sport she loves.

Knitting habit staves off winter boredom

Students, teachers alike make yarn crafts during cold weather Boraan Abdulkarim

Staff Writer

Although Minnesota winter doesn’t exhibit beaches or lunch on the patio of a cafe, there are more options for winter-specific activities. One the most popular requires not ski poles, but knitting needles. Being indoors in the winter doesn’t have to mean hunting for ways to kill time indoors. For many students and teachers, spare time in the winter is an opportunity to knit. Upper School math teacher Dan O’Loughlin takes advantage in of this opportunity, and for him, knitting is a chance to give presents. “I’m a seasonal knitter. I knit in the winter, not in the summer,” O’Loughlin said. He knits hats for his family, and often crafts Christmas presents for his friends. “I like the creative part of it,” O’Loughlin said. The first thing O’Loughlin ever knit was a scarf, when he had the flu as a young boy. “I was home, so my mom said I needed something to do, to be busy.” O’Loughlin also likes knitting because “I like that you’re making something that’s useful. I also like that it’s a little bit mathematical, especially the patterns,” O’Loughlin often knits while watching television. “What I

actually like the most, is that I can watch TV, especially the sports, while I knit, so I’m doing something while I’m watching TV.” Freshman Maren Findlay knits in her spare time. She makes presents for people she knows and knits for the fun of it. But Findlay’s knitting time is mostly dominated by winter. “I definitely knit more in the winter, because I can make Christmas presents and I don’t do any other engaging activities,” Findlay said. “It’s a fun and a creative way of expressing yourself.” Some of her many knitted creations include scarves, and even a stuffed Totoro, a character from a popular Japanese animated film. Junior Ellie Klein’s first knitted masterpiece, like O’Loughlin’s, was a scarf. Klein was first taught to knit by her friend in fifth grade. Klein knits “when I’m bored,” in support of the theory that knitting has the “something to do” asset. She has knitted a number of projects, including practicalities like homemade mittens. For Klein, another fun aspect of knitting is picking out the yarn. Yarn comes in many different colors and textures, which is what stores like The Yarnery specialize in. Angie Paulsen, who works on the sales floor of The Yarnery yarn store on Grand Avenue, said that people who come into the store often knit Christmas presents, caus-

“

Once you get into the rhythm of knitting, it gets pretty zen. freshman Maren Findlay ing a spike in yarn sales around the winter/holiday season. The Yarnery offers a sevensession course for beginning knitters, at a price of about 70 dollars. Chances are anyone who knows how to knit would be overjoyed to teach it to someone else. It’s easy to learn, and quick to get into. One can knit anything from mittens to a teddy bear to the recently popular “tree knitting,” in which one knits around the trunk of a tree to make beautiful designs. The wider student body, though, is not entirely engaged with knitting. “Most [people] think knitting originated with sweet elderly ladies and housewives,” Sarah Greenleaf, a knitting writer with the University of Washington’s dailyuw.com, said. Paulsen described the majority of the beginning knitters who

Photo Credit: Boraan Abdukarim Two of Upper School Mathematics teacher Dan O’Loughlin’s (inset) famous knitted Möbius strips sit on his desk in the math commons. “I like the creative part of it,” O’Loughlin said. A Möbius strip is a one-sided three-dimensional shape that loops in on itself.

come into the store to be women, generally over the age of 35. That supports that theory. Some have suggested that they have more time on their hands than students, or have grandchildren to knit presents for. Around the community, people have a variety of reasons for knitting. “Abstract feelings of security and home attract people to knitting.” Greenleaf explained. This explains the appeal knitting has to someone curled up on the couch in front of a frosty window, with nothing for their hands to do. Knitter Gwen Falla, also known as @SpinningGwenny on Twit-

ter, said: “There is no doubt that for me knitting is the ultimate therapy. Knitting helps me to distance myself from the physical pain just by the repetitive rhythm of movement and the feel of the yarn. It allows me to enter into an almost meditative state and stay in control.” Paulsen agreed. “I think it is a stress reliever, and there is a meditative quality in the repetition.” Paulsen also said that people approach knitting because they look to it “as something soothing and repetitive to calm them”. Findlay, too, had similar things to say. “Once you get into the rhythm of knitting, it gets pretty zen.”

Fe a t u r e 7 December 2012. Vol XXXX. Issue IV.

St. Paul Academy and Summit School

“

Living far away... defines me, seeing as not many other people live in Cottage Grove.

School searches for excellent substitutes Thomas Toghramadjian

senior Josh Gray Photo Credit: Aditi Kulkarni Senior Josh Gray, who commutes daily from Cottage Grove, calls his daily trek “...a drag. Most of my friends live in St. Paul and I’m the only one that lives in Cottage Grove.”

Early mornings behind the wheel

Student commuters relish and despise the road Saif Ahmed

Columnist/Staff Writer

Winter is here, and highways are getting icier, as are the temperaments of the drivers atop them. While many students revel bask in living close to school, some students are not so lucky. Ranging from five minutes to about an hour drive, everybody’s commute is different. Senior Josh Gray lives in Cottage Grove and has an approximately 30 minute drive to school. “Living far away is quite a drag. Most of my friends live in St. Paul and I’m the only one that lives in Cottage Grove,” Gray said. Gray said that he has to wake up pretty early if he wants to get to school on time. “On average, I wake up at about 7:00 and get out of the door by 7:10. Otherwise traffic on the highway gets bad and I end up be-

ing late to school,” Gray said. “But my long commute brings about some interesting experiences. I actually saw a hit and run a couple of weeks ago.” “I was driving to school one morning; one of the highway ramps was really backed up,” Gray said. “I don’t quite know exactly what happened, but a silver car come flying down the road and slowed down too late; the car rearended someone else. Instead of staying and following the proper protocol, the driver sped away.” Gray ended up calling the police and reporting what he saw of the incident. Junior Connor Allen used to live in Stillwater before moving to St. Paul. “Living all the way in Stillwater was dreadful; the morning drive took way too long. Moving to St. Paul is one of the best things that happened in my life,” Allen said. “My average commute from

Stillwater took around 30 minutes, which is too long.” Senior Mara Walli lives only a few blocks away from school. “I have the luxury of waking up at 7:45 and being able to get to school on time,” Walli said. “I cannot imagine what I would do if I lived far away from school.” But some students enjoy living far away and appreciate the solitude. Some enjoy the quiet drive in the morning, allowing them to think and be themselves while others enjoy turning up the volume on their music. Allen is one of those people. “Sitting in the car by myself, I have the opportunity to really express my thoughts and emotions through songs,” Allen said. “It was a time to myself where I wasn’t constantly thinking about school or other people.” Both Gray and Allen have seen some interesting events while driving. “There was one day when I

was driving during the winter and I literally watched a car right in front of me spin out,” Allen said. “It was genuinely terrifying watching that happen. It put my life into perspective and made me reevaluate where I am and what I’m doing.” “I have also seen Santa Claus,” Gray said. “I was coming home from basketball practice and some guy cut right in front of me. Naturally, I wanted to see who the driver was so I pulled up next to him; it was Santa. He had decals along the side of both sides of his car designed like a sleigh, and the guy inside was decked out in a full white beard and red jacket.” “I wouldn’t mind living closer,” Gray continued. “At the same time, I kind of enjoy living far away, it’s something defines me seeing as not many other people live in Cottage Grove.”

Boy Scouts fundraise through holidays Dhara Singh

Staff Writer

A Christmas tree covered in heirloom ornaments and twinkle lights. A wreath adorned with a red bow hanging on the door. A nutcracker standing guard over a bowl of walnuts, pecans, and cashews. But how do Boy Scouts fit into this holiday vision? A few St. Paul Academy and Summit School students work to sell Christmas trees, wreaths, popcorn and nuts for Boy Scouts over the winter. Starting in late October and continuing into late December, Boy Scouts work hard to sell as much as they can. The money that the make goes to different boy scout outings, and camps, depending on the troop. Freshman Dalante Peyton has been a Boy Scout in troop #45 for almost three years, and has sold popcorn and wreaths every year. “It is fun selling because I like meeting new people and having them help to support Boy Scouts,” Peyton said. He likes to advertise his wreaths by making flyers and spreading the word throughout his neighborhood. He spends about six hours a week working on Boy

Scout sales around from late October to December. Currently Peyton is a Star, which is two ranks down from an Eagle. He plans on continuing Boy Scouts for as long as he can. Senior Andy Monserud started Cub Scouts in first grade, and has been doing Boy Scouts since 5th. “We want to keep up the Scouts reputation for honesty and integrity,” Monserud said. “It's more important that we serve the customer well than that they buy a tree. That's my favorite part of sales.” Monserud is currently selling trees for Boy Scout Troop #288 at a parking lot of a Cub Foods in West Saint Paul. Freshman Hunter Hannula has been a Boy Scout for seven years and hopes to continue on until he becomes an Eagle Scout. “It’s nice to make friends that are different from my school ones, and Boy Scouts gives me that opportunity,” Hannula said. This winter he has been working to sell both nuts and trees around Minnesota. He spends about six hours every week from November to Late December at the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Saint Paul selling pine trees.

Photo taken by Josh Morgenstern

Photos credit Andy Monserud Boy Scouts Andy and Tommy Monserud sell Christmas trees in the lot outside Cub Foods in West St. Paul. Though the act is for fund-raising, the two aren’t too concerned about money: “It’s more important that we serve the customer well than that they buy a tree.”

News Editor

It’s the middle of the school week, and when you walk into class, a substitute sits in place of your regular teacher and their name is scrawled on the board. Behind this natural occurrence lies a rigorous selection and scheduling process for substitute teachers. Each class continues in the instructor’s absence and is, in its own way, a small miracle. St. Paul Academy and Summit School draws substitute teachers with a wide range of experiences, from those recently out of college to retired career teachers. Colleen Krebs falls into the latter category. She taught English and journalism in the Upper School before retiring in 2004, and comes back often to sub in English and French classes. While she enjoys “seeing old friends and meeting new teachers,” Krebs misses her full-time work. “Sometimes I think, ‘Oh, I wish I could work with these teachers and students,’” Krebs said. “It makes me yearn for the old days.” While Krebs is an easy choice for a substitute, due to her long tenure at SPA and her stature in the community, the selection process is not always so simple. SPA keeps up a running advertisement for substitute teachers on the school website. Applicants must submit résumés to Human Resource Director Courtney Barker, who forwards qualified 9-12 candidate résumés to US Principal Chris Hughes. Hughes interviews potential substitutes in person, asking questions that focus on their experience and availability. “You need someone who’s open to teach, comfortable in class, and who doesn’t have another full-time job,” Hughes said. Finally, the school conducts a background check through the Personnel Office, after which a substitute is eligible to teach. When a teacher calls in sick in the morning, the school may contact a variety of substitutes before finding one available to come. Often, teachers call a substitute in advance if they are attending a conference or chaperoning students. Ideally, substitutes teach subjects in which they have some expertise. Occasionally, a person with experience in a related subject may be called. Areas of greatest crossover include history to English and science to math. Languages require the most specific substitutes. Finding enough quality substitutes is a difficult and never-ending task, but a necessary one to ensure that classes continue on schedule. Next time a new face appears in the classroom, with a new name scrawled on the board, remember how much it took to get them there.

C ove r

December 2012. Vol XXXX. Issue IV.

‘Tis the season for

Traditions D

old and new

uring winter holidays such as Christmas and Hanukkah, many students gather with their families in celebration. These days are not only for giving and receiving, but also for supplying memories and marking checkpoints of change.

Photo Submitted by: Sophia Myers-Kelley 7-year-old Sophia Myers-Kelley hugs an American Girl doll and waves at the camera. “I used to wake up at three in the morning,” Myers-Kelley said about Christmases when she was younger.

Senior Sophia Myer

(Continued on Back Cover pg. 16)

Junior Charlie Rosenblum

Senior Dominic Dingess spends time with his family Wish list: age 5 Tonka construction grabber Army men Bionicle toys Remote control car Nerf gun

“

Hannah Johnson

r Sports Editor/ Broadcast

As the first semester comes to an end and winter break nears closer and closer, most students begin to count down the days until they get out of school. Senior Dominic Dingess isn’t an exception. This excitement began when he was younger, but now this break does not only mean no homework or tests. “My excitement for the holidays really hasn't changed much, since I was younger, but the reasons have. I always like a break from school, but

now I see the holiday season as more of a chance to spend time with my family,” Dingess said. Though the break and Christmas are a time for relaxation, Dingess chooses to spend his time productively. Dingess said that he likes to “use the free time [the break] provides to train for sports.” Besides staying active, Dingess and his family take the vacation as a way to spend time together and stay low-key. “My family doesn’t have any big holiday traditions,” Dingess said. “We hang around the house, maybe visit the Veteran’s Home.”

Jenga set Barbie doll Paint Marbles

r Sports Editor/ Broadcast

senior Dominic Dingess

Just time to spend with family

Hot Wheels race set

Hannah Johnson

My excitement for the holidays really hasn’t changed much... but the reasons have.

Wish list: now

Wish list: age 5

Photo Illustration Credit: Hannah Johnson Senior Dominic Dingess pretends to hammer a nail into the sign for the Driscoll Learning Center using a plastic yellow toy hammer. When he was a little kid, he wished for a Tonka construction grabber for Christmas. “My family doesn’t have any big holiday traditions,” Dingess said.

When junior Charlie Rosenblum was younger, Santa Claus meant nothing to him. Instead, he waited for the arrival of Hanukkah Harry to bring him presents. Sadly, Rosenblum now knows that Harry will not visit his house. “It is less exciting because now I know that Hanukkah Harry isn’t real,” Rosenblum said. Still, he finds enjoyment in many of his family’s traditions including playing dreidel, a traditional Hanukkah game and baking potato pancakes called latkes. Rosenblum and his family now have a more infor-

Junior Charlie Rosenblum prepares a palette o kah Harry to bring him a paint set. “It is less e

mal approach to presents, as they go shopping for one present for each family member and open presents at home. Even though he now knows where his presents come from, Rosenblum still enjoys celebrating Hanukkah. “It still is a good time because you light candles and you get with your family,” Rosenblum said. “It’s kind of a good family reunion.”

Stor y Wish list: age 5

Wish list: now

Sophomore Mattie Daub drinks peppermint coffee

Super Paper Mario video game

A pony Pony accessories A unicorn

Epic Mealtime shirt

A bicycle

iTunes gift card

Construction toys

Super Smash Brothers

Hannah Johnson

Gita Raman Photo Credit: Gita Raman Left: Sophomore Mattie Daub plays with fuzzy purple socks on her hands. Along with socks, Daub also wishes for peppermint coffee because “coffee is a good source of caffeine for the holidays,” she said.

Urban Decay naked makeup palette

r Sports Editor/ Broadcast

Senior Sophia Myers-Kelley often had high hopes for her presents under the Christmas tree. But many of her desired gifts could very well eat the whole Christmas tree! MyersKelley’s wish list has become much more realistic and includes an iTunes gift card and makeup. Instead of a letter to Santa, she has a list of gifts she wants ready on her iPhone. A more realistic wish list isn’t the only thing that has changed about her hopes for Christmas. Like many other teenagers, Myers-Kelley sleeps in on Christmas. “I used to wake up at three in the morning,” Myers-Kelley said. She now has different traditions with her family. Myers-Kelley used to visit her grandparents but now relatives come visit her family’s house. “My brother and his wife come over to my house at three to open up presents,” Myers-Kelley said.

December 2012. Vol XXXX. Issue IV.

Right: Two year old Mattie Daub smiles on one of the early Christmases in her life. Although Daub stopped believing in Santa when she was seven, Daub’s perspective of the holiday did not stop improving. “I like Christmas now more than when I was a kid,” Daub said.

Staff Writer

Sophomore Mattie Daub used to want things that any typical sevenyear-old would wish for: an Easy Bake oven, different kinds of lollipops, and Sea-Monkeys. Daub celebrates Christmas with her family and believed in Santa until she was seven. She used to put out milk and cookies for him and carrots for Santa’s reindeer. Today, her wish list has become more practical. Now that she is 15 years old, she would like peppermint coffee and fuzzy socks. She focuses more on giving than receiving, too. As her preferences change, her traditions of celebrating Christmas have changed, too. As a child she and her family would get a Christmas tree and drink creamy hot chocolate. Now, she still celebrates with a Christmas tree, but instead of hot chocolate she drinks peppermint coffee. “Coffee is a good source of caffeine for the holidays,” Daub said.

Wish list: age 5 Photo Credit: Hannah Johnson Senior Sophia Myers-Kelley smiles as she holds a brown stuffed horse. Her mother, who used to joke about wanting a pony on birthdays, inspired Myers-Kelley’s wish. “I always thought it was the coolest thing since [my mother] wanted one,” Myers-Kelley said.

Photo Submitted by: Mattie Daub

Wish list: now

rs-Kelley wanted a pony

An Easy Bake oven

Peppermint coffee

Rainbow swirl and cherry lollipops

Fuzzy socks

Sea-Monkeys

“

m waited for Hanukkah Harry

I like the general good mood in everyone during the holidays. sophomore Evan Leduc

Gita Raman

Photo Credit: Hannah Johnson of paint in the school art hallway. When he was younger, he wished for Hanukexciting because now I know that Hanukkah Harry isn’t real,” Rosenblum said.

Wish list: now New shoes Good grades Vintage Pokémon game New pair of track spikes

Staff Writer

Some traditions sophomore Evan Leduc celebrates include having an advent calendar with small little chocolates leading up to Christmas day and setting up Christmas trees. “I like the general good mood in everyone during the holidays,” Leduc said. Leduc believed in Santa until the age of 10. Now he believes in Santa in a different way, “mostly to humor parents and [my] sister,” Leduc said. Leduc’s other traditions have not changed from being a child. Still, as years pass Leduc’s tastes have changed; now he would like video games, gift cards and books instead of legos, model airplanes, and Pokémon trading cards.

Photo Submitted by: Evan Leduc 2-year-old Evan Leduc plays with presents on Christmas day. Now a sophomore, he no longer believes in Santa but pretends to do so “mostly to humor parents and [my] sister,” Leduc said.

Wish list: age 6

Wish list: now

Legos

Gift cards

Model airplanes

Books

Pokémon trading cards

Assassin’s Creed video game Portal 2 video game

Sophomore Evan Leduc changed his belief in Santa

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

St. Paul Academy and Summit School

December 2012. Vol XXXX. Issue IV.

Seniors take control Eight senior actors go behind the scenes to direct one acts Photo Credit: Lucy Li Seniors Liat Kaplan, August King, Ellie Fuelling, Clara Stahlmann Roeder, Ibad Jafri, and Andy Monserud attend a director’s meeting where US English teacher Eric Severson gives them advice on directing one acts. “So far we’ve had a few rehearsals and it seems to be coming together very nicely,” Stahlmann Roeder said.

Saif Ahmed

Columnist/Blogger

The audience only gets a glimpse of the tremendous work put into plays by everyone involved: the directors, actors, and stage managers. Most of the attention while watching plays is focused on the actors themselves, seamlessly performing and perfectly transitioning from scene to scene while the director is left in the shadow of the spotlight. Every winter, a select few theater veterans are offered by Upper School English and Fine Arts teacher Eric Severson to direct a one act play. The student directors are then given the freedom to select a play that they wish to direct and run a casting session. Everyone auditions for the role they desire in a mass casting session spanning over two days, and the directors select their actors from there. “The drafting process was definitely very tense,” senior director Andy Monserud said. “There was some serious tension between Noah and I in regards to

the casting of roles.” Seniors Clara Stahlmann Roeder and Ellie Fuelling are among those chosen to direct. “We have selected The Actor’s Nightmare by Christopher Durang, a comedic play about every actor’s nightmare,” Stahlmann Roeder said. “It begins with a man backstage who is forced to walk on stage and perform, though he doesn’t remember anything.” Not all directors are directing just one play however. Seniors Claire O’Brien and Ibad Jafri have accepted the challenge of directing two of these one acts. “We are doing Variations on the Death of Trotsky and Philip Glass Buys a Loaf of Bread both of which were written by David Ives,” O’Brien said. “We had originally settled on just one of them, Variations on the Death of Trotsky, but it wasn’t quite long enough. We got the OK from Mr. Severson to do another one.” Seniors Andy Monserud and Noah Shavit-Lonstein are also among the students chosen to take on the arduous task of directing a theater performance. They settled on the piece The Long Christmas

Dinner by Thorton Wilder. “It’s about a family who is at Christmas dinner for 90 years,” Monserud said. “The story takes place over nine decades and documents the changes in family dynamics.” Stahlmann Roeder loves being a director. “So far, we’ve had a few rehearsals and it seems to be all coming together very nicely,” Stahlmann Roeder said. “One of my favorite things about this process is the freedom that we have. We haven’t spent the entire time working solely on the play, we’ve also done a lot of team building exercises; my favorite that we’ve done so far the improv games.” O’Brien also feels very comfortable with the direction the plays are heading: “It’s all been very good so far! We have great casts who are all full of energy,” O’Brien said. “I want to be the fun director but at the same time get things done. We seem to be doing well so far, but I feel like we’ll have to buckle down during rehearsals after winter break.”

Cast List The Actor’s Nightmare

George: Sonja Mischke Sarah: Kaia Findlay Henry: Halsey Moe Ellen: Maren Findlay Meg: Mary Merrill Executioner: Connor Allen

The Long Christmas Dinner

Lucia: Ria Guest Mother Bayard: Alice Tibbets Roderick: Frank Nahurski Brandon: Miriam Tibbets Charles: Evan Leduc Genevieve: Nissa Rolf Leonara: Ruth Sheldon Sam: Hannah Baker Lucia the Younger: Dani Tiedemann Ermengarde: Sarah Little RB: William Bass Nurse: Alex Miller

Philip Glass buys a Loaf of Bread Philip: Jack Romans Baker: Anna Biggs Girl #1: Ysabella Johnson Girl#2: Mansuda Arora Back-up Singers: Sophia Harrison Eva Perez-Greene Kit Rasmussen

Variations on the Death of Trotsky Leon Trotsky: Hagop Toghramadjian Mrs. Trotsky: Ava Gallagher Ramon Mercader: Caswell Burr

The Yellow Wallpaper

Jane: Sophia Myers-Kelley John: Cam Murray Helene: Claire Flom-Staab Elizabeth: Chinaza Nwaneri Amber: Charlotte Hughes Betty: Rachel Ketz

Hidegaard: Emily Ross Ellen: Maggie Vlietstra Seniz: Maggie Clark

Don’t Fear the Reaper

Robert: Ben Braman Conception: Mattie Daub News Anchor: Sydney Kuller Steve: Max Lowenthal TV Assistant/Corpse: Tommy Monserud Jeremy: Ben Oppenheimer Dolly Destiny: Isabelle Saulhughes God: Nick Scott Jessica: Danielle Socha Satan: Ingrid Topp-Johnson Reaper: Riley Wheaton

One Act Synopses

Don’t Fear the Reaper, a comedy by Eddy Zipperer and directed by Liat Kaplan and August King, tells the story of the day the Grim Reaper gets fired by God. The title is a nod to the Blue Oyster Cult song with the same name.

Variations on the Death of Trotsky is one of the two oneacts Ibad Jafri and Claire O’Brien are directing. There are only three characters, Leon Trotsky, Ms. Trotsky and Ramon Mercader. The plot revolves around Ramon murdering Trotsky with nine different outcomes.

The Actor’s Nightmare, by Christopher Durang and directed by Ellie Fuelling and Clara Stahlmann Roeder, tells the story of a man in a nightmare. He is thrown on stage in the middle of a performance, and he doesn’t remember his lines. He has to fumble his way through Hamlet, Private Lives, and a strange combination of Samuel Beckett plays.

Andy Monserud and Noah Shavit-Lonstein are directing The Long Christmas Dinner, written by Thorton Wilder which travels through 90 years of Christmas dinners with a single family, showing deaths, births, and eventually the dissipation of the entire family.

Ibad Jafri and Claire O’Brien are also directing Philip Glass Buys a Loaf of Bread, written by David Ives. Philip Glass goes into a bakery to buy a loaf of bread. Glass and the patrons in the bakery burst into rhythmic and absurdist chanting.

US English teacher Eric Severson is directing The Yellow Wallpaper, the one act that will automatically move on to a subsectional one act competition. This adaptation of the classic short story empowers women, giving voices to the women Jane sees within the wallpaper.

Ar ts & Enter tainment

St. Paul Academy and Summit School

December 2012. Vol XXXX. Issue IV.

Students exhibit talent in winter art show Senior Art Seminar contributes to winter exhibit

Senior Steven Olson is one of many seniors with one or more pots on display in the show. Ceramics teacher Bob Jewett said seniors are “leading the way” in this show.

The Senior Art Seminar students are “leading the way” this exhibition, as Jewett put it. Seniors focusing on ceramics in their art time have the opportunity to select, out of all ceramics created, ten pieces to submit to the national competition. How do they plan on selecting? “If they didn’t make it haphazardly, that’s the main criteria for me,” senior and ceramics artist Ian Rolf said. “I’ll look at the glazing, if they’ve been creative with that. I’ll look less at form and more at the details and the aspects of the pot.”

Noah Shavit-Lonstein

The Winter Student Art show runs Dec. X-X in Drake Gallery. “It’s gonna be a great show. Across the board. [The student work has] really great energy,” Ceramics teacher Bob Jewett said.

Feature Editor

For the 40th year in a row, Middle and Upper school art students from first semester have selected a single work to be displayed to the world in the Winter Art exhibition. Originally held in the Shepherd Center, the student exhibition has since moved to the Drake Gallery, which Ceramics teacher Bob Jewett described as “one of the nicest little galleries in the Twin Cities.” The process of selecting those works and opening them up to public viewing criticism can be exciting as well as terrifying. Here’s just a few of those works, along with their stories. Fine Arts Department Chair Marty Nash said that selecting a work for the exhibit is a collaborative process: “We have over thirty years of looking at art and picking. Usually we [the art faculty and the students] are in mutual agreement.”

All Photos Credit: Booran Abdulkarim

Sophomore Emma Rodgerson made this representation of Frannie from J.D. Salinger’s Frannie and Zoe. She includes a resonant quote about conformism from the book. “It was meant to look sort of sloppy and hurried, the writing especially,” Rodgerson explained, “because in the book she was having a mental breakdown about spirituality and how meaningless everything that everyone does is.”

Junior Ben Morris built this work on a combination of careful planning and spontaneity. He based the shape of the pot off of both traditional vases and an earlier draft in which he “made the shape by complete accident.” In terms of the pot’s glazing, “I was going for uniqueness. I used my fingers to make the lines [using] some colors that would go well together.”

Sophomore Hunter Murray was wandering a trail near his house over the wet and snowy Thanksgiving break when he saw the setting for this photo. He caught the icecoated twigs and running waterfall in a single odd moment. During class, he set the photo in gray scale because “more neutral colors complement it more, make the ice colors stand out more. The contrast of it all makes it work well.”

Unorthodox Jukebox comes off too poppy, lacks substance Album

Review Liz Rossman

Around Town

It’s hard to believe Unorthodox Jukebox is Bruno Mars’s second album. His singles Grenade and Just The Way You Are have been radio station anthems, on repeat every day for a good portion of the last couple of years. But that’s just it. Bruno Mars is a good artists..when it comes to singles. He has perfected the pop anthem and has made songs whose beats and rhythms venture out only to the boundaries of Top 40. It’s a shame, because if one were to listen to any, and I mean any, of his acoustic songs whether of his own songs or covers of such classics as White Stripe’s Seven Nation Army and Katy Perry’s California Girls, they may see a very different side of Mars’s. One I was hoping to hear on Unorthodox Jukebox. It’s no doubt he has the vocals. Bruno Mars’s can sing, and he’s got the “swagger,” so to speak, of Justin Timberlake circa Sexyback. But one problem with his singles,

or rather his albums, is they’re overproduced and the lyrics lack individuality. Many of Mars’s songs, such as Locked out of Heaven are composed with layer after layer of drum beats and early 2000s R&B ohhs-andahhs. In many cases, the overproduced music overpower his vocals and not in an appealing way. Bruno Mars should take a hint from artists like Adele and Florence + The Machine, who realize that the “beat’ comes second in production to vocals. In songs like Locked Out of Heaven and Moonshine, it’s somewhat painful to hear the struggle of attention between Mars’s vocals and the beat itself. Without harmony between his vocals and the beats, it’s harder to comprehend Mars’s songs on a musical and emotional level. However, it is clear that Bruno Mars is still trying to find his voice. Rising out of a career as a songwriter for the likes of Brandy and Sean Kingston, Mars knows how to write and produce a hit. I am not saying Bruno Mars isn’t a good singer. Seven Grammy nominations and kick-butt performances at the 2012 Grammy Awards and Met Gala would say otherwise. Bruno Mars is a great and talented artist, and like Juliette Barnes in ABC’s show Nashville, he “knows how to play the game.”

Judging from Unorthodox Jukebox, Mars just seems to be stuck. Stuck writing songs that speak outwardly, trying to adhere to the top 40 masses as opposed writing inward, in a reflective and personal manner. He knows the lyrics to write in order to address universal feelings of betrayal, love and first love that almost everyone, including hopeful teenage girls, experience. However, if Mars wants to become more than a flash in the pan, he’s going to have to grow out of his pop persona and it’s going to have to start with his lyrics. Mars knows the beats and riffs to add in order to make a song that will be on constant repeat on the radio. But that’s just it. He’s a good artist if you’re talking about making good singles. Mars’s has got to make it personal. It has to be true; otherwise it turns into the same song over and over again- just ask Nickelback. If you want to make a classic, you’ve got to attach some raw emotion like claws into the rum of a song. I The beats on Unorthodox Jukebox seem a little outdated. On the album it would have been nice to hear that sweet, sweet infusion of dance, lounge beats caressing Mars’s incredible vocals, a sentiment that artists like Janelle Monae and The Weekend have perfected. Mars has an amazing and in-

Photo used with permission from Flickr Creative Commons Bruno Mars plays live at the Bowery Ballroom in New York. His newest album, Unorthodox Jukebox, was released on Dec. 11, 2012.

teresting background as an artist. Growing up in Hawaii influenced his music, giving his songs a reggae, doo-wop and Motown sound Many of his songs are described as feel-good, carefree, optimistic but his lyrics also reference detailed failed relationship and self-destructive behavior. Perhaps it’s because of his record label. After Mars was signed to Atlantic records in 2011, a label that hosts top 40 favorites such as Lupe Fiasco and Jason Mraz, he seemed to have taken the direction of pop, contrary to his R&B, Motown persona he emulates in his performances.

But as an avid listener and music-lover, I’m not convinced. Mars states as lot of influence from artists like Michael Jackson and reggae, but I can never hear it in his music. Instead, when I begin to listen to Unorthodox Jukebox, I hear the sound of a singer whose attention has primarily been placed upon a couple of songs that will hopefully become radio sensations.

12 S p o r t s

St. Paul Academy and Summit School

December. Vol XXXX. Issue IV.

Trojans unite for the love of Swim and Dive Co-op with Highland Park brings new friendships and teamwork Lucy Li

Cover Story Editor

“Fours!” Boy’s Swimming and Diving coach Heather Lendway called, and several boys stepped up onto their blocks. They were swimming sets, and Lendway had split the team into numbered groups that took turns practicing laps down and up the pool. The swimmers waited for Lendway tell them to “take your mark.” Feet and hands still at one moment and flying at the next, they pounced off their blocks. A row of water fireworked into the air. Usually, two schools compete against one another when it comes to athletics. Whether as a part of the Tri-Metro Conference or the Saint Paul City Conference, schools have targeted rivals and aim to be on the top. However, this is not the case for St. Paul Academy and Summit School and Highland Park Senior High School. St. Paul Academy’s Boys’ Swimming and Diving team is a cooperative effort with Highland, who also provides the pool for practices. The team, called the Trojans, began their season in late November and will end it in February. SPA Assistant Director of Athletics Mike Brown praises Lendway for her efforts in helping the team members build relationships. “You have two schools, two different cultures, two different dismissal times, and trying to meld the two separate groups into one team,” Brown said. This co-op between SPA and

Highland began when former SPA Director of Athletics David Montgomery reached out to the Highland Athletics Department to combine the two school’s teams almost twenty years ago. “Their swim team was small, our swim team was small,” Brown said. The two schools formed a good-sized group that would be formidable for attending meets. Highland is the “lead” school, so it puts together the schedule, arranges for transportation, and communicates its plans to the SPA Athletics Department. This is freshman swimmer Josh Westfield’s first year on the team and first time on a co-op team. “It’s kind of like just going to a new school and meeting everyone,” Westfield said after his first practice. He used to swim for Farmington High School and was surprised at how quickly the first practice had “kind of jumped into everything,” he said. Westfield enjoys being on the team with Highland students. “It was kind of good to be just immersed into something just completely different. We’re all immersed [together], so it’s one thing in common,” Westfield said. Lendway believes there are not very many difficulties in having a team made up of students from different schools. “I think that they do a pretty good job getting together and working and they seem to enjoy it,” she said. Freshman diver Karsten Runquist, who was on the team last year, thinks highly of the co-op aspect, calling it “awesome.” He said,

Photo Credit: Lucy Li Trojan swimmers senior Flynn Franzen of Highland Park and SPA freshman Karsten Runquist swim the breaststroke at a recent swim practice. “I’ve made so many new friends through swim team the past two years and I’m excited to meet some of the new ones this year” sophomore Karsten Runquist said.

“what makes us a true team is the fact that we are such a small team and by the first month, everyone knows each other really well and we all encourage our teammates to work harder.” “I’ve made so many new friends through swim team the past two years and I’m excited to meet some of the new ones this year,” Runquist said. The team solidifies friendships early on the season, whether by cheering each other during a meet or attending a pasta dinner together after a long practice. “It gives the kids an opportunity to meet

kids from other schools and it’s more fun for them,” Lendway said. In the first week of practices, Highland’s pool’s heater malfunctioned, often creating unstable temperatures. The team had to do dry land conditioning for a few practices. Still, when the team gets into the pool, they practice sets of laps over and over, their bodies’ paths criss-crossing as they travel down each lane. “What you put in is what you will get out,” the 2012-2013 Trojans Handbook says. “I just hope that we can have a successful season, win a lot of

meets,” Westfield said. “Some of us are also going to try and qualify for State this year and so far by the looks of it, we have a pretty good chance,” Runquist said. Runquist also encourages more SPA students to attend swim meets. “A lot of people claim that it’s a boring sport to watch, but really when you’re with your friends and going crazy, it’s actually pretty fun,” he said. Specifically, the team looks forward to a major swim meet with Central, which will take place on Feb. 1, 2013.

“Zombie” Zamboni keeps Drake Arena running

“

Andy Monserud

Opinion/Editorial Editor

Slice, smooth, rinse, repeat. That’s the recipe for the smooth ice in Drake Arena. Drake employees John Cole and Eric Edhlund go on the rink every day to keep the ice usable. They’re aided by Drake’s trusty ice resurfacer, better known by the brand name Zamboni. Drake’s Zamboni 55P Electric model has served skaters at the arena for eight years. Cole and Edhlund take it out at least once every day, and up to fifteen times on weekends. The job is “highly coveted,” according to Cole, “but we’re in the business of selling ice, so we do quite a bit of it.” The machine itself is something of a curiosity. The Zamboni was constructed from spare parts in a Wisconsin plant. “It’s a little bit of a Zombie Zamboni,” Edhlund said. The Zamboni is mostly comprised of parts from around 1988, but “it has parts from the ‘90s and ‘70s,” Edhlund said. Despite its medley of components, the Zamboni is at the peak of modernity. A huge battery supplies all of the

We actually have quite a bit of fun here. It’s a job, nonetheless, but when you do something that you love, it’s a lot of fun. Drake Arena employee John Cole Zamboni’s power, so it emits no gases. “This is a small building for an ice rink, so having zero emissions makes it that much safer,” Cole said. Fortunately for the Zombie Zamboni, the formula for ice resurfacing hasn’t changed much over the years. “There’s a lot of pieces to it, but it’s really a very simple machine,” Cole said. The Zamboni’s speed maxes out at around twelve miles an hour, but it almost never goes that fast. “It doesn’t slow down fast,” he added, so it’s impractical and dangerous to go too fast. The Zamboni uses a three-quarter inch blade to cut a layer off the ice, which it then tosses into an enormous bin.

“We change [the blade] out about once every week and a half,” Cole said. The areas near the boards, which are difficult to reach, are smoothed out with enormous and coarse spinning brushes attached to arms that extend from the side. When all the ice has been cut, jets of water are sprayed onto the ice and mopped up to keep the ice even. When all this is done, the bin is emptied with a hydraulic lift, resulting in piles of snow outside Drake. All these parts add up to a lot of weight. “You don’t want to go ice fishing with it, that’s for sure,” Edhlund quipped. The Zamboni’s awesome power is a draw to students. Cole and Edhlund receive requests for rides

Photos Credit: Lucy Li The zamboni cleans the ice after a St. Paul United Hockey game on Dec. 11. “There’s a lot of pieces to it, but it’s really a simple machine,” Drake Arena employee John Cole said.

every year. “We’ve talked about it, but...there’s liability. It has a lot of moving parts,” Cole said. Though the Zamboni hasn’t ever caused problems, Cole and Edhlund are prepared in case it does. The Zamboni’s horn is designated for emergency situations. “When you’re driving [the Zamboni,] it gets a little noisy, Edhlund said, so it’s important that the horn is used to

communicate a message. Safe skating and safe resurfacing come first at Drake. Driving the Zamboni entails a lot of work and a lot of know-how, but it’s not a bad job. “We actually have quite a bit of fun here,” Cole said. “It’s a job, nonetheless, but when you do something that you love, it’s a lot of fun.”

Spor ts

years

St. Paul Academy and Summit School

December 2012. Vol XXXX. Issue IV.

Happy anniversary, Title IX Law created opportunity for female athletes

Title IX Timeline

Submitted Photo: Kris Flom MS Language teacher Kris Flom participated in Girls Basketball, Soccer, and Swim Team (above) during her time in the Upper School. Title IX passed when Flom was in fourth grade.

Photo Credit: Lucy Li Sophomore Maddie Flom-Staab plays tight defense on an opponent at the Dec. 4 match up between the Spartans and the Humboldt Hawks. “Some of the best friends [my three daughters] have are through their sports, and they’re setting patterns through their life in terms of being physically active,” Middle School French teacher and Maddie’s mother Kris Flom said.

Noah Shavit-Lonstein

on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.

Feature Editor

When Middle School Language teacher Kris Flom was in fourth grade, a landmark education measure passed through Congress. The measure, known as Title IX, required equality in school sports. Shortly afterwards, Flom began middle school at St. Paul Academy and Summit School and watched the sports department change around her. In her freshman year, a girl’s soccer program appeared. In sophomore, swimming. Flom eventually participated in a total of five sports during high school, never seeing an off-season. In the process, Flom said, “I gained a lot of confidence. I realized things that I didn’t know I could do athletically.” She continued sports through college, and retains her passion for athletics in adult life as a way to make friends and keep healthy. Title IX, authored by Representative Patsy Mink of Hawaii, was a portion of a routine education bill from 1972, the Higher Education Act. It led to a distinct increase in the number of female athletes in the United States and was lauded by feminist groups. This year, in its fortieth anniversary, athletes everywhere are remembering the turning point in American women’s sports. Mike Brown, the Upper School’s Assistant Athletic Director, has worked at SPA since before Title IX was codified. At the time, he coached several sports. The act was “long overdue,” Brown said. “Women were treated, athletically, as second-class citizens.” When the bill went into effect, the school created a board to ensure that equal opportunities were available to male and female athletes. Today, SPA has slightly more

“ No person in the United States shall,

Submitted Photo: Kris Flom Kris Flom (second Row, first on the left) poses with her 1979-1980 Spartan Girls Basketball team. Through sports, Flom “gained a lot of confidence. I realized things didn’t know I could do athletically,” Flom said.

female sports teams (15) than male (13). Members of the Athletic Department consult frequently to ensure gender equality in sports. “Our budget is as equal as it can be,” Brown said. “If it’s $4,000 for boys’ soccer, it’s $4,000 for girls’ soccer.” He also watches that the program does not disadvantage boys’ sports. “We don’t rob Peter to pay Paul. If there’s something special I want to do… I meet with Coach [Bill] Ross and we work things out so that it’s equal.” Today, the prevalence of women’s sports has been a boon for the student body and for women everywhere. Freshman Cait Gibbons has seen this firsthand. She said her participation in swimming “teaches a lot about being part of a team and…work ethic.” She feels that her life has improved because of sports. “Swimming helps reduce stress,” Gibbons added, “which helps with school. When I go to swimming, it’s easy to get my homework done.” Flom has noticed it as well. Her children Maren and Maddie have both become involved in scores of sports. “Some of the best friends they have are through their sports, and

they’re setting patterns through their life in terms of being physically active… My girls have gotten to travel to Sweden and Denmark to play soccer there.” The nation has seen similar shifts since the early 1970’s. The year before the law passed,about one in 27 high school girls participated in sports, and in many places, the only girl’s sport was cheerleading. Now, more than one in three high school girls is part of one of a variety of sports, from soccer to basketball to golf. The number of women in the Olympics, consistently going up, reached a record number this summer. The shift towards equality in sports is still moving, but today, like through the last four decades, its momentum is secure.

Can’t get enough sports? RubiconOnline posts up to date game scores, special features, and team news.

Title IX 1969: St. Paul Academy and Summit School merge. February 1972: Title IX Amendment introduced in to the Senate. May 1972: Amendment passes through Senate. June 1972: Amendment passes the House of Representatives, President Richard Nixon signs it into law. 2002: 30th Anniversary of the statute. President George W. Bush renames the title the “Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity Act.” Mink dies. 2012: In the year of the statute’s 40th anniversary, a record number of women compete in the Summer Olympics.

14 C o l u m n i s t s

St. Paul Academy and Summit School

December 2012. Vol XXXX. Issue IV.

Drones cannot soar above bounds of legality Does the President reserve the right to kill suspected terrorists at will? Congress should have a say.

Nov. 30 - Light at the end of the tunnel in Gaza Nov. 15 - Fiscal Cliff has economy on edge

Read more Nick Cohen at RubiconOnline. For opinions that link to News in this issue, we recommend:

Opinion

RubiconOnline features work from columnists Saif Ahmed and Nick Cohene each week. Enjoy this sampling of their work, and for more opinions or to read the archives, check out www.rubiconline.com.

Illustration Credit: Ava Gallagher

During his presidency, Barack Online Columnist Obama has increasingly utilized drone strikes as a means to carry out counterterrorism missions in the Middle East without jeopardizing the lives of American troops. With his word, a soldier safe in the confines of a building somewhere can control a drone and fire at a pre-designated target. However, as these strikes increase in regularity, the American populace begins to question the legality behind them. Who has designated President Obama to solely decide who deserves to die and who is able to live? Why does Congress not have any involvement in these strikes? These questions have led to a pervading demand for a revision of the legislation on drone strikes. No one yet knows what that revision would entail (or even if it will occur) but this is what it should contain: A revision to the intelligence collection necessary for a drone strike. Each strike is intended to take out a “militant” or “enemy combatant.” But how does the President decide who exactly is an “enemy combatant?” He does it by examining intelligence and determining an outcome from that. But as it is, the intelligence that our agencies gain is not always completely accurate. There is a lapse in strong, inquisitive research being done, which leads to poor choices of targets and the deaths of innocent civilians. So, first and foremost in this revision is a change in intelligence gathering to make it better and more trustworthy.

Nick Cohen

Entertainment r

Read more Saif Ahmed at RubiconOnline in the Arts & Entertainment section. Learn more about: Dec 9 - Hooray for lack of emotion Nov 29 - My money. Where did it go? Oct 29 - All work and no play makes Saif laugh a lot

Congress needs to get involved. They can no longer be allowed to sit by and have no say in these strikes. On the other hand, they can’t get too bogged down with the details as to make them unproductive in other facets. In order to accomplish this goal effectively, Congress must be presented a dossier on every intended target, review it, and then quickly conduct a vote for approval. No bartering or persuasion, just cold, hard facts and a simple yes/no decision. This will get the representatives involved and therefore reflect the will of the people instead of the will of a singular man.

There needs to be an effective and enforced revision policy of strikes. After each strike, a committee needs to review the intended target, the actual target, and the collateral damage inflicted by the strike. In retrospect, they will judge how well the target was picked and then how well the strike was carried out. And, if they find an unsatisfactory killing, they will bring this to the President with specific consequences to be suffered from it. This will curtail random slaughtering of civilians, because repercussions will now be enforced as a result of a poor choice of victim. Drone strikes are the military technology of the future, but it’s time to start making them transparent and effective. This mighty power should not rest solely in the hands of one leader, but instead should belong to the myriad representatives appointed by the people. It is in this way that we will ensure the protection and integrity of our national security and personal safety.

Saifocles: Dream a big dream Saif Ahmed

Photo Credit: Nick Scott

Columnist/Staff Writer

How many of us can actually say we are living our dream? Who has their hands wrapped around their dream so tightly that they taste, smell and breathe it in everyday? I want to be one of those people, but like many, my way forward has been clouded by my own self-doubt, complacency and fear. I have the determination but I worry that I don’t have the talent. Do you need both to realize your dream? When I was a child everyone told me to dream. “Dream big,” they’d say. I’ve always known what I wanted, that was never the problem. But how do you get there? That’s the question I’ve been asking myself. Every few

years I do a reality check where I look at where I’m headed to make sure I’m in track. This time round it has been harder to refocus and keep that inner voice saying that I can do it. Especially during my senior year. This is the last year of high school; I really need to step my game up and focus. Part of me is saying that it’s just senior year, it’s the last year of high school, I don’t really need to care too much. My life is good; why would I want to take a risk and change it? It’s through this internal struggle that I’ve come to accept that there are no clear paths or perfect next steps. You simply need to follow that feeling you have in the pit of your stomach and block out all the other noise. It’s really easy to fall into the trap of doing nothing and blowing

everything off, but it is crucial to remember the larger picture. Unfortunately, it took me much too long to realize that life is greater than just living in the moment. Every action and decision you make affects the rest of your life, whether it’s directly or indirectly does not matter, the point is that it still happens. Many great historical figures have started their movements off of dreams. Look at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. His most famous speech is built on his dream of racial desegregation. Everyone starts with a dream, but it’s solely up to you to turn that dream into a reality. What would have happened if Dr. King had not followed his dream? What you are dreaming about doing could alter the world. There’s only one way to find out.

A r o u n d Tow n 15 December 2012. Vol XXXX. Issue IV.

St. Paul Academy and Summit School

A LOCAL’S GUIDE TO

HOLIDAY SHOPPING Andy Monserud

Opinon/Editorial Editor

Still looking for the perfect holiday gifts? Try these local stores, all within the St. Paul area, where almost everyone can find that last-minute gift for any friend, family member, or teacher.

Common Good Books 38 S Snelling Avenue

Common Good Books already has some star power and the owners have made sure to capitalize on it: the awning on the front of the building reads “G. Keillor, proprietor.” The independent bookstore deserves all the publicity it gets and then some. Owner Garrison Keillor, better known for his radio show A Prairie Home Companion, takes a personal interest in the store’s operations and inventory. “We see him on a regular basis,” employee Colin McDonald said of Keillor. “He’s in once or twice a month.” Keillor has his own display of recommended reads, as does the rest of the staff. “We put a lot of time and energy into recommending books ourselves,” McDonald said. Employees also have a lot of input on the inventory of the store, giving it an advantage over corporate bookstores in terms of variety. GIFT OF THE MOMENT: Building Stories, a graphic novel by Chris Ware composed of fourteen separate comics. “This is really emblematic of why bookstores exist,” McDonald said.

Photo Credit: Common Good Books Online

Avalon

1652 Grand Avenue Avalon is a bizarre amalgamation of roaring-twenties nostalgia and weird hippie kistch-and that’s by no means a bad thing. Shoppers can peruse shelves upon shelves of merchandise ranging from posters of Elvis to cases of “Sigmund Freud’s Fruit and Nut Bars.” “We specialize in quirky, fun, off-the-beatenpath things,” employee Amanda Schnabel said. “If you come in here and you can’t find something for everyone, then you have a very picky person.” Avalon is also a holiday shopping hot spot because of its enormous selection of greeting cards. “It’s great to work here,” Schnabel said, “because it’s the only place I ever buy cards.” GIFT OF THE MOMENT: Any one of their enormous selection of hats. “We have really cute hats,” Schnabel said. Buy a locally made card to go with it and you’re good to go.

Photo Credit: Andy Monserud

Ten Thousand Villages 867 Grand Avenue

For the socially conscious gift giver or receiver, Ten Thousand Villages can’t be beat. The freetrade, non-profit store in Victoria Crossing makes it their mission to ensure that the profits from everything it sells, which includes everything from dolls to jewelry, makes its way back to producers in developing countries. They’re all geared up for the holiday season, too. “Holidays are the best time,” volunteer Jessica Anderson said. “We started decorating for the holidays in October.” Because the store is a non-profit run by volunteers, prices are lower than many other free-trade outlets, so there’s no better place for a socially conscious, inexpensive gift. GIFT OF THE MOMENT: Christmas stockings made out of saris. Why? They’re unique, for a good cause, and they spice up regular holiday decorations. So why not? Photo Credit: Ten Thousand Villages Website

B a c k C ove r 16 Students remember past holiday traditions

St. Paul Academy and Summit School

December 2012. Vol XXXX. Issue IV.

(Continued from Cover Story pgs. 8-9)

Freshman Sabrina Brown misses the hype of the past Netta Kaplan

Photo Submitted by: Sabrina Brown 6-year-old Sabrina Brown holds up a stuffed Hello Kitty toy she received for Christmas and Hanukkah while sitting next to a table full of presents. “I miss believing in Santa... I’m usually the only one who watches Christmas movies and decorates the tree now,” Brown said.

Wish list: age 5+

Legos

Netta Kaplan

Wish list: age 8 Barbie heads for hair styles Barbies/other dolls

Wish list: now Clothes Ugg boots iPhone case

Tradition takes a smaller part of our lives because we have so many other things to do.

Staff Writer

“We would have to keep the cat out of the tree,” freshman Tommy Monserud said, remembering past Christmases. His family celebrates through a Secret Santa gift exchange, but in recent years they have become less excited about the holiday celebrations and more involved in religious aspects. Monserud used to put a lot of ef-

Photo Credit: Netta Kaplan

“

Wish list: now Pokémon games

“I miss believing in Santa,” freshman Sabrina Brown said, noting that her family is less into Christmas celebrations now. “I’m usually the only one who watches Christmas movies and decorates the tree now.” Even the Christmas tree isn’t up for very long--the annoyance of the pine needles outweighs the symbol of the season. But the presents continue. As a kid, Brown always asked for dolls, especially Barbie dolls. “Barbies were my thing,” she said. This year she’ll settle for clothes and an iPhone case. For Hanukkah, her family heads over to her grandmother’s house. “We used to do chocolate coins on the eight days, but now we don’t do anything,” Brown said. In any case, she still expresses her love for the holidays through festive sweaters.

Freshman Tommy Monserud celebrates in a low-key manner

Legos

Clothes

Staff Writer

freshman Tommy Monserud fort into his gifts--which including building an aquarium for his brother one year, but he comments that “there’s a lot less hype around it now. The novelty has kind of worn off.” His choices of gifts haven’t changed much since he was a little kid; he and his brother would al-

ways ask for Lego bricks. Monserud doesn’t mind the lessening of his holiday celebrations. “Tradition takes a smaller part of our lives because we have so many other things to do,” he said. Besides, he always hated Christmas music playing in stores long before the holidays.

Photo Submitted by: Tommy Monserud 10-year-old Tommy Monserud receives a Wii video game on Christmas Day in 2009. “We would have to keep the cat out of the tree,” Monserud said of Christmases in the past.

Junior Charlotte Hughes wished for American Girl Dolls Gita Raman

Staff Writer

When junior Charlotte Hughes was younger there were many things she wanted, including American Girl Dolls, Candy Canes, and a variety of windup toys. Some traditions she had when she was younger was that she would wake up really early and eat a large breakfast. Throughout the day she would be with her family and open presents by the fire. The night before Christmas, she would set out cookies and milk for Santa. Now as her craze for American Girl

dolls has ended, she would like clothes, chocolate, cool sunglasses and money to fund her trip to France in the spring. Now Hughes sleeps in and watches Christmas movies all day. As some traditions change, others don’t: she still eats a large breakfast and sets up a real Christmas tree.

Wish list: age 7 American Girl dolls Candy canes

Wish list: now Clothes Chocolate Money for spring break French exchange trip Cool sunglasses

“

I miss how easy it was to wake up in the morning on Christmas day and be absolutely overjoyed. junior Charlotte Hughes

Photo Submitted by: Charlotte Hughes 8-year-old Charlotte Hughes smiles in front of her Christmas tree with an American Girl doll. “I miss how easy it was to wake up in the morning on Christmas day and be absolutely overjoyed,” Hughes said.