March 2011

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ubicon March 2011 <volume XXXVIII issue VI> St. Paul Academy and Summit School 1712 Randolph Ave. St. Paul, MN

Welcome to the 3-D issue!

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Welcome

Staff the rubicon

Editor in Chief Nadja Milena

3-D Effects and Promotion Managing Editor Maddie Butler

Chief Visual Editor Joanna Mendelsohn

News Editor

Noah Shavit-Lonstein

March 2011

Letter from the Editor

Entering the third dimension...

We at The Rubicon decided to switch it up a little in honor of the third month of the year. So whip out your 3-D glasses and enjoy the issue-- it’s poppin, if you’ll pardon the pun.

If you’re interested in the technology behind 3-D, check out Sci/Tech, page 7. Or, if you’re not sure about the whole 3-D thing, check out the opinions on 2-D and 3-D film in Op/Ed, page 17. If you already know 3-D is not your thing, maybe you want to read the piece in Satire, page 19 panning this visual fad.

Back cover shares our favorite staff vacation spots, real and imagined. From tropical beaches to rainy London, they could give you some fun ideas for Spring Break! Maddie, Joanna and I have picked the moon [below]. Joanna wants to be an Astronaut, Maddie loves space, and I’m just tagging along for the cheese.

Keep your 3-D glasses and bring them to The Rubicon/Film Club event Monsters: Then and Now Wednesday, March 9 @ 6:00 PM Pizza, popcorn, soda, and 3-D!

Feature Co-Editors Rebecca Xu Henry Moyers

Sci/Tech Editor Allison Wang

Centerspread Editor Iman Jafri

Sports Editor Alex Smith

Op/Ed Editor Rachel Kinney

A&E Editor Kaia Wahmanholm

Satire Editor August King

Columnist

Taylor Billeadeau

Staff Writers Saif Ahmed Lucy Li Liz Rossman Nick Scott Ibad Jafri

Editorial Cartoon Alicia Litte

Adviser

Kathryn Campbell

Writing for Publications Randall Findlay, CJE

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the

ubicon

the student newspaper of St. Paul Academy and Summit School 1712 Randolph Avenue St. Paul, MN 55105 Memberships Minnesota High School Press Association National Scholastic Press Association Columbia Scholastic Press Association Awards JEM All-State Gold, 2004-2008 JEM All-State Silver, 2009-10 MHSPA Best in Show, 2004-2008, 2010 NSPA First Class with 3 marks of Distinction, 2010 CSPA Gold Medal, 2010

In this issue News..............................................................................................................3-4 Feature...........................................................................................................5-7 Sci/Tech ........................................................................................................8-9 Centerspread...............................................................................................10-11 A&E................................................................................................................12 Sports.........................................................................................................13-15 Op/Ed.........................................................................................................16-18 Satire...............................................................................................................19 RubiMail

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News

March 2011

The Sandbox performs at state

3

Newsbrief

Cast and crew practice through section, subsection victories Rubicon, Film Club The house N M lights dim, plan 3-D Editor in Chief and the audience quiets. There is a film night moment of almost complete ilena

silence.

The stage lights shine on senior Robert Romeo, alone on stage in tight red shorts doing calisthenic exercises while waves quietly roar in the background. Senior Kjersten Conway and junior Sam Rosenberg enter, arm in arm, as the miserable married couple who have come to the beach to let the wife’s mother die. Junior Ella Coon is next to appear as the feeble, frail, yet saucy grandmother; she is wheeled in and dumped in a sandbox.

Enter sophomore Chloe Hite, a cellist whose playing underscores much of the one-act.

This is Upper School Theater director Eric Severson’s version of Edward Albee’s The Sandbox, which took first place at subsections and sections, and performed at state on Thursday, Feb. 10.

The Sandbox provides a distinct change of pace from Severson’s last two one-acts.

Under Milkwood and Eiffel Tower Wedding Party were intricate shows with large casts.

Severson wanted something simpler.

“My Winter Break in Africa reminded me of the beauty of stillness and silence. And that’s really what I wanted to play with when I got back and started working on the show.”

Severson explained that the show is a contrast to audience members’ daily lives. There is hardly a time students aren’t listening to music, posting on Facebook, or talking on the phone; they are constantly plugged in.

“I wanted [them] to relax, embrace silence and pauses, and allow the audience the chance to have a quiet moment to reflect on what’s happening rather than just bombard them with costumes and props and sensory overload.”

The simplicity of The Sandbox is deceptive. Its eight page script was lengthened with pauses and non-verbal moments to just under 20 minutes of stage time. But the rehearsal process didn’t match the apparent simplicity of the performance.

The shows’ humor and poignancy are all dependent on actors who are willing to take their time and own the space on stage. Whether it’s Romeo’s slow weight lifting or Conway and Rosenberg’s unified leg cross, everything had to be exact.

“We all got off-book

The Rubicon staff, in conjunction with Film Club, is hosting a 3-D film night on Wednesday, March 9 at 6:00 PM. The theme of the evening is “Monsters: Then and Now. Moviegoers will view the 1953 film Robot Monster, a low-budget B-movie directed by Phil Tucker. Next, the group will screen National Geographic’s 2007 film Sea Monsters. Students should bring the 3-D glasses they were given to read this issue of The Rubicon to the movie.

Pizza, popcorn and soda is provided.

All Photos Courtesy: John Severson

The sound of waves crashing swelled through the auditorium as The Young Man [senior Robert Romeo] enveloped Grandma [junior Ella Coon] in his arms as she passed away at the end of Edward Albee’s The Sandbox. The focus of Severson’s production was stillness, giving the audience time to ponder Albee’s absurdist script.

Cast & Crew The Sandbox

(in order of appearance) The Young Man Robert Romeo Mommy Kjersten Conway Daddy - Sam Rosenberg Musician - Chloe Hite Grandma - Ella Coon

Daddy [junior Sam Rosenberg] poses a question to Mommy [senior Kjersten Conway] during the first One-Act performance of The Sandbox at Sarah Converse Auditorium on Friday, Jan. 28.

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Directed by Eric Severson

My Winter Break in Africa reminded me of the beauty of stillness and silence. And that’s really what I wanted to play with when I got back and started working on the show.

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adja

that [absurdist] show should mean and does mean; that influences their critique, so there’s no consistency in understanding what the play should be.”

Performance at state was the end but the cast still can’t quite believe it’s over. They had been rehearsing since the beginning of January, and practicing their lines since before Winter Break.

“It feels really weird [to be done]; part of me feels like we’re going to have another rehearsal tomorrow,” said Conway. “But at the same time, we left it on such a good note that I’ve really got no complaints. I’m really proud of what we did.”

The annual celebration of Pi Day will include a service opportunity for the St. Paul Academy and Summit School Middle School. This year, in addition to a festival celebrating pi, they are sponsoring a food drive. Students are encouraged to bring in “more than pi” canned and nonperishable food items: meaning an average of three or more per student. Ultimately, they hope to collect 100 times pi cans of food (314), or 100 pi squared cans of food (986). To add to the celebration of pi, foods must be either round themselves or in a round container. Food will be donated to Neighborhood House food shelf.

Local secondhand store closing

US Theater director, Eric Severson pretty fast, but it was the little things like Sam and my leg crossing that really took a while to get in,” said Conway.

Even after section and subsection wins, the actors were always practicing.

“Before every performance, Sam and I would sit down and practice those leg crossings because it never felt completely solid.” Conway said.

So what did the judges think? According to Severson, they were very complimentary of the physicality of the actors and critical of Severson’s vision: “Every judge is going to have a different opinion about what

Can you give more than pi?

Above: Grandma [Junior Ella Coon] prepares to throw sand at her daughter for being thoughtless and disrespectful to an “old woman”.

Left: Musician [sophomore Chloe Hite] is hired by Mommy to play at the beachside service for Grandma.

Hite played cello throughout the one-act performance.

Interesting Fact: This

is SPA’s third state performance, after Dutton Foster’s Why The Lord Came to Sand Mountain in 1994 and Eric Severson’s starred performance of The Sandbox in 2006.

Practical Goods, a thrift store near the intersection of Randolph and Snelling, recently announced plans to close on April 22. The store has been open for over eight years. Owner Wendi Ward decided to close the location at the suggestion of the building’s landlady. “The fact that we were here for so long... shows that we’re an asset to the community,” Ward said. The store will progressively liquidate merchandise until Earth Day. The store’s neighbor, a clothing retail shop called Elinor, closed several weeks ago.

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News

March 2011

Speakers share stories of innovation made us think about how lucky we are, and that we can do so many things with this education.”

The US reconvened to listen to Keynote speaker Paul Douglas, a meteorologist, author, entrepreneur, and software expert from Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Douglas expressed how important creativity is, not only in the entrepreneurial business, but also as a principle for any career.

“He sort of inspired you how to find a passion and turn it into a career, especially in this economy,” Nguyen said.

After lunch, students and faculty attended two presentations of the twenty-one hand-picked speakers. The

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[I hope Speaker Day will challenge you to] Think about old problems in new ways.

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Innovation: this was the focus of Speaker Day, held March 2 for the students and faculty of the Upper-School.

The event, hosted by Upper School Council every other year, challenged students to “Think about old problems in new ways,” as US Principal Chris Hughes said in the opening assembly..

Speaker Day began in advisory, proceeding to the allschool viewing of the movie Waiting for Superman, a documentary about the current state of public education in America.

“I thought it was really smart to show the movie first,” sophomore Gina Nguyen said. “That movie Liz Rossman Staff Writer

US Principal Chris Hughes day featured physicians, professors, rappers, entrepreneurs, state representatives, soccer players, and computational scientists talking about topics including neuroscience, communications, marketing, construction, social networking, biology, customer service, genetics, pop culture, health care, public-school education, security in government, and orthopedics.

Presenters used innova-

tion to talk about innovation. Dr. Karen Hsiao Ashe showed ongoing trials and memory loss experiments of various rats from her ongoing Alzheimer’s research; Judd Berlin used Skype to communicate with students from his call center in the Philippines at 4:30 am.

Most of the speakers were local, and many were family members of current students or are St. Paul Academy and Summit

School alumni/ae.

Following the speaker breakout sessions, students had the opportunity to discuss and reflect on the ideas, experiences, and topics shared in the presentations in an end-of-the-day advisory time.

Speaker Day provided the opportunity to interact and hear from a variety of people and provided students with tips on how to take the knowledge learned inside of the classroom and expand it into a future career.

SPA alums often reflected on their experience as a student and shared stories. Hilary LeBon, who spoke about advertising and target market, and television broadcasting, shared a

memory of Speaker Day. “I wanted to be a dentist, and then I went to one of these sessions and realized that dentists perform surgeries in yucky mouths and I though, ‘I don’t want to do that!’.”

Alumnus Judd Berlin, spoke about offshore outsourcing of customer services to Asian call centers, but also talked about SPA: “Mr. Bougler was my math teacher, and even more important was my computer science teacher, and he taught me how to write code. He gave me a foundation I have built upon with my entire business career,” Berlin said.

USC members, including President Al Johnson, hoped that this year’s speakers was enlightening for everyone.

Middle Eastern protests spread, turn violent Iran

Egypt

Tunisia Tunisia began to protest its government and rising unemployment rates and food prices on Jan. 15. The Tunisian protests were successful, creating a model and motivation for many other countries to look into.

Bahrain

Libya

Shi’ite majorities are protesting the rule of Sunni minorities in riots that are quickly becoming violent.

On Feb. 13, civilians took to the street to protest the rule of Col. Muammar el- Qaddafi, who has ruled since 1969.

According to the New York Times, the protests have become very violent.

Qaddafi no longer controls the military, and many speculate that he will not remain in control much longer.

A sudden outbreak of protesters shook Cairo this January and would change not only Egypt, but the Middle East and North Africa forever.

Protesters challenged government corruption and a president who has been in power for 30 years.

President Hosni Mubarak began his presidency in 1981 after the assassination of Anwar Sadat. Mubarak never left office and became the longest serving president in Egypt’s history, but what started as a presidency quickly fell into corruption; Mubarak never relinquished his seat of power. He held power over his people using physical force and his corruption enveloped politics in Egypt, monopolized the Henry Moyers Feature Co-Editor

Anti-government protests have resulted in concerns of a repeat of 2009’s rallies against allegedly rigged elections.

On January 25, protesters began to demand president Mubarak give up his position of power. On Feb. 11, he responded and stepped down.

Currently, David Cameron, Prime Minister of Britain, is hosting talks with government and military leaders on future plans.

economy, and led to censorship of the Internet.

Egyptians were spurred into action by the recent revolts in Tunisia. There, protestors revolted against similar problems to those faced in Egypt: rising food prices, high unemployment rates and government corruption. The Tunisians were successful in their own revolution and began to reform their country. After Egypt saw how successful the Tunisians were, they followed with revolt just days later.

Because of Egypt’s distance from the United States, it is difficult to think that protests such as these could affect daily life for Americans. The truth is however, that Egypt and its neighbors play a large role in the U.S. affairs. US history teacher

Yemen In Yemen, President Ali Abdullah Saleh said that, as of Feb. 22, he would not give in to the demands of protesters or give up his seat of power, but would sit down and discuss issues with protesters.

John Finch posed a question significant for world affairs: “Who is going to take over?”

Finch asked. “[An important result of this unrest] is uncertainty from countries producing oil.” Finch used the example of Libya to stress his point, remarking that Libya has planned and stopped oil refining.

Many Egyptians used Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites to give updates and organize protests as well as coordinate with other protestors and supporters. In response, the Egyptian government allegedly blocked these sites, although they deny this.

The government also announced that it would persecute any citizen protesting in the streets against the government, using their police

force as a means to try to control protesters. According to the BBC, the government arrested bloggers and users of Facebook and Twitter due to their public online protests. Police attempted to contain civilians, often leaving many injured and some dead. Civilians pushed back against police. Human Rights Watch lists reported that, to date, 297 people have been killed in Egypt on account of the protests.

On Feb. 11, Mubarak officially left office. After 18 days of protest, the government was overturned by the protesters. Mubarak’s vice president made the announcement over a loud speaker system that power would fall to the military.

The government’s defeat was met with cries of “The

Illustration Credit: Nadja Milena Map Courtesy: mabryonline.com

people, at last, have brought down the regime,” with citizens celebrating by dancing in the street. Now it is up to the military to give command to its people.

The Obama administration shared their praise for the end of Mubarak’s rule and the corruption. “Egyptians have made it clear that nothing less than genuine democracy will carry the day,” Obama said. “It was the moral force of nonviolence — not terrorism and mindless killing — that bent the arc of history toward justice once more.”

Two areas of concern Finch had for the Middle East was in the planning of Egypt’s government, and the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Muslim Brotherhood is the largest group of Mus-

lims promoting Islamic ideals in the world, and believe that “Islam is the solution” to most problems. The second area of concern for the United States Finch identified is Syria. “Syria may be the next country [to undergo a revolution]. It is a geographical link between Iraq and Lebanon, and [Syria’s fall] could destabilize the Middle East.”

In the Middle East and Northern Africa, protests will mean a new way of life, hopefully for the better. In the U.S., it will mean a change in the way these countries are seen, and will create a drastically different world for the future. Protests have spread to a mass of other nations [see above] including Morocco, Yemen, Libya, and Bahrain.

Feature

March 2011

Are

you up for

5

the

Challenge?

Leiter reflects on his relationship with infamous NASA disaster “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

For US Mathematics Teacher George Leiter, these words marked one of his strongest memories of his childhood: man’s first moon landing. Leiter recalled this emotional experience of his “sciencey” family, specifically mentioning his grandfather, who had broken into tears.

This year, January 28 marked the 25th anniversary of the Challenger explosion in 1986. Leiter, a space fanatic, had applied to be the first civilian to go up in space in the Challenger.

Born into the age of man’s race to the moon, Leiter had been cultivating a longtime interest in space. Ever since he was a child, Leiter had been a NASA fanatic.

From the age of 8, he had received model kits every month of space rockets, and waited for his monthly book on the space program to be delivered. He had become fascinated and captivated by rockets and space.

Allison Wang Sci/Tech Editor

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Photo Credit: Rebecca Xu

“I interrupted and said I would go... I wouldn’t change my mind at all after the disaster.”

US Mathematics Teacher, George Leiter

Leiter’s reaction to the Apollo flash fire, which had killed three astronauts, represented just how much NASA and space meant to him.

“I remember that I was so distraught when the Apollo fire killed Chaffee, Grissom, and White, that my mother let me stay home from school because it was so traumatic for me,” Leiter said.

Leiter’s long-held interest in space led him to his eventual application for the Teacher in Space Project, whose first participant would die in the Challenger disaster.

The Challenger space shuttle had exploded 73 seconds into flight, killing seven crew members, including Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher in space.

The Teacher in Space govern-

ment project, started in 1984, was initiated during Ronald Reagan’s administration as a way to nominate a teacher as the first civilian in space. More than 11,000 teachers had gone through the timeconsuming 25-page application that took 160 hours to complete, according to the Teachers in Space website. A project involving space was also included in the application process.

Leiter’s project dealt with the process of forming planets. It would prove that in space and without gravity, liquid forms into spheres. The project he proposed won best math project in his region and won him, as well as about 150 other regional finalists, an invitation for a trip to Florida that the school supported, according to Leiter. Although he did not

get the chance to actually go into space, NASA allowed these finalists to watch a shuttle launch in the “V.I.P.” section, the closest section to the shuttle launch. According to Leiter, the finalists also got the chance to drive underneath the shuttle to look at the engines.

“For a lot of people like me, it was a real big dream come true to be so close to [the shuttle],” Leiter said.

This would be the last successful shuttle to take off before the Challenger Explosion.

Later on the day of Challenger Explosion, Leiter received a call from the Wall Street Journal. Toward the end of their conversation, the reporter asked what he would do if a shuttle was taking off the following week.

“I interrupted and said I would go,” Leiter said. “I wouldn’t change my mind at all after the disaster.”

NASA never sent another teacher into space, but Leiter will never forget just how close he came to being on board the Challenger that fateful January day.

It happened on

1/28/1986

The Challenger traveled

18 miles

The journey lasted

Photo Courtesy: Nasa.gov

NASA engineers discovered that the booster and coupling had failed to seal. Hydrogen began to leak from the booster, resulting in the fatal explosion.

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73 seconds

lives were lost

The Disaster

Photo Courtesy: Nasa.gov

The Challenger exploded 73 seconds after lift off. All 7 members were killed and the Challenger model of space shuttles was discontinued soon after.

January 28, 1986

After 5 different delays, ranging from equipment malfunctions to weather problems, the Challenger space shuttle took off under normal conditions. The first 58 seconds went almost as planned, however high wind in the upper atmosphere increased steering difficulty. Smoke was seen pouring from the right booster, indicating that the seal between the booster and coupling was not complete. At the 58 second mark, a small flame was noticed near the right aft joint.

The leak continued to grow, resulting into a larger flame. At 64 seconds, leaking hydrogen from the unsealed joint mixed with the flame. The lower strut of the rocket booster broke off of the shuttle and caused the shuttle to pitch left and right. White vapor poured from the shuttle at 73 seconds and the Challenger was enveloped in a fireball, killing 5 of the 7 people instantly.

Information gathered from Nasa.gov

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Feature

March 2011

Travel around the world in 16 days Language students use Spring Break to visit and explore new countries and cultures Compiled by Iman Jafri

Hola España Over this spring break, Spanish students along with US Spanish Teachers Pam Starkey and Rolando Castellanos will experience what Starkey calls a “kind of smorgasbord of Spain.” The group with 14 students and two teachers will visit Madrid first, where they will get a first-hand experience of Spanish city life and take in the sites. Later, in Sevilla and Cordoba, the group will become immersed in the beauty of southern Spain. After a few days, the group will return to Madrid again. Starkey said that she is most excited to “soak up the ambience… [Madrid is] such a lively city and there’s so much to do and see.” The southern Spanish cities are “very romantic, with trickling waterfalls, la guitar… little tiny labyrinth streets,” said Starkey.

Bonjour France French students , MS French teacher Kristin Flom, and US English teacher Eric Severson will experience la vie française as they head off to France this spring break. The group of 18 will spend 3 nights in Paris before uniting with their host families in Pau. US French teacher Aimeric Lajuzan, who was part of the planning for the trip, said that the trip will entail “a lot of immersion.” In Paris, the group will explore the city and see the Eiffel Tower. However, the remainder of the trip will be less tourist-like. Students will be split up among families from three different schools. This trip does not quite qualify as an exchange because students from the French schools will not visit SPA. The next trip will be in two years, and Lajuzan mentioned that he is “casually thinking about other places to go… like Northern Africa.”

US Spanish Teacher Pam Starkey anticipates traveling to Madrid, Sevilla, and Cordoba for the spring Spanish trip.

Starkey calls this trip a “kind of smorgasbord of Spain.”

SPA Spring Break Travel Guide Spain: Madrid, Sevilla, and Cordoba France: Paris Germany: Berlin and Hamburg

Unlike the other trips, the French trip will be less tourist-like. The trip will entail “a lot of immersion,” US French Teacher Aimeric Lajuzan said.

Guten Tag Deustchland This spring break, St. Paul Academy and Summit School German students, along with US German teacher Jutta Crowder and MS German teacher Jenny Dorfsman will walk the streets of Germany during their 13 day exchange trip. The 14 students and two teachers will first explore Berlin, and then travel to Hamburg to live with their host families. Crowder said that she is most excited to visit Berlin, a city where she said physical memories of different eras are all around. “I think it’s a history lesson just walking down the street,” said Crowder. The group will depart from Minneapolis on Mar. 13 and return on Mar. 25.

US German Teacher Jutta Crowder is excited to travel to Germany with students. “I think it’s a history lesson just walking down the street,” Crowder said.

All Photos Credit: Rebecca Xu

Feature

March 2011

She’s not just HORSING around Students probNoah Shavit-Lonstein ably know Russell News Editor best for her love of animals. She has worked with animals for years, volunteering at the Humane Society and working at a petting zoo that offers pony rides. "Some kids are like 2 years old, and they're so giggly, and you know they'll grow up to be animal people,” Russell said.

Russell has a variety of pets at home, a dog and five chinchillas. The first two chinchillas were

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rescued from an abusive previous owner, a former boss of Russell’s.

“They’re very gracious,” she said.

The chinchilla couple has had five children, one of whom died and one of whom was sold.

She adopted her dog during a visit to the animal shelter. As a young child, she would hint at wanting a dog by giving her parents photos and drawings of dogs. At the shelter, she met several uninteresting dogs, until her future dog sat on her sister’s lap.

“Some kids are like two years old, and they’re so giggly, and you know they’ll grow up to be animal people”

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Sophomore Cory Russell

Russell also founded People for Animal Welfare (PAWs) this year. The group organizes charity drives and programs for groups such as the humane society and Caring Hands animal rescue. The group also hopes to correct the misconception that animals adopted from shelters often have behavioral problems. In reality, the struggles that animals may have gone through before a shelter makes them more grateful towards their rescuers. “My shelter dog is amazing,” she said. “She’s the best dog you could ask for.”

Recently, Russell had the opportunity to own and care for a horse living in Prior Lake. She competes with her horse in a variety of sports, including barrel racing, jumping figure eight, and speed dash. She appreciates the opportu-

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Photo Courtesy: Cory Russell

Sophomore Cory Russell competes with her horse in a variety of sports, including barrel racing, jumping figure eight, and speed dash. ‘It’s something that I’ve always liked. It’s what I’m passionate about,’ said Russell.

nity, as well as her volunteer work with animals: "It's something that I've always liked. It's what I'm passionate about.”

Her variety of activities- hockey, animal advocacy, horseback riding, and general schoolwork-can be a burden sometimes, but Russell says

that she appreciates the challenge, remembering her middle school years, when she played hockey and acted in the play. “That year, it was difficult, but my grades went up. Being busy seems to help me,” Russell said.

He’s hooked Over the weekend, the typical teenager might hang out with friends or go on facebook.

However senior Joe Miller prefers to go to the lake. Why? Because when you ask Miller what he did on Saturday, his answer is usually, ‘I went fishing.’

“It is a way of life. I eat, sleep, fish, and other stuff,” said Miller.

Miller has fished ever since he could hold a rod, but it was in kindergarten when he got captivated by fishing.

“My dad gave me permission after school to bike down to [the local fishing supply store] close to our house and I would go there just about every day after school and [through spending time in the store] I just got hooked on it,” said Miller.

Starting from a young age, Miller has seen his passion for fishing grow through the years. Miller is a frequent entrant in local fishing competitions where he has achieved a fair amount of success. It was, however, last year in the Minne-

Photo Courtesy: Joe Miller

Senior Joe Miller received 10th place in the bass division out of a hundred boats in the Minnesota Fishing Challenge. “It is a way of life. I eat, sleep, fish, and other stuff,” said Miller.

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“Just to see the fish come out of the water. And have to fight it. When you finally hook it, it gives you an adrenaline rush.”

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Alex Smith Sports Editor

Senior Joe Miller

sota Fishing Challenge, an annual charitable tournament which raises money for the Minnesota Teen Challenge program, where he was the most triumphant.

“Little did I know that I was going to be competing against pros in the tournament,” Miller said with a slight chuckle, “I ended up getting 10th place in the bass division out of a hundred boats.”

By finishing in the top 10, Miller was awarded a handful of fishing gear and a trip to Canada. The best prize he received came in the name of Richard Bogg. Bogg is a professional fisherman who was a championship qualifier on the Professional Walleye Trail in 2003.

Miller was awarded the opportunity to go fishing with Bogg around Gull Lake in Brainerd Minnesota.

Miller has plans on continuing his passion for fishing in college.

He made the decision to take his talents to a lake up north, with plans of creating a bass club at the University of Minnesota Duluth.

Miller currently plans on attending UMD where he is already signed up for economic courses.

Although UMD currently does not have a team, Miller was as-

sured by his admissions director that he could be the architect of a program.

After college, Miller said that he has aspirations to turn pro. However, “even if I don’t make it pro, it is something I can do for my whole life,” said Miller.

There are many aspects about fishing that Miller enjoys. Miller said it helps him relive stress and that you get to make new friends and connections through the shared interest.

Miller encourages anyone interested in fishing to take up the activity. If you have any questions about fishing, ask Miller.

He mentioned that you can hire a guide to take you fishing and teach you some of the rules of the trade. But before you go out and start casting your line, Miller has this advice to give you: “When you are fishing it is not the fish you are after, rather it is more of what you get out of [fishing] that you are after.”

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Science & Technology

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March 2011

3-D comeback: an overview of 3-D’s 1844: the start of 3-D

3-D. The third dimension. We’ve seen it, touched it, lived it. Now, even 2-D technology is slowly evolving into 3-D. You name it: movies, video games, photography. 3-D technology has exploded onto the scene ever since its debut 200 years ago.

It’s crept into all aspects of technology, pop culture, and even our lives. So what did it begin with?

How does it work?

Three glasses that produce different effects

“3-D [technology] takes [the gap between eyes] and uses it to 3-D’s advantage…Our eyes are around 3 inches apart and see slightly different images of the same picture. Our brain senses these images and puts them together. The result? Depth,” Supervisor Animator for 3-D Design Joseph Barron said.

If you ever watched a 3-D movie at home or on the big screen, then you’ve probably noticed that 3-D technology looks blurry by itself. It needs glasses. What kind? It depends on what you’re seeing: there’s color filtered glasses, shutter glasses, and polarized glasses.

Rebecca Xu Feature Co-Editor

Information was retrieved from The Illustrated 3-D Movie List.

Data represents the number 25 of 3-D movies in theaters per year.

48

2010

2009

2008

15

IllustrationCredit: Allison Wang

If you’ve worn shutter glasses before, then you probably own HDTV. Unlike color filtered glasses, shutter glasses view a single image switching rapidly between the left and right lens. These battery powered glasses literally shut off when the image isn’t on that lens. Because this happens at 120 Hertz, your brain blends these images together, and perceives one 3-D effect. The technology just described is called active-shutter, and requires liquid crystal, a receiver-transmitter, and Bluetooth or radio technology.

While these glasses are better for your eyes than color filtered glasses, they can make you feel in the dark by blocking most of your movie’s brightness.

Polarized

3-D’s Rising Numbers Currently, 3-D is making a comeback with the rise of new 3-D theater screenings. Take a look at the graph below for a more visual sense of 3-D’s growth.

Photo Credit: Allison Wang

Photo Credit: Maddie Butler

If you’ve recently seen any 3-D movies in theaters, then you’ve probably put on polarized glasses before. Polarized glasses look like normal sunglasses, but have lenses that exhibit orthogonal polarization. Two projectors display 3-D images, and because each image only passes through the light that matches its polarization and inhibits the orthogonally polarized light, each eye sees its intended image. Polarized glasses produce the best image quality and light contrast, but aren’t as common as the color filtered or shutter glasses. We’ll just have to wait for what 3-D technology will give us in the future.

Color Filtered

Since When?

Although we usually think of film at the mention of 3-D, 3-D technology actually made its entrance into the world through photography. In 1844, David Brewster, a Scottish Scientist, changed our perception of the world when he discovered the Stereoscope, an instrument that could take photographs in 3-D. “He took a photo and gave birth to 3-D technology,” Supervisor Animator for 3-D Design Joseph Barron said. Brewster offset two images to the left and right of the viewer, enhancing the illusion of depth and perception of 3-D.

Shutter

Rebecca Xu Feature Co-Editor

Photo Credit: Allison Wang

If you’re reading this, then you’re probably wearing the original red-and-blue, color filtered glasses. The tinted red and blue lenses act as color filters that match images to a particular eye. With both eyes seeing slight variations of the same image, the 3-D effect is created. Although colored-filtered glasses are a cheap and easily accessible way of viewing basic 3-D, the tints limit the use of certain colors and obscure vivid images.

Science & Technology

March 2011

9

D

Photo Credit: Joanna Mendelsohn, Maddie Butler

origin, usage, and health effects

3-D glasses can cause eye strain, headaches, and nausea Yin and yang, good and evil, light and dark. Everything has a positive and negative side to its existence. The same goes for 3-D technology. While 3-D movies, video games, and photographs provide a cool and somewhat twisted experience, they can also cause pretty twisted side effects.

Have you ever read the labels on your purchased 3-D material?

If you haven’t, it’s time to start, Rebecca Xu Feature Co-Editor

because here’s what it says on Samsung’s 3-D television sets: “If you experience any of the following symptoms, immediately stop watching 3-D pictures and consult a medical specialist: (1) altered vision; (2) light-headedness; (3) dizziness; (4) involuntary movements such as eye or muscle twitching; (5) confusion; (6) nausea; (7) loss of awareness; (8) convulsions; (9) cramps; and/or (10) disorientation. Parents should monitor and

ask their children about the above symptoms as children and teenagers may be more likely to experience these symptoms than adults.”

This doesn’t only apply to 3-D television. Sony has also posted similar terms of service for PlayStation 3. “SCEA recommends that all viewers take regular breaks while watching 3-D video or playing stereoscopic 3-D games. The length and frequency of necessary breaks may vary from person to

person. Please take breaks that are long enough to allow any feelings of discomfort to subside. If symptoms persist, consult a doctor.”

“The succession of flashing images [produced by 3-D technology] puts extra strain on the body. This can cause nausea, headaches, dizziness, or even muscle twitching…

Children’s eyess are still developing. This is why young children aren’t recommended to watch 3-D [movies],” Pediatrician Andrea

Hsu said.

3-D. It’s really here. Despite possible health hazards, 3-D’s breakthrough in technology has altered our way of perception and thought. If you haven’t tuned in to this new hub, it’s about time to, because you don’t know what technology, what 3-D technology, will bring to the table next.

Photo Courtesy: C3 Technologies

Photo Courtesy: Warner Brothers

Photo Courtesy: Twentieth Century Fox

Photo Courtesy: Bespoke Innovations

Upcoming 3-D gadgets Three-dimensional imaging has come a long way from just red and blue images you can see with paper glasses. It is still used for entertainment, but has much more advanced technology that can create almost magical, other-worldly visuals.

3-D imaging is surpassing its original purposes in entertainment and expanding to a variety of fields. It can now help make maps more realistic and easier to use and can even be used to help people with physical challenges. Here is an introduction to some upcoming, revolutionary 3-D technologies.

Rachel Kinney Op/Ed Editor

3-D Mapping

Become Invisible

Motion-Sickless 3-D

3-D Printouts

A new app to help you get where you’re going: Sweden-based C3 Technologies has been producing realistic 3-D models of cities and streets. This technology was originally created for use by the military and was recently declassified, according to an Architosh article. The models were shown on an iPad and depicted very minute and accurate 3-D depictions of cities. Although the models are not directly available to the public, C3 Technologies is selling them to other companies and formatting the 3-D depictions so that it can be utilized in phone applications or on computers. If Apple wanted to create a rival application to Google Maps, which is less detailed and precise than C3 models, they should work with C3 to bring the models to the public, the company said in the article.

Harry Potter lovers, behold: The invisibility cloak! That’s right, a number of scientists from Britain and the University of Tokyo have been working on real-life invisibility cloaks. Although they don’t work by magic, the optical-camouflage technology used is almost as cool. An image of the scene behind the wearer of the cloak is reflected onto the front so that the user appears invisible. By doing so, 2-D images that are captured from the back appear 3-D to onlookers from the front. Although only small prototypes of these cloaks have been made (they are not large enough to envelop even 10-yearold Daniel Radcliffe), the cloaks have been declared technically feasible. Soon, your superpower wish of invisibility might be possible without magic.

Watch 3-D movies without the headache: Many people love 3-D movies, but some complain about the motion sickness they get from them. It’s no fun to take off your glasses due to motion sickness in the middle of a cool 3-D scene in compromise for a blurry 2-D. However, 3-D technology that prevents the motion sickness involved in traditional 3-D imaging methods will be featured in Avatar 2, Director James Cameron said in an interview with Gamer Live. Cameron hopes to remediate motion sickness by convincing cinemas to brighten lights and by shooting films at a faster frame speed: 48 or 60 frames per second instead of the popular 24 frames per second. This will prevent the strobing effect 3-D movies shot at 24 frames per second can give.

Printers to help you walk: 3-D printers have been springing up recently that can create real things like walls for your house or even designer hotel furniture by layering printout materials. One especially amazing innovation is the printing of personalized prosthetic legs from company Bespoke Innovations. Someone needing a prosthetic will come in to the San Francisco office for a consultation, measurement, and scan. A 3-D image of the desired leg will be created using whatever styles or patterns the person will want.

They are still in the prototype and beta phase. The legs do not replace functional prosthetic legs and are for decoration only, but they are not just a print-out design—the printers actually create a 3-D, usable object just like what would be made with a regular machine.

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rubiconline.com

centerspread

Art outside the gallery; a hallway tour Kaia Wahmanholm A&E Editor

Ever seen this art around St. Paul Academy and Summit School and wondered about it? Here are brief bios and histories of the artists and work that you see every day

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Upper School 1st Floor Map

Upper School 2nd Floor Map

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Middle School/Art Wing, 2nd Floor Map 6

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(Paintings above and left) Titles: None Artist: Keri Schultz, SPA class of ‘93 The grey-toned painting above was inspired

by Greek tragedy. Schultz earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Art Education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1997). She went on to teach photography, stained glass, and studio arts for three years in in a high school in Sussex,Wisconsin, and returned to St. Paul in 2000. Here, Schultz completed a Masters of Arts in Education at Hamline University (2004) and is currently completing a Doctorate in Teacher Leadership through Walden University. She is married and has two children.

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8 Title: None Artist:Tom Rose, a professor of sculpture at the University of Minnesota since 1972.

This piece was donated to SPA.

Title: Blind Leading the Blind Artist: Eric DeCredico Blind Leading the Blind was donated to St. Paul Academy by George Morrison and Hazel Belvo. DeCredico studied at Rhode Island School of Design under George Morrison, the husband of Hazel Belvo who was an art teacher at SPA in the 1970s. At the end of DeCredico’s time at RISD he held a gallery show where he sold every piece that was being exhibited, an incredible accomplishment, especially for a RISD student.

Title: None Artist: Martin Meyer, SPA class of ‘05 Meyer went to Lewis and Clark College, where he majored in Biology and Art. He is currently studying at the University of Minnesota getting his master degree in Architecture and will graduate in 2013.

1 Title: None Artist: Alison Berry, SPA class of ‘04 Berry went on to attend the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point (2008) and majored in Interior Architecture.

6 4 Title: Jazz Players; Artist: Dan Stein;, SPA class of ‘03; Stein painted this piece while attending the Oxbow program. He graduated from Goucher in 2007 and majored in Art and Art History, and Chemisry.

Today, he attends the University of Minnesota medical school.

Title: None Artist: Kate Logan, SPA class of ‘04 Logan was in Senior Art Seminar when she painted this piece. She is a graduate of Whitman College, (2008) where she majored in Geology

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Arts & Entertainment

March 2011

Triple threat artist Elizabeth Tong: drawing, designing, painting

Photo Credit: Joanna Mendelsohn

Tong sketches senior Charley Bemis in a new artwork. “People are probably one of the hardest subjects to draw,” Tong said. Tong wants to major in fashion design in college, and hopes to break into male fashion

In the art hallway, past the ceramics laid out on the floor, past the rows of photographs on the walls, past the noise of the printer in the Rubicon room, down at the very end, junior Elizabeth Tong has her easel set up for action.

She lives and breathes art. At Lucy Li Staff Writer

home, she has acrylic paints, colored pencils, markers, sketchbooks.

She owns a set of fifty copic markers She’s already saving up money to get a new set.

Tong started her art experience in a small class at her Chinese school, the Minnesota Minghua Central Chinese School. Later, she transferred to taking classes from oil

and Chinese ink painter Shen YuDong at his studio, Mei Lin Art Studio.

There, she drew still lifes for two years and then started watercolor, drawing mostly landscapes.

To practice basic techniques, Tong worked with pots, vases, and fruit, similar to the way many Beginning Drawing students at St. Paul Academy and Summit School practice with bones.

“People are probably one of the hardest subjects to draw,” Tong said. She began drawing people in pencil during her ninth grade year.

“I’m just kind of drawn towards the human body and the face, and I really like portraying emotions in my drawings,” she said.

However, it’s not just people Tong likes drawing. “I want to major in fashion design. Also I want to major in industrial design, which is designing cars, because I feel like those two can kind of go hand in hand,” she said.

One day, she hopes to have her own fashion line and to bring her designs to life on a runway. “I’m actually learning how to sew,” Tong said.

When it comes to models, Tong uses friends and family. “I take lots of pictures of people. I have a folder of at least twenty people I took here at SPA and I draw them once or twice,” she said. Sometimes, Tong asks her mother to sit down and model for another drawing.

Like many fashion designers, Tong has a

specific type of person, a kind of muse, who she prefers to design clothing for. As a result, many of her models occasionally look similar. Tong draws almost every day.

Her Prismacolor colored pencils are waxy and hard to erase. “They leave a really nice color,” she said.

Occasionally, Tong uses charcoal, such as when she took Advanced Drawing in her sophomore year. Some of her charcoal art is of males instead of females. “I want to break into male fashion,” she said. Although they are a little more difficult, she practices by drawing nude figures.

“One of the things they have to do freshman year at an art college is you have to draw skeletal structure and muscle groups and they have to be accurate,” Tong said.

Tong has also started painting acrylic. “I am not the best painter yet; I’m still learning,” she said.

Dress designed by Elizabeth Tong for Natalie Portman, who won the Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role. For more Oscar dress designs by Tong check out the Rubicon’s Facebook page.

Illustration Credit: Elizabeth Tong

Guthrie’s The Winter’s Tale is admirable despite play’s difficulties Shakespeare, variable though his writing was, had a few formulas that served him well.

He wrote plays in which the conflict was external (Romeo and Juliet’s love is pure, their destruction is fate), and he wrote plays where the conflict was internal (the Macbeths’ lust after power, one another; complications ensue). And then there are a few plays where Shakespeare requests that we believe a conflict that seems to come out of thin air, and accept a resolution for which there seems to be no internal or external source.

This is the challenge in Jonathan Munby’s The Winter’s Tale, at the Guthrie Theater, which tells the story of King Leontes (Michael Hayden) who, in the first scene, is seized with the fear that his pregnant wife, Hermione (Michelle O’Neill), is sleeping with his childhood best friend, Polixenes (Bill McCallum). In a fit of jealousy, he tries to kill Polixenes and banishes Hermione and her newborn daughter from the court. Hayden has the difficult job of playing Leontes as a human worthy of sympathy, particularly when O’Neill plays the faithful and wronged wife so well.

Hayden’s performance, though passionate, is puzzling. He begins with the manic anger usually associated Nadja Milena Editor in Chief

with the last scene for a tragic hero and becomes steadily saner. His calmest moment in act one comes directly after he learns of his wife and young son’s deaths.

As a result, the first act, despite the brilliant performances surrounding Hayden, feels like an ordeal. It’s hard to watch one man’s unexplained idiocy ruin the lives of so many innocent people, while those who could do something stand idly by.

The only one who does dares to stand up to Leontes is Paulina, who, as played by Helen Carey, is a tower of strength until the end.

It is exhilarating to watch a performer with such a sense of timing, such understanding of human drive and suffering.

The show also avoids the trap of allowing technology and budget to drown out the many talented voices of this company. There’s a lot of singing: a 1950’s club performer, nuns, and a thieving trickster all perform musical interludes.

Even more exciting was seeing the reserved, governmental characters of Sicilia (particularly John Catron, Christina Baldwin and Tyson Forbes) explode into vibrant, kooky characters in the Bohemia, a hippy blue-grass prairie-land so full of warmth (Juan Rivera Lebron and Christine Weber play the two

Photo Courtesy: T Charles Erickson, Guthrie Theater website

As patrons enter the Wurtele Thrust stage at The Guthrie Theater, the cast of A Winter’s Tale welcomes them to Sicilia with a formal gala at King Leontes’ palace. The White House design provides stark contrast to Bohemia, the other major setting of the production. Most impressive is the plank flooring, which changes color with lighting.

young lovers with plenty of heat) that it seems to be a whole play away from the chilly White House aura of Leontes’ court.

The ending (in which Hermione forgives her husband for everything) is the most difficult scene.

Here, the director has two choices. One, take the time to make it plausible that Hermione can for-

give and love him again. This is incredibly difficult. Two, leave her forgiveness ambiguous. Munby seems to choose the first option, but something about it isn’t believable. Something about it lacks emotional truth.

This is a difficult play. Just like Leontes’ madness, it’s hard to say where the problems originate: the

actors, Munby, or Shakespeare himself. Maybe we’re supposed to be left feeling uncomfortable. Or maybe, with a cast this talented, a production this full fledged, maybe for these few hours we should suspend reality and believe in this fairytale, if we can. After all, isn’t that what good theater is about?

Sports

March 2011 Taylor’s Wild Column

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Spartan Hockey Similarities

Photo Courtesy: Taylor Billeadeau

The season is winding down for the Minnesota Wild, and The Spartans have just finished their season. And with each team getting younger and improving year after year, the two have a lot of similarities.

Although the NHL playoffs are months away, every game counts for teams that have high hopes of being in playoff contention. The Spartans and Minnesota Wild have something in common though; they are trying to find their own identity.

Although the Minnesota Wild franchise has been around for 10 years now, its new roster of players and new coaches have morphed the team Once the team took on new management after two seasons of missing the playoffs, the players had to transform their style of play into a more fast paced offensive oriented attack.

Not unlike the Wild, the Spartans have younger players as well as a new coach, and have shifted their style of play. Last year The Spartans finished 8-17-1, and this year with a younger fresh faced team, they finished with a record of 11-132. Besides improving their overall record, the Spartans also improved in many statical facets of the game.

For example, The Spartan’s penalty kill last season was 77%, and this season it’s up to 88% and their average shots on goal went up from 21.8 to 26.8. Their goals per game has also increased significantly from 1.7 to 3.5. But what does this mean for the future of the SPA Spartans (11-13-2) and the Minnesota Wild (32-23-6)?

It means that they will have to continue changing and molding themselves into highly competitive teams. The Wild are getting closer, but injuries to key players such as Guillaume Latendresse, Marek Zidlicky and now Mikko Koivu have held them back. The Wild have done better recently, and have moved up to 5th in the Western Conference and second in the Northwest Division.

The Spartans ranked 5th in the Tri-Metro Conference and 8th in Section 4A. The Spartans however, have new players as well, many of them younger, such as freshman Drew Blackmun who was the team’s top assist man alongside senior captain Max Hommeyer, with 21. Meanwhile, the games are going to get tougher if the Wild hope on making the playoffs.

Although the SPA season has come to an end and resulted in many new changes, the Wild will still try to find their identity and form their style of play as a team as the playoffs approach.

Taylor Billeadeau Columnist

All Photos Credit: Alex Smith

The championship : sophomore Lauren Ademite cuts towards the basket and receives a pass for an easy bucket in the finals, white teammate sophomore Matthew Fiedler [above, left] keeps his eye on the ball. The faculty team surrounds Ademite and -- in the end -- defeated the sophomore trio [including Cameron Causey, not pictured] to win the tournament.

Spartan Boosters organize 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament Three players, two days, one champion. When the tournament, held during XPeriods, began the bleachers in Briggs gymnasium were filled with students wearing high socks, headbands, arm bands and shooting sleeves.

In order to participate in the tournament teams had to include at least one member of the opposite gender.

Alex Smith Sports Editor

Highlights of Day 1 included senior Jimmy Nelson “makin’ it rain” on his opponents. Looking like a shorter version of Larry Bird, he drained three three’s (which were counted as two’s) in a row. Unfortunately for Nelson, his team lost and was knocked out of the running.

Day 2 saw an increase in competition and intensity. The tournament came to its final four stage with one nail-biter of a game. And

it came in a game which pitted a trio of sophomores against a trio of seniors.

A team of sophomores consisting of Matt Fiedler, Lauren Ademite and Cameron Causey took down seniors Chris Pichert, Tania Russell and Nick Forsgren.

The game went to the wire, but thanks to Fiedler’s offensive heroics, Causey’s hustle and Ademite’s awareness, the Class of 2013 outplayed the Class of 2011.

The sophomores met their roadblock in the finals when they faced current Girl’s Basketball head coach Anna Voltmer, who teamed up with Athletic Trainer Ashley Stiles and long term substitute Science Teacher Andrew Bennett.

Players from the final game were acknowledged in assembly on Friday, Feb. 25 and received Chipotle gift cards.

Check out more than 150 photos on The Rubicon Facebook page.

Day 2: In semi-finals action sophomore Cameron Causey drives past senior Chris Pichert for a lay up. The point scored was a deciding factor in the match-up, as Causey’s team won a game that went all the way to the wire.

Day 1: While it looks like freshmen Hockey players Cal Nicholson and Noah Parker are on opposing teams, in actuality they are not. Parker, as it appears, is trying to set a pick on sophomore Cameron Causey for his teammate.

The championship: With a smile on his face, sophomore Matt Fiedler goes one on one with long term substitute science teacher Andrew Bennett in the finals of the tournament. Unfortunately for Fiedler he might not have been smiling in the end as the students would lose to the faculty.

Day 2: In a semi-final game, girls basketball captain, junior Bari Applebaum receives a handoff from senior John Micevych who is being guarded by none other than Applebaum’s coach, Anna Voltmer. In the end, coach Voltmer defeated her star player to advance to the finals.

Day 1: Senior Conor Perkkio tries to steal the basketball away from sophomore Karl Hommeyer who has his eyes set on driving to the hole for an easy bucket. While Hommeyer would score on the play, Perkkio’s team won the game.

Day 1: Senior Nathan Rice calls for the isolation.

14 Spartan Athletes Sports

March 2011

Life Outside the Game

As fans we only see the athlete in the game. As fans we only see the athlete’s finished product.

What we don’t see as fans is what the committed athlete is doing before the game.

What we don’t see as fans is Alex Smith Sports Editor

how the dedicated athlete prepares for the game.

What we don’t see as fans is how the athlete gets to that finished product. What we don’t see as fans is how the athlete gets to the game.

However, with the four articles on this page, as a fan, you can find out about the

regimens athletes deal with outside the game on a daily basis.

Athletes are constantly working. Even when the game isn’t going on, they are dealing with something.

The injuries the athlete deals with. The training the athlete undertakes to be in

tip top shape.

The multiple hour long practices athletes undergo to master their craft. And the strict diets they maintain to keep healthy.

On this page, as a fan, you find out about the Spartan Athletes Life outside the game.

Practice: Athletes simulate competition and perfect teamwork “Practice is a lot of working on technique,” said senior Stephanie Hill, the girl’s varsity volleyball captain.

By replicating competition and working on executing a game plan, for most Spartan athletes, practice really does make perfect.

“Practice is like working on plays, and simulating what would happen in games, where training is just working on individual muscles and endurance,” said girls varsity hockey captain, senior Delaney Middlebook.

Training for a sport can be done individually, and makes a player faster and stronger.

Meanwhile, in practice, players work as a team to reproduce game conditions. This helps to create a competitive atmosphere, allowing each player to improve.

Captains are able to use their leadership skills to bring the team together, much like they are required to do in a game. Each coach instigates a different practice regime, each captain brings new ideas to the field, and each player takes a new experience away from the game.

The coaches showed us what to do, then we would repeat it a few times,” said fencer, and senior Phillip Dougherty.

Practice is also a key element in basketball. Basketball coaches use practice time to work with players on developing different plays to use in specific scenarios. For example, Henry Moyers Feature Co-Editor

Photo Credit: Joanna Mendelsohn

“With practice, you get to work with the team; training is working to get in shape.” Said sophomore Spencer Egly.

on offense that could mean working on an out of bounds play, or improving a team’s press break, or just ironing out a few offensive sets.

Meanwhile on defense that could mean creating a press that traps the opponent. “[Practice] gets us familiar with each other,” said boy’s varsity basketball player, junior Joe Klein, “the stress level is higher because the coach is yelling; it simulates the stress level of a real game.”

Sophomore Spencer Egly, the boy’s basketball team’s point guard, believes that practice and training fill different rolls.

“With practice, you get to work with the team; training is working to get in shape,” Egly said.

Egly thinks that, although they are different, both training and practice share a relationship. “[Both] are really important]. You use training in practice, both are used to get ready for games,” said Egly.

Preparing for competition and testing out plays are the major aspects of practice.

By doing well in practice, teams can be perfect when the game begins. By being well prepared for the competition after having executing a game plan in practise, teams are able to showcase their talents and win the game for you, the fans.

Diet: Swimmers use taper to preserve energy and create a big splash Diet. Work it, cut it, do it. It makes us harder, better, faster, stronger.

You need to invest in your body if you want a good outcome. This is true for everyone. Before the intense training, the grueling practices and the heart pounding games, athletes need to maintain healthy diets.

Dieting uses a variety of methods, and exists for numerous reasons. Most of the time, coaches recommend diets to increase the speed, stamina, and energy of their athletes.

“All sports have some sort of strict dieting on the professional level,” Family Practitioner Peiyi Wang said.

Although the media often highlights professional athlete’s dieting strategies, dieting is just as important Rebecca Xu Feature Co-Editor

for student athletes. When athletic dieting is mentioned at St. Paul Academy and Summit School, no one can ignore its association with swimming’s taper.

“All throughout the season you build up the workload, and because you’re cutting off your workload, you have to eat less calories,” said Girls Swimming Captain Hannah Lodge.

According to Parkway Swim Club Senior Coach, Allan Williams, “a taper is the reduction of workload during a period immediately prior to a major competition.”

Swimming taper usually starts during the last couple weeks of the season, when swimmers are conserving their energy for

a big meet. Along with cutting down on how much their swimming, swimmers also have to reduce their caloric intake.

“You eat less, you have less work, and you’re saving up your muscles so that you can swim faster” Lodge said.

Because swimmers decrease their training and practice volumes during taper, they must also make adjustments in caloric intake to parallel their reduced caloric cost. During the swim season, Lodge and many other swimmers take in carb loads prior to meets. This way, the spaghetti and bread Lodge ate the night before can help boost her energy for tomorrow’s swim meet.

However, because Lodge’s

metabolism isn’t as high during taper, she needs to start watching what she’s eating.

“You’re not supposed to have any caffeine or sweets, and you can only have very little carbohydrates [during taper]” said Lodge. Lodge’s primary concern during taper is saving up enough energy for her to do her best at the last few competitions.

Caffeine, sweets, and carbohydrates only provide short term energy, and hinder Lodge’s goals in the long run.

Although these dieting restrictions may seem like they weaken athletes, they actually have long term benefits.

“I almost feel stronger [after taper] because I have so much more energy at the end” Lodge said.

Through dieting, the energy the athlete is able to put into training and practicing increases.

Sports

March 2011

Injury:

Athletes, with help, recover from nightmare

For many Spartan athletes, getting an injury can mean sitting out from a couple games, or worse, expulsion from the whole season.

Whether the injury be a concussion or a stress fracture, athletes must deal with the tedious aspects of the bench, protecting injured areas, or even sitting out for the rest of the season.

These athletes follow trends of the 20% of kid and adolescent athletes who are injured each year, according to statistics from the Children’s Hospital Boston.

One injured athlete, SPA junior Hannah Ibele, recently chipped off pieces of her thumb bone when downhill skiing in early January.

According to Ibele, her ski got caught in one of the poles of the downhill ski gates, causing her to fall on her thumb in a harmful way.

Because of this injury, Ibele will not get the chance to resume her usual aggressive ski habits until the next season.

Instead, Ibele had to balance between perseverance and caution.

“You just have to be more careful when you have an injury,” she said. “I could still ski, but I couldn’t push myself as hard.”

Traumatic injuries, like Ibele’s, result from hard contact with other objects. Similar to Ibele, sophomore basketball star Josh Gray also sustained a traumatic injury.

However, Gray’s injury applied to his brain, not his thumb.

“I was just playing hard, and I guess I was just in the wrong place at the wrong Allison Wang Sci/Tech Editor

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time,” Gray said.

Gray received a concussion after hitting his head on the floor during a basketball game. His concussion caused him to miss six games and three weeks of practice, cutting a large chunk of time out of his basketball season. “[At] practice, I just watched and went over plays,” he said.

It wasn’t until two weeks after his injury that he could shoot a little during practices.

“I’m trying not to let [the concussion] affect me a lot,” Gray said.

Other non-contact injuries, called overuse injuries, are present with Spartan Athletes as well.

According to the Positive Coaching Alliance and the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, overuse injuries, which have quadrupled in the past few years, account for 50% of sports injuries.

However, 50% of these overuse injuries are preventable, statistics from the American College of Sports Medicine stated.

Both juniors Wendy White and Andrew Bradley have sustained stress fractures, a common overuse injury.

These stress fractures occur after long periods of repeated stresses on bones.

Bradley’s ankle stress fracture required him to use crutches for a month and a boot for two weeks after practicing on his injury during football practice.

His recovery consisted of a tedious schedule of biking on the sidelines, muscle rehab, and finally practice with his team. According to Bradley, sticking to his recovery has rewarded him with a “100% recovery.”

For White, this will be her fourth stress fracture.

“It’s worse than it should have been,” she said.

According to White, her stress fracture was a result of forestalled exercises after getting shin splints during the end of her running season.

To recover, she has been doing physical therapy exercises that strengthen muscle and cardio exercises by biking and using the elliptical. However, she had not taken her injury “seriously” at first and delayed recovery, according to White.

“I think this [stress fracture] is the final straw,” she said. “I’m going to take my anti-shin splint exercises more seriously now, because I really don’t what to get another [stress fracture].”

Following the trends of athletic injuries throughout the community, Spartan athletes like Ibele, Gray, Bradley, and White find ways to recover after both traumatic and overuse injuries.

Although this process may be tedious, requiring cardio exercises or a more circumspect approach to sports, athletes believe that taking the time to recover is worth it.

Many like White hope that by taking better preventative measures, she and other athletes could prevent a future injury.

Athletes take injuries seriously and receive assistance from Athletic Trainer Ashley Stiles. With guidance and help from Stiles Spartan athletes hope to be back on the playing fields healed all the way up and at 100% as soon as possible.

Training: lifting weights improves game and builds muscle mass Increase endurNoah Shavit-Lonstein ance.

Improve News Editor quickness. Build muscle mass and be fit for the competition. That is why athletes train, before, during and after their season.

Leading up to the high school baseball season, sophomore Matt Fiedler lifts weights to beef up and runs twice a week to work on his cardio. He also participates in an out of school baseball program at Hamline University called Next Level. At Next Level he patents down his pitching motion and batting stance. “[Training] helps me [play] at a higher level than the players who haven’t been working all year,” Fiedler said.

Fiedler’s baseball captain, senior John Micevych endorses the training and encourages it. “It prevents a lot of breakdown of your shoulder and… a lot of other injuries,” Micevych said.

He notes that training doesn’t necessarily help improve his game, but helps improve his ability to work harder and faster. Meanwhile his coach and Co-Athletic Director Mike Brown approves of his offseason training. “Offseason training will help him immensely.”

This year, boy’s varsity soccer assistant coach, Max Lipset, started a summer training program for the players. The program involved agility training,

Photo Credit: Joanna Mendelsohn

Senior baseball captain John Micevych attends an out of school baseball program called Next Level at Hamline University. At Next Level Micevych works on his throwing motion and improves his pitching mechanics. “[The training] prevents a lot of breakdown of you shoulder,” said Micevych.

endurance training, weight training and many others.

And it is no coincidence that with the summer training the team had a successful season, placing fourth in state. “I think we were a lot more prepared to hit the ground running when the season started”, said Micevych about the off-season soccer training.

Senior Nick Forsgren, Micevych’s soccer captain agrees.

“The people who sign up for a sport already take the sport seriously,” Forsgren said, “Not taking [a large period of time] off definitely makes a difference.”

Training contributes to the success of the player and the team. By being able to run faster, be stronger, be quicker and play longer the chances of winning improve im-

mensely.

A team’s athleticism is a key factor in how good it is. The better athlete is the athlete that trains.

And when a team is filled with athletes which are faster, stronger, quicker, and have a greater amount of stamina than opponents, the chances of winning increase dramatically.

The better team is the one with better athletes.

16

Opinion/Editorial

March 2011

Staff Editorial

Surveys: a good idea in theory Two-week surveys are the beginning of a great idea to evaluate student workload, methodology just needs improvement For two weeks students filled out schedules outlining their after school activities. The schedules spanned from 3 o’clock to midnight every day, and all day for Saturdays and Sundays. Students wondered why these schedules were mandatory and why the administration was curious about their after-school activities.

Upper School Principal Chris Hughes explained that the surveys were done because “teachers often hear of how busy students are— both with homework and with outside activities—but we don’t have a systematic way of knowing what that looks like for a broad range of students.”

Although advisors said that the results were confidential and students wouldn’t be punished for activities that were not exactly PG, or for not completing their homework, students were reluctant and confused about the surveys.

Since the survey took place in the midst of second semester, many seniors feel that their the amount of homework they are doing now is not representative of their workload throughout high school.

The rest of the grades were in an average 10 day rotation of their academic schedule, with the exception of the Friday/Monday off because of President’s Day. So for the majority of the students, the faculty got a reasonably good idea of the real workload, with the exception of the missed DDays and class days.

However, they probably didn’t accurately reflect the amount of after school time students had to work. The weeks the survey was conducted were in the middle of the off season for most athletics, and there were no games or meets; auditions for the Spring Musical occurred at the end of the second week, so there were no theater rehearsals. Would student’s schedules have changed if they had been

in playoffs or in the midst of tech week? Of course it would. The two weeks the administration chose were relatively light in terms of after school activities for most students.

Students were also confused about what should and should not be included in their surveys. They wondered why the administration wanted to know about their lives after school if they were just looking to know about workload. The atmosphere and ambiguities surrounding the survey will undoubtedly skew the results. This isn’t about the students who just don’t care about the survey and will refuse to take it seriously; they won’t take it seriously regardless of the clarity of the instructions.

But some students mentioned that they didn’t feel comfortable putting some of their activities on the sheet for fear of negative repercussions, and instead replaced those activities with innocent tasks like room cleaning.

Other students might have felt self conscious about their schedules and written activities that did not really happen or that they thought might get the teachers to lower their workload. Other still students felt pressured that their schedules were too empty, and they wanted to add more to create a balance.

On a more positive note, The Rubicon noticed that most students seemed to feel that the surveys actually helped them realize how they were balancing their time each night, and that it even helped them adjust their schedules to be more productive.

Upper School Principal Hughes said that “[the administration’s] first goal is to provide an opportunity for advisors and advisees to discuss commitments, time management, and making choices.”

The Rubicon believes that while the surveys are a

Mini-Editorials Speaker day sparks discussion The Rubicon would like to thank the Upper School Council, namely President Al Johnson and Advisor Jim McVeety, for their work in assembling last Wednesday’s innovation-themed and seamlessly run Speaker Day. We appreciated the variety of speakers that exemplified professional innovation.

The group’s choice to show “Waiting for Superman,” a documentary about the U.S. public schools system, sparked lively discussion.

However, we felt there was a bit of a disconnect between the theme of the film and the theme of the Keynote speaker, Paul Douglas, who spoke about entrepreneurship. It was hard to transition from political innovation to personal innovation, from a feeling of helping our children to a feeling of helping own businesses.

Oscars: a night of good actors, bad speakers

great idea, it would be beneficial for accurate results to change the conditions under which the survey was given. We recommend at least one more survey during times when after school activities are going full force.

Fortunately, this is exactly what the administration plans to do in the future: “We decided to try a couple of two-week samples to get a better sense of students’ time commitments, and we wanted to see the results over two seasons (winter and spring),” Hughes said.

Additionally, The Rubicon feels that it is unnecessary to require names on the surveys. If the results are confidential and the goal is to understand and not punish students, why couldn’t the surveys work just with things like grade, gender, and after school activity as an identifying characteristic? It would make students more comfortable, and give the administration more accurate results. The ability to see trends (e.g. a large portion of freshman boys play video games for 4 hours on weeknights), won’t be any different.

The Rubicon feels that

Cartoon Credit: Alicia Little

these surveys are a good idea for the administration and faculty to get an idea of the homework load students have and student activities in and out of school in order to help students find a good balance between the two. With a few changes, this good idea could become a great system of analyzing how much work SPA students really do.

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 to rubicon.spa@gmail.com.

Letters should be limited to 150-200 words and must be signed. Letters may be edited and published by discretion of The Rubicon staff.

While the 83rd annual Academy Awards recognized some phenomenal films from 2010 such as The King’s Speech, which won Best Picture, and Black Swan, which won Natalie Portman her first Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role, the entire ceremony made clear how fantastically an actor or an actress can perform on camera yet how awkward the performers can be in a moment of surprise in which they have to speak on the spot. When someone critically acclaimed for acting went on stage, no acting took place. Almost every actor was so shocked that they could hardly speak to the audience which, in the end felt more like an exploitation of human emotion (“is she going to bawl?!”) than a celebration of great film.

Egypt rightly proud of it’s accomplishment

The entire Middle East and parts of Africa seem to be in turmoil due to the many political revolutions that have taken place this year. Protests range from relatively peaceful ones, such as Egypt, to a war that is taking place in Libya between its government and its people. Peaceful protest is always preferable, though it can seem difficult when those in power fire on their own people. When a President hides in his office and commands his military to fire on its civilians, it may seem that the only way to retaliate is to use force. The Rubicon would like to commend the people of Egypt in their peaceful struggle and eventual victory in their revolution and would like to voice our support for other countries seeking peaceful democracies.

Opinion/Editorial

March 2011

17

Rating 3-D technology makes films come to life Po p u l a r 3-D Three years before the release of his 1997 eleven Oscarwinning, 1.8 billion dollar grossing blockbuster film Titanic, Filmmaker James Cameron began to write the script for what would be his next film, Avatar. Filming and production would have taken place immediately after Titanic, but according to Cameron, at that time his vision would not have properly executed.

Why? The technology to create the film hadn’t been invented yet.

When Cameron made a breakthrough in the filmmaking by filming Avatar entirely in the third dimension (3D), he reset the standards for what an entertaining, 3D movie should have: A cliché plot that is easy to follow, in this case which is parallel to that of Pocahontas and Dances with Wolves; a healthy length without any dull moments; and most importantly, unprecedented stunning visuals, as it’s easy to say Avatar makes the Garden of Eden look monotonous.

While Avatar doesn’t fit my taste in film nor do I consider it a “good movie,” I still found myself seeing the highest grossing film of all time (just in front of Titanic, of course,) three times in theaters. The best word to describe Cameron’s breakthrough work with stereoscopy, the technique of 3D imaging, is as August King Satire Editor

The good:

Avatar (2009)

Coraline (2009)

The bad:

Justin Bieber: Never Say Never (2011)

Gulliver’s Travels (2010)

Jaws 3-D (1983)

Robot Monster (1953)

All Photos Courtesy: Internet Movie Poster Awards Gallery

and discussion revolving around stereoscopy, a 3D film will be released that both respectable critics and viewers alike will call great.

Francis Ford Coppola defined cinematography, the Epstein brothers and Howard Koch wrote the perfect script, and James Cameron revolutionized the visuals of a film: Now, it’s just a matter of who can put them all together.

versus

“I’ll take my regular old 2-D any day” I remember it vividly: sitting in a small theater, extended family surrounding me, collectively holding our breath as a Frisbee flew straight out of the screen and over our heads. The glasses made us part of the story, and to my seven year-old self, it seemed like magic.

This was my first encounter with 3-D technology. The movie was a Disneyworld novelty, an expensive ninety minutes in which the dimensional thrills counted for more than the actual plot or quality of the film. Today, ten years later, only one of these features has changed: 3-D is not longer contained to Disneyworld screens.

This is not a positive step.

3-D film technology has been around since the 1930s, but never before has it had a moment as big as the boom it is experiencing now.

Following the success (in earnings, if not in popularity) of James Cameron’s 3-D whopper Avatar last year, Hollywood has been pushing the format nonstop, a move not to the liking of all moviegoers.

I loved that Disneyworld 3-D movie. I had never seen anything like it before, and it kept me quiet and entertained for an extended period of time (my mother’s motive for taking me there, I’m sure).

Maddie Butler Managing Editor

The ugly:

simple as “new.”

With Avatar as a prime example, stereoscopy opens up many doors in the world of filmmaking. Regardless of what you consider to be a great film and what to be a bad one, it’s important to keep in mind that movies were initially made for entertainment. The art form of filmmaking has taken many turns since its inception, and movies shot in the third dimension shouldn’t be put away and locked up so quickly.

I can’t say in 3D movies’ surprisingly long history (the first blockbuster dating back to 1953) that I have seen a 3D film that I would call out of the ordinarily good. Regardless, it’s hard to deny that in most cases, 3D movies are entertaining. As a screen-obsessed child, I enjoyed putting on the red-andwhite glasses and watching Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over. Nearly ten years later as a teenager I enjoy watching life-like, blue humanoids being chased by an oversized jaguar alien in a jungle filled with incredulously spectacular flora and fauna. Given that I could mute the sound from the movie theater upon viewing Avatar and be just as entertained as I would be while listening to the subpar dialogue, it goes to show that 3D is somewhat childlike: really only the pictures matter.

With the continued evolution

That’s an important distinction, however – it was at Disneyworld, it was acting as an extended ride, and as such was not meant to be serious cinema or even straight-toDVD-worthy material.

I am not the only one who sees a slew of issues with the crop of new 3-D movies popping up at theaters what seems like every weekend. Even famed movie critic Roger Ebert has spoken out about his dislike of 3-D, most notably in a blog post entitled, “Why I hate 3-D (And You Should Too.)” These problems begin on a very basic, technical level: our bodies simply are not made to view movies like this. In a letter to Ebert, respected film editor Walter Murch discusses something he calls the “convergence/focus issue.” Basically, when a person watches a movie, their eyes must focus on the plane of the screen, which in traditional movies is a set distance away.

3-D messes with this focus, forcing your eyes to continually focus on one point and converge on another. This is possible to do, but, as Murch says, is like “tapping your head and rubbing your stomach at the same time,” thus accounting for the headaches and nausea that many 3-D moviegoers experience as early as ten minutes into a film.

All technical issues aside (in ad-

dition to convergence/focus issue, 3-D makes images darker, smaller and “stroby”), there is the question of necessitation. The moviemaking world seemed to be getting along fine without this technology, so why go overboard with it now?

Movies are already made to seem 3-D to your mind. As Ebert wrote, “When you see Lawrence of Arabia growing from a speck as he rides toward you across the desert, are you thinking, ‘Look how slowly he grows against the horizon?’”

Further, 3-D only seems appropriate for action or children’s movies.

Making a serious film in this gimmicky medium just wouldn’t work.

Finally, the experience is not worth the price. Adding an extra five dol-

lars to an already expensive theater ticket for a film that is just as good (if not better) in traditional 2-D format.

Good films should transport the viewer, no matter the dimensions the audience sees. A 2-D movie with an engrossing plot and fantastic acting or cinematography is worth more than any over-produced, 3-D film. I am not completely against 3-D – I think it can be fun in small doses and when used in the right way. But when a movie is made simply for the sake of being in 3-D (like Cameron’s new film Sanctum), it results in an overpriced, under-acted headache.

Call me boring, but I’ll take my regular old 2-D over that any day.

18

Opinion/Editorial

March 2011

Cutting Title X is an attack on family planning House of Representatives could cut all federal funding for Planned Parenthood

history of abortion, birth control related laws

1965 Griswold v.

Connecticut

struck down Connecticut law that use of birth control by married couples is illegal

1973 Roe v. Wade

declared state laws that outlaw most abortions are unconstitutional

1977 Maher v. Roe

upheld that state Medicaid funding of medically necessary abortions can be limited, and that States may refuse to fund “elective” abortions.

1980 Harris v.

McRae

upheld that federal Medicaid funds may not be used for medically necessary abortions except to save the mother’s life.

Supreme Court cases and numbers from Planned Parenthood fact sheets

“

Title X saved taxpayers $3.74 for every $1 spent on contraceptive care.

Either way, they are going to have to raise every penny for funded abortions on their own. This way, they also have to raise every penny for education programs aimed at limiting STD’s and unplanned pregnancy on their own.

Denying an organization that spends ninety-seven percent of its government funding on things other than abortion, things like contraceptive services, STD testing and sometimes even basic health care for low income women won’t criminalize abortions, as pro-lifers desire. In fact, if anything, the abortion rate will go up.

Health Centers supported by Title X provided contraceptive care to 36,700 women in Minnesota alone in 2008, reported the Guttmacher Institute, a “social science research, policy analysis, and public education” institute. The vast majority of the Title X funding in Minnesota went to Planned Parenthood, since our state has 17 of their clinics, 5 independent clinics, 1 health department clinic, and no Community Health centers or Hospital outpatient clinics that provide contraceptive services.

Nationally, Title X supported centers served 4.7 million women in 2008. According to data from the Guttmacher institute, the contraceptive services provided at these centers helped women and couples avoid 973,000 unintended pregnancies, which would have resulted in 433,000 unplanned births and 406,000 abortions. An additional four-hundred and six thousand abortions.

So what’s the logic? According to Pence, it’s just about the principle of the thing. “It is morally wrong to take the taxpayer dollars of millions of pro-life Americans and use them to fund organizations that provide and promote abortion” he said according to an NBC article. But citizens of the United States pay taxes that support things that they don’t believe in all the time. A reported $7-$10 million federal dollars are spent putting “Go Army” stickers on NASCAR cars each year. In 2004, the United States government spent 1.258 billion dollars on military foreign aid, according to a CRS report for Congress on Federal Aid Passionate anti-war activists could argue that it is immoral for their tax dollars to pay to recruit young men and women to be sent overseas and potentially killed, or fund equally brutal wars overseas. That is also morally objectionable to many, which suggests that the House’s ban on any funding for Planned Parenthood is just as much of an attack on the distribution of contraceptives and

“

A brief

Taxes are inescapable. Whether we like it or not, we are legally required to give the United States federal government some of our money and entrust them to use it to better the lives of the American people, not to further a political agenda or attack a specific group. As citizens, it’s our duty to know what our tax dollars are funding, or not funding.

So what do we want to fund?

How do we want to invest in the next generation? Do we want to pay for sex education and birth control, or do we want to pay for foster care? Do we want to fund an organization that does something we may be against? How do we weigh the benefits and the costs?

On February 18, the House of Representatives approved cutting the $317 million program, known as Title X, of federal aid for family planning with a vote of 240-185.

The bill came in a package with a proposed amendment that will bar Planned Parenthood, from receiving federal funding for any service it provides. Planned Parenthood receives one third of its funding from the federal government.

The bill, which was led by Representative Mike Pence R-Ind, is now in the hands of the Senate. $317 million, even though it’s a tiny fraction of the United States’ national deficit, is still a sizable amount of money that could be freed up to improve public education, fund innovations for Green energy, or any number of other good causes. But recent quotes from the Republican--controlled House of Representatives makes it clear that this isn’t about the deficit. It’s about the “A” word.

In 1976, Congressed passed the Hyde Amendment, which “excludes abortion from the comprehensive health care services provided to low-income people by the federal government through Medicaid.” Exceptions include when the pregnant woman has been raped, if the pregnancy is a product of incest, or if the woman’s life is endangered by the pregnancy.

Basically, the government cannot give money to an organization for the purpose of funding abortions.

The $317 million that was previously designated for Planned Parenthood and other organizations that provide both abortions and contraceptive education didn’t violate this Amendment. The federally funded money could be used for any of the health centers many services; it just couldn’t be used on abortions.

But from the perspective of Representative Mike Pence, giving an organization that provides abortions money for other services is the same thing as giving them money for abortions: if they don’t have to raise as much money for contraceptive services etc, they can spend more of their energy and time raising money for abortion.

Nadja Milena Editor in Chief

sex education as it is on abortion.

This is terrifying. Teenagers in the United States have significantly higher pregnancy and birthrates than teens in other western industrialized countries. The U.S. has nearly twice the teen pregnancy rate of Canada and Great Britain, four times that of France and Sweden. Additionally, the rates of teen pregnancy in those countries are declining more quickly than in the US. But the teen birthrate is declining, and it’s not because more teens are choosing to have abortions. In fact, teen abortions have been steadily declining since the 1980’s.

By 1997, the rate of abortions in women 15-19 years old had decreased by 33 percent, according to the Guttmacher report on Public Policy of February 2001.

The Institute’s analysis concluded that three-fourths of the decline was because contraceptive use had increased both in quality and quantity. A large percentage of teenagers had switched to hormonal methods of birth control, and the results were clear: better contraception, fewer unintended pregnancies; fewer abortions.

And since contraception and education are cheaper than abortions and child rearing, Title X saved taxpayers $3.74 for every $1 spent on contraceptive care. This means that by spending money on Title X, the federal government saved $3.4 billion in 2008 alone.

This bill would increase both the deficit and the number of abortions, which isn’t what anyone, pro-life or pro-choice, wants.

This isn’t some far off problem that doesn’t affect people in our age group, in our community, in our school. Issues of reproductive health, teen pregnancy and the risk of sexually transmitted infections are far too real for people just like us to be pushed aside.

It is a citizen’s right to oppose abortion, and to protest the repeal of Roe vs. Wade. But it is not right for a group of representatives to cut women and men off from sex education, STD testing and contraception all in the name of supposedly respecting the majority belief that abortions are immoral.

In doing so, they disrespect the definite majority of Americans who believe that people have the right to sex education, the right to choose whether to become pregnant, abortion aside.

“This afternoon’s vote was a victory for taxpayers and a victory for life,” Representative Pence proclaimed in a recent statement. In reality, this is a victory for no one.

Where do we go from here?

By the Numbers

291,000

estimated number of abortions averted by PP contraceptives each year

35%

percentage of PP services that are

contraceptive services

3%

percentage of PP services that are abortion services

95

number of years PP has been around

4.7

million people provided with services from Title X each year

75%

percent of PP clients at or below 150% of federal poverty level

The Rubicon acknowledges that abortion is an emotionally charged subject with many perspectives to debate legally, morally, and personally. If you or a friend have questions or concerns about sexual health, talk to a parent, a medical professional, or a counselor. To learn more about Planned Parenthood, visit their website at: www.plannedparenthood.com.

March 2011

Satire

the rubicONION

19

St. Paul Academy and Summit School’s FINEST fictional news source

The most innovative cuts ever

GOP and Dems suggest creative ways to reduce the deficit but disagree

H- 40 L-15 It’s that time of year again when Minnesotans everywhere bust out a t-shirt and roll down the windows.

Radiohead releases new LP fifteen minutes after announcement Music News, page C-15

Noah Shavit-Lonstein The US House of RepresentaNews Editor tives recently proposed several radical cuts to the budget, including cuts to radios, health centers and green energy.

Because of the controversy surrounding these cuts, groups have introduced a new budgeting bill. This new bill would also cut spending for green energy, but would replace it with money for a giant fan to cool areas affected by global warming. The bill introduces some entirely new cuts as well that some politicians are calling “the most innovative cuts ever.”

In large cities with high crime rates, for example, law enforcement officers will be replaced with a billboard campaign costing just slightly more than the salary and benefits of current officers. The billboards feature a picture of an actor dressed as a police officer and the words: “Crime- Don’t Do It!” Money for elections will be cut entirely, and selection of a new United States President will be determined by number of “friends” on Facebook.

Additionally, the government

!

Crime - Don’t Do It

Billboards like this one, depicting a stern actor, would replace actual law enforcement in high crime cities. Scary, huh? may be required to cut spending on public schools to pay for legal fees in drawn-out cases against bad teachers.

However, the100 million dollar budget for “Go Navy” stickers on Nascars remains secure.

Democrats have requested several alternative ideas. They want to cut spending that they find wasteful, including a $500 million giant marshmallow, which representative Michelle Bachman called “necessary in God’s eyes for our nation’s children.”

Military spending would also receive cuts under the Democrats plan, including halting construction of the Useless Explode-y Thing 300 for the military.

Additionally, the Democrats suggested gathering more revenue by wearing rags and meekly begging the nation’s top 2% of Americans for a few dollars in tax money.

The famously bipartisan President Barack Obama could not be reached for comment, as aides say he was busy weeping.

“I won’t conform, but don’t follow me” Unknown filmmaker critiques the use of 3-D in modern blockbusters Not many things legitimately irk me. I tend to lean more towards apathy than rage – emotion is conformist. But recently, I have found myself feeling extremely disturbed by the takeover waged on the American film industry by 3-D films. Attempting to drown my sorrows in a sea of fair trade coffee is of no use at this point. My Ray-Ban glasses cannot hide the rage in my eyes.

3-Dimensional films have begun a hostile takeover of the American film industry. Let me say that again. 3-DIMENSIONAL FILMS HAVE TAKEN OVER THE AMERICAN FILM INDUSTRY. Where have the revolutionary filmmakers gone? Wes Anderson, Michel Gondry? Even Woody Allen? Am I the only one who still takes the time to create artistic, somewhat absurdist 2-dimensional short films? What happened to good, artistic movies with enough symbolism in the opening credits to last a lifetime? Am I the only one who still makes blurryangled short films – processed with fair trade chemicals, of course – with intensive use of jump cuts detailing the lives of political prisoners or absurdist views of New York City?

My newest film was going to be an absurdist take on the love affair between a woman and her cat. I had the script typed up on my Mac Ibad Jafri Staff Writer

Teen sensation Justin Bieber cuts hair, unintentionally breaks contract with Universal Studios Fashion, page F-8

Franco dresses in drag (again); looks better than Hathaway in any dress at the Academy Awards.

Entertainment, page G-6

Which Oscar would you win?

1. When you were a toddler, everyone said: A. What a flirty little babe!

B. Terrible 2’s: a little bossy.

C. Did he color on the wall?

D. She looks so familiar.

2. You spend Thurs. X-Period: A. Doing homework; there’s play practice after school B. Debating the merits of movies at Film Club C. With a pen and paper D. Searching for an open seat in the library, hallway, or senior lounge 3. When you go to the movies, your favorite part is: A. The acting B. The script C. The costumes and design D. The stadium chairs 4. You describe your significant other as: A. Your leading man or leading lady B. Your minion C. Your muse D. A celebrity look-alike 5. In your Oscar speech, you would thank: A. The Academy, your family and friends B. The Academy, your family and friends C. The Academy, your family and friends D. Nobody

Mostly A’s – you are a thes-

pian extraordinaire! You could play the Black Swan and stuttering King with a True Grit cowboy accent. Someday we’ll all applaud for you as you walk to the stage to nab your Best Actress or Actor statue. For now, however, we think you’re a little histrionic.

Mostly B’s – Lights!

Photo courtesy sodahead.com and was in the process of transferring it to my moleskine notebook – so what if it’s tedious? It’s nonconformist and beautiful – when I overheard by word of mouth (I don’t own a TV) that Arcade Fire had won the Grammy. Therefore, they have obviously sold out. Success is a corrupting force.

But I digress. 3-D films hold no entertainment value whatsoever.

Have you seen Avatar? No, really, have you? I haven’t. I couldn’t afford it. I spent all of my money on Trader Joe’s food and clothing from Urban Outfitters my local secondhand store. But if there’s one thing I know about Avatar, it’s that I would need to those blasted

RealD 3D glasses to watch it and simultaneously exacerbate my motion sickness-induced headache – Avatar never stops moving. If James Cameron knew how to make movies, he would make better use of long takes. The only use of these child-labored, mass-produced monstrosities is to ironically poke out the lenses at the end of the movie and wear them in public or to take photos for my Tumblr.

But perhaps, as Shakespeare once said, this is all much ado about nothing. I’m much more into foreign films now anyway.

And soon it’ll be flip books. Movies are so mainstream.

Camera! Action! You are a director.

When you go up for your Oscar statue, don’t forget to mention that you learned everything you needed to know about choosing a great script from your Mom.

Mostly C’s – We’ve seen

your work in the Art hallway on the way to Rubicon third hour, and we know you’ll win a shiny little gold guy for Costume Design or Illustrated Film. Maybe you even hang out with Eliza Tong (read A&E p. 12).

Mostly D’s – You know

those people who get dressed up and fill seats for celebrities when they have to go to the bathroom?

That’s you. Sorry. We know you will look good walking down the red carpet, even though the paparazzi will save their flash bulbs for the A-listers and Oscar winners.

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Real and surreal vacation spots Your Rubicon editors share their fantasy destinations Rachel, Op/Ed Editor

Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania Some people’s dream vacation includes lying on a beach all day and not doing or seeing anything but the resort they are staying at. But why not do something more memorable? For a while, my dad and I have been joking about climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa, but I’ve started thinking it would actually be an amazing trip and much more satisfying than baking in the sun on a nameless island. Climbing to a height of 19,340 feet would be difficult, of course, but with a little training it could provide the experience of a lifetime.

Noah, News Editor

Greece Greece stands out from anywhere else people often visit. Many of its islands have a unique city structure to accommodate the hills. Greece is also known for its unique types of food and value on exercise. While there are a lot of great places to visit, a Greek island takes the cake for uniqueness.

Alex, Sports Editor

Rucker Park, New York My dream vacation would be to go to New York and make a lay-up at Rucker Park. I wouldn’t play against anyone, because they are probably really good, while I am really bad.

However to say I stepped foot on Rucker Park and made a lay-up would be a dream come true.

Havana, Cuba My dream vacation is a trip to Cuba. Not only is Cuba sunny and warm, but it also has an interesting culture.

Cuba is next to impossible to get to (if you are an American) and its government is strict and intimidating. Havana would be a good starting point for a trip and it would be fun to stay in a city where mostly Spanish is spoken. Havana would also be a good place to stay as it has access to many beaches and great restaurants. Cuba would be a difficult trip to plan, but would be a very different and exciting vacation.

Taylor, Columnist

England I’ve always wanted to go to England. Even though the weather is not always the greatest and the people there talk in funny accents, there are plenty of things to do (not to mention the Summer Olympics will be in London next year!) There are a lot of things to see, such as Big Ben, the wax museum (among many other museums and galleries), and you can always try your luck at making the royal guards laugh. Also, England just has a dreary charm to it, especially out in the country. Although it’s not your typical warm, relaxing beach vacation, England’s charm has always been appealing to me, and I would love to visit sometime soon!

Lothlórien My dream trip is to Lothlórien, in the time of the elves.

“The Dreamflower” or “Dream Land,” as it’s shortened name “Lórien” means, is home to the Silvan Elves, most importantly Haldir. Lothlórien, during the time of the Elves, was located East of the Mines of Moria and between the Misty Mountains and the river Anduin. With easy access to canoeing and other water sport Lothlórien is the perfect destination for a day or ever a more lengthy trip.

Iman, Centerspread Editor

Venice, Italy As cliché as it may be, if I ever get the magnificent opportunity, I’m going to Venice, Italy. The sights, the sounds, the tastes, all brilliantly and uniquely Venetian draw people, including myself, to it, and bewitch them. Seriously, how many places can you take a gondola to reach a destination? Not many, that’s how many. Everything about the city just seems so beautiful, from the architecture to the language, the music to the food. And even the parts that aren’t outwardly beautiful (for there have got to be some anywhere you go) character about them that is just so Venice.

Allison, Sci/Tech Editor Henry, Feature Editor

Kaia, A&E Editor

Sky Top Orchard, North Carolina Breathtaking mountain scenery, cute little barnyard animals, and the overwhelming smell (and presence) of apples. These ingredients formulate my perfect vacation spot at Sky Top Orchard. Located on Mount McAlpine in North Carolina, this orchard features 40 acres of 20 different varieties of apples, including Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, and even Cameo.

You can also visit peacocks along with the Pexiglas-enclosed beehive inside the barns. For me, any apple orchard would be my perfect vacation away. You can get a panoramic view of the incoming reddish-orange foliage while also enjoying a freshly picked apple.

Rebecca, Feature Editor

Hogwarts When the word vacation pops up, we tend to imagine ourselves completely relaxed on a warm, sunny beach.

We don’t have to worry about the pains of reality, or the stress of school. But what if school was a vacation?

If I could go anywhere for vacation, I would chose to stay in school. But not just any old school, a school where learning is magic. A school like Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. At Hogwarts, math, English, science, and language classes are replaced with defense against the dark arts, potions, transfiguration, and herbology. Sports are now called quidditch, homes have turned into dorms, and dull school days are now packed with new adventures.

August, Satire Editor

Portland, Oregon It might be my pale white skin or maybe it’s my awkward man-boobs due to my weight, but I just don’t like beach vacations. Sure, the heat and constant flow of non-alcoholic strawberry daiquiris poolside are nice, but after awhile the routine gets plain boring. Being somewhat of a hipster, I’d rather enjoy the Portland, OR music scene and its vast bicycle culture. To quote IFC’s new mini-series Portlandia, “Portland is where young people go to retire.”