March 2016 issue

March 1, 2016

THE RUBICON

the student newspaper of St. Paul Academy and Summit School 1712 Randolph Ave — St. Paul, MN 55105 Volume 43. Issue 6. www.RubicOnline.com • Facebook • Instagram • Twitter • Pinterest • YouTube • @TheRubiconSPA

Cover Story p.8-9 Not everything changes when growing up Editorial p.4 The Upper School needs an additional counselor InDepth/Health & Wellness p.10-11 Perspective on perfectionism builds understanding

ISSUE INDEX

1 - Cover 2-3 - News

4-5-6 - Opinions 7 - Faculty Feature 8-9 - Cover Story 10-11 - Health/InDepth 12-13 - Arts & Entertainment 14 - Student Feature 15-16 - Sports

COVER DESIGN Meghan Joyce and Boraan Abdulkarim

ABOUT THE COVER Some things change, while other stay the same. From passions to role models to traits, continuity holds constant in some aspect of life.

March 1, 2016

THE RUBICON

the student newspaper of St. Paul Academy and Summit School 1712 Randolph Ave — St. Paul, MN 55105 Volume 43. Issue 6. www.RubicOnline.com • Facebook • Instagram • Twitter • Pinterest • YouTube • @TheRubiconSPA

Cover Story p.8-9 Not everything changes when growing up Editorial p.4 The Upper School needs an additional counselor

COVER STORY p.8-9

InDepth/Health & Wellness p.10-11 Perspective on perfectionism builds understanding

2

Speech team performs well in early competition

ISSUE INDEX 1 - Cover 2-3 - News 4-5-6 - Opinions 7 - Faculty Feature 8-9 - Cover Story 10-11 - Health/InDepth 12-13 - Arts & Entertainment 14 - Student Feature 15-16 - Sports

News

In only their second meet against hundreds of competitors Feb. 20, St. Paul Academy and Summit School speech competitors came home with mutiple awards. Navodhya Samarakoon won Original Oratory, Meghan Joyce won Poetry Reading, Peter Schavee, Jack Indritz, and Ben Konstan were 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in Extemporaneous Speaking, and Maya Smith took 4th in Informative Speaking. The meet was at Blaine High School. Their next meet is at St. Anthony High School on Mar. 5.

“I’m just trying to be the best teammate I can be and I’m working hard doing that,” junior Speech Team member Jack Indritz said.

THE RUBICON • MARCH 2016

Teachers carry the (paper)weight to help lift some from you Gender Sexuality Acceptance group restarts the safe space program

DIANNE CARAVELA

THE PAPERWEIGHTS WILL SIGNIFY THAT TEACHERS’ OFFICES ARE A SAFE SPACE... TO TALK... WITHOUT FEAR OF BEING JUDGED.”

Feature Editor

It has been a few years since the decline of the original program, but now the Gender and Sexuality Acceptance club (GSA) is revamping the safe space program, this time with a twist. The old program, originated in 2000, used rainbow stickers to identify teachers whose offices were places students could go to discuss questions they had about gender or sexuality.

“It was a very different era,” former GSA advisor Andrea Sachs said. “There were a lot of teachers who were not out at school, and that sent a signal to students that it wasn’t safe environment to be out in.”

The safe space initiative, which was also being implemented in Minneapolis and St. Paul public schools at that time, aimed to create a safer environment for LGBTQ+ students.

“The idea is that if you signal that this is an okay place through little rainbow stickers that it changes the temperature of the whole school,” Sachs said.

“It was a visual identifier for students so they wouldn’t have to ask and out themselves or risk divulging too much. If you walked by and saw a rainbow sticker on the door, you’d know that it was a staff member who was considered a safe space,” GSA advisor Eric Severson said.

According to Sachs, the stickers had a big impact on the school’s environment, as students no longer had to guess if their favorite teacher would be a safe person to talk to about gender and

— JUNIOR ISABELLE BUKOVSAN

PHOTO CREDIT: Dianne Caravela JUNIOR ISABELLE BUKOVSAN points to one of the old rainbow stickers given to teachers and staff to designate their offices and classrooms as safe spaces for LGBTQ+ youth. “It fell apart when people changed offices,” Bukovsan said. The new signal will be a paperweight, because paperweights are “visible and also mobile” said added. sexuality issues. But over time, the effectiveness of the stickers began to fade.

“It fell apart when people changed offices,” co-President of the GSA Isabelle Bukovsan said.

“It was difficult to keep track of, so it’s not really a thing anymore.”

This time around, the GSA decided to use rainbow paperweights to designate safe spaces instead of stickers, since they are portable and easily displayed on teachers’ desks, but while still being discrete.

“We were realizing that the sticker on an office door is a lit-

tle tough because classrooms and offices are shared spaces and not every teacher who shares them might feel the same way. We were trying to think of something that would be visible and also mobile, and so we are working with a local glassblower to create a rainbow colored paperweight that can be on someone’s desk,” Severson said.

“The paperweights will signify that teachers’ offices are a safe space without it being as blatant,” Bukovsan said. “It will be a symbol for people to recognize, so students can go talk to teachers about gender and sexuality with-

out fear of being judged or their parents finding out.”

That privacy is very important for any student seeking answers about their identity, and the program hopes to provide support for questioning students of all ages.

“They will be distributed to any teacher who’s interested in the Lower, Middle, and Upper schools,” Bukovsan said.

“Our goal is for it to be K-12 so that any student coming through SPA... [will see] a visual connection of safety for them, whether they know what that means or not. They will see this paperweight and will be reminded that

it is connected with a person in the community they could talk to about issues regarding LGBTQ+ areas,” Severson said.

In addition to the new paperweights, the GSA hopes to make an ally handbook available to students and faculty that contains terminology, information, and resources,as well as “have [a] meeting where the members of GSA talk directly to those faculty and staff members who want to participate so the adults in the community can ask the students how they can best be supportive and best help students,” Severson said. “We’re trying to open up a dialogue between the adult and student communities to create the most welcoming and safest place for students who identify as LGBTQ+.”

With the revival of the Safe Space program, students will have another resource for discussing their identities. “[Safe spaces are] places that students can go and not be afraid that something bad will happen when they start talking,” Bukovsan said.

Junior Class Leadership Council plans junior retreat, class t-shirt design CLARE TIPLER Sports Editor

The Junior Class Leadership Council’s ten members and two advisors work once a week to plan junior-specific events; one of the biggest of these projects is the Junior Retreat.

The overnight retreat occurs in April and is a time when the entire junior class comes together in hopes of strengthening the community.

Led by advisors Mary Lincoln and Sophie Kerman, the group sent out a survey to juniors on Jan. 25. The survey touched on goals for the retreat, asked for ad-

jectives to describe the grade, and more. The group hopes to use this information to have a more productive retreat.

“WE ARE ANALYZING THE DATA AND PRESENTING IT TO THE JUNIOR ADVISORS.” — JUNIOR MAYA KACHIAN

advisors,” JCLC member Maya Kachian said.

Another part of the retreat is getting class t-shirts. Each senior class receives their class shirts at the retreat the year before, but until then, the design of the t-shirt is top-secret. At their meeting on Feb. 9 however, the t-shirt color was finalized.

After the Junior Retreat, JCLC’s next major project is planning Prom.

PHOTO CREDIT: Clare Tipler THE JUNIOR CLASS LEADERSHIP COUNCIL meets on Feb. 9 to discuss details of the Junior Retreat. These plans include a top-secret t-shirt design and the use of the information from the recent poll to guide the retreat’s focus. “In planning the retreat, we are trying to put the students needs first,” JCLC member Ella Matticks said.

At their Feb. 9 meeting, JCLC began reading student responses and going through the information. “We are analyzing the data and presenting it to the junior

CORRECTIONS POLICY

JANUARY/FEBRUARY CORRECTIONS

During the post-critique process, staff members will identify innacuracies and report on feedback from readers. Corrections will be printed in the next edition of the newspaper in the News section.

NEWS 3 - Heather Fairbanks is Assistant Director of Debate. HEALTH & WELLNESS 7 - Jonny Addicks O’Toole misspelled as Johnny. Online Editor-and-Chief mistitled. COVER STORY 8 - Speaker Subcommittee not Speaker Subcommittee Task Force. SPORTS 15 - Athletes misspelled.

English, History classes and Her Space honor International Women’s Day

IWD is celebrated all over the world, but this will be the first year of organized activities in the Upper School on Mar. 8-9.

MARI KNUDSON

Cover Story Editor Imagine a world with complete gender equality: men and women are educated at the same levels and rates across the globe, the amount of female and male leadership are equal, and gender discrimination and sexism are ex-

Screen capture: International Women’s Day website

tinct. While this world is clearly far from the current reality, on March 8 it will come a little closer to existence with this year’s International Women’s Day. Read the full story at

ubicOnline.com

News 3

MARCH 2016 • THE RUBICON

Q&A:

Science Alliance club competes in Science Bowl and State Science Olympiad

Dr. Kevin Harrington Dr. Kevin Harrington spoke at Upper School assembly on Feb. 23. Harrington works as a private practice Psychologist in Bloomington, Minnesota.

Q: What do you hope to convey to the community through this presentation?

A: I would like the students and staff to take away a deeper understanding of awareness of their stress level and their ability to develop additional resiliency skills on a daily basis.

Q: Do you think there's a lack of understanding, especially among teens, regarding mental self-care?

A: Mental health self-care basically boils down to developing resiliency skills. I think the more students can be taught mind body heart skills and practice these skills on a daily basis the more they are able to have more joy and less stress.

Q: What is one belief you hope students will leave with?

A: If each student and staff could take away that there are skills they can use throughout the day to bring down their resting rate.

When you bring down your stress to an accurate level, you have more joy and less stress.

IYA ABDULKARIM Feature Editor

PHOTO CREDIT: Sophie Jaro KEVIN HARRINGTON, Ph.D. spoke to the Upper School student body during an assembly on Feb. 23. in the caption. “I would like the students and staff to take away a deeper understanding of awareness of their stress level and their ability to develop additional resiliency skills on a daily basis,” Harrington said.

Wellness Week aims to break down stigma AMODHYA SAMARAKOON Health and Wellness Editor

From mild anxiety to depression, mental health issues carry with them a slew of negative connotations. Peer Helpers, in coordination with Intercultural Club, and Students for Social Justice, aimed to combat this negativity with a Mental Health week. From Feb. 22 - 26, they dedicated this week to dismissing stigmas and teaching the community more about the mind-body relationship. Upper School Counselor Susanna Short states that they wanted students to learn how to handle things when they don’t go the way they’d hoped.

“Our culture spends so much time ensuring that everything will be perfect [...] and the truth is that’s not realistic,” she said.

Along with varying activities during tutorial - such as coloring and reading children’s books - the student group invited a speaker, Kevin Harrington, to address the students. Harrington studies psychology with a focus on mind-body-life connections who talked about resilience: dealing with strong emotions and getting through rough patches.

Short states that “Part of the resilience is mindfulness, and that’s really about being in the moment because all of us experience a lot of anticipatory anxiety, so we suffer today for stuff that might never happen. The best thing you can do today is to live a healthy, happy, balanced productive life.”

Schedule of Events

Monday 2/22 Tutorial: Coloring and Music in the Wellness Room Tuesday 2/23 X-Period: US Assembly with speaker Kevin Harrington Tutorial: Live Music by Peer Helpers in the Wellness Room Wednesday 2/24 Advisory Thursday 2/25 Tutorial: Guided Meditation in Wellness Room Friday 2/26 Tutorial: Storytime featuring teachers reading children’s book in the Wellness Room

Tzafrir speaks of horror, hope as daughter of Holocaust survivors SOPHIE JARO

Opinions Editor Iris Tzafrir spoke about both the horror and hope experienced as the daughter of two holocaust survivors during tutorial Feb. 23 in Driscoll Family Commons.

Tzafrir’s well-attended talk arranged by the Upper School Council relayed her family’s history with the holocaust, leading to unexpected and optimistic turn of events that resulted from her eventual confrontation of her parents’ past.

“Growing up in the home of two holocaust survivors who went through the death camps and survived, meant for me a feeling of loss and sadness. It was something you could not escape,” Tzafrir said.

Tzafrir’s father was originally from Poland and her mother

was originally from Hungary.

Both lost their families in the holocaust, were forced into Auschwitz and eventually immigrated separately to Israel, where Tzafrir grew up.

“When I was young, I didn’t want to learn about my family’s history. It was just too painful for me,” Tzafrir said.

However, in 2010, Tzafrir, her father and her three brothers went on a journey retracing her father’s the death march from Buna-Monowitz to Buchenwald, Germany undertaken at the end of 1944.

Although Tzafrir described feeling physically sick before the trip, she explained that, ultimately, it was a healing experience.

Now interested in family history, Tzafrir searched for her father’s missing family and found that her father’s sister, who had been

PHOTO CREDIT: Sophie Jaro IRIS TZAFRIR spoke to students and faculty on Feb. 23 about her parents’ experience in the Holocaust and the trip her family took in 2010 with her father to walk the footsteps of his experience. separated from him during the holocaust, been living in Israel.

Although her father and his sister had lived within two hundred miles of each other for decades, neither had known of the other in their lifetime.

This trip changed how she thought about the holocaust, her

attitude toward it, and how she told the story of her family’s history.

“The Shoah [Hebrew for Holocaust] is something that has effect for generations to come and all over the world,” Tzafrir said.

Members of St. Paul Academy and Summit School’s Science Alliance student club competed at the Science Bowl on Jan. 23 and in the Science Olympiad on Feb. 6, securing a spot in the Top 10.

The student club, led by presidents and captains Maya Smith and Navodhya Samarakoon, has been practicing for each of these competitions in the preceding weeks during Thursday X-periods as well as after school.

This was the first year of competition in Science Bowl for many team members. “We went five and two at the beginning and then lost pretty quickly because it was all of our first time doing it,” sophomore Ben Konstan said.

In terms of the structure of the event, Konstan said, “First is four different sections of teams, and you face everyone in that section.

That is where we went five and two, and then the top teams advance. Once you start facing top teams it gets difficult.”

“Leading up to Science Bowl, we did practice events and that really helped us figure out how the whole thing works because we were all pretty new to it,” sophomore Adnan Askari said.

The Science Alliance members also took part in the Science Olympiad. “We have been preparing all year for Science Olympiad,” Konstan said. “[It] is different because you’ve got a bunch of different events instead of trivia contests,” he added.

Team Captain Maya Smith said “There are a combination of building and test[ing] events [in Science Olympiad]” “For the building events students prepare an entry before and then present it at the competition,” Smith said. “Most of the tests are sit-down tests though some include lab or interactive components,” she added.

With the SPA team placing fourth in their section, they were one of the top six teams and were thus qualified to move onto state.

The team specifically placed second in wind power and astronomy.

“We will be participating in the [state] competition in about a month,” Smith said.

4

Opinions

THE RUBICON • MARCH 2016

Support falls short for both students and counselor

MINI EDITORIALS

Sports teams stun with both skill and kindness

Basketball teams raised over $4000 for Coaches for Cancer. United Girls Hockey sold shirts caps and baked good for Lace up for Leukemia. Varsity Soccer teams collected hundreds of shoes for Soles for Souls. Each season, sports teams mobilize their team presence in the community to grow awareness and make change. Thank you, athletes, for sharing not only talent, but heart.

Discipline Committee survey starts honest conversation 9-12 students and faculty took a survey in Feb. on academic dishonesty that was thoughtfully crafted by Discipline Committee.

The survey addressed the lack of transperancy surrounding what is and is not dishonest. Thank you DC for your dedication to clarity.

Editorial Cartoon: Diane Huang UPPER SCHOOL COUNSELOR SUSANNA SHORT juggles her many responsibilities while maintaining a soothing demeanor. Her many arms can only reach so many students. The school should hire an additional counselor to spread the workload and increase access for students.

EDITORIAL

The Rubicon Staff Speeding from teaching Wellness class, to advising Peer Helpers, to administering the Upper School, to planning retreats, to providing one-on-one counseling, to attending family meetings, Upper School Counselor Susanna Short has a wild schedule. While the wide breadth of her involvement allows her to bless almost every member of the US with her guidance, the far-reach of Short’s schedule spreads her availability impossibly thin.

The time has long passed to add at least one additional counselor for the 419 students enrolled in the Upper School.

“Adolescence is a time of enormous change and growth, and we recognize the need for social and emotional support for all of our students as

they navigate the teenage years and the transition to college,” the counseling page of the SPA website states. The school promises support for all students, but offers only one counselor.

In addition to suffering the “time of enormous change and growth” of adolescence, students must manage the emotionally-charged social issues exacerbated in the pressurized, small private school environment. For some people, being able to talk to a licensed counselor about a problem has life-changing effect.

Many stressed students will find it easier to forgo counseling because their schedule does not align with that of the one very busy counselor.

However, if the services of a second counselor were available, a student’s fears that his or her problem is not important enough would diminish. With an addi-

THE TIME HAS LONG PASSED TO ADD AT LEAST ONE ADDITIONAL COUNSELOR FOR THE 419 STUDENTS ENROLLED IN THE UPPER SCHOOL. tional counselor, seeking a comforting conversation would not seem like such a big deal.

Not only would a second counselor increase the availability of someone to talk to, but also the probability that the person available to talk would be relatable.

Another counselor with a different background than Short may allow a greater variety of students to seek out support.

With the increased prevalence and comfort of counseling ses-

sions, there would be more time for counselors to collaborate on and divide the duties Short currently juggles on her own.

Everyone has problems. Some problems are bigger, but everyone has issues in their life that may need the attention of an outside person. Short does an incredible job of supplying this attention, but she is only one person who can accommodate only so many students.

Students: it’s time to let administration know when there is the need but not an available time to see the counselor. Administration: as the search for new faculty and staff begins this spring, it’s time to expand the counseling department and post a position for a second US Counselor or Wellness educator.

The SPA community will be healthier for it.

A note from the Editors-in-chief: Lack of Laramie coverage in print The Rubicon failed to report on The Laramie Project in print this fall, electing for all coverage to be published online. We received feedback from several students about the important part the print issue serves in connecting our community and how the lack of print coverage did not encourage conversation about Laramie’s themes they way students hoped.

In light of our lack of print coverage, we encourage students to attend GSA meetings, approach participants in The Laramie Project, and start conversations of their own. We hope that the school will continue to explore and discuss issues of hate and discrimination, especially against the LGBTQ+ community.

You can read the online coverage at RubicOnline.

Diane Huang and Boraan Abdulkarim

THE RUBICON • St. Paul Academy and Summit School • 1712 Randolph Ave St. Paul, MN 55105 • rubicon.spa@gmail.com www.RubicOnline.com • Facebook • Twitter • Pinterest • YouTube • @TheRubiconSPA We strive to capture the spirit of the community through its stories while inspiring deeper conversations. Above all, we stand for integrity in our pursuit to inform and engage our readers.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF CHIEF VISUAL EDITOR MANAGING EDITOR ONLINE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ONLINE MANAGING EDITOR NEWS EDITORS OPINIONS EDITOR FEATURE EDITORS COVER STORY EDITOR HEALTH AND WELLNESS EDITOR INDEPTH EDITOR ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITORS SPORTS EDITORS ONLINE SPORTS EDITOR COLUMNIST VIDEOGRAPHER ADVISER

Boraan Abdulkarim Meghan Joyce Javier Whitaker-Castañeda Diane Huang Gitanjali Raman Lauren Boettcher, Emily Thissen Sophie Jaro Dianne Caravela, Iya Abdulkarim Mari Knudson Amodhya Samarakoon Noor Qureishy Marlee Baron, Stephanie Li Lucas Johnson, Clare Tipler Breandan Gibbons Riley Wheaton Rafa Buettner-Salido Kathryn Campbell, 2015 MN Journalism Educator of the Year

STAFF WRITERS Jack Benson, Ellie Findell, Michael Forsgren, Jasper Green, Claire Hallaway, Ethan Less, Ellie Nowakowski, Isa SaavedraWeis, Krista Schlinger, Garrett Small, Andrew Johnson, Kaia Larsen, A.M. Roberts, Jennifer Sogin, Kelby Wittenberg

PUBLICATION AWARDS JEM All-State Gold (Print and Online), MHSPA Best of Show, (Print and Online), NSPA All American (Print) and First Class (Online), CSPA Gold Medal w/ All Columbian Honors, CSPA Silver Crown Award, Best of SNO Medalist, Pacemaker Finalist

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Mimi Geller, Jonah Harrison

PUBLICATION INFO The Rubicon is published eight times a school year.

We distribute 750 copies of each issue, which are available for free.

EDITORIALS Editorials articulate the collective opinion of The Rubicon staff, while mini-editorials, opinion pieces, and columns belong to the author of those works.

MEMBERSHIPS Columbia Scholastic Press Association, National Scholastic Press Association, Minnesota High School Press Association, Quill and Scroll Society

BY LINES Authors of full story content are credited in by lines.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES Opinions are welcomed as Letters to the Editor or Submitted Opinions and may be published in the print or online edition. Letters to the Editor should not exceed 400 words and Submitted Opinions should not exceed 650 words and may be edited for style.

All pieces must be submitted with a full name.

POLICIES Detailed policies are published in the “About” tab at RubicOnline: www.rubiconline.com

Opinions 5

MARCH 2016 • THE RUBICON

Pop quizzes, the veggies of learning, let knowledge take root ISABEL SAAVEDRA-WEIS Staff Writer Pop quizzes are like the vegetable of education: not generally enjoyed, but good for the brain.

Pop quizzes help teachers and students alike, so one should be offered in each and every unit of each and every discipline.

Although pop quizzes get an unpopular groan whenever announced in class, motivated learners should be thankful for them.

Pop quizzes are an invaluable teaching tool because they keep students on their toes. They help ensure students do the homework thoroughly and focus in class in case a pop quiz ever comes up.

Pop quizzes add an element of pressure, making students prepare more before each class. Cas-

sandra Willyard wrote in Science Magazine that a student that takes practice quizzes in order to study for an exam does three times better than a student who just reviews the material once. Pop quizzes, like practice quizzes, help students see whether their study techniques really work or if they need to find a better way to study when the real test comes along.

The an article from the Union University Center of Faculty Development said that daily pop quizzes ensure that “students tend to actually read the material.”

Pop quizzes also serve as a starting point for those who do not know where to begin studying. They “provide students with a real foundation for intellectual growth,” the article stated.

ILLUSTRATION: Isabel Saavedra-Weis POP QUIZZES, like vegetables, are not immediately appealing. However, they provide long-term benefits by entrenching ideas with consistent motivation to study repeated exposure to test-like questions.

These quizzes are not just for students, either. Pop quizzes indicate to teachers whether the information they are teaching is reaching the student’s brains and staying there.

“Understanding a students’ learning progress—as frequently as possible—is critical for teachers to continuously improve their instruction and do their jobs

well,” The Bridgespan Group said.

In classes with vocabulary words to memorize or formulas to know, teachers should start giving small pop quizzes. However, these quizzes should only act as an indicator of progress and not something to stress about. A very low amount of points, ten points maximum, should be available

for these quizzes, and it should take no longer than ten minutes to take it as to not cause anxiety. Just like there should be a portion of every plate should be filled with vegetables, a section of school curriculum should include a pop quiz or two for learning’s sake.

End of the quarter provides an opportunity to shift time management JASPER GREEN Staff Writer It’s the same old story: students struggle with completing their homework effectively, and they blame it on things like school starting times resulting in their lack of sleep rather than confronting the problems that they are creating themselves. The reason why these students have trouble completing their homework at a reasonable time is often because they are not managing their time as efficiently as possible.

The problems start at school when students get into the habit of doing things they would rather do than spend time working on their homework. For example, many students use free periods as a time to play video games, watch YouTube videos, or talk to friends instead of completing their homework on the night it is assigned or meeting with teachers.

A simple change of using free periods and Tutorial better could

ILLUSTRATION: Jasper Green A simple change of using free periods and Tutorial better could drastically improve a student’s GPA and understanding. drastically improve a student’s GPA and understanding.

When students rarely complete homework on the night it is assigned, it does become difficult to get help with homework. In math and science, going to see a teacher can be the difference between completing and not com-

pleting a homework assignment because of a lack of understanding on how to solve a problem or interpret data. In English or history, it might be a failed attempt at MLA citation.

Psychologically, when a person knows that they will be unhappy while completing an action,

the less likely they are to want to do it. They will spend time avoiding the work by doing things they enjoy like watching television or playing video games. In this process, students leave the homework to the last minute, and will not do their best work, with leads to new dissatisfaction.

Participation in an after school activity is a great way to have a break in between the school day and homework time. Scientifically, it has been shown that having an active break can increase focus and concentration.

Time management is essential, because if in school time is wasted and after school is filled with activities, students might still procrastinate—especially on longer assignments—waiting until sometimes even the night before the assignment is due to seriously work on it. This causes them to stay up much later than they should to complete their homework.

To learn and perform well during school, students need time

to sleep, and if they aren’t getting it, this cycle of sleeplessness and stress leads to a growing dislike of school itself.

The longer a student is in this cycle, the harder it is to get out of it. The action of doing the schoolwork becomes more and more unappealing and stress takes over.

To fix this problem, students should learn to use their time more wisely in the parts of the school day which are designed specifically for school work. Though it may be tempting to watch something on Netflix, or play a favorite video game, school is important.

Homework completion and time management are very necessary for success at school because they can ultimately increase time for sleep and decrease stress.

After students are finished with all their homework they can kick back and spend their time however they like without feeling an ounce of guilt.

Being different will be easier with the gender and sexuality training, paperweights ELLIE FINDELL Staff Writer

ILLUSTRATION: Ellie Findell The helping hands of trained teachers will welcome people who feel different and separate into a comfortable space of acceptance.

In high school the idea of ‘different’ is not one that many people are fond of. People who are seen as ‘different’ are immediately singled out and put into a different category, separate from the so called ‘normal’ people. Many students struggle with gender identity and acceptance, whether it’s at school or home, intentional or not. Teachers at St. Paul Academy and Summit School should be professionally trained to serve as allies to students struggling with the issue of gender identity and acceptance.

Gender Sexuality Acceptance is planning on re-instating their GSA Allies Safe Space program, which included teachers placing a sticker on their classroom door which indicated that they were a space. However, the program will now use rainbow paperweights

instead of stickers to show that teachers are available to talk.

Faculty GSA Allies would be beneficial to students struggling with gender identity issues as long as the teacher is trained and realizes how much of an impact the advice or counsel being given can have on the student.

There is a clear difference between someone who wants do good in the community and someone who can actually help. Most teachers aim to help their students become the best person they can be both inside and outside of the classroom. However, the student the teachers help inside the classroom is different from the same student that the teachers are trying to help outside the classroom.

Professional training can help teachers differentiate between the two and become reliable allies to the students in need outside the classroom. Students need allies who have had similar experiences or have experience solving such

issues as identity acceptance for students.

Although teachers may be interested in helping students, they may say something that’s unintentionally hurtful or invokes more damage. Training teachers could help prevent this. Such training would include workshops where sample scenarios are shown, so that the potential allies-in-training can practice how to respond.

At the very least, people from outside SPA who have struggled with gender identity should share their own realizations with the faculty so that teacher-allies can better empathize with students.

Teacher training would help solve the problem of being “different” by having a face in the crowd that students could talk to during times of need. The allies should be equipped with professional training and a rainbow paperweight to help them fulfill the mission of creating a space for a student to come and talk.

6

Opinions

THE RUBICON • MARCH 2016

To cut or not to cut? Counterpoints consider this sports team question Cut policy allows students to pursue passions outside of sports

No-cut policy provides opportunity to build both skill and character ETHAN LESS

MICHAEL FORSGREN

Staff Writer

Staff Writer

There is a legitimate reason SPA’s no-cut poliSt. Paul Academy and Summit School has alcy never has and never will change. SPA’s athletways kept a strict policy that players can’t be cut ic program states their mission is to provide rangfrom their sport, no matter their skill level or work es of opportunity for all students to participate rate. However, the current merciful no-cut policy and compete in.

At its core, SPA is dedicated to has brought in players who cannot keep up with finding a place for everyone.

A cut-policy would the rest of the team, thus creating a difficult situainherently destroy this mission statement. tion for other players on the team and coaches. A Instead of even thinking about beginning a cut-policy should be instituted at SPA to benefit cut-policy, SPA should focus on recruiting more the team, the coach and even the cut player. students to participate in sports.

A number of

The SPA sports program markets itself sports do not have enough players to even have as a place for students to experience the ups and legitimate C or JV teams. The more players that downs of competition, but does not provide stutry out to play sports, the more competition there dents the more realistic contest of being accepted is within the team as players fight to be in a startonto a team. ing position.

“Competition helps students to do their best A no-cut policy builds competition throughout and helps them learn how to deal with both winthe season rather than just at tryouts. It does not ning and losing in a respectful, socially acceptmean that the worst player on the team gets an able way,” reads the SPA athletic program webequal amount of playing time as the team’s star. site. This healthy competition should begin with It teaches important lessons to players that they the risk to be cut from a team too. are not guaranteed playing time, but instead must The possibility of being cut is an even more reearn it.

Playing time is not equally awarded, but alistic way of experiencing failure than the chance can be gained by improvement throughout the to just lose a few games, races, or matches, then season, allowing less skilled players more opforget about it when the season is over. portunity for improvement.

Nevertheless, a noMany players take their sports very seriously. cut policy adds people-power to the all of SPA’s When players come around trying out the sport for athletic programs and provides all hopeful aththe first time or messing around during practice, it PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: Ethan Less and Michael Forsgren letes at least the opportunity to work during praccan infuriate the dedicated players. A cut policy would show students that they have to work hard CUTTING PLAYERS may free them from an unpleasant obligation, instead tice, develop team spirit, and strive to compete at at all times. For the school-focused student-ath- allowing them the chance to develop other skills. Not cutting players can higher levels.

Not only is the no-cut policy important to prolete, a cut policy for athletic teams can save them lengthen the roster, encouraging healthy competition within the team. tect, but students at SPA must take advantage of the trouble of falling behind both the team and on this exceptionally inclusive yet appropriate comhomework. petitive athletic program.

This school’s sports atmosphere should further encourage Allowing students to get all their work done then get an appropriate amount of sleep, students to try out for sports teams.

At other schools, hopeful student-athletes would instead of having to go to long practices and games, makes more sense than getting punnot get the chance to experience the work and reward of athletics. ished later for not going to a practice by getting even less playing time. Students should At colleges and large high schools, it can be very difficult to get on a team. At SPA, find something they really enjoy instead of wasting away their time following the fruitless students don’t have to make it. They just have to show up, commit to the team, and path of a sport they are not dedicated to. they are guaranteed a spot. SPA is a place where opportunities do exist. It has never SPA needs to institute a policy that allows its high school sports teams to cut players. been different, and will never be different.

Playing time based on skill alone causes discontentment and diminished effort JENNY SOGIN Staff Writer

Playing time in sports should be distributed out based on multiple components, instead of just skill. Some athletes are very good at what they do, but they don’t show up to practice or they don’t put in the effort to get better.

Nevertheless, they still play 70% of the game, leaving their hardworking teammates on the bench feeling defeated. Coaches should encourage participation and effort from their players by awarding play time based on a balanced combination of factors, including participation and hard work, not just skill.

The coach who gives an athlete a lot of playing time, even though they don’t show up to practice, establishes a poor example. Too often, coaches say at the beginning of the season, “if you don’t show up, you won’t play,” but then they play someone who doesn’t show up to practice because they have more experience than others. That’s hypocritical. It sends the message that hard work doesn’t pay off and team spirit doesn’t really matter. It illustrates favoritism and causes resentment on the team.

Assigning playing time purely based on skill, regardless of the amount of work one is putting into the team, can be very limiting and destructive to players. Self-confidence plummets and performance becomes worse, which is not only bad for the player, but bad for the team.

SELF-CONFIDENCE PLUMMETS AND PERFORMANCE BECOMES WORSE, WHICH IS NOT ONLY BAD FOR THE PLAYER, BUT BAD FOR THE TEAM.

ILLUSTRATION: Jenny Sogin

AN ATHLETE waits nervously on the sideline as her coach determines her playing time. Sports participants would be less anxious if they believed that coaches consider participation and hard work as Scrimmages and drills in much as they consider skill. practices will never benefit potential players as much as real sport. This will help them and the cess. On competitive teams, such tion isn’t everything. Bringing all playing time because they never team improve more quickly and as varsity and older club teams three together will make a better, where kids are considering play- stronger athlete. Regardless of the accurately simulate the same per- more fully.

Playing time on developmening in college and beyond, coach- type of team, whether it be a JV formance-adjusting stress level tal teams should be equal because es can distribute playing time or a varsity team, coaches should of a game. If coaches distribute most kids just play to have fun more unevenly. However, they consider multiple factors that inplaying time based on hard work, rather than make a career out of still need to consider other factors clude hard work, attendance, and participation and skill, all players their sport.

Winning or losing in for playing time besides skill. skill, when they’re deciding the will benefit by having motivation, developmental teams won’t have Skill isn’t everything.

Hard amount of playing time someone their confidence will increase, any impact on future life sucwork isn’t everything.

Participagets. and they’ll have fun doing that

Faculty Feature 7 MARCH 2016 • THE RUBICON

Ph.D.s provide valuable experiences for teachers Heilig’s Ph.D product of lifelong passion for physics and finding answers JAVIER WHITAKER-CASTAÑEDA wrote his dissertation on his atManaging Editor

When he was a student, Upper School Science Teacher Steve Heilig found the responses to his pressing questions about the world in the natural sciences.

“Physics and astronomy were always giving me the answers,” Heilig said.

Heilig is currently a 12th grade physics teacher who is passionate about his subject.

“I just love physics. I really enjoy that it’s a way of figuring things out about the world. If you like dealing with puzzles, physics is fun,” he said.

Heilig’s fascination with physics has carried through most of his life. He went to college with intent to study physics and followed his path all the way to a Ph.D. in physics. In 1985, Heilig earned his Ph.D. in physics at the University of Minnesota and

Tisel researches power of questions in the science classroom Less than one percent of all primary and secondary teachers have doctorates The average Ph.D. program takes 8.2 years to complete

Sources: The Atlantic: “Why Aren’t More Ph.D.s teaching in public schools?” and “CBS Money Watch: “12 Reasons not to get a Ph.D”

JAVIER WHITAKER-CASTAÑEDA Managing Editor

For Upper School history and social studies teacher Andrea Sachs, the process of earning her Ph.D. gave her valuable lessons that went beyond the subject she researched. “[My studies] helped me polish my craft as a historian and also helped me polish my craft as a teacher,” Sachs said.

Sachs received her Ph.D. in 2001 from the University of Minnesota. Her graduate education focused on American Studies, specifically Feminist Social Welfare History.

tempt to invent a contraption that would find one of science’s most elusive micro-objects.

“I was building a device to look for free quarks,” Heilig said.

Quarks are the particles that combine to form electrons and protons. Scientists have only ever found quarks inside of larger particles so Heilig’s dissertation tried to answer the question, “could you ever have one by itself?”

“The answer was I couldn’t.

I never found anything,” Heilig said.

Heilig’s four years of graduate study have, of course, given him new knowledge about physics, but have also further connected him to his passion and reminded him that he is working in the field that he loves.

“Follow the things that really interest you and give you energy instead of sapping it from you,” Heilig said.

Submitted by: Steve Heilig STEVE HEILIG crawls on top of a proton decay detector in process of being built. “We were looking for protons to fall apart, which we didn’t observe. But we learned some other stuff,” Heilig said.

math and science at SPA’s middle school, Tisel investigated the power of questioning amongst a class of fifth grade students.

“A driving question or a driving motivation for me as an educator has been, what motivates students to ask questions, and what role do their questions play in their learning,” Tisel said.

Questioning can be an extremely powerful tool for students interested in achieving a deeper understanding of their material.

In order to research this phenomPHOTO CREDIT: Dianne Caravela enon, Tisel observed a group of JIM TISEL stands by a pendulum, the apparatus Tisel used to study elementary school students to see how prevalent questioning was in the power of questions in the classroom.. “A driving motivation their class time. for me as an educator has been ‘what motivates students to ask “I was able to research that questions’,” Tisel said. directly by looking at a group finishing his Ph.D. to bring the of 24 students. I was cataloged LUCAS JOHNSON best classroom experience he all the questions that they asked Sports Editor could to St. Paul Academy and while doing an open investigaIn order to be more informed Summit School. tion of pendulum motion. It was on the concept and strategy of “It was a long process where, really interesting to see that 24 effective teaching, some faculty for me as an educator, the front fifth graders asked 351 questions attend conferences or workshops priority was teaching and coachin forty minutes.” Although this to hone their craft. But Upper ing at SPA,” Tisel said on finishform of questioning occurred School physics teacher Dr. Jim ing his Ph.D. During his well deamongst students much younger Tisel dedicated his sabbatical to served sabbatical from teaching than high school students, Tisel

says he still sees the concept of organized questioning play out consistently among high school students.

“I would say that any time students are working independently on any laboratory activity, I see components of this play out or be applicable,” Tisel said. For Tisel, questions bring about a social aspect to a rigidly academic environment through three main categories of questioning; competence, autonomy, and relatedness.

“Competence means that your questions are helping you learn how to do something. Autonomy means that students are taking ownership of their material; they’re making it theirs. Relatedness means that students are causing the material to be relevant or relating to each other through the questions in a social [relatedness] way,” Tisel explained. To Tisel, in order for a class experience to reach its full potential, questioning between students and teachers is the key to reach a deep understanding of the material.

Sachs translates Ph.D. research skills to school enviornment

Sachs was finishing her dissertation the same year she began teaching at St. Paul Academy and Summit School.

“I’M VERY SYMPATHETIC WHEN MY KIDS ARE DOING RESEARCH PROJECTS.” —UPPER SCHOOL HISTORY TEACHER ANDREA SACHS Sachs made final edits on her dissertation over winter and spring break and earned her Ph.D.

soon after. According to Sachs, it is important to be motivated to work on your dissertation.

“You have to really be committed. It’s not based on a set amount of time. You have to be motivated to do the research and writing,” Sachs said.

In addition to polishing her craft as a historian, Sachs can relate to her students more after her studies.

“I’m very sympathetic when my kids are doing research projects. That’s what I did. The kind of thinking and research and writing, I’m teaching a version of that to my students,” Sachs said.

Submitted by: Andrea Sachs ANDREA SACHS receives her doctorate in American Studies. “[My studies] helped me polish my craft as a historian and also helped me polish my craft as a teacher,” Sachs said.

Read about science teacher Andrea Bailey’s Ph.D. field research at

ubicOnline.com

Cover

8

THE RUBICON

Faithful traits Students reflect on what traits they’ve carried with them through the years

PHOTO CREDIT: Emily Thissen

Submitted by: Erin McNamer

SOPHOMORE ERIN MCNAMER reflects on a photo taken of her when she was seven. According to McNamer, she has been a good listener since she was young, picking up the skill from her experience being the youngest child. “From listening to [my siblings] stories I have been able to figure out what to do with my own experiences,” McNamer said.

McNamer’s gathers life lessons by utilizing good listening skills Emily Thissen News Editor

Good listeners are importantthey are the type of friend who gives meaningful advice and through their listening offer new perspectives into difficult topics.

Despite the importance of good listeners, they can be hard to find.

Sophomore Erin McNamer has been a good listener ever since she was little, a skill which has shaped her experiences and personality through the years.

“Listening to my siblings has been important for my whole life because they are big role models to and I’ve learned a lot from them,” McNamer said.

Listening has benefited aspects of McNamer’s life that are important to her: her relationships with her friends and family.

“In the long run I have been

able to build stronger relationships with people and discover new perspectives,” McNamer said.

The life lessons McNamer picks up on through her listening are things that let her see the world in a new way.

“I have been able to build stronger relationships with people and discover new perspectives.”

— Sophomore erin mcnamer McNamer believes the reason she is such a good listener is that it is her way of contributing to conversations and classroom discussions. Although she considers

herself to be a little on the shy side, listening well has helped her branch out.

“I’ve always been a little shy to voice my own opinions and thoughts so it’s easier for me to listen to others,” McNamer said.

“In school I find that during discussion and assemblies it’s easier for me to listen because I like sharing and adding on to my own opinions and finding out what other people have to say,” McNamer said.

Although as people grow, a lot about their personality can change, the things that stay with someone for their whole life can be the things that define them the most as a person.

As McNamer aged, she grew smarter in school, more talented in her sports, and developed in many aspects of her life, but her listening has stayed constant.

“I’ve always been a little shy [...] So it’s easier for me to listen to others.”

— Sophomore erin mcnamer McNamer’s listening makes people around her feel welcome, and makes her feel comfortable in situations that may otherwise be uncomfortable for her. “From listening to [my siblings] stories I have been able to figure out what to do with my own experiences,” McNamer said.

Story

N • March 2016

Labovitz holds on to passion for building

Rizvi’s role model stays constant

Boraan Abdulkarim

Boraan Abdulkarim

Frayed copper wire. Bare, ribbed aluminum cans. Bottle caps scarred with shiny scratch marks: to most people, these metal scraps are nothing more than that.

But to junior Franklin Labovitz, these items are more than forsaken bits and pieces: they are puzzle pieces which will come together to make a masterpiece.

Though he has and continues to advance far beyond working with arbitrary metal scraps, Labovitz is in his element when working with his hands to create.

Over the years, his interest has tapered down specifically to jewelry making, but he has always loved building.

Unlike many students, senior Madeeha Rizvi didn’t spend her childhood looking up to an influential public figure, an impossibly cool teenager, or even a character from her favorite story. Rizvi’s role models were a little closer to home… that is, she actually shared a home with her role models, who one might have already guessed to be her parents.

“I think everybody, me in particular when I was younger, was… not really thinking of the bigger picture. [However], the world we live in is evolving, so at some point you’re going to have to change with it,” Rizvi said.

For Rizvi, the primary nexus for this change has been observation of her parents’ philosophies in action. Rizvi describes a recent time where this happened.

Editor-in-Chief

“I can express myself without limitations on presets.”

Editor-in-Chief

— junior franklin labovitz “My view on building has been fairly similar throughout life. When I was very young, I never had a goal. I just wanted to put stuff together, even if it was something that was just kind of hideous. When I got older, I had a set goal. Today, when I do work with jewelry and such I usually have something in mind that I want to create in the end. I still enjoy building just for the sake of building,” Labovitz said.

“When I was younger, I very much enjoyed building things. Mostly, I used Lego Bionicle,” Labovitz said. “I still do a lot of building, with much smaller stuff.”

Labovitz’s jewelry-making avocation began in eighth grade, the starting point for which was just tinkering with metal scraps in the basement.

PHOTO CREDIT: Boraan Abdulkarim JUNIOR FRANKLIN LABOVITZ uses sterling silver sheet metal and a blowtorch to assemble rings of his own. “We use something called a solder [...]to put the two pieces together,” Labovitz said.

“A few years later, I started taking courses on [jewelry making]. Last summer, I attended a camp at Inerlochen that focused on metalsmithing. That’s where I learned actual metal-smithing as opposed to makeshift basement work,” Labovitz said.

The art of building grants Labovitz a thrill that he has “never really been able to put into words.” He summarizes it as “the idea that I can express myself without limitations on presets. That’s even more specific with jewelry as opposed to, when I was younger, with Legos.”

Labovitz hopes to pursue this interest as a formal career.

“Right now I do have my eye set on Jewelry in my future. I have a lot of experience with it, and I enjoy it.”

Submitted by: Madeeha Rizvi SENIOR MADEEHA RIZVI is held as a newborn infant by her parents, who she views as her primary role models. “My mom went back to school and took on a lot of responsibility,” Rizvi said “We were by the Rosedale mall, halfway to a restaurant.This guy in front of us lost control of his car. He literally flipped 360 degrees. By the time whatever was happening in front of us was done, his car was basically about to tip over the hill onto the side of the road. Other cars drove by, but we instinctively stopped [our] car and called 911,” Rizvi said.

“One of my dad’s philosophies is that if there’s someone who needs help, don’t think twice; help them out. and that’s something that I value a lot,,” Rizvi said.

Rizvi had one word to summarize what she admires in her mom: “responsibility.”

“my dad’s philosoph[y] is that if there’s someone who needs help, don’t think twice.”

— Senior Madeeha Rizvi To Rizvi, this responsibility manifests itself in many aspects of her mother’s decisions and ideas. One example she lists is her mother’s return to graduate school.

“My mom went back to school and took on a lot of responsibility,” Rizvi said.

Another, more nebulous point of commendation, to Rizvi, is her mother’s open mindedness, which she considers an element of responsibility.

“If there’s something that’s extremely important, I try to act more mature in the sense that when you’re looking at something, you want to look at it in a whole context, and avoid being narrow minded.

[My mom] looks at everything and from there, she’ll make a decision.”

Welsh keeps introverted personality

9

Emily Thissen News Editor

Submitted by: William Welsh FRESHMAN WILLIAM WELSH plays with toys as a young child. “I have always been more of an introvert, taking my time with my thoughts before ever verbalizing them,” Welsh said.

Growing up a spunky kid, freshman William Welsh learned to be comfortable with who he was. He considers himself an introvert, and attributes that quality to the fact that he “never learned to be an extrovert because I was fine with who I was,” Welsh said.

Welsh is a think-before-you-act type of person. He thinks things through before he says them out loud.

“I have always been more of an introvert, taking my time with my thoughts before ever verbalizing them,” Welsh said.

This has come in handy for Welsh from controlling his own thoughts to keeping himself from offending someone.

“I don’t drive myself crazy by talking 24/7.”

— freshman william welsh On a trip to Florida, Welsh and his dad were going to play a round of golf with a couple of other people. The fellow golfers were decent, and if one of them made a bad shot, Welsh would make sure to think before saying something that would come across as rude.

“I tried the think before you act technique so as to not enrage the other players,” Welsh said. His introverted tendencies served him during the round of golf as he focused on the good shots the players took rather than their bad ones.

“Their bad shots were never as pitied as their good shots were commended,” Welsh said.

Welsh’s introverted personality stemmed from the way he grew up and his confidence in himself. Not only does Welsh’s personality benefit those around him, but also the way he keeps himself sane.

“Being an introvert has benefited me because I don’t drive myself crazy by talking 24/7,” Welsh said.

InDepth 10

THE RUBICON • MARCH 2016

Multidimensionality of perfectionism leads to social misconceptions STEPHANIE LI Arts & Entertainment Editor Perfectionism is a complex personality trait; it is subject to different perspectives, assumptions, and layers upon layers of misconceptions. People either personally experience perfectionism or claim to see it in the people around them. Because perfectionism is such a complicated subject, people make many assumptions about it, which leads to the creation of stereotypes that can harm those who truly struggle with it.

The different sides of perfectionism still remain a mystery to most; it can be considered a positive aspect of one’s character because it provides an advantage in school, sports, and day to day activities, but it can also be detrimental to one’s mental health because it can result in unhappiness and never-ending dissatisfaction.

Student perceptions of perfectionism According to a poll sampling of 58 students at St. Paul Academy and Summit School, 42.1% believed high standards were the most prominent aspect of a perfectionist’s character. 64.9% of students polled believed perfectionists performed above average in areas like school, sports, and other activities, while only 1.7% thought perfectionists perform below average. This data shows that the majority of people believe that perfectionism

reaps positive outcomes. While this can be true, the reality of what it’s like to be a perfectionist is usually not so rose-colored.

Social pressure or personality?

There are three types of perfectionists: self-oriented perfectionists want to be perfect for themselves, other-oriented perfectionists expect others to be perfect, and socially-oriented perfectionists believe that society wants them to be perfect.

“[PERFECTIONISM] COMES DOWN TO A QUESTION OF BALANCE “ — US PSYCHOLOGY TEACHER RYAN OTO This leads to the question of whether perfectionism is based off of someone’s natural personality or a result of social pressure.

Perfectionism can manifest because of outside pressure, as is the case of the socially-oriented perfectionists, who feel the need to be perfect because of someone else’s desires, not their own.

“Some people are more prone to perfectionism because that’s who they are, they just want to do well...because they’re really passionate. But society does in some ways promote perfectionism because it puts a lot of pressure on kids and people to turn out [to be] perfect products,” sophomore Sorcha Ashe said. Upper School History

Teacher Ryan Oto has the same stance as Ashe on perfectionism.

Oto teaches a psychology elective at SPA, and although he doesn’t consider himself a perfectionist, he is often surrounded at school by those who do.

“There’s definitely a personality aspect to [perfectionism]… some people come out and they say ‘this fulfills me, this makes me who I am’ and that’s great,” Oto said.

Living in a world that centralizes social media, society’s ideals of how someone should act and look emphasizes one’s tendencies towards perfectionism. A major issue that comes out of perfectionism is body image negativity.

“Social media [imposes social pressure on people], at least with body image and that sort of perfectionism, it definitely affects people,” Ashe said.

Classroom perfectionism Perfectionism can also affect students in the classroom.

When students work on projects in groups, there will sometimes be tension over how something should turn out.

“That’s where perfectionism tends to get the most friction because you’re supposed to be working collaboratively but if you’re a perfectionist, then you want...to follow a vision that you have in mind,” Oto said.

The bright side Perfectionism shouldn’t always be viewed as a bad thing.

Letting a perfectionist be him or herself creates happiness and a sense of fulfillment. “[There is] the misconception that all perfectionism is problematic because we know that perfectionism is something that’s really com-

1.7% 1

32.8%

2

60.3%

3

5.2%

4

ILLUSTRATION: Noor Qureishy THIS POLL ASKED 58 STUDENTS how well they thought perfectionists perform in areas like sports and school, as well as other activites. From “they perform below average,” which was a 0 on the scale to “they are perfect” which was a 5, 60.3% reported that they believed perfectionist were at a 3. plex… it’s something that people authentically find joy [in], and so they are flourishing, in their perfectionism,” Oto said.

The dark side As scientists obtain more knowledge on perfectionism, the social misconception that it is desirable gains popularity. For self-oriented perfectionists, there seem to be more positive than negative effects. Freshman Joey Bluhm considers himself a perfectionist in the sense that he has exceptionally high expectations.

“I’m a very brooding person and I reflect on my life a lot. I get mad at myself for screwing stuff up,” Bluhm said.

Bluhm believes perfectionism exists in society because people value excellence disproportionately.

“That failure to be perfect or to get that reward ends up resulting badly,” Bluhm said.

Personal pressure to be perfect Ashe also views herself as a perfectionist and has dealt with the personality trait since she was young.

“I would never ever want to make any mistakes and it became a little more prominent in middle school and high school because that’s when grades started to matter,” Ashe said.

As children grow into ad-

olescence, the pressure to excel in and out of school increases.

Ashe believes there are varying degrees of perfectionism and the impacts it has on one’s life can be extremely positive or negative depending on how great of a role one allows it to contribute to their personality.

“If you have a lot of [perfectionism in your life] it can be crippling in a way and prevents you from seeing the good things that you do and just makes you focus on the bad things,” Ashe said. “[A lot of people] say that [perfectionism isn’t] a big deal, the things that you’re focusing on don’t really matter, you can just get them out of your mind. It’s a lot harder than they think because it’s always in the back of your mind. It’s crippling because it’s all you can think about,” Ashe said.

While there are many social misconceptions surrounding perfectionism, only perfectionists can determine what standards are and are not beneficial for them.

“There is a multidimensionality to perfectionism. For me it comes down to a question of balance...between what you can control in the work that you do against your own psychological well-being,” Oto said.

Perfectionism may be a complex, multidimensional personality trait, but striking a balance between its dark and light side can allow students to live without its shackles.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: Noor Qureishy and Stephanie Li FRESHMAN SORCHA ASHE builds a maze out of her thoughts, a byproduct of her perfectionistic tendencies. “[It’s crippling because it’s all you can think about,” Ashe said.

Health & Wellness 11 MARCH 2016 • THE RUBICON

Experts describe the perfectionist mentality and management methods CLARE TIPLER Sports Editor A desire for perfection can benefit students in many ways, pushing them to succeed and work harder. But it can also hinder them. People who struggle to embody perfection in every aspect of their lives are often dubbed perfectionists.

The perfectionist thought process hinders students “Students who struggle with perfectionism tend to have a skewed view of how a perfect will help them or an imperfect score will hurt them. It is this narrative that goes along with the perfectionism that is so damaging and insidious,” Short said.

Perfectionism is a double-edged sword with a desire to do well on one side and a crippling fear of failing on the other.

Some perfectionists, according to psychologist Adrian Furnham, believe their “acceptance and lovability is a function of never making mistakes” and that “they don’t know the meaning of ‘good enough’.”

This need to achieve stems from pressure from parents, an intense school environment, and strong internal drive. According to psychologist Adrian Furnham, parents pressure children at a

young age, either directly or indirectly, to be perfect.

“A lot of families at SPA are professional families with a lot of education and high expectations, and I think that puts a lot of stress on their children,” Truman said.

Although parents aren’t the only pressure source, home environment is a key factor in determining an individual’s risk for perfectionism. In turn, perfectionism often compromises familial and social relationships by overshadowing them by an unattainable ideal.

Academic pressure contributes to perfectionism “If you’re chronically thinking about your schoolwork, always worried, and always preocuppied .. then that doesn’t really leave a lot of room for other parts of your life,” Truman said.At such an academically rigorous high school, it is inevitable that some St. Paul Academy and Summit School students are perfectionists, but not many as some may think.

“Perfectionism exists in every community. Here at SPA, I... there is a false belief that one can do their best at everything all of the time,” Upper School Counselor Susanna Short said.

Although many students casually throw around the idea of perfectionism, and it isn’t actually a diagnosed disorder, it has ties to multiple illnesses such ad depression, eating disorders, and anxiety.

Licensed psychiologist Dr. Sean Truman states that students at SPA are at high risk of developing disorders related to perfectionism.

“The community, I think, is pulling kids in two ways: on one hand you have the social and emotional development which SPA is committed to, and on the other hand they’re very commited to educating kids in a serious way.”

This tension between having a supportive school atmosphere but still pushing each other to succeed academicly often creates a difficult envirnoment.

5.2% Low Self Confidence

5.2% High Achieving

3.4% High Self Confidence

41.1% High Standards

19% Hyper Critical of Mistakes

8.6% Self Concious

17.2% Detail Oriented

Other disorders relate to perfectionist qualities As the Huffington Post puts it, “the price [perfectionists] pay for success can be chronic unhappiness and dissatisfaction.”

Perfectionism correlates with depression, pessimism, low self-esteem, eating disorders, anxiety, and even suicide.

This argument made by psychologist Paul Hewitt, and echoed

by Short, is backed by years of research.

INFOGRAPHIC: Amodhya Samarakoon The Rubicon conducted a poll of the student body, with 58 responses, about perfectionism. 41.1% of respondents said that they believed high standards to be the distinguishing characteristic of perfectionists. “They don’t know the meaning of ‘good enough,’” said psychologist Adrian Furnham.

“Because perfectionism is associated with anxiety, OCD, and other mental health issues it is important to reach out to a parent or trusted adult if you think that your desire to do well is turning into a need to be perfect,” Short said.

Truman states that, while caring about grades and pushing oneself to excel are both good qualities, they can become dangerous when caring too much, pushing onself too far, start negatively impacting one’s life.

Personality traits of perfectionists also differ, but some constants hold true across the spectrum.

Springer also writes that “perfectionists often feel that they must always be strong and in control of their emotion. A perfectionist may avoid talking about personal fears, inadequacies, insecurities, and disappointments.”

The negative impacts of perfectionism don’t stop at mental health either: perfectionism is actually bad for productivity. Furnham argues that perfectionists become immobilized by fear and anxiety of failure more easily, leading to lack of motivation.

Methods of dealing with perfectionism

ILLUSTRATION: Amodhya Samarakoon

“[PERFECTIONISM] CAN BE REINFORCED BY SOCIAL PRESSURE. I THINK SOME PEOPLE HAVE A HIGHER LIKELIHOOD OF BEING A PERFECTIONIST BUT I THINK SOCIETY PUSHES PERFECTIONISM.” — FRESHMAN JOEY BLUHM

Though perfectionism is often valued in fast-paced society and rigorous schools, the view that perfection is an achievable goal fosters unhealthy thinking.

Clearly symptoms of perfectionism manifest differently in eachindividual and vary depending on the type of perfectionism, but the results are clear: perfectionism is generally bad for overall health.

There are several things that ease the symptoms or results of perfectionism, many of them being lifestyle changes, and Anxiety Disorders Association of British Columbia outlines several ways: recognize the source of perfectionism, think realistically, look at the bigger picture, face the fear of failure by failing on purpose, ask for help, set priorities, and accept rewards. This is a long list, but even doing one or two of these things can help change perfectionist thinking.

Another method for managing perfectionist tendencies is through resilliency training.

“It helps you sort of mdoerate thinking that’s extreme [by teaching] you to be kind of thoughtful about your thinking ... similarly you start to be mroe focused on doing things like finding ways to make yourself feel better and stronger emotionally,” Truman said.

By practicing resilliency, students can learn how to manage their emotions after a test, a negative interaction, or to deal with not achieving perfection in any aspect of their life.

Also, individuals not dealing with perfectionism, and the school community as whole, can make changes to help students around them dealing with perfectionism. “We can combat perfectionism as a community, by not boasting about grades, focusing on internal rewards and not relying on external praise, accepting struggle as part of life, recognizing and even celebrating imperfections in ourselves and others,” Short said.

Radical Empathy invites audiences to develop a bond with portaits

PHOTO CREDIT: Boraan Abdulkarim PHOTOGRAPHER STEPHANIE SEGUINO’S GALLERY Radical Empathy analyzes judgement, perspective, image, and the contradictions associated with these concepts.

Arts & Entertainment 12

BORAAN ABDULKARIM Editor-in-Chief

A student seeking a change of pace before her next class walks along the walls of Drake Gallery until she comes face to face with… Dante. Andrew. Ken. “I developed a bond with each of them, and am honored they

trusted me with their stories, their spirit, intelligence, and in a number of cases, their pain,” photographer Stephanie Seguino said of her subjects.

The exhibit runs through Mar. 11. Read more at:

ubicOnline St. Paul Academy & Summit School - 1712 Randolph Avenue - St. Paul, Minnesota, 55105

THE RUBICON • MARCH 2016

Submitted by: Lutalo Jones JUNIORS LUTALO JONES AND ENZO VINHOLI (FROM RIGHT) play the drums and the bass respectively for the indie band Good Luck Finding Iris along with singer and lyricist Michaela Stein and guitarist Patrick Hintz. “It’s not like we’re just playing music, we’re literally playing our emotions through chords,” Vinholi said.

Jones and Vinholi convey emotions with soulful, Indie melodies DIANE HUANG

Online Editor-in-Chief What do Coldplay, Two Door Cinema Club, jazz, and Brazilian bossa nova have in common? At the surface, the greatest similarity might be “music” but members of the band Good Luck Finding Iris would say “soul.”

The band, which coalesced just last year, includes St. Paul Academy and Summit School juniors Lutalo Jones and Enzo Vinholi. Jones, a drummer, met the band’s singer and lyricist, Michaela Stein, and guitarist, Patrick Hintz, at a summer program at McNally Smith College of Music. The three started playing with other students from the program, but their bassist and second guitarist eventually left.

To fill the gap, Jones asked Vinholi, a bassist, to join them.

“I [brought] in Enzo because he is my best friend and I wanted someone that I knew I could rely on and that I know how to play with. Enzo brings solid bass lines. His point of view on music is very much like mine and we can often agree on how we want our songs to turn out. He takes his time with the way he plays or gets

into his parts,” Jones said. “So Enzo comes in [and] he starts bringing in his creative drive to the music. That was the moment [the band started].”

The two have been playing music together for 12 years.

Vinholi said that “[Jones] is not just some good drummer who’s really fast. Basically, he’s got a groove to his playing. Anyone can play really fast, impressive drum riffs, but he’s got this groove—this feeling—he makes you want to dance—that’s my favorite type of music.”

Vinholi and Jones describe their music as soulful indie, and consider artists like Coldplay and Two Door Cinema Club to be their inspiration, along with musical influences from jazz and bossa nova.

“The soulful part definitely comes from the voice. Indie comes from the guitar, the bass, and the drums. A lot of our songs are upbeat, but [Stein’s] voice calms it down to a whole other level,” Jones said.

Vinholi also notes that their music has a “groove” to it.

“IRIS, TO US, IS THAT THING WE SPEND ALL OUR LIVES PREPARING FOR, WHETHER IT’S BEING STABLE, OR HAVING A JOB, OR FALLING IN LOVE.” — JUNIOR ENZO VINHOLI “I talk about this groove, this feeling that makes you want to move your body—even if it’s a slow, sad song, you still feel the music. [And] our singer just writes the most amazing lyrics: they’re like poems; they’re beautiful,” Vinholi said.

However, the two musicians agree that the soul of soulful indie does not just come from their singer/lyricist, but also from within themselves.

“It’s not like we’re just playing music; we’re literally playing our emotions through chords,” Vinholi said.

Those emotions come from a place of youthful anticipation for the future, of which the band’s name, Good Luck Finding Iris, is derived from.

“Our group is a group like most other teenagers that have spent our whole lives preparing for the future, and college, and what comes after college, and our lives,” Vinholi said.

Iris, a character the band developed, became the basis of their music and videos.

“Iris, to us, is that thing we spend all our lives preparing for, whether it’s being stable, or having a job, or falling in love,” Vinholi said. “[The name is] really like a ‘good luck to all those dreamers and searchers and lovers out there’ because that’s exactly who our band is.”

Jones also references irises, the type of flower.

“And that’s where the iris comes in, too—the flower that blooms. These people come from these little buds and then they flower,” Jones said.

Good Luck Finding Iris performed at the Acadia Café on Jan. 22 for over 300 people.

“When you see kids you’ve never seen before dancing to your music, that’s cool,” Vinholi said.

“Those are the moments you live for,” Jones added.

The band recently signed with Subaquatic Records, a new Minnesota-based record label founded this year, as one of its artists. “[These are the]...roads that we wanted to go down,” Jones said.

Now under contract, the group has removed their early material from the Internet and, taking a tip from its name, the band has started anew.

“It’s the blooming moment, [the iris has] to go through so much, and there’s so many opportunities that flower has to get messed up and die, but then it eventually blooms,” Vinholi said.

They will release their first studio recordings in early March.

Good Luck Finding Iris will release their first teaser for Color Me on YouTube. Read RubicOnline for the link to their channel.

Students in Poetry recite classic works for a live audience

JAVIER WHITAKER-CASTAÑEDA cited “Ode to a Nightingale” by

PHOTO CREDIT: Javier Whitaker-Castañeda

To practice reciting poetry in front of a listening audience, students from the English elective Poetry: Craft and Criticism spoke in front of the Dean’s office on Feb. 18. Together, the class re-

JUNIOR MELEY AKPA recites a short poem for the class Poetry: Craft and Criticism. The recitation was held in front of the Dean’s office on Feb. 18.

Managing Editor

John Keats, each student reciting a few lines. Each poetry student also chose their own short poem and recited it to the class. Watch the video of the period one class reciting their short poems on

ubicOnline.com

Arts & Entertainment 13 MARCH 2016 • THE RUBICON

fuses punk rock + heavy metal RUBI

REVIEWS

Netflix original series Making a Murderer

Fair use image from: IMDb Fair use image from: Bruise Violet’s Facebook Page JUNIOR EMILY SCHOONOVER plays grunge punk songs at a recent concert with bandmates Bella Dawson and Danielle Cusack. Bruise Violet, a teenage punk rock band, formed in late 2013. “Usually, we sing about Feminism or anything that makes us angry,” Schoonover said.

GITANJALI RAMAN

Online Managing Editor Junior Emily Schoonover is not one for stage fright. Whether it’s performing solos in St. Paul Academy and Summit School’s Pops concerts or rocking out at Lollapalooza, Schoonover dominates the stage with her voice and her guitar skills.

Accompanied by Bella Dawson and Danielle Cusack, Schoonover is in the teenage punk rock band Bruise Violet.

The idea for a band came together in 2014 while Schoonover was at a party.

“Well we started talking about tampons, so all the guys left the

room, until there were just three people left. We were all girls, and so we were like, ‘Hmm. We should start a band.’” Schoonover said.

The ability to talk openly about basic things, such as tampons and periods, is what Bruise Violet’s lyrics revolve around.

“Usually, we sing about feminism or anything that makes us angry. We have a song about people who are emotionally manipulative, there’s one [about] a guy being a jerk, we have a bunch about people who are just generally rude,” Schoonover said.

All the music by Bruise Violet is original and composed by Schoonover and Cusack. Schoo-

nover’s favorite composition is Maybe You’re the Problem.

“It rotates the vocal among the three of us. Also, we wrote it together in a moment of anger. We were all really pumped and the words were just flowing,” Schoonover said.

Bruise Violet’s music is categorized as grunge punk because it fuses the elements of punk rock and heavy metal.

“Bruise Violet’s music is really just angry teen angst in a really chill way,” junior Phoebe Pannier said.

Bruise Violet’s first show was at The Garage in Burnsville. The Garage is a non-profit, all ages music venue.

“We played with a bunch of local teen bands. We’ve always wanted to be a feminist punk band, but we were really trying to sell it at first. So, we were like dressing up in super girly costumes and originally started playing really bad acoustic covers, but in the middle, we would just start screaming. Then we would eventually play our own songs,” Schoonover said.

Upcoming shows:

First Avenue - Mar. 26 Triple Rock Social Club - Apr. 2 For both shows are for ages 18+

Coloring books reduce stress and anxiety for all ages DIANNE CARAVELA Feature Editor

Think coloring is just for five years olds? Think again. Adult coloring books have become a popular pastime for many people well past elementary school.

Although some critics argue that coloring for grown-ups is an unproductive, lazy activity compared to doing something like drawing or reading, those who enjoy it find it has numerous benefits such as increased mindfulness and relaxation.

“It’s really relaxing and mindless, but it’s so satisfying when you’re done,” sophomore Izzy Denny, who began coloring over Winter Break said. “My friend gave me another coloring book for Christmas, and then I got an-

other one for my birthday a couple of weeks later.”

Freshman Max Moen also got a coloring book titled Fantastic Cities last Christmas.

“I find myself just wanting to go to my advisory and color during every tutorial; it’s kind of funny,” Moen said.

In fact, coloring patterned pictures, such as mandalas, has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety more than just doodling does.

“I think [coloring’s ability to relieve stress] is undervalued. It’s my way of disconnecting from the world,” Moen said.

Senior Maggie Vlietstra, who has a coloring book featuring artwork from artists displayed at the Walker Art Museum, likes to multitask while she colors.

PHOTO CREDIT: Dianne Caravela SOPHOMORE IZZY DENNY loves to color in her free time. “It’s really relaxing and mindless, but it’s so satisfying when you’re done,” Denny said.

“I listen to podcasts and I I like art, but I’m also not very watch T.V. while I color. I feel good at drawing, so there’s not a more productive when I’m do- lot of pressure. I can just fill in the ing something at the same time,” lines and It’ll look good [in] the Vlietstra said. “It’s nice because end.”

MAKING A MURDERER follows Steven Avery, a man previously put in jail for a crime he didn’t commit, as he finds himself behind bars again.

JONAH HARRISON

Contributing Writer

A few months after its premiere, the Netflix original series Making a Murderer manages to hold onto its spot as one of the top shows on the Internet. Released in Dec. 2015, this 10-episode documentary series blew up online and became a huge hit in the United States. The series starts by following the allegedly false conviction of Steven Avery, a middle-aged man from Wisconsin. According to the series, after being accused for rape, the police—knowing Avery was innocent—left him in jail for 18 years.

From what viewers are told, the cops hate the Avery family, which makes it all the more likely that they wrongfully kept Avery in prison.

The filming flips back and forth between new interviews and archived footage from the time of the original crime. The production team does a beautiful job of making the show easy for viewers to understand, as well as compelling them to sit on the edges of their seats in shock. The story is narrated chronologically, so viewers can always understand what’s going on in each episode.

With so many twists and turns, anyone is bound to fall in love with this show.

5/5

14

Student Feature

THE RUBICON • MARCH 2016

Pettigrew finds joy in Irish dancing “MY MOM THINKS I WANTED TO DO [IRISH DANCE] BECAUSE I’M A REDHEAD AND REDHEADS ARE STEREOTYPICALLY IRISH, SO THAT’S WHERE I WENT TO FIND PEOPLE THAT LOOKED LIKE ME.” — SOPHOMORE LILLIAN PETTIGREW

MARLEE BARON

Arts & Entertainment Editor

AT IRISH DAY OF DANCE 2015, sophomore Lillian Pettigrew dances onto the stage with two of the youngest Irish dancers at Mactir.

“Since St. Patrick’s Day is coming up, we are going 45 minutes early to help with the little kids’ classes because they really wouldn’t know what they were doing on stage without a big buddy there to help them,” Pettigrew said.

Photos submitted by: Lillian Pettigrew SOPHOMORE LILLIAN PETTIGREW stands with other members of her Irish dance school, Mactir academy. “My mom thinks [I wanted to do Irish dancing] because I’m a redhead and redheads are stereotypically Irish so that’s where I looked to find people that looked like me,” Pettigrew said.

UPCOMING PERFORMANCES Landmark Center

St. Patrick’s Day Celebration March17

1:30 p.m. Main Stage, 5 minute showcase 2:45 p.m. Weyerhauser Auditorium

An Irish Day of Dance March 20

12:35 p.m. Main Stage — 3:10 p.m. Weyerhauser

Read more FEATURE on ubicOnline.com @TheRubiconSPA

Ever since she was seven years old, sophomore Lillian Pettigrew has Irish danced. “Irish dance really stuck with me; I’m not entirely sure why,” Pettigrew said.

“My mom thinks I wanted to do it because I’m a redhead and redheads are stereotypically Irish, so that’s where I went to find people that looked like me,” she said.

Although she does have some Irish heritage, that is not why Pettigrew began dancing: “I’ve always been drawn to Ireland and the UK,” Pettigrew said.

Irish dancing is a very intricate and precise style of dancing.

“There are very specific arrangements that your feet need to be in,” Pettigrew said. “Your feet need to be turned out, you point your toes [and] your arms need to be either stuck down at your sides or on your hips like a Barbie.”

“There is a myth—I don’t know if this is accurate—about the reason that your arms are glued at your sides. [The myth] is that when the English occupied Ireland they banned dancing and so Irish people would still dance in their houses with their arms at their sides so that from the top, if you looked down through the window, it wouldn’t look like they were dancing. It would just look like they going about their housework with their arms at their sides,” Pettigrew said.

Pettigrew started dancing at St. Paul Irish Dancers but now dances with Mactir Academy of Irish dance. She attends class 2-4 times a week for 90 minutes each time.

“My old dance studio...was focused solely on performance which is why I still continue to focus primarily on performance today,” Pettigrew said.

While Pettigrew loved her old school because of it’s focus on performance and all the friendships she developed, Pettigrew felt like she was not able to reach her full potential.

The stereotypical image of Irish dance is a bunch of girls in big curly wigs and flare dresses with a plethora of rhinestones, but

See more images and videos of Lillian Pettigrew dancing online.

not everyone gets into the dresses and wigs.

“It’s usually the more competition based schools that are into the fancy wigs and dresses [that cost a few thousand dollars]. People spend so much on their dresses, rhinestones, socks and sparkly headbands and everything is done up to the max,” Pettigrew said.

“With both of my schools... we’ve never really gone to any of those extremes. Wigs were optional at [St. Paul Irish] and now [at Mactir] you aren’t supposed to wear wigs. Our teacher wants us in our natural hair,” she said.

Pettigrew’s performance dress is very traditional: “It’s got a flair skirt with a few different pleats and then bell sleeves. It’s black with white trim and a turquoise and purple Celtic knot pattern with a wolf in it,” Pettigrew said.

“ONE OF MY FAVORITE PARTS OF IRISH DANCE IS MOVING IN TIME TO THE MUSIC.” — SOPHOMORE LILLIAN PETTIGREW Because Irish dance is commonplace at many St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, Pettigrew’s dance school performs frequently around the holiday. On St. Patrick’s Day, Mar 17, she will be performing twice at the Landmark Center in downtown St. Paul, then again on Mar 20. She will also be doing other performances at nursing homes and preschools.

“Since St. Patrick’s Day is coming up, we are going 45 minutes early to help with the little kid’s classes because they really wouldn’t know what they were doing on stage without a big buddy there to help them,” Pettigrew said.

Although the audiences Lillian performs for vary widely, she enjoys all of them: “It is really fun when you have a larger audience and get more applause, but even if it’s small, if they’re engaged and they’re enjoying it then the show is 10 times more fun.”

Nursing homes are particularly notable: “They [residents] get really into it and they seem to love watching us dance. That’s rewarding. With some of the kids at some preschools they’ll be totally out of it and not paying attention at all but when they like it they’ll often start jumping around in the front and that’s really sweet,” Pettigrew said.

Even when she is not scheduled to perform, Pettigrew enjoys sharing her love of Irish dance.

At family reunions she does impromptu performances for her family, which led to one of her and younger cousins getting involved in Irish dance. But her recruitment, whether intentional or not, has not stopped there.

“Two little girls I babysit—I taught them some steps when I was at their house one time and now the older one is doing Irish dance. Her sister wants to start soon and their cousins are into it.

It makes me both happy and a little bit sorry because it’s an expensive activity to be involved in and it can all be traced back to me,” Pettigrew said.

Pettigrew loves Irish dance because of all the friendships she has developed over the years and the community that she is a part of because of Irish dance. She loves to perform, and loves the satisfaction she gets from learning a new trick. But Irish dance is not a mindless activity.

“A lot of people ask me if it’s a way to get out of your head, and that’s not entirely true. I’m using my whole brain to concentrate because you have to be in tune and every motion you make has to be totally controlled,” Pettigrew said. “You have to know what’s coming next and what’s after that.

You have to be connected to the music. One of my favorite parts about Irish dance is moving in time to the beat,” she said.

While Pettigrew isn’t involved in any school sports, she is a part of a different Wolfpack. “Our director’s name is Emily Wolf and Mactir is the school’s name, which means ‘wolf’ in Gaelic... so we’re all in the wolf pack,” Pettigrew said.

+ MORE

Sports 15

MARCH 2016 • THE RUBICON

Ski teams succeed in individual state meets Four Alpine skiers compete in addition to three Nordic

Photo submitted by: Katie Brunell SPARTAN ALPINE SKIERS POSE WITH THEIR RESPECTIVE AWARDS AFTER THEIR RACES (from left) senior Peter Baker, freshman Bailey Donovan, junior Katie Brunell, and junior John Sorrano all competed in the state meet, “I beat a whole bunch of older kids,” freshman Bailey Donovan said.

SOPHIE JARO

Opinions Editor

Submitted by: Mickey Scott SPARTAN NORDIC SKIERS (from left) sophomore Val Hart, freshman Peter Moore, and senior Lexi Hilton all competed.

Four alpine skiers, the most from any individual school, represented St. Paul Academy and Summit School in the state meet at Giant’s Ridge on Feb. 10.

On the girls team, freshman Bailey Donovan placed 4th and junior Katie Brunell placed 54th.

“I haven’t been able to put two good runs together this year until this race,” Donovan said about her top-ten finish. “I beat a whole bunch of older kids.”

On the boys team, senior Peter Baker placed 4th and junior John Soranno placed 27th, “This was my first year in the state meet,

but I’ll be back next year. In the meantime, I’ll be training and lifting weights,” Soranno said.

The skiers described the state meet experience as particularly enjoyable because of the amount of fan support.

“I crossed the finish line to lots of noise from parents and teammates from SPA,” Brunell said.

The day of the race was remarkably chilly for the racers, leading to slight variations from ideal conditions.

“Skiing is a hard sport in that the conditions constantly change yet your performance still needs to be perfect,” Brunell said. Despite chilly temperatures, the SPA team was well-represented.

“I CROSSED THE FINISH LINE TO LOTS OF NOISE FROM PARENTS AND TEAMMATES FROM SPA.” — JUNIOR KATIE BRUNELL Three nordic skiers raced at Giant’s Ridge on Feb. 11 in the Nordic State meet. Despite chilly temperatures and close competition, sophomore Val Hart placed 43rd, senior Lexi Hilton placed 77th, and freshmen Peter Moore placed 44th.

“The state meet was an amazing experience, I was racing against all the top guys from all over the state in really close quarters,” Moore said.

Despite the close competition, Moore succeeded in being the highest-placing freshman boy of the meet.

“I mostly enjoyed racing in the pursuit, which is the second half of the race in which you start

based off of how far back you were from the winner of the first race,” Moore explained.

Senior Lexi Hilton, participating in her last Nordic race as an SPA Spartan, shared her experience in her final state appearence, “Because I had raced in state meets in the past, rather than being nervous the whole time, I could actually enjoy the experience,” she said.

As a captain, Hilton was excited to share the state experience with new underclassmen skiers participating in state for the first time, “It was very exciting to be up there with Peter [Moore] for his first state meet,” Hilton said.

Masculinity does not define male high school athletes NOOR QUREISHY InDepth Editor

Physical prowess, aggression and hypercompetitiveness. These characteristics make up America’s constantly narrowing definition of masculinity.

Masculinity, the set of attributes that are commonly assigned to males, isn’t inherently harmful or negative - however, the strict definition of manhood it promotes creates a standard for males that is impossible to reach, by definition.

Pressure to be extremely physically fit can lead to injuries and feelings of inadequacy for athletes. Hypercompetitiveness can lead to an us-versus-them mentality that affects the way one behaves off the field. Aggression – even in small doses – can lead to violent, angry outbursts.

Although all of these stereotypically masculine qualities can be helpful in sports, the specific environment high school athletics creates often emphasizes these qualities, making them more harmful than useful.

The following students placed top-10 in the state fencing tournament in their respective events:

Hypercompetitiveness High school sports are uniquely able to emphasize the hypercompetitive aspect of masculinity. “High school sports promote this idea of competition [...] they validate that masculinity,” junior Henry Ziemer said. Ziemer is on the fencing team at SPA. “If you can win it shows you can provide, you can be independent [...] that’s very integral to being male -- the ability to take on a challenge and beat it alone, or to be the star of a team,” he said.

However, there are also positive effects from the emphasis on masculinity in high school sports.

“If you’re able to work as hard as you can, that’s a really useful tool in sports, overcoming adversity,” Ziemer said. “The side effect would be to see it as a zero sum game, where if I win, someone else loses, which is the idea behind many sports [...] if you carry it to an extreme, it’s a potential negative, there’s a whole spectrum along those lines,” he said.

Ziemer has experienced this pressure firsthand in his sport, fencing. “You see a lot more competition in the areas where there’s a lot more of a reputation to uphold,” Ziemer said.

The pressure to be more masculine, for sophomore Jesper Salverda, comes from a personal desire to be his best, “I have two older brothers who played varsity sports by the time they were freshman, and when I was young I would try to compete on the same level. [I would] try to be as masculine and as strong as I could… [to] match their standards,” he said. “Some of it has taken some of the fun out of sports when I was little and made it more about the competition,” he said.

said. “If you’re getting hurt by little hits or something it [also] questions your masculinity.”

Physical prowess

Off the field

Salverda believes the physical abilities of an athlete are especially emphasized in high school sports, particularly on varsity teams, “Everyone watches varsity sports. It’s a little emphasized that you need to be stronger, faster, and more masculine than someone who doesn’t play sports,” he

Outside of sports themselves, the emphasis on masculinity in school athletics could have effects that materialize in the classroom. “Within a school setting [masculinity] breeds a mentality like “I need to win” - in a test or a discussion, hypothetically,” Ziemer said.

15 boys fencers and nine girls fencers placed in the Fencing State Tournament, Feb. 20-21, earning the team top honors.

Below are the fencers that finished in the top-10.

- Milo Wittenberg - 3rd Foil - Zeke Lam - 4th Foil - Drew O’Hern - 6th Foil - Michael Hall - 7th Foil -Elliott Tong - 8th Epee - Colin O’Hern - 1st Sabre - Grant Gunderson - 4th Sabre - JJ Wertkin - 7th Sabre

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: Diane Huang AGGRESSION, PHYSICAL PROWESS, AND HYPERCOMPETITIVNESS all characterize the expectation of masculinity, “High school sports promote this idea of competition [...] they validate that masculinity,” junior Henry Ziemer said.

Athletes can also injure themselves if they are under too much pressure to be better and stronger, since the physical toll from participating in a demanding sport can be very dangerous, according to Salverda.

Read the full story at

ubicOnline.com

-Maggie Hlavka - 4th Epee -Emma Truman - 5th Epee -Emilia Topp-Johnson - 7th Epee -Nora Turner - 8th Foil -Lark Smith - 10th Foil -Willa Grinsfelder - 2nd Sabre -Sabrina Rucker - 7th Sabre

Sports 16

SOPHO M JULIA W ORES MAYA SH ANG dr RESTA A es Out at t N he state s for the fan B D e on Feb a c hampio c . 20. nship g h ame

PHOTO CREDIT : Gitanjali Raman and Meghan Jo yce

MARCH 2016 • THE RUBICON

ST. PAUL UNITED GIRLS HOCKEY FINISHES SECOND IN STATE

CEL Y X THE E VER T G A ER IS CKE Y N I AY CENT L HO M. L P O “ GY A R SCHO S DRE O THE IS E EN IGH ER’ ET T ME H LAY O G GA AND P P LS I A NSH ITING G.” O T P I O XC IN N L E E M O T FE A CH MOS ING HANS D THE WAR SENA OR RE —

Online Sports Editor Breandan Gibbons live-tweeted St. Paul United’s games at #TheTourney. Below are some of the highlights from all three games:

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