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The Truth about Carbs - FOOD/NUTRITION 12

German Exchange Student - FEATURE 6

Homecoming Sports Preview - SPORTS 14-15

2 News

St. Paul Academy and Summit School

September 2012. Vol XXXX. Issue I.

Time to Come Home

SAC prepares for Homecoming Week Ellie Fuelling

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A&E Editor

Homecoming, an event based on tradition, is a week that celebrates the school and the students who play, perform and study in it.

This year’s Homecoming will carry on the traditions with a few new changes. “We paid more attention to people’s opinions this time,” Student Activities Committee (SAC) member Claire Flom-Staab said. “We’re just trying to freshen things up.”

Homecoming week consists of dress-up days, a lip-sync, a pingpong tournament, the Homecoming football game, and the toga dance. “Homecoming is so much of a tradition it’s pretty much the same every year,” Flom-Staab said.

What changes every year is the T-shirt theme, and this year the theme is super heroes. “It’ll be super easy for people to dress up,” Flom-Staab said. “Having super hero day, people can just dress up in homecoming shirts. And that

way it’s inclusive.”

SAC Co-President Jeron Mariani has been using the new SAC Facebook page to promote Homecoming and get students involved.

“We’re trying to get more opinions,” Mariani said, “so we’ve been asking a lot of questions and taking a lot of polls.”

With the gym floors still drying, there will be no chariot races this year during spirit week. “We’ve got to protect the floors,” Mariani said, “so we’ll be doing something different, like obstacle courses.”

Homecoming will start later this year, with the first dress up day on October first. This means more time can be spent preparing and creating the best Homecoming possible. In years past Flom-Staab said Homecoming was put together at the last minute but this year “we’re putting in a lot of time and effort.”

Freshman George Stiffman has not been a part of Homecoming week yet, but he has heard about it.

“I’m looking forward to everyone being happy,” he said, “and having

some spirit and energy.”

The Homecoming dance will remain mostly unchanged this year. Togas will still be worn and it will still be held in the lunch room. What Flom-Staab hopes will change is the atmosphere. In years past, she said, students had felt insecure or uncomfortable at the dance. “I hope this year people can really create their own fun,” she said According to SAC advisor Pamela Starkey, Homecoming should be a welcoming, inclusive week. “It’s a good place for everybody from all ages and all different grades to get together,” Starkey said.

Flom-Staab shared the same sentiment and said, “It’s about the school coming together and being able to unite over something other than academics.”

While tradition lives on during Homecoming, this year will still see some changes. SAC hopes to create a fun, inclusive environment.

“It’s a great way to start the year with school spirit,” Starkey said.

“It’s like you’re coming home,”

Varsity games and X-period events provide opportunities to celebrate Monday, October 1

Class Color Day and Kick Off Assembly.

Tuesday, October 2

Twin Day and advisory.

Wednesday, October 3

Super Hero Day and lip sync

Thursday, October 4

Fake an Injury Day and pingpong tournament

Friday, October 5 Photo Credit: Nick Scott SAC Co-President Jeron Mariani dons the Spartan this year. The group is using Facebook to promote Homecoming events in an effort to “get more opinions,” he said.

Flom-Staab said with a laugh.

Homecoming begins Oct. 1 with Class Color Day, and conclude a Oct. 6 with the toga dance.

Blue and Gold Day and pep fest.Football game starts at 4:00 PM against Blake

Saturday, October 6

Sport events and homecoming toga dance. Dance starts at 8 pm. Last entrance is at 9 pm.

Admission $7 with toga $10 without.

School renovations continue this fall

Photo Credit:Thomas Toghramadjian The Briggs Gymnasium now sports a shining floor with the new Spartan emblem proudly displayed in its center. “There were pie ces of floorboards coming up, and so it was clear [the renovation] needed to get done” Athletic Director Peter Sawkins said.

Lucy Li

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Cover Story Editor

Long riddled with dents and scratches from rifle butts and feet, the Briggs Gymnasium floor now gleams a smooth tan and displays the new Spartan logo.

The process of planning to get a new floor began last year at this time.

“We just realized the gym floor had been so worn out and it was beginning to get dangerous,” Athletic Director Peter Sawkins said.

“We had players and coaches and

people who use the floor identifying the fact that it was not as intact as it needed to be.”

Maintenance used to sand the floor to even it, but it had grown very thin over the years. “There were pieces of the floor boards coming up and so it was clear [the renovation] needed to get done,” Sawkins said.

The decision was a collective one. “An investment like that, a new floor, is significant,” Sawkins said, “so we needed to have the support of the administration, the principal, Mr. Roberts the Head of School, and the finance group as

well as the board of directors.”

“Mr. Brown and I worked with the floor installer who was putting down the design work to sort of figure out exactly what kind of look and feel we wanted,” Sawkins said.

As they planned this, they had in mind to incorporate a new Spartan logo into the floor design. Also, the square pattern of the old floor is replaced by lighter-colored, longer stripes.

According to Facility and Safety Manager Pete Kilibarda, demolition of the old gym floor began in June. Maintenance workers re-

moved the old floor slabs and leveled the ground underneath. The process took longer than expected.

The first event to take place on the new floor was the Middle School Open House on Sept. 5.

Another big change is the move to College Counseling; the offices shifted to the first floor, near the senior lockers. Students visiting the College Counseling offices won’t have to make the climb to the fourth floor anymore.

“We have been wanting to move down closer to students for a number of years and were finally able to make it happen,” Associate

Director of College Counseling Jill Apple said.

Along with three offices and a conference room, the space has an open couch area for college representatives to meet with students and coaches.

Upper School Principal Chris Hughes was also involved in the conversation to move college counseling, wishing to “bring them more into the heart of the academic program,” he said. After looking at several possible places to move to, he and college counseling chose the area behind the senior lockers, which wasn’t being used at that time.

“We talked about the cost of redoing offices and accessibility, and being down at the senior lockers in that senior hallway made a huge amount of sense,” Hughes said.

Some students favor the change, including senior Gina Nguyen.

“The obvious good thing about it is that they’re right there so if you want to ask them a quick question, you don’t have to walk all the way to the 4th floor,” she said. She also appreciates using the couches near the offices for studying.

The remodeling of the area began immediately after school ended last May. Maintenance workers tore down walls, replaced the carpet, set up new lighting, applied paint, and installed new doors. They put together furniture on the Friday before school started, and that following Monday, brought down books and materials from the old offices upstairs. “They were wonderfully committed to putting it all together,” Apple said.

News St. Paul Academy and Summit School

Reforms and agreement: the Medicare debate

September 2012. Vol XXXX. Issue I.

German Exchange welcomed to campus News in Brief Students will learn together and explore city

Veracross provides students, parents with class information

Ibad Jafri

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Managing Editor Online Editor-in-Chief

As the 2012 presidential election enters its final stretches, entitlement reform has become a much more contentious topic between the two campaigns. Medicare reform specifically has inspired highstrung rhetoric on both sides.

Regardless of political affiliation, the consensus opinion in Washington holds that Medicare, due to its inefficiency and high costs (which are slated to increase), cannot be sustained in its current form. The benefits of slowing its growth would be tremendous. According to The New York Times, capping Medicare’s growth rate to GDP growth rate plus one percentage point starting in 2013 - still ensuring the program would grow, no less - would shave $29 billion dollars off of the projected deficit in 2015. Perhaps more importantly, this change would result in a budget deficit that would prove to be $562 billion dollars smaller by 2030.

Indeed, both candidates have vastly-differing plans for a program that both Democrats and Republicans agree has become bloated and inefficient. Republican candidate and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney has detailed a plan which, rather than providing care to all seniors as the current system does, turns Medicare into a voucher-based system by which seniors are given vouchers from the federal government which can be used to purchase care from Medicare or from health providers in the private sector.

The hope for this plan is that it will drive costs down by opening care for seniors to free-market enterprise. Denouncers of the Romney plan say that it would increase the burden on seniors to pay for their own care.

Ironically enough, President Obama’s plans for Medicare do not differ too strongly from the plans proposed by Romney’s running mate, Congressman Paul Ryan (RWI). Indeed, both plans included $716 billion dollars in proposed cuts to the Medicare system that were originally proposed under the Affordable Care Act, and the President has supported a slowed pace of Medicare growth, albeit not as seriously as the Romney campaign has desired.

The main issue on which the president rejects Romney’s plan is the institution of voucherized care. President Obama has stated repeatedly that so long as Medicare remains capable of providing care to all seniors, everyone is guaranteed quality health care and all are treated equally by the system.

However, both sides acknowledge that the system is failing to provide adequate care at low costs. It is only a matter of time before radical reforms are taken.

3

Photo Credit : Ibad Jafri The German exchange students stand with their host students outside the gymnasium after the welcome assembly on Sept. 20. Exchange students received a gift from host students: a pictoral map of the Twin Cities. From left to right: junior Kristin Datta, Feline, Kira, junior Grace Owens-Kurtz, junior Ann Hill, and Kim.

Saif Ahmed

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Columnist/Blogger

Buzz around the arrival of the German exchange students has been high these past couple of weeks, and they finally arrived on Friday. St. Paul Academy and Summit School students welcome them on Wednesday in the Lilly Courtyard, and the overall excitement grew. SPA students who are hosting exchange students are ecstatic to spend time with them.

During SPA’s welcoming assembly on Thursday, Upper school German teacher Jutta Crowder was eager to get the German exchange students involved in the community. “We are delighted to have our guests from Hamburg and we look forward to sharing our school and

city with them,” Crowder said. “I invite you as members of the community to come and join activities with our partners from Hamburg.”

Exchange student Niklas, paired up with senior Josh Gray, exclaimed that Minnesota is an interesting place. "[Minnesota] is impressive. It's just so different from Germany or Hamburg,” Niklas said.

Senior Sophia Myers-Kelly is excited to spend time with her partner, Daria. “I’m looking forward to show her around the Minneapolis and Saint Paul area, and definitely the Mall of America,” Myers-Kelly said.

Having just spent two days in New York, the exchange students are riled up and excited to spend their next two weeks here at SPA, learning about a whole new cul-

ture. They will spend one week as a group away from SPA, touring Minneapolis and Saint Paul and visiting major landmarks. The following week, they will be sitting in on classes and spending more time with the community. Fortunately, they will be staying for Homecoming, which is a tradition that does not occur in Hamburg.

But beyond the fun and games of having new people in the community, hosts and other students studying German and looking forward to learning and practicing their German. “It would be nice to practice my speaking with native German speakers,” Myers-Kelley said. “Not only that, but having never left the United States, learning about a whole separate culture is appealing to me.”

Anti-Muslim film fuels riots around the world Muslim protestors storm Libyan Embassy and kill four Thomas Toghramadjian

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News Editor

Eleven years to the day after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, radical Muslims have carried out another deadly attack against America.

Armed protesters stormed the US Embassy in Benghazi, Libya, setting fire to it and killing Ambassador Chris Stevens, a member of his staff, and two former Navy SEALs who came under mortar fire as they tried to rescue diplomats from a nearby safe house.

Simultaneously, mobs in Egypt climbed the walls of the American Embassy, ripping down and burning the flag, replacing it with a black banner proclaiming “There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is his prophet,” a flag similar to the one used by al Quaeda. The crowds chanted “Obama, Obama, you have not killed Osama. There are a billion Osamas,” and painted extremist slogans on the walls of the embassy.

A day later, protesters in Yemen swarmed the American Embassy, and penetrated the compound.

Nobody was killed, but protesters continued to clash with Yemeni police in the subsequent days. In

total, riots and demonstrations have broken out in twenty-seven nations with significant Muslim populations.

In response, U.S. Marines anti-terrorist teams have been dispatched to Libya, and two American destroyers were sent to the Libyan coast, according to an anonymous US official interviewed

by Reuters.

The pretext for the protests was an obscure, months-old film, allegedly created by Sam Bacile, an antiIslamic Israeli real-estate agent..

Many Muslims consider the film blasphemous as it portrays their prophet Mohammed, which is forbidden by their religion.

Sophomore Zeeshawn Abid does not believe that the offensive nature of the movie justifies the riots. “I believe that these protests are just making the image of Musliims around the world worse, and that there was a better way to deal with this.”

Although the attacks have been closely linked with the film, the fact that the attacks took place on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 tragedy, the relative insignificance of the film, and the precise mortar fire that killed American security forces coming to the diplomats’ rescue all suggest much more or-

ganization behind the embassy attacks than offended Muslim faithful.

Before the protests escalated, the embassy in Egypt released the following statement: “The Embassy of the United States in Cairo condemns the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims -- as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions. Respect for religious beliefs is a cornerstone of American democracy. We firmly reject the actions by those who abuse the universal right of free speech to hurt the religious beliefs of others.”

The Obama administration came under fire from the Romney campaign for waiting 16 hours to rescind the statement, which conservatives like former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin believe amounts to an apology to the murderers of American diplomats. The White House replied sharply, attacking Romney for politicizing the tragedy. Romney has since softened his criticism of the embassy’s statement, but continues to point to the widespread anti-American sentiment in the Midle East as proof Obama’s foreign policy decisions have hurt the country’s image abroad.

As St. Paul Academy and Summit School shifts further into the technological world, students are introduced to Veracross. Last year, teachers had the option to use the grade book feature in Veracross, and this year the student and parent portal that displays assignment calendar and webpages has been opened.

Director of Technology Sue Scott said that the student portal in Veracross was opened mainly so students would be able see all of their class and assignment information in one place. “We think this will help students track their work more easily rather than working with information on separate assignment sheets for each class,” Scott said.

Scott hopes that students will use Veracross as their go to place for information about homework, tests, and quizzes. “We hope the Veracross student portal will become the one location where students can find all of the SPA-related information they need,” Scott said.

M/US Bookfest preparations begin with poster contest Student artists interested in competing in the Book Fest poster contest: the time has come. This year's theme is "Stories through Song" and will feature Jim Walsh, a writer, columnist, journalist, and songwriter from Minneapolis. Artists who are interested in creating a vertical 12 x 10" image for consideration should pick up a contest entry form from US Librarian Kate Brooks and choose one of the two quotes -- Longfellow or Tagore -as an inspiration for the design. Final deadline for entries is Oct. 1 at 3:00 p.m. The winner will receive a $25 credit toward books at the Book Fest, Nov. 5-9.

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September 2012. Vol XXXX. Issue I.

rubicon

S TAFF

Editor-in-Chief Aditi Kulkarni Managing Editor Online Editor-in-Chief Ibad Jafri Chief Visual Editor Nick Scott News Editor Tommy Toghramadjian Op/Ed Editor Andy Monserud Sports Editor Hannah Johnson Cover Story Editor Lucy Li Feature Editor Noah Shavit-Lonstein A&E Editor Ellie Fuelling Around Town Editor Liz Rossman Food Editor August King Illustrator & Photographer Ava Gallagher Columnist Saif Ahmed Adviser Kathryn Campbell

th

Writing for Publication Boraan Abdulkarim Netta Kaplan Kieran McDonald Gitanjali Raman Dhara Singh Nina Zietlow e

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Staff Editorial

St. Paul Academy and Summit School

Athletic overhaul merits student attention

I

t’s hard not to notice the changes being made in the St. Paul Academy and Summit School Athletic Department. With new gym floors, a new Spartan logo, new coaches, and new athletes, the school’s sports programs have all the components needed for success.

The question now is whether the student body is ready to deliver on their promises of support.

But still, the shiny new gym floor is only one step in creating a new and improved sports program. This new identity can only be achieved with involved, excited fans.

An empty gym, glossy and new as it may be, is still an empty one, no matter how well the players perform.

The lack of student involvement may be because sports have never been highly prioritized by the student population; SPA’s athletics have never been its selling point. This is not to say SPA is not strong in terms of the teams and coaches themselves, but sports aren’t the reason most students come here. Because SPA has always valued academics before athletics, those who aren’t involved in athletics tend not to take much notice of them.

Students, teachers and coaches all look forward to a strong year for sports. With

Illustration Credit: Ava Gallagher

Will the Spartan makeover change our sports program? Not without student help. a large influx of freshmen joining teams and strong varsity players, SPA sports teams are gaining momentum.

The Athletic and Communicatons Departments have ramped up news about the Spartan teams and players, and the student activities group Spartan Boosters have helped give athletics their fair share of the community spotlight.

But they can’t do it alone.

It is up to the student population to fill the stands with

Spartan pride and support.

As a community, it is important to support the teams in every way possible. That can be something as easy as asking players about the game score from the night before. Of course, going out to cheer at events is always optimal.

Athletes devote countless hours on the field, court, rink pool or track. They condition for months, often before seasons start. It’s time to recognize the devotion

many have to representing our school through athletics.

Fans: accept the responsibility of cheering on and supporting the Spartan teams.

Catch a home soccer game.

Get up early on Saturday to watch a swim meet. Spend Friday in the football stands instead of getting a jump on homework. Athletes deserve a group of fans as engaged and devoted as they are to making this year’s sports program a strong one.

Opinion

Veracross New iPhone Voter ID not Romney reworks when a hesitant worth costs veals prioriMore than 26 states require ties on tape used effec- success some type of identification in orWith less than two months to der to vote. November’s elections ubicon tively go before the upcoming presidenAfter a much anticipated release will decide whether or not Minnetial election, a video has been reon Sept 12, all the buzz has been

the student newspaper of St. Paul Academy and Summit School 1712 Randolph Avenue St. Paul, MN 55105 Memberships Minnesota High School Press Association National Scholastic Press Association Columbia Scholastic Press Association Awards JEM All-State Gold, 2011 NSPA All American 4 Marks of Distinction, 2012

St. Paul Academy and Summit School recently made its latest advance in the quest toward being paperless by offering an alternative to assignment sheets, a former staple in SPA curriculum. Students this year are using the new Veracross platform, which formats assignments into an electronic calendar.

This is a good move. Moving away from paper and onto the internet is smart. Paper gets lost easily and wastes natural resources.

The only problem with the platform is that assignments show up shortly before they are assigned, sometimes not appearing at all.

If teachers could put assignments in further ahead of time, it would help busy students to plan ahead.

on the iPhone 5. The larger screen and slimmer design creates a look that makes people with any other type of phone jealous.

That’s not all to love about this phone, though; it is twice as fast as iPhone 4, Siri has been updated, it has a better camera, and Face Time is available without wifi.

Less attractive is the new charger. Though it’s half the size and much more convenient, it doesn’t fit into any of the older chargers or most speakers. So is it worth it, to replace an old smartphone for this new iPhone?

Nobody can know until the phone has had a few months on the marked. Until then, it’s probably a good idea to watch and wait.

sota joins these states.

In some ways voter ID seems like a great idea. It would, after all, make voter fraud more difficult in a state touted as #1 in voter fraud and be an easy way to register and keep track of those who are registered to vote.

Unfortunately, it’s not as rosy as it’s painted. If the government is to enforce the law it would have to pay for the identification of any unliscenced person in order to comply with poll-tax laws. Those costs can add up fast, with estimates in Minnesota ranging from $36 million to $78 million dollars.

Voter fraud does not justify such an expense. Voter ID is a measure that would do nothing but discourage people from voting.

leased of candidate Mitt Romney at a fundraiser where he stated that 47% of Americans pay no income tax, and that these people will vote for Obama no matter what. He also implied that voting for Obama entailed refusing to take responsibility for one’s own life.

This statistic encompasses Americans from millionaires to the elderly, and around 78% of households that didn’t pay any federal income tax in 2012 had incomes below the poverty line. Romney’s statements have basis in fact, but are inherently misguided in their politics. Romney should know that as a presidential candidate it is unwise to make demeaning comments towards any group, even in a private setting.

Opinion/Editorial

St. Paul Academy and Summit School

September 2012. Vol XXXX. Issue I.

5

Political put-downs get too personal Cheap attacks on candidates’ personal affairs are unnecessary and out of line

Tommy Toghramadjian

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News Editor

Every four years Americans have the chance to step back and examine the state of their country, think about what they want for the future, and select the candidate who they feel has the vision and ability to lead the nation in the right direction. In many ways, it is a time of national pride.

Election season allows voters to think about what makes America great, and actively participate in our democracy. However, negative campaigning dominates elections in the United States to such an extent that it is tempting to give up on the entire process in disgust.

This year’s presidential election in particular has drawn criticism as one of the most outrageous in recent memory.

Of course, negativity has its place in any debate. To make their cases, candidates must show, based on past evidence, how they will be a better leader than their opponent. All attacks, though, should be truthful and pertinent to the issues at hand. In this election, neither side seems to have any regard for that guideline.

Governor Mitt Romney has drawn fire for questionable attacks made on President Obama’s record. Most notably, the Republican accusation that Obama removed the work requirement from welfare has been widely rated false by fact checkers. Despite the occasional untruths and oversimplifications,

Illustration Credit: Ava Gallagher Mudslinging between politicians is no new frontier, but the upcoming election seems to be going where no campaign has gone before.

though, Romney’s overarching charge is difficult to attack: economic recovery after the Great Recession has been sluggish, and the national debt has ballooned alarmingly under Obama’s watch.

Democrats’ most recent attacks, on the other hand, have crossed the line between debate and mudslinging. At the Democratic National Convention, three speakers likened the Republican party to Nazi Germany and Congressman John Lewis talked for three minutes about the horrors of segregation, concluding with “we don’t want to go back.” Lewis’ implication that a Romney presidency would take America back down the road of racial intolerance reeks of

McCarthyism and is insulting to voters’ intelligence. The unfounded accusations made at the DNC were unfair to Governor Romney and an abuse of the legacies of those tragedies. Politician’ use of these past wrongs as a political tool is not only ineffective and ridiculous but also in extremely poor taste. That kind of mudslinging is unacceptable.

Most pervasively of all, Obama has tried time and again to paint his opponent as a greedy plutocrat, harping on Romney’s relatively low tax rate, and his refusal to add fuel to the fire by releasing even more tax forms.

Democrats’ fixation on Romney’s 13 percent tax rate is simply

ridiculous. In the last two years, Romney has paid 6.2 million in taxes to the federal government, more than Obama has paid in his entire life. And Romney’s generous donations to charity should not go unnoted.

Simply put, 13 percent of Romney’s $24,000,000 income is 19.375 times more than 20 percent of Obama’s annual $800,000. Where then, is the issue? Surely, Obama cannot presume to say that Romney does not pay his fair share when he himself pays less than one nineteenth as much.

Romney’s business success is not snatched from the mouths of the poor and middle class, as Democrats are apt to suggest. Rather,

it goes back to support them. The root of the Democrat’s tax rate obsession is a desire to provoke jealousy amongst the American people, distracting them from the real issues at hand: the slow rate of economic recovery and the five trillion dollars added to the national debt under the Obama administration.

Similarly, allegations that Romney must have committed fraud in the past because of his refusal to release decades-old tax forms are only more sleight of hand. President Obama waited months to release his birth certificate when opponents questioned whether he was born in the United States.

Witholding the document was not an attempt to hide it; Obama refused to release it because the insinuations that he was born outside of the United States were ridiculous. The demand to see every detail of Romney’s taxes is every bit as pathetic, and regard documents that are far more personal than a birth certificate.

In this election season, voters need to keep their eyes on the real issues. Both candidates are decent men who want the best for all Americans, no matter how their motives are smeared. Let Mr. Romney and Mr. Obama speak for themselves on their personal lives, and let their records speak for their ability to lead America forward.

Infographic of the month

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The

VOTE NO

The campaign has reached over

100,000

Campaign

The campaign has raised

4.6

million dollars

voters cities have joined the coalition

30 states have banned same-sex marriage

The campaign is not aligned with any party

The Rubicon editorials are representative of the opinions of the Staff Editorial Board, which is made up of all students in journalism/Editorial Leadership.

All other opinion pieces are the opinions of the authors themselves.

13

The Rubicon Editorial Policy:

A wave of blue and orange has swept over the Twin Cities. It’s impossible to drive down a city block without spotting a brightly colored Vote No sign in front of a house. These brightly colored signs, bumper stickers and T-shirts are the gear of Minnesotans United for all Families, a coalition intent on defeating the proposed marriage amendment to the Minnesotan constitution. On November’s ballot, a question will read: “Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to provide that only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as marriage in Minnesota?”

The coalition’s goal is to defeat this amendment, making same-sex marriage legislation easier to pass in the future. Defeating the amendment will not make same-sex marriage legal, but passing it would make it almost impossible to legalize same-sex marriage in the future. Minnesotans United for all Families started the Vote No campaign, and it has gained incredible traction, reaching almost 100,000 voters. Just taking a look outside lets one know that the campaign has made a huge impact on the community.

Infographic Credit: Ellie Fuelling

Fe a t u r e 6

St. Paul Academy and Summit School

September 2012. Vol XXXX. Issue I.

Students get active in upcoming election Teens volunteer for presidential and amendment campaigns Tommy Toghramadjian

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News Editor

Election season has different meanings for different students. Some passively support a candidate, maybe engaging in a few debates during free periods, but they don’t do much beyond that. For some, politics is a game that does not hold their interest. A select few though, try to make a difference in the outcome of an election, and invest their time in supporting a candidate or cause important to them. These three St. Paul Academy and Summit School students fit into the latter group.

Toghramadjian calls for Romney campaign support

Photo Credit: Tommy Toghramadjian Senior Hagop Togramadjian phone-banks for presidential candidate Mitt Romney at his Blaine home. “The Obama campaign is painting [Romney] as some kind of corporate vulture, but on a personal level he’s humble and generous,” Togramadjian said.

Four years ago, senior Hagop Toghramadjian volunteered for Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign as an eighth grader.

Disappointed by the results of that election, he is back for more, supporting McCain’s erstwhile rival, Governor Mitt Romney. “I really got energized when I realized how much Mitt has spent his life living his values. The Obama campaign is painting him as some kind of corporate vulture, but on a personal [level] he’s humble and generous,” Toghramadjian said. Toghramadjian is on call for the Romney campaign as a phone bank volunteer, coordinating with their Minnesota chapter. “I like discussing the issues with people, even if they don’t

agree with me,” he said The most important issue for Toghramadjian is the national debt “I’m surprised to see so many young people supporting a President who is mortgaging our future.

He’ll help us with our student loans now, but we’ll be stuck in a morass of national debt for the rest of our lives if his policies continue.” He is skeptical of Romney’s chances in Minnesota, but feels responsible to help spread his conservative values. “People tend to think of Republicans as unintelligent reactionaries, but we have a viable set of ideas, which will bring America roaring back if it has the courage to adopt them.”

Nordquist acts as youth organizer for the Obama campaign On the other side of the debate, senior Emily Nordquist enlisted with Organizing for America, a program aligned with the Democratic party, directed at young people aspiring to be political activists.

As a youth campus organizer, she has helped coordinate activities for other high school students within the group, in addition to more traditional campaigning roles like knocking on doors and making phone calls to persuade people to vote for President Obama. “It’s really about activating the youth and doing some old fashioned commu-

nity organizing,” she said of her work.

Nordquist supports Obama largely because of his funding for higher education through the Pell grants, and his repealing of the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy. She feels that young people have a responsibility to be politically aware.

“It’s really important for students to get informed about politics and get involved, whichever side they choose. Young people are the ones voting on their futures so it’s crucial for them to be politically aware.”

Photo submitted by Emily Nordquist Senior Emily Nordquist meets vice president Joe Biden at a Minneapolis rally for Obama.

Nordquist got involved this summer as a youth fellow with Obama for America- Minnesota, and will continue working with the campaign through the election. “It’s really about activating the youth and doing some old-fashioned community organizing,” Nordquist said.

Arora spends time volunteering for Vote No campaign

Photo Credit: Sarah Little Sophomore Mansuda Arora poses with a Vote No sign from Minnesotans United for All Families. She has volunteered with the campaign several times. “Marriage is a right for people to have,” Arora said.

Sophomore Mansuda Arora volunteered with the group Minnesotans United for All Families to campaign against the proposed amendment to the Minnesota constitution that would define marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Her work involved doing data entry, listing the people who have volunteered with the campaign. She intends to volunteer further, making phone calls to persuade people to vote against the amendment.

Arora opposes the amendment because she believes it is not voters’ responsibility to define marriage. “Marriage is a right for people to have. I don’t think it should be up to a vote to ban someone’s right,” she said.

Working against the amendment has become popular at SPA, with several sophomores working to get volunteer hours at the campaign. The Gay-Straight Alliance has also pledged to work against the amendment.

What’s on the local ballot this November?

Minnesota Senator: Senior senator Amy Klobuchar, a democrat, is seeking reelection in 2012.

Her challenger is Kurt Bills, a former Rosemount high school teacher and city councilor and current state representative from district 37B. Klobuchar currently has a safe 27-point lead.

Minnesota Representatives: Local Representatives Betty McCollum (D-MN4), Keith Ellison (D-MN5), and Michelle Bachmann (R-MN6) are all fairly popular in their districts. Bachmann’s challenger, businessman Jim Graves, is currently trailing Bachmann by only two points. No polls concerning the chances of challengers Chris Fields (MN5) and Tony Hernandez (MN4) could be found.

Same-Sex Marriage and Photo ID: As a way of avoiding the governor’s veto, the Minnesota State Legislature has proposed to voters two amendments to the constitution. The first would codify opposition to same-sex marriage in the constitution, preventing future legislators from legalizing it. The second would require a photo ID from citizens to vote. Legislators worried about voter fraud have advocated for the amendment. However, opponents worry that the bill would prevent too many people from voting, noting that no Minnesotans have ever been convicted of voter impersonation.

St. Paul School Taxes: Unlike state, county, and city governments, school boards are generally not able to raise taxes on their own. They are required to put a referendum on the ballot for citizens of their city. The St. Paul School Board has placed a referendum on the ballot this year that would increase property taxes by $65 on average in St. Paul.

This would bring an additional $30 million to schools, much of which would go to proposed technology funding. The board has been distributing “Vote No for St. Paul Kids!” signs to promote the referendum.

Red Wing Tax Increase: The city of Red Wing has two proposed tax increases on their ballot. One would generate $14 million dollars to revitalize downtown and improve the waterfront. The other would raise taxes $33 million to improve school facilities.

Fe a t u r e September 2012. Vol XXXX. Issue I.

St. Paul Academy and Summit School

7

German student attends school for a year

Lucy Li

r

Photo submitted by Lotta Bublitz Top: Bublitz plays flute during sectional orchestra. Bublitz traveled to the United States as a transfer student without a formal program. She will be staying throughout the year.

Bublitz is an avid traveler, as shown in the above image from a family trip to Botswana.

Photo Credit: Lucy Li

Cover Story Editor

Giant ice cream servings and the long, hot summer weather were only a few of the things German exchange student Lotta Bublitz noticed about St. Paul during her first few weeks here.

Hosted by junior Danielle Socha’s family, Bublitz is attending St. Paul Academy and Summit School for the 2012-2013 school year as a junior. She comes from Hamburg, a German city of 1.7 million. She decided to participate in the exchange in order to improve her English, make friends, adapt to a new surrounding, and enhance her personality. “It’s a whole new ex-

perience, and after the year, I’ll be more me,” she said. “I’ll know that I can live and survive without my normal peer group and manage by myself.” After this trip, she hopes that she can get a better idea of what she wants to do in the future.

Bublitz’s first impression of Minnesota was “green and full of lights,” when she arrived on the plane in mid-August. Once here, she observed several cultural differences. People travel more by car than by bike in America. Cities and suburbs in Minnesota are more clustered than those in Germany.

“I think the whole [U.S.] is really spread out,” she said.

Her father, sister, and friends also did student exchanges to the U.S. “They said [it was the] best year of their lives,’” Bublitz said.

“I think they found a new family in a foreign country and that it’s so much fun. After that they really know who their real friends are back at home.”

Bublitz applied to school as a standard student, without an exchange program. She arranged her exchange through SPA Director of Admission Heather Ploen. Using connections with her father’s host family from his exchange, Bublitz found the Socha family.

This isn’t her first time in the U.S. When she was around four or five, Bublitz visited the east coast, including Maine and Cape Cod. Four years ago, she attended a wedding in California and visited Hollywood, San Francisco, and Yellowstone National Park.

In her opinion, Hamburg is “the best city in the world. It has everything.” Back at home, she often

went shopping and hung out with friends in the city’s downtown.

Her other hobbies include playing the flute, running, tennis, and traveling with family. She has visited China, Egypt, parts of Europe, and the southern part of Africa.

Aside from English and German, Bublitz also speaks French, enough that “I [can] get what I want,” she said. “I was in France and people understood me. It was amazing.”

Her favorite part of traveling is to “feel the atmosphere in a country. You can learn a lot just from books, but not the way they really live [there].” she said. She also enjoys talking with and meeting people from other countries. In the future, she hopes to visit South America and India.

One of her favorite travel memories was on her trip to Botswana. “We visited the village of the natives and played with the children,” Bublitz said. “In each hand I had two children because they all wanted to hold my hand playing around. I talked with an older member of the village and then a little girl, I think she was two or three, touched my skin because I was white.”

On her first few days of school at SPA, Bublitz met several challenges, including classes “so small that everybody just say[s] something when they know something,” she said, “and I need my time to think about what I want to say and it’s hard to speak at all.”

Still, she has enjoyed her stay so far. “So many nice experiences.”

When asked if she would come back after the school year ended, Bublitz replied, “Of course.”

Little Free Libraries sweeping St. Paul streets Andy Monserud

r

Op/Ed Editor

At some point, we’ve all wondered what they were. Those little wooden boxes in people’s front yards, full of paperbacks and pamphlets—what are they for? The boxes, which look a bit like large birdhouses, are what are known as Little Free Libraries (LFLs for short.) And they’re taking the Twin Cities by storm.

Little Free Libraries, Ltd., began as a program of the nonprofit group Wisconsin Partners for SustainAbility. The program has since been incorporated and expanded across the country, with the upper Midwest serving as the epicenter.

The concept is simple: visitors take or leave used books as they please, and the owner of the library provides the space and many of the books for this exchange.

Most libraries also ask that the books taken from the libraries be returned when the reader has finished with them, in order to make them available to other readers.

The neighborhood surrounding St. Paul Academy and Summit School is a library hotspot of sorts.

There are about a half dozen Little Free Libraries within walking distance of school. One of them belongs to Todd Van Heirseele.

Van Heirseele put up his library in spring after seeing a story aired on NBC in March about the trend.

“We just thought it was a great idea, and we have lots of books, so we put it up,” Van Heirseele said.

Now, the library gets about ten visitors a day.

The libraries’ patrons, Van Heirseele said, are “mostly adolescent. Sometimes someone will come by and drop off a ton of books like they’re just getting rid of them, but... mostly twelve- or thirteen-year-olds.” Students agree.

“I find that they get the detritus of people’s bookshelves,” senior Chloe Hite, who frequents LFLs in her neighborhood, said. “The ones they buy but never read.”

But, she adds, “They’re really good for children’s books.”

Van Heirseele’s library also helped to inspire other aspiring librarians. Steve Liska, who’s also an actual librarian, spotted Van Heirseele’s library shortly after reading a story about the movement that he found on the popular web site Reddit. “I kind of liked the idea,”

Liska said, “and we had tons of lumber in the garage.” Liska finished construction of his library in early June, and now claims up to twenty users of and contributors to his library a day. “We get a lot of foot traffic out here because of the coffee shop,” he added.

Little Free Libraries have quickly become extremely popular.

“Within thirty minutes of installing the library, two young girls ran down the street yelling ‘a library, a library!’” Chris Janty, another owner, said. Junior Emily Ross even saw LFLs on a recent trip to England. “They take the old red phone boxes and turn those into free libraries,” she enthused. Liska has also noticed the libraries’ surge in popularity. “After I built [his library], I’m more aware of [Little Free Libraries],” he said. With the libraries appearing all over the world, Liska probably doesn’t have to look hard.

Above: Todd Van Heirseele poses with his Little Free Library, titled the Randolph Street Library, at 1238 Randolph. The library gets about ten visitors a day. Right: A map of a few little free libraries within walking distance of St. Paul Academy. More locations can be found on the national map at www.littlefreelibrary.org.

Photo Credit : Andy Monserud

Map courtesy Google Maps

8

C ove r

September 2012. Vol XXXX. Issue I.

The pursuit of happiness:

Juniors Katrina Hilton and Anna Matenaer laugh and sit on the red couches in the lower library with their laptops. Hilton is happy whenever she is “being with my friends,” she said.

Photo Credit: Ava Gallagher

Even though homework, exams, and classes r can pile up quickly at school, laughter still rings through hallways and smiles are still passed around. Whether it’s seeing friends, learning something new or finding a penny on the ground, people have found ways to be happy.

Lucy Li

Cover Story Editor

Over two hundred years ago, Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence, “...that [people] are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Despite Jefferson’s belief that seeking happiness is a right given by a higher power, it can sometimes be easy to do and sometimes, hard.

“I guess for me it’s easy to be happy when I’m around people and stuff because I like people,” sophomore Mattie Daub said. “Because I’m so happy I worry about becoming not happy again. Right now it’s like the happiest I’ve been my entire life, and when I’m not around people I obsess about how I’m going to go back to being not happy.”

But what is happiness, anyways?

“First, people mean two different things by ‘happiness,’” University of Minnesota philosophy professor Valerie Tiberius said. Tiberius specializes in studying ethics, well-being, moral psychology, and wisdom.

“Sometimes they mean something psychological, like good feelings or a good mood. This is the sense of happiness that you might be asking about if you ask someone if they are happy that it didn’t rain on the day they planned to go to the State Fair.

But sometimes they mean something broader (and deeper) than this, where happiness is something more like ‘a good life.’ Philosophers often use the word ‘well-being’ to talk about this kind of happiness. It’s the kind of happiness you’d be asking about when you wonder whether you would really be happier as a lawyer or a scientist or a teacher.”

In a short-term sense, happiness is “a positive emotional condition, the opposite of anxiety and depression,” Tiberius said.

Upper School Counselor Susanna Short also differentiates a good mood from a good life. “Pleasure is different from happiness,” Short said. “I can derive pleasure from eating a hot fudge sundae, but if I do that every day, that’s probably not going to create long term happiness.”

To summarize, if one wanted to be happy for a longer time, one may have to think of something beyond nice weather at the State Fair and ice cream.

“In the second sense,” Tiberius said, “the well-being sense of happiness, I think happiness has to do with living a life in which you fulfill your deep and stable values. Most people value friendship, family and accomplishment, so to be happy we have to find ways of balancing these

Data Compiled by August King

goods in our lives. Most people also value their own positive emotional state (we want to feel good rather than anxious or depressed), so we should choose to do things that fit our emotional nature. That will help us achieve more of our values in the long run.”

Short also believes that happiness stems from a person’s understanding of themselves. “What I think creates happiness is when people know who they are, they know what their values are, and their behaviors align with those values and identities to connect with a larger world or a larger community,” Short said.

What makes St. Paul Academy and Summit School students happy?

“Loving friends,” junior Sam Lodge said.

“Hugs,” junior Charlie Southwick said.

“Chilling with friends and having a good time,” Dozie Nwaneri said.

Or even, in a sillier sense, “Waking up in the morning and having a new face tan from the light of my computer screen,” junior Christian Koch said.

Daub credits her positivity to school and friends. “I am happy because I go to a really good school,”

Photo Credit: Lucy Li Senior Maddie Graham adds texture and detail to her painting of a tree in the art hallway.

Doing art like this makes her happy because “it allows me to channel energy in ways normally I don’t get to do and it allows me to create,” she said.

she said, “and I’m getting a good education and I really like my friends and when I’m around them it’s really easy to be happy.”

How to be happier Along with happiness, some people also look for the next big thing: meaning in life. “Authentic happiness” is when life not only has joy, but also purpose. “It has meaning or a sense that I’m contributing to making the world a better place, and I think that is an integral part of happiness,” Short said.

But being happier doesn’t always need a find-the-meaning-of-life odyssey or a transformation into an extreme optimist.

“I do believe that the more we acknowledge and are grateful for all the positives we have in our life the happier we feel,” Short said. She also thinks that the way we explain an experience to ourselves can impact our

outlook on our lives.

For example, one could enter math class and think, “Oh no, I don’t understand this stuff at all and I have to study for the test tomorrow and my life is awful because I couldn’t finish my homework and I woke up thirty minutes ago so I’m groggy.”

Or, one could think, “I don’t understand this stuff, but I can meet with my teacher to talk about it. And once I get it, I’ll be ready for the test tomorrow. And even though math isn’t my favorite thing in the world, this is helping me get a good education.”

“The [story] we tell ourselves,” Short said, “the one we affirm, is probably going to be the one we feel and so examining the stories we tell of our lives can really give us a clue on how we can be happier.”

Stor y

September 2012. Vol XXXX. Issue I.

9

: how happy are we @ spa?

Do students fit their own definition of happiness?

Un ce r

ta

D

“ oing what you like with who you like.”

— freshman Claudia Rosario

times Some 10%

Students were asked to define happiness and then reflect on whether or not they fit their own definition.

What is your definition of happiness?

in

I

“ don't think I could define happiness. When I think of the word, I think of laughter, and I think of my friends.”

— sophomore Olivia Fitch

T

“ o be someone who is at peace with the world.”

— freshman Madeeha Rizvi

5%

Yes 58%

No 26%

W

“ hen serotonin or dopamine in my brain is released.”

— junior Michael Wilkens

Percentages based on a survey sample of 50 students, grades 9-12

W

“ hen you smile and you don’t know why.

And when you laugh so hard, you ache.”

— senior Ariana Amini

G

“ ood people, good food, good times.”

— sophomore Hunter Murray

B

“ e yourself. Be content with everything.”

— sophomore Alexis Irish

M

T

“ y definition of happy is a life surrounded by family and friends who know you and care about you. If you really know yourself and what you love and believe in, then you are happy. If you make sure you are doing things you love and believe in and things for other people.”

— sophomore Dani Tiedemann

M

“ nytime my chest doesn’t feel constricted or weighed down. When I think of things that make me smile either internally or externally.”

— junior Emily Ross

B

“ oing something that maximizes your utility.”

— senior Ben Braman

H

“ appiness is being in a place where you feel happy. Being positive and upbeat and having coffee.”

— sophomore Mattie Daub

Data compiled by August King

I

“ t’s more a state of mind than something you can get. Sometimes I’m happy when nothing particularly happy is happening.”

— junior Ysabella Johnson

“ rue happiness comes from when life is simple at times and the challenging parts bring joy to us.”

— junior Sam Carlson “ ental stability and chocolate and lots of movies to watch on a Saturday.”

— freshman Miriam Tibbetts “ eing content with who you are and enjoying the people around you.”

— freshman Caswell Burr

Photo Credit: Lucy Li Above: Junior Ben Morris laughs as he works and chats with other students during 3rd period in ceramics class. Doing ceramics makes him happy because “it’s just fun, man,” he said.

Right: Sophomore Olivia Fitch pretends to be attacked by a mural of a green and purple monster. “I strive to always be happy because I’ve noticed how much it can make others happy,” she said. “This picture, specifically, makes me happy because of the moment it was taken. I was having a great day hanging out with my friends and this wonderful reptile that we call Reptar.”

A

D N

“ ot being sad. It’s feeling good about yourself and confident of your abilities and overall, awesome.”

— senior Perrin Schuster

Photo Submitted by: Sarah Little

How has your definition of happiness changed from childhood to adolescence?

I

“ don’t think it has changed much because I try to keep some of the things I’ve loved to do since I was a child so that I can avoid negativity.”

— sophomore Kennedy Strombeck

C

“ hildhood = TV, toys, friends, lunch. Now = lunch, friends, cellphone, parties.”

— sophomore Asad Masood

I

“ never really thought about what happiness as a kid. When I was confronted with the question of happiness when I was younger, things had happened where I thought I’d never be really happy again.”

— sophomore Dani Tiedemann

I

“ t doesn’t take as much to make me happy as it did when I was littler.”

— senior Ben Braman

K

“ ids are more easily pleased with objects such as toys or dolls or by simple actions, which is probably something we can all try to do as well.”

— sophomore Deniz Kihtir

I

“ t hasn’t, actually.”

— junior Emily Ross

I

“ t’s gotten harder to achieve. Before, happiness was ‘woohoo, I have friends and toys,’ but now it’s more than just friends and toys.”

— senior Perrin Schuster

Data Compiled by August King

Photo Credit: Lucy Li Sitting on a bench in the Lilly Courtyard, junior Bilal Askari reads John Green’s Looking for Alaska on a sunny Thursday afternoon. “Reading makes me happy because it gives me a chance to escape reality,” he said.

Illustrations Credit: Ava Gallagher

10 A r t s & E n t e r t a i n m e n t Exhibit Brings Youth and Joy to Drake Gallery

St. Paul Academy and Summit School

September 2012. Vol XXXX. Issue I.

Photo Credit: Hannah Johnson

Junior Eddy Sharifkhani admires the artwork of students from the South Chicago Art Center, organized by Sarah Ward. Ward, who was last year’s keynote speaker at Speaker Day, allows kids in poverty-stricken neighborhoods to express themselves through art. “It’s good to see they are doing something they are passionate about,” Sharifkhani said.

Hannah Johnson

r Sports Editor/ Broadcast

These days, walking into the Harry M. Drake Gallery is like walking into Willy Wonka’s candy factory. The walls are decorated with bright, multicolored pieces of art. The exuberant and youthful energy in the gallery makes it hard to focus on only one piece of work. It becomes immediately apparent that these artists are much different than past artists showing in the Drake gallery.

“It was colorful, and vibrant and full of imagination,” sophomore Samantha Linn said after walking through the exhibit.

The exhibit, featuring artwork from students at the South Chicago Art center, was started by St. Paul Academy and Summit School alum Sarah Ward.

Ward, (class of ‘87), founded the South Chicago Art Center in 2001. The center is located in a poverty-stricken neighborhood in the south side of Chicago. Ward noted that with multiple gangs on the streets, some students are at risk when walking to the center.

“It’s an after-school program in a neighborhood where there are no cultural programs in general and no after-school programs. We provide a free space for kids six and up

to do visual arts,” Ward said. The center also works in schools, relating art to various subjects. Around 3000 kids ages six and up come to the program to work on visual arts including sculpting, painting and digital photography. Ward added that the center also provides outreach programs to other nearby neighborhoods.

Ward said that her time at SPA led her to start the South Chicago Art Center. The art department was special for her. She “wanted to create that same environment for kids, and I would want to create that any where I would go,” Ward said.

The artwork in the Drake Gallery exhibit includes artwork from students ages five to 18. An array of art fills the gallery, in mediums such as painting, drawing and collage. Visitors’ eyes dart from one creation to the next.

“It’s good to see they are doing something they are passionate about,” junior Eddy Sharifkhani said. “I don’t think I could do anything like that.”

Ward, who is the younger sister of Upper School History teacher Mollie Ward, was the keynote speaker for last year’s Speaker Day. She spoke to the Upper School about her work with the Chicago Art Center. Ward hopes that students who heard her speech last

year learned that “it’s really important to give back in any way you can. Every kid needs attention. I love to give back and I think that’s what’s most important in my life,” she said.

The speech received great feedback and students found it pleasantly surprising to see her student’s work in the gallery.

“Her speech was incredible and being able to look at her student’s creations made her story that much more meaningful to me,” Linn said.

Just as making the artwork brought joy to the children, the bright and cheerful gallery brings happiness to the SPA community.

Ward wishes that the SPA community will be able to see what impact the center has on its students.

“I hope that [SPA students] can just sit back and see that ‘wow, this is such great opportunity’ because they are obviously really good at it and enjoy being [at the art center],” Ward said.

Both Sharifkhani and Linn enjoyed the gallery and encourage their friends to visit it as well.

“I would totally recommend it to my friends,” Sharifkhani said.

“Most definitely. It’s unlike other galleries that have been at SPA before,” Linn said.

It’s a perfect way to brighten up any day.

Photo Credit: Hannah Johnson Sophomore Samantha Linn examines work from Sarah Ward’s collection. “It was colorful and vibrant and full of imagination,” Linn said.

Photo submitted by Sarah Ward Sarah Ward helps a young artist in the South Chicago Art Center with her work. “It’s really important to give back in any way you can,” Ward said. “Every kid needs attention.”

Rhys Conlon’s colorful, abstract work arrives next at the Drake Gallery texture to “[abstract] from all difManaging Editor ferent sources of light.” Indeed, Online Editor-in-Chief Conlon takes solace in painting, which she says is a “very natural Rhys Conlon’s Absence swells thing for me. I don’t remember with shades of yellow and brown. not making art. It’s challenging in As the eye moves across the can- a way that other parts of my life vas, it comes into contact with an are not.” expanse of dark blues and greens.

Conlon, who currently works A few dashes of red complete a for the Hirshhorn Museum and painting as intellectually diverse as Sculpture Garden in Washington, the woman who created it.

DC, is also glad to return to SPA. From Sept. 27 to Oct. 26, Con- “SPA is really the place where I lon will display her exhibit, Dis- first blossomed as an artist,” Consecting a Rainbow, in the Drake lon said. “I think the teachers there Gallery. Conlon has devoted her really put a strong emphasis on art life to art and is especially fond of and developing creativity.” She bepainting. lieves that the independence her Her exhibit utilizes color and teachers gave her was instrumen-

Ibad Jafri

r

Photo used with permission from Rhys Conlon Rhys Conlon’s piece, Absence can be seen in the upcoming exhibit Dissecting a Rainbow, soon to be in the Drake Gallery. Painting is a “very natural thing,” Conlon said, “I don’t remember not making art.”

tal in creating good artwork. “The teachers at SPA teach you the skills you need, but are also pretty open about letting you find your own voice at an early age … They allow you to grow.”

Conlon’s greatest hope for the exhibit is that it attracts students to art in the way that she was attracted to art. “When I look at art, I want to see something I hadn’t thought of before, or be touched emotionally in some way, or be visually stimulated,” Conlon said.

The artist’s reception will be on Friday, Oct. 5. Until then, SPA eagerly awaits the return of one of its many esteemed alumni.

Arts & Entertainment

11 Fall’s new television shows are packed full of laughs St. Paul Academy and Summit School

September 2011. Vol XXXIX. Issue I.

A rush of sitcoms premier this fall on major networks, but do they have what it takes to last?

The Mindy Project

Noah Shavit-Lonstein

r

Feature Editor

This fall, Fox debuts the new series The Mindy Project, the exciting new springboard for comedic rising star Mindy Kaling. Kaling comes to the show after writing and performing as Kelly Kapoor on The Office from its United States inception. She also authored the noted book Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? And Other Concerns. In her new show, Kaling plays a obstetrician dealing with relationships and her career. The show is expected to be a hit, and its reviews have been, so far, moderate to good. “It was funny how random she was, how she didn't care what anybody thought,” sophomore Delaney Carter said about the show. “It may be a hit, but there are so many shows kind of like it.”

While students gear up for school, the major networks are gearing up for fall programming, scrambling to gather audiences for their newest programs and assembling their schedule. This year’s most anticipated shows include post apocalyptic battles, highdrama musicals and eerie supernaturalism. But right now, we’ll be looking on the bright side of life with a couple of the most exciting new comedy series.

Partners

Without an early preview like the previous sitcoms, CBS’ Partners has generated significantly less press. It’s tied up with a failed 1995 sitcom of the same name in some worrying ways. But with its creators’ big-name past creations (Will & Grace) and its slot after the hit How I Met Your Mother, it has the potential to be a success. The plot is centered around two business partners whose friendship is tested after one gets engaged. The cast hails from a blend of genres, with leading actors like Michael Urie (Ugly Betty), David Krumholtz (Numb3rs), Sophia Bush (One Tree Hill) and Brandon Hill (Chuck). One problem they might see: misleading advertising. After viewing ads for the show, freshman Jack Romans guessed it was “about two gay couples and one straight couple, based on what they show.”

Go On

Photo used with permission from nbc.com

NBC’s most anticipated show is fall TV’s oddest premise. Go On delves into the emotional tension of a group of mourners. Oh, and it’s a sitcom. The series stars Matthew Perry (Friends) as a sportscaster dealing with the loss of his wife. The show is considered the season’s riskiest new show, already dividing critics and lacking a clear audience. Junior Samuel Carlson said he would probably try the show. “This whole therapy idea has been going around with the big networks,” Carlson said, “so it seems a little bit more cliché now. But it’s a comedy, so it might come at a different angle.” Still, he was skeptical that it could be a hit: “It might last four seasons, maybe.”

Photo used with permission from cbs.com

Photo used with permission from nbc.com

The Campaign careens from raunchy to satirical in the blink of an eye Movie Review

Andy Monserud

r

News Editor

The line between satire and slapstick is not a fine one, but each new movie Will Ferrell makes careens back and forth across it like a drunken man at the Running of the Bulls. The Campaign, in which Ferrell co-stars with established weirdo Zach Galifianakis, is no exception.

The film switches throughout from biting—or at the very least nipping—political commentary to broad raunch-com in the blink of an eye, and then doubles back just as quickly.

The film follows Cam Brady (Ferrell), a Democratic congressman from North Carolina who is unexpectedly challenged by Republican opponent Marty Huggins (Galifianakis) following the latest in Brady’s long string of sex scandals. He quickly discovers that it will take more than his favorite slogan, “America, Jesus, Freedom,” to

win. Ferrell’s character is the same as ever—an extremely successful doofus whose childish revelries are abruptly brought to an end by crushing reality. Were it not for Galifianakis, the movie would be Talladega Nights—with a different kind of race.

Galifianakis, too, is playing to his strengths. Much like his character in his most famous movie, The Hangover, Huggins is best described as…strange. He’s infantile, but not at all in the same way as Brady is.

Huggins’ humor is derived almost entirely from his reactions to the increasingly ridiculous situations his campaign places him in. He’s an overgrown six-year-old stuck in Brady’s world of overgrown thirteen-year-olds. While this is occasionally funny on its own, its primary purpose is to accentuate the insanity of Brady’s actions.

What little political commentary there is doesn’t pertain to any candidate, issue or political party in particular. Rather, the film pokes fun at and quietly objects to the role of money in politics.

Throughout the film, the schemes of the billionaire industrialist Motch brothers drive the action, with little concern for the ideology (or lack thereof) of the candidate they support.

The humor in The Campaign is hit-and-miss. While much of the political humor, such as Brady’s “America, Jesus, Freedom” slogan, is hysterical, there’s not nearly enough of it. Instead, most of the jokes are exactly what you’d expect from the Ferrell/Galifianakis duo: sex and stupidity. Galifianakis has a number of recurring gags that start as chuckles and end as groans.

The film accelerates nicely, with each candidate one-upping the other in more and more ridiculous ways, but even with its hour-and-ahalf run time it cuts pretty close to boring or sickening the audience.

The Campaign is, beyond a doubt, hilarious. It is, however, only a political film by the loosest possible definition. Moviegoers would do well to remember this. If you see it, make sure you know what you’re paying for.

Photo used with permission from thecampaignmovie.warnerbros.com Zach Galifianakis and Will Ferrell share one of very few cordial moments in the political satire film, The Campaign. The film follows Ferrell’s character, Cam Brady, on the campaign trail as he attempts to win the race for North Carolinian congressman.

Theaters showing The Campaign: AMC Rosedale 14 Marcus Oakdale Cinema White Bear Township Theatre Theatres at Mall of America

AMC Southdale 16 Kerasotes Showplace ICON Carmike 15 - Apple Valley AMC Showplace Coon Rapids 16

12 F o o d & N u t r i t i o n

St. Paul Academy and Summit School

September 2012. Vol XXXIX. Issue I.

The un-whole-y truth about refined grains

Why white bread may not be as healthy and energizing as you may think

Noah Shavit-Lonstein

r

Feature Editor

In the 1920s, a business leader named Elmer Cline invented a shocking new bread for the market. It felt like cotton candy, was white as milk, weighed an unheard of 1.5 pounds. He marketed his “slow-baked wonder bread” to massive appeal. His food became a symbol of scores of ideas: the cheery 1950s, industrialism, cheapness and unhealthy.

For much of the time since, white bread has dominated the market.

But recently, questions of health have threatened sales.

White flour, the central component of white bread, uses only the starchy “endosperm” from a wheat germ. It lacks thirty nutrients that can be found in whole grains, including fiber, which helps the eater feel full. White bread causes an insulin spike on par with sugar. It’s a major contributor to the obesity epidemic. A 2004 Reuters study found that white bread was “the food most strongly related to obesity incidence.”

Even for athletes, who are sometimes required to eat less healthy food to get extra energy for sports, white bread is detrimental. The quick digestion rate means that the energy from white bread all comes in a single rush rather than gradually. Soccer player James Hargens tends to eat whole wheat bread during training, though he admits, “I don’t really know why whole grains are healthier.”

Not everyone, however, opposes white bread. Writer Aaron Bobrow-Strain, in his oddly specific White Bread: A Social History of the Store bought Loaf, wrote that some of the backlash against white bread comes from its connection with “lower-class” eating.

“Industrial white bread called up a lack of pretension- unfussy and authentically American- but also irresponsibility and shame.

We’ve known about the adverse effects of white bread for a long time. But, for whatever reason, unlike other unhealthy foods, the tradition of white bread seems to be just recently fading away.

Though white bread was a child-

Photo Credit: Urkaine Buisness Factory processors plow a grain field to harvest stocks of grain. According to The United States Department of Agriculture, grain is categorized into two groups: whole grain and refined grain. Whole grain is made of the whole kernel, while refined grain is milled.

hood staple in the 1950s, in 2009, whole wheat bread outsold white bread in the United States for the first time ever.

The switch may not be easy.

Most bread isn’t labeled as simply as “white” or “whole wheat”; there’s several other confusing options. “Enriched wheat” bread is simply white bread that has had some (but not all) of the minerals added back to it. “White whole

wheat bread” is a type of whole wheat bread made with white instead of red flour, which are nutritionally the same. And don’t trust the color of the bread: much white bread has caramel coloring added to it to make it look whole wheat. Reading the packaging is more important.

There are even healthier ways to eat than whole wheat bread.

Katie Haarala, a nutritionist with

St. Paul’s Nutritional Health and Wellness, recommends you “get your carbohydrates from foods like sweet potatoes, vegetables, and true whole grains such as [brown] rice and quinoa.” It might not be feasible for everyone to eat that healthy, but there’s always options. And those options include staying away from white bread.

Simple Whole Wheat Bread Recipe Ingredients

Directions

• 3 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C) • 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast • 1/3 cup honey • 5 cups bread flour • 3 tablespoons butter, melted • 1/3 cup honey • 1 tablespoon salt • 3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour • 2 tablespoons butter, melted

1. In a large bowl, mix warm water, yeast, and 1/3 cup honey. Add 5 cups white bread flour, and stir to combine. Let set for 30 minutes, or until big and bubbly.

2. Mix in 3 tablespoons melted butter, 1/3 cup honey, and salt. Stir in 2 cups whole wheat flour. Flour a flat surface and knead with whole wheat flour until not real sticky just pulling away from the counter, but still sticky to touch. This may take an additional 2 to 4 cups of whole wheat flour. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the surface of the dough. Cover with a dishtowel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled.

3. Punch down, and divide into 3 loaves. Place in greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pans, and allow to rise until dough has topped the pans by one inch.

A LOCAL’S GUIDE TO:

Healthy Eating

4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 to 30 minutes; do not overbake. Lightly brush the tops of loaves with 2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine when done to prevent crust from getting hard. Cool completely

Tanpopo Noodle Shop

August King

r

Food & Nutrition Editor

It can be hard to find a healthy meal or snack when your surrounding by fast food joints and ways to eat quick and fast. In a nation where McDonald’s and Burger King’s line up every rest-stop of a highway and every corner of a busy block, finding a place that sells locally grown and healthy options, especially on a budget, can be a stretch to find. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of restaurants and places, all within a modest radius of St. Paul Academy’s campus, that offer healthy and fresh options anyone can enjoy. For more locations, meal recommendations, and reviews visit rubiconline.com for the latest in Around Town.

Whole Foods

308 Prince St. #140, St. Paul 651.209.6527 Perfect for Noodle Indulgences

30 Fairview Ave. S, St. Paul 651.690.0197 Perfect for Lunch Bag Treats

Sitting on the corner of Ford Pkwy. and Cretin Ave in Highland Park, the Life Cafe, a deli style restaurant, can be found just a staircase away from Lifetime Fitness.

Therefore, it's not atypical for customers to have just walked off the treadmill and ordered a low calorie, high vitamin Strawberry Sunrise smoothie to cool off- and it's a good deal for Lifetime members, who receive a 10% discount on all things Life Cafe.

While it’s not necessarily a restaurant, Whole Foods Market on Fairview and Grand Avenue has one of the largest selection of organic and locally grown foods in the City, second to only the St. Paul Farmers Market. Shoppers can prepare a salad and soup combination or pick up a meal prepared in -store. In addition to the sea of organics that makes up Whole Foods, the store currently sponsors a “Healthy Eating Starts Here” challenge, participants are given a weekly meal plan including recipes, and all foods can be purchased at in-store of course.

Life Cafe

2145 Ford Pkwy., St. Paul 651.698-5000 Perfect for Post-Workout Cravings If you aren’t in the mood for your ordinary healthy sandwich and apple, head on down to Tanpopo Noodle Shop, were Japanese cuisne just got healthy. At Tanpopo Noodle Shop, everything is cooked with fresh and locally grown products from the St. Paul Farmers Market. Our recommendation? Try the hot sob or udon noodles, especially delicious during the fall season thanks to in-season ingredients incoporated differently with each deliectable dish.

Spor ts St. Paul Academy and Summit School

September 2012. Vol XXXX. Issue I.

13

All Photos Credit: Aditi Kulkarni Seniors Dominic Dingess, Nina Perkkio, and Matt Fiedler play for their respective teams at St. Paul Academy and Summit School. Each of them has officially committed to a university for sports. “Take the initiative and get your name out there … don’t be afraid to email and call coaches so they know who you are,” Fiedler said.

Seniors headed to college for sports Hannah Johnson

r Sports Editor/ Broadcast

Imagine how it would feel to enter your senior year of high school knowing where you will be going to college. Three hard working SPA student athletes utilized their talents on the playing field and in the classroom to secure a spot on collegiate sports teams. “It’s nice to have those kind of athletes in your program and it speaks highly of our athletic program,” Assistant Athletic Director Mike Brown said.

“But I think it speaks more about them, and their dedication and their dreams and goals.”

Nina Perkkio Rider University, Soccer Senior Nina Perkkio knew that her decision to play college athletics would not be an easy one. Not only did she have to choose which college to attend, but she also needed to decide which sport to play: soccer or hockey.

“I really, really enjoyed the soccer team here at SPA and I think that’s really what made me decide that I wanted to pursue soccer more than hockey,” Perkkio said .

Perkkio officially committed to Rider University, a Division I school, in June. Her road to Rider began last year at a soccer showcase in Texas. From there, Rider coaches contacted her club team’s coach, and Perkkio kept in touch with the school. After visiting the New Jersey school in February, she decided to commit.

She says that SPA gave plenty of support during the decision process. “Before I committed, I sat down with the athletic directors, my advisor, Dean, my college counselor and my parents and we discussed the pros and cons of Rider and the other schools I was looking at,” Perkkio said. These other schools included DePaul University, St. Olaf College and Loyola University Chicago.

Perkkio has some advice for other SPA students interested in getting recruited: learn how to talk to colleges. “Communication is a really big thing with coaches,” Perkkio said.

Perkkio knows that next fall will

begin a new era in her soccer career. “I’m really excited about it,” she said. “I think it’s a great opportunity.”

Dom Dingess Univiersity of Iowa, Baseball Down the quiet Upper School hallways at SPA, a sudden burst of laughter can be heard after a great one-liner delivered by Dom Dingess. Just as he can so easily grab the attention of anyone in the hallways, Dingess was able to grab the attention of college head coaches, landing him a golden ticket to college.

“It’s great to know where I’m going right out of high school,” Senior Dom Dingess said. The standout baseball player has reason to be happy. Dingess will be attending the University of Iowa next fall as a walk-on player for the Hawkeyes baseball team.

Playing as a walk-on is a different experience than athletes receiving a full ride, explained Dingess.

“I don’t have a scholarship, but I have the opportunity to go on the team. I get to play for a roster spot,” Dingess said. He made a verbal commitment to University of Iowa two months ago. He was originally looking at Cornell College, a liberal arts college in Iowa, but later focused his attention on the University of Iowa after attending a camp at the school. Dingess talked to the University of Iowa head coach after a long day of impressive play.

It was well worth the wait.

“I was pretty tired but we talked some things over and Iowa gave me the opportunity to go as a preferred walk-on,” Dingess said.

As he looks forward to his bright future as an Iowa Hawkeye, Dingess doesn’t forget about his time as an SPA Spartan. Assistant Athletic Director and Varsity Baseball coach Mike Brown explained how Dingess becomes a focused and serious player on the field. “He listens carefully, he concentrates on what he’s going to do. He is probably not the same character you will see in the hallway,” Brown said.

Dingess is confident that his experience in the Upper School has readied him for the next level.

“Thanks to going to SPA, I believe that I am prepared to take on

college,” Dingess said.

Matt Fiedler University of Notre Dame, Baseball Senior Matt Fiedler walks into the Dean’s advisory during the first week of school dripping with sweat. There is no off season for the tenacious senior, but he knows that all his hard work will soon pay off. This November, Fiedler will fulfill a lifelong goal when he signs a National Letter of Intent to play baseball for the University of Notre Dame.

“It’s always been my dream to play college baseball and then play professional baseball,” Fiedler said.

His dreams are beginning to come true. The star baseball player attracted attention at showcases and tournaments this past summer. It was at these tournaments that schools began contacting him.

The decision wasn’t easy, as there were a number of great opportunities to consider.

“I had 50 total calls from different schools and then from there I started trying to narrow them down to schools I wanted to go to,” Fiedler said. Other schools he considered attending included the University of Minnesota, University of Nebraska, University of Kansas and Wake Forest University.

Fiedler admited that getting recruited is hard and that patience is necessary.

“Take the initiative and get your name out there … don’t be afraid to email and call coaches so they know who you are,” Fiedler said.

Fiedler helped the Spartan baseball team win a lot of games by leading the team in both hitting and pitching. In the process, he also helped the Spartans garner plenty of media attention last spring. He was named both KSTP Prep Athlete of the Week and Pioneer Press Athlete of the Week in the 2011-2012 season.

SPA Varsity Baseball coach Mike Brown explained that Fiedler doesn’t let his exceptional talents get to his head.

“Matt is a very humble person, but works really hard, and people see that work and dedication and they listen,” Brown said. “Matt is like having a coach on the field.”

“

I’m really excited about it. I think it’s a great opportunity. senior Nina Perkkio

“

It’s great to know where I’m going right out of high school. senior Dom Dingess

“

It’s always been my dream to play college baseball and then play professional baseball. senior Matt Fiedler

14 S p o r t s

St. Paul Academy and Summit School

September 2012. Vol XXXX. Issue I.

Spartan Tennis relies on veteran skill and newcomer enthusiasm

Junior Alida Mitau returns a serve at a meet at the SPA tennis courts.

Statewide rankings currently place Blake ahead of SPA in Girls Tennis, but SPA is sure that this isn’t going to be a big factor in their Homecoming match. “Blake is a strong, young team, but SPA benefits from its mix of veterans and newcomers,” senior captain Sarah Hays said. “Although the rankings may give Blake the upper hand, we've come close in the past and I don't want to Photo Credit: Aditi Kulkarni graduate without beating this team.”

Homecoming Preview

Spartans run, swim, kick, spike, and tackle the fall season 4:30 pm Soccer: Boys Varsity Game vs Minnehaha @ SPA Randolph Campus

9:00 am Volleyball: Varsity Invitational vs Fourth Baptist Christian @ Fourth Baptist

6:30 pm Volleyball: Varsity Game vs Brooklyn Center @ SPA Randolph Campus

12:00 pm Soccer: Girls Varsity Game vs Blake @ SPA Randolph Campus 2:00 pm Soccer: Boys Varsity Game vs Blake @ SPA Randolph Campus

homecoming calendar

4

5

Senior Steven Olson speeds through a track meet in Hudson, WI.

Photo Credit: Aditi Kulkarni

Cross Country teams breaking record times The Cross ountry team has been hard at work this year, preparing for a season full of potential. Their Homecoming meet, the Swain Invite, takes place in Duluth and is an overnight trip for the team. “We have been practicing since mid-August and with two new assistant coaches, we've been trying a few new workouts that I think have really helped us to improve,” Captain Melanie Luikart said. “We've been having some more hard workouts and we've been doing a lot of core and stretching to try and avoid injuries which have plagued us in the past.”

6

12:00 pm Cross Country Boys and Girls vs Swain @ Enger Park Golf Course 4:00 pm Football: Varsity Homecoming Game vs Blake @ SPA

Spartan games are a highlight of Homecoming. The “storming of the field” before Friday’s football game showcases school spirit.

Illustration Credit: Aditi Kulkarni

Football ends losing streak, gain motivation The historic 100-year anniversary football game between Blake and SPA that took place last year became a memorable game in a season with more downs than ups. In a one-sided game with a final score of 49-9, the SPA football team was left disappointed. However, early in this season, SPA beat Blake in a scrimmage. “To be honest, the game will be tough,” senior captain Karl Hommeyer said. “Our team has talent but we’re still young and small. I think that the seniors are all going to be a little extra motivated in their last homecoming, and if the other guys take care of their jobs, I think we'll be right with them until the final whistle.”

Photo Credit: Aditi Kulkarni

Spor ts St. Paul Academy and Summit School

September 2012. Vol XXXX. Issue I.

15

Varsity soccer teams ranked among top 10 in state Currently 8-0-1, the Boys Varsity Soccer team looks to continue to lead the TriMetro Conference by getting a win against Blake. The team has started the season off with a lot of experience, returning nine starters. “Blake is always a high intensity game,” captain and goalie Ben Braman said. “As long as we play to our skill, we should take care of business.”

Blake and SPA have always been rivals in every sport, but the Girls Soccer team has a particular vendetta against them. In the last two seasons, Blake has prevented the girls from winning conference titles.

“The Blake versus SPA game will be a manifestation of the intensity that has been building all season long,” senior forward Maddie Hanson said.

Photo Credit: Aditi Kulkarni Sophomore Molly Fiedler fends for the ball against St. Croix Lutheran.

Photo Credit: Aditi Kulkarni Senior Peter Wood dribbles down the pitch in a game against Concordia Academy.

Girls Swimming and Diving racing well The Girls Swimming & Diving team will be switching up their setup during their Homecoming meet. “We’re competing against Highland, who we’re a joint team with, so we’re just expecting it to be a fun meet where we just get to race against our teammates and have a good time,” junior Anna Matenaer said. The team has done well at their meets and hopes to continue their success.

Photo Credit: David Matenaer

Sophomore Katiana Taubenberger cruises down the final leg of a race.

Swimming & Diving Football Cross Country Tennis Volleyball Soccer

Volleyball team shows potential The volleyball team has high expectations for their match against Brooklyn Center, partly due to how well the team members work together. “We all compliment each other and that's what makes us stronger this year,” junior Alex Miller said. “We have a ton of potential so hopefully we can show that.”

Photo Credit: Hannah Johnson Sophomore Mira Grinsfelder dominates at the net against Humboldt High School.

Minutes of Fame A monthly profile on students in the St. Paul Academy and Summit School community doing amazing things outside the SPA doors.

Ross expresses love for singing through Project Opera Photo Credit: Nick Scott

Junior Emily Ross started an exciting journey with father-daughter visits to the Minnesota Opera and now participating in the chorus of selective Project Opera.

Emily developed a passion that she could use to express her love of singing, and has met new people who share the same interest as her. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Now Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m like, I wanna sing more opera! â&#x20AC;&#x153; Ross said.

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