February Spectrum

the

Spectrum “Your Voice in Print”

Student Life

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2013 Issue VI The Blake Schoolblakespectrum.org

News Opinions In-Depth A&E Sci/Tech Features Sports

Over Presidents’ Day week-‐end, twenty-‐three Blake

juniors and seniors headed to Washington, D.C. for the 50th North American Invitational Model United Nations confer-‐ence, hosted by Georgetown University.

to explore the Capitol building. We were fortunate enough to get the opportunity to visit the Sen-‐ate chamber. After handing in all our electronics, taking off our jackets, and walking through a

-‐tered the Senate’s viewing gal-‐lery. Little did we know that we were about to witness a historic Senate vote. They were considering Presi-‐dent Obama’s nominee to head the Pentagon, Chuck Hagel (R-‐NE), a former Republican Sena-‐tor from Nebraska. When we walked in at about 3:00 PM, Senator John McCain was speak-‐ing to a nearly empty room. The

fairly uneventful. We learned -‐

ter would start at 4:00. Slowly but surely, the sena-‐

Margaret Graham

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Take Back the Night....................................student life 2Free the Children’s celebrity status.....................news 4Gender neutral bathrooms.............................opinions 7Living without social media.........................in depth 8-9

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Georgetown MUN sits in on Senate’s historic Hagel decision

Norgaarden ‘13 marches for climate change at capital

tors began to arrive. We were excited to watch as Al Franken ‘69, one of Minnesota’s senators and a Blake alum, strolled in and

laughter. We were informed by U.S. Senate security that Franken is by far the loudest senator! We were surprised by how informal the voting procedure seemed. As their names were called, the Senators simply

their head to indicate their “yes” or “no” vote. After what turned out to be almost an hour of voting, the chair announced that the vote had failed. Needing sixty votes to limit debate on the nominee,

-‐ing 58 “for,” 40 “opposed” and 1 “present.” The Senators agreed to recon-‐

vene in exactly one week on the issue. Sure enough, this past Tues-‐

-‐

secretary of defense in a 58-‐to-‐41 vote, the narrowest margin for any defense secretary in his-‐tory, according to The New York Times.

TAKING WASHINGTON

Cole Norgaarden ‘13 recently traveled to Washington D.C.

to urge President Obama to take action on environmental issues at the Forward on Climate Rally. Norgaarden traveled by bus with Youth Environmental Activists of Minnesota to participate in this rally to speak out against the Keystone XL Oil pipeline. On February 17, Norgaarden and thousands of other activ-‐ists gathered at the Washington monument to begin the rally. There were a variety of speak-‐ers at the monument; the group then continued to march to-‐wards the White House. . .Continued on STUDENT LIFE p. 3

Justice Leaguers and GSA-ers campaign with MN legislators for upcoming anti-bullying bill

For more on Model UN, turn to NEWS p. 4

Maddy Norgard

student life2

February 28, 2013Issue VI

the Spectrum staff

The Blake School 511 Kenwood Pkwy. Minneapolis, MN

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Disagree with something that’s in the paper? Have an opinion you want to share? Like to draw editorial car-toons? Take a stand and speak out. Email letters or editorial cartoons to [email protected] or de-liver them anonymously in room 351. Please limit letters to 400 words.

STAFF WRITERS:Sanjana Srivastava, Peyton Crosby, Iman Pakzad, Clare Flanagan, Peyton Crosby, Kira Leadholm, Julia Rock, Alex Feldman, Beatrice Lim, Natcher Pruett, Haley Hol-sather, Abigail Smith, Austin Rae, John Augustine, Hailey Bork, Rachel Hertzberg, Anneliese Moore, Chris Hall, Rory Taylor, Coco Kaminski, Claudia Chute, James Ring, Greg Lim, Christopher Hofstadter

MISSION STATEMENT: The primary purpose of the Blake School Spectrum is to report news and to explain its meaning and sig-

-munity. We hope to inform, entertain and provide a school forum for the unrestricted exchange of ideas and opinions.

JOIN SPECTRUM: Spectrum meets every Tuesday in room 351 during both lunches. Please come if you are interested in writing, drawing, designing or taking pictures for our newspaper.

Co-Editors-In-Chief: Nolan Lindquist, Jonah Sandy

Managing Editor: Sullivan Whitely

Creative Director: Karl Lovaas

Online Editor: Molly Apple

Front Page Editor: Jonah Sandy

News Editor: Adelaide Winton

Student Life Editor: Maxine Whitely

Jr. Opinions Editors: Janice Chung, Maddy NorgardIn Depth Editor: Molly Apple

Features Editor: Sullivan Whitely

Science Editor: Janice Chung

Technology Editor: Karl Lovaas

Business Manager: Christopher Hofsadter

Sports Print Editor: Carolyn Pat-tersonSports Online Editor: Jackson Kelner

Entertainment Editor: Zahara Katha-walla

Arts Editor: Nina Lillehei

Adviser: Anna Reid

Nina Lillehei

Want to read more? Find us online at: www.blakespectrum.org

Online Content Creator: Tony Faustch

Blake students to Take Back the Night for a second time

Senior Consulting Editors: Emily Moore, Eve Liu, Janhawi Kelkar, Laine Higgins

TThe Spectrum

Alisha Litman-‐

Zelle ’13

Spectrum:

Alisha:

Spectrum

Alisha:

Spectrum

Alisha

Fiery fast debaters dominate at StateT Kentucky

Morrow ’13 Hirsh Shek-‐

har ‘14

Spectrum:

Alisha

Spectrum

Alisha:

The Justice League discusses plans for this year’s Take Back the Night event at a lunch meeting. The group has spear-headed plans for the anti-sexual violence event, which will return to Blake this April after a one-year hiatus.

photo credit: Nina Lillehei

photo credit: parent submitted

Laine Higgins Blake debat-ers Kentucky Morrow ‘13, Hirsh Shekhar ‘14, and Allen Wang ‘16 pose with their coaches.

3

Conferences Begin

No Classes

Merry Wives of Windsor



Artist Teachers Reception

Open Mic Night

Spring Break Begins

SSAT Testing

Classes Resume

EVENTS

Corrections

Alex Lovaas ‘14

Do: Give them a genuine radi-‐ant smile

Don’t Give them a full toothed grin with widened eyes

and raised eyebrows leaving

them expecting to hear, “hey

kids, get in the van, I have candy

for you.”

Do: compliment them; every-‐body loves a compliment even if

it’s just about the color of their

eyes.

Don’t: tell them what you’d change about them

Biology labs, open discussions

in English classes, World Cul-‐

tures simulations: do boys and

girls experience these things in

the same way? We’ve all heard

the cliches; that girls talk more

in English, that boys are better

at math, and that more young

men will attend medical school

while their female counterparts

are more likely to pursue the hu-‐

manities. The question that re-‐

mains, though, is whether these

cliches are just that, cliches, or

whether there is an actual neu-‐

rological difference between

the brains of males and females

that could account for this diver-‐

In a recent seminar called

Pink Brain/Blue Brain, The

Blake School faculty were given

a chance to explore what is myth

and what is fact in matters of the

mind, and how these physical

differences manifest themselves

within the classroom versus the

way in which societal norms af-‐

fect their students’ behaviors.

To be perfectly candid, I

student; math and science are

engaging classes, but I would

never pursue them outside of

school. English, on the other

hand, well, just hand me a

book and I will be happy for

days. What must be explored,

though, is whether I am a in-‐

dicative of my entire gender

in this matter, or whether it

is decided on a person to per-‐

son basis. As Maggie Warner ‘16 said, “I feel more com-‐fortable in English, but that’s

just because I enjoy the class

more! And I don’t think it’s

true about boys being bet-‐

ter at math and science, and

girls being better at English!

I know lots of girls who are

way better at math.” Or, in the

words of John Miller ‘16, “I am more comfortable in math

and science-‐I like the subjects

better, they’re more interest-‐

ing to me.”

The ironic thing is that

both of these individuals

reinforced the stereotype,

while simultaneously deny-‐

ing its validity. So if such cli-‐

ches don’t exist in the minds

of individuals, where do they

come from? Also, how would

one classify them as true or

false when our own students

evidence?

Kevin Ahn ‘16 raised an intriguing point when he

said, “It seems that guys tend

to talk more in classes, and

I think.” Is it this assuredness

that helps in topics like math,

in which there is a set answer,

while girls are drawn to sub-‐

ects like literature that are

generally open for personal

interpretation? In any case,

the cacophony of voices in a

co-‐ed classroom alway en-‐

sures an enlightening hour.

Gender differences enliven classes

How to: snag your crushHodan Ahmed ‘15 talks style and substancePeyton Crosby Molly Apple

Anastacia Markoe

Q: What are you wearing and where is it from?

A: I am wearing a tank top from

pants from Lulu Lemon, and

shoes from Minnetonka Moc-‐

casins.

Q:Describe your style:A: I would say the style I like is “Indie.”

Q: One thing you’re sick of see-‐ing this time of year?

A: I guess something that’s kind of annoying is leggings, people

[are] constantly wearing leg-‐

gings.

Q: One thing you wouldn’t be caught dead wearing?

A: Something pink—I don’t like

the color pink

Q: Whom do you dress to im-‐press?

A: Myself, I really don’t dress to impress anyone else.

Q: What’s the last thing you bought?

A:The last thing I bought was a crop top from Forever 21.

Do: Making sure they know your attention is on them, not

checking your

Phone or avoiding eye contact

Don’t: stare at them with-‐out blinking

Do: take charge-‐make it clear that you’re interested Don’t: be too aggressive and show up to their house in

the middle of the night, jump in

their window, and wait for them

in their bed.

Norgaarden ‘13 marches for change (continued from front)Maddy Norgard

Norgaarden noted that while

the rally didn’t reach as many

new citizens or receive as much

media attention as he had

hoped, it was still incredibly

powerful to get together with

such a large group of people

who all wanted to achieve the

same goals.

“Legislators need to know

that any decision they make

about the environment effects

every other decision they will

make,” says Norgaarden on the

importance of pressing legisla-‐

tors on environmental issues.

The construction of the

Keystone XL Oil pipeline, which

would span 2,000 miles from

Canada to the Gulf Coast and is

expected to have disastorous

effects on the environment, is

largely reliant upon Obama. Ac-‐

cording to Norgaarden, Obama

has tried to push the decision

off before, but will have to make

a decision soon.

Many environmentalists

fear that with the large amount

of other decisions Obama has

to make, he will choose not

to take action on preventing

the creation of pipeline. The

rally was intended to pressure

Obama and make him realize

that the environment is just as

important as other issues on the

president’s plate.

“Don’t ever let anyone tell

you that patience is a

virtue. Patience is largely over-‐

rated,” Mia Farrow declared as she spoke in front of 500 teen-‐

age students while talking about

her part in service.

Farrow, a famous actress,

singer, and fashion model, em-‐

braced her most humble role-‐

-‐humanitarian-‐-‐as she came to

Minnesota to speak about the

thrilling truth of We Day com-‐

ing to Minnesota. Born out of a

dream that brothers Craig and

Marc Kielburger had to change

the world, Free the Children is

an organization based on the

concept of children helping chil-‐

dren.

We Day, a concert sensation

that has swept across Canada, is

a one-‐day, star-‐studded, view-‐

-‐

ing to the US, starting in the Xcel

Energy Center in October, right

here in Minnesota. This concert

features people from the likes of

Farrow herself all the way to the

Jonas Brothers, all joined in sup-‐

port of service.

Maxine Whitely

The catch about this amaz-‐

ing concert is that one can’t just

get into it with money. It takes

one local and one global action

for a golden ticket to this life-‐

changing event. This procedure

urges students to get involved in

service in their community and

worldwide. On choosing what

local and global actions to take,

Mia Farrow gives some mean-‐

ingful advice.

“You will see a person or proj-‐

ect that needs you, and it will

call out to you. You will feel it, if

your heart is open, if your eyes

and ears are open, you’ll see it.

All the courage and all the pow-‐

er, imagination, and enlighten-‐

ment you need is in you help-‐

ing that cause.” Farrow stresses

the importance of a connection

with service.

If you are passionate, much

more will get done “We all need

a place to put our shoulders

and push.” So, get out there and

so every Blake student is in the

sea of 20,000 other empowered

kids.

4Science department searches for solutions

When the science wing and

library are renovated this

spring, that entire area of the

school will be out of commis-‐

sion. The doors will be locked,

Christian Prouty said, and sci-‐ence classes will have to move

to English and social studies

rooms.

When asked what would hap-‐

pen to his classes, Jeff Trinh seemed unsure of where exactly

they would go. “They’re gonna

put me somewhere upstairs,”

he said evenly, “there’s a couple

free spots like the NAR and the

Cherne.”

Prouty said that classes will

continue to do labs (even chem

labs) in new spaces, though he

says the science teachers have

“tried to align [their] curriculum

in such a way so that the most

onerously toxic materials all fall

within the course of third term

and before so that you’re limit-‐

ing the exposure of the rest of

the building to things that are

either super poisonous or super

smelly.”

Mia Farrow speaks out

Nolan Lindquist

Despite the hassle, Prouty

said teachers from other depart-‐

ments are not bitter about hav-‐

ing to share their classrooms.

In the 1990s, part of the build-‐

ing was condemned because

the foundation was unstable.

Students had to eat sandwiches

and microwaved meals for lunch

for months. In light of that, this

renovation seems like a very

beatable inconvenience to most

of the faculty.

Students aren’t too worried,

either. Paul Morris ‘14 said that while he’d miss “the atmo-‐

sphere of the science wing,” he

thinks that as long as “teachers

prepare their notes, everything

-‐

ence faculty will return to vastly

improved classrooms.

The renovation will link the

science classrooms and the me-‐

dia center directly to make col-‐

laboration and research easier,

and as Jen Vance said, there will be less of a distinction between

lab and lecture space, though

dedicated physics and chemis-‐

try lab space will still exist.

Avid Model UNers traveled

across the country to debate

global issues with competing

schools around the nation. Stu-‐

dents, or, rather, delegates, were

woken up at all hours of the day

to attend committee meetings,

debating policies on Drugs and

Firearms and signing papers in

order to become benefactors of

numerous resolutions. Students

from Blake traveled either to

Chicago or Georgetown to par-‐

ticipate in this long-‐standing

tradition.

The students traveling

to Chicago are new to Model UN

and this trip was their opportu-‐

MUN takes Georgetown and ChicagoHailey Bork

nity to “dip their toes” into life

as a UN Ambassador. Zahara Kathawalla ’15 traveled to Chi-‐cago with Model UN, and when

asked about the dedication that

students had to the trip, she re-‐

sponded, “People took it pretty

seriously, although it depended

on the committee, yet everyone

was committed to participating

and creating resolutions.”

The students that traveled

both to Chicago and Georgetown

represented India and had to do

research previous to the trip so

that all actions at the UN ses-‐

sions were made according to

how India would act.

Georgetown travel-‐

ers are the experienced Model

UNers and displayed their vast

understanding of the system in

Washington D.C.

Margaret Graham ’14 com-‐mented on the difference be-‐

tween the Chicago and George-‐

town trip saying, “The kids

traveling on the Georgetown trip

have more experience because

we all have gone on the Chicago

trip and it was more interesting

to be at the Capital and visit mu-‐

seums.” The Blake students also

got a chance to step away from

Model UN for a few hours to

watch a live Senate vote.

part of the Blake community,

showing that Blake is involved

and informed on world issues.

These two trips help to further

student’s interests in political

and global issues, as well as the

betterment of the global com-‐

munity. The students on the Chi-‐

cago and Georgetown trips had

fun while at the same time fur-‐

thering their knowledge of the

United Nations.

Science classes will have to move during construction

Actress addresses Blake club’s cause Blake students take part in “international affairs”

opinions 5

I t seems to me, and probably most of you, that the economy is taking over the political world. Politicians need to put their foot down and stop raising the debt ceiling and do something to balance the budget before we reach the March 1st deadline for dealing with it. I am of the opin-‐ion, though, that unfortunately, many students at Blake don’t

or the debt ceiling and what it means to all of us. Many of us, including myself until recently, don’t know that

and that the debt ceiling is a completely separate issue. The

at which the difference between

Madison Ethen our spending (the budget) and revenue (taxes) became so great that a series of aggressive tax in-‐creases and budget cuts was set to go into effect until a stopgap measure was passed. The debt ceiling comes into the equation because the United States uses

-‐ing to the debt to climb as the

As a school and a community, we have a lot at stake when it comes to Congress’s recently approved policies to avoid said cliff. Most notably, raising the tax on upper-‐class families and individuals. This will obviously affect the budget of plenty of families at Blake, but would this affect Blake as an institution?

economic recession, because it does certainly affect people’s willingness to stretch and sup-‐port the institutions they care

about,” Anne Graybeal aptly ob-‐served. As a private school, this impacts all of us no matter what economic class our families fall into.

and stop raising the debt ceiling,

we would have to either default on our debts, a fate no one wants, or quickly increase revenue and decrease spending. This would stretch budgets for everyone

even more than the recession al-‐ready has. We’ve heard of plenty of other schools that have had to

even shut down completely. Don’t worry, according to Mrs. Graybeal, each department

“makes a couple of forecasts” ev-‐ery so often in case their budgets are cut so that if it becomes a re-‐ality they can save in areas that don’t affect us. Maybe if Blake hadn’t been around for so long, or had less devoted families, we would have to worry about cuts in arts and technologic luxuries like some other schools will. At this point we can only watch the news and hope our politicians can cooperate to solve this problem. Whether or not Congress raises the debt

budget, the following weeks will see plenty of political news cov-‐erage.

Over two hundred years ago, most African Americans

were enslaved on plantations, women didn’t have the right to vote, and only the wealthy re-‐ceived an education. Over two hundred years ago, the Consti-‐tution of the United States was

-‐ican Revolutionary War. In light of the people’s strug-‐gle to rise up against the Brit-‐ish government overseas, they included in this Constitution, “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” We have added amendments to the Constitution to abolish

slavery, grant complete enfran-‐chisement, and give the people a more direct role in electing gov-‐

changed, and so must the way we interpret the Constitution. In 2008, about 12,000 people were killed by guns in the United States. However, in Japan, where laws completely ban the sale of guns, only 11 people were killed by guns that same year. Further-‐

the American people own more guns than any other population in the world: there are about 88 guns per every 100 Americans. A 2011 study by Harvard and UCLA found that among the world’s wealthier nations, homi-‐cide rates were “6.9 times high-‐

er [in the United States] than rates in the other high-‐income

homicide rates that were 19.5 times higher. For 15-‐year olds to

rates in the United States were 42.7 times higher than in the other countries.” Clearly, there is a strong correlation between gun ownership and gun-‐related deaths. In 1996, a shooting occurred at an elementary school in the United Kingdom that left 16 students years old and their teacher dead. The government responded with a ban on hand-‐guns and automatic weapons, and in order to own a shotgun or

-‐

sive paperwork as well as have a advocate to convince the govern-‐ment that the gun will be in good hands. As a result, in 2008 there were only 39 gun-‐related deaths in the United Kingdom; very few compared to the United States’ 12,000 the same year. The United Kingdom Parlia-‐ment put its foot down against gun-‐related deaths, and is ex-‐periencing great improvements in public safety. So why are the people of the United States so insistent against change? When Walker Bond ’15 was asked this question, he responded, “Be-‐cause things such as skeet shoot-‐ing and hunting are enjoyable.” It is unreasonable to rely on the second amendment to jus-‐

tify the American people’s right to private gun possession; when it was written there was not yet a stable national military in the United States, and the system of state militias was considered to be more reliable. Today, the only grounds for private gun possession are rec-‐reational purposes and in mini-‐mal cases, self-‐defense. If the Federal Government completely banned guns, the American peo-‐ple would, admittedly, be sac-‐

However, in this case, the ends justify the means; if we could limit the appalling number of gun-‐related deaths in the Unit-‐ed States by a complete ban on guns, why shouldn’t we?

Julia Rock

opinions6

In addition, on the rare occa-‐sion that I was able to do both activities, I did not start home-‐work until very late, causing a decrease in the quality of my academic work. Furthermore, the only sup-‐portive individuals turned out to be my peers. In fact, the biggest critics of my schedule were the adults in both activities. Coach-‐

Alex Feldman

es and directors told me I had to choose if I wanted to make an impact. Worse still, I discovered that no such rule or understand-‐ing actually exists, effectively invalidating all the time I had spent on both activities. How-‐ever, narrowing our extracur-‐ricular focus is directly opposite of what Blake normally tells us. As students, we are encouraged

to pursue as many activities as possible. How do we deal with this contradiction between ex-‐plicit and implicit policy? Athletic director Nick Rath-‐mann states, “We try our darnd-‐est to work with student ath-‐letes.” Rathmann alluded to the

athletics and other activities, but also remarked that students

sometimes “have to choose” on

He also pointed out that “there’s nothing in the Upper School handbook, but there’s something in the middle school handbook that suggests not taking a lead-‐ing role in a theater production if the student is also playing a sport.” Above all, Rathmann en-‐courages students to talk with

schedule for absent days, what team material will be missed, and the effect it will have on playing time. While the school will certainly continue to promote participat-‐ing in varied extracurricular pur-‐suits, students should be given a fair and honest talk about the possible consequences of pursu-‐ing multiple activities. Coaches and players should both be held accountable to an agreement by signing a document that com-‐

schedule. I have learned through experience that last minute plan-‐

everyone unhappy. Regardless of what the administration de-‐cides, we should at least be given a straight message by all of the adults in the Blake community.

I have played football since fourth grade. This past fall was my last season, the glorious se-‐nior season of lore, and I was not going to miss my chance to play an integral part on the team. But after a few weeks, I noticed the announcement in the bulletin about auditions for the musical (the musical was in the fall this year, as opposed to its normal time in the spring). Drama was an extracurricular I had only re-‐cently discovered, but one that I found very exciting. Not quite knowing what I was getting my-‐self into, I attempted to pursue both activities. Part of the reason I decided to audition was the supposed existence of an unwritten rule, which states that coaches can-‐not take away an athlete’s play-‐ing time if he or she is participat-‐ing in another Blake sanctioned activity (so long as the athlete is still prepared and “deserves” their role). Despite my initial optimism, some problems immediately emerged. Practice schedules

activity could be “made up,” since both are team activities.

When activities don’t play well with others, choices must be made

Clare Flanagan’s RANTS & RAVES

Hello, loyal readers. It has come time once again for Rants and Raves! Yes, it’s that lovely, bite-‐sized part of the Opinions section that’s perfect for

when you lack the mental stamina to read anything really serious or intellectu-‐ally stimulating, which for me is most of the time. So, I implore you, sit down and enjoy my unsolicited opinions. Maybe you’ll even be inspired to come up with some rants and raves of your own.

RAVE: The potato dumpling soup that’s been served in the cafeteria lately. I don’t know about you, but it’s been putting me into a cream-‐based coma of satisfaction. It’s simple, hearty, and perfect for a bitter winter day. Not to men-‐tion it has potatoes, and I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like potatoes. So congratulations, Taher. You really hit it out of the park on this one. We still have to address that chocolate milk issue, though.

RANT: Underclassmen going off-‐campus when they’re not authorized to. I fully understand the powerful lure of Five Guys, Chipotle, or Noodles. However, when freshmen, sophomores, and juniors go off-‐campus without permission – even for a few innocent donuts in the parking lot – it undermines their entire

guarantee, not even during senior year. When a few rapscallions dare to break the rules, the consequences can affect the whole grade. For now, please just stick around for lunch. The time when we can legally indulge our cravings for Five Guys will come sooner than you think.

RANT: The pendulum area has long been one of my favorite study spots in the school, but lately it hasn’t been nearly as peaceful as I remember it. It must act like a giant echo chamber, because the squawks of everyone from the

room in search of a little peace and quiet! The library and lounges are already madhouses. Let’s not make the pendulum one too – we need to preserve at least a few quiet places in this school!

RAVE: The TV series “Skins” – the UK version, of course. I think that be-‐tween this and Downton Abbey, it’s pretty apparent that British television is superior to ours. Don’t get me wrong, I love America, but not even Gossip Girl can compare to this show. Simultaneously absurd, heart-‐wrenching, and hilari-‐ous, this drama about a group of teenage friends will draw you in and win your heart after one wild episode. If you have a high tolerance for mature content and adorable British accents, this is the show for you – not to mention that all

RAVE: The Harlem Shake. Need I say more? This new dance craze, follow-‐ing in the footsteps of such Internet legends as Gangnam style, is so bizarre that it can hardly be described. Words fail me. Frenetic and fabulous, it can be done on skis, in a sleeping bag, in large groups, and especially while wearing a helmet. Still don’t get it? Google it and you’ll understand the magic. I guarantee you’ll have a good laugh and/or get your freak on. Don’t we all need a little bit of that in our lives?

Extracurricular activities battle for Blake students’ attention

opinions 7Gender neutral bathrooms worth the discomfortAbby Smith

Imagine two boys are chatting

at the sink, as a girl walks out

of a stall and another one re-‐ap-‐

plies her makeup; now imagine

all of this happening in one bath-‐

room. This is the fear of some,

the dream of many, and a reality

in places around the world. This

is what gender neutral bath-‐

rooms would be like, and they

may come to Blake in the near

future.

The idea of gender neutral

bathrooms is simple. If a person

has to pee, they are free to walk

into either bathroom regardless

of biological sex, gender iden-‐

tity, or gender expression. “Why

would this be necessary?” some

might ask, but I’m here to pres-‐

ent this idea from a perspective

that may just make it a bit clear-‐

er.

One Blake student who iden-‐

me to interview them. I will call

them by the name they prefer to

go by, Zeam, and use gender neu-‐

tral pronouns. As the daily use of

the English language does not

have a gender neutral pronoun

for people, zhe has to use “zhe”

“zher,” and “zhers” instead of

“he,” “she,” etc. Zeam also decid-‐

ed to pick a new name, one that

is not associated with either gen-‐

der. “I feel that I have both gen-‐

ders, or I’m neither,” Zeam said

in our interview, when asked

about zher gender identity. Zhe

has had to make some changes

to the way that zhe goes about

zher day as a result of claiming

identity.

Zeam suffers daily from the

need to either pick the male or

female bathroom to go in. Zeam

described the feeling as “though

someone [had] to think about

blinking... I shouldn’t have to

worry about blinking.”

“[A] basic premise [is] that ev-‐

ery human being needs to go to

the bathroom” JJ Kahle pointed

out in an interview, “Almost ev-‐

ery option that you have you

have to walk through a door that

either says men or women.” A

lot of people will walk into the

wrong bathroom at one point or

another, and it doesn’t feel right,

right? This is a perpetual prob-‐

lem for members of the TGNC

(transgender/nonconforming)

community, which includes peo-‐

ple who identify with the gender

other than the one they were

born with (transgender) or does

not identify with either of the

binary genders (gender noncon-‐

forming). Unless they live in an

area where they have access to

a gender neutral bathroom, this

feeling is perpetual. “Those signs

hold so much . . . power over me”,

Zhe said, “I always feel like I’m in

the wrong bathroom.”

Why Blake, though, and why

now? With the upcoming sci-‐

ence wing renovations, this is a

perfect time to make this idea

into a reality. It wouldn’t be a

large change, either. “It’s all just

a sign change,” Ms. Kahle said. It

is true, though. Literally all that

would be involved would be new

signs for one set of bathrooms,

easier than having Gary Spencer

from the tech lab replace your

computer’s battery.

What would be some of the

negatives? The most common

argument against putting in gen-‐

der neutral bathrooms is that it

would lead to sexual harassment

and other bad behavior, but that

is simply not the case. Bath-‐

rooms are for going to the bath-‐

room, and if people were really

afraid of inappropriate behavior,

they would organize bathrooms

based on sexual orientation

instead of gender. Sure, some

students might feel uncomfort-‐

situation, but isn’t the freedom

of some to pee more important

than the apprehension of a few?

This wouldn’t be a school wide

change, after all, just one set of

bathrooms. After all, as Ms. Kah-‐

one of us feels less oppressed.”

I personally do not have to

face the problems Zeam does.

I can use the girls’ bathroom

with ease, but I know that most

people, even myself, sometimes

forget that for many people this

seeming given is not a given. The

last time I was in a space with

gender neutral bathrooms was

just this past month at the larg-‐

est LGBTQ rights conference

in the nation, Creating Change.

I remember hearing people

all around me speak of how

relieved they were that they

could go to the bathroom and

not be stared at our kicked out.

It struck me as amazing that so

many people could be given that

peace of mind by a simple sign

change, and how many places

still don’t do it. Blake is known

for its diversity and acceptance.

So why shouldn’t the community

take this one simple, giant step

to give back to right to pee to all

who come to Blake?

Student complaints of not enough food exaggerate problemJanice Chung

The lack of food at lunch and

new limits on how much

each student can take have been

posing a problem for Blake stu-‐

dents for a while now. I had

thought that poor planning on

the part of the lunch staff may

have been the culprit—but then

I found out from Paul Babel, Ta-‐

her’s head chef here, that the

lunch staff does a meticulous job

recording how much food they

make and whether they have too

much or too little on every day.

But there could always be mis-‐

calculations, no?

they had been doing a solid job

monitoring the amount of food

needed, why would the lunch

staff, feel the need to limit the

amount of food each student

could take: for example, on

-‐

dents are growing, hard working

students who need to eat to func-‐

tion and prepare ourselves for

the rest of the day. So what is the

reason for holding us back from

piling up our plates with food

to our content? Maybe if we un-‐

derstood why the staff is imple-‐

menting these limits, we could

be more conscientious about our

decisions during lunch, so that

the lunch staff wouldn’t need to

enforce them.

Babel explained, “We eat with

-‐

ally hungry, and we see food we

take the amount we feel we need

but oftentimes we overestimate

our appetites. When we actually

start eating, we get full faster

than we expect and end up not

eating as much as we expected.

As a result, we end up throwing

away much of what we picked

up, contributing to the overall

shortage of food as well as the

amount of food thrown away.

Of course, this is a blanket

statement and many of the stu-‐

dents may need more than three

them up with enough energy for

the rest of the day, but there is

some truth to the idea.

According to Taher’s produc-‐

tion sheet, the last time chicken

bought $1000 worth of chicken

and by limiting the intake to 5

pieces per student, there was

much less chicken in the com-‐

post bins and half of one of the

cases of chicken still remained.

On previous days, when the

chicken intake was not limited,

the chicken had run out and yet

much of it was found thrown

away in bins.

I’m not advocating the limita-‐

tions on the amount of food we

can take, but I certainly am ask-‐

ing for a sense of responsibility

for the food we decide to place

on our plates. I would not ad-‐

vocate the elimination of limits

-‐

ment to clean our plates either,

but we must have a conscien-‐

tious awareness of what we pick

and how much we take.

InDepth8

Facebook is an essential part of our digital culture, and

yet a quarter of teens in the U.S. don’t have a Facebook account, a shockingly high number.

year, I originally didn’t have a Facebook. If I had an account before, my outlook on my fu-‐ture classmates would have been biased by looking at

The reality is, students with-‐out Facebook accounts aren’t that different. In fact, teens with-‐out Facebook have said they feel they are better off. “It [Facebook] takes up all your time -‐ You get addicted to it,” said Charlie All-‐

dredge ’16.

So why do so many of us have Facebook then? Facebook gives teens an opportunity to be bolder than they would usually be face to face. It is a place to set their best foot forward: prettiest

picture, wittiest status updates, funniest comments. These are the things that shape your reputation on Facebook,

‘real’ life. And since these things are not that hard to achieve, we all have a chance at popularity.

said they believe they are better

They have more free time and like Ryan Broll ’16 said: “[they] don’t get caught up in social drama and …don’t get in trou-‐

Meghna Kaul ’14 says, “people get in trouble because of a provocative picture they’ve posted…Also a lot of people

get into arguments on Facebook, they say things they wouldn’t say face to face.” Hanad Samatar ’14 took another route to disconnecting, he says: “I didn’t know how to delete or unblock a person on

-‐count.”

Unplugged

45% of Blake Students

don’t have Twitter

16% of Blake Students

don’t have Facebook

65%of students that do

have Twitter check it more than once a day

66% of students that do have

Twitter tweet once a week

79% of students that do

have Facebook check it more than once a day

70% of students that do

have Facebook change their

couple months“It takes up all your time”

- Charlie Alldredge ‘16

Maria Orlandi

Students pay no heed to their Facebook feed

9InDepth

A world without a limit to 140 char-‐acters, a world where you can ‘dis-‐like’ something, a world without smart pens and a world without Microsoft Word; that’s a world that’s been un-‐plugged. In today’s information-‐inun-‐dated world, Twitter, Facebook, Smart

dominant modes of connection and entertainment. Especially in the case of teenagers, for whom texting and tweeting have become go-‐to methods of communi-‐cation, such technology plays an irre-‐placeable role in the modern lifestyle and educational experience. That’s why, in such an environ-‐ment, it seems almost unthinkable to be “unplugged” from the throbbing hive of the social info-‐sphere. Indeed, people with-‐out Twitter or Facebook are ques-‐tioned and

for their c h o i c e s . Even chalkboards, which now seem fairly Paleozoic, receive their fair share of hate. Recently, the technology news web-‐site Slashdot posted an article warn-‐ing against individuals without Face-‐book, sensationally claiming that they are more likely to be sociopaths or serial killers. This ridiculous assertion is clearly not descriptive of those who choose to abstain from social media,

Anne Slusser ’14, who left Face-‐book a few months ago, hasn’t felt the slightest need to return. Though she still has a Twitter account, she describes herself as “freer” without the constant distraction that Face-‐book provides. The change has also given her perspective on “how much our lives revolve around the site.” Once outside of the seductive glow of the newsfeed, she noted, was able to

Disconnected and disassociatedStudents connect over not being connectedClare Flanagan

Unpluggedobserve the sheer amount of energy spent discussing drama and pictures – and then choose to direct her own towards more genuine social interac-‐

understand her opinion on life with-‐out Facebook – “I like it better!” Unlike Slusser, Christopher Hof-‐stadter ’14 is completely unplugged, possessing neither Facebook nor Twit-‐ter. This can sometimes pose logistical challenges – when you’re not on Face-‐book, it’s easy to miss announcements,

However, Hofstadter doesn’t consider his lack of social media presence to be a negative. “I save a lot of time by not

I kind of know,” he observed. “Face-‐

something you do.” Janhawi Kelkar ’13 says, “I think it’s more ef-‐

up essays and long homework assign-‐

better to handwrite, because it allows -‐

sides, if I didn’t handwrite my notes, I would barely ever handwrite at all.” . Some, like Alex Boyd ’14, even pre-‐fer chalkboards to Smartboards. In her words, “Who doesn’t love colorful chalk?” Whether it’s a better ability to con-‐nect face-‐to-‐face or simply the ability to perfect the cursive we worked so hard learning in lower school, there is sometimes more to gain than to lose from being unplugged. Life without social media and an excessive amount of electronics has fewer consequences than one might think. If students without social net-‐

their paper by hand instead of typing them on their computers are psycho-‐paths, looks like we have to watch our backs in the halls.

through pictures of people I kind

of know”

-Christopher Hofstadter ‘14

Students pay no heed to their Facebook feed

“Who doesn’t love colorful chalk?”

Author Patrick E. McLean defends long handwriting with a poetic dissertation on

their raw, feral state when the pen is your tool. Technology, meanwhile, can be too distracting and distancing.” Many students

drift towards the Safari icon and then fur-‐ther to their Facebook or Twitter accounts.

arts10

The opportunities in our art community at Blake are ro-‐

bust. One of the opportunities

-‐dio. This in itself is an incredible

-‐nity because anyone is welcome to attend, even people outside of the school. It is free for students

-‐

classes try it at least twice. The atmosphere of the room

-‐tive. It takes artists away from all the hustle and bustle of their busy academic lives and puts them in a place where they can

chance to develop their skills, primarily in observational art techniques.

-‐-‐

builds ability (and a portfolio) that optimizes them for the pur-‐

Alex Sigmundik

February Artist Spotlight: Kira Leadholm

and relaxed environment that is

-‐-‐

ous day’s work at school. Spectrum

studies models, to explore the perspective of the very person that allows these sessions to be

Spectrum: What is your rela-‐tionship with art?Model: I don’t have any art

like that. Spectrum: What’s it like and

a model?Model:

whole process. And to see what

work. Spectrum:

Model:when I was 34. My husband worked in architecture so he drew a lot, so I started small

and then moved up. After my

graphic credit:Alex Sigmundik

Why I love Ed Bok Lee:

The moment Ed Bok Lee’s mouth opened, I knew I had

-‐

Lin.

to pen, yet understandable on some fundamental level. I have

make swear words sound so

aesthetic. When Ed strolled into my

-‐

stealthy cool, I felt like a 13 year old Belieber strapped to a pole

feet away. My façade of normalcy ended abruptly when, Ed issued his

name to create the name of your city. I passionately tried to cre-‐

the six letters that my parents

to entertain. In the quiet room, out of the corner of my eye, I

smart board with a white board marker. There was silence in the class, and I suppose a common fear that we would hinder his intel-‐lectual fervor.

-‐-‐

boundaries he created. We were

write without inhibitions, and to

Later, when he read pieces

that he utilized his history to

culture, and the Asian elements he incorporates into his pieces only add to the character of his works. There’s a certain type of feel-‐

-‐come clearer, and the emotions that exist underneath the words

than you can comprehend. Before he left, Ed read a short piece he had written, and I re-‐member my friend

-‐

-‐

The rules that had been drilled into our minds for seventeen years broke free, and we yearned to drive and drive until we saw

Eve L u

Kira Leadholm ‘15 Bill Colburn’s

EXPOSED

for part time work so my hus-‐

and do this more and try and see

that’s how it started. Spectrum: What other places do you model?Model: -‐versity of Minnesota, Minnesota

-‐

Spectrum: How did you end up

Model: I saw Bob [Teslow] a

and I modeled for his wife. He said we need models here [At Blake] and then I had a friend

we connected back up.

graphic credit: Joe Kyle

Poet-in-residence, winner of Minnesota Book Award visits Blake

entertainment 11Fans react to the steamiest kiss of the season

Sullivan Whitely

Adelaide Winton Sarah Levi

Aquarius (January 21 – Feb-‐ruary 19)Starting to think about your fu-‐ture? Think again.

Pisces (February 20 – March 20)Your birthday is coming up and you’ve always wanted that one special thing that you doubt your parents would ever get you! Try walking backwards through doors for good luck.

Aries (March 21 – April 20)Spring break is just around the corner and you just know that

in Florida to start your tan, when in reality you burn like a lobster.

Taurus (April 21 – May 21)Forces indicate you will forever change the way you look at a Chipotle burrito.

Gemini (May 22 – June 21)Prepare to go to Lund’s to buy

cream, as you will be wallowing in your room this weekend, eat-‐ing your weight in ice cream.

Cancer (June 22 – July 23)The stars thank you for you’re interest, however have no in-‐terest in you. Good luck in your endeavors!

Leo (July 24 – August 23)One of your matches on tinder this month will be your soul mate. Try liking the picture of someone you would not nor-‐

more than just a match for you!

Virgo (August 24 – Septem-‐ber 23)Awkward moment when your twitter ratio just plummeted.

Libra (September 24 – Octo-‐ber 24)You will feel cheated this week

It was the kiss that separated boys from men. It was the kiss that grabbed a sleepy Tuesday night by its hunched over shoul-‐ders and shook it. Shook it hard enough for boys and girls, men and women all over the country to squeal like baby pigs at their TV sets with unbridled delight. This was no ordinary kiss, but rather the highly anticipated, long-‐withstood kiss between

Fox’s hit sitcom, New Girl. For those who watch the show, the chemistry between the afore-‐mentioned characters was unde-‐niable from episode one, and it was inevitable—for the sake of the viewers of course—that one-‐day Turtle Face Nick and Quirky

Avid viewer, Caroline Hun-‐sicker ’13 reports that, “It was pretty hard to not rewind that scene. I watched it twice, I did. I just had to make sure it was real.” Perhaps the reason Hunsicker and millions of other view-‐ers had a hard time believing it was actually happening can be blamed on the unexpected #sex-‐ualtench and chemistry between the two quirky characters.

Amelia Williams ’12 recounts the excitement felt

walls at the George Washington University campus, saying, “GW exploded when they kissed. It was all anyone could talk about the next day, besides the usual political fare. I kid you not, the two things GW loves best are Obama and New Girl.”

Now as February, the most romantic month of the year comes and goes, and you’re

romance in your own life, tune into New Girl on Tuesday nights

love story is sure to fascinate and charm its viewers, you’ll

TV in no time.

Maxine Whitely ‘16

Jake Ingbar ‘14

Caroline Hunsicker ‘13

Cameron Hastings ‘14

ChesterLilia Everson and

Callahan Vertin ‘15

You stand there, anticipating the cold shock that you will

occur in the minutes to come. You see people wrapped in tow-‐els run past you, their teeth chat-‐tering and their skin turning a dark blue.

you’re at the front of the line and your up: about to take a jump, into the frigid water hid-‐den below the thick ice. You take one brave step off the ledge and plunge into the dark and myste-‐rious water below. This bone-‐chilling event

Robyn Lip-‐schultz ’16 took a chance on. She reports, “it was really cold because we had to wait 30 min-‐utes outside [before taking the plunge], but I would do it again.” Carly Bullock ‘16 also took the risk, raving that “it was fun to do something different!” The Plunge takes place

March and consists of 16 events held all over Minnesota. Hosted by Law Enforcement Torch Run, it encourages brave Minnesotans to take a freezing plunge to raise money necessary to support

the Special Olympics. The event raised $2.8 million and attracted over 12,00 participants in 2012. In the coming months,

communities across Minnesota, -‐

neapolis, Eden Prairie, Maple Grove, and many more. So far, Minnesotan plungers have raised $1,189,929 in online pledges, with over 11,358 regis-‐tered plungers-‐-‐and these num-‐bers are only expected to grow! For more information and to register, visit www.plungemn.

adrenaline rush, one donation.

guy you’ve had your eye on for so long isn’t getting out of pris-‐on.

Scorpio (October 25 – Novem-‐ber 22)The love of your live is just

cause you were alone this Valen-‐

Sagittarius (November 23 – December 21)Someday, you will have a plenti-‐ful life to live, but in the mean-‐time, stop by the nearest pet store to buy an old cat you know you can feel connected to.

Capricorn (December 22 – January 20)The stars indicate that you should probably stop annoying people.

Your stars read and deciphered by an expertRaising funds for

Special Olympics

science and technology12Lunch service passes the healthiness test

photo credit: Janice ChungThe lunch program aims to offer a wide variety of food, but there are still concerns about health.

Maddy Norgard

When Blake students walk

into the lunch room

they see a variety of tantaliz-‐

ing choices, but how healthy

are these choices? Blake’s Ta-‐

her lunches are made to match

the voracious appetites of the

school’s student body, and the

taste of Blake’s lunches rivals

that of other schools. The ques-‐

tion that’s left is whether the

lunches are healthy.

There are a few key things

that make our school lunches

healthier than other schools’ in

general.

and salad bar, both offered ev-‐

ery day. A wide variety of fruits,

fresh yogurt, and salad dressing

is prepared fresh daily. At many

schools students don’t get to

have such a wide variety of fresh,

healthy options to support their

Science Olympiad performs

ably at regional competitionIman Pakzad

Chemistry Lab. On the varsity

level, Blake Blue came in fourth

in Chemistry lab, third in water

quality, second in forestry and

JV scored 6th out of 7 teams

and Varsity scored 9th out of 12

teams.

Eric Nystromquite well-‐-‐ we always seem to

have stand out performances.

We ended up not making it to

state, which was a disappoint-‐

-‐

vidual efforts were quite good.”

Though the team did not ad-‐

vance to state this year, they are

looking for motivated members

to join in the years to come.

On February 2nd, 17 Blake

students competed in the

Science Olympiad competition

According to Ryan Stocking ‘14, “There are lots of different events [at Science Olympiad].

They typically break down into

two different types of events.

You have the build events which

require pre-‐work on a built de-‐

vice. And then you have more

study related events. There are

many varieties from biology to

chemistry to physics”.

At the meet, the Blake teams

did well. On the JV level, Blake

5 homemade cures for your coldMaxine Whitely

Special tea: take one bag of herbal tea and one of citrus tea and

brew them together. Next, put the juice of half of a lime into the

tea, followed by a fruit juice of your choice and pure honey. Stir this

concoction up and you will be feeling better in no time!

it. Leave it in the fridge and then squeeze on a bit of the juice of a

lemon or a lime. Consume no more than two tablespoons.

room, and change the shower temperature to near scalding for

a shower that produces a lot of steam, naturally opening your

airways.

Salt water gargle: Snatch an 8-‐ounce glass of warm water and add

one teaspoon of salt for every 8 ounces of water. Gargle 3-‐4 times a

day for help with a sore throat.

known to lessen coughs at night.

1

2

3

4

5

main courses.

Taher’s commitment to mak-‐

ing everything in the school’s

own kitchen, and to getting as

much food as possible locally as-‐

sures Blake’s lunches stand out

from the rest. Only four schools

in the Minneapolis Public School

programs committed to fresh

food and scratch cooking. By

having freshly made lunches,

students get out of eating the

highly processed foods that are

offered at many other schools.

Schools in Colorado call this

method scratch cooking. The

state of Colorado has started a

back-‐to-‐scratch movement to

encourage more schools to eat

locally, and apparently it works

because Colorado has the low-‐

est obesity rate of any US state,

-‐

ease Control.

d a back-‐to-‐scratch policy, but

Blake does serve as a model for

other schools in the metro in

-‐

ly launched their own scratch

lunch program in four of its

schools.

Blake’s school lunches re-‐

ally do rival the tastiness and

the healthiness of other school’s

potential for unhealthiness rises

as the amount of food we eat ris-‐

es. Blake’s all-‐you-‐can-‐eat -‐buf-‐

fet style service is different from

that of schools where students

have to pay for each serving of

food they have.

On pasta days, when lines

extend to the back of the lunch-‐

room, we see that students are

heaping piles of pasta on their

plate, which amps up the calo-‐

rie and carbohydrate count of

their meals. This, though, is by

student choice, and besides, stu-‐

dents don’t tend to carbo-‐load

the lunch service to account for

the different needs of each in-‐

dividual student. A 6’5’’ three

sport athlete’s needs are differ-‐

ent than others’ needs.

Next time you go to the lunch-‐

room rest assured that Taher is

offering you a wide variety of

healthy options. You just have

to make sure that you make the

right choice when it comes to

portion size, and you will be eat-‐

ing healthy.

photo credit: Janice Chung

science and technology 1316 things you’ll need to survive the apocalypseS

ome Spectrum readers might have

breathed a sigh of relief on the 22nd

of December, grateful that the so-‐called

“Mayan Apocalypse” did not come to pass.

However, don’t relax yet; it’s never too soon

to begin preparing for the next conceiv-‐

able event that will end the world. Some

might point out that there have been pre-‐

dictions of the end of the world for centu-‐

ries— from ancient Bishop Hilary Poitiers

claiming that the Rapture would occur in

365 CE, to more modern self-‐proclaimed

prophets such as Pat Robertson, Harold

Camping, and the church of the Jehovah’s

Witness. What will cause an apocalypse?

Any number of ways: global warming, nu-‐

clear war, government collapse, a rebellion

led by sentient iPhones…

So, how can one prepare? By packing a

boring survival bag with iodine and a swiss

army knife? No! By assembling the ultimate

apocalypse-‐readiness kit with things you

probably already have around the house!

Rachel Hertzerberg

7.

8.

9.

5.

6.

A dictionary, for education and kindling

Pencils and paper, to record your experiences so that after the apocalypse you can publish a book about it

Double-sided tape

Vinegar; for making pick-les

A chess set or deck of cards

Origami paper to create cranes

11

12

13

14

15

16

9.

10

Yoga pants, for obvious reasons

5.

6.

7.

8.

A kazoo; if you can’t kill zombies, maybe you can annoy them.

A scooter, for easy locomotion

Glitter, to keep morale up

Every book ever written about the apocalypse

05

06

07

08

09

Finger puppets to entertain any small children one might encounter, as well as for com-panionship

1.

2.

3.

4.

A stuffed animal, for com-fort and moral support

A bag of marbles, to be used for entertainment, and if dropped, a loud distraction

for valuable nutrition

A broadsword

01

02

03

04

16 ESSENTIALS

FOR SURVIVAL

features14

Two students, two Stories, one feature

As her fellow eleventh grade peers kicked off the school

year back at Blake, Arista Jhan-‐jee ’14 began her school year on a very different note at the School for Ethics and Global Leadership (SEGL). Arista, along with another 23 students from around the United States, tackled global issues everyday, meeting with celebrated lead-‐ers and ambassadors, and un-‐derstanding the world’s prob-‐lems. Arista had the privilege of studying such matters in Wash-‐ington D.C., the center of Ameri-‐can politics,. This semester program is directed towards high school juniors, and began in 2009 by director Noah Bopp. “He got the idea after 9/11 happened,” said Jhanjee. “He was facing a lot of anger and frustration and confusion in general so he de-‐cided he’d start a school that would address these sorts of is-‐sues.” In the program, students take all their normal classes that they take at school, like physics, chemistry, or even AP classes. The rest of the time is directed towards learning about ethics and problems around the world. In this class, “called

Janhawi Kelkar

Ethics and Leadership, you do case studies that have an ethi-‐cal dimension.” So what exactly do students study in this class? “An example of a case study was

We also did a case study on HIV/AIDS.” She also noted that, “this year had more of a politi-‐

cal bend because of the election season.” According to the SEGL website, the Ethics and Leader-‐ship course serves two purpos-‐es: one, to introduce students to ethical, critical thinking, using current national and interna-‐tional events and issues as case studies and two, to develop stu-‐dents’ leadership skills, includ-‐

Underclassmen triumph in Blake’s Poetry Out Loud contestSanjana Srivastava

This January, Blake Upper School conducted the Poetry Out Loud school competition in which students recite poetry in hopes to be the most elo-‐quent and best at conveying the meaning and depth behind their poetry. “The judges score the poem on different aspects of the delivery including volume, hand

Amy Frenkel ’16, winner of the Blake competition. Performing Candles by Carl Dennis for Blake’s Po-‐etry Out Loud, Frenkel outlines her process for effective poetry reading. “Before I start memo-‐rizing and reciting a poem I take a day or two to research the author, the poem’s history, and then annotate each poem. This process allows me to understand the author’s emotion behind each poem and therefore helps guide me when

I try to decide how to express that emotion through my recita-‐tion. Consequently, my driving idea behind how I recite poetry is how can I most effectively convey the emotion and mean-‐ing behind the poem through my tone, hand gestures, and stage presence.” The key to be-‐ing successful in Poetry Out

Loud is overall presence—the performer must show the poem through their entire demeanor instead of simply reciting it. “I think the aspects of a performance that makes a good poem recitation include hand gestures that give the poem more dimension, a variance of

-‐

First up: Arista Jahnjee returns to Blake

ing public speaking, debate, constructive activism, and an understanding of group dynam-‐ics. Not only do students learn, research, and debate about international politics, but they also get to meet some of these leaders and politicians themselves. “One of our speak-‐

ers was a former UN Global Aids Ambassador,” said Jhanjee. “An-‐other one was pretty high up in the Department of Energy.” She noted these symposiums as one of favorite parts of the semester. “Talking to those leaders was re-‐ally cool!” Being in the nation’s capital was a huge part of the ex-‐perience, Jhanjee said, “we lived pretty close to the capitol build-‐ing…really like 10 feet away. SEGL students live in dorms, but “they were almost like houses, with 4 or 5 rooms.” Although she didn’t know any of the other two-‐dozen students in the pro-‐gram, “it wasn’t that hard to ad-‐just to DC because everyone was welcoming and made a lot of efforts to make us feel comfort-‐able.” This program, “looks for students who are interested in the environment around them, especially the global commu-‐nity or politics.” Ninth and tenth graders, if this interests you, talk to your deans or visit schoolfor-‐ethics.org. Coming out of the se-‐mester, Arista said, “I’m not sure exactly what I want to do in the

interested in these issues.”

ing stage presence,” says Fren-‐kel. “Personally, I enjoy listening to someone reciting a unique poem (rather than the clas-‐sic and slightly overused love poem) that can evoke emotion within me.” “There are a variety of different levels of competition consisting of school competi-‐

tions, regional and/or state, and then a national tournament in Washington D.C. After winning

-‐tion I will go straight to the state competition and have a chance at advancing to nationals if all goes well!” says Frenkel. “From this experience I hope to inspire others to dis-‐cover the enjoyment I have after diving into Poetry Out Loud. I look forward to seeing what my peers bring next year to Blake’s Second Annual Poetry Out Loud competition and am excited to work with Mr. Dawson on my poems for state.” Given her ability to do so well at Blake, Frenkel is sure to recite poetry beautifully and meaningfully at the state competition and en-‐courage other Blake students to compete in the future. Also to be congratulated, Greta Morgan ‘15 and Brianna Pomonis ‘15 who placed second and third, re-‐spectively.

Skiing smoothly over competitors, once againGirls and Boys Alpine ski teams thrive at state

photo credit: Sam FosterAfter crushing competition at the state meet, the Alpine ski team poses for one last picture

Both Boys and Girls alpine skiing teams have had tre-‐

mendous seasons. Boys were undefeated in all races except sections where they placed sec-‐ond and went on to win state. Girls were also undefeated and

2nd at state, improving on their 3rd place from last year.This success is nothing new and Jack McNeil ’13, the only boy to go to state last year, recollects on his Blake skiing career, “we’ve been undefeated in conference races ever since I’ve been here and I think even before that too.” The girl’s team has also been un-‐defeated in conference for the past few years.

Chris Hall

Nevertheless many skiers at-‐tribute this year’s success to new coach, Robbie Massie ’03. Massie attended Blake then skied at the division one level at Montana State University. After graduating, he coached skiing at Steamboat in Colorado then at Bridger Bowl in Montana, so he is a very accomplished coach. Theodore Ankeny ’14 said when asked about Massie, “[he] has helped the team be-‐come stronger and has lead us in this successful season.” Along with being well coached the team had very strong senior leadership. On the boys side there were six seniors Jack McNeil, Anders Ekholm,

sports 15

Deep in the eons of Twitter,

known as “JV Boys Hockey”. “It’s been blowing up lately, we start-‐ed it as just a joke but we didn’t realize it’d be this popular” said Drew Verneris, a member of the JV hockey team. When I spoke with a number of JV team mem-‐bers, a certain eccentricity and creativity was in the air as they debated how to dress for their last home game, “Anyone wanna rock the white pants with me?” said Danny Levin; “Snapbacks and shutter shades only” said Ike Frans, a recent addition to the team affectionately known as Love Boat. The masthead reads

#FTJVM is the name, mediocrity is their game.Roree Taylor

“#FTJVM is the name. Medioc-‐rity is our game. Follow for in-‐spirational coach quotes, daily updates on the squad and the trials of the grind. Ride, Thrive, Drive.” As I peruse the tweets, I smile as the eccentricity dis-‐played in the locker room is

such as, “Even though JV season is done, the boys are a lifestyle #summer #BabySoftSkin”. So yes, even though the JV season may be over, the personalities stand up to make a semi-‐coher-‐ent amalgam of craziness best exuded to their fans through their constant use of twitter.

An inside look at sports injuries at Blake

Here at Blake, we highly value excellence in all

categories, and athletics are no exception. But excellence in sports comes with many injuries. New to Blake this year is Stuart Borne, our ath-‐letic trainer. Stuart previously worked at the University of Minnesota as a grad assistant athletic trainer. In an interview with Stuart on the injuries he sees and how to prevent them, he says, “All injuries depend on the sport. For each sport so far this year (fall and winter), I have seen anywhere from 5 to 10 inju-‐ries.” Stuart gives examples of the injuries he sees and how they differ from sport to sport. For

Sylvie Wallin

example, in hockey, he sees a lot of concussions and shoul-‐der injuries. In tennis, there are shoulder injuries, but he tends to never see concus-‐sions. For basketball, he sees a lot of jammed fingers and sprained ankles. Football is a little bit of everything; some ankles, some shoulders, some concussions. For injury treatment, Stuart explains that the treatment all depends on the severity and type of injury. “Some injuries I can tape up and the player can continue to play, but other injuries, when the player is re-‐moved from the game, require a trip to the doctor, and more of an ongoing process of treat-‐ment.”

No pain, no game

Christian Ponzetti, Ned Hart-‐

and Bork. On the girls side there were two seniors: Tessa Ide and

. Despite losing so many seniors next year, the team looks like it will continue to be strong in the future. On the boys side

-‐

thew Mitchell ’15, Roscoe Ide

’16 and Zach Dekko ’18 are all very talented skiers and will make up a competitive team next year. For the girls

, Maddie Dekko ’16 and Nel-‐lie Ide ’18 also keep the future looking bright. So, the Blake Ski-‐ing legacy will continue.

February Mystery AthleteTony Fautsch

This “tri-‐sport,” as he would co-‐herently proclaim, athlete is

a modest running star on Junior Varsity cross-‐country, who partici-‐pated in the sport for a cumulative

Ultimate Frisbeer. His ability to -‐

derhand and crossover-‐backhand-‐ed throughs and through-‐the-‐legs

Even as he carried the squad to an accomplished season, he continu-‐ally developed his professional career in painting. If there were a letter in Art (and there are three), this young man would be the one to wear that painted brush crest on his jacket. As a proud member of the NAHS group (accordingly), he utilizes his talents to ensure that all others are comfortable with the fact that they will never be as awesome as him. On and off

carry him past all others, and he is quite intimidating in all areas of his three sports.

The Ultimate Running Star

When asked on ways to prevent getting injuries, Stu-‐art advises “To prevent mus-‐cular skeletal injuries, such as ankle sprains, and hamstring sprains, make sure you warm up everyday, the same warm-‐up for every practice and every game. Make sure that the warm up is dynamic, working up a sweat before you get the actual workout in, because this gets your body ready.” For example, in order to get warmed-‐up for baseball, you will want to focus on upper body warm ups, versus track, where you would want to focus mainly on the lower body. Listen to Stuart, and stay healthy!

photo credit: Sam Foster

sports16

Carly Bullock ‘16 says,

“They’re all really great lead-‐

ers and support everyone on the

team. They have a love for the

game which makes playing with

them so much fun!”

Most of these seniors have

been on the team together since

freshman year, and all display

strong leadership for the team.

Dani Cameranesi ‘13 says that “a main difference from fresh-‐

man year is the fact that us se-‐

niors are now the oldest on the

team and are now the ones the

underclassmen look up to, so

we’re expected to lead by ex-‐

ample.”

Isabel Hall

The girls on the hockey team

spend at least two hours togeth-‐

er everyday for four months dur-‐

ing the hockey season. Hannah Randolph ‘13 says, “It’s sad to think that the season is coming

to an end. I can’t imagine No-‐

vember coming around [next

year] and not getting ready for

hockey!”

First-‐year coach Shawn Reid has also had an amazing season

since the team has a record of

19-‐5-‐3, an average of seven goals

per game, and defeated our big-‐

gest rival, Breck, in the section

-‐

mosphere in the locker room be-‐

#BGH: Blue ribbons to match their jerseys

fore the game and on the bench

throughout the game was calm

when we got down a goal, the

players stuck with our plan and

didn’t panic. It was the most fun

I have ever had as a coach.”

-‐

cellence, sportsmanship, hard

work, and pride. The team this

-‐

vorite teams that I have ever

been on!” says Kate Fraley ‘13. It is clear how much the girls

value their teammates and how

much this last year playing as a

Blake Bear means to the seniors.

Talented eight lead the team to stateSenior leadership boosted girls’ hockey to success

Fencing their way tothe topB

lake hosted the state fenc-‐

ing tournament this past

weekend and the outcome was

incredible. The women’s team

team took second. There were

nine individual medalists, and

Catherine Hua ‘13individual women’s saber fenc-‐

ing champion for Blake in over

a decade! Taylor Chadwick ‘13

took 3rd and Allison Eastham ‘14 took 7th for the women’s saber as well.

For the men’s foil Solomon Polansky ‘15 took 2nd place, Oliver Cornelius-‐Knudsen ‘14 took 5th place and Daniel Weiser ‘13 took 7th place. For the men’s saber, Riley Wein-‐man ‘17 took 8th place.

On Tuesday February 28, the

boys’ hockey team played

their final game of the season

against Deleno, at Parade Ice

Arena, for the section semi-‐

finals. The team was seeded

third overall and had a regular

season record of 10-‐17.

After stunning victories

Boys’ hockey seasoncomes to a close

over Minnehaha and Mound-‐

Westonka, the boys fell short

of making it to the section

finals. The final score of the

game was 1-‐5. and Christo-‐pher Chute ‘13, a captain, had the only goal of the

game, scored in the third pe-‐

riod.

Documents

February Spectrum