theSpectrum

The Blake School v 511 Kenwood Pkwy, Minneapolis, MN v Issue VI v April 28, 2011 v blakespectrum.comyour voice in print.

student life........pg 2-3

news......................pg 4

opinions.............pg 5-7

in-depth.............pg 8-9

a&e.................pg 10-11

sci/tech...........pg 12-13

sports.............pg 15-16

this month in...

Take Back the Night, tonightHaley Holsather

Contributing Writer

This evening, April 28, across the United States, ten

schools will speak out against sexual violence. These schools are the Ten Points of Light to Take Back the Night. The schools are com-monly colleges, but when Katie Koestner came to speak dur-ing the fall, she picked Blake to be one of the ten points of light. “I think because of our commitment to gender issues and to preventing sexual vio-lence, Blake was highlighted as the only high school that was one of the ten points of light,” said Amie DeHarpporte, Upper School Social Studies teacher and Genderation X advisor. Take Back the Night is an organization dedicated to ending sexual violence all over the globe, to “Shatter the silence. Stop the violence.” The first Take

Back the Night rally took place in 1975 in Philadelphia, Penn-sylvania after the murder of a young microbiologist, Susan Al-exander Speeth. In 2001, Katie Koestner led Take Back the Night to establish an in-ternational head-quarters and a char-itable foundation. Presently, the orga-nization has helped thousands of men and women across the world find their voices. P l a n n i n g at The Blake School began last fall when Katie Koestner, the executive director of Take Back the Night, came to speak to the school about sexual violence. The promotion of this event began on the day of her

speech, with the printing of the T-shirts reading “No Means No, Only Yes Means Yes,” and has continued throughout the

school year with announce-ments from the Genderation X club and the projects undertak-

en by the beginning printmaking class. Many hours of labor from students and faculty have gone into making Take Back the Night a reality for the school and community. The Genderation X club has been instrumental in the organization of this event with leaders Zoey Gold ‘11 and Tyler Leslie ’11, and project leaders Juliet Nelson ‘12, Catlin Petrocchi ‘13, and Cassie Ali ‘11. “I’m excited to see all the hard work come together, ” said Leslie, adding, “I think it will be a really powerful experience for all the people involved.” The events will begin at 7:00 p.m. in the Otis Courtyard, starting off with Tate Spencer ‘13’s band, ColorTab. Following that, members of our school and community will speak, including Head of School John Gulla, Upper School Director Anne Graybeal...

End of Gulla eraJohn Gulla, Head of The Blake School, announces retirement

Jonah SandyPage Editor

After thirteen years of ser-vice as Head of School, John

C. Gulla announced on April 13 that he will be culminating his Blake tenure at the end of the 2011-12 school year. During his tenure, which has been the longest as head of school since 1973, Gulla has overseen innumerable ac-complishments for the advance-ment of Blake not only as a school but also as a community. “Blake’s continued rise as a leader in independent school education can be attrib-uted to his vision and leader-ship,” says Elizabeth Winton, Chair of the Blake School Board of Trustees. For the past thirteen years Gulla has played an essen-tial role in administering count-less projects and advancements

in the School including the suc-cessful $55 million Centennial Campaign, significant growth in enrollment and staff (75% of

In the summer of next year, Gulla and his wife, Andrea, plan to return to New York City to be closer to family there and in

Although the entire community wishes the best for the Gullas as they depart from Blake, their in-fluential presence in the school will be missed. “No quotidian panegy-ric can encapsulate Mr. Gulla’s polysyllabic loquacity and ora-torical gravitas (not to mention his predilection for finding meta-physical guidance from Monty Python), which have inspired us all to greater feats of erudition; his departure will leave a lacuna in our community that no mere thesaurus can fill. In plain Eng-lish, Mr. Gulla has been a leader and mentor to students and fac-ulty alike, and Blake is lucky to have him on board for one last year,” said Upper School Director Anne Graybeal. Indeed, students and teachers alike will have to search elsewhere for the wise words...

Flash released

Blake’s environmentalstatistics and footprint

Mr. Mitchell named new Boy’s Varsity Soccer Coach

SAT takes too much time, in and out of testing

The Blake School serves as point of light in anti-violence campaign

features...............pg 14

continued on page 4...

continued on page 4...

Mr. Gulla spending quality time with students photo courtesy of blakeschool.org

graphic credit: Bailey Dunning

Club teams: Ultimate frisbee and Speech

Top 5 smoothies near you

Girls’ lacrosse team played for P.I.N.K, raised $8,000

The pressures of Prom

whom were hired under Gulla’s tenure), physical renovations, the School’s dedication to plu-ralism and LearningWorks.

Boston. “Change is not only inev-itable but can be a positive force for improvement for individuals and institutions,” Gulla explains.

Student Life 2 The Spectrum NewspaperApril 28, 2011

Nicole KozlakContributing Writer

Alex FeldmanStaff Writer

A retreat to remember

Singing to Saint Louis

On Sunday, April 10, the se-nior class, along with their

homeroom advisors, boarded

a bus to Hudson, Wisconsin to participate in the Senior Retreat. The retreat gave the class another chance to recon-nect as a whole before they begin to move in divergent directions. The campsite offered many activities; among the fa-

vorites were “DYAD’s,” where groups share with one another. Others enjoyed the, at times unreasonably competitive homeroom Olympics and being able to interact with peers and

Seniors reflect upon their retreat and savor the moments they have left together

A new phase of leadershipSenior and junior class presi-dents Jackson Sabes ’12 and Adam Johnson ’13 as-sumed their roles after elec-tions on Thursday, April 21.

They share their primary objectives for the 2011-2012

school year:

The StaffEDITORS-IN-CHIEF

Bailey DunningBennett Winton

PAGE EDITORSPatrick Dunphy: News/Feature

Emily Moore: Student LifeLaine Higgins: Opinions

Lucia Sandberg: In-DepthJonah Sandy: A&E

Bailey Dunning: Sci/TechKarl Lovaas: Sports

STAFF WRITERSNoah Abramovitz

Molly AppleClaire Carpenter

Katie EmoryClare Flanagan

Anna LeslieYassaman MoazamiFawaz Mohuiddin

Iman PakzadNatcher PruettHannah Rice

Lauren RondesvedtSanjana Srivastava

Henry Vaughan

SR. STAFF WRITERHannah Page

CONTRIBUTING WRITERSJake Barczak

Brennan DelattreTom Maude-Griffin

Haley HolsatherMeghna Kaul

Janhawi KelkarNicole Kozlak

Nolan LindquistJack Mortell

Brian ReichertRaine Robichaud

Jackson Sabes

Mission StatementThe primary purpose of the Blake School Spectrum is to report news and to explain its meaning and significance to our readers and the community. We hope to inform, entertain and provide a school forum for the unrestricted exchange of ideas and opinions.

Letters to the EditorDisagree with something that’s been printed in the paper? Have an opin-ion you want to share? Care to draw editorial cartoons? You write it, we print it. Take a stand and speak out. Email letters or editorial cartoons to spectrum@blakeschool.org or de-liver them anonymously in room 351.

Please limit letters to 400 words.

Join SpectrumSpectrum meets every Tuesday in room 351 during both lunches. Come if you are interested in writing, draw-ing, designing or taking pictures for

our newspaper.

GRAPHIC DESIGNERKevin Hayes

BUSINESS MANAGERSAlex Feldman

Christopher Hofstadter

ADVISERAnna Reid

The tour bus may have sug-gested boredom from the

long ten-hour bus ride, but be-neath the exhaustion, laid memo-ries of successful performances. Students from the various Blake choirs went on tour two weeks ago, Thursday, April 14-16, in St. Louis, stop-ping at the Mary Institute and St. Louis Day Country School, a senior community, and the St. Louis Heritage festival. At the latter event, A Capella Choir and Women’s Chorus received gold ratings and invitation to the “Gold Concert” in New York City. The A Capella choir per-formed “Te Quiero”, a romantic Spanish ballad, while Women’s

Chorus sang the 1930’s hit “Sun-ny Side of the Street”, complete with well-placed choreography. Abby Rickeman ’13 and Izzy Swanson ’13 agreed that, “’Sunny Side of the Street’ is a really catchy song that really fits our choir.” Meanwhile, Men’s Chorus wowed judges with the song, “Viva la Compag-nie”, an a capella march tune that showed off the boys’ tone. Said tenor Joel Pinedo ’11, “I don’t really need a rea-son to love ‘Viva la Compagnie. It’s just such an amazing song”. Elsewhere, Blak-er’s Dozen melted hearts with a melodic arrange-ment of “I Want it that Way”. Baritone Adam John-son ’13 commented that, “’I Want it that Way’ is ‘sex muzak’ [sic].”

Not only was this song performed at scheduled venues, but also spontane-ously, for instance at the mall. In addition to all the other choirs, Blakers in Treble presented another notable per-formance. With seemingly ef-fortless harmonies, the favorite was the classic tune, “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.” Though the hotel held many suprises, such as bloodstains, small rodents, no hot water, and cracks in the wall ‘repaired’ by scotch tape, the singers carried on. From North to South, Minnesota to Missouri; Wom-en’s and Men’s Chorus, Blaker’s Dozen, Blakers in Treble, and A Capella, charmed the young, the old, judges, and shop-pers all 624 miles from home.

develop relationships in a low stress environment. While there was an ample amount of time to have fun, the main point of the retreat was, “[To] make se-niors aware of the little time they had left with their fellow

classmates, and to have them embrace and cherish this time,” as one attendee commented. The retreat helped cre-ate value for the remaining days of their Blake career. In response,

one said that the trip aided in, “Reminding us that these last six weeks will either cement or deteriorate the cliques and relationships we’ve made”. Others felt that chang-es could have been made. Abra Owens ‘11 suggested

photo credit: Romy AckerbergLeft: Seniors join in a gruesome tug-of-war, while onlookers cheer on. Right: Johnson’s homeroom poses for a pre-game shot, complete with team shirts.

a later bedtime saying, “go-ing to bed at 11:30 was so early for a night owl like me”. Alex Gersovitz ‘11 vo-calized the complaint of many, the worst part being “the bed.”

Overall, seniors and faculty feel as if the retreat has helped make a stronger class. As seniors begin a new chapter of their life, the re-treat gave them one last chance to get to know classmates, or grow stronger with others.

Blake choirs awe their audiences. photo credit: Jeff Trinh

Choir members reflect on their tour experiences

“I will work with my grade to liber-ate the oppressor, fight back tyran-

ny and gain chocolate milk for the worker!

- Jackson Sabes

“I plan to make Junior year fun and exciting with as little stress as possible and off campus privileges sooner than any past junior class has received them!- Adam Johnson

Student Life 3The Spectrum NewspaperApril 28, 2011

Janhawi KelkarContributing Writer

The Blake Speech Team’s progress this year can be

measured through many means. But, perhaps the greatest show of success is in the growth number of team members,from one to 15 people this year. Speech, in short, is an interscholastic competition, con-sisting of 13 different events, with styles ranging from persuasive to humorous, dramatic to analyti-cal, and narrative to interpretive. The team environment, for some, is their most enjoy-able part of speech. Sanjana Srivastava ’14 says her favorite part of speech is, “being with ev-eryone on it—doing warmups.”

Speaking of Speech...Team members describe their successes and reveal the motives behind speech

Janhawi KelkarContributing Writer

photo credit: Priyanka Thakrar

The team gathers to celebrate a successful competition

The merits of the team go beyond team bonding. Blake Speech team captain, PriyankaThakrar ’12, says that, besides meeting all the new and excitingpeople, she truly enjoys delivering her speech, which, “really means a lot to me be-cause I mean every word of it.” The team performed well at sections, with Priyanka placing first in Oratory. McCall Bliss ’11 and Christine Ri-card’12 placed second in duo, Blaine Crawford ’13 placed third in discussion, and Hirsh Shekhar ’14 placed fourth in Extemp. Without doubt, the team has talent! Maybe the secret to the team’s success is in their warm-ups, like “Irish Wristwatch”—try saying that fast three times!

For those who doubt the legitimacy of Ultimate

Frisbee as a sport will be put to shame by Blake Ultimate’s powerful start to the season. Ultimate Frisbee isn’t just a simple game of catch. Rather, a competi-tive sport with daily prac-tices at Bryn Mawr Park, and about forty competing

schools in the conference. Their first game ended in a crushing vic-tory of 15-4 for Blake, against Mahtomedi. Need-less to say, the team is off to a vigorous start, with ten new players on the team. One of which, Ja-mieson Werling ’13, scored the first point of the opening game. While winning and scoring is part of the team’s

Ultimate Frisbee starts off strong, but the team values more than just a 15-4 victory

motivation, Ultimate Frisbee players are most enthusiastic about their team experience. The team values re-spect for others, revering the “Spirit of the Game” official Ultimate Frisbee rule guide as the team’s cornerstone. George Vojta ’13 ex-plains, “I don’t get why peo-ple are so excited when their practices are cancelled... At Ultimate, we enjoy our sport so much that we are bummed

when practice is cancelled.” We are sure to see great things from this prom-ising group of athletes, but it’s not all about winning. Team co-captain Krista Lindgren ’12—alongside Ben Meline ’11—said, this year, “our main goal is to have a fun season and improve our skills.”

Upcoming

EVENTSTake Back the NightThursday, April 28 from 7pm - 9pm. Meet at the Upper School campus courtyard.

Choral PerformancesMonday, May 2 at the Mac-Millan Performing Arts Center.

Celebration of CommunitySunday, May 4 from 1pm -4pm at Blake Middle School.

Strings ConcertTuesday, May 10 at the Mac-Millan Performing Arts Center.

Band ConcertWednesday, May 11 at the MacMillan Performing Arts Center.

Juliet Nelson Award Nomi-nationsThursday, May 12, nominate a teacher at blakeschool.org or via the given form.

Upper School PromSaturday, May 14.

Senior Program BeginsMonday, May 16.

Workshop ProductionFriday, May 20 at 7:30pm in the Black Box.

Excellent Eateries: spots to stop

800 Washington Ave.Minneapolis

2610 Lyndale Ave. Minneapolis

2548 Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis

deli

organic bakery&café

ice cream parlor

diner

3460 Galleria, Edinaseasonal dining

1007 Franklin Ave. Minneapolis

Be’Wiched

French Meadow

Uptown Diner

Sebastian Joe’s

Good Earth

Spinning into a new season

photo credit: Krista Lindgren

Sophomores, (from left) Kenny Stesin, LJ Conley-Arneson, Adam Denoyer, Luke Walden and Babs Laco join together for a photo during a game

photo credit: Krista Lindgren

photo credit: Krista Lindgren

(top): Ultimate players run up and down the field during a game

(left): Sophomore, George Vojta walks off the field wear-ing a hibachi headband and throwing up peace signs

News4 The Spectrum NewspaperApril 28, 2011

FLASH goes digitalHannah Page

Senior Staff Writer

Inside the glossed pages of Blake’s literary magazine,

FLASH, vibrant works of art sit next to intriguing poetry and ex-citing narratives, while funny and poignant six-word memoirs ring the visual and literary work. A lot of work has gone into the recently released April is-sue of FLASH. The selection pro-cess for literary and visual works of art in FLASH is thorough and democratic. Pieces are included in the magazine based on a majority vote, preceded by a group discussion of each submission. Although editors of FLASH meet every other Friday, the April edition was the first re-

leased during the 2010 – 2011 school year. However, unlike past years, the April issue will not be the only is-sue of the school year. Editor Masha Berman ’11 explains that while a limited budget will restrict the number of printed is-sues to one, there will be a second, digital edi-tion of the magazine coming out before the school year is through. The editors of FLASH make a large time commitment in order to bring this valu-able compilation of vi-sual and literary art to the Blake community.

Their efforts have been rewarded with a first issue that is of consistent quality with last year’s single issue, and that con-tains a “good diversity” of work from underclassmen and upper-classmen alike, according to Ber-man. This recent issue was printed in color, meaning “the [visual] pieces look the way that they’re supposed to,” adds Ber-man. If you have not read this year’s only printed edition of FLASH, talk to Upper School Eng-lish Teacher Kate Sullivan to get your hands on a copy, and keep an eye out for the digital edition. You will not be disap-pointed with the quality and vari-ety of Blake student work.

Blake’s literary magazine explores new frontier

This year’s edition of FLASH Photo courtesy of John Chipoco

Students receive economics award

On April 29, 2011, the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapo-

lis will honor four Blake stu-dents as finalists for its 2010-2011 Student Essay Contest, in which students wrote about the economic question: “What role, if any, should the government play in job creation?” Seniors Tyler Les-lie ‘11 and Eliza Coogan ‘11 and juniors Tom Bergen ‘12 and Patrick Dunphy ‘12 were

among 30 finalists selected among submissions from Min-nesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, northwestern Wisconsin, and the Upper Pen-insula of Michigan. As finalists, the students will receive a $100 United States savings bond. The first and second place winners, announced to-morrow at the April 29th awards ceremony, will receive even higher prizes. The second place winner collects a $200 savings bond, and the first place winner accepts a $400 savings bond, a

paid summer internship at the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank, and his or her essay pub-lished in The Region, the Bank’s monthly magazine. Congratulations and good luck to these four deserv-ing Blake students!

Jonah SandyPage Editor

News Briefs

Celebration of Community will take place Sunday, May 1 from 1-4 PM in the Blake Ice Arena at the Hopkins Campus. The free biennial event will feature “destination stations” providing food, entertainment, and culture from various groups of the Blake community.

Senior, Brett Szalapski ‘11 was named a Presi-dential Scholar Semifinalist. Sza-lapski was one of 560 students

Blake’s spring musical, Little Shop of Horrors, received many awards from the SpotLight Musical Theatre Program, an organization created to honor exceptional high school mu-sical theater work throughout the Twin Cities. The overall musical re-ceived awards of Outstanding Over-all Performance and Outstanding Overall Production. Among the indi-vidual awards accepted were Max Johnson ‘11 (Seymour) and Kaeli Patchen ‘14 (Audrey) for Outstand-ing Leading Role and Keenon Wer-ling ‘12 (Audrey II) for Outstanding Supporting Role.

The cast will perform excerpts from Little Shop of Horrors at the Spot-Light Showcase, June 6 from 6-7 PM at the Orpheum Theater in Minne-apolis. The event is the culmination of the SpotLight Program and will feature a medley of performances from schools around the Twin Cit-ies as well as large group numbers from a collection of individual award winners.

cont. from page 1

Take Back the Night, tonight

...and State Representative Mar-ion Greene. Later, participants will march to Loring Park, where a candlelight vigil will take place, and the a capella choir will lead the crowd in song. At the end, the crowd will walk back to the school. The events are expected to run until 9:00 PM.

photo courtesy of takebackthenight.org

All are welcome to par-ticipate in Take Back the Night, so invite your friends and family to take part this evening. “I think that everyone can be an ally,” said DeHarpporte.

cont. from page 1

End of Gulla era... and shrewd advice Gulla of-fers us, his tone often compared to that of Morgan Freeman. Al-though the newly formed trustee search committee begins pursuing a new Head of School, “his will be tough shoes to fill,” says Win-ton. “Blake’s Head of School po-sition is a coveted one within the independent school world, and we can expect many fine candidates.” Aided by the additional guidance of a group of students, parents and alumni, the process will be “a community-wide effort.” John Gulla’s dedication to the Blake School is much ap-preciated and his departure will

mark a turning point in the history of the school. Surely his succes-sor and the entire community will strive to continue the immense success the School saw during his tenure while looking towards the future of Blake. “I pledge to continue to give Blake my all through the end of my service to the School in June of 2012,” wrote Gulla. “I express on my behalf and that of my fam-ily our profound gratitude to the entire Blake community for all that it has given to the four of us over our years here.”

Photo courtesy of Cathy McLane

Gulla welcomes freshman, Jake Meyers into Northrop.

Photo courtesy of Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis

All photos in News Briefs courtesy of blake-school.org

nationally and nine students in Minnesota to receive the honor. Semifinalists are initially nomi-nated based on outstanding standardized test scores, and chosen through essays, recom-mendations, and transcripts. A committee will select Presidential Scholar Finalists in May. Finalists will travel to Washington D.C. in June, where they will attend various ceremo-nies and meet the President.

Advertisements 5The Spectrum NewspaperApril 28, 2011

BLAKE PARENTS:Do you have a small business that you would like to ad-vertise in the Spectrum? Please contact the Spectrum business managers at clhofstadte14@blakeschool.org or hafeldman13@blakeschool.org for rates and availability.

Sierra Leone Fundraiser Students travelling to Sierra Leone this summer on one of Blake’s mission trips are selling wristbands that say “books;” all proceeds will be used to build a library in a village outside of

Freetown. Stay posted for the date of the sale.

CORRECTIONSThe staff of The Spectrum would like to acknowledge the follow-ing errors in the March issue:

Noah Abramovitz’s surname was spelled incorrectly on page 4.

Alex Feldman was incorrectly referred to as a contributing writer instead of busi-ness manager.

Annah Ehrlich was listed as a contributing writer. She is a staff writer.

In the boy’s swimming article, St. Anthony was incorrectly refferred to as St. Thomas.

Katie Lindahl...Prom with

Tomás?

Opinions6 The Spectrum NewspaperApril 28, 2011

Noah AbramovitzStaff Writer

World not yet ready to embrace nuclear powerCrisis in Japan shows potential dangers of harnessing atomic energy prematurely

From Atoms to Electricity: How Nuclear Energy is Generated

1 Uranium-coated rods fill the reactor vessel. Here, uranium

neutrons are split to produce im-mense amounts of heat. The uranium rods are submerged in water to cool the uranium and prevent meltdowns.

2 The heat produced by the uranium rods in the reactor

vessel is used to evaporate the wa-ter held in the steam generator.

3 The steam produced is used to spin the turbine.

4 When the turbine spins, it powers the generator; creat-

ing electricity.

5 20% of the United State’s electricity comes from the na-

tion’s 66 nuclear power plants.

source: www.eia.doe.gov/tools/faqs/index.cfm

Sully Whitely & Molly AppleStaff Writers

Intentions misconstrued as hemlines rise, pants hug curvesStudents must evaluate how they will be perceived before wearing revealing clothing

Without a dress code at Blake, students have the

freedom to dress whichever way they please. But is this lack of regulation giving too much freedom to students? Everyone has different opinions about how short shorts can be, and how tight pants can get before they become inap-propriate for school. Although students have the freedom to dress themselves, some parents will not let their kids out of the house in inappropriate clothing. Ultimately, the issue lies with how one carries them-selves in their clothes and how they are perceived rather than the length of their shorts or how tight their pants are. The Blake Handbook states “the school expects all students to wear clothing that is neat, clean, in good repair and that is not offensive to oth-ers.” Because the dress code is

photo credit: Laine Higgins & Sully WhitelySpringtime fashions include yoga pants, shorts and leggings. Although yoga pants and leggings cover one’s skin, they can be just as revealing as shorts.

so open end-ed, there is no rule forbidding certain cloth-ing from the halls, or outlin-ing acceptable inseams for shorts. Because of this, many choose to wear revealing cloth-ing because they can. T h e only problem with reveal-ing clothes is that you have all your bits and pieces pop-ping out to say “hello!” On the other hand, short shorts can be worn tastefully and attract positive attention. A great way to wear short shorts is with a shirt that actually fits and covers your top half. If you’re choosing to

show the majority of your legs, it only makes sense to cover up your top half. Another alarming trend that has outsmarted the guide-

lines of the Blake hand-book is wear-ing leggings and yoga pants as pants. Leg-gings are a type of cloth-ing used to cover your legs as an alterna-tive to tights when wearing a tunic, a skirt and/or a dress. Why then, are leggings being worn as a re-placement for actual pants? L e g -gings are gen-erally made of a cotton-lycra blend fabric.

This fabric stretches, is flimsy and, in most cases, is quite sheer. In short, leggings are not a sub-stitute for pants nor should they be considered appropriate bot-

toms by any means. Unlike leggings, yoga pants are made with thicker ath-letic fabric that is normally con-sidered a viable option for pants. Yoga pants were created for yoga and other athletic activities. Since students are not doing sun salutations at school, why do they have on yoga pants? Is it because they are extremely comfortable or because the tight fabric hugs one’s derriere? The truth is that unless you’re Ms. New Booty, yoga pants aren’t very flattering. In the wise words of Upper School Director Anne Graybeal, “There is a constant-ly evolving definition of what constitutes as pants. As critical thinkers, we should interrogate that evolving definition.” So whether it’s short shorts, leggings, yoga pants or even jeggings, respect yourself because you choose what you wear. Let’s not have to ask oth-ers the humiliating question, “Where are your pants?”

The effects of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami

drastically damaged the Fuku-shima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan. Since that day, deadly radiation has been emit-ted, causing a stir in the inter-national community. From this arises the question of whether it is safe to utilize nuclear power. While nuclear power is an excellent resource, its costs and outcomes, outweigh its ad-vantages. Until the world can find a safer way to harness en-ergy on the atomic scale, it is bet-ter to utilize alternative energy sources, such as wind, solar and hydroelectric power instead. Nuclear power uses the process of nuclear fission to cre-ate massive sums of energy. This power is harnessed by splitting a uranium atom into two, creating three subatomic particles known as neutrons in the process. These neutrons make up about 99.9% of the original atom, while the .1% left is con-verted usable energy in the form of gamma rays. Then, these neu-trons that originally broke off will create the same reaction with other atoms.

From there, the en-ergy is used to heat water until it turns into steam. This steam pushes turbines to create an electric current. In essence, the process is that of a steam power plant fueled by uranium. While this may seem complicated, it is important to take note that this process deals

with high-energy particles that have the potential to be very dangerous. As the crisis in Japan shows, the protective measures at nuclear plants cannot yet overcome nature’s immense and unpredictable hurdles. Simply put, we are not ready for all of the disasters that could cripple our nuclear reactors.

To solve this problem, we must look for new energy sources to replace the 16% of the world’s electricity produced by nuclear power. For thousand of years, windmills have provided energy in a risk free and environ-mentally friendly way. Wind-energy makes up for about 2% of the world’s elec-

tricity. Spain, Denmark, Ireland, Portugal, and Germany are the only countries in which a sub-stantial amount of their electric-ity is made by wind-power. In the United States, only 3% of our energy is made by wind, which pails in compari-son to Denmark’s 14%. There is much improvement to be made, and we must nurture these al-ternatives energy sources. It is easy to feel optimis-tic when looking at the advances made in nuclear science. Nucle-ar fusion, known by some as the holy grail of energy, is currently being studied, and serious break throughs have been made. At the National Ignition Facility, scien-tists are working on systems of lasers meant to obtain energy from atoms. While the science is muchtoo complex to be ex-plained quickly, one should note the massive sums of energy that nuclear fusion can produce. However, this ground-breaking technology remains unavailable, as it is not yet safe for commercial use. Although nuclear energy could revolu-tionize energy production, the world must rely on other energy sources until utilizing nuclear energy can become safer.

Opinions 7The Spectrum NewspaperApril 28, 2011

Tom Maude-GriffinContributing Writer

“Hey America, want to have pizza and go to war?”

DISCLAIMER: The views expressed on the opinions pages do not represent those of The Spectrum. As a newspaper, we have the ability to include or remove articles from the opinions page, however we cannot change or de-termine the opinions taken by writers. Articles may be cut down due to space limitations, but the tone of the articles is not altered. If there are remaining concerns, please contact the Editors-in-Chief at spectrum@blakeschool.org

Staff Editorial: Prom has transformed into an exclusive affair

Tom Maude-Griffin‘13 explains the atrocities of capitalism

Current seniors lock arms at prom last year. From left: Pat Swearingen, Maria Brunette, Austin Gromatzky, El-lie Aldredge, Jack Mortell, Hannah Tieszen, Sutton Higgins, Brett Szalapski, Courtney Alpeter, Jack Schnettler.

In Disney’s soon-to-be-released movie Prom, Nova Prescott is

just another teenage girl waiting for the perfect guy to ask her to prom. Except, waiting isn’t the right word to describe it; Nova is stressing, and she is a perfect example of how the meaning of prom has evolved. No longer is prom about a fun night out with friends, or the last dance of high school for seniors; in the eyes of society, prom has turned into a quest to find the perfect dress for girls, or figuring out the best way to ask a date, for guys. This is a problem because, when the focus of prom is shifted to the roles of specific genders, people are excluded. At the popular prom and pageant store Glitz!, some-one buying a dress is required to register their school. This precaution is taken to avoid two girls from the same school buy-ing the same dress, something

that it seen as a quite the faux pas. So much emphasis has been put on finding a unique prom

dress that many dresses have become quite pricey. Addition-ally, the appearance aspect of

prom is so important that it ef-fectively excludes students from lower income families from go-

ing to prom because dresses are too expensive. Finally, the idea that boys must find the perfect way to ask a girl to prom in order for her to say yes is out of con-trol. Though it’s fun to watch the creative ways in which guys ask their dates, the idea that it must always be the guy that asks the girl is not. Prom does not need to be a dance where the guy asks the girl. If popular culture por-trays more instances where girls ask guys or girls, or guys ask guys, more students would feel comfortable asking whomever they wish. Prom is not a bad thing, however it is important to reflect on what the meaning of prom truly is. Does prom need to be all about looks and flourish? In-stead, prom should be a night of fun that everyone can enjoy no matter who they are or who they choose to ask.

When we think of capitalism, we tend to think of things

like: the great American dream, how hard you work being di-rectly related

to the amount of money you

earn, free-dom of the

individual, and a gen-e r a l i z e d sense of

prosperity. However, we never bother to question the fun-d a m e n t a l

premises of our society. Why are we rich while other coun-tries are poor? Does our greater wealth come at the ex-pense of oth-ers? What

kinds of “ f r e e -

doms” does capitalism really grant people? Our country is not, and never has been, the realiza-tion of an ideal society. I do not mean to take the liberal posi-tion, that: “Well things aren’t perfect here—we still have a bit of poverty and issues such as homophobia, racism, and sex-ism persist, of course we could progress—but our country is still great”. Rather, American soci-ety’s fundamental structure is inherently unjust. We are not a society of social mobility and freedom, but a polarized society of class hierarchy and privilege. Contrary to the belief that hard work is rewarded in capitalist society and individu-als can always make a good life for themselves if they simply try hard enough, it is a necessary condition of capitalist society to produce a large, poor, lower class—what Marx calls an “in-dustrial reserve army”— in or-der to function. This reserve army en-sures a ready supply of flexible and disciplined workers that have to work for the owners of capital to live. This allows the capitalist class to appropriate what Marx calls “surplus value” from workers in the form of profits, enriching itself at the ex-

pense of the working class. In addition to the cre-ation of a class society, a result of this antagonism between the rich and the poor, capitalism presents the basis for economic crises as it waxes and wanes be-tween the conflicting interests of workers (who need higher wag-es, better working conditions, etc.) and management (whose only want is to increase profits). According to David Har-vey’s book The Enigma of Capi-tal: And The Crises of Capitalism, “moves made to alleviate a crisis of labor supply and to curb the political power of organized labor in the 1970s diminished the effective demand for prod-uct, which created difficulties for the realization of surplus in the market during the 1990s. Moves to alleviate this... problem by extensions of the credit sys-tem among the working classes ultimately led to working-class over-indebtedness relative to income that ... led to a crisis in confidence in the quality of debt instruments. The crisis tenden-cies are not resolved but merely moved around.” In our increasingly glo-balized economy, similar to do-mestic capitalist society, wealth distribution has become polar-ized, as the global south be-comes the “worker” of the world.

This global economic hierarchy is maintained through the malicious use of debt to en-courage poorer countries to open their markets, as was re-cently illustrated in the passage of two Latin American free trade agreements with help the Inter-national Monetary Fund (IMF). Western political leaders and owners of international corpo-rations are excited about the passage of said legislation, as it has the potential to generate im-mense profits. This movement towards imperialism makes the economies of the third world “lit-erally controlled by the efforts of a small group of private financial institutional decision makers,” according to Harvey’s book The Limits to Capitalism. The threat of IMF sanc-tions leveraged debt against these countries to force the adoption of so called “Structural Adjustment” programs that radi-cally decrease the role of the gov-ernment in the market and cause mass privatization. Additionally, virtual control of global development al-lows the guiding hand of western business to bring in substantial amounts of money at the expense of the local cultures, people and environments. In essence, “cor-porate colonialism” has elimi-nated the economic sovereignty

of the third world. Corporate colonialism in conjunction with the IMF and the World Bank have forced the standard of liv-ing in poor countries to be lower than their wealthy counterparts. The arrangement that exists today in our globalized world is effectively a coercive and violent protection of the wealth of a small minority, at the cost of millions of lives, whole cultures, and democracy. Too often, because there is no “face” to capitalism—no Hitler, no Mussolini—we underestimate the scale of global violence that the system entails because of this arrangement. It has been estimated that every decade as many people die because of relative poverty as would be killed in a nuclear war that caused 150 million deaths. Furthermore, “every single year, two to three times as many people die from poverty throughout the world as were killed by the Nazi geno-cide of the Jews over a six-year period,” according to Abu-Ja-mal Mamia’s article, “A Quiet and Deadly Violence. “This is, in effect, the equivalent of an ongoing, unending, in fact ac-celerating, thermonuclear war, or genocide on the weak and poor every year of every decade, throughout the world.”

“Tommie the Commie” has been a communist for 2.5 years.

8 The Spectrum NewspaperApril 28, 2011

Between SAT prep in school, extra outside SAT tutoring, and the long process required for a student to be granted extended time, the SAT is no longer just 4 hours on a Sat-urday morning, it has evolved into a time

consuming endeavor for students.

The truth about extended timeStudents must qualify to relieve timed-test pressure

which they should look into: there is time and a half, a 5 hour and 25 minute time frame which is 50% extra time (an hour and 45 minutes extra time), or dou-ble time, a 7 hour time frame which is 100% extra time (three and a half hours extra time). Schools and students should be aware that, when taking College Board tests such as the SAT, stu-dents with approval for extend-ed time must sit for the entire test. Students cannot continue to a new section if they complete a section before the time ends, and they cannot leave early. While extended time may be appealing to someone who does not need it because it eliminates the rush that comes with many standardized tests, it carries with it the boredom of waiting for the test to be over. Some students understand that students with learning disabili-ties deserve extra time, while

Fawaz MohiuddinStaff Writer

Does Blake prep pay off?

some students feel otherwise. One sophomore explained that “It isn’t fair that some students should get extended time, which ends up [giving them an advan-tage]” and it may be true that ex-tra time would make taking the SAT’s much less stressful. Results indicate that time and a half with separately timed sec-tions benefit students with and without disabilities. Extra time only gives students an unfair advantage in the cases where students do not actually deserve the extra time and come up with excuses to get notes from their doctors. In cases where extended time is truly a necessity, extended time does not act as an unfair advantage over other students. If anything, students with learning disabili-ties and extended time will feel they have the same advantages as everyone else.

Many students at Blake have little or no idea about what

extended time for standardized testing is. However, a percentage of students at Blake know that extended time is time added to tests with the purpose of helping students with learning disabili-ties (e.g., dyslexia or dysgraphia) have enough time to finish tests. Extended time is not something that is available to any student who thinks some extra time may bump their grade up a let-ter; proper documentation and, sometimes, hours of testing are required to demonstrate diffi-culty taking tests under timed conditions. Only after receiving proper clearance can students be on a list for extended time. If a student is interested in hav-ing extended time for a stan-dardized tests, there are two dif-ferent options for extended time

In Depth 9

Blake SAT prep—worth the free block?

Between SAT prep in school, extra outside SAT tutoring, and the long process required for a student to be granted extended time, the SAT is no longer just 4 hours on a Sat-urday morning, it has evolved into a time

consuming endeavor for students.

Katie EmoryStaff Writer

All juniors have to take SAT prep class-es during one of their 65-minute free

blocks— just most would prefer not to. In fact, these courses seem to be the bane of most Blake 11th graders’ existences. They say, “we have too much work, let us use our free block to do our work.” “We will do SAT prep on our own time.“ However, there are a few thoughts these stu-dents have not considered. First of all, to maxi-mize test scores, most people need an aid to help them understand the test better. The fact is that not everyone can afford to hire his or her own personal tutor, or buy an expensive SAT prep book. In addition, being prepared for standardized tests is part of the tuition students enrolled at Blake pay for. One idea to consider: many of us do a lot of work during free blocks, yes, but a large por-tion also intend to do homework but instead end up on Facebook, stumbling, playing Spor-cle, or any number of other things. Students maintain that they would rather use free blocks to study, but how often do they actually study during free blocks? In addition to getting students ready for their standardized tests, information learned dur-ing SAT preparation helps in math and English classes. Many practice problems that are as-signed cover old material that may have been forgotten by students. Even material that has already been learned can be solidified through constant practice in these once-a-week classes. Every student can benefit from extra practice before the SAT.

Henry VaughanStaff Writer

WORTH THE WORK WASTE OF TIME

In my opinion, the SAT prep at Blake, though seem-ingly convenient for students, is actually unneces-

sary and somewhat of a waste of time. The fact is, junior year at Blake is already very stressful with a high workload in all classes, and while some may think that adding a complimentary SAT prep class during a free period once a week would decrease the pressure for students, it does not. The loss of this long free block does not go unno-ticed and I personally feel more stressed out know-ing I have to attend an SAT prep class instead of getting my free period that I use to do a lot of my homework, or find time to relax during the day. In-stead, I am left to complete this uncompleted home-work at home, which pushes back my already too late bedtime. Though the prep classes are also offered before school on Friday mornings instead of using up a free period, this is still highly inconvenient because who wants to come in on 7:30 a.m. on a late start day? The only way out of this dilemma is to have one’s parents email the dean to get a note for you to get out of the class. Though this works, not many stu-dents know that and often suffer through for all of second semester. There is also one more problem, not all students even take the SAT but instead go with the ACT. This is another inconvenience for students who must get the OK to get out of the class that is supposed to prep them for a test they will not even take. I think that having it as an optional class that is of-fered as needed could solve this problem. Students could sign up for it if they felt they needed it and would be convenient for them.

Junior year, students are required to take a course at Blake preparing them for the SAT. Two juniors share their personal opinions on whether or not they think this class should exist.

source: http://sat.collegeboard.com

A&E10 The Spectrum NewspaperApril 28, 2011

Sanjana SrivastavaStaff Writer

Student-directed feature film Viral in the makingMcCall Bliss and Elizabeth Goullaud ‘12 make filmmaking debut with rom-com

An early poster for Viral

Raine RobichaudContributing Writer

HoroscopesIt’s in the stars!

CAPRICORNDecember 23 -- January 20Birthstone: GarnetCapricorn, your spring schedule might not go according to your careful planning. Anticipate meeting someone new who will greatly impact your life. Natu-rally, your realistic thinking will help you evaluate unexpected situations in the future!

AQUARIUSJanuary 21 -- February 19Birthstone: AmethystYour role in the community is key this quarter! Your non judgmental attitude will attract people looking for someone to talk to. People will seek out your down-to-earth advice, so do your best to be patient and composed this spring.

PISCESFebruary 20 -- March 20Birthstone: AquamarinePisces, expect a new relation-ship opportunity to arise in the next few weeks. Unfortunately, drama might come your way—just use your knack for dealing with emotions and everything will work out!

ARIESMarch 21 -- April 20Birthstone: DiamondThings might be calming down a little after spring break, but stay energetic whether in sports, clubs, academics, or arts. Appreciate your fellow classmates—although competi-tion can be helpful, remember to invest time into the things you enjoy.

TAURUSApril 21 -- May 21Birthstone: EmeraldTaurus, you might be facing some difficult decisions in the future, but your attention to detail will help you overcome these challenges. In addition, don’t be afraid to look to your friends for advice this spring; you know you’d help them in return!

GEMINIMay 22 -- June 21Birthstone: PearlAfter a long winter, you might be looking for a little change of surroundings, so get involved! Take a long bike ride on the weekend, pick up a new book, or try a new activity—enjoy new changes in your life this quarter!

CANCERJune 22 -- July 22Birthstone: RubyCancer, don’t be afraid to let someone or something new into your life this spring. It’s time to channel your creative energy into something new, be it a story, a piece of art, or a well-delivered joke.

LEOJuly 23 -- August 21Birthstone: PeridotYou’re not afraid to give your opinion or speak up in a class discussion, but remember to support others that aren’t as comfortable as you. People listen to your strong voice, so use it in a positive way!

VIRGOAugust 22 -- September 23Birthstone: SapphireThe stars say that you might be in for a few surprises this spring, but that shouldn’t scare you! Although you may be questioning of sudden change at first, these surprises will lead you to new friends and new experiences.

LIBRASeptember 24 -- October 23Birthstone: OpalLibra, your strong sense of balance will serve you well this spring. Prepare for new and interesting opportunities while you may have to deal with the outcomes of some of the deci-sions you made last quarter.

SCORPIOOctober 24 -- November 23Birthstone: TopazThe stars verify that new relationship opportunities are coming your way this spring; your witty sense of humor will be useful, as important conversations will arise. Use your first-rate common sense to sort out any misunder-standings in the future.

SAGITTARIUSNovember 24 -- December 22Birthstone: TurquoiseAlthough daily activities may seem slow to you, things will speed up fast. Your planner will quickly fill up and you’ll definitely be busy! Use your optimistic nature and your dar-ing attitude to plan a fun event this spring.

The Blake School has a myr-iad of talent in all different

forms. An example we’ll be see-ing soon is the student-made film, Viral, directed by McCall Bliss ’11 and produced by Eliz-abeth Goullaud ’11.Goullaud provides a plot synop-sis for the film: “Ella, an ordi-nary high school student, and her best friend Ollie have devised a plan. They will use Ella’s new-ly contracted mononucleosis as a tool to get back at all of the guys who have treated them poorly in the past. While she

goes on a mission of infecting these meat-heads, she conse-quently meets Guy, a supposed jerk himself, and falls for him. Everything seems to be going well for Ella – a new crush, along with infecting most of the school douche bags with mono. However, this seemingly flaw-less plan of revenge comes back

to bite her in the butt as she gets carried away in her new position of power, leaving Ollie behind and Guy confused. How will she gain back the trust of her best friend and crush when she has probably already infected half of the student body?” Bliss calls it a romantic comedy. The cast

is made of students from various metro area schools. Viral is still in process. “We’re still in pre-production phase,” said Bliss, and filming was set to begin on April 23rd, Goullaud said. Both girls said that they really enjoy making the movie togeth-er. “McCall is great!” said Goullaud. “We have a lot of fun working together. She has an extremely creative mind’s eye, without which

I would not be able to pull this project off!” “It’s been good, because we were friends before we start-ed working,” says Bliss. “But at the same time, it’s been stress-ful. She’s a little more deadline oriented, whereas I like to take my time with things. I think it’s a good combination of two types of people. I really enjoy working with Elizabeth.” The girls have discov-ered many ups and downs in filmmaking. “We’ve been editing our script like madwomen for the past week, which has its own ups and downs. We’ve been working since January and done all that. That was fun, but I had a 50-page script that I had to cut to 20 pages,” Goullaud says. “Also, it was nice being the audi-tioner instead of the au-ditionee. Overall, I have really enjoyed what we

have been doing thus far.” A trailer for Viral will be shown on Senior Night (June 6th), and there will be a screen-ing the following week, either at Blake or at a nearby auditorium. Bliss has also indicated that if anyone is interested in being an extra, there is lots of space, as they are in the early stages of filming. From the sum-mary itself, it’s clear that this will be a great movie. Visit the website for Viral at www.virath-emovie.yolasite.com.

Images courtesy of Dave Young and earthrhythm.com

Photos courtesy of Bliss and Goullaud

A&E 11The Spectrum NewspaperApril 28, 2011

SUMMER MOVIE PREVIEW

Hedgehog’s philosophy hints at meaning of life

Books tend to fall into two cat-egories: philosophical and

dense, or readable, even trite. By all accounts, Muriel Barbery’s tremendous first novel tran-scends both categories. Indeed, The Elegance of the Hedgehog is a literary jewel of the sort not commonly found on today’s me-diocrity-clogged bookshelves. While leaving the reader emo-

Clare FlanaganStaff Writer

Natcher PruettStaff Writer

THOR (May 6, PG-13) arrives with high expectations. As the first movie of summer, it is expected to open with a bang. As an adaptation of a Marvel comic, it is also expected to pro-vide top-of-the-line entertainment. Starring Chris Hemsworth (pictured below) as the titular character, the movie re-imagines the Norse god as an outcast stripped of powers from the planet of Asgard. While on Earth, he will find love with Natalie Port-man’s character, regain his powers and defeat evil, all while wielding an over-sized hammer.

According to Hollywood, summer does not arrive June 21, as the calendar indicates; it arrives the first Friday of May, with a mix of explosions and superheroes, comedy and drama. This year, just like in years past, the year’s biggest movies are coming to the theater during the season of beaches and sun.

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN:ON STRANGER TIDES (May 20, NYR) sails into theaters four years after the last installment of the hugely popular franchise supposedly ended the tale of Jack Sparrow, played again by Johnny Depp with new costar Penélope Cruz. This, of course, was before the events of the new movie, which will include mermaids, zombies and Blackbeard. The film, the first of the series in 3D, picks up with Jack heading to find the Fountain of Youth, a quest which will not be completed without sword fights, monsters, and rum.

THE HANGOVER: PART II (May 26, NYR) brings back the Wolfpack from 2009’s smash hit The Hangover. This time, though, they’re not in America—they’re headed to Thailand, with Stu’s (Ed Helms, reprising his role from the first film along with Bradley Cooper and Zach Galifianakis) fian-cee’s brother in tow. He gets lost, and the Wolfpack has to find him before time runs out. One thing’s for certain: the movie will provide laughs.

X-MEN: FIRST CLASS (June 3, NYR) is, alongside Thor, one of the many superhero movies coming to theaters this summer. But while Thor has one superhero, this movie has many. The highly anticipated film explores the origins of memorable characters such as Professor X (now played by Atonement’s James McAvoy), Magneto, Beast, and Cyclops. An added bonus—the movie features Jen- nifer Lawrence, star of next March’s The Hunger Games, as the young Mystique.

SUPER 8 (June 10, NYR) promises to com-bine the timeless appeal of a coming-of-age story with the equally timeless appeal of monsters. Judging from early footage, the movie will combine thrills with tender moments, set to a beautiful score. Direc-tor J. J. Abrams (2009’s Star Trek) has crafted a story which has been compared to early Steven Spielberg movies, and the comparison might be apt — Spielberg is among the movie’s producers.

tionally restored, it conveys re-freshing ideas that open one’s eyes to the world and to oneself. Don’t, however, expect an uplifting fable. Hedgehog pos-sesses a complexity that can at first seem daunting, and a plot line that’s sort of a downer: one of its twin protagonists, Paloma, is a twelve-year-old genius plan-ning to kill herself, and the other, Renée, is a dumpy, autodidactic concierge who hides her intel-ligence to maintain a dull block-ade of lonely comfort. Though they have convinced themselves of life’s inherent lack of mean-ing, they can’t help but search for a reason to live. Luckily, they find it in the small, beautiful moments, those rare instances that inject eternity into our finite lives. Of course, this is an oversimplifica-tion of the book’s message; many pages of philosophical gymnas-tics lead to the book’s conclusion that life is indeed worth living. It would be a mistake

to think, “Philosophical gymnas-tics? Why, that sounds dreadful-ly boring!” By the book’s end, the two heroines become so endear-ing that one can’t help but hang on to each of their remarkable thoughts, all the while wonder-ing at their lucidity. One can only hope that such a crystalline view of the world could rub off on the reader. In short, this is a sin-gular, bracing work, and highly recommended. With each page, Paloma and Renée impart their cynical, cogent perspective on life’s absurdities, but also note its inexplicable beauty. In this way, Hedgehog encourages the reader to register the ridiculous nature of existence, but also to savor the beautiful moments that lend it meaning. It’s a pen-sive, intricate read, but refresh-ing in the highest sense, being one of those rare works of fiction that can heighten clarity in real life.

Image courtesy of Europa Editions online

dunn bros.329 W 15th StDunn Bros is known for its excellent coffee and blended

drinks, but their smooth-ies definitely fall into this category of excellence. They offer five different types of smoothies: Wildberry, Strawberry, Mango, Passion and Strawberry Pink Freeze. All of these options are both healthy and very tasty.

5

After the snow has melted the end of the year seems

closer than ever, it’s time to start getting ready for sum-mer! Now, while ice cream may seem like the obvious hot, summer day treat, why not go for a smoothie? There are many great smoothie places all around the Twin Cities. Here are a few ideas for these fun, warm-weather treats!

Jamba juice3060 Excelsior BoulevardThis popular smoothie franchise continues

to crank out some of the best tasting smoothies around. Their menu contains a smoothie for every taste bud, from Peach Pleasure to Caribbean Passion. Customers also have the op-

tion of adding a boost to their smoothies, such

as an Energy boost or Antioxidant Power boost. They come in many different sizes and are good for quick snack!

2

STARBUCKS120 S 6th StreetSimilar to Dunn Bros, Starbucks of-fers blended drinks

as well as smoothies. Their smoothies are Chocolate Vivan-no, Orange Mango Vivanno, and Strawberry Vivanno. They are all made with whey protein and fiber powder and a whole ba- nana, making these

smoothies very high in nutritional value.

If coffee doesn’t sound good, try one of these smoothies for a healthy choice!

1

Lauren RondestvedtStaff Writer

CARIBOU COFFEE2300 Hennepin AveKeeping up with the trend of popular cof-fee franchises adding

fruit smoothies to their menus, Caribou now offers a selection of smoothies. Their smoothies are a tasty blend of vitamins and fruit. Although they contain more sugar than Starbucks’ smoothies, if you are in need of a little sugar on a hot day, these are definitely your best choice!

3

Wedge Co-Op2105 Lyndale Avenue SLocated nearby in Minneapolis, this lo-

cal, natural foods co-op offers healthy, all natural food. The co-op also houses a juice bar, where a range of enormously

popular, all-natural smoothies are offered.

Some of the flavors include Very Berry, which contains apple juice, strawberry, blueberry, raspberry and kefir, or City Sun-rise, which contains orange juice, banana and strawberry. Non-dairy milk alternatives are also available.

4Best SmoothieSTop 5 ^

(and nearest!)

Photo courtesy of IMdB.com

The best-selling Hedgehog was intended to anchor philosophy in fiction.

Science/Technology12 The Spectrum NewspaperApril 28, 2011

CORN:A surprisingly common ingredient

in a lot of our favorite foodsIman Pakzad

Staff Writer

So how does that corn taste? People generally don’t expect

to hear that when they chow down on their favorite snacks. But little do people know that many of the ingredients on the back of the box on your pro-cessed goods shows just how much corn there is in our foods. Many different ingredi-ents in foods are commonly seen such as high fructose corn syrup, Carmel color, Xantha gum, and so many more are all from corn.

If you just look further you can see that all the colorful variety of products you can see in a grocery store just boils down to one main food: corn. This is a major problem. Eating corn actually leads to a deficiency in the es-sential Omega 3 fatty acid. A little corn once in a while is okay, but eating it in everything is go-ing to be a serious problem. Take a peek at a few surprising corny foods!

Coca ColaHas at least two corn based ingredients. Ingredients: sucrose and Carmel color.

Welch's Fruit SnacksThis popular snack food in the high school con-tains corn as well. Two identifiable corn based in-gredients. Ingredients: corn syrup and modified cornstarch

Twinkies

This food was highlighted in The Omnivore’s Dilemma for having a lot of corn! Twinkies have 10 or possibly 11 corn-based ingre-dients! That is one corny snack out there! Ingredients: Corn syrup, High fructose corn syrup. Dextrose, Modified corn starch, Cellulose gum, Cornstarch, Corn flour, Corn syrup solids, Mono and diglycerides, Dextrin, and Carmel color

Heinz KetchupIsn’t ketchup from tomatoes? Part of it, but its got some corn to! Two corn ingredients. What do ya know! Ingredients: High fructose corn syrup and corn syrup.

Nutrigrain BarsWe all thought they were healthy. This food had 8 corn-based ingredients. Ingredients: CRUST: high fructose corn syrup, soluble corn fiber, cellu-lose, mono- and diglycerides and cornstarch. FILLING: high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, modified corn starch and methylcellulose.

Is the word “illegal” ever subjective?Teens fail to see the ramifications behind music piracy

Nolan LindquistContributing Writer

With the advent of portable MP3 players, iTunes, and

easy access to the Internet, it has become increasingly easy and common to acquire music with-out paying for it. According to the IFPI, a music industry journal, 95% of music downloads in 2009 were illegal. As such, it is important to be aware of the broader effects of this practice. The recording indus-try is dominated by five major companies--Sony Music, Uni-versal, EMI, Warner Brothers, and BMG. Together, they control 75% of the world’s music sales, and bring in approximately $14

billion in revenue anually. These days, a significant portion of that income is diverted to putting pressure on those who down-load music illegally, through in-dustry groups like the Recording Industry Association (RIA). The MPAA, or Motion Picture Association of America, has led similar efforts to combat film piracy. Indeed, the film and recording industries should be worried about illegal download-ing—it threatens their revenue streams, especially sales to 15-to-24 year olds. However, a 2004 paper by ES Boorstin paints a differ-ent picture of the issue. Though Boorstin notes that illegal down-loads do depress sales to 15-24 year olds, he notes that “the

magnitude of the Internet effect is larger in the older age groups, and the older age groups repre-sent a greater proportion of the population. This strongly suggests that file sharing is not the cause of the recent decline in the re-cord industry”. I asked three Blake stu-dents, “Were you worried about legal risks [when you down-loaded music illegally]?” Most of their replies were variations on the theme “not really.” One stu-dent expressed her opinion that, “Well, I guess I feel bad if it’s not a mainstream [artist] but if it’s a mainstream [artist] and they’re already getting a lot of money, I guess [downloading their work illegally would be okay.]”

Though the students interviewed were not worried about the legal risks of illegal downloads, it should be reaf-firmed that downloading copy-righted material illegally can lead to serious legal risks. Jason Krause, of the American Bar Association, writes that “So far the RIAA says

it has filed more than 17,000 suits and continues to file an-other 700 to 750 a month. The group says there are 13,000 ac-tive suits, and it has settled thou-sands of others for an average settlement of $4,000.” As such, downloading media illegally is still risky, and should be avoided.

The average iPod contains

1770songs

af g

842of these songs are illegal copies

bt

April 22 was Earth Day. Members across our commu-nity participated in this ecofriendly holiday by biking to school, leaving their classroom lights off and more. Spectrum asked students and faculty how they celebrated.

“I Canoed to school”

“I tend not to focus

on earth day because

i teach environmen-

tal science everyday.”

“I didn’t shower

this morning”

-Allison Bye ‘12 -Dan Trockman -Mason Hinke ‘11

Science/Technology 13The Spectrum NewspaperApril 28, 2011

Jake BarczakContributing Writer

The Blake IndexOur Environment

Percent of the world’s electricity generated by coal: 41

Percent of U.S. solid waste for which tree leaves account in the fall: 75

Microseconds by which the length of a day has shortened due to the redistribution of Earth’s mass

caused by Japan’s April 7th earthquake: 1.8

Percent of U.S. solid waste for which disposable diapers account: 1

Years it takes for a disposable diaper to decompose: 500

Hours after which a mole will die should it not find food: 12

Percent of Twin Cities’ water that comes from the Mississippi River: 100

Gallons of water withdrawn annually by the city of Minneapolis: 21,000,000,000

Dollars brought in annually by medicine produced in tropical forests: 30,000,000,000

Kilograms of nitrogen pollution that the Mississippi carries to the Gulf of Mexico each year:

1,500,000,000

Percent of U.S. rivers that are too polluted for fishing, swimming, or aquatic life: 40

Percent of things Americans buy that are not in use after 6 months: 99

3iPhone AppsApril must-haves

10/10stars

AppBox Pro: This app has ev-erything you need and more includ-ing an alarm clock, flashlight, unit con-verter, ruler, mirror

and translator. It’s the best app out there for storing all of your favorite, useful tools. ($2.99)

7.5/10stars

Bop It!: This ver-sion of Bop It! in-cludes all the best moves like “Spin it!”, “Flick it!”, ECT., but then also some random one’s like

“Shout it!” This is a great game to play while relaxing at home or in the lounge. ($0.99)

7/10stars

TuneIn Radio Pro: While there are many radio apps out there, Tu-neIn Radio Pro is unique because it lets you record any

shows and listen to them later. It has over 40,000 radio sta-tions to listen to. ($0.99)

Khan Academy is a nonprofit organization aimed towards teaching. The best feature of Khan Academy is the video library consisting of over 45 million (and counting) tutorials on everything from math to history. Each video is about 10 minutes long, and they teach you in a way that makes it easy to understand. If you are having trouble with a subject and/or aren’t understanding what your friends and teachers are saying, give Khan Acad-emy a shot. You might learn a thing or two.

What’s with this weather?Scientists theorize the causes of climate change

Kalpit ModiStaff Writer

Most scientists agree that global warming is the cause

of the changing climate that we have seen over the years. A phe-nomenon called the greenhouse effect is considered the main cause of the heating of the sur-face of the earth. As people release more greenhouse gases (CO2, meth-ane, water vapor etc.), the gases accumulate in the atmosphere and act as a shield blocking the heat from earth escaping into space, while the sun’s heat is al-lowed to pass the barrier and warm up the earth. You may be wonder-ing what causes the greenhouse gases to be released into the at-mosphere. Mainly, these green-house gases have been released through burning fossil fuel and coal. Fossil fuel consumption rose by 3% from 2009 to 2010, and if the same trend continues

the consumption of fossil fuels will have increased by 60% from 2009 to 2030. There has also been an approximated 6% rise in coal consumption from 2009 to 2010, so if the trend of coal consump-tion also continues, by 2030, we will be consuming 120% more coal than in 2009. Though at first, global warming might seem like a good thing – since it’s warming up our planet and making the winters “less harsh,” scientists say that the impacts of global warming have larger impacts than just having warmer winters and hot-ter summers. Many scientists say that global warming can cause a rise in sea level as glaciers melt, se-vere rainfall that can lead to floods and droughts, which can leave thousands of people with-out water. Another theory for cli-mate change that has been sug-gested is called solar variation. In general, the theory

of solar variation says that the amount of energy that the sun releases is not a constant. One phenomenon that causes solar variation is sun-spots, which sometimes look like dark spots on the surface of the sun, are caused by what’s be-lieved to be magnetic activity on the sun’s surface. Scientists have noticed that when more sunspots occur, more energy is released from the sun into our atmosphere causing the earth’s temperature to rise. Though there is nothing we can do about the solar varia-tion, we can try to slow or even stop global warming from creat-ing such a huge impact on Earth. To counteract the ef-fects of global warming, we can decrease our usage of cars and start biking or walking. We can also make sure to turn of lights and our electronics once we no longer need them. By taking these small steps we can have a large impact on our climate and our world.

Features14 The Spectrum NewspaperApril 28, 2011

Hannah RiceStaff Writer

New boys’ varsity soccer coach shares his goals for the upcoming season

Biology teacher, soccer coach, landscaper, and dad, Chris

Mitchell is extremely passion-ate about teaching, coaching, and family. “One of my favorite things is building relationships with my students,” he says. “I get so excited about working with them both inside and outside the classroom.” This enthusiasm for mentoring high school students is exactly why Mitchell’s new po-sition of head coach of the boys’ varsity soccer team is so fitting.

“It’s a great op-portunity,” he

explains. “I am really looking forward to this upcoming sea-son.” Mitchell has extensive coaching experience; he has spent the last seven seasons with the girls’ varsity team as assistant coach alongside head coach Paul Menge. With his help, the girls won four conference champi-onships and played in the state tournament three times, most recently placing third. Given all that Mitchell has invested in the girls, the de-cision to start coaching the boys’ team was tough. “I will really miss the people I worked with,” he says, “especially Mr. Menge. He is not only a great coach but

also a really good friend.” Although he will miss the relationships he has built with so many of the girls, Mitch-ell views this change with excite-ment. “It’s a new beginning,” he explains, “I am really looking forward to building a community that encompasses all of the soc-cer teams,” adding, “I really want to instill a sense of pride into the players. I want everyone—re-gardless of which team they are on—to be proud of playing for Blake.” Mitchell also wants to build a stronger sense of com-munity within the entire Blake soccer program. “I really hope to bring

the girls’ teams and the boys’ teams together,” he says, “and also to build some c o n n e c t i o n s between the boys’ varsity, JV, B, and even Middle School teams.” O u t -side of coach-ing and teach-ing, Mitchell enjoys spending time with his family. “I love playing with my kids!” he says with a huge grin. Mitchell also stays very active and continues to play competi-

Brennan DelattreContributing Writer

In the cavernous confines of the Minnesota State Capitol,

with dozens of representatives staring at the podium, Cole Norgaarden ‘13, bravely spoke against the lifting of a coal plant construction moratorium. Norgaarden recalled “being nervous [while testify-ing] because there is specific protocol [one has] to use when addressing the committee.” Although Norgaarden was nervous while testifying, environmental work is noth-

ing new to him. As a member of Youth Environmental Activ-ists of Minnesota (YEA MN!), Norgaarden works with other Minnesota high school students, works to promote environmen-tal activism throughout the state. Norgaarden also wants to improve environmental awareness at Blake. “Even though Blake has made great strides toward sus-tainability,” he says, “don’t think that we’re perfect. There is al-ways opportunity for improving our school’s impact, and I hope that you realize how rewarding

it feels to be a force of change.” To support organiza-tions like YEA MN!, significant dates this spring include May

7th and 8th, during which Norgaarden and other youth will take part in the Living Green Expo at the Minnesota State Fair-grounds. The Expo will feature environmental work-shops, a plant sale, an Eco Parade, art exhibition, and an electric vehicle exhibition. More informa-

tion is available at http://www.livinggreenexpo.mn/ This summer, Nor-gaarden will participate Sum-mer of Solutions 2011, a pro-gram that puts people to work in the community to help bring

A freshman in high school by age 13, Loken discusses his high school experienceNatcher Pruett

Staff Writer

Andreas Loken ’14, now 13, is the youngest student

in the Upper School. While the second youngest freshman be-gan the year at thirteen and is already fourteen, Loken will not turn fourteen until May. The Upper School’s youngest student is also a mem-ber of several Blake sports teams, playing soccer in the fall and tennis in the spring. For tennis, Loken says, “I’d say that my age doesn’t af-fect me that much,” explaining

that “tennis is not that much of a sport where an age difference [matters].” For soccer, he thinks that age makes more of a differ-ence, because it can affect stami-na, kicking strength, and speed. Loken asserts that his age does not affect him socially. “I’m used to being around peo-ple who are... older,” he says, “when I see someone a year older than me, I don’t think, ‘They’re a year older than me,’ I think that ‘They’re in the same grade as me.’” Academically, age af-fects him in more abstract

classes such as World Literature. As Loken says, “you think a lot more literally when you’re a bit younger.” Loken is also member of the Quiz Bowl freshman team. “There’s a lot of trivia,” he says, “I spend a lot of time searching up random facts, so being on Quiz Bowl is very fun.” “I’ve spent about half my life living in a country other than my own,” Loken says, hav-ing lived seven years in his native Canada, seven years in the United States and a short amount of time in Switzerland. He also

remembers it being hard socially to switch countries, but with the advent of Facebook, “you can keep in touch, more or less, with people from other countries.” Although Loken is younger than his classmates, his

Loken reads a book before class.

about change regarding sustain-ability. Summer of Solutions Minneapolis will assist local ur-ban farms in adding workers and crops, expand bike trans-portation across the Twin Cities, and help to create green manu-facturing processes across the Twin Cities. Blake’s Environmental Club is always looking for en-thusiastic, motivated and driven new members. To participate in any of these events, or to join Blake’s Environmental Club, contact Norgaarden at chnorgaarde13@blakeschool.org.

Norgaarden testifying before the Minnesota House Committee on January 27th.

Sophomore testifies for environment

chrisMITCHELL

andreasLOKEN

coleNORGAARDEN

tive basketball and soccer. Let’s hope that Mitchell leads Blake Boys’ Varsity Soccer to victory in 2011!

photo credit: Patrick DunphyMitchell (pictured above)

photo courtesy of: Cole Norgaarden

academic prowess, trivia knowl-edge, and world experience help him to have as much success as his peers. Regardless of his age, Loken will be a valuable mem-ber of Blake throughout his high school career.

photo credit: Patrick Dunphy

Sports 15The Spectrum NewspaperApril 28, 2011

Glory Days

Exercise increases pre-frontal cortex muscle

In the past month, a host of studies have been published

suggesting that there is a strong relationship between ex-ercise and test scores. One study, p e r f o r m e d by the Geor-gia Preven-tion Institute at Georgia Health Sciences University, con-cluded that “the more exercise the students got, the more their brain activity increased in the prefrontal cortex, the region of the brain associated with com-plex cognitive behaviors, moder-ating social behavior, and deci-

sion-making” (Education Week). The GHSU experiment was designed such that, the body of students being tested was di-vided up into three different

categories. One group got no ex-ercise, one group was allowed 20 m i n u t e s of exer-cise after s c h o o l , and the

third group was to exercise for 40 minutes after school (Education Week). The stu-dents ranged in age from sev-en to eleven and were mostly “overweight.”According to test results, measured over a period

of three months, “the students who received 40 minutes of ex-ercise per day increased their intelligence scores by an average of 3.8 points. Students who exer-cised 20 minutes a day noticed a similar, smaller increase in their scores” (Education Week). Thus, even a small amount of exercise such as twenty minutes a day makes an appreciable difference in test scores. The study is now being extended to cover the en-tirety of the school year, to see if the effects of continuous ex-ercise produce continuous and stable improvement (Education Week). Perhaps you want to re-think your decision on whether or not to play a spring sport. Though sports take up precious homework time, the benefits of

exercise, combined with stress relief, will have a positive effect on your academics. A sport need not be all-consuming in order to derive the benefit of 20-40 min-utes of exercise per day. This research comes at a time when public schools in cit-ies such as Toledo, Ohio, have reduced their sports budgets by 46% (The New York Times). Because we have no PE the Up-per School, students should be aware that the initiative to exercise must come from them. Your grades and your body will thank you after you finish your work-out.

Alex FeldmanStaff Writer

Typing quietly at his desk with a bust of George Wash-

ington watching over him, you might not expect the bookish 11th grade English teacher, Jim Mahoney to have played a col-lege sport. We caught up with Mahoney and asked him to talk about his squash days at Dart-mouth.

Spectrum: Do you have any par-ticularly memorable moments playing squash in college?Mr. Mahoney: Yes, it was my one victory actually. It was funny be-cause I played JV for Dartmouth and the match was against a varsity player from Andover. We played colleges like Harvard and Cornell and always got beat.

Spectrum: If squash were a sport at Blake, would you be open to help coach it?Mr. Mahoney: Absolutely, but it wouldn’t be part of the Minne-sota State High School league be-cause there aren’t enough teams. We would have to do sort of a ‘club thing’ with the school.

Spectrum: How long did play squash?Mr. Mahoney: I played for one year, but I ended up quitting because they changed from soft to hard balls and that required more fitness than I had.

Spectrum: Do you still play squash?Mr. Mahoney: Yes, I still do. I get out maybe once or twice a week, but I don’t get out as often as I would like.

Spectrum: What are the benefits of squash?Mr. Mahoney: You are able to meet a bunch of great people and it really reinforces sports-manship because of the fact that you and your opponent are standing right next to each other and you can’t call lines out because, again your opponent is right next to you. It is also a great work out, better than ten-nis, by the way. Squash would be a great sport for people who play tennis because it is easy to con-vert to. At my previous school I was the head varsity coach for tennis and it is something that I recommend.

Mr. Mahoney may not have been the star of the Dartmouth Squash Team but won a lifetime sport in the process

Alex FeldmanStaff Writer

College Bound AthletesHillary Crowe, Maisie Ide and George Ordway are three of many talented senior athletes taking their games to the college-level next year

College: Harvard Sport: Ice HockeyHow long have you been playing hockey: Since 3rd gradeMemorable Accomplish-ments: Winning the Min-nesota girls hockey state championship.

College: Dartmouth CollegeSport: Ski RacingHow long have you been skiing: 15 years.Memorable Accomplish-ments: World Juniors team in 2011, 3rd American Junior in Sl Nor Cup Overall

College: Middlebury CollegeSport: Ice HockeyHow long have you been playing hockey: Since I was 3 years oldMemorable Accomplish-ments: All conference for 3 years in a row.

Upcoming Sporting Events

Hillary Crowe Maisie Ide George Ordway

Studies show student-athletes bring home the grades and the gold

Thursday, April 28Girls Lacrosse vs Breck4:30 pm (Home)Boys Golf Tournament2:30 pm (Away)Boys Baseball vs SPA 4:30 (Home)

Saturday, April 30Boys Tennis Meet8:00 am (Away)Boys Lacrosse vs Champlin Park12:30 pm (Home)Track vs Eden Praire (Away)

Though sports take up precious homework time, the benefits of exercise, combined with stress re-lief, has a positive effect on academics.

Sports 16The Spectrum NewspaperApril 28, 2011

Led by some of the youngest players in the league

The Blake boys’ tennis team is returning an experienced

and committed squad hoping to repeat their state championship title this spring. Under the lead-ership of tri-captains Ford Traff ‘11, George Humphrey ‘11, and

Charlie Velie ‘11, the team also has “young returning talent” in Kai Skallerud ‘13, Charlie Ad-ams ‘15, and Taylor Parr ‘14, according to coach Ted Warner. Coach Warner com-mented, “Our goals, as always, are lofty and we will work every day to improve individually and as a team to achieve them.” Tri-

captain Ford Traff agrees: “We have a lot of experience this year and our chances of making a re-peat at state are looking good. Especially with the addition of ‘Stonewall’ Jackson Kelner ‘14, we’re going to be tough to beat.” If you’ve never seen a high school tennis match, this is the year to give it a try. While

tennis is often seen as a leisurely gentlemen’s game, high school tennis is just the opposite: loud, competitive, and physically de-manding matches are not un-common. Come see for yourself this Saturday, April 30 at the competitive Edina Invitational tournament (played at various locations in the Twin Cities).The

Boys’ varsity tennis looks to repeat at state

Clare CarpenterStaff Writer

Captain Ford Traft, left, at Spring tryouts. Freshman, Taylor Parr, right, winds up for big forehand. photo credit: parent submitted

Blake team will face several of the seven other excellent teams in the tournament. Come sup-port this young, hardworking, hard-hitting team as they pre-pare for the section and state tournaments!

Jackson Kelner, the newest edition to the boys’ varsity team, tracks the ball before making a volley during tryouts

Girls’ varsity lacrosse plays for P.I.N.K.Bears defeat the Hornets while raising money for breast cancer

Lucia SandbergPage Editor

photo credit: parent submittedThe Blake and Edina teams join together for a picture before their game

On Saturday, April 23, la-crosse fans and players

gathered at Kuhlman Stadium in Edina to support the first-ever Play for P.I.N.K. lacrosse event in the country.

Play for P.I.N.K. (Pre-vention, Immediate diagnosis, New technology and Knowl-edge) raises funds to fight breast cancer through sporting and lifestyle events. 100% of all pro-ceeds go towards raising breast cancer awareness and funding critical research efforts through The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. The theme was P.I.N.K., and local sports stores and na-tional corporate sponsors en-thusiastically donated every pink item imaginable. Fund-raising items in-cluded Play for P.I.N.K. t-shirts,

pink mid-calf socks, pink hats, pink lacrosse sticks, pink head-bands and pink lacrosse ribbons. The Bears battled the Edina Hornets for this occasion, ultimately winning 14-5. Junior midfielder, Meghan Bauer ’12, really stood out as the dominant force in Saturday’s game. Bauer, who scored eight of the fourteen goals, stated, “I think that our team just went into the game wanting to prove to ourselves and the rest of the

lacrosse community that we are the same team that won state last year.” Bauer has already committed to play D1 lacrosse at Harvard University in the spring of 2013. Another standout was senior midfielder, Abbie Lund ’11. Lund, another future D1 athlete to play ice hockey at Dartmouth next winter, added four goals to the score. Freshmen Lydia Sutton ’14 and Anne Slusser ‘14 also scored one goal each.

The Bears are currently 3-0 and look forward to another great season, which hopefully includes beating Edina again, bringing the Bears back to state tournament in June. Yet, this game was a great example of whole-hearted competition for a great cause. Junior goalie, Bailey Dunning ’12, stated, “[The team] knew from the start that this game was more about raising money for breast cancer rather than crush-ing a rival. Of course, it’s always

fun to do both.” Since 1996, Play for P.I.N.K. has donated $22,000,000 to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation; and on Saturday, they raised $8,000. Play for P.I.N.K. and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation share the same vision: to find prevention and a cure in our lifetime. In the end, the players and fans were happy to be a part of something bigger than them-selves, all to raise money and awareness for breast cancer.

photo courtesy of Stillwater Lacrosse

Bauer cradles the ball down the field