the
SPECTRUM
“Your Voice in Print”
blakespectrum.org
Issue VI
Friday | January 27 | 2023
The Blake School
Community Assesses Integrity Witnessing Advisories explore definitions Ali Hecker | Student Life Editor
O
xford Dictionary defines integrity as “the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles.” Beginning this year, grade deans have introduced the school’s core values as themes for each quarter. Each quarter, students are asked to come up with a collaborative definition for one of the core values with their advisory. This quarter, the theme is integrity. Lately, there has been much discussion amongst students and faculty about the meaning of integrity and how its definition applies to the school community. Sarah Warren, Assistant Director of the Upper School, says, “I think it’s often about your character and what it means to be a person of character, and that’s where that idea of wholeness comes in…when you are acting of integrity, your whole person is intact.” Warren explains that with third quarter being the longest, this core value was intentionally chosen as a
reminder that integrity is an essential part of functioning in an academic institution. Aside from the academic honesty aspect of integrity, Warren adds, “[The grade deans] also
requires the community to reflect on the school’s values. Eloise Walsh ‘24 says, “I think that Blake creating a value per quarter is well intended, and as much as some students
sory activities, such as the four corners activity and defining the school’s values, were the result of an attempt to make better use out of advisory time while uniting the students and
Anna Tao | Contributing Writer
D
ances have long been a pivotal part of high school culture. The dance on Feb. 11, has generated a significant amount of buzz. This will be the first winter dance in three years. There is also a casual dress code and neon them; this gives attendees a clear idea of attire without having to buy expensive clothes. Lucia Heathcote ‘25 says, “I don’t think it’s going to attract more people because people like getting dressed up… I think it would be better if each
Maddie ‘23 and Sarah Hsia ‘25 have dedicated copious amounts of their time to service learning over the years. Student Spotlight Page: 16
Sophomore shares experience at Mall of America Amelia Bush | Managing Editor
“I
just wanted to call my mom,” said Macaella Sikhoya ‘25, a witness to the Mall of America shootings. The Mall of America has been no stranger to darkness, with prevalent is-
Cleo Kilpatrick
Max Vinar ‘26 and Jack Mark ‘26 from Anna Reid’s advisory scavenge the Merriam-Webster Dictionary for Quarter three’s term, “integrity,” to broaden their understanding of the word.
are not just thinking of integrity as not cheating on a test; they’re thinking about it more broadly in terms of your character and how you develop.” Differing from past quarter values of respect and love of learning, the meaning of integrity seems to be less straightforward, offering more room for meaningful dialogue. Although some students feel these advisory conversations can become redundant, many feel it
don’t agree [and] play along with it, I think it still makes everyone think about [the school values], whether you’re engaged in the conversation in advisory or not.” Warren reveals that these values were initiated with the intent of creating a more purposeful advisory experience. “This year, we really wanted to have a sense that all students were having the same conversations,” says Warren. The planned advi-
staff in conversation about what the school stands for. Upper School Director, Joe Ruggiero, explains, “There’s a lot of talk coming out of COVID about how we need to rebuild community and feel closer together to build spirit, and one of the ways to do that was both to think about the mission statement of the school and the core values.” Ruggiero concludes, “Why do we have these [core values] if we don’t reflect on them?”
Winter Dance Revived in Neon SIAC hosts first winter dance in three years
Gun Violence
grade had their own dress code, or each grade got to vote on it.” Even though some students would have preferred more formal attire for the dance, many think that a casual dance can potentially be an opportunity for a differentiation in the type of dances hosted currently, like Prom and Homecoming, both are formal. However, many students wish that the dance was announced sooner to figure out plans and previous conflicts. Sophomore Dean and faculty leader of SIAC Maggie Bowman expressed that the dance was particularly harder to pull together and announce efficiently because “SIAC approached us in early December about
Eva Stegic
SIAC announced the theme for the winter dance during the Jan. 19 assembly by throwing glow sticks and candy into the audience.
the possibility of a dance and that timing is pretty late to start planning for an event.” Bowman also provides some perspective on why the winter dance has not been on the calendar since Feb. 2020, explaining, “The dance did not happen in 2021 or 2022 because of COVID[-19, but also because in 2020] it was not well attended.” SIAC members are staying hopeful and bringing in multiple methods to garner
spirit and excitement for the dance. So far, attendance among students is high, however, some students are unable to attend because of previous commitments. The same weekend there is a debate tournament occurring. Uma Bastodkar ‘25, a debate team member, specifies that the scheduling conflict “sucks because a lot of people have the same tournament on that same weekend so they won’t be able to go.”
of what you can do; you just have to do what is being told ... the lack of control is kind of what shook me.” On Dec. 23, 2022, Sikhoya witnessed her second Mall of America shooting, but this time, she was in Nordstrom–the location of the shooting. “Where the shooting happened and where it was, I was there with my cousins literally 30 seconds prior,” Sikhoya
“Just because it doesn’t affect you personally doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t care about it.” - Macaella Sikhoya ‘25 sues such as sex trafficking, specifically on the third floor girl’s bathroom, and child endangerment. The recent surge in gun violence however, is something completely new for them. Sikhoya was present for not one, but two shootings at the Mall of America taking place in the span of six months. Sikhoya’s Story On Aug. 4, 2022, Sikhoya witnessed her first shooting. “I went for my birthday,” said Sikhoya. She and her family were celebrating at Cadillac Ranch when at 4:16 p.m. everything changed. “We heard this big boom and then our server was like ‘Everyone needs to get inside, like get inside the store!’... We were just rushed inside and we were just sitting there not really knowing what was going on,” said Sikhoya who doesn’t “think [she] was really [thinking].” Sikhoya added, “As a kid, you always heard of these kinds of things happening like ‘Oh there was a shooting here’ but it’s a lot different when you’re actually experiencing it. So I guess what was going through my mind was ‘This is actually happening right now.’ You have no control
Boys’ hockey showed Breck who’s boss. Bears beat Mustangs 5-2.
Blake’s DECA team proved membership numbers aren’t everything.
Sports: Page 7
Student Life: Page 3
recalled. Sikhoya explained, “We walked away and we just heard this ‘Boom! Boom!’ And we just saw everyone sprinting to the back of the store. So we just kind of followed everyone else and then, because Nordstrom has a little cafe, we were taken through the back of the kitchen and all throughout these secret tunnels almost so that I guess they could get the police in there and the EMTs and everything.” Not only was being in Nordstrom during the shooting chaotic, it was also intense. Sikhoya “saw the guy getting CPR and we saw his friends around him crying. That definitely was a different and scarier experience.” Director of Equity and Community Engagement Tyneeta Canonge says that “the Mall of America shooting is a symptom of a bigger problem that we have in the world around gun violence… It’s a whole trail. If I am making a product and I’m mass producing this product and have no responsibility about who gets it, then that’s something that I think we really need to think about. There’s a lot of theories around where regular people on the streets acquire guns illegally and so Continued on page 2.