the
RUBICON
Tuesday, Mar. 7, 2023
rubiconline.com
USC HOSTS ANNUAL BLOOD DRIVE TODAY
the student newspaper of St. Paul Academy and Summit School 1712 Randolph Ave St. Paul, MN 55105 Volume 48, Issue 5
@therubiconspa
COFFEE CHAT EXPANDS LGBTQ+ CONNECTION JOHANNA PIERACH THE RUBICON
RUBICON PHOTO: Grace Medrano
DONATE NOW. USC runs a sign up table in the English commons Feb. 20. GRACE MEDRANO THE RUBICON
The USA is experiencing a blood shortage. In Jan. 2020, Red Cross declared its first-ever national blood crisis, desperate for donations. The Upper School Council collaborates with a representative from American Red Cross who reaches out annually. USC then finds eligible donors to contribute to the drive. Senior Clea Gaitas-Sur said, “We run a sign-up booth about two weeks before the blood drive, and day of, USC members find alternates, monitor recovery, and run the sign-in and sign-out.” Sophomore Cerena Karmaliani said, “What tends to happen is we get like double or triple the amount of people that we need, but a lot of people back out last minute, so on the day of we get the exact amount that we would need.” According to the American Red Cross, someone in the United States requires blood every two seconds. That is an estimated 29,000 units of blood needed every day. Donors will be providing one pint of blood out of the 10 to 11 pints contained in the human body. The process takes around 10 minutes, though donors are encouraged to remain in the area for 15 minutes after to ensure no complications ensue. “It’s a really cool opportunity. If you’re eligible, please try and donate. If you can help in any little way, it helps a big issue,” Karmaliani said. The blood drive will be hosted on Mar. 7 in Driscoll.
5
ChatGPT PHOTO: Created by Orion Kim
SECOND GLANCE. While this photo might look like a student staring at a computer, look closer and recognize that it is slightly distorted. The image was generated by OpenAI’s DALL-E 2 based on the prompt: “Create a realistic photo of a student using ChatGPT.”
Rise of ChatGPT sparks conversation about educational values ORION KIM
CHIEF VISUAL EDITOR
CHATGPT TALKS SEASONAL DEPRESSION
Open AI released ChatGPT Nov. 30, 2022 an artificial intelligence chatbot that immediately took the world by storm. Within weeks, the world embraced this new technology: students used it to write essays, singers asked it to generate song lyrics, and home cooks used it to make new recipes. If this magical chatbot can pull the answers to virtually any question out of thin air, what’s the danger? Academic Dean Tom Anderson believes that AI technology, while it can be helpful in some ways, poses a threat to students. “If a student feels like they can find a shortcut that is less traceable, they might take that path,” he said. The danger is that taking shortcuts might damage a student’s ability to learn important life skills. “[A student’s] capacity to gather, arrange, synthesize, and analyze information is going to be important in any field that [they] are in,” Anderson said.
After asking ChatGPT to “write an essay about seasonal depression,” this is some of what it was able to generate:
“
Seasonal depression, also known as seasonal affective disorder (SAD), is a type of depression that occurs during the fall and winter months. It is a mental health condition that can cause symptoms such as low mood, lack of energy, fatigue, and changes in appetite and sleep patterns. While the exact cause of seasonal depression is not known, experts believe it is related to a lack of sunlight exposure and a disruption of the body’s internal clock. One of the main causes of seasonal depression is the reduction in the amount of sunlight during the fall and winter months. Sunlight is important for the production of vitamin D, which plays a role in regulating mood and energy levels. When there is less sunlight, the body produces less vitamin D, which can lead to symptoms of depression. Additionally, the decrease in sunlight can disrupt the body’s internal clock, leading to changes in sleep patterns and mood. Seasonal depression is more common in areas that are far from the equator, where there are greater differences in the amount of daylight between the seasons. Women are also more likely to experience seasonal depression than men, and it is more common in younger adults....” The second time, the response was written differently.
continued on pg. 2
NOT ENOUGH MOVEMENT Extended periods of sitting come with many health concerns, here is why you should take more movement breaks throughout the day.
9
continued on pg. 2
STUDENT WEIGHT ROOM
While many student athletes take advantage of the weight room, it isn’t highly advertised for individual use.
IN THIS ISSUE:
Community. Connection. Support. One thing they all have in common is that they are essential in any circumstance, but especially when it comes to underrepresented identities one example being the LGBTQ community. “There’s a team of us who are really looking to expand and kind of grow the connectedness of the queer families here at SPA,” Middle School Learning Specialist Jay Rainville-Squire said. This team consists of Intercultural Life Program Specialist Alexis Irish and Director of Intercultural Life Dr. Naomi Taylor, among others. A recent coffee chat was held for families of students who identify as LGBTQ. Discussion at the event centered around clubs and affinity groups offered at SPA: clubs Action for Gender Equality/ Gender and Sexuality Alliance; affinity group Rainbow Connections and special interest group Lovelace Society. In addition to affinity groups, “We talked about what curriculum is discussed in middle school specifically when it comes to LGBTQIA+ issues,” Rainville-Squire said. At the end, there was time for parents to ask questions. The coffee chat was prompted by climate survey data from the Strategic Action Plan for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging sent last year. The survey focused on five parts, one being student experience. Director of Intercultural Life Naomi Taylor examined the data and set goals:“When you break down student experience based on the data that we received from that survey, one population is our LGBTQIA+ students [...] they had marked their experience being slightly lower than their counterparts, students that are not LGBTQ. So we wanted to be able to be responsive, to be able to bring families together in terms of support. To Rainville-Squire, the journey of identity is an on-
12
STRESS LEVELS RISE
Over the past few years, teenagers have been at increased risk of high stress levels for numerous reasons.
1-2 - News • 3 - Editorial • 4-5 - Opinion • 6-7 - Feature
• 8-9 - Sports • 10-11 - A&E • 12 - Good Question