The student news of St. Paul Academy and Summit School

The Rubicon

The student news of St. Paul Academy and Summit School

The Rubicon

The student news of St. Paul Academy and Summit School

The Rubicon

TURN THE TABLES. Don’t knock it till you try it. The Harkness tables are a key part of the upper school Humanities learning environment, and they need to come back to the classrooms.

It’s time to bring back Harkness

Leo Sampsell-Jones, Chief Visual Editor February 23, 2022

Harkness tables are a cornerstone of the SPA Humanities experience. They’ve decorated classrooms for years, and have arguably been a core component of the learning environment. These tables are even...

People need to walk the walk and not just talk

People need to walk the walk and not just talk

Ellie Findell, Production Manager January 11, 2018
People must follow through with actions after their words. If not, nothing will ever get done and no real change can be made.
Ninth graders Julia Scott and Gabriella Thompson, as well as sophomore Savita Yopp explain their experiences as female-identifying students at school. “The fact is, we still live in a society that’s very biased against women,” Yopp said.

These gendered halls (pt. 2): female voices minimized at Harkness tables and more

Melissa Nie, Illustrator December 27, 2017
Three female underclassmen discuss the school's attitude toward women. This is the second in a 3-part series on the school experience seen through the lens of gender.
Negativity can overshadow all the great opportunities we have at a school like SPA.

STAFF EDITORIAL: Curb complaints and appreciate SPA’s merits

The Rubicon Staff, Editorial December 12, 2017
SPA is always looking to improve itself, but sometimes its best to recognize all the reasons SPA is great.
For a school with such a strong political presence as St. Paul Academy and Summit School, one would think that a class discussion should be filled with conflicting thoughts and strong personal opinions. In reality, Harkness discussions feel like an echo chamber of impersonal reciprocated thoughts because students are afraid to voice their opposing opinions.

STAFF EDITORIAL: Opposing opinions should be shared more openly and accepted more readily

The RubicOnline Staff February 25, 2017
SPA students should take a risk and share their opposing opinions more often.

Basis from a conglomerate of elements necessary to further discussion

Diane Huang, Online Editor and Chief March 12, 2015

It’s that kid again, the one that didn't do the reading yet insists on participating during the class discussion. Few will take this student seriously because they lack knowledge to form an opinion off...

Tuck your pants

“Transformative Art” with Ben Bollinger Danielson

Boraan Abdulkarim, Chief Visual Editor October 24, 2014
Apart from the canvas of a notorious blank, college ruled paper, where do we doodle? Where do our pens and pencils itch to write in curly cursive, etch a geometric pattern, or create wan elaborate sketch? One of the most common (granted, unpredictable) locations is none other than the large Harkness tables designed to facilitate class discussions. Upper School history teacher Ben Bollinger Danielson likes to transform these doodles from something inappropriate into something positive, by way of what he calls “transformative art”.
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