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American Studies class formed to combine American history and literature

American Literature teacher Ms. Anne Marie Dominguez teaches The Great Gatsby to her students in the newly developed class, American Studies, alongside U.S. History teacher Ms. Megan Kern. (Chris Bell)

American Studies class formed to combine American history and literature

February 3, 2012

Nicole Sarquis, Staff Writer

History teachers tend to ramble off unrelatable facts about flappers, bootlegging, and the ease of life in the “Roaring 20s” during a typical U.S. History class, leaving their students with no real understanding of the subject. At the same time, English teachers’ enthusiasm over F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” can only be understood... Continue Reading

Besse stays hot with two more goals against Wayzata

February 6, 2012

Matt Muenzberg, Sports Editor

“We need our Kyle Rau,” said boys’ hockey head coach Mr. Ken Pauly, referencing the former Eden Prairie Eagle who not only led the team in scoring on their way to last year’s state championship, but also consistently showed up when his team needed a goal. BSM’s Kyle Rau is junior forward Grant Besse, who has been on a roll lately, averaging over 2.8 goals a game in his last seven games. He twice found the back of the net and added an assist in a 4-3 win over section rival Wayzata on Monday, Feb. 6. With section seeding on the line, there was a playoff-like atmosphere at the packed Plymouth Ice Center. “I loved it,” said Besse. “I thrive on that stuff.” Head-to-head match-ups... Continue Reading

Rising actors partake in Les Miserables performance

Junior Shannon Galvin rehearses for the upcoming Les Miserables performance wither her fellow cast members. (Giulia Imholte)

Rising actors partake in Les Miserables performance

January 27, 2012

Emily Kline, Staff Writer

Blue Water Theatre Company, one of the Twin Cities’ top performing arts groups for youth, is taking on “Les Misérables,” one of musical theatre’s most famous works, for their winter production. Juniors Rachel Hogen and Shannon Galvin, along with sophomore Rachel Wallace, joined the cast in late November and are currently in rehearsals for the... Continue Reading

SOPA bill is ineffective, inefficient, and infringing

February 1, 2012

Nick Hillson, Staff Writer

The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) is a bill running through Congress in an attempt to curb the illegal uploading and downloading of copyrighted information and programs. Unfortunately, due to extremely vague wording and unclear definitions, the censorship proposed could extend to websites such as Facebook, various e-mails, and any other free forum. Not only is SOPA ineffective for all but the technologically impaired, but it violates our rights and benefits only a small handful of elites. SOPA works by requiring websites and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to search through sent information and to censor any infringing material. Not only does this ignore the privacy guaranteed in the Constitution... Continue Reading

Mock Trial season testifies the team’s talent

The Mock Trial team had a succesful season at several competitions due to immense practice and help from professional lawyers. (Photo courtesy of Jim Vogl)

Mock Trial season testifies the team’s talent

February 3, 2012

Mallory Hoch, Staff Writer

Beginning in October, the Mock Trial team has practiced every night from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in room 121 in preparation for upcoming competitions. Coming to a close on January 31st, the season ended on a strong note, making it to subsections before loosing their last competition. The season commenced with general practices to help initiate new members.... Continue Reading

SportDateOpponentResultW/L
Girls HockeySat, Feb 04 Totino-Grace9-0 Read StoryW
Boys HockeySat, Feb 04 Spring Lake Park15-0W
WrestlingSat, Feb 04 TBA9th Place
Girls BasketballFri, Feb 03 Spring Lake Park57-39W
Boys BasketballFri, Feb 03 Spring Lake Park67-65 Read StoryW
Girls HockeyThu, Feb 02 Spring Lake Park6-0 Read StoryW
WrestlingThu, Feb 02 Dassel-Cokato21-58L
Girls BasketballTue, Jan 31 Minneapolis Southwest70-38W
Boys HockeyTue, Jan 31 Jefferson7-1 Read StoryW
Girls HockeySat, Jan 28 Hill-Murray1-3 Read StoryL
Boys BasketballSat, Jan 28 North Branch82-21 Read StoryW
Girls BasketballSat, Jan 28 North Branch66-40 Read StoryW
Click on any sport above to see a full schedule for that sport.
SportDateTimeOpponentLocation
Boys HockeyWed, Feb 08 7:30Shattuck-St. Mary'sShattuck-St. Mary's
Girls BasketballFri, Feb 10 7:15St. Louis ParkSt. Louis Park
WrestlingFri, Feb 10 6:00Chisago LakesHome
Boys HockeySat, Feb 11 2:30Totino-GraceSt. Louis Park
Dance TeamSat, Feb 11 1:00SectionsAustin
Boys HockeyTue, Feb 14 7:00Chisago LakesChisago Lakes
Girls BasketballTue, Feb 14 7:15Columbia HeightsHome
Girls BasketballThu, Feb 16 7:15WaconiaHome
Girls BasketballFri, Feb 17 7:15IrondaleHome
Boys HockeySat, Feb 18 2:30StillwaterSt. Louis Park
WrestlingSat, Feb 18 8:00Section OpponentsTotino-Grace
Girls BasketballTue, Feb 21 7:15St. FrancisHome
Click on any sport above to see a full schedule for that sport.

Give blood

Senior Liam Brew gave blood at the NHS blood drive on November 18.

Alana Profit
November 20, 2009
Filed under Opinions

In the time it takes to read this story, about 40 people will need blood. The need for it never goes away, so the blood drive on November 18 is the perfect opportunity to save a life.

A vast majority of students in attendance at Benilde-St. Margaret’s consider service as a large part of their lives, but a lot of teenagers never look at blood donation as a service option. What greater service can you do for someone than saving their life, especially if it’s through giving up something you don’t need in the first place?

The human body has about two pints of blood for every 25 pounds it carries. One unit of blood, which is one pint, is replaced in only three weeks. Last year between the two blood drives, 120 units of blood were collected, blood that potentially saved 360 lives. With all the people in need, it’s quite silly not to give blood.

With blood donation, people have fears that they will become exhausted, but the truth is that people generally return to normal activity in 24 hours, and endurance comes back within a week or so. One week of slight discomfort in exchange for saving someone’s life isn’t really an exchange at all.

At the end of a donation a donor gets to eat some goodies that Memorial Blood Centers brings along and they go back to class. In the half hour that you spend down at the auxiliary gym, you will have gotten out of class, eaten chips or cookies, and saved three lives. There are very few things you can do in that span of time that yields that many great benefits.

Another common fear held by people is giving blood puts the donor at risk for disease, but that’s not so. Giving blood is safe and easy; every donation uses a sterile needle. Before entering the donation station there is a health questionnaire that takes about 10 minutes to fill out to determine if you are eligible to give blood.

The simple requirements of donors are be of age 17 (or 16 with parental permission), be 110 pounds (130 pounds and 5 feet tall if 16), be free of a sickness/infection for at least 3 days, be of the appropriate hemoglobin level of 12.5, be free of a recent tattoo or piercing dating within the last 6 months, and be free of travel to places with high risks of infectious diseases dating within the last 6 months, with some other assorted things as well.

If a potential donor passes the health screening, they go to the hydration table. There donors drink two little bottles of water, and when finished, a phlebotomist comes over and leads them to a chair. They stick the needle into the donor’s arm and that’s it. If a donor happens to do a Double Red donation, there is also a free t-shirt involved.

Simply being afraid of needles or the sight of blood is not an excuse to not donate. There are too many benefits to this selfless act to just not do it on the basis of the foreknowledge that it may hurt a little.

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