Staff Profile
Sarah Karels –– Staff Writer
A beloved star of “The Real Housewives of Kugaruuk” (a tiny town in Canada that you’ve obviously heard of), SarKar can usually be found drinking coffee while penning another bestseller. She is also the founder of a community of parsley haters (the spice that you probably hate). Skarelz is an avid whistler, and has attended competitions worldwide (okay, maybe just her backyard, you probably don’t care). She has won several Emmys, a Tony, four Grammys, and one “Class Spelling Bee Winner” ribbon. Also, if you are ever in the market for handmade armoires crafted from the finest Spam® money can offer (a couple cents that is. You probably want one). Feel free to email her to remind her that her swag levels are abnormally high.
Trend of music mashups takes off
Sarah Karels, Staff Writer
May 21, 2013
Filed under Editor's Picks, Music Reviews
“Broke Phi Broke” White Noise Definitely one of the strangest combinations, “Broke Phi Broke” contains a vast array of musical tastes. Beginning with the banjo chords found in Mumford and Sons’ “The Cave,” White Noise adds a variety of textures over this repetitive melody. Soon “Lollipop”... Read more »
New gun control measures need to ensure a safer society
Molly Eldevik and Sarah Karels
May 20, 2013
Filed under Opinions
Following the horrific violence seen at Sandy Hook elementary, a shooting that killed 20 children and six educators, support for gun control measures soared. Up to 60 percent of the country supported revising gun control laws, and up to 90 percent supported universal background checks. However, five... Read more »
Media dehumanizes women, emphasizes modern gender inequality
Sarah Karels, Staff Writer
April 18, 2013
Filed under Opinions
“Olympian Oscar Pistorius Kills Model Girlfriend” read the headlines on the morning of February 15. On the day before, Oscar Pistorius, 26, is alleged to have shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, 29. Pistorius, an Olympic athlete, was known to the adoring public as the “Blade Runner,” recognized... Read more »
Plan to increase minimum wage beneficial for economy and workers
Sarah Karels, Staff Writer
March 7, 2013
Filed under Opinions, Top Stories
$15,080. Enough money for a fancy vacation, enough money for a new car, enough money for a year of tuition at BSM, but not enough money to live for a year. Yet, many Americans find themselves making this amount, and even less, although they have a full time job. Someone working 40 hours a week should... Read more »
Local Natives – “You & I”
Sarah Karels, Staff Writer
March 4, 2013
Filed under Featured Songs
“You & I” is the third single to be released from Los Angeles-based Local Natives’ “Hummingbird,” released on January 29. The band, which has been described as “psychedelic folk” continues its legacy of mixing melodic vocals with rhythmic guitars. “You & I” features an almost... Read more »
BSM welcomes students of non-Catholic faiths
Sarah Karels, Staff Writer
February 20, 2013
Filed under Student Life
According to the Benilde-St. Margaret’s website, 72% of the school population is Catholic. While the majority of students are Catholic, many students do not realize that nearly 28% of the school, or around 332 of the 1,184 students do not share the faith the school was founded on. In addition, many... Read more »
The Local Natives’ sophomore album changes tone
Sarah Karels, Staff Writer
February 3, 2013
Filed under A&E, Music Reviews
Psychedelic folk band The Local Natives pleases with its second full-length album “Hummingbird,” released January 29. Building on their legacy of harmonic vocals and rhythmic beats, this Los Angeles based band continues their indie sound layered with texture. Compared to their debut album... Read more »
Students experience other faiths
Sarah Karels, Staff Writer
January 10, 2013
Filed under Editor's Picks, News
The requirements for Andrew Phaff’s World Religions final were a bit unconventional compared to the normal test or in-class essay. On Sunday, Dec. 16 Phaff and some of his peers spent the day at the Watt Munisota Buddhist Temple in Hampton, Minn, learning the worship practices of the Cambodian monks. “It... Read more »
Awards encourage effort towards future success
Sarah Karels, Staff Writer
January 7, 2013
Filed under Opinions
As a sickly, scrawny, asthmatic sixth grader, crossing the finish line of the mile was an accomplishment for me. I didn’t get a medal, or a trophy, yet I was proud. I had accomplished something that was hard, and I had worked for it. That is why participation awards matter. They award based on what... Read more »
Laptops fixed before warranties expire
Sarah Karels, Staff Writer
November 16, 2012
Filed under News Briefs
For several weeks now, the help desk has been flooded with laptops taken from students during their math or science classes in order to fix them before the warranties are up in December. “We’re getting the serial numbers off of them and then seeing what can be replaced that Apple will pay for. So... Read more »
The secret lives of Mr. Lex
Sarah Karels and Hannah Scherer
November 12, 2012
Filed under Featured People, Student Life, Top Stories
As a man of many talents, Mr. Mark Lex’s involvements vary from EMT work to environmental club adviser, from music to volunteering at a nature center, and from frog and toad surveying to photography. His decision to teach came to him as a no-brainer. “I was always interested in math and science.... Read more »
Rave: British TV
Sarah Karels, Staff Writer
October 25, 2012
Filed under Rants & Raves
Every TV show seems to be the same these days. Protagonist, antagonist, pretty girl caught in turmoil. However, there is a true hero emerging from the bleak consistency of television programming––British TV. Nothing is better than hearing the same protagonist, antagonist, and pretty girl go about... Read more »
Rant: Word Count
Sarah Karels, Staff Writer
October 24, 2012
Filed under Rants & Raves
Word counts are my worst nightmare. Nothing is worse than finishing a paper and finding you need two hundred more words. Okay, maybe finishing a paper and finding you need three hundred less. But really, you’d think that by now high school teachers would trust us enough to know how long a well written... Read more »
Book bans counteract what literature is all about
Sarah Karels, Staff Writer
October 8, 2012
Filed under Opinions
If book bans were in place at BSM, the English curriculum would not include literary classics like “Of Mice and Men,” “Catcher in the Rye,” or “To Kill a Mockingbird.” If book bans limited the publishing world, “Harry Potter,” “Junie B. Jones,” and “Bridge to Terabithia”––all... Read more »
A tale of a vacation gone awry
Sarah Karels, Staff Writer
September 27, 2012
Filed under Humor
High up on the list of “Vacations to Avoid” lies an entry that only a privileged few have had the opportunity to experience. Right below “Your Hotel Burning Down” and above “Eating Strange Animals” sits “Awkward Family Vacations: Someone Else’s Family Edition.” I was fortunate enough... Read more »
Imagine Dragons is versatile yet consistent in first full length album
Sarah Karels, Staff Writer
September 22, 2012
Filed under A&E, Music Reviews
Drawing from their past EP's "Hell and Silence" and "Continued Silence,” Imagine Dragons released their debut album to an ever growing fanbase. This indie rock band climbs the charts, with hit song “It’s Time” reaching a peak of number 63 on Billboard Charts, a relatively impressive feat for... Read more »
Loft Literary Center hosts notable speakers for censorship awareness event
Sarah Karels, Staff Writer
September 20, 2012
Filed under News Briefs
At the Loft Literary Center on Sunday, September 16, several authors and guest speakers spoke about censorship to kick off "Banned Books Week,” which begins on September 30. Two notable authors were in attendance: Ellen Hopkins, number one New York Times bestselling author of “Crank,” “Burned,”... Read more »
