Ruth Bader Ginsberg and her Jewish Identity by Camilla Thorsen 

Ruth Bader Ginsberg, the second woman to serve on the United States Supreme Court, became famous for fighting gender discrimination and sexism. She died in 2020 at the age of eighty-seven after serving as a Supreme Court justice for twenty-seven years, starting in 1993. 

Many people know about her feminist identity, but what about the fact that she was Jewish? Ruth Bader Ginsberg was the first Jewish woman on the Supreme Court. This is an important fact to know when thinking about her history before becoming a Supreme Court justice. Ginsburg, like many Jews, faced some anti-semitism in her life. According to Lamba Legal, she was a little kid when she saw “a sign in front of a Pennsylvania resort that said ‘No dogs or Jews allowed.’” It also described how Ruth Bader Ginsburg “spent her life and career fighting for those who were forgotten and marginalized; to a generation of Jewish women coming of age, she was someone who had made good on the promise of America.”

While RBG made an impact by being the first Jewish woman on the Supreme Court, her work towards abolishing sexism should never be forgotten. “For more than fifty years, Ginsburg worked hard to end sex and gender discrimination in U.S. law,” the University of Massachusetts Amherst notes. “First as the founder of the ACLU Women’s Rights Project in 1972, where she successfully argued five of the six cases before the Supreme Court, and then as only the second woman serving on the U.S. Supreme Court.” 

RBG is an inspiration to all, and she will be missed by everyone around the world.

Anti-Semitism Affecting the World Today by Camilla Thorsen

Anti-Semitism is an issue all over the world that many people don’t know about, and this is a big problem. Anti-Semitism is a prejudice against people who practice the Jewish faith. In the past, Anti-Semitism has led to racism, beatings, protests, attacks, shootings, and, worst of all, the Holocaust, where six million Jews were killed.

While these things have been happening all over the world, it is shocking how many acts of Anti-Semitism have happened here in State College. In the last ten years, these incidents have occurred:

  • Students at Penn State zoombombed a meeting shouting antisemitic slurs.

  • Twice in one week the 9-foot-tall menorah on campus was stolen and vandalized at PSU.

  • The local Hillel synagogue received hate literature in the mail.

  • An individual threatened his roommate and called him unkind antisemitic names at PSU.

There is an old Jewish concept called Tikkun Olam. Tikkun Olam means to repair the world, and it sometimes refers to planting gardens, picking up trash, and doing our part to make the world a better place. But it also applies to fixing the ideas in our world. Synagogues are getting protection to ensure they won’t be attacked. Security cameras, new doors, and better locks have been purchased by our local synagogue, Congregation Brit Shalom. (They also hire security guards for public social events such as the Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur services.) We need to recognize and protect against Anti-Semitism, and these little steps can lead us closer to Tikkun Olam.

In summary, Anti-Semitism is showing prejudice against people of the Jewish faith, and preventing this big issue will take us closer to Tikkun Olam. Many people here, in State College, have met people with antisemitic ideas or had family members who lived during the Holocaust. There are also lots of Jewish members in our community, so this is an important issue for many people. But nothing will change if we don’t take action. Raise awareness and spread the word about Anti-Semitism. And if you ever see someone being bullied because of their race, religion, sexuality, or anything else, stand up for them! Help repair the world.

Orion Spacecraft Successfully Lands In Ocean After 25-Day Mission by Kale Cunningham

On December 11, 2022, the Orion spacecraft successfully landed in the Pacific Ocean after a flawless 25-day test flight. The mission, called Artemis 1, was supposed to do an unmanned test for the Orion spacecraft and the SLS rocket. Both performed perfectly according to NASA. 

Orion was launched this November, propelled by the SLS rocket with 8 million pounds of thrust, the most powerful launch so far. Orion was sent into Earth orbit where it departed and was sent into orbit around the moon. Once the spacecraft reached lunar orbit, NASA did several tests with its functioning system and tested it in every single way. The spacecraft did these tasks with ease and was reported to be “healthy and functional” throughout the entire mission, with only “small glitches,” according to NASA. 

The minor glitches that Orion experienced were with its star tracking system and sometimes its antenna, but other than that, the mission was completed with a success rate of 98%. 

Orion is supposed to carry people back to the moon in 2024 but before it can do that, it has to be tested by a human-rated spacecraft. Those involve testing the spacecraft for damage on its 25-day flight and for faulty systems on board. 

NASA’s administrator Bill Nelson claims, "2022 will go down as one of the most accomplished years in all of NASA history.” Nelson is not just talking about Artemis 1.  Many things have gone NASA’s way this year:  they have gotten a microwave-sized spacecraft into lunar orbit, Completed the first planetary defense mission, Got the first images back from the James Webb Space Telescope, and tested out an inflatable heat shield. 

The success of the missions this year could affect NASA’s future funding.      

Image Source: Times of San Diego

December 6th is St. Nicholas Day by Carolyn Frank

St. Nicholas Day

12/6/22

By Carolyn Frank



Sell your items,

Give to the poor,

Make social classes,

Separate no more,

Leave coins in the shoes

Of the sick with the blues,

So eat a great feast,

And help the people who have least,

Happy St. Nicholas Day!


Image Source: Shutterstock



What Puts The Point In Pointe Shoes? By: Madison Mikita

Every ballerina dreams of getting pointe shoes. They are beautiful and elegant, and every professional ballerina owns at least one pair.  But how do dancers stand up in these complicated shoes? Pointe shoes are made out of burlap (which is a type of fabric), cardboard, and bits of paper glued together. They are not made out of wood. 

Pointe shoes are designed for ballet dancers to appear weightless and stand on the tips of their toes for long periods of time. But pointe shoes are actually more than they look. There are many parts of the pointe shoe that help the dancer go on pointe. For example, the part of the shoe that the ballerina stands on is called the box. Above the box is the vamp which is where the drawstrings are. The layers of cardboard that go along your arch is called the shank. Lastly, the ribbons and elastic are tied around your ankle to provide extra support. 

How To Put On Pointe Shoes

1. The first thing to do is to put on your toe pads, depending on your studio or your preference the toe pads will be different. The most popular are either wool or gel. 


2. Put the end of your tights over the toe pad to make sure the pad doesn’t slide around while you’re dancing. Then slip your pointe shoe over your tights. It is also important to switch up which shoe goes on each foot. This is because if you keep wearing one pointe shoe on your (for example) left foot, the pointe shoe will bend to fit your left foot and it will affect your dancing negatively.

3. Next, tighten your shoes with the drawstring and tie the string into a bow. Then tuck the bow into your pointe shoe. 


4. Here comes the hard part… the ribbons. There is a certain way to wrap the ribbons; you don’t want them to go all the way up your leg like in most pointe shoe depictions. Instead, they should overlap and only go around your ankle. Next, you need to tie the ribbons: your first thought might be to make a bow, but that is the opposite of what you should do. All you need to do is make sure the ribbons are tight enough to give support (but don’t cut off your circulation) and double knot it. Then tuck the excess ribbon and the knot into the ribbon below. 


Tip: When tucking the ribbon in, it is best to position the knot at the back of your foot, this way the little lump that is created when you put the knot under the ribbon is not visible to the audience. 


Now you are ready for class… aka warmups. 


Image source: https://invention.si.edu/better-pointe-shoe-sorely-needed