According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, life with sunscreen is far better than life without. In fact, daily use of SPF 15 sunscreen can reduce the risk of developing a type of cell carcinoma by about 40% and melanoma by about 50%. This also applies to those who don’t burn easily, as skin damage occurs whether or not you get sunburned.

When it comes to purchasing sunscreen, there are two types: physical sunscreen, which blocks and scatters rays, and chemical sunscreen, which absorbs rays before they can cause damage. According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, although physical sunscreen is less likely to cause irritation, both are equally effective. However, make sure to purchase broad-spectrum sunscreen, which blocks both UVA and UVB rays, with SPF 15 or higher. Aveeno’s Protect + Hydrate Sunscreen ($9), Supergoop’s Matte Screen ($38) and Kinship’s Self Reflect ($25) are all examples of sunscreens that fulfill these conditions.

Regardless, the best sunscreen is one that you will use regularly. According to Stanford Healthcare, the most common mistake people make with sunscreen is actually insufficient application. So, although the past year has been primarily spent inside, consider making 2021 the year you start wearing sunscreen as you begin to venture out into the summer sun.

To Tsen, the core value in collaborative writing lies in the connections made while building off of others’ ideas. “It makes [the project] about actually improving your writing and having fun doing so,” she said.

Senior Nessa Kmetec, a participant in The Prose Train’s first project, felt that it was a different process than writing independently. “It definitely made me think of ways to integrate my writing with other people’s, which I hadn’t done before,” she said. “It was a new side of creativity.”

Freshman Fiona Li, another participant, noted that the project developed a part of her writing skills that her classes don’t usually address. “[When] writing creatively, there are just so many options, and I like that because you can take the story in a lot of directions,” she said.

Tsen hoped that the project would bring out a new side of Gunn’s student body. “As long as you’re interested, you should definitely join,” she said. “Gunn is a really STEM-centric school, and I hope that The Prose Train helps show that Gunn has a lot of writing talent, too.”

The event consisted of mentor talks, workshops and a main goal of constructing a project from scratch. Completed projects were eligible for a number of prizes, including $500 of Bugsee credits or an Adafruit gift certificate.

Hackathon head organizer senior Serena Li remarked that hackathons are an effective way to improve coding skills and a chance to collaboratively build a project from scratch. “Hackathons are for anyone who is interested in computer science,” she said. “They can be really fun, and you learn a lot from them.”

Computer science teacher Joshua Paley argued that the most important thing is to simply participate. “Show up,” he said. “That’s it. You don’t need to have lots of prior programming experience. The point of the hackathon is mostly to have fun, and to try to make things.”

Li echoed that prior experience is not a prerequisite. “We have workshops that are tailored for beginners, and the hackathon is definitely a lot about learning. So if you’re a beginner, that’s actually perfect.”

Paley emphasizes that the focus of the hackathon is on learning. “You’ll work with other people [and] try to
make new things,” he said. “If it works out, that’s awesome, and if it’s a colossal disaster, that’s awesome.”