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Faces of Cubing Club By Allen Zhang

Rubik's Cube (n.): a cubic puzzle with faces covered with multicolored squares, which the solver tries to turn so that the squares on each face are the same size

Cubing Club (n.): a club formed last year at Homestead High dedicated to all things Rubik's cube-related; all levels of skill welcome!

"There's a lot of people at our school who are really fast and in the top 1% of the cubing world. So it's a very high proportion in terms of Homestead population versus everywhere else." -David Zhao

DAVID ZHAO

Secretary

The summer before sixth grade, David Zhao noticed his friends carrying around colorful cubes. Thinking it looked like fun, Zhao decided to start trying it himself. Now, as the secretary of the newly-formed Cubing Club, Zhao has expanded his love for the cube. As a sophomore, between tennis and video games, Zhao dedicates forty minutes to an hour a day on average practicing for his main event, 3x3 one-handed. For Zhao, cubing has helped him make friends he wouldn't have met otherwise. For people just starting to cube, Zhao recommends watching YouTube to learn beginners' methods.

"One time at school I was [on] the stairs going up to the A building. I was trying to solve [a cube] one-handed but the cube slipped, and it dropped halfway through the balcony and landed right next to someone; their reaction was pretty funny." -Calix Tang

Calix tang

CO-PRESIDENT

Ranking ninth nationally for Square-1, which is a cube that looks like a normal Rubik's cube but changes shapes, Calix Tang was one of the founders of the Cubing Club. He now serves as co-president and hopes to spread his passion for cubing to others on campus. "[Cubing Club]," he said, "is one of the few clubs made purely out of interest." Cubing is an important part of Tang's life; it has given him a sense of direction, instilled in him the value of trying hard, and taught him the virtue of patience. That's why he devotes 15 to 30 minutes of his day to improve his solve time. For anyone even remotely interested in solving a cube? "Join Cubing Club!"

“I started cubing in seventh grade because one of my friends brought a cube to school, and he was able to solve it, so I wanted to learn. Then I got faster for two months; then I just stopped like I got out of it; and then I started again December 2017. After that I actually tried and got a lot faster." -Akshat Jain

AKSHAT JAIN

CO-PRESIDENT

As a junior involved in many extracurriculars including FBLA and swimming, one might not expect Akshat Jain to have much time to enjoy solving a cube. However, he strives to reach 15 solves a day. "The best thing about [cubing] is that it's a stress reliever," he says. It has also helped improve his hand-eye coordination. As the other founder and now co-president of the club, Jain aims to make cubing more prevalent and wants to meet people who share this common interest with him. Cubing has also followed him outside of school; one time, at a robotics competition, Jain taught a lot of others how to solve a cube. "I'm proud of...spark[ing] an interest in [them]," he says.

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