MANGO’S MEMES - Ethan Wei (Pg. 6)
The Duterte Administration - Bea Carandang and Ted Dennis (Pg. 4)
ISHCMC Inquirers Reborn! - Alexia Guglielmi (Pg. 1)
VOLUME 1 | OCTOBER EDITION
ISHCMC Inquirers Reborn! “Our purpose is to inform and entertain the ISHCMC community by providing both an online platform and monthly publications, thus, enhancing the communication bond within the school.” -Sungjun Min With the start of a new scholastic year, ISHCMC Inquirer is excited to announce its return with new staff, new ideas, and new goals. Now accessible to you by the official ISHCMC Inquirer website and the monthly printed newspaper, we will inform you of the basic, need-to-know occurrences; be it local, national, or global. Within each publication you will find a collection of news stories, event information, and thought-provoking opinion articles, all for the purpose of educating and spreading knowledge throughout the ISHCMC community, bettering the effectiveness of in-school communication. Through the newspaper, we will be able to understand and know what is important to the students. Moreover, problems and issues will be easily communicated to the administrators which will also serve useful to the administrators as the problems and issues that have not been shared with the school will be brought to light. ISHCMC Inquirer has been up and running online for two years now, so what caused such significant change in the restarting group? First and foremost, when a significant amount of the previous staff departed with last year’s graduating class of 2016, many openings for ISHCMC Inquirer became available and an opportunity to reformulate its plan arose. Jun Min, last year a member of the news team and now the current Editor-in-chief, reached out to students he knew would be interested in holding a role in the school’s newspaper and offered them positions in the restarting group. With a fresh set of staff and newfound ambition, we were determined to improve ISHCMC Inquirer to make it as successful as it could possibly be. Naturally, as new minds brought about new ideas, changes were proposed, discussed, and decided. The most impactful change we agreed on was to provide the student body with printouts of the new newspaper, successfully reaching a wider audience alongside our website and Radio Rhino. The main benefit of delivering printed copies to the students is its tangibility: the physical copies may be kept and taken home where they can be read in deeper detail. Furthermore, ISHCMC Inquirer will be providing the student body with regular and relevant monthly updates without interfering with class time. We would like to thank Ms Rebecca Taylor, the Secondary Communications Manager, for allocating the budget for the printing of the newspaper. We are ISHCMC Inquirer, covering the inside, outside, and everything in between.
TABLE OF CONTENTS ISHCMC Inquirers Reborn! page 1 Zika Virus in Southeast Asia! page 1-2 Inquirer Monthly Mixtape page 2-3 The Duterte Administration page 3-4 Mango Memes page 4-5 Apple’s Tax Evasion page 5-6 Rio Olympics’ Implications page 6-7 Taiwan page 7 Venezuelan Crisis page 7-8 New CAS Policy: Ally or Enemy page 8 CAS Groups in Action page 9 Meet The Inquirers page 10-11
Article by Alexia Beatrice Guglielimi
Zika Virus in Southeast Asia!
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Yes people. There was an outbreak of the Zika virus in Southeast Asia. The virus spread from Africa to Asia in early 2016. Vietnamese health officials notified WHO (World Health Organization) that they had two patients suffering from Zika on 5th of April 2016. The first case, a resident in Nha Trang, Vietnam, had onset fever, rash, conjunctivitis, and headache on 26th March 2016. The second victim who suffered from the disease was in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The victim developed rash, conjunctivitis and malaise on 29 March 2016. As of 4 April, the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology and Pasteur Institutes of Ho Chi Minh City and Nha Trang have tested 1,215 samples collected from people with Zika virus symptoms from 32 provinces in Viet Nam. No other cases of Zika virus infection have yet been identified in Vietnam.
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It is hence a dangerous disease and it would be wise to take precautions. Let’s first show you some facts about Zika: The Zika virus is spread by mosquito bites: Zika is an RNA virus related to the West Nile, yellow fever, and dengue viruses, and passed on by the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito. A person bitten by a mosquito that has the virus then becomes viremic. Symptoms of Zika virus infection are usually mild: Eighty percent of people who become infected never have symptoms. In those who do, the most common Zika virus symptoms are fever and rash. It can also cause muscle and joint pain, headache, pain behind the eyes, and conjunctivitis (itchy, red eyes), according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Unborn babies are most at risk from Zika virus complications: When pregnant women are infected with Zika, the unborn child is at risk. The virus produces a horrific effect of microcephaly (shrinking of the head). Doctors are trying to find a cure for this effect. Research and testing are underway for a Zika virus vaccine: There is no cure yet for the Zika virus, “There’s going to be a need to accelerate a Zika vaccine,” says Hotez. “I think the world got caught by surprise at the congenital infections. Now there’s going to be a lot of interest in a vaccine for women of reproductive age, like the rubella vaccine [to prevent birth defects].
Zika Virus in Southeast Asia!
EFFECTS OF MICROCEPHALY
Precautions for the Zika virus: 1. Do not travel to an area with the Zika virus. What if you are going to an area with the Zika virus? 2. Talk to a doctor or a healthcare provider about your travel even if you don’t feel sick. 3. If you have symptoms of Zika (rashes, Headaches, Fever, and joint pain) within two weeks of traveling, you should be tested for Zika immediately. 4. Areas of Zika in South-East Asia are mainly Indonesia, Cambodia, and Singapore. In order to prevent yourself from getting a mosquito bite: 5. Put on some insect repellent when in areas with high risks of getting mosquito bites. 6. Spray or burn some insecticides, in that area. 7. Wear long sleeve shirts or jackets. You can also wear jeans or pants to prevent yourself from getting a mosquito bite.
POTENTIAL ZIKA VIRUS INFECTED AREAS
Article by Aditya Chauhan
Inquirer Monthly Mixtape
Have your playlists been feeling a little drab lately? A musical dry-spell maybe? Don’t even worry about it- I’ve got you covered. Every month, I’ll be posting a few of my personal favorite songs, as well as song favorites of the ISHCMC community. Hopefully you guys will like these songs just as much as I do! (To get the full experience, I highly recommend that you listen to the songs in order and let the playlist take you on a journey~)
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King of Summer (feat. Quinn XCll)- ayokay Genre: tropical house, indie Favorite lyric: (not many lyrics in the song, but the beat makes up for it) Although it saddens me to actually accept that summer break has come to a close, I still have this song to remind me of summer. This song is the perfect mix of tropical house and a cool alternative-urban twist. The perfect summery song to vibe to whilst on a drive or by the pool. Self Control- Frank Ocean Genre: Pop Favorite lyric: “I came to visit, cause you see me like UFO” After two long years, Frank Ocean released his long awaited album “Blonde”. Although this whole album is a masterpiece in itself, Self Control is definitely my favorite. Frank sings about heartbreak,
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DECEMBER
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Inquirer Monthly Mixtape disappointment and sadness he felt in this relationship that he was in. Frank sings about how his desire for this person started to cloud his judgement and made him feel a mixture of heartbreak, love and disappointment. Constantly changing from the hip-hop vibes to the acoustic guitar and then to Frank Ocean’s angelic voice, this song is truly a musical journey. Freedom (feat. Kendrick Lamar)- Beyonce Genre: hip-hop, neo-soul Favorite lyric: “Yeah, open our minds as we cast away oppression” Beyonce and Kendrick Lamar in a song? All my dreams have come true. Freedom is a song that pays homage to the Black Lives Matter movement, empowerment for black women and slavery in American history. Kendrick’s verse highlights his own hardships as a black man who grew up in Compton, California, reminding everyone that it’s 2016 and yet oppression is still ongoing. More than anything though, this song is an emphasis for change that needs to come. Just Keep Breathing- We The Kings (stripped version) Genre: alternative, acoustic Favorite lyric: “The beginning’s just another end, it’s not too late to start again” If you’ve been feeling pretty down in the dumps recently? A really bad grade on a test? Someone rejected you? Or is DP really just really roasting you? Don’t worry! Let the hopeful melody of the acoustic guitar paired with lead singer Travis Clark’s voice inspire and motivate you to keep trying. This song reminds you that as you drive by life, there will always be roadblocks, and even if that roadblock is an entire ocean separating you from your destination, you will always find a way. One Love- Bob Marley & The Wailers Genre: reggae Favorite lyric: “Have pity on those whose chances grow thinner” Who doesn’t love a bit of Bob Marley? I did touch on darker topics, and this is the perfect throwback song to end my list on a happy note.The catchy reggae beat mixed in with Bob Marley’s unique vocals floats through the air, lightening up even the most miserable situations. They say that laughter is the best medicine, but I say music is, and this song is just the cure that we need to remind us that in the end, we all love the same and in the end, it’s all we need. As Bob Marley himself sings: “Let’s get together and feel alright!” Article by Bea Carandang
faster government transactions.
The Duterte Administration
What is Red Tape? By definition, Red Tape is “excessive bureaucracy or adherence to official rules and The Promise of Easier Government Transactions formalities”. This means that many rules and requirements, even redundant ones, need to be met in order for someone to getgovernment assistance. Often times, this government assistance is extremely hard to get because of the many requirements, as well as long lines and small amount of offices which make these transactions impossible. Problems like these are very common nation wide, which is why Duterte has decided that enough is enough. “There are consequences (as a government official or an employee). If you fail to help the people, and you aren’t in your office because you’re going around malls and doing unrelated things past your lunch break you will be dismissed.” He even goes on to say that "Technically, you government workers, when you are not there to serve the people, you're committing estafa1. It's not clearly defined but the act is actually swindling.”
The Duterte Administration: The Philippines’ Last Hope or It’s Downfall? My name is Bea Carandang and as a young Filipino, I, too, was not a fan of Rodrigo Duterte. It felt as if his new regime was stripping the Filipinos, especially the youth, from their civil rights and liberties. Even in the media, especially international media, Duterte is constantly put under fire. From his harsh war on drugs to his verbal attacks on President Obama, it seems as if things are not looking good for the Philippines’ president. Over the summer I interned at CNN Philippines, carrying my distaste for Duterte along with me. After just a few days, I started to see things differently. One part of my job was answering calls, and one day, a woman called about how difficult it was for senior citizens to apply for their card. She was explaining that there was only one to two days in a week where they could apply for a card and with only a few locations to do this with lines being incredibly long. This is because many officials were out on extended lunch breaks, or because there was no sense of urgency when issuing these cards. She continued to explain that her grandmother has been trying to obtain this card since she was 60 years old (minimum age required) and she is now 67. Senior citizenship benefits is extremely important, especially to less privileged individuals because it gives 10% discount in certain restaurants, as well as 20% discount and VAT2 exemption when applying for healthcare and other benefits. Duterte’s goal of making these transactions easier is a clear silver lining for the Filipino people and a huge step towards progress. In the 22 years of being mayor of Davao City prior to his presidency, Duterte has completely transformed and reshaped Davao. It’s been a very long time since the Philippines has experienced this kind of change and it’s important for us to look at the bigger picture. Yes, Duterte’s methods are controversial and no, I don’t agree with many of them. But is he making a change? Yes, he is. It is time for the Philippines to rise up and reach its full potential, and Duterte is here to give us an opportunity. Although I am very aware of the possibility that the Duterte Administration may be the very thing to destroy the Philippines once and for all. I, along with millions of other Filipinos globally, are taking chances and putting our hopes on this administration, because in truth, President Rodrigo Duterte is our last chance. If he doesn’t make a change, who will? Article by Ted Dennis and Bea Carandang
The Duterte Administration Duterte’s War on Drugs For those who don’t know, Rodrigo Duterte is the incumbent President of the Philippines. His campaign focused on his past fights with drug cartels in Davao City, a city where he was once mayor. Duterte’s fight against the Philippines’ colossal drug problem is being continued through his presidency. During his State of the Nation Address, he proclaimed that the Philippines “will not stop until the last drug lord, the last financier and the last pusher has surrendered, is put behind bars or is put underground”. With the inauguration of President Duterte came the commencement of the Philippine Drug War.
The 90s, the 80s, the 70s - they all have cultural features that set them apart from one another, whether it be music, film, or video games. Making their debut in the late 90s and early 2000s, internet memes have slowly risen in popularity and are now a defining feature of today's pop culture.
The war was quite effective in suppressing the sales of narcotics as of August of 2016, an estimation of 1,800 drug-related individuals have been killed, 5,400 individuals have been arrested and 565,805 individuals have turned themselves into the authorities. However, critics of Duterte noted that this situation is very similar to Ferdinand Marcos’ dictatorship.
As such, memes play a significant role in modern education as analysis of dank memes can yield plenty of information concerning of the cultural nuances of this day and age.
Many of the arrests and killings during the war were controversial. Some claims have stated that police might arrest an individual if they look like a narcotics user. Police have also been known to torture and shoot prisoners in custody.
The Promise of Easier Government Transactions
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Mango Memes
Government services such as DOLE (Department of Labor and Employment), POEA (Philippine Overseas Employment Administration) and OSCA (Office of Senior Citizen Affairs) are crucial in the continuing development of the Philippines. Unfortunately, over the past few years, these services haven’t been able to meet the full demands of the Filipino people. In Duterte’s inauguration speech, he promised to implement an Anti-Red Tape law in government agencies in order to provide the people with easier and
In this section, I plan to dissect,
DEAR DEPARTED HARAMBE
analyse, and hence understand...
MEMES
A meme was born on May 28th of 2016 in the Cincinnati zoo, when a 4-year old boy fell into the gorilla exhibit and a member of staff at the zoo responded by killing the gorilla rather than tranquilising it. This event was afterwards subjected to the spotlight of the internet, initially sparking debates that brought up moral dilemma. However, Harambe has since been degraded to no more than a source of cheap laughs, to the point that Harambe has his own meme page on Facebook. The psychology behind this meme in fact rather interesting. The ability for such a large community to unanimously find pictures of a dead gorilla amusing would have been seen as
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thoroughly strange and perhaps unsettling when taken out of the context of modern day and placed into another point in history. Perhaps this classifies a meme as an inside joke - one that the general community of the internet and modern youth is in on. In this case, the Harambe meme is built upon the foundation of the satirisation of the incident. As such, we can interpret that to some extent a viewer must know the incident to truly appreciate the meme at its fullest. In turn, this would also classify memes as satirical comedy. Another contributing factor to the humour behind this meme, applicable to all memes, is its versatility. Memes have the ability to be placed in many different, comedic scenarios. The fact that memes can be recycled and reused in such a variety of contexts perhaps defines its niche in humour - it could also be the reason some people love and support them, managing their own meme pages in their free time, whereas others are merely annoyed by them. Put into the context of Harambe, this theory can be seen in its usage in combination with God Emperor Trump, Crooked Hillary, and other such memes. These memes generally need only be connected by the overarching theme of something being missed or a child being an antagonist or some sort. More exclusive to the Harambe meme is the fact that the community of the internet has started what is almost a movement for Harambe. This is perhaps one of the more curious factors to the longevity and humour of this meme - the hype of representing something you believe in, even if in this case, the movement in question is in the end no more than a joke. The fact that Harambe has his own meme page and that his memes are mostly marked with the motif of his face or the caption of #d***soutforharambe more than suffice as evidence to support this claim.
Mango Memes
Apple is employing 6,000 people in Ireland, and many of them are making iMacs at a factory in Cork. Apple insists that the factory is the biggest private employer in the city. However, EU commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said, “EU ruling that Apple must pay a huge tax bill to Ireland was clearly based on facts and was not a decision aimed against the U.S.” He added that taxation is mainly targeted at European companies, and the decision comes from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), to control tax evasion by multinational companies. Apple and the Irish government claimed that they are going to appeal against to the ruling. However, Apple is not the first target of the crackdown: several multinational companies such as Starbucks, Google, and Amazon were caught because of a similar problem. But Apple is considered as one of the world’s most profitable company. Also, this tax battle is considered as the biggest tax battle in the world. Even though Apple is not disobeying any laws, it still doesn’t change the fact that it made many attempts to perform tax evasion to maximize the profit. This 41 year-old company needs to be aware of its problem: it recently (on Sept. 7th) revealed the iPhone 7 series without the 3.5mm headphone jack, which is considered as one of the necessary functions of a mobile phone. While the company can attract customers with its brand image, it is necessary to cease its unethical tax evasion, which is abusing Irish taxation laws. If it does not soon resolve its controversies, Apple may struggle to maintain its strong customer base, and to continue leading the smartphone market with its strong brand image.
Apple’s Tax Evasion
Article by Myeong Hun (David) Song
All good things must come to an end. Harambe memes are not exempt from this rule, and have lost most of their magic from the perspectives of most people. Though there isn’t yet a clear general consensus, memes have emerged expressing the tiresome nature of Harambe content. Even the facebook page in Harambe’s name now occasionally posts non-harambe related content.
The Mango’s Verdict:
Though initially rather amusing, Harambe has been degraded to nothing more than a
STALEMEME
Please stop. If you love something, let it go.
Article by Ethan Isaac
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contact s02969@ishcmc.edu.vn for more details
The European Commission judged Apple Inc. should pay 13 billion euros ($14.5 billion) with interest to the Irish government, due to its tax evasion. Tim Cook, Apple’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), said that it is “Total political crap”, and that the company is going to appeal against the ruling. However, the president of the Commission said that the ruling is based on facts. In Ireland, Apple divides its profit from Apple Sales International into two parts: one for its national branch, and the other for the Apple Head Office, which is considered as a paper company. Apple paid the standard Irish tax (12.5%) for its Irish branch, but not for the head office. In this way, Apple allocated only 50 million euros to its Irish branch, which is almost nothing compared to profit Apple Sales made in 2011: 16 billion euros. So in every 1 million euros in profit, only 500 euros were paid in taxes. It has became more severe in 2014: in every 1 million euros in profit, only 50 euros were paid as tax. This indicates that Apple has been paying only 0.005% of its profit as taxes. Even though this does not disobey the Irish tax law, the European Commission has judged that the tax arrangement between Apple and Ireland is against the rules of the European Union. Therefore, the commission ordered Apple to pay back 13 billion euros, the amount of unpaid tax from 2003 to 2014. Tim Cook is unsatisfied with the judgment from European Commission. He argued that Apple has obeyed the Irish tax policies, therefore, no processes should have been illegal. He said as well, “I would love to see the Irish government appeal against the Commission’s ruling to pay 13 billion euros in back tax to the Irish government.” The United States government contends that EU is acting as a “supranational tax authority”. The Irish government is also not satisfied with the result. The government doesn’t want to get the money back because they don’t want to lose the investments from Apple. Currently,
Apple’s Tax Evasion
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Rio Olympics’ Implications
On the 21st of August, a bit more than a month ago, the closing ceremony to the 2016 Rio Olympics was held: a spectacular end to a terrible struggle. Since Rio de Janeiro won the rights to host the Olympics in 2012, there have been constant arguments and protests against them being hosted in a country with such drastic intercontinental problems, such as high crime rates and extreme poverty. “There is not going to be a torch!” exclaimed thousands of protesters as the Olympic torch was crossing through the city of Niterói. Demonstrators held up banners reading “Games of exclusion” as they attempted to stop the torch from reaching its final destination in Rio. Pedro Rosa, a citizen of the city, told the local press that "The government takes money from health, education and social programs to guarantee the Olympics, but 30 days from now, the big buildings and venues built will be useless." Many questioned the government’s decision to host the Olympics, especially during such tough economic times. Due to this decision, the already limited school, healthcare, police and firefighter budgets have been cut even more to provide further funding for the structures. About 5 billion USD of taxpayers money that could have been spent on funding mass relocation, improving living conditions in the slums, funding education for thousands or contributing to stopping the war of crime and drugs, was instead spent on building facilities for the Olympics. Naturally, this left the citizens of Rio outraged. To make matters worse, only 45.3% of the population pays their taxes, so the little money that is raised and collected is wasted on stadiums and living quarters that will
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Rio Olympics’ Implications
probably never be used again.
What Brazil has done with the money is disgraceful. "We love sports in our city, but our city needs other things like better schools, better hospitals, free access to education," said Anna Barros, an English teacher in Rio. "We need to invest money in our people." Despite all of the commotion and protest against the Olympics, some people were in favor of the Games, believing the event would bring lots more tourism and visitors to Rio, possibly massively benefiting the local economy and privately owned businesses and even much larger companies. There is a need for drastic change in Rio; the people see it, and yet the government decides to remain blind and ignore the problems at hand. The very same police force keeping everyone at bay and protecting the Olympic Games are considering switching sides as the vast majority of them have been going on without pay even weeks on end, not to mention the amount of overtime hours they have been working. Article by Vittorio Guglielimi
Taiwan. Land of the free. Oh, sorry - is that the American slogan?
Taiwan
Yes, it's true. Americanization has spread, all the way to the tiny lesser known island of Taiwan. New GAP stores were opening during my last year in the beatific country, greater numbers of foreigners were visible in the crowds in different shopping malls and tourist hotspots, and the general living standards of this now capitalist country were skyrocketing. Oh and not to mention, Taiwan has just elected their first female President into office. Bliss, pure bliss. How I miss you Taiwan.
absolutely baffling how a nation like Venezuela could be in a catastrophic situation such as this one. It was only natural that the citizens turned to blame the government for this national crisis as Venezuela’s government is rife with corruption.
Venezuelan Crisis
The nightmare that is the corrupt Venezuelan government started with the rise of Hugo Chavez in 1999 when he was voted into office. Once in power, Chavez disposed of Venezuela’s congress and his establish the Venezuelan national assembly which he controlled. He used the National assembly to impose laws in order to extend his term in office and allow him to be re-elected regardless of the number of terms he served. The Venezuelans were fine with this as he brought money to the economy. Oil, Venezuela's biggest export was at $100 per barrel. This meant that Venezuela received a large flow of income to make up for Chavez’s abysmal trade deals. He would often trade oil at a cheap price for good will. An example being he once traded oil with Cuba at a discount price for doctors. He effectively destroyed the private sector by nationalizing all privately owned companies and businesses. When oil prices dropped due to an economic recession in 2011, all of the policies by Chavez accumulated and eventually led to the Venezuelan crisis. WIth the death of Hugo Chavez, his handpicked successor, Nicolàs Maduro took power. Unlike Chavez, he was not armed with a strong charisma, an extensive political insight and high oil prices. This made Maduro’s presidency a disaster. Because of Chavez’s policies, there are no hopes of making money in the private sector as it was destroyed by nationalization, government officials started to become corrupted as they can abuse their power and the incompetent president still has control over the national assembly as well as the Supreme Court of Justice. The situation was made worse when El Niño caused a drought in Venezuela. Because of this, the only water that pumps into Caracas, the capital of Venezuela is unsanitary and coloured brown. Due to shortages in basic life necessities, including water, the Venezuelans are dissatisfied with their government and are pushing for a referendum to remove the incumbent president from power.Only time can tell whether the perpetual government system of Venezuela will end. Article by Fred Dennis
Anyways, some basic facts on Taiwan: Population: 23.5 million People: Heart-warming environment, inclusive, willing to help, honest. Environment: Clean Cities to visit: Kaohsiung, Taipei, Taichung Culture: Totally Americanized in the capital (Taipei), more traditional in other southern cities Living Standards: High Scenery and Greenery: Lots and lots of mountain ranges and hills covering the entire landscape. Rivers flowing through some major cities and one of the cleanest cities (Taipei) I've ever visited, and I've literally been around the world. Taiwan is really a hidden gem. It is full of surprises, and not very Chinese at all. It isn't polluted, has many locals who speak English, and a young population. The neighborhood I lived in was plush, and everyone seems to be content with their lives wherever you go. When you've been in Taiwan for long enough, you feel like greeting every passerby. Their culture is a bit awry, however. Few Taiwanese uphold any cultural or religious superstitions, and they all have phones towards which their necks are always craned. The country is greatly technologically advanced and a well known manufacturer of microchips and technological software for major companies, like Apple and Asus, which is then assembled in China. If you ever want to find a beautiful island to explore awesome night-time culture, endless mountain ranges and famed beaches, go to Taiwan. Heck, if you're looking to start up a business in the technological sector of the market, go to Taiwan. Go to Taiwan no matter what! Article by Freelance Journalist Pratyax Kandpal
Venezuelan Crisis
Venezuela is a tropical nation located in the northeastern coast of South America which often gets overlooked by the rest of the world for being just another South American nation. However, Venezuela is going through some of the biggest disasters any country has to face. It is in the worst possible circumstance for any nation to be in without being at war. The ever growing issue of global warming along with El Niño have brought intense droughts to Venezuela. This, along with years of corrupt governments making horrendous and tragic policies which lead to an unstable economy, have plunged Venezuela into a state of turmoil. This started in 2014 when a series of protests began due to economic policies such as stricter price controls imposed by the new president, Nicolàs Maduro which lead to shortages of basic needs and high inflation rate. With supplies becoming more scarce, crime rates and urban violence started to increase within the country. The government's effort to subdue the protesters was successful at first when they arrested over 3,000 protesters. However, towards the end of 2014, with oil prices continuing to drop and the government not being able to solve the shortages issue, protests were renewed as more and more citizens started to oppose the government.
New CAS Policy: Ally or Enemy?
A full term have passed since the new school year has started. The school has shown some refined and enhanced aspects compared to previous years - such as active engagement. However, implementation of the ‘New CAS policy’ remains controversial. CAS policies are modified annually, and as always, they have been changed in this new school year. However, the change attempted this year aren’t minor, but rather a complete redesign of the CAS program. The intention of changing CAS policies was for every student to be engaged and use the time given efficiently. Before I establish my perspective on this issue, we will have to understand the ‘controversy’ among the students. According to Mr. Matthew Coles - newly assigned CAS Coordinator of ISHCMC - GIN group meetings last year were rather ‘unorganized’, as meetings were arranged at no specific time of a week,. Therefore, administration has considerably changed schedule as current year started: every Wednesday’s last period – specifically period 4B – is now dedicated mainly to Service project meetings. ‘Period 4B’ is an approximately 40-minute long session, and is included in every secondary student’s timetable. This indicates that students are required to be a part of certain project at least during the session. In this regard, it is Y.E.S beneficial for the school. Referring to Mr. Coles, the modification adapted for service groups was focused on transitioning from an image of ‘Elite minorities’ to an ‘Inclusive program.’ Additionally, as aforementioned, another advantage acquired was that the group meetings are now more organized than they previously were. Certain students, however, are dissatisfied about such implementation. Under the circumstance that Period 4B is the only officially approved Service session, an SRC Executive, has expressed that ‘35 minutes is short for formal meetings’. For instance, ISHCMC Inquirer utilizes an additional 50 minutes during Wednesdays after school as Period 4B solely is not enough. Another concern is from Group Leaders. David Song, leader of a service group, has expressed his complaint about the new changes. In the previous school year, he has contributed to various projects without any restrictions, but due to new policies, David now is ‘confined by time’ since he has to lead a group during only Service session given. As it only has been two months since the school has started, some problems are evident which need to be urgently addressed. It is our duty to fix mistakes and faults as soon as possible. The solution they have implemented to improve the CAS system is surely somewhat beneficial but I believe, extreme as well for certain minorities. Even though it has been successful as being an ‘Inclusive program’, room for improvement exists.
Surprisingly, Venezuela is a nation blessed with an abundance of natural resources such as oil, gold and other minerals. It is
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Article by Juhyun (Robin) Kim
URGENT APPEALS
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CAS Groups in Action HELPING ECON STUDENTS
CODING
MEET THE INQUIRERS Editor-in-chief|Sungjun Min Sungjun Min, currently a 11th grader, will be taking on the breathtaking role of the editor-in-chief. While his main role will be ensuring that the final draft is complete and has no errors under any circumstances, he will also be a consistent contributor to the editorial section. This year, with the implementation of paper-based newspaper, Jun will be working hard with our graphic designer to come up with a fine layout for the school’s first-ever print newspaper. He truly wishes ISHCMC Inquirer can be at the core of school communication. He is currently the SRC's public-relationts officer, has chairing experiences at various MUN conferences and loves playing sports (with the exception of golf).
Assistant Editor-in-chief|Rizana Tran Tatlock Rizana is an 11th grade student at ISHCMC. She will be contributing as an editor and a writer for the sections of Global News, Opinions and Entertainment. She is American Vietnamese and has been attending ISHCMC for 4 years. Her hobbies include baking, watching an unhealthy amount of YouTube and reading. She is very interested in cinema, linguistics, current affairs and general trivia.
Head of Graphic Design|Ethan Isaac FEED THE HUNGRY
HEARTBEAT VIETNAM WILDLIFE AT RISK
Ethan is a handsome 11th grade student at ISHCMC. He will be fulfilling the role of Graphics Designer for the ISHCMC Inquirers. Having first made acquaintance with the basics of Photoshop in the 7th grade, he has put his unparalleled fluency with the program and its siblings into practice by making posters for various events both within and without the school’s boundaries, having interned at a media group and provided them with his high quality services. Equipped with a jocose attitude and an extensive wisdom in the art of graphics design, he will surpass all of his competition and become the very best, like no one ever was.
Events and Opinions|Alexia Beatrice Guglielimi Alexia is an 11th grade student at ISHCMC. She will be contributing as a section editor and a writer for events, opinion articles, and creative writing. She is half-Italian and half-Filipino and has so far lived in Italy, Thailand, and Vietnam. Some of her hobbies include reading, writing, and watching TV shows. Her favorite quote is “Once you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”
OPERATION SMILE
Sports|Vittorio Guglielimi HUMAN RIGHTS
Vittorio Guglielmi is a lovable 11th Grade student currently studying at ISHCMC. He will be contributing to the ISHCMC Inquirers as the editor of the sports section. He is half-Italian and half-Filipino. His hobbies include watching movies, playing games and playing sports. His favorite quote is:”You don't need a bazooka to kill a fly”.
Global News|Ted Dennis Ted is a diligent 11th Grade Student at ISHCMC. He will be contributing to the ISHCMC Inquirers as the editor of the Global News section. He has had 5 years of MUN experience which has added to his knowledge of global affairs and politics. His goal in life is just to make it through the rigorous IB DP courses alive and completely sane. His hobbies when he is not completely depressed due to homework include waking his neighbours up by playing the drums, enduring the endless rhymes his friends find for his name and photoshopping dank memes for the enjoyment of his peers.
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STUDENTS TEACHING STUDENTS
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Photographer|Luca Paul Scholze Luca is currently in grade 11 and is very interested in trying out new things to learn. He has been at ISHCMC for 7 years, and will be here until his graduation in 2018. His biggest contribution to the group will be to be a photographer for the news events. His hobbies include spending time with friends, playing video games, and playing football in his free time. He aspires to learn more about photography by taking pictures of school events.
Journalist|Aditya Chauhan Aditya is a young bold grade 8 student in ISHCMC. Aditya is from northeastern part India. It is his second year in ISHCMC. He will be writing articles about school events, world news, service groups, arts, music, etc. He will be the freelance journalist for the ISHCMC Inquirer 2016/17. You might know that this student is a great beatboxer, but that is not what all he does, yet he is a big fan of EDM (electronic dance music). Cycling, swimming and producing music are some of his hobbies. This is his first time in the ISHCMC Inquirer. For him, it might be a little challenging as he is only in grade 8, but he is confident he will have a fun and rewarding time this year with the ISHCMC Inquirer team.
Technology|Myeong Hun (David) Song David is a grade 11 student in ISHCMC. As an avid learner in the fields of mathematics, science, and technology, he is going to contribute as a mathematics, sciences, and technology section writer. He lived in Korea until 2014, and has been since living in Vietnam. He searches about technology (especially mobile phones) every day. His hobby is collecting old mobile devices, and watching the tech companies’ events such as Galaxy Unpacked and Google I/O. He developed a calculator application for his Personal Project, and he has experiences with programming languages such as Python and Java.
Global News|Bea Carandang Bea is an 11th grade student at ISHCMC. She will be contributing to the ISHCMC Inquirer as a writer for Global News, Opinions as well as Arts and Entertainment. She is a Filipino and has lived in the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, Hong Kong and now Vietnam. She loves listening to music, reading and travelling. She’s also really funny (no not rly).
Local News|Juhyun (Robin) Kim Juhyun, with a preferred name of Robin, is 11th grade DP student in ISHCMC. He is Korean, though not fluent in both Korean and English as natives. He has volunteered for Opinion Article Writing; however, shown a great interest in local news as well. His articles therefore will mainly consist of either or hybrid of local news and opinion article. His hobbies are Kendo, Music, and debating – whether small or huge in scale – with a passion. His motto is “You fool me once, shame on you. You fool me twice, shame on you.”
Photographer|Tseng Ping Chao Ping is a Grade 11 student at ISHCMC. He will be contributing as a photographer & graphic designer for the ISHCMC Inquirer. He’s a boy from Taiwan, and he loves playing basketball, his motto is “ball and rice is life”. He has lived in Taiwan for 10 years and 6 years in Vietnam. He loves graphic design and he don’t know why. He love his dad and mom, because they love him too, they all love each other.
Photographer|Ida Putu Wiweka Dharmasiddhi
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Wiweka is an 11th grade student at ISHCMC. He will be contributing to the ISHCMC inquirers as the photographer. He gained interest in photography because his father enjoys photography. Wiweka wishes to make ishcmc inquirers more memetastic through the art of photography. He is from Indonesia and has lived in Thailand, Indonesia and the United States of America. His hobbies include playing sports such as football, playing video games, listening to music and looking at dank memes from the internet.